Once upon a time...

Once upon a time a lady had a pretty pink Dell. She loved that computer. It was pink after all...

One day the pink Dell stopped working. The screen went black and was no longer a helpful tool. A nice man gave up the television in his bedroom so the computer would have a working screen. Soon, though, the computer started cutting off for no reason in the middle of very important documents and functions. And the nice lady became frustrated and was starting to feel not very nice.

The very nice man came home with this to appease the nice lady.

And while she was a little intimidated by the new machine she was very, very happy. She spent the next couple of days getting acquainted with it and began to really, really enjoy the new features and ease of use. The fact that it had a working screen and didn't cut off in the middle of work was very nice, too.

Then one day the nice lady was loading pictures on the new computer. Instead of putting the SD card into the SD card slot, she accidentally slipped it into the CD drive. Oops. The following status update was made to Facebook...

Nice Lady

there's an SD card stuck in my CD/DVD drive on the brand new computer... what's sad is that i can't blame it on a toddler... or even a teenager... just myself. nerd.

She waited for the nice man to come home and help retrieve the SD card from the wrong slot. He tried. He even had special tools that he used to dig around for the silly thing.

His tools didn't work. No shaking, poking, or other people in the kingdom could retrieve the card. So the nice man did what any self respecting man would do. He Googled.



And then he made this...

The card was retrieved in a matter of seconds.

The very nice lady was thankful. And now she LOOKS before she puts the SD card into the computer.

The End.

Unfair

{i started this blog months ago while sitting in the carpool line. i am thinking i might just finish it up and post it today... since i'm sitting here waiting... in the carpool line. it is amazing what can change in just a matter of months. maybe all we need is a little perspective!}

Life is just not fair.
Our babies grow up too fast.
Homework takes up too much time. {but we are getting faster about it}
There aren't enough hours in the day. {there never will be}
Bids don't get won. {and some do}
Good people die.
Teachers don't give second chances. {but some do}
People don't admit when they are wrong.
Others never say they are sorry.
Chocolate has too many calories.
Working out requires sweating.
Spelling is hard.
Math is hard.
Reading is hard.
Texas is hot. {and sometimes it is too cold!}
And don't forget humid.
Everything costs money.
Growing old is inevitable.
Families are too spread out. {and sometimes they move closer!}
People PARK in the pickup line.
And life goes on anyway...

{this blog post was blogged on the run from my iPhone!}

thoughts on being 40…

 

1. 40 isn’t old.
2. At least it’s not as old as I once thought it was.
3. But having to check the age range box that starts with 40 kind of stinks.
4. So is having to scroll through the 2000’s and down to 1970. 
5. There are only a few gray hairs on my head.
6. That I can see.
7. I’m not wearing readers.
8. Yet.
9. My body still works and is on it’s way to working better since I’m taking better care of it. 
10. I am married to a wonderful, godly man and after spending almost half my life with him we have a great marriage.
11. It’s not perfect, but we are always growing and changing and striving to make it what God wants it to be.
12. I have three beautiful, sweet, smart, daughters who make being a mom a pure joy and blessing.
13. And maybe they are the source of a few of those gray hairs…
14. Much of who I am today I owe to my parents.
15. I have a mom who protected me and nurtured me and taught me how to love… and a dad who has loved me selflessly and sacrificially. 
16. My mother knows I’m really 39… because she knows if she admits I’m 40, then she has to admit she has a kid who is… 4-OH.
17. I married into a loving, supportive family.
18. And I have the title of “favorite daughter-in-law.” 
19. Okay, I’m the ONLY daughter-in-law.  But still.  My title is my title and you can’t take that away from me.
20. Being 40 means that my sister and I are not BOTH still in our 30’s.
21. But today we are closer than ever and I count that as a giant, 40-sized blessing.
22. Friends.  How did I get so lucky? 
23. You know who you are… some of you are near some of you are far.
24. Some I have known more than half my life… and some for a few years. 
25. Many of you are like sisters… we are connected at the heart.  And that is a blessing I don’t take for granted.
26. I’m changing and gaining perspective on many things…
27. Like how to treat my husband and how to love my kids better.
28. And what is really important.
29. I’m not as hard on myself as I used to be.
30. But I still don’t like change.
31. Or conflict.
32. Or pickle relish.
33. Fear is not something I live under any more.  Do I struggle?  Yes.  Does it control me?  No.
34. Living my faith for so long has taught me to trust… so worry is not as big a part of my life as it once was either.
35. I’m still struggling to be content. 
36. But finding joy in the little things, a smile, a hug, a clean sink, lunch with a friend, a good movie, all remind me to be content.
37. My life is good.
38. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
39. Nothing.
40. Except maybe to stay 39.

thursday 13 - changes

Since I’m not a fan of change, I thought it would be fun to sit down and write about some changes that are going on in our family and how change = good.

1. We are homeowners again. (That’s not really new news, but it’s a change.)  It feels good. My mind is going crazy with things to change around here now that the house is “ours.” I started by buying two trees and a storm door.  Next on the list is paint and new flooring.

2. Summer is starting high school in five days. Wow. Feels a little weird saying that but we all know it’s where she should be and we are all excited about it.

3. SuperGirl is going to school in five days, too. Three words: I.CAN’T.WAIT.  I know that sounds bad. I’m just ready to be her momma and leave the teaching to someone else. This does not mean that I am without anxiety about the change, but I am excited for her. And me, too.

4. I joined a Bible study. It’s only been five years since I’ve been in one. 

5. We changed from watching only TV we get with an antenna to Dish Network.  I love this change.

6. I made a choice to finally do something about my eating habits and the change has been good.  Losing 10 lbs. makes that change even better!

7. I changed from using the fancy, fattening creamers to sugar free syrup and half and half.  It took a while to get used to but it sure helped with #6.  And, I’m not drinking as much coffee.

8. I changed my family organizing calendar from Microsoft Outlook to Cozi.  When I made the switch, it ate some of my appointments in Outlook, so I’m thinking this change may be permanent.  (Of course, if I’d followed the instructions that said to back up my Outlook file first, this wouldn’t have happened… Some things never change.)  What I like about Cozi is that we can all log on to the calendar and view the whole family’s activities or just one person.  It also has a Google sidebar gadget and an app for the iPhone.  So far, so good.

9. In changing from Outlook, I changed the way I view and check my e-mail.  I haven’t quite worked out all the kinks on the system of checking it on the Verizon site, but I’ll figure it out eventually in a way that makes sense for me.  I hope.  In the meantime, if you e-mail me and I don’t answer, it’s just because the message went into a folder somewhere and, well, the change and I haven’t made friends yet. 

10. My bedtime.  The kids aren’t exactly cooperating with going to bed on time and getting up early so come Monday morning, their little systems are in for a shock.  I, on the other hand, will be ready.  Maybe. At least I am trying by going to bed earlier and getting up earlier.  If you know me at all, you know this change is tough!

11. Our Sunday school class is currently studying Ephesians 5… we have a wonderful couple leading the series.  This isn’t the first time we’ve studied these verses, but it is a great reminder that sometimes I need to change the way I go about loving my husband. 

12. And some things I need to work on changing are being more outgoing and meeting new people and thinking too much about what teachers think of this home school mom who has put two children in public school.

13. I want to change my living room.  But I need help.  Professional help.

home tweet home

Earlier this summer we planted a tree.  (When I say “we” I mean Hubby and a very big post hole digger.) 

And a cute little helper.

 

And a family promptly moved in…  Now that there are “children” in the family there is a lot of chattering going on in our front yard. 

The momma bird is never far away.  She either sits on a different branch of the tree (far right of the picture, top branch) or on the electrical wires above the tree.  She keeps a very close eye on our Twix!

SuperGirl at camp showoffs…

The past week or so has found SuperGirl to be extra talkative, extra needy, and extra on my nerves.  Don’t get me wrong… I love how she talks to me about every little thing that runs through her mind.  And I do mean every little thing.  The trip to Houston to see the RangeRettes dance at the end of camp wasn’t too bad.  She read her new library book to us.  She took a nap.  And she sang Taylor Swift.  LOTS of Taylor Swift.  But when we got to the gym, we had to wait a bit.  We were early and they were running late.   SuperGirl doesn’t wait well.  AT ALL.  She followed me around like a shadow.  The stream of questions and comments was constant and yet entertaining…

How much longer?

When will they start?

What time does it start?

What time is it now?

Why are they late?

Why can’t we sit on the bleachers?

There’s Summer!

Summer!  Summer!  Summer!!!!!

Mom, Summer’s not in this one. 

Mom, Summer’s in this one.

Mom, KM is in this one.

Mom, KM and Summer aren’t in this one. 

There’s Summer!

How much longer?

Mom, I’m hungry.

Do you have any candy?

Gum?

Mints?

Can I do the video? 

I’m really good at the video. 

I really want to do the video.

Summer’s not in this dance.

KM is in this one.

Mom, Summer and KM are BOTH in this one!

{and at the final part, where they chose a camp top dancer}

MOM! There are 12 girls in the top 12!!!

wednesday’s everyday moment…

I should have started doing this a long time ago… I tend to take pictures regularly with my iPhone, of regular, everyday moment kind of things, and then all I’ll do is upload them to Facebook without much of a story behind them.  Maybe, MAYBE, this will be a good way to keep me blogging… Probably not, but it’s worth a try.

We’ve been talking about getting a library card all summer, especially since SuperGirl NEEDS to work on her reading skills.  We just haven’t gotten around to doing it.  Monday we tried, but we had some… ahem… drama at the house and we didn’t get to go.  This morning, SuperGirl worked with me on some worksheets and practiced writing her name really neat so I told her that today was the day! 

The process took a little longer than we expected but after filling out papers, showing ID, signing our names, and getting a lecture on the cost of lost items/cards and late fees, she was presented with her very own library card.  She would NOT let me put the card in my wallet as she looked for books.  In typical SuperGirl fashion, she insisted on carrying the card until she checked out, which, of course, she did unassisted. 

Two books later, SuperGirl was one happy camper.  She read the whole way home and then promptly turned on the television.  I can’t win. 

today’s everyday moment brought to you by…

Pappap and Albertsons!

SuperGirl LOVES to pop in to Albertsons to say hi to Pappap.  We usually have to look and look for him (sometimes in the freezer) but today he was out in the open, in the cheese section!  He was very busy today, getting an order in before he headed out, so we didn’t get to visit too long.  But still, it was nice to see his face, hug his neck, and see his smile.