My family be-booped into the sanctuary at church this morning about 20 minutes before the service was to start.  As soon as we crossed the threshold of the back door we all stopped dead in our tracks.  There was someone sitting on our pew, in our seats.  I mentally think, we could move 1 row up or 1 row back, but then we would be in so-and-so’s seats.  We could move to another area all together, but that would for sure throw this rare, smooth morning completely into a tailspin.  The kids looked at Jason and I for the next move.  I had to act fast.  Panic set in.  I lead the way and we slid into “our” pew from the other side.

Why is change so hard for us?  Even a simple thing like the pew at church?  We like our routines and as a matter of fact, most of us thrive on routines.  We get used to the way we do and like things and while everything changes, we are usually the ones that get dragged along kicking and screaming.  Humans!

We all have a place in this world and it’s sometimes hard to give up the ground we have stacked out.  Am I really raising my kids to be such creatures of habits that they didn’t know where we were going to sit? Probably.

So why when I ask them to put the stuff away where it belongs so we can find it next time we are looking for it they look at me like I’m speaking another language?  Are we selective creatures of habit?  I would have to say yes. But, why?

Is it that much harder to hang your coat on a hook instead of the kitchen chair?  My kids lay their dirty clothes on the floor, next to the laundry hamper.  Why can’t they make it a habit to put the clothes in the actual hamper?

The Bible has a lot of insight and wisdom for us.  But do we only listen to that advice when it’s convenient for us?  We need to remember what James, the brother of Jesus told us.  “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights; who does not change like the shifting shadows.  James 1:17.

So maybe, after all, I’m not doing that bad of job with my kids.  Maybe in the grand scheme of life, they might flip out if you are sitting in their seat.  But my hope is their hearts will only change to bring a stronger love and trust for the Lord.  I know they will stray and sin, but God is the one constant for all of us that will never, change.

As I write this I can hear a saw of some sort in the background.  I look out the window and see my husband on top of the big, wooden swing set, playhouse thing, sawing it in half?  Even this thing that was meant to be one, is now two at the hands of my love.  Everything changes, all the time.  It’s called life.  The best we can do, is to prepare our children for it.  Arm them with words of hope, faith, love, confidence and encouragement.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.  Hebrews 13:8

And that’s a great thing, because my husband just caught the yard on fire (I’m guessing with sparks from the saw).  And I know Jesus loves me and will keep me calm.

Yes, I think I deserve a medal today.  Probably a Gold one too.  I kept everyone alive.  And believe me, there were a couple of times it was questionable.

So when I started this blog I really thought I was just the by-stander to all the craziness here.  Just innocently watching from the sidelines, not really involved in the said shenanigans,  Well, let me tell you, the last few days have made me think about that?  The last couple of days, I’ve been smack dab in the middle of what was going on.  Has it been this way all along and I’ve just been blind to it?  Surely not?  So here’s the latest story.

Let me set the scene for you first.  Yesterday afternoon I came home from work a little early with a stomach bug.  I wasn’t home 30 minutes and Jason got home and he was not feeling good.  Then the boys get home from school and Warren has a headache and a fever.  Tanner is the last man standing.  With 75% of us sick, it was a rough night.

Jason took Tanner to school today and I stayed home with Warren.  I still was not feeling well and Warren still had a headache.  I logged onto my work computer and knocked out a bunch of work while Warren napped.  He started to feel better and I could tell because he was running around the house.  I asked him to take the puppy out and he said he didn’t want to.  Let’s be honest.  That made me a little mad.  I was not feeling good.  Had my pajamas, robe and slippers on along with yesterday’s make-up and hair piled on top of my head in desperate need of a shampoo and a brush.

I take the puppy out (she is 9 months and is lucky she is going to see tomorrow) without a leash.  Mistake numero uno.  There are people across the side road cutting down a tree or something.  Well if that crazy dog didn’t run off, cross the road to meet them.  I go back in the house and ditch the slippers and robe for a more polished look of Jason’s Muck boots and his Lands’ End jacket.  Mind you, I still have my jammie bottoms in full view.  I get back out side and she is now on our side of the road again.  She is so lucky she didn’t get run over twice.  But she won’t come to me and I’m really not feeling well.

Warren comes out and is trying to help me get her.  She was getting pretty close and even was starting to calm down a bit when low and behold someone pulls in the driveway.  I turn around to see a big, white box style truck parked at the end of the drive.  The dog takes off and is now in the road in front of our house.  The poor guy driving didn’t stand a chance.  He could have been there to kidnap me or rob me or more than likely was there to look at the car for sale in the front yard.

I lost my cool and about lost my stuff.  I yelled at him (and when I say yelled, I mean I raised my voice loudly) to stay in his truck.  I was getting ready to throw-up and I needed to catch the dog.  Then I turned and started yelling at Warren.  If he would just do what I say we would not bee going through this.  The dog is darting from one side of the truck to the other.  The guy driving is really not sure what to do.  So he says out the window he would just leave and he starts the engine.  Holy cow!  I flipped out then.  I was yelling even louder at him to turn it off and not move.  He immediately turned it back off and sat there.  I was waving my hands at him like a crazy person.  I know he was thinking he was being detained against his will at this point.

About then Warren caught the dog and I got the leash on her.  I then yelled at the guy.  “ok, what do you need?”  He said, “I just wanna look at the car?”  You could tell he was scared now.  I said I was sick, the kid was sick and the dog ran off.  He started to ask me a question about the car and I told him to call the number on it.  He said “Ma’am, are you ok, Can I get you some help?”

I get the kid and the dog inside and Warren just looks at me and says “You know he is probably calling the nine one one on you. I think you scared that guy.”

Give me a medal.  We are all alive and no one got kidnapped and no one called Jason about the car.

My intention when I started this blog was to share the shenanigans that my family was always involved in or creating.  Then I had some thoughtful and serious messages that I felt were worthy of a share.  So this post about last night is typical of what happenes in this house on a somewhat regular basis.

We went to a friends to watch commercials last night, I mean a sporting event.  My family is so not into sports, so we really liked the commercials last night.

Once we got home the boys went to bed and I was in bed by about 9:20pm and probably asleep by 9:22pm.  I was beyond tired and ate way too much junk!

So picture this… around 1:00am or 1:40am (all the clocks in our house are WRONG) we are awakened by the sound of someone throwing up.  Awesome!  Middle of the night!  You know that moment when you are suddenly woken up and it takes you a moment to get your bearings?  That was me in the middle of the night.  Was it a kid or a dog?  It was coming from the bathroom.  Part of me was hoping it was a kid, because chances are they would make it to the toilet. Especially since they were already in the bathroom. But if it was a dog, at least no one would have to stay home from school. However, that would mean cleaning up something nasty in the middle of the night.

So Jason and I both stagger to the bathroom half-asleep to see who it is. It’s a dog. Whew, right! All over the bathroom rug. It would have been pretty easy to wipe it up from the tile floor, but no, all over the rug.

Jason scoops the rug up and throws it in the bathtub.  He says we will deal with that in the morning.  What?  He just threw a rug full of puke in the shower I will be using in about 5 hours!  Who is going to deal with it then?  I get Sailor outside and get her calmed down.  It’s raining outside at this point too.

I come back in with wet hair and crawl back into bed.  Jason is already snoring.  Awesome!

About an hour passes and I hear something crash.  Something fall that sounded like a shampoo bottle hitting the bathtub.  Who’s in the bathroom now?  Go in and the shower curtain is already pulled back and I find another dog in the bathtub eating someone else’s throw-up!  Are you kidding me??  It’s now about 2:45am or 3:20am, who really knows!  I get the dog and the rug and go outside again.  This time it’s really raining.  I mean pouring down rain.  I’m standing in my driveway shaking a rug, yelling at a dog and thinking about crying.  I often wonder what the neighbors really think about us.

It is a glorious day!  My youngest son was baptized this morning at church.  Even though he is only 7, I have no doubt in my mind that he understands baptism unites him now as a believer with Jesus.  I’m beyond proud of him!

However, I would be remised if I didn’t mention the bittersweetness of today.  My Great-Aunt Norma went home to be with the Lord just a few days ago and is being laid to rest today.  I was not able to travel to her funeral this weekend since my son was being baptized.

I’ve suddenly found myself at that place in life where my family will be getting smaller before it gets bigger again.  As a child you have cousins, aunts and uncles and grandparents and the extended family.  Then you get a bit older and the cousins get married and start having kids.  You are in the “growth” stage of family.  Family get togethers are so much fun and they happened often.  We would play for hours and knew every nook and cranny in everyones houses.  I’m not the oldest cousin, but of all the cousins in my generation I am one of the older ones.  I recall the babies who are now married and even have their own kids.  It was such a treat for the cousins to come from across the county to land for a few days at the Crossroads of America.  I have a lot of fond memories.

I reflect now on this stage of life.  There are only 2 people still living in my family who are of the greatest generation, the generation of my grandparents.  Family is important to me and I want to raise my kids to share those values.  How do I do that?  Worship together, eat meals together, talk to our kids.  Let them know we love them.  Jason and I need to be the Christian example for our kids to look to.  As parents we are shaping the future of our children and the values they will one day hold.

Our family will start growing again one day with my children’s generation.  But I have to wonder, without the ties that held us together at times, our grandparents generation, will we still stay in touch to see that growth?  Will my generation go across the country to weddings or baby showers or even baptisms?  Will my cousins come to see those milestones of my kids?

Life is always changing and brining me back to last weeks post from the Bible in Haggai 1: 5 & 7 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways.”  What are our priorities in life.  With baptism and death recently, it brings this value of family close to the front of my mind.

Love your family.

In the way of righteousness there is life; along that path is immortality.  Proverbs 12:28

Yes, mud has a smell.  Especially winter mud.  It’s the cold, red, North Carolina clay soil mixed with the cold rain water.  It smells like cold, organic bacteria.  I like the smell of summer mud a little bit.  But, not winter mud.

I like the smell of winter mud even less when I smell it in my house, on a wet dog.  I know rain is good, it gives life to so much of our world.  But, I’m over, muddy, wet dogs every time they go outside.

Piper and Ellie go outside today and both come in with mud in various places of their bodies.  Ellie had mud on the back of her head and neck, but no where else.  I found that to be odd.  Even if she rubbed her neck in something, she would at least have it on her feet and maybe even the side of her neck.

Then Piper comes in.  It’s no longer a mystery how Ellie got mud where she did.  Piper is covered in mud and I can tell that she probably wiped her face on the top of Ellie’s head.  That’s great.

Then Tanner tells us he dug a hole in the yard today.  Why?  We ask.  He was looking  for worms and not too worry, he has knife and knows how to use it.

So as I’m typing this, I hear paper being crumbled.  I get up to go find the puppy, because everyone else is in this room.  We find the title to Jason’s truck eaten, but we still can’t find the dog.  We finally find her laying on Warren’s bed with a shredded box of Thin Mints and a shredded box of Peanut Butter Patties.

I need to find a hotel for myself for the night,  I need a break!

The end of the day is approaching and I’ve had 95 views on this blog already.  That tells me you all do want to read about our crazy shenanigans.  I’ll do my best to keep up.

Random thought.  If I was on the receiving end of a group text where I was going somewhere with the other people I would want to know who they were, right?  I would probably do a reply all and say something like I don’t have all your numbers in my phone, can you let me know who you are.

Well, my husband is going somewhere tomorrow with several guys.  They’ve been group texting for a couple of days now and he doesn’t know who 5 of them are!  I asked him how he knew who he was meeting?  He said it’s a guy thing and he’d be ok.  What?

Can you relate?

Ever hear this in your house? Probably. Saturday’s are basketball days in our house. Both boys play and my husband coaches. Last night I asked all three of them if all their basketball gear was clean and ready for tomorrow. I got 3 yes’s!

There are 168 hours in a week, I work on average of 45 hours per week, and do at the minimum 14 loads of laundry per week which is about 28 hours worth give or take. I sleep a good 56 hours per week, so this leaves me about 5.57 free (using that word loosely) hours a day. I shuttle the kids from school to tutoring to basketball practice to church, make stops at Target and the drive thru at the grocery. I might even make a stop at the gym. I’m not going those “free” hours to put your clean clothes where they go.

So let’s talk about the laundry. It’s excessive in my house. I will wash, dry and fold and probably even carry it to your room. But I’m also trying to teach my boys how to be responsible young men. So they are going to put that mess away. In my dreams right!

They don’t put it away! They might even put the full stack of clean clothes right back in the laundry basket. Add a couple of days of stank clothes on top and I’ve got to put nicely folded stinky clothes right back in the washing machine. When they tell me they can’t find their shirt or socks, I’m like so what. I washed it, dried it, folded it and put it in your room. What you do with it after that is your problem.

So here we are, Saturday morning. One kid can’t find his shirt for basketball (and recall last night they told me they had “all” their gear ready). We find it in the dirty clothes. Oh well, he is 7 and doesn’t stink that bad yet. He wears it and all is right in his world.

Then there is Jason! If you saw him on the bench at basketball this morning you would notice he did not have his coaches shirt on. Where was it? Not in the dirty clothes! I do a minimum of 2 loads of laundry per day and that shirt never made its way to the laundry area this week.

I know I keep Tide, Downy and Clorox in business! I’m practically in a relationship with the Unstoppables I love them so much! How did my laundry ever smell so good before.

If I can’t find my shirt, I have no one to ask? Maybe I’ll start asking them where my stuff is and laugh at the bewildered looks that will be on their faces.

I’ve been saying it for years. I need to write a blog. I start, then stop. I need to really capture these memories for later on in life when I won’t be able to recall the details.

I will turn 40 this year! 4-0! I know, it’s only a number and many of you are seeing it in the rearview mirror saying it’s no big deal. But, I feel like it’s a milestone in life. An earned milestone! I’m healthy and strong, have a great (wild at times, ok all the time) family and have a great love for the Lord. I’m pretty happy. Being a mom who works full-time while also participating in multiple community activities can prove to be quite challenging at times.

So here’s my plan: I’m going to start blogging on being a career woman, raising a family and being a wife! Jason said he will gladly donate his Go-Pro videos to my blog. You’ve been warned! Here we go…