My Baby is 21!!

How could this be? I went to bed one night and the next the day I went into the hospital and after 11 hours of grueling labor complete with pitocin, epidural, and lots of squeezing the life out of hubby's hand That Kid was born!

I blinked my eyes again and he was sitting up, crawling, running (he never walked...it was always running!) and talking!






I blinked my eyes again and I was teaching him how to read, write, tie his shoes, and master all types of "school" stuff! I homeschooled him all through high school so I was blessed enough to watch him learn and grow throughout his school years!






I blinked again and it was time for him to learn to drive!! Oh my, that was scary! It's still scary but I've gotten used to it! Yes, I taught him to drive, then we proceeded to buy him his first car and watched him drive off in it. Talk about scary! As he went from a teenager to a young man I watched him and stood in awe that this man/child was created by my hubby and me.





His first time out driving! Whooohhooo!!



First car...thanks to his grandparents for offering such a great deal and us buying it!




This was him at his 18th birthday party! We rented a boat and went out on the lake. Look at that hair!!



His first time to vote - I was quiet pleased with him for taking that opportunity although many his age don't bother!



This is my favorite picture from his Senior Pictures. It captures his personality pretty well, I think.



How is it that in 21 short years he has gone from a baby who needed EVERYTHING to a young man about to leave our home and serve our country in the USMC? Although I am having a VERY difficult time accepting that my "baby" is about to leave the nest I am immensely proud of him for making a decision that will not only better his life but our country's.

From the time I started this blog I have always called him "That Kid". It was a nickname we came up with as a baby for him, but now that he is a full-fledged adult and about to become a Marine I have decided that I'm going to call him "My Marine".

I love "My Marine" and I pray that your life is everything you hope and dream it will be over the next two decades. You have brought many years of joy to my life, even if I don't always show you!! Love ya, baby....Mom

So Much To Be Thankful For

I'm staying up far too late once again....although I am tired I have much on my mind. Tonight I am thankful for my oldest son, who is right now down in Houston. He drove down there today to visit a friend of his who was admitted into a mental institution on Thursday because he threatened suicide. It really shook That Kid up and seemed to shock him tremendously. He had just talked to him a couple of days before and he seemed to be just fine. I texted him tonight and asked how his friend was and his reply was "Not good. He's in a really bad ward. They are hoping to move him somewhere else soon." This is very sad to me. Here is a young man in his early 20's who feels he has nothing to live for. From what I understand he comes from a typical middle class family. He went to a private Christian college (that's where my son knows him from) so he obviously has a Christian background or he wouldn't have attended this school.

I think what concerns me the most about this situation is that there are young men and women out there that are in their early 20's that don't feel they have anything to live for. They perceive their lifes worthless. They maybe don't know what they want to do with their life. They don't have a goal. They don't see themselves in college but know they have to do something to get an education to start a career to start being a grown up and living in the real world. College is not for everyone but most people (myself included) feel that you need a college education in order to get into a decent career these days. Unless you just stumble into something you need to start your career and build up before you start making enough money to support yourself and (later) a family.

I haven't talked much about this lately but That Kid dropped out of college. He went to college for 3 semesters then decided he didn't want to continue "wasting" money and time for a college education right now. He has always hated school. never really been a "book learning" kind of kid. I homeschooled him and he made good grades but I geared his education toward that of a non-book learning kind of education as much as I felt I could. Knowing what I have learned over the past 5 years I could have done better but....hind-site is always better right??

Anyway, That Kid has decided that for now, the best option for him is to join the military. This scares the ba-jeebers out of me. When he first mentioned it I freaked out! I couldn't believe MY KID wanted to be a Marine. Now that I have had 8 months to mentally prepare myself for this I know that it is the best thing he could do for himself. Right now he doesn't really know what he wants to do for a career. He doesn't really feel like he has a direction to go. He doesn't really know what makes him tick. All he knows is that he HATES college and he HAS to do something with his life! He is about to turn 21 and I am having a hard time with this fact too. My baby is not a baby anymore. He is a MAN who is about to tackle the most difficult task of his life. He is about to join the toughest branch of the military and become of the most respected people in this country. He has decided to take matters into his own hands and do something with himself and become someONE!

Thinking about the situation with his friend makes me sad. BUT...thinking about the fact that that could be my son makes me even more sad. Thinking about how he has decided to not just sit around feeling like he can't do anything to better himself and has decided to join the military makes me PROUD of him. Although him joining the military freaks me out on a daily basis still I have come to accept that this is the best thing he could do for himself right now. It gives him direction, purpose, and something to do not only for himself but for our country. He will be a fine Marine and I will be praying for his safety daily.

I pray that my son's friend will recover fully and find a purpose to his life soon. Will you join me in this prayer??

**PS Sorry if this post is disjointed and makes no sense. I am tired but felt it necessary to get it written and posted. Hopefully it makes enough sense that you will understand what I was trying to say.

This Week's Pictures

This was a really long week. That Other Kid was sick most of the week running a fever of up to 104.6 and vomiting. Hospitalization for dehydration was tossed around by the doctors and I was a wreck wondering why my baby was so sick. He was put on amoxicillin on Wednesday and by Thursday his fever was gone and he was feeling better! Pictures this week reflect the sickies of the week and other random stuff!

I got nothin' for Monday, the 6th! I had gotten about 2 hours of sleep and That Kid was violently ill! I just couldn't conjure up the ability to take a picture of anything!


This picture was taken on the Tuesday, the 7th. He had been sick with high fever and vomiting for more than 48 hours, but he could still smile for the camera!


This is from Wednesday, the 8th! After waking up with a fever of 104.6 Wednesday morning and going in to see the dr AGAIN, he was given 2 doses of medicine. Finally the fever broke...Happy dance!!



He was feeling better but not 100% on Thursday and he was complaining of being cold, but the blanket was a whole 10 ft away and the pillow case was right there, so he curled up in that instead! I thought it was pretty humorous and apparently so did a lot of my friends...I got several comments from facebook from this post! Becca even decided to give it a try and curled up in her own pillow case!


This one is from Friday night, the 10th. Since one of the reasons I decided to do this "daily picture taking thing" was so I could get some pictures of That Kid before he goes off to boot camp I decided to snap a picture of him doing what he does best...sitting at the computer!!


Saturday, the 11th was kind of a lazy day since That Kid was finally back to mostly normal and it was too hot to do anything outside...apparently the kitten thought it was a great time to curl up on my lap and take a snooze, too!


This picture of That Other Kid and I was taken tonight as we were snuggling up before bedtime!! He's such a goofy boy and I love his smile!

Hope you had a great week...and I hope to take more exciting pictures this week as I continue my picture taking journey!

Just a Few Confessions....

It's True Confessions time over at the Sisterhood and I wanted to get some things settled right here before my friends. So no delaying it with needless information and wordy explanations here are my confessions for this week.

The past 2 weeks I have been faithfully tracking my food and exercise on my LoseIt program on hubby's Ipod touch that he loaned/gave me. I have managed to burn off most of my excess calories. I think I only have 2 or 3 days where I really bonbed it. Some days I even fell well under "calories allotted" BEFORE I exercised! those were really good days, but the next day I felt like I was STARVING.ALL.DAY.LONG!! I have been faithfully logging everything I put in my mouth and have exercised 24 days in a row!!

Saturday and yesterday I did some heavy duty cleaning that I counted as my exercise for those 2 days. I consider moving furniture and scrubbing bathtubs, stoves and cabinets exercise!! I also wiped down walls and baseboards and washed windows...so lots of movement and muscle use for thesse 2 days! Saturday I took care of my house - at least some of it...I still have the living room (which will probably take a weekend all by itself) and my closet to do and I need to find the floor to That Other Kid's closet and get rid of some of the toys he never plays with but that will probably have to wait till this weekend. I can only cram so much into a week, ya know!!??

Yesterday, I went over to help my friend (with newly diagnosed breast cancer) thoroughly clean her master bedroom. Her mom and I are wanting to keep her as healthy as possible while she is going through the chemo treatments and having a thoroughly clean house will certainly help her breathe! She repeatedly told me how much she appreciated it. My only response to her was that helping her clean was something I could PHYSICALLY DO to help her. I NEED to DO something! and this sure beat EATING uncontrollably which is what I keep "wanting" to do because I am having a really hard time dealing with my best friend having breast cancer!! I have been doing pretty well with the stress of this, I think. Everytime I start "thinking" I want to eat something 'just because' I start cleaning or exercising!!

Apparently I am really serious about not letting this stress get the best of me this time!!

Additional confession of the day...I haven't seen That Kid in over 2 weeks (since he moved out of our place into his own with friends). I know he is 20 years old and about to be sent off for Marine boot camp but I miss him!! Maybe I miss him even more knowing that soon I won't be able to see him anytime I want cuz he will be out of state or out of the country!! I don't know....but I do think for the most part I am handling his absence in our family pretty well. Sometimes when I really am missing him I just start texting him random questions...hoping that I will get to "talk" to him in whatever way possible!! I invited him home for dinner tonight, so hopefully he will come eat with us so I can talk to him in person!! Of course, his brother will probably monopolize his time here but at least I will see him!!

My hubby asked me last night where I would like to go on a vacation if I could go ANYWHERE I WANTED. Um....I thought about it for a while and decided a 2 week vacation to Hawaii sounds like a perfect vacation. I want to hike, bike, sitesee and sit on the beach and be a bum (occasionally!) He said to plan on it within 18 months so I definitely want to be in tip top shape by then...don't want to be fat and out of shape for a trip like that!!

Ok...enough for today...just wanted to let ya'll know I am having a pretty successful (in my opinion) couple of weeks. We will see what the scales say tomorrow! Until then...hope ya'll have a good day!

Virtual 5K -- C25K Wk8D3 and Beyond!!

Today was the Virtual 5K over at the Sisterhood and I've been training for the past 9 weeks for this day. I fell a bit behind over the Christmas/New Years week but I was determined to not let this stop me from participating in the 5K with my friends. This morning I helped That Kid move into his first non-school related apartment and so I didn't get to do my run in the morning like I had planned, so after I got home, fed That Other Kid some food (he was STARVING!!! or so he said, and I guess he was since he ate 12 Chick-fil-a nuggets AND an order of fries) I got my running clothes on and went over to the gym. My plan all along was to complete the C25K training for the day and then finish off by running/walking to the 5K point.

I have to say, I was tired before I even went to the gym but knowing that all my friends were doing this run today and then a bunch of other ladies (Kristen, Brooke, Audrey, Christie) were doing 13 or 26 miles just made me want to do my measley 28 MINUTES of running. And I'm sure they all will be running a LOT faster than I did it on the treadmill!! Anyways, so I took off and set the treadmill for a 4.2 and ran till I got to the halfway point when I turned it down to 4.0 (like I said I'm SLOW!!) and kept running!! When I hit my cool down session I set the treadmill on 3.5 and walked. Once the "session" was over I noticed that I still had about 1/2 mile left so I decided to run as much as I could and walk some to take a breather. I did 4 minutes of running, 2 minutes of walking and finished off strong (for me!) with a run. I finished the 5K at just 47 minutes and it FELT GOOD!! I was so glad that I did this...

I came home and snapped this picture...yes, red faced and sweaty!! This is what the gym and the treadmill do to me!!




The rest of the evening I relaxed and watched a movie with the hubs! I figured I deserved it!! What an emotion filled day!! and guess what?? I didn't eat my way through it!! I RAN (ok it was more like a wog) but for me it was a run!!

Awesome Christmas...Details to Follow

Well here it is early Wednesday morning after Christmas and I just got the pictures uploaded onto the computer. We had an awesome whirlwind mini-vacation and got to see family and friends to celebrate Christmas. Normally our Christmas plans are made months in advance but this year things didn't work out that way and they were made on Tuesday night before Christmas!! Things went incredibly smooth for such a quick trip, too! No snags...and lots of fun!! Pictures will be uploaded onto Facebook and the ol' blog tomorrow if I have time.

I have to take That Other Kid in for his 7 year Well Child checkup in the morning...and of course he is not feeling well. I'm guessing its just allergies since we were in Kansas without allergy medicine but I have to say I am glad we were already scheduled for a dr visit!

Things are still kind of in a chaotic state of being since That Kid just came home on the 23rd and just threw his stuff down...he has found an apartment to move into for a few months since he has decided that college is not his thing right now, so things are probably going to remain in a state of limbo over the next couple of weeks.

But I am going to get back into a routine of sorts and the first one being is I am going to get moving again! It has been 10 days since I have run and 1 week since I have done any exercising and I am really feeling it. My mood is blah. I am feeling fat. I am more tired than usual...so it's a good thing a new Shrinking Jeans challenge is starting Wednesday! Something to kick me into high gear and get me moving again! I am supposed to run a 5k with my sisters over at Shrinking Jeans on the 8th, too so I need to get moving so I can complete the C25K program and be ready for my 5K. There isn't one local that I want to run so I am going to create my own!

Anyway...I need to get to bed, but I have to leave you with at least 1 picture from our Christmas celebration. This one definitely depicts the joy on Christmas morning...Hope yours was just as good!

The I Lost Weight This Week!!! Weigh In

Today's weigh in for the Sisterhood was one I wasn't really looking forward to. Over Thanksgiving I really threw caution to the wind and ate a lot of crap I don't usually eat and I ate ALOT of it, too! So this morning when I got on the scales I didn't know what to expect. I did know that the past 2 days I had eaten well within my calorie allotment and I had drank ALOT of water. I also stayed on track with my exercising at least 1 hr a day. The rest of the week I was lacking in many of these areas...ok how 'bout all of them?? if I'm going to be honest!

So..onto the scale:

Last week's weigh in: 197.6
Today's week's weigh in: 196.6

I could hardly believe my eyes!! But I was happy to see that I had lost! This told me that I can lose weight any time....all I have to do is be dedicated to working out and eating right and even if I blow it for a few days I can recover quickly!

YAY!!

A couple other victories for me this week...my hubby told me it looks like my stomach is getting smaller now that I am running so much! That really made my day!! He's told me that several times this week so that tells me that it really is happening!! My stomach seems to be the one area of my body that (to me) is staying the same or at least getting smaller slower! and I have been keeping on track with my C25K training and ran 5 minutes in 3 different sessions on Monday. I'm about to head out to run for Wk5D2 now and I'm supposed to run 8 minutes twice! I'm a little nervious about that but I know if I just decide I can, then I will! My true test of how far I have come with the running will be Saturday when I am supposed to run for 20 minutes without walk breaks! This will be during my 5K with That Kid, too so that will make it even more special!!!

Ok...off to run...and all the other mom stuff slated for today. Hope ya'll had successes this week!

I'm Signed Up For My Second 5K

I just finished signing up for my second 5K. This one is for a special cause the Arthritis Foundation. I would love to have your support!! Donate if you can, come watch me run if you can or just send me some hugs on Saturday, December 4th! This is going to be a special run, because That Kid is going to run it with me!! Yes, my 20 year old son has agreed to run this race with me....he wants to start running and getting back into good physical condition and I guess he figures this will be a good opportunity to do so! I hope he isn't embarrassed by how slow I run and he will slow down enough so I don't pass out from his pace! I'm so happy to have him do this with me! We haven't done anything special like this together in forever and I'm really looking forward to it!

Now...to continue my C25K training plan and losing weight so I will be able to run a lot more of this one than the one I did in October! By the time of the race I will be finishing up Week 5 of the plan, which is a staight 20 minute run without walk breaks...I wonder if I can do it during the race!! At this point my goal is to do that 20 minute run and then alternate walking and running to finish it up with a time of LESS THAN 48:28 which was my time for my first 5K! I believe that is completely doable!! Check back with me in a couple of weeks though!!

Lots of Changes....

First things first...I got really tired of my blog look so I changed it. What do you think? I like it but I'm not the one looking at it all the time. Please give feedback!!

Sunday (as in the 25th) I started working 2nd shift! YAY!! It is from 4p.m. to 1a.m. This will be so much better for me and the family...I think??!! So far I am having a hard time sleeping at night (boo!! What is wrong with me??) and That Other Kid is having a hard time having daddy put him to bed. I approached my managers a few weeks ago and basically begged them to move me off 3rd shift. I haven't been able to accomplish ANYTHING over the past 5 months and there is no way I can homeschool That Other Kid. Now my plan is to sleep from 2 am to 9am. Get up eat, go to the gym, come home do school, fix big, family lunch, go to work. So far this week things haven't really gone as planned but I'm calling this my adjustment week.

Did ya'll catch that part about me going to the gym? Well it's true. Dh told me I could reactivate my gym membership so I have been trying to go 3 times a week. It will be a lot easier to this working this schedule. I'm planning to go Monday, Wednesday and Friday and follow the Couch-2-5-K training plan so that I can run a race with my brother and sister in law in October. I blame the Sisterhood for this sudden desire to RUN!! I have hated running as long as I can remember (even as a child) but I think training for a goal like this will help me stay motivated to keep working out even though my life is still not "normal". So far I am on week 3 of the plan and yesterday while I was at the gym I managed to run 90 seconds 2 times and 3 minutes 2 times! It is a challenge but I keep telling myself, "I think I can", "Just a little longer", "Almost to the time when I can walk again"!! Before long I have done it!!

I'm also planning to join in a Challenge at the gym that is basically a "Biggest Loser" type challenge for 90 days. The winner (which I don't really expect to be) will receive $$$ and free private trainer sessions. I talked to one of the trainers yesterday and it sounds like a great way to keep me focused and going to the gym with crazy schedules. We also get free assessments and advice from the trainer during this 90 day challenge. The only hard cost is $25, and of course the committment to stay focused for 90 days. That may be the hard part for me!

Speaking of challenges...have you heard about the new challenge over at the Sisterhood?? It is a new team challenge and they are calling it "Down & Dirty in 30"!! The team challenges are always so fun and you can find out more about it from the 'hood. It is the forum that the Sisterhood uses for challenges like this! It is a lot of fun...even though it has indeed been a while since I have done much with it!! I'm going to be participating in this challenge and will be expecting BIG things from myself...It ends the day before my 26th wedding anniverary and I plan to be different both body and spirit on my anniversary!

Saturday was That Kid's 20th birthday. Has it really been 20 years since I had my first baby? Sometimes it is hard to believe he has become a young man; but then I look at him and realize he is a grown man. Taller than even his dad, with a deep voice and defined muscles. Today he is a fine young MAN, who needs me less and less every day, even though in my head and heart he is still my little baby boy who needs me for everything. Where did the time go? Why do they have to grow up? Oh well, he is taking this semester off from school so we can get some more things caught up from our economic nightmare of the past year, so he will be home a little more. I know That Other Kid is happy about that! So am I, if truth be known!!

Today is my birthday and we will be going out to eat in a little bit for our traditional birthday lunch. I plan to eat MEXICAN -- salty and cheesy! Also planning to buy a dessert!! I figure since I'm only turning 45 one time in my life I should make the most of it! That's why I'm online right now, goofy off reading blogs and commenting on them and writing a post of my own. I have to work tonight so this will be my one chance to enjoy my day...I'm sure work will be just like any other night at work...Although it is A LOT EASIER working 2nd shift, than 3rd it is still WORK!!

Well I better get moving...I think I'm going to put some makeup on and make myself look a bit younger before we go out to eat!!

What I Did Today....

I got up at 7:45 a.m.. and went to the living room and laid down on the couch till 9:30 when I got up and started my morning routine, breakfast, shower, PRAYER (did you see that?). I didn't get the Bible reading in, though, which upsets me. Why can't I get this done?

After the morning routine was complete, I started working to clean out That Kid's room. DH is planning to move his office into the bedroom where That Kid has spent nearly the past 6 years. Since he is living in the dorms he was not able to take MOST of his stuff. He left behind his tv, queen size bed, desk, desk chair, bookcase, and all of his trophies, and hockey players collection. That's a lot of stuff!

My goal was to get the entire room cleaned out and cleaned! DH wants to start moving in this weekend, a little at a time. So this is what I did today!!




ALL THIS AND MORE came out of his room --



After I finally got done clearing out and cleaning the bedroom, I decided that I really needed to exercise tonight. I haven't been able to exercise much this week because of the move and last night I really needed a night out with my friend to "let it all out". The stress of life is starting to really get to me. That Kid moving away, dh not having any work (therefore no money coming in), college tuition to pay, bills to pay, etc., etc. So even though I was tired tonight from all the physical work of moving and cleaning everything out I did my WiiFit Hula! It felt good and I really worked it....see for yourself!




In case you can't see this it says 3410 !! New RECORD!! Yay for me!!

Weigh In/Move In Day

First of all, I want to say a BIG THANK YOU TO EVERYONE OF YOU!! You guys have helped me make it through a really tough day!

I also want to thank Bo Pilgrim (ya know the chicken guy??) for his wonderful donation so that my son can have a beautiful building to worship in.

That Kid got moved into the dorms this morning without a hitch. They had upperclassmen helping to move the freshmen in and it was SO smooth! That Kid got there about 10 a.m. and had his car unloaded and in the room by 10:30 a.m. I arrived about 10:30 and had to wait awhile to get up to the dorms but there were TEAMS of helpers to unload my truck. My truck load was unloaded and hauled into the room before I even knew what hit me. By the time I got parked and back up to the dorm room, he had about half his stuff unloaded! Wow!! I was so pleased to have this done and out of the way. Once we got everything unloaded, organized and put away we were both starved so we went to the cafeteria that he has his meal plan with and we ate lunch, and it was GOOD FOOD! When I went to college 20+ years ago cafeteria food was AWFUL!

After lunch we went over to the book store and picked up his books for the semester. They have a plan where they will place the order for your books and collect them, then you just go pick them up. We walked in, told them his name, and they brought them out. The ticket had already been rang up, just needed to total it out and collect payment! OH MY GOODNESS!! College textbooks are SOOOO EXPENSIVE! I nearly had a heart attack when the total came to $440! He's only taking 13 hours! How could his textbooks cost that much?? So out came the credit/debit card and I paid for his books. We went back to the dorm room and browsed through them briefly and I looked over the receipt (twice). He will have a lot of reading to do this semester if these books are any indication as to his classes, but it will be a good experience for him.

After browsing through the books we parted ways, but I had to have 1 last picture of him, standing in his dorm and a nice, big hug. I probably crushed ribs...I didn't want to let go, but I knew it was what I had to do (for both of us). I went to the parent session, and he went to meet up with his small group. That was at 2:50 p.m.
I left about 4:30 to pick up That Other Kid who gave me a hug that nearly knocked me down! It feels good to be loved!!

Around 6:30 I texted That Kid and told him "I love you and hope you have a good night", about 7:45 I received this text, "i love ya 2, night"
That just opened up my flood gate of tears! That would be session number 6 of tears, in case you were wondering! But I have been praying every time I start crying, so I think they are "good tears". And he'll be covered in prayers at least for a few days!

Once again, thanks for all your thoughts and prayers....I know that today would have been a lot tougher without ya'll praying with and for me.

Ok....onto the Weigh-in portion of this post, which is why most of you are here!

Last week: 203.3
Today: 203.6

BUT...I normally weigh myself about 10:30 a.m. and today I didn't weigh myself till 9:30 p.m. so I'm not sweating it! I also did a TON of walking today around campus and a lot of moving around to get him moved in, so it could just be a different time of day, or all the activity I've had the past couple of days. OR it could be the ice cream that I have indulged in over the past 2 days, too!

But...tomorrow is a new day and the start of a new week. I'm getting better with meeting my goals for this 21 day challenge which is good since I only have 6 days left! I did get outside almost every day this past week and I have had the 5 servings of fruits/veggies every day but 1. Reading my bible I'm still struggling with, but I'm getting better with that too.

So...I've rambled and babbled long enough...how'd you do??

My Baby Is Nineteen Years Old!!

I think I'm going to cry!! What happened to my little, helpless newborn baby?? That Kid was due on July 8, but was in no hurry to be born. My doctor decided 2 weeks late for my first born child was long enough to wait and torture my ribs...he was a kicker and I had bruises on my ribs for a couple of weeks even after he was born. So the doctor told me to come to the hospital in the wee hours of Tuesday, July 24 and we would induce labor and then I would FINALLY get to hold this little baby in my arms. He was born later that afternoon at 5:50 p.m. He shocked us all a little bit by nearly being born before we even knew what hit us! But I was one happy momma at 5:50 p.m. July 24, 1990. And truth be told, I'm still a happy momma 19 years later! I love to look at him and hold him close...but he doesn't like to be close to me anymore, so I just take what I can get!!

I was excited, nervous, and anxious all at the same time. Was I ready to be a mom? Did I have what it would take to raise a baby? Would I be able to nurse him the way I wanted to? The answer to all these questions is a resounding YES! I managed to nurse him till he was 19 months old. I managed to raise him into a (usually) well- adjusted, well-behaved young man. I was definitely ready to be a mom....and I have to say I LOVE being a mom, most days. There have been days when I would rather not have to deal with the trials that this child has sent my way, but I am so glad that God has blessed me with him.

That Kid has taught me how to love unconditionally. He has taught me that I have things in my life I need to work on. He has taught me to put the little things aside and take time for the BIG things...concentrate on the future as well as the here and now. He has also taught me --(maybe not consciencely) to have MORE PATIENCE than I ever thought possible! He has also taught me to "let go and Let God".

I spent all of his childhood trying to teach him things, (since I homeschooled him) and now as it turns out I was probably taught just as much as he was during this time. He is preparing to move out and on -- to college -- at a private Christian college and I think I am ready and I know he is ready!! I pray That Kid will mature and find his way while he is in college there. I also pray that he remembers I will always love him... no matter what troubles or tribulations come his way!

I still owe him a graduation tribute...but things have been crazy this summer and I have struggled to get it into words so I don't have it done yet, but I hope to get it done soon! Did you know it is hard to write something about someone you have literally known their whole life??!!

So I will leave you with my weepy birthday wishes...HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY!! I LOVE YOU!!

Tiny Talk Tuesday -- (Only He's Not So Tiny, Anymore)!!

Tiny Talk Tuesday celebrates our children and their view of the world. They continually make us laugh and by recording their Tiny Talk we can focus on one of the many JOYS of parenting! If your kiddos made you laugh this week (don't they always), then feel free to share the humor! Check out more Tiny Talks with Mary.


This past week I got to spend a considerable amount of time with That Kid -- he's almost 19 years old and extremely busy these days...what with all the socializing the summer months bring about!! ya know?? I just graduated him from our homeschooling experience and he's preparing to attend Dallas Baptist University in just 9 short weeks....not that I'm counting or anything.

Anywhoooo, I attended Orientation and Registration with him as was requested for preparing your student to attend college.

I was happy to spend this time with him...driving, walking around campus, checking out some of the buildings, going through some of the registration process with him, and even eating a couple of meals with him. These are rare moments in my life these days and I treasured every minute of it.

However, the most special moment of these 2 days came on Thursday morning after we dropped That Other Kid off at the babysitter's house. He's planning to live on campus in the dorms for convenience and to qualify for the scholarship he was awarded.

He turned to me and said, "Do you think it would be ok if I came home on some of the weekends to sleep? It will be easier to stay at home and be able to work all those hockey games if I don't have to drive all the way down to DBU."

I responded with "Yes, I think that would be a good idea. We can just set up a mattress in the bedroom for you to sleep, since dad is planning to take over your room when you move down to DBU."

Inside I was screaming and jumping up and down and crying for joy and every other happy emotion I could imagine! He's not even gone from home and he already wants to come home!! I could not have been happier!!

My baby still wants to be "home"...even if it is just to sleep here! I'll still get to see him and give him a hug and love on him -- on the weekends, at least!! Maybe I will make it through this first year of college!

Accomplishments!!

Yesterday was a day full of accomplishments for me....

First of all, I finally got our 2008 taxes complete so that I could fill out the financial aid papers for That Kid's college this coming fall. Then early (for me) this morning I filled out the financial aid information for the college he is attending. Next on the list is filling out all the supplemental forms for even more financial aid. We are seeking everything we can since business has been so slow for dh the past 6 months and we are wondering how we will be able to pay for this extra expense.

Secondly, I finished filling out the high school transcript for That Kid and got it printed, signed and in an envelope with postage to mail. I didn't get it in the mail before they came at 9:30 a.m. this morning so I will need to run it by the post office later today. I also got the information compiled for the Residence Life and got that ready to mail, too. It looks like everything is coming together. Registration and Orientation for DBU is next Thursday and Friday so it's all working out! I'm kind of nervous and kind of excited!! How can my baby be ready for college already??

Next on my list of accomplishments -- I decided that I really need to watch my food intake and to increase the fruits and veggies. I managed to eat 4 servings of fruit yesterday! I am really bad about "good intentions", but never following through with the fruits and veggies. It seems there are always other things that I want to eat, ya know?? We are out of veggies, so that will have to wait till I get to the grocery store.

Finally, I did Day 5 of Level 3 on my 30 Day Shred DVD! That means that I only have 5 more days till I am done with the 30 Day Shred AGAIN!! I feel like I am doing really well with it, and I have managed to do some of the reps with Natalie although I am still struggling with some of the moves, even following Anita. I still can't do a full on sit-up!!! So I am just doing crunches....maybe some day I'll get there!

I am ready to find another DVD to do...I'm getting a bit bored with this and feel like I am ready for another challenge...I hope the Sisters has an idea of something different to do....It is so much easier to do if I know other ladies are going through the same pain as I am!! I'm sure you know what I mean!!

I am ready to start writing my post for That Kid's graduation tribute, but every time I start thinking about it I get all weepy, so I'm just going to have to suck it up and cry and write at the same time!! That will truly be a major accomplishment!! Look for it over the weekend...maybe I'll be able to get it done since I have lots of time while waiting for That Other Kid during hockey practice.

Graduation -- Student #2

This is "Boo" and she is another special young lady to me. She graduated this past Saturday, May 23rd in a wonderful ceremony that made me cry. Once again let me start at the beginning....my beginning.

Boo and That Kid met in May of 2004 at the annual Six Flags Homeschool Day. Within a couple of months they were best of friends. It's hard to maintain a male/female friendship without weird stuff but they did a fabulous job of it. Fast forward a couple of years and I met Boo's mom. We also became fast friends sharing lots of mom secrets and learning how to raise teenagers together. About that same time I started getting to know Boo and I realized what it was that made That Kid have such a great friendship with her.

Boo is a sensitive, beautiful, intelligent, fun young lady. She was homeschooled from the 2nd or 3rd grade and attended college classes to help her with her more advanced courses once she turned 13 or so...She graduated from high school last weekend with over 30 college credits and will attend Abilene Christian College in the fall. She has many dreams for her future -- a few of which I'm aware of. I am convinced she could do any or even all of these things should she decide to pursue them, but her LOVE is baking and dancing!! I've seen her dance and it is a beautiful expression of her grace and I have tasted her baking talents and I have to say they are delectable!! and, of course, quiet fattening so I need to stay away from them for the most part right now, but I indulged last weekend and sampled several of the treats she prepared for the graduation ceremony.

Many people stereotype homeschool students into some kind of "nerdy" homebody that is not socialized and could not get around in the "real world" but I assure you that Boo is not one of "those" kinds of homeschooled students. Boo is a "normal" teenage young lady going through the "normal" types of struggles that most teens go through. She has tons of friends and is always with them bringing joy and her spontaneous, fun personality along with her. When it is all said and done and she graduates from college and strikes on her own I know that because of her zest for life she will come out on top doing whatever she sets her mind to do.

This is a young lady I am blessed to know. Boo is a special, young lady that I am glad That Kid met back in 2004...She is a part of my life...

Congrats to you "Boo"! May God grant you the desires of your heart and give you everything you want for your future. Remember that God made you special, so that you could do all the things you want!! You can do it!! I believe in you!!

I love you, Boo!!

This Made Me Cry!!

This week's You Capture was 'Rustic'....and honestly I can't find anything around my house that fits this category any better than these pictures that we had taken for That Kid's Senior Pictures. I have to admit that I didn't take these pictures.

Tiffany Davis Photography took these pictures, but they fit the bill perfectly and they fit this poem that I just received in an email, so here is my "You Capture" entry...even though it's really Tiffany's "You Capture"!!






This is the point in my life that I am in with That Kid and it soooo much applies to me right now....Everyday is a moment that I know will pass sooner than I want....



Let me Hold you Longer

"Long ago you came to me, a miracle of firsts;
First smiles and teeth and baby steps, a sunbeam on the burst.
But one day you will move away and leave to me your past
And I will be left thinking of a lifetime of your lasts.
The last time that I held a bottle to your baby lips
The last time that I lifted you and held you on my hip,
The last night when you woke up crying,
Needing to be walked,
When last you crawled up with your blanket
Wanting to be rocked.
The last time when you ran to me still small enough to hold
The last time when you said you'd marry me when you grew old.
Precious simple moments and bright flashes from your past
Would I have held on longer if I'd known they were your last?
Our last adventure to the park, your final midday nap
The last time when you wore your favorite faded baseball cap.
Your last few hours of kindergarten, last days of first grade,
Your last at bat in Little League, last colored picture made.
I never said goodbye to all your yesterdays long past
So what about tomorrow? Will I recognize your lasts?
The last time that you catch a frog in that old backyard pond
The last that you ran barefoot across our fresh-cut lawn
Silly, scattered moments and bright flashes from your past
I keep on taking pictures, never quite sure of your last.
The last time that I comb your hair or stop a pillow fight,
The last time that I tuck you in and pray with you at night.
The last time when we cuddled with a book just me and you,
The last time you jump in our bed and sleep between us two.
The last piano lesson, the last vacation to the lake
Your last few weeks of middle school, last soccer goal you make.
I look ahead and dream of days that haven't come to pass
But as I do I sometimes miss today's sweet precious lasts.
The last time that I help you with a math or spelling test
The last time when I shout that "Yes! Your room is still a mess!"
The last time that you need me for a ride from here to there
The last time that you spend the night with your old tattered bear.
My life keeps moving faster, stealing precious days that pass
I want to hold on longer, want to recognize your lasts.
The last thing that you need my help with, details of a dance,
And the last time that you asked me for advice about romance.
The last time that you talked to me about your hopes and dreams
The last time that you wear a jersey for your high school team.
I've watched you grow and barely noticed seasons as they pass
If I could freeze the hands of time, I'd hold onto your lasts.
For come some bright fall morning, you'll be going far away
College life will beckon in a brilliant sort of way
One last hug, one last goodbye, one quick and hurried kiss,
One last time to understand just how much you'll be missed.
I'll watch you leave and think how fast our time together passed
So let me hold on longer, God, to every precious last."

Another Time Waster for Teens....

My husband heard this report yesterday on the Mike Huckabee Report and it made me think about how much time is spent on Facebook by That Kid. I know that he spends a lot of his spare time on there just wasting time. This may be one of the reasons why he is struggling with a couple of his classes.

I mentioned that I know adults that spend a lot of time on there too. Maybe it's something we all need to think about....We all have too much stuff to do and most of us complain that we don't have "enough time" to get it done. I know that for me spending time on the computer reading blogs is a big time waster for me. Once I get on here I just can't seem to pull myself off unless something really important comes up. Facebook could easily become that, but right now I get bored with it pretty fast. Hopefully, I won't get hooked and "lose more brain cells"! I can't afford to lose any, ya know what I mean?!!

Well time to get off here and do something productive!! I'll check back in tonight with my workout results....Today is Day 11 -- 1st day of Level 2 of the 30 Day Shred! From what I heard it's pretty difficult...!!

Homeschooling Is Paying Off

Just wanted to let all you struggling moms out there know that there is hope at the end of the tunnel!

For those of you that don't know us, my son (That Kid)is a certified "jock", hates school, and would rather "hang out" than do anything remotely related to school unless that school is "physical education". He is a senior this year and applied to 1 (count them ONE) college, Dallas Baptist University!

Well today he received his acceptance letter!!! He managed to pull off their minimum ACT score, wrote a decent essay and has managed to pull off a 3.7 GPA throughout high school!

I can hardly believe it!!! I'm soooo happy that all the struggles we have gone through the past 13 years have paid off with the acceptance of a college application....

All this to say, there is always hope if we persist and believe that GOD is ultimately in CONTROL!! AMEN!!

Now I'm off to figure out how to pay for it!!

Time to Figure It Out

I'm finally feeling pretty much normal...whatever that is, ya know? So now the "back to normal" routine begins as well as getting things done that I've been wanting to do all month.

But before I start organizing and cleaning and getting my life together, I went to watch That Kid referee a couple of high level hockey games. They were fun to watch, and I knew a lot of the players on 1 of the teams. He had either played with or against most
of these guys at sometime over the past 10 years, so I knew A LOT of the parents. It was fun to see people I had not seen for a while and spend a couple of minutes to find out what everyone is doing or planning to do over the next few months. Most of these young men are seniors or graduated this past May....so they are planning for college, careers, or "trying to figure it out", as one mom told me.

As an 18 year old young man, That Kid is trying to figure his life out right now, too. He is trying to work, take classes at the community college, complete his senior year of high school, spend time with his girl friend, and his millions of other friends. In addition to all this, he is applying to colleges, preparing for future referee opportunities, and trying to build up his physical fitness level so that he will be able to be a faster, stronger skater. He is also having to take care of some health issues, nothing serious, but just things that require going to the doctor and take medications for (which he hates).

Isn't that what we are all trying to do? Figure it out...And we usually think the sooner the better! But as most of us adults know it takes along time to really figure it all out, then the real world throws us a curve ball and we have to refigure it.

I'm still trying to figure my life out...and I'm in my 40's, but I pray that my son can "figure it out" before he is my age!

Apparently I Have No Life.....

This according to That Kid. And the sad thing about that is I'm ok with this statement.

This came up in a short conversation late last night when I told him I may come watch a hockey game he is working today.
He thought it was strange that I would "waste my time" doing something like this. But I love watching him do something he loves doing. It makes me proud to be his mom!

This conversation "Not so much"!! in the words of Paul Reiser/Paul Buchman....

See, 19 years ago I was a young, pregnant wife working a 40 hour a week job that I was bored with. I couldn't wait till the day I could stop working that job and just stay at home and be a MOM and wife! My last day of working a full time job was the Friday before Memorial Day, 1990. That was a HAPPY DAY for me. I knew that unless weird stuff happened I would never have to work a full time job again....and I was thrilled with that prospect. Over the past 18 1/2 years I have worked on and off but ONLY Part-time. These times have never lasted long and only long enough to dig us out of a financial hole we had gotten into through various circumstances. I always enjoyed what I did during these times but I NEVER LOVED WORKING outside the home.

I love being a MOM...I'm not saying I ALWAYS LOVE it, but I wouldn't trade these 2 boys of mine for anything....of course, I need time away to regroup sometimes (now would be a good time!)but I love what I am.

But apparently to a 18 year old boy the most boring, mundane thing in the world to be is a MOM! This life I lead and have led for the past 18 1/2 years may mean I have "NO LIFE" but to me it is the best one ever! I figure that he will appreciate that in about 10 years!