AHHH, the kids are in bed and I have a few moments of silence before I head off to sleep. I have to admit I am feeling a little cranky...probably not the best time to blog but it could be therapeutic..right? Life is a little crazy in Kerbyville right now. The mister is out of town all of this week and next. The weekend is already packed and I am wondering if it will ever slow down. Sigh... At times like this one of my favorite verses comes to mind... Be still and know that I am God. You know He just knew he would have to tell us to slow down. Even way back when He had to tell his children to slow down. In an age before e-mail, blogs, cell phones, IM, text, fax, and what ever else that is out there to keep us connected, He still had to tell us to be still. The more connected I am the less connected I feel. I long for a time when I can just be still and chat with a friend over coffee. With all these gadgets you would think that I would have time to call a friend but you know then we would have to pull out the crackberry and see if we had time to even meet. We would probably have to squeeze it in between work, gymnastics, football, walking the dog, grocery shopping, church, laundry, more work....see where this is going. It makes me want to scream. Whew...I do feel better writing about this! So to all my buds out there know that I do think of you and miss you. We seriously need to get together. Life is to short to spend it on work, laundry, grocery shopping....you get the picture.

~Scarlett

Randomness

Some days I am so random, you know how you head off to do something only to find that you are doing something else when you finally remember what it was that you were originally going to do? I know that all of you moms know exactly what I am talking about. You head off to flip around the laundry and you end up making beds or cleaning the bathroom or watching some random TV show, and learning some random fact. Did you know that the fastest animal on earth is actually a beetle that runs so fast it has to stop to see what is around it? See what I mean....random! Any way that is how I am feeling today. I actually accomplished a lot but feel like I have gone in a million different directions.

I have a few random thoughts from my kids to share:

On Saturday I was doing laundry and I told my little man that he needed to put away his laundry. Of course he pitched a fit.... Why do I have to put away my laundry, why can't you do it...well it is not my laundry it's yours.... I don't think I should put it away...why not....well, one day I am going to be President and I need to get used to someone putting away my laundry cuz when you're President they treat you like a royal man and you don't have to do your own laundry....I had to ask??!!

A thought from gigi... Last week I missed 3 days of work because of sick kids. I was driving gigi to the doctor and she asked me if I get paid everyday, I said no just once a month, she says well mom you thought you were going to get paid this month but your not, you thought you were though. So I guess the joke is on me and I no longer get paid because apparently I never show up! You have to love kids right?

~Scarlett

A Morning Visitor

We had a little visitor at our house this morning. I heard Romo barking and went to tell him to be quiet when I noticed he was sitting at the top of the deck steps staring at something. I thought maybe our neighbor was out in her yard and then I looked over and there were 2 raccoons. They climbed up a tree and were nosing around in it. I ran and grabbed the camera to try and get a shot. I captured one peeking out of his hiding spot. I took this picture standing on my deck and this tree is at the bottom of our property. We live on an acre so that tells you something about the cool new lense my hubby got me for Christmas. I really am spoiled! It was a fun little treat for the kids to see these guys up close.

My Valentine

I have to brag about my Valentine just a little....I know this is late but read my previous post and you will know why. About two weeks ago my wedding ring went missing. I searched the house high and low. I could not imagine where I had put it. When I take it off at night I always put it in one of 3 or 4 or more.... places. Guilty...the mister is always reminding me that I might lose it. We will be married 15 years this summer and I have never lost it so I was not to worried. At first I didn't worry because I was busy and in a rush most mornings. After a few days I started questioning the kids...did you play with mommy's ring...then I started to interrogate...did you put it some where I promise you are not in trouble just remember to always tell the truth....then I started to threaten...you will be in big trouble if you don't tell me! Another day came and went no ring. Then it was house cleaning day and the housekeeper came and went no ring. Okay now I am worried and I have to confess to the mister that the ring has vanished. I fess up and he seems unconcerned. Then I get upset with him...you don't seem to care that my ring is missing and I need help here! He keeps saying it will show up not to worry....WHAT! It has been almost a week now. A million things go through my mind. I sucked it up in the vacuum, down the drain?, the house keeper has sticky fingers, maybe the mister is has taken it to teach me a lesson because he found it on the edge of the sink somewhere, maybe the mister took it and is upgrading it for a surprise...yeah right...I think he is probably trying to teach me a lesson. So I decide not to worry. The next morning I hop out of the shower and the mister says come here I have an early Valentine's surprise....but I don't want my surprise early....he says trust me you do...well okay...must be better than a box of chevron chocolates..hehe. So I close my eyes and voila...he opens a ring box and there is my long lost wedding ring all shiny and new!!!! and it has a friend with it...a lovely anniversary band...aawwwhhhh!!! I didn't even know what to say, he surprised me! He said I was so worried that he couldn't make me wait another 5 days. I guess my ring dropped off the shelf when he was getting dressed and when he picked it up he noticed that the band was crack (has been for a while but you know not high on the priority list of things to fix) so he decided to take it in and get it fixed. There was a wonderful sales girl who talked him into the anniversary band (bless her heart!) They had to fix the setting because all the prongs were wore thin and the band it thicker now. You know I have always thought it would be nice to upgrade to a bigger diamond or different setting but I missed my ring and was really starting to worry that it was gone for good. I love it just the way it is and would not change it for the world. I mean it was the one he gave me when he asked for my heart!

~Scarlett

MIA

Wheww....I think I dropped off the face of the earth for a while. It is not because I have been lacking in random thoughts to post in cyberspace. We had a very busy week and then...wam we were hit with the flu. So our nice long holiday weekend was laying in bed. Here is the break down of what happened if anyone cares! On Friday night I woke up at 1am with that not so great feeling. The one where you try to convince yourself that you are not really feeling this way it was just something you ate....run to the bathroom, 2am run again, 3am again, 4 am AGAIN! This time the mister comes in and says are you sick?...naww just hurling my guts out for the fun of it! He hops in the shower and head off for the hospital because he was moonlighting this weekend. Great all morning with the kids alone! I crawl back into bed and manage to sleep a while. Around 9am I hear the little man telling gigi that mom is sick so we have to clean the house today. He then cooked his sister pancakes (not frozen, from mix). How sweet! until I woke up and looked at the kitchen. It is now about 11am. The kids are down stairs singing Hannah Montana on the kareokee machine. I try some sprite. The mister calls and says he is not feeling to well. Great, now I really am not going to get a break. I lay in bed until 3pm when the mister comes home. He says he is sick and crawls into bed and is out like a light. Guess I am on my own. Time to suck it up like only a mom can do. I get up and try to clean up the kitchen a little. I lay back down. Around 5 I decide the kids probably need dinner and dad is no where in sight. Looks like a spagettio's night, they are nutritious right. At this point who cares they can eat whatever they want. Back on the couch. At about 7 the mister rises from the dead and says hey guys do you need dinner....already on it honey! He is trying I guess. I am feeling better by bedtime and actually manage to eat some toast. The little man has a fever....could be another long night! So I ask the mister why it is that....he stops me mid sentence and says don't say it...say what....you think I am a big baby when I am sick....wow he really does know me!

Here we are 4 days later and gigi and the little man are still fighting the cold. At least I was the only one throwing up! Oh, spring please hurry up!

~Scarlett

United

Obama: 'Yes We Can'


Whether you are for Obama, McCain, Hillary, or Romney, I think that we can all agree on this message of hope. When I watched this today it gave me chills. This is what living in America is about. I have to admit I kinda like him....yeah, me a right wing republican, baptist, southern girl. I know that Clover is doing a happy dance right now!

Scarlett

Deja vu

Gigi at age 2

Me at age 2

Need I say more?

Redefining Abundance

Abundance...it is a word that can bring many things to mind. Today we have an abundance of snow, we got about 6 inches last night. That is not what I am talking about though. Last night we attend the Saturday night service at our church. Our senior pastor retired a few years ago, he still works through the church on missions projects. He spoke last night. Everytime I hear him speak he touches my heart, so this post is not completely inspired by me. He talked about having an abundant life. Like most of us, when I think of abundance, I think of things. It is so easy to get wrapped up in having enough things, enough food, enough stuff. Often that is the very thing that gets in the way of us having an abundant life. One that is full of joy and fulfillment. Today I decided that I would focus on my life and really see if it is average or abundant. I have decided that it is abundant. God has given me everything that I need. I spent the morning walking in the snow with my son, I came home and we built a snowman and fed the birds, I danced with my daughter, and now I am sitting on the couch writing this and watching the super bowl. All of that may see really simple but it is what life is about. Spending time with the ones that we love, investing in people rather than stuff. God wants us to live an abundant life. One that is full of faith and joy and love. I am not talking about being happy but truly being joyful, that is being able to rejoice even when things stink. God never promised that our lives would be perfect only that we would be held when things go wrong. Let's face it if things never went wrong we wouldn't even think about God....our human nature would take over and we would think we had everything under control...we do that even when things do go wrong. So for all of you out there reading this (or the two of you) I hope that you to find that you have an abundant life. Let me know what has made you life full of joy!

~Scarlett

Homesick

I am feeling a little homesick today. It is funny how you can live somewhere for over 10 years and still long for home every now and then. I don't know what brought it on, maybe it the endless winter that we seem to be having (we are expecting another 2-4 inches of snow tonight), maybe it was the Wynonna Judd CD that I listened to while running errands today (sometimes I am closet country), I am not sure exactly what it was. I was thinking of home and all the things that I miss. They are simple really...sweet tea, chick-fila, fireflies, the sound of the ocean, somebody saying ya'll, and my mom, oh and my mom's smothered porkchops with mashed potatoes and gravy! That would be so yummy right now. The Northwest is very different from Southern Virginia where I grew up, it is rugged and harsh. We have hot summers and cold winters. We don't have a lot of old things here. I miss seeing plantation houses and old trees. One of my favorite things as a child was playing in the woods behind our house, they seemed so enchanted. I loved driving down the road and having the trees touch over top of you, it looked like a tunnel of trees.
I have adjusted to life in the northwest for the most part, I no longer ask for sweet tea at resturants and have the wait staff look at me like I am speaking a forgein language (although Texas Roadhouse and Cracker Barrel serve sweet tea), I have gotten over not having a chick-fila (the closest one is over 300 miles away), and I will admit that things are a little easier since Krispy Kreme came to town. Every once in a while we go to Cracker Barrel and I get to eat Hush Puppies, green beans (cooked the right way), and drink my sweet tea. Still, there are times that I long for home. Today is one of them. I will get to make a trip home to Virginia this summer and I can't wait. There really is no place like home!

Take care ya'll
Scarlett