lifeinkerbyville

Mom of a teenager

2012-01-24T19:54:00.000-08:00

It finally happened, I looked away for a moment and my little boy became a teenager. It seems impossible. I remember holding him and thinking about what life would be like when he became a teenager. It seemed so far away. I must have heard a hundred times how I needed to cherish every moment and not take a second for granted. Yeah right. How do you do that when you are up to your eyeballs in diapers, sippy cups, runny noses, and sleepless nights? I thought it would never end. Somewhere along the way the fog lifted and I began to enjoy being a mom. Now here I am on the downhill side of motherhood. Instead of counting down the years until he starts school I am counting the years until he graduates. Instead of wishing that he would just be old enough to.... I am wishing he wasn't old enough to.... Instead of begging time to just move a little quicker to nap or bedtime I want to stop that clock. I want it to stop erasing that little boy from his face and replacing it with a man. Just for a moment I want to smell those sweet curls and rub that chubby baby cheek against mine. Sometimes he asks why I look at him a certain way. He doesn't understand that just for a moment I catch a glimpse of that little boy that I miss. He is independent, confident, and ready to soar. He is entering one of the most exciting times of life. I will sit and listen and try not to hover to much. I will cheer him on even though my heart is breaking just a tiny bit. I know he will be great. Happy 13th sweet boy!

Winter

2012-01-23T13:48:00.001-08:00

Well, it's technically been winter in Kerbyville for a while now, it just hasn't felt that way. We did not have a drop of precipitation in December and it was hanging around 50 degrees. Sounds nice but it's not when you live in the high desert. You need water in the winter because the hot summer days dry you out in no time. Winter decided to show up this past week. It has been raining or snowing non-stop for the past 5 days. The mountains went from nothing to about 4 feet of snow in 5 days. My skis are hanging in the garage quietly calling out my name. Time to break those puppies out, but when? Soon I hope. Sometime soon I hope to be gracefully swooshing down a hill feeling the wind in my face and leaving all my cares behind. Sounds fun! See you soon snow!

2012-01-12T20:22:00.000-08:00

What is it about watching your 12 year old sons shove cookie dough into his mouth that feels so satisfying. I know that sounds a little weird but as I made cookies with gig tonight, my (not so) little man came into the kitchen from his daily hike. His nose perked up and he immediately grabbed a spoon and shoved a big ol scoop of cookie dough right into his mouth. You could see the sheer pleasure on his face, my heart was full. I thought about it and realized it was more than just cookies. He is growing so fast and is only 2 weeks away from being an official teenager. We are up to it in eye rolls, ughhh moms, I know, I knows, and mood swings. We are monitoring Internet use, texting, cell calls, and female stalkers. All things little boy have disappeared from our house but in that moment when his face lit up from the cookie dough, I caught just a glimps of the little boy that is fading so quickly. My heart was happy. All that teenage bravado and independence melted away and he was my little boy eating cookie dough. Slow down clock, I want to keep him little for just a few more moments........

Summer Inspiration

2011-07-28T08:42:00.000-07:00

Well summer is in full swing in Kerbyville. You would think that I would have a million blog post done along with my long to do list. Yep, I got nothing. At this point I'm not really sure what I have done with my summer vacation but it is quickly coming to an end....blah! We've been doing the usual, swimming, boating(both kids are skiing), gardening(it's sad this year), crafting(one duct tape dress complete), and running to a million doctor appointments(the mister, gigi, and the rabbit). 4h is in full swing and I am in voluteer mom mode. For some reason I offered my photoshop skills to make posters for each kids cage/pen at fair. Yep that's only about 40+ posters. I'm also taking on decorations for the livestock barn. Woo hoo. We have a pig that's to fat and a pig that's to skinny so that requires this whole weird daily feeding thing. We have a rabbit with syphilis (yes you read that right) that's a whole breeding story gone bad. The bunny is getting better, nothing a good ol' shot of penicillin won't cure (another good blog post about crazy vets). His hair is growing back so we are thinking he will actually make it to fair. Our other bunny knocked his front teeth out (yes they grow back) and he looks funny. Needless to say I am feeling a bit like a city girl gone country and I am wondering how I got here. I have learned more about animals and thier issues than I ever wanted to know. I'm thinking one of these days soon will be a mom day. Hmmm, a day at the spa.....I'll just have to apologize to the nail tech when she is digging pig manure out from under my toes!

Surrender

2011-05-18T20:35:00.000-07:00

Ever have those moments when God just whispers in your ear? That tiny quite thought that makes you stop right in your tracks? It's amazing and surreal all at the same time. We often keep those moments to ourselves. I mean if you go walking around telling everyone God spoke to you, you might be crazy right? Well, sometimes I think those moments should be shared. I had a moment like that today. I was sitting at the bus stop with my little man this morning. It was a typical morning when I noticed he had a pocket New Testament with him. I asked him what he was doing with it and he said he was taking it to school. "I can do that right mom". I said of course you can. Students have the right to take a Bible if they want to. he slipped it into the side pocket of his cargo shorts and gave his leg a pat. I thought, how nice it was and felt as if it would protect him. That's when it happen. A tiny voice that said, "What if I call him"? My heart stopped. I know there are some that might see this as a privilege or honor and I am going to be honest that was not my first thought. It was Lord, really? Why him? but God he is mine. God answered right back with no, he is Mine. I knew He was right but it still made my heart ache a little and all for selfish reasons. When he was a baby I prayed God would have him, protect him, use him but he was so tiny and it seemed a million years away before that would ever happen. In the blink of an eye hear we are 12 years later and my years left with him are becoming shorter. I thought of Hannah taking Samuel to the temple and giving him to God. I will be honest I am thankful I was not asked to do that. I thought of the sacrifice made and the sacrifices to be made. Do I think that God is going to call my son? I have no idea but that little question sure made me see that he is not mine. God has a plan for his life that is out of my control. I can guide him, teach him, pray for him, love him, and enjoy every minute of him but in the end he belongs to God. So today I had to make a quite surrender. I had to give him to God.

I made it through the rain

2011-05-09T14:15:00.000-07:00

Do you remember that song? It was really Corny but the kind of tune that got stuck in your head. Well, if you read my previous post it makes total sense. Seems the last time I sat down to get the noise in my head down on paper (or virtual paper) there was a storm brewing in kerbyville. I think that might have been one of the most stressful days I have ever experienced. It started out normal and by the end of the day I realized I have control over absolutely nothing. It was an ordinary Tuesday, I took the morning off to take my girl to the doctor. Nothing major just a little wart removal (yuck). We had some extra time so we stopped for lunch before heading off to school. I walked into school and all you know what had broke loose. My principal was out of town so guess who was in charge, yep me. Fun. Well it might have been if I didn't have two little darlings staring at me. One had hit two teacher aides and the other had brought a toy gun to school. So I did what any good administrator would do, I suspended them. Okay might seem a little harsh but you had to have the whole story, it involved some lying and spitefulness. Any hoo, I was supposed to be at a meeting where I was presenting to the entire group of elementary counselors and I had to call and cancel. Then I had two groups to facilitate. I finished one group and noticed that my husband had called me 5 times. He never does that so I thought I better call back. I had a group of girls standing at my door and I told them I had to call him really quick. He answers and I notice a tone in his voice. I told him I just had a minute and he said he would just call me later, I knew something was wrong and I said did you get fired? He says yea, and I will call you later. My mind started spinning out of control. What just happened? I had no idea what to do so I just sucked it up and did my group. Later when I got home I called him to discuss details. He wasn't technically fired, he was laid off. That's the nice way that companies put it when they have no reason to let you go. So, there we were right in the middle of a storm. Now if you know me at all then you know that I might just be a little bit of a control freak and I do not like the unknown. The one thing that this whole experience has taught me is that we really have no control over anything and that you can survive on a lot less than you thought. So where are we now? Well, we are on the other side of the storm and I have learned once again that God is faithful to us. The mister started his new job today, the exact date that we received his last severance check. As a family we have learned to appreciate the little things, to spend less, to pull together in tough times, and to be very thankful for what we have. We joked about being in a budget crisis (although it was not a joke) and figured out ways to save. We also learned that although we felt "broke" we were incredible blessed. At the time if seemed like the worst possible thing that could happen to us, now I see the whole experience as a blessing. It was humbling and it forced us to slow down and look at what truly mattered. The storm has passed in kerbyville for now and we made it through the rain.

2011-03-02T20:23:00.000-08:00

Today we got out first little taste of spring in Kerbyville. A late afternoon shower rolled in. You know the kind of shower that only spring can bring. Pouring rain followed by sunshine and then more rain. The kind of rain that reminds you that spring is on it's way, just hold on a little longer. Growing up I loved rain storms. I grew up in the southeast where rain showers would roll in at the drop of a hat. Not just showers, real storms. The ones were the thunder is so loud it rattles your windows and the lightening flashes so bright it lights up the night sky. And the rain, it doesn't just rain it pours down so hard and fast that it seems a sheet of water is falling from the sky. As a little girl I remember laying in my bed at night and listening to storms. They were so loud and fierce it seemed that everything around you would come crashing down and just when you thought you couldn't take any more it would quiet and soon that pouring rain became a slow pitter patter that lulled you back to sleep. Life is that way some times. Storms come. We begin to question why me. In those moments I am reminded of the words from a song...I will praise You in this storm I will lift my hands because You are who You are no matter where I am, and every tear I cry You hold in Your hands, and though my heart is torn, I will praise You in this storm. You know, God never promised we wouldn't have storms in life. He never said there wouldn't be moments, words spoken that seem to change everything. He just promised that He would be with us in those moments. When the storm comes and the thunder crashes and you think you will crumble beneath the weight of your burden. Just when you think you can't take any more it quiets, the rain turns to a soft pitter patter and soon you have peace in your heart. There is a storm brewing in kerbyville. I can hear the thunder in the distance and my heart feels fearful. I am trying to praise Him in this storm. I know that soon it will pass and I will have a quiet peace in my heart.

My life in overhaul

2011-02-11T14:11:00.001-08:00

Oooo, this little blog needs a major overhaul but so does my entire life at this point! I swear I have a million little thoughts and some really good posts floating around in this space between my ears, I just don't have one free minute to jot them down. My house is still a mess, there are walls that still need painting, cleaning, laundry, school projects, lessons, organizing, etc etc. I swear I need an assistant. My housekeeper can't come because my house is in shambles so that means it's me. The mister has been traveling a lot and has been picking up some extra shifts at the hospital on the weekends. I am beginning to wonder what he looks like. So life in kerbyville has been well just a teensy bit hectic! I keep telling myself this weekend it will be done, nope I have accepted that my house will probably be like this for at least 3 more weeks, ahhhhh! My OCD has kicked into overdrive. Don't even get me started on my trip to Hobby Lobby and a stroll down the scrap booking aisle. When you are 4 years behind can you still count yourself as a scrapbooker? Summer where are you!?

Longing for days of leisure
~Scarlett

Chaos

2011-02-01T19:06:00.001-08:00

That about describes things here in kerbyville. Chaos! and it has been making me just a little crazy. I don't really know if I mentioned the fact that everything and I mean just about everything in our house went kaput last year. It started with putting in underground sprinklers. You see apparently our pump was to small and about dead. No big deal right. Right, except for the fact that right after that our lawn tractor died, then the pool pump, the pond pump (I'm beginning to see a theme with pumps), the video camera, the tires on our SUV, and the boat engine. Then one day in June we woke up to water pouring out of our ceiling downstairs. A pipe had broken in the room that we had just remodeled. Not the ugly bathroom with the 1970's laminate and mustard tub, nope the room with new granite and laminate flooring. So what did we do well rip out the wall only to have a plumber tell us that basically our whole house needed to be re plumbed. Wonderful! So I lived for 6 months with a hole in my wall and ceiling. My husband decided that January would be an awesome time to re plumb the house. Not the summer when I am off but smack in the middle of the school year. So we have been tearing out walls and pipe. Fun, fun. My house has been cover in sheet rock dust and rusty water stains for weeks now. Finally this past weekend we got most of it back together. I painted 3 bathrooms, my laundry room, mud room, bedroom wall, and part of the hallway. I have managed to tame most of the sheet rock dust and have finally gotten all the grime off the floors. It is nice not to have to wear shoes just so you don't feel all the grit on the floor. The bright side? We have lots of water pressure and you don't freeze if you are in the shower and someone turns on a faucet. Two people can actually shower in two different bathrooms....amazing! So I have been very, very busy with this house. Tonight is the first night that I have been able to just chill in weeks. Ahhh I am loving it. I am praying that this year is not as eventful but if you read my previous post about the cat well, not looking hopeful. BTW, the kitty is doing well and stays very close to home these days. I think he really would just spend his entire day sitting on my lap if I let him. So here is to 2011 being a better year. I think it will be considering 10 minutes ago my backspace key would not work and now it is working fine. See things are looking up!

~Scarlett

The cat came back

2011-01-11T11:32:00.000-08:00

Have you ever heard the song, "the cat came back"? It's an awful tune that gets stuck in my head occasionally and drives me to the brink of insanity. For whatever reason my son's first grade music teacher had them sing it in a program. So for the last 6 years it has been haunting me. This post is not really about that song, it is about our cat though. This week has been an interesting one in kerbyville. We were supposed to kick Murphy out of our house this year so things would quit breaking (you know, Murphy's Law). So the first two days of 2011 were awesome. Day 3, not so much. Not only was it back to school/reality day, it was also the day my gigi was scheduled to get 2 teeth pulled. All that went without a hitch and we made it home by 5:00 so I could start dinner. As I was cooking dinner, managing homework, sending the mister off to class, and playing nursemaid to my crying girl I decided to feed the small zoo that lives at our house. I headed out on the deck to feed the dog and 2 cats. Our male kitty Simba was being especially lovey so I pick him up. He started freaking out so I flipped him around feet out so he wouldn't scratch me. I looked down and figured out very quickly why. He had basically skinned his entire back leg. I mean muscle was showing. I don't do so well with that kinda stuff but I was the only responsible adult at home so I had to suck it up. The mister was gone so I gave gigi some Tylenol and put my little man in charge of cooking dinner. Simba and I headed to the vet. Now if you know the mister then you know that he is a farm boy. If you don't know what that means or you are a member of PETA you might want to quit reading this. On a farm cats are good for one thing, killing pesky critters. Well that is what our cats are for as well. That and to sit on my lap on early summer mornings and purr. Any hoo, spending any amount of money to save a cat is not really in the mister's budget but off to the vet we went anyway. We go in and wait for the estimate. I am texting the mister to see what he thinks. Final verdict? $350.00. Yowza! I text the mister, no response, I wait, no response, the vet assistant comes in and wants my decision, no response. So, I say okay, leave the cat there and head home. Once I am home I am flooded with text from the mister and remember that remark about saving cats not being in the budget? Yeah. Let's just say he was not to happy. The next morning I get up and head to the vet at 7:00am to pick up Simba. I bring him home all shaved and stitched with his little cone on his head. He has to have meds twice a day and live in our mud room for the next 2 weeks. The mister is looking at me like I have lost my mind. Let's just say we had to have a little mediation to work out our differences of opinion on the cat. It was said and done so we had to move on. My job as cat nurse had begun. A couple of days later the mister says to me, did you hear anything last night? Nope not really, did the cat meow all night? Nope, I heard a noise and thought there was someone outside. Went to investigate to find that the cat had escaped his kennel and was bumping into things with his cone head. So I put him away. I knew then that all would be well in kerbyville. The mister had accepted the cat mishap and moved on. The new joke in our house? Hmm, we could go out for dinner but we had to fix the cat, do you know how many ski passes you can buy for $350?, haha! I know that sounds like a lot to spend on a cat. I know people out there that would spend more to save their pet. I also know that he has taught us a lesson. Sometimes things that make no sense are the right thing to do. Would I do it again? yes. Once the mister saw how upset I was over the whole thing he sucked it up, bit his tongue and let me nurse that kitty back to health. He hasn't even complained about the fact that it is living in our mud room for 2 weeks. At night when I go down and put Simba in his kennel, I hear him purr loudly and he looks up at me I know I sound crazy but I swear that little kitty is saying thank you.

Mother of the Year

2011-01-03T19:51:00.000-08:00

So my girl had to have 2 teeth pulled today. Poor thing. It took her forever to get teeth and now it is taking forever to lose them. She didn't even lose her front teeth until she was in second grade and even then it took her brother accidentally headbutting her and her dad popping them out since they were hanging by a thread. Now she is well on her way to providing our dentist and orthodontist some really nice vacations. She was a trooper though. She sat right in that chair and took the laughing gas like a pro. The best part is it really does make her laugh. She giggles uncontrollably while her teeth are being pulled out with pliers. I know there is probably some technical term that makes it sound way better but that is what they look like. As she lay there laughing and holding on to her piggy pillow pet for dear life she looked right at the dentist and said that doesn't look like a very friendly tool. I tell you, I love that girl. She is a hoot. So tonight as I tucked her into bed she looks up and says in a very slurpy voice, "Mama, are you the tooth fairy?" Hmmm, how do I answer this one? "Well, what makes you think that?" "Do you remember that time that the tooth fairy forgot to come and you were really tired, and then the next night you were tired and the tooth fairy forgot to come again?" " Um, yes." "Well, that makes me think you are the tooth fairy" "Well, hun you have to believe for the tooth fairy to come." "Okay, mom but can you give me two bucks. I should at least get a dollar a tooth since I had to have them pulled" I just smiled and said goodnight. I am pretty sure that has earned me the mother of the year award. So tonight I will not forget, I will not forget, I will not forget!

2010 at OneTrueMedia.com

2011-01-01T20:56:00.001-08:00

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Our Year in Review

2011-01-01T18:22:00.000-08:00

2010 came to a close so quickly that I have hardly had time to reflect on all that means. I didn't even realize we were ending a decade until yesterday. Didn't we just end a decade? How does tome move so quickly? So as a take a moment to stop and reflect on our year I am grateful. I never would have dreamed that our family would be so full of life. 10 years ago I was pregnant with gigi and my little man was about to turn 2. Soon we would be knee high in diapers and sleepless nights. I thought it would be forever before we would taste a little bit of parental freedom. Now here we are 10 years later. My little man is well not so little. Tonight he informed me that I needed to change his blog name. He's thinking about what it should be. He will turn 12 in 3 weeks and next year at this time I will be facing having a teenager in the house. My gigi, well she will hit the double digits this year and that takes my breath away just thinking about it. 10. So where did the last 10 years go? Well, we were busy living. Living in the moment and enjoying every minute of it. I have known since the day my kids were born that we were one day closer to them leaving and I have tried to breathe in every moment they are with me. I am not going to pretend that I haven't had those mom moments of what am I doing and wouldn't life be easier if....I would be lying if I said every moment of motherhood was glorious. My kids have made me a better person and they have made us into a family. So I am not even going to think about where we will be in another 10 years. That's just a little to much to think about right now. I am gonna keep on living in the moment and enjoying every minute of it. Here are a few of our 2010 moments for you to share.

2010-12-07T11:52:00.000-08:00

So I was reading an article the other day about a very popular blog. In the article it said that if you are going to be a real blogger you can't take a day off. I guess when you look at the date of my last post I'm not a real blogger. Bummer. So life has been happening in Kerbyville and I just haven't had much time to write oh, and the cord on my laptop went kaput so it has been dead for a while. I have to fight my children for a moment on the computer. Between math homework (no more textbooks to carry it is all on a website now) and checking the naughty and nice list that is not an easy task. What has been happening around here you ask? Well, we had about a foot of snow last week which amounted to a snow day. Yeah right? no, because around here employees still have to report to school even if there are no children. So I got up, had the mister shovel out the driveway (only took 2 hours) and braved my way to school. 15 minutes after I arrived they announced that it was to dangerous to be on the roads so we should all go home. Hmmm, that is brilliant. I am so happy that the people making these decisions are also in charge of the education of our children! I was happy to arrive home before 11am and have the entire day to spend with my family. It is a rare occasion that we are all home mid week with nothing to do but play in the snow and drink hot chocolate. All things were snowy at our house that day, snow forts, snow balls, snowmen, and lots of sledding. I just love the snow. If it is gonna be cold it may as well be snowy! All that snow put us right in the Christmas spirit. The tree is trimmed, cookies have been made and eaten, Christmas music is blaring, Christmas movies are being watched, all of our loved Christmas books are out for reading every night, and the Christmas countdown is on. Gigi gives me an update every morning on the number of days until Christmas. Life in kerbyville is good.

Veteran's Day

2010-11-10T20:11:00.000-08:00

Driving home from school today my girl asked, Mom, do we know any Veterans? I said yes we do. We do? Who? Well, your dad, papa, grandpa, granny, and great grandpa. You also have several great uncles that are Veterans. She says really? Did they fight in a war? Yes they did. She was amazed and told me all about how she was going to share this with her class tomorrow. It's Veteran's day. A day to remember those that have served our country. As I stopped to really think about what this day meant I was overwhelmed. Have you ever really thought about the sacrifices made for our freedom. The sacrifices made by our military families. As a little girl I remember shipping my dad off to sea. I didn't really understand what that meant I just knew it was his job. This summer my kids found their papa's journal that he kept while stationed on a submarine. They giggled at the letters he wrote home that never made it there because how do you mail something when you are living underwater. It was a reminder of the sacrifices made while away from family. This Veteran's day take just a moment to really think about what it means to serve our country. To all those who have served and to those who have stayed behind and prayed, Thank You.

*The above picture is my dad on the deck of the USS America in 1968. My mom was home with my brother, he was 2. I wasn't thought of yet.

The Boys of Fall at OneTrueMedia.com

2010-11-07T18:24:00.001-08:00

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I promised a post about football and here it is. My little man and his team.

A Game To Remember - KIVITV.COM | Boise. News, Breaking News, Weather and Sports-

2010-10-30T21:10:00.000-07:00

I said my next post was going to be about football but this was not what I was planning on posting. It is about football and it is to good a story not to share. The boy in this story goes to our church and his parent's are our friends. He is delightful and funny and quirky. Joey makes me smile every time I see him, he has a way of touching your heart. He is part of the reason that I am sharing this story but there is another part that touched my heart even more. It is the boy's on this football team. Ordinary high school freshman boys. You know the type, they are know to be obnoxious, rebellious, unruly, rude, careless, and disrespectful in some people's opinions. Not these boys. They are showing the world what I have known all along, kids are still good. They still care about one another. You hear so many stories in the news about the youth today and how they are a bunch of careless bullies. Well these boys have shown us something different. The boys on this team have embraced Joey as one of their own. A team mate. They have his back, he is one of them. If you watch the video link (it is a must and grab your tissues) you will notice it was the teams idea to let him run a play not the coaches and bless the boys from the other team for helping out. One tiny little gesture that made a difference in some one's life. Way to go Grizzlies you truly understand what it means to be a team!

A Game To Remember - KIVITV.COM Boise. News, Breaking News, Weather and Sports-

2010-10-27T13:36:00.000-07:00

Well, my little blog is being neglected once again. I am working on a little something and hope to have it posted very soon. It has been milling around in my little brain for a while....scarey! Let's just say it has to do with a great fall tradition....football! I know you are on the edge of your seat!

2010-10-12T20:08:00.000-07:00

I read a post on facebook the other day that struck me the wrong way. A little part of me was offended. It wasn't an offensive post, it was quite the opposite. She was posting about how sad she was to see so many student's that have committed suicide because they were being bullied. It is sad. It is horrific if you ask me. My heart breaks every time I see it in the news. So you probably wonder why I was offended. It was some of the comments made that went on about how horrible our schools are and how teachers do nothing when students are being bullied. That is offensive to me. Why?...I have dedicated my life to education. I am a school counselor. That title in and of itself should make people think of someone who is advocating for students, someone that is there to protect and console. As I began to think about why a comment like that would ruffle my feathers there was a little rant going on in my head so where else would I take that little rant, well here of course. I am thankful that we live in a country where we have educational choice. Not all children are the same so having choices whether it's public, private, or home school I think that it's a parent's right to choose. I do get frustrated when I hear about how horrible public schools are and how public school teachers do not care about children. That some how a child being bullied to the point of suicide is because a teacher would not help them. Public schools are the pulse of our society. If you want to see what it culturally acceptable step into your local public school. Where do these children learn what is culturally acceptable? Home. So if you want to know how these little monsters called bullies are created take a look around. We live in a society that glorifies bullies. Being a mean girl is cool. How many reality shows do we have where the soul purpose is to tear someone apart. The meaner the better. Bad girls, The Real Housewives of where ever. I mean if this is what friendship is I want no part of it. I hear it time and time again....what are teachers doing about.....fill in the blank. When are parents going to be responsible? I don't know when it happened but somewhere along the line the public school system became responsible to feed, cloth, educate, teach character/manners, counsel, provide school supplies, provide Christmas gifts, provide health care, and manage behavior of children. Now we are responsible for the death of students. Are there teachers that ignore bullying, probably, but I work with teachers that put their heart and soul into their students day in and day out. They provide things for their students out of their own pocket. They would move mountains to make a difference in the life of a child. Anytime a life ends in suicide it is tragic. I don't know all the details about these children but I do know that there are a lot of factors when someone ends their life. It's easy to point fingers and try to find someone to blame. I guess teachers and the school are an easy place to start. We should know it is happening right? I am sure that are many teachers wishing they had know it was happening and that they could have stepped in and helped that child in need. They are probably replaying conversations and asking what if.... It's an easy job though, you know getting summers off and all. So the next time you want to blame a teacher take a moment to really think about the responsibility that they have everyday. Maybe instead of blaming you will be thanking.

Healing Rain

2010-10-05T20:12:00.000-07:00

We live in what is considered the high desert. Summers are hot and dry around here. We might not see rain for months. That is a stark contrast to growing up on the east coast and hearing people complain that we were in a drought because it hadn't rained in a week. Toward the end of summer everything is covered in a fine layer of dust. Anything that is not being hit by a sprinkler is dry, brown, and brittle. Not very pretty and not much use except as fuel for a fire. Then fall rolls around and the rain comes in. A healing rain. One that washes away all the dust and dirt out of the air. It brings relief from the scorching hot sun and brings life back to the earth. You can almost hear a sigh in the air. I have heard the line from the song Healing Rain...a healing rain is falling down, let it rain, let it rain. I never really understood it until I lived in a place that is dry and desperate for moisture. It's like our lives though. Sometimes our souls feel dry and brittle. We are covered in a fine layer of dust. Illness, stress, financial problems, death, heartache, and failures lie all around us. We aren't much use for anything and at any moment it feels we might be consumed by the wildfire burning around us. We need a healing rain. One that can wash away the dust and bring life back into our souls. One that only God can bring. A healing that will bring peace and joy in the midst of our trials. He said that in our weakness His strength will be made known. The past month has been one of heartache and trials for many people in my life. Words like cancer, divorce, adultery, death, surgery, abandonment, alcoholism, and suicide have been the topic of conversation. I have moments when I shake my fist and wonder why. I am reminded though that God is not the author of confusion and fear. He is the conqueror of those things. He is not the one to bring destruction. He is greater than the one that brings destruction. God will devour Satan. He will stop the one that seeks to kill and destroy us. My God is mightier. That is what I hold onto in those quiet moments when I wonder why, how, when will all of these things be solved. God has a plan to prosper us. He will bring a healing rain. We just have to ask.

2010-09-19T18:44:00.000-07:00

We had the privilege of participating in a little bit of history here in Kerbyville. I not sure how many people have the chance to eat dinner with their Governor much less dinner with the Governor in out on the back patio. Well, that's what we did this week. My brother/sister-in-law hosted at their house. When my little man heard what we were doing he begged me to go. I thought really kids at a fundraising dinner? He said mom, when will I ever get the chance to eat dinner with the Governor. That's about all it took to convince me. I think he might be a little politician in the making. The weather was beautiful, the food was amazing, and the kids did great. All in all I would say it was a success. Here are a few pics.

my little man had the option of leaving and going with the other kids to play but he chose to stay and listen to the Governor speak. He sat for an hour and didn't move. He even got in on the talk about delisting the wolves.

the highlight of the night for the kids. The candy table!

Fun centerpieces

The hosts!

My little man and the mister discussing wildlife management, immigration, and energy. I'm the one standing behind the camera taking the pictures. Sometimes I am totally amazed at the opportunities that my children have had compared to me. Their world looks totally different that mine did as a child. It's pretty amazing.

Technology Natives

2010-09-05T08:18:00.000-07:00

Every generation of parents have new things to contend with that make parenting just plain hard. The economy, wars, drugs, alcohol, they have all been around for generations but we are the first generation of parents that have had to deal with technology. I have heard it said that we are technology immigrants but our children are technology natives. Trust me I am sure our parents would have loved to have popped in a DVD for an eight hour car ride or told us to pop in our ear buds to listen to Bon Jovi instead of having it blare on our boom boxes. Doing their monthly budget on Quicken would have been way easier than the legal pad at the kitchen table. We all love technology. As a parent though it can make our lives tough. Our kids can have instant access to their friends 24/7. They can play video games with people half way around the world and text faster than they can speak. As parents there is no way we can read every text, check every email, and screen every game, video, song that comes into their life. Technology is to fast for us. We just can't do it. We had an example of this in Kerbyville this week. My little man found a video game that he wanted. He played it with a friend and told me how it's not to violent, the language is not that bad, and it was really cool. His friend said the same and the he had the game. We have been very busy so little man had to wait about a month to buy this game. He had been checking it out at Game Stop and found a used copy. We were shopping for school clothes after a long week of school so when he asked if he could get it I said okay. I didn't really look at the game because I was trusting the judgement of a friend. Little man got it home and started to play. I always go in to check out his new games and this one made me cringe just a little. Every time he got shot blood splattered on the screen and there was some language. So I picked up the case and looked at the rating. I was rated Teen which is not always bad. This one was rated T for blood, violence, drug references, language, and weapons. Sounds lovely. His dad and I had a discussion about it and decided he needed to take it back. I braced myself for a total meltdown, freak out, fit that most 11 would give when told they had to take something back. I told him we had been thinking about the game and that it really didn't fit with our standard for games. I asked him what he thought and he said well, I like it. I said I know you do but do you think it is a good game? He said probably not and I will take it back. I almost fell flat on the floor. No fussing, no fuming. I could tell he was disappointed and I told him I was sorry for that. I asked him how God would feel about the game and he said I should take it back. So off we went to Game Stop to return the game and find something new. Those guys that work their are great. They helped him find something that did fit our standard and I think he actually likes the new game better. They told me how to get demos of games so I can check them out before he buys. You know, through this whole thing I thought maybe I should just let him keep it. I didn't want to be that mom, the one that is strict and uncool, but something inside me said no, take a stand. I am happy that I did. I have never been prouder of him and realized how much he is growing up and developing his own standards. If I had backed down for fear of a fit or him hating me we would have missed this moment. I would have compromised our whole family. So to all you parents out there trying to navigate this world of technology, it's okay to say no, I love you to much to let you have or do this. It's okay to say, sorry I should have checked this out a little closer. We can take a stand to protect our kids. It's not always easy but in the end it's priceless.

~Scarlett

Summer in Kerbyville

2010-08-11T15:08:00.001-07:00

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Life in kerbyville can be hectic all winter long but when summer rolls around it is time to slow down. Every year we try to take a trip to the family cabin. It is located in the middle of no where and when I say the middle of no where well that's just what I mean. 400 acres of nothing but trees, frogs, deer, moose, elk, and lots of other critters. It is a mile trek down hill to the lake and the kids are always up for that little nature walk. They get to collect turkey feathers and wild flowers. They never ask to watch tv or play video games. At night you can see a million stars and listen to the bullfrogs sing. It's a little slice of heaven in my opinion. I love watching my kids be kids, growing up strong and slow just the way it should be. The mister spent summers at the cabin with his grandpa and now his kids are doing the same thing. There is something a little sacred about this place. An untouched piece of the world where we can escape and time can stand still for just a little while.

Groovin' with Ken!

2010-07-09T20:36:00.000-07:00

We went to see Toy Story 3 tonight. I have been both dying and dreading seeing this movie. Dying because I love Toy Story, dreading because I knew it would be sad. I mean Andy goes to college. Pixar has done it again, they are brilliant. The movie was funny, entertaining, and full of good humor. I fell in love with Toy Story because I was just sure that is how it really happened when I left my toys alone. They stuck together, kept each other company, and had adventures. I also fell in love with Toy Story because it came out right around the time my little man was born. Woody and Buzz have taken adventures with him. Zurg has been blasted into outer space a million times and I have picked up those squeaky martian guys more than I can count. My little man is not so little anymore. Some toys have been cleaned out, donated, yard saled, all the dreaded things that happen to toys according to this movie. Bins of toys have been replaced with an electric guitar, ipod, skateboard, and PlayStation. He moving on to middle school in the fall and that little boy is slowly fading into a teenager. Just like Andy's mom there is a little part of me that gasps when I really stop and look at him. He still has those toys that just can't go yet. Buzz, his dinosaurs, star wars guys, tractors, and his favorite stuffed bear named beary. I'll keep them for as long as he wants, probably longer. I think Toy Story 3 may have just made my favorite movie list. The best part...as I had tears streaming my face, my little man said "mom don't worry, I'll still come see you when I go off to college." Be still my heart.

Oh I came across this little video and thought it was cute. I decided to share. Hope you like it. I thought it was funny!

~Scarlett

There Ain't Nothing Sweeter

2010-07-07T15:45:00.000-07:00

than summertime. Don't let the silence fool you. There has been lots going on in kerbyville. There has been lots of swimming, BBQing, movie watching, boating, and staying up way to late around here. We might make it into the 90's this week. I know all my east coast friends are wishing for the 90's right now. I need that hot weather though. My poor little garden is looking sad. I hope everyone is having a great summer!

Do You Believe....

2010-06-21T16:54:00.000-07:00

in love at first sight? There was a time that I would have told you that you were either crazy or purely romantic at heart if you said yes. That was before I met the mister. I know you are probably thinking great here comes a sappy post and part of it might be, you see 17 years ago (on June 19th) I married him. When he came walking into my life I had just written off men and decided that being single for a while wasn't such a bad idea. I was a junior in college and had grad school on my mind. I didn't need a man, besides most of them had proven to be jerks. All my friends were getting married and I had a closet full of bad bridesmaids dresses to remind me. I might have been just a teensy bit bitter, I mean honestly when was it my turn to find love. Nope forget it I wasn't even looking. Then one Sunday I was sitting in church and he literally just came walking in. I remember seeing him and thinking I wonder who that is? Something about him told me my life was about to change not in a OMG, who is that and I have to meet him way, more of a quiet, don't fight this just say hi kind of way. So we were introduced, we chatted about school and I found out he was in the Navy and stationed in my hometown. Long story short 6 weeks later he proposed and I said yes. Yep you read it right....6 weeks. Was I nuts or what! I knew he was the one from the bottom of my heart and I truly believe that God just plunked him right there, right then for a reason. He wasn't supposed to be stationed there, he actually switched orders with someone so he could see the east coast. Crazy....and that is what everyone thought we were. I guess they were wrong because here we are 17 years later and still as happy as ever.

So what are some of the reasons that he is the love of my life......

He still makes me laugh.

He loves our children but loves me more.

He still holds my hand.

He challenges me to be a better person.

He competes with me and doesn't get mad if I win.

He makes me feel like I am the prettiest girl in the room.

He lets me speak my mind, is willing to argue, and always fights fair.

He never yells at me or says mean words.

When I am at my worst he loves me the most.

He puts our family first.

He works hard for us everyday.

He wants to spend time with us.

He leads our family and is a good father.

He likes to have fun.

He is my best friend.

Happy Anniversary! I love you!

~Scarlett

It's over....

2010-06-09T18:44:00.000-07:00

yep, the last day of school has arrived in kerbyville. We are officially on summer break. The end of this school year was bittersweet. It was my little man's last day of elementary school. He is moving on to that world that we call middle school. I am not exactly sure how that happened. I swear I was watching the whole time but somewhere along the way I must have blinked because he went from this.........

(First day of school. Headed to kindergarten)

to this.....

(5th grade graduation)

and it all happened in a flash. I promise not to blink for the next seven years!

~le sigh~ Scarlett

2010-05-21T18:43:00.000-07:00

What's happening in Kerbyville on a Friday night? I get a live concert from the stop sign rock band. Gigi is the singer/song writer and the little man is on the guitar. They look tough and they sing some mean lyrics that go something like this....I love you mommy, I love you mommy, please don't leave cuz I love you to much. One of the best concerts I have ever attended!

Can't Be Tamed

2010-05-18T19:40:00.000-07:00

Oh Miss Miley, what has happened? Hannah is to embarrassed to make an appearance at this point. I get it girl, I understand that being a pop star princess on the Disney Channel can be the kiss of death. You might never get a serious role and your music might forever ring out on Radio Disney. You want to break free from screaming 8 year olds but sister don't sell your soul. After that performance on Dancing with the Stars moms every where are gathering all that purple Hannah gear and heading to the Goodwill. It will gather dust on shelves along with the other Disney Pop Princesses gone wild. We all thought that maybe you would rise above, maybe you would be able to have the best of both worlds. We were hoping you would be the one that would be a role model for our girls breaking away from the ideal that sex sells and seventeen year olds don't need to march around in hooker books proclaiming how the man in their life can't tame them. You scream out don't change me but I can honestly say I don't even recognize who you are. Oh and Billy Ray someone ought to stomp on your achy breaky heart for letting your little girl march around like that! (the music video is more appalling than DWTS). Now I know there are some out there that will say she didn't ask to be a role model for young girls, really, then why did you star in a show targeting young girls, and that she has the right to break free and move on. Yeah I know, it just breaks my heart that breaking free and moving on means leaving behind all things wholesome and innocent. It means transforming into something that you are not. It means being sexing and singing about relationships that you have yet to experience. It means that most of your fans can no longer watch your music videos because they are PG-13. It means conforming to the world's standard of what a woman should look and act like. Oh how I was hoping you would break that mold that you would stand up and say NO! I guess that is a lot to ask of a 17 year old girl especially with the pressures of Hollywood wanting to make a buck by sacrificing you on the alter of fame and fortune. Oh girl how I wish we could have a conversation. I wish you could have had all those moms out there that are screaming don't do it, it's not worth it, you deserve more, you are better than that, right there with you when they asked you to make this video. You might have thought twice. So to all those screaming moms out there what do we do now? We have yet another pop princess sending our girls the message that the way to make it in this world is be sexy, be spoiled, and go through men like money. Wow makes our lives so much easier!

*sorry 2 rants in one day. I told you God was making me less naive. I have another post in the back of my mind but I will save it for another day. I am seriously considering starting a blog dedicated to parenting in this crazy world. We will see. It has been on my heart lately.

2010-05-18T07:57:00.001-07:00

I want to be naive. It would make life a whole lot easier. You know walking around pretending all is good in the world and nothing bad ever happens. Naive, it would be wonderful! I wouldn't have to get that lump in my throat when I think about sending my kids off to school. I wouldn't have to sit with a student and feel my heart break for them. I wouldn't have to get on a soapbox and rant about all the evils in the world. I could sit on my patio sipping tea and listening to the birds sing. Life could be all rainbows and unicorns. What good would that do though? I mean really what good would be done in this world if we were naive. None. We would not have the eyes to see or the heart to help. So you might be wondering where this little rant is coming from well join the club. For some reason God thought that I needed to be a little less naive this week. I have weeks like that when I am bombarded with information that I wish I never knew. This week though I thought I would share. It started out when I came across and article about a new site called chatroulette. For some of you this may mean nothing but if you know anything about this site you are probably starting a rant all of your own right now. So what is this lovely little site. It was developed by a 17 year old and basically you can video chat with a stranger at the click of a mouse. Don't like that person just click and move on. Sounds innocent enough right? Might sound a little less innocent when you hear that 1 in 10 users are naked and/or m*sturbating. 50% of users are engaged in inappropriate behaviors. So what's the draw? Well to kids it's the thrill of seeing who you will get and the fact that several celebs have been spotted on the site. What tween girl would not die if they came across Justin Beiber or the Jo Bros? The problem is they will find Joe who is 60 and naked before they will find a Jonas brother. Creepy and scary all at the same time. Think well that won't happen in my house. Well maybe not but what about the sleepover your girl is scheduled to attend Friday night? Yeah, I know scary and I can feel that same lump that just came up in your throat right now. I can also hear the question that just popped into your head, What do I do now? Lock them in a room! Okay that's probably not legal but unfortunately chatroulette is. So what to do. Talk to your kids. Let them know that you are concerned for their safety. Let them know that you trust they will make a good decision and coach them through the situation. Role play what they could say or do if a friend is asking them to participate in this kind of activity. Most kids don't want to chat with strangers. The whole creepy predator thing scares them but they might just want to check out the site once. The problem is what will they see and how long will that image be burned into their mind. If they understand the dangers up front they will be less likely to want to join in. I always love when parents don't want to talk to their kids about things because it will just give them ideas. Really, well when they were 2 you told them not to run in the street, weren't you concerned it would give them an idea? What about warning them about stray dogs, maybe it would tempt them to pet one. Oh and there is the whole don't get in the car with a stranger maybe they would want to know why and try it. Come on people, we have to arm our teens with knowledge so they can make the right decisions. Whose voice do you want popping into their heads when they are faced with moral decisions, yours or their best friends? Talk to them, don't lecture or preach, just have a conversation. Trust me I am right there with you, scared to death when I think of all the things that prey on the minds of our kids. I pray everyday that God will protect their minds and hearts. I also know that God has called us as parents to prepare our children for these battles that they will face everyday. We have to face the giants and fight for our kids. You are the greatest influence in their lives. Love them and talk to them, they will thank you for it one day.

Mother's Day

2010-05-11T18:08:00.000-07:00

My mother's day card made by gigi

I love it when you....

Make me cookies. I love it.

kiss me

say I missed you. I love you

say what do you want for dinner. If I say I want to cook it you say okay.

make me happy.

Best gift ever complete with illustrations. I don't need anything else in life.

~Scarlett

Piggy Pies

2010-05-04T20:03:00.000-07:00

Spring has arrived here in Kerbyville. You would never know it looking at the thermometer but it has arrived and there are little clues all around me reminding me that warm weather is on it's way. I just need to be patient. One reminder of spring is babies. As I drive to work everyday I see baby calves jumping around and little lambs chasing there mothers. I spotted 12 baby geese swimming with their mothers tonight while walking the dog. I was very thankful they didn't attack me when my dog jumped in the water and started swimming after them but that is another post! I was walking through the farm store the other day and gigi and I spotted the baby chicks. Gigi has been begging and I mean begging for some baby chicks. I keep telling her that between the dog and 2 cats that they don't stand a chance at our house but that does not stop all the begging. On this particular day gigi marched right over to those little chicks and proceeded to check them over. She was confident that she would be taking a few home. She even brought the new 20 dollar bill that was burning a hole in her pocket. She figured at 79 cents a piece she could get oh, 10 chicks and some feed. I had to say no and watch the tears stream down her face as we checked out. I don't know if you know my gigi but this girl is pure country. Not really sure how that happened except deep down I am with her a little. I mean the thought of living in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of animals is kind of appealing. Don't get me wrong we can handle Louis bags and 5 star resorts but we can have just as much fun clunking around in cowgirl boots. Let's just say we are not afraid of getting dirty. So I took my girl home and tried to explain that we need a chicken coop before we could ever get chickens. We get home and that little girl flashes her brown eyes at her daddy and tells about how she wanted some baby chicks. Now I don't know if you know the mister but there is only one reason to have an animal around, you can eat it or it can eat something pesky. Okay so that is 2 reasons. He really sees no point in having a pet rabbit and the dog is around to humor me. He does like the cats because they are constantly leaving dead mice on the deck, see useful. Any hoo, I know he wonders where this country girl came from and all I can think is um, you were raised in the middle of nowhere on a dairy farm. See it came from his side of the family. When that little girl flashes those big brown eyes and says daddy I want a horse, steer, chicks, lamb, goat....you fill in the blanks because she has asked for them all. I can see the wheels turning in his head and I know if he could he would buy her 20 acres and a horse. So on this particular day he looks at me and says what would it take to make a coop. Uhh, wha....just happened? I answer with I will have to do some research. Now don't get me wrong the thought of fresh eggs sounds awesome but I will admit chickens freak me out a little. So I was very happy when I asked when we were picking up pigs for 4-H. That's right we raise pigs for 4-H. The mister said tomorrow. I have never seen my girl move so fast. She was getting her boots on and heading to the pig pen to get it ready for the new arrivals. The baby chicks were a distant memory. So for now I have managed to escape becoming a chicken farmer. We will see how long that lasts. The next day we picked up gigi and little man from school. Here she is ready to go pick out her prize pigs.

We brought home 4 little piggies all of whom will go to the market (sorry couldn't resist). 3 Yorkshire cross (they are pink) and one Hampshire (black with a pink stripe in the middle). It is scary that I even know that. Any hoo here is a picture of them in their pen. It's not very good not sure what happened to it. Their official names are Olivia, Oreo (that's the black and pink one), bacon, and sausage. They have quite the personalities. Oreo is very funny. She will lay on her side and let you rub her belly. I wonder if gigi will get extra points in fitting and showing if she can get her pig to do that for the judge. So for now they are the newest guests at kerbyville and will be with us until fair time. I think I might have to start referring to gigi as Fern. I've got a feeling there will be some tears come sale time. For now, she is making friends with them. Another season in kerbyville.

2010-04-27T18:15:00.000-07:00

ah ah ahchoo....excuse me. I am working my way through all the dust and cobwebs that have accumulated around here. Oh my poor little blog has been so neglected and there has been so much happening in kerbyville. We are busy busy with all the things that spring brings. Yard work, weeding, gardening, cleaning. I forget how much takes place outside around here. I am always reminded once spring decides to roll around. Things are green and fresh and new. Most of the signs of winter are gone. There is a touch of snow on the mountains but that is all that is left of winter. A wild spring thunderstorm came through this afternoon and my deck is covered with petals from the trees. There are some traces of hail still on the ground. Kerbyville is coming to life. We have planted most of our garden: cucumbers, squash, zucchini, tomatoes, peppers, watermelon, honey dew, cantaloupe, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, radishes, lettuce, spinach, cauliflower, and a new little peach tree. Still to come: corn, pumpkins, gourds, and sunflowers. Wow that is a lot when I list it. Summer should be yummy. We got all of our seeds for free from a local church. We just have to plant a little extra for the food bank. I don't think that will be a problem at all around here. The kids are excited to plant and to share our food. I just love gardening with them. We also have 4 new piggies. Their names are Olivia (after the book Olivia), Oreo (she is a Hampshire so she looks like an oreo), bacon, and sausage (after the little man's two favorite breakfast foods). As I type the kids are down in the pen knee high in mud (they have mud boots on). It's a good day. There is nothing like having your kids run for the pig pen instead of the TV after school. Some kids are still growing up slow just the way they should. So if you wondered about life in kerbyville we are still kicking and I promise to have some pictures on here soon. I also hope for a little inspiration so I can write a little more. I have lots of thoughts just not lots of time.

2010-02-17T20:19:00.000-08:00

Girls....that word might conjure up some thoughts like drama queens, squabbles, cattiness, and on and off relationships. Girls will be girls right? I mean we have all been there, the one not included in a group, the odd girl out. It's no fun but it can change as quickly as the weather. One day no one is talking to you the next they are your best friend. It's just part of being a girl right? You get through it. Your mom always said tomorrow will be better. They will be your friend again. I have said those very same words to my daughter. I've dismissed those complaints about friends as girls just being girls. I mean she is only in 3rd grade how could it be that bad. Don't they save the really mean stuff for middle school? I know better than that though. So my sixth sense kicked in and I just knew something was going on with gigi and her friends. She would say little things here and there. I assured her things would get better and tried to arm her with every tactic to handle mean girls. I secretly prayed that things would smooth over quickly. Then I went to gigi's class to watch her star in a play. It was very fun and all the kids did a great job. I noticed after the play that none of the girls were talking to her. Some were gathered in groups taking pictures with each other, sharing hugs and secrets, but gigi was quietly standing by my side. She would give a meek smile when someone said good job. She even tried to give a couple of girls kudos for their parts in the play. I knew something was wrong. After school the two of us headed off to gymnastics. In the car I decided to ask how the friend thing was going. She gave a weak, okay and then the tears started to fall. Mom, I just don't understand why A is being mean to me. C told me that B was having a birthday party and had an invitation for me. A told B not to invite me so she threw away the invitation. In that moment I actually felt my heart break right inside of my chest. What on earth could possibly cause someone to want to hurt my girl. How could her "friends" be so mean. I sucked it up and asked her if she had done anything, her adamant no told me she was telling the truth. I explained to her that sometimes people just decide to be mean. Sometimes we do absolutely nothing to them. We headed for the ice cream shop and had a nice chat about friendship. Once a smile was back on her face I dropped her at gymnastics and cried all the way home. Trust me I have dealt with mean girls and I can hang with the best of them but let me tell you, there is nothing like watching your girl make her own way in life. I felt like someone had stomped on my heart. Once I pulled it together I called A's mom to help me get to the bottom of the whole thing. We are now on the other side of this bump in the road. I wish I could say that it was a big mistake and those girls were not being mean. The birthday thing was true. They did it. They apologized and really had no reason for what they did. I think that gigi has tried to forgive and move on. I have tried to do the same. So what did we learn from this, well really what did I learn from this? I am thankful for this beautiful girl God gave me. I am beginning to realize the influence that I will have on her life and it scares me just a tiny bit. I have learned to pray for wisdom because when those big brown eyes are searching mine for answers I want to have the right thing to say. She is only in 3rd grade but we have already had to cover the rules of girl world and how to survive. So what will I do the next time she encounters mean girls. Well, I will refrain from running them over with my car and we will head down to the ice cream shop to discuss the mystery of girl world and I know that at the end of the day, she will have a smile on her face again.

Day of Love

2010-02-14T18:59:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day. Some think of it as the day of love, the day to celebrate those that have stolen your heart. Some think of it as a holiday coined by Hallmark and Russell Stover. Another way to get you to spend a little on cards, candy, and flowers. However you view it, we can all remember Valentine's Day as a child. Parties in grade school with candy hearts that say be mine. I remember getting ready for Valentine's Day, carefully filling out each Valentine and making sure the right person got the right card. Fretting over what to give that one special boy, should it say you knock me off my feet or just be mine. Then there was the Valentine box, gluing and coloring and glittering until it was perfect. Well, this year was no different in my house with my kids. They both filled out their Valentine's carefully filling out each name. This year in gigi's class they had a Valentine box decorating contest. She desperately wanted to win the coveted trophy. She surfed the internet for ideas and carefully chose what she thought would be the winning box. She planned out the design, gathered her supplies, and began to create. This is what she created.....

yep, you got it a toilet. Nothing says I love you like the porcelain goddess. I was proud of her creation and how brave she was for being willing to take this into school. Needless to say, she won first place and came home with the trophy for most creative box.

Way to go girl!

My Boy

2010-02-10T18:20:00.000-08:00

I was walking the dog today along the canal. I swear I have walked this path a thousand times or more. It has been our spot for fetching and swimming in the summer and walking or sledding in the winter. We discovered this place when we moved into our house 5 years ago. It was a wondrous place for my kids. I know it looks brown and muddy and weedy but let me tell you, it is 10 acres of treasures. It is full of rocks, sticks, and snake skins. When the canal is empty in the winter there are old cans, lost shoes, and tennis balls. My kids will trek over to the field to explore. My little man has fought wars, used his Jedi powers, and hunted lions in this field. He has been in Africa, the Antarctic, and Narnia. It is a magical land. When we first started trekking through this field my little man was 6. I would watch him wage his wars and listen to all his sound effects. Today was an ordinary walk, nothing special. Our time to unwind and breathe some fresh air after sitting behind desks for 7 hours. Time to watch the horses and listen to the birds. Time to let the dog run off his energy. A typical walk until I looked up and saw the picture above, I grabbed my phone and snapped it. I know you are thinking what is so special about that picture. Well today when I looked up I didn't see that 6 year old boy, I saw my not so little man that just turned 11 and I thought how did he get so big. He looked tall and strong and independent. All the things you would want your son to be just not so quickly. My heart skipped a beat though when I heard those sound effects. He is still waging war on imaginary creatures. Fighting the fight and coming out victorious. So I listened and watched and enjoyed the moment. I watched my boy who is moving quickly on his journey to becoming a man. I listened to him play caught somewhere between childhood and teenager and prayed the God would slow it down. My boy.

2010-02-05T16:04:00.000-08:00

Well here we are a month into the new year and I am wonder where the time has gone. I am sure many a new year's resolution has been long forgotten or put on the back burner. As I have said before I do not make resolutions. I do have little things stored in the back of my mind and on the bottom of my to do list that I would like to get to when I have extra time. It's my one day list. You know one day I would like to catch up on the 8 years of scrapbooking that I need to do, one day I would like to create that compost pile, one day I would like to cook like an iron chef, one day I would like to create a masterpiece for my dining room wall, one day I would like to have a fabulous blog that makes people oooh and ahhh and wonder where I get the time to do all the wonderful things I am blogging about. Oh well, for now this is it. It is about all I have time for between basketball, guitar, 4-H, archery, gymnastics, bible study, small group, work, newspaper advisor, and mom aka cook, laundry attendant, dog walker, maid, homework supervisor and taxi driver to all the above activities. So instead of showing you my fabulous blog I will share a few that I have managed to discover in my spare time. Okay one actually that I stole from my SIL clover's site. I can steal it because it is kinda a mutual sharing site since it belongs to a family member. Let me just say I need to invite this girl to holiday dinners or not because she would probably cook the pants off clover and I or hey, might not be a bad idea cause then clover and I could sit back, drink wine, and relax for once. Maybe then we could document our holiday dinners with fabulous scrapbook layouts. It would be a heck of a lot easier to catch those super cute kid poses without turkey grease running down your arm or worrying about your dinner rolls burning. We might actually get to be in one of the shots. Maybe then our children would grow up and realize they did have a mom despite the lack of her photos in their baby books. So I know you are probably wonder what this wonderful site is called. Here ya go http://cordonpink.com/ It has some fabulous recipes that I can't wait to try so check it out. One day I might have time to be this creative in the kitchen. For now I make some mean mac and cheese with hot dogs! No really, I think I will definitely try some of these dishes very soon. I found a couple other sites that I thought were pretty cool and put them under my favs. I also put it on my to do list to update this little blog more often. Hopefully someone out there is reading it, if not at least it is inspiration for me!

~Scarlett

Happy Birthday at OneTrueMedia.com

2010-01-24T20:09:00.001-08:00

11 years ago today I became a mom. Happy birthday to my little man.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

2009-12-26T20:51:00.000-08:00

I see it's been a while since I posted. Not for lack of things to post but rather lack of time. I have been very busy creating, cooking, wrapping, planning, hiding, shopping, more wrapping, all the things that Christmas brings. So here I am finally finding time to sit down and take a long deep breath. Presents are opened, feast is finished, bows and boxes are put away, and Christmas has come and gone once more. I was feeling that holiday stress this year. You know the stress you feel when you just hope Christmas will go off without a hitch. You wonder if you should book a trip to the tropics and try to avoid the whole holiday thing. You try to have no expectations for fear you will be disappointed but you really want to have a magical Christmas. So I just kept thinking positive and praying for the right attitude and guess what....it worked! Christmas went off with out a hitch. It was a peaceful, magical day. There was lots of eating and chatting and playing and more eating to be had in Kerbyville. So with all that said, Merry Christmas!

Creative Christmas

2009-12-04T20:34:00.000-08:00

There is something about the holidays that inspire me to create. I always wonder why I am not inspired mid summer when the days are long and time is a plenty. Probably the call of the pool, patio, and warm sun keep me from staying indoors. Once the weather changes, the days shorten, and the temperature drops below 50 I am ready to stay in and create. This year I found plenty of ideas at one of my favorite spots, sew mama sew. There are so many fun ideas I could hardly choose. Now all I have to do is cut into all those wonder fabrics I have found. I can't wait to see how everything turns out. I am especially excited about something I am making for some tiny people in my life. They are gonna be so stink'n cute I can hardly wait to see them all dressed up and ready to create themselves. Gotta keep it a secret until I am done though. I feel like one of Santa's elves. So tomorrow it will be time to crank up the Christmas music and create.

~Scarlett

I am thankful for.....

2009-11-28T20:44:00.000-08:00

well, thanksgiving is already here and I am still wondering how that happened. Looking at the date of my last blog also makes me wonder what happened, life I guess. School, work, sports, laundry.... life. It is good though and I have finally found a moment to reflect on what I am thankful for. I will admit this post was inspired by the sermon I heard at church today. How God wants us to be thankful in all things, even the things we don't like in our lives. How we need to look at them differently and praise God for them so here is what I am thankful for.

I am thankful for the cold wind because I have a warm house to come home to.

I am thankful for grocery shopping because I can provide my family with yummy meals.

I am thankful for a dog begging at the door for a walk because I can take him.

I am thankful for grass stained knees because my son can run and play.

I am thankful for sticky counters because I was able to make cookies with my kids.

I am thankful for piles of laundry because my family is home.

I am thankful for piles of dishes because family and friends were here.

I am thankful for weeds to pull because I get to enjoy my flowers.

I am thankful for long weeks because weekends are so fun.

I am thankful for whining children because it means they still sleep under my roof at night.

I am thankful for a snoring husband because he is home with me.

I am thankful for a full calendar because it means a full life.

I am thankful for exhaustion at the end of the day because it means I am fulfilling my purpose.

I am thankful to be a wife, mother, daughter, aunt, sister, and friend because it means I have all of you in my life.

~Scarlett

It might just be time...

2009-09-28T14:14:00.000-07:00

Today it feels like fall is coming. I think we have squeaked out every last bit of summer around here. I mean it is almost Oct. 1st and we are still pushing 90 degrees outside. I think that is all about to change this week and I can feel it in the air. Fall is going to make her way into town. So it might just be time to......

can the last of the tomatoes
trim the raspberries
plant some bulbs
till the garden
winterize the pool
put up the patio furniture
clean the deck
OH and best of all get my craft table!

So as fall makes her way into town we find ourselves curled up inside just a little more. Football blaring on the TV and it might just be time for me to cut into some fabulous fabric and start making some Christmas gifts or that Mermaid costume that my daughter wants for Halloween. What better way to spend a Sunday afternoon!

~Scarlett

2009-09-11T14:41:00.001-07:00

9/11….just those words render feelings in all of us. Thoughts about that fateful day 8 years ago... 8 years, it sounds like a long time yet seems just like yesterday. I know we all have stories about where we were that day when we heard the news. I was somewhere between rocking babies and standing in line for my Starbucks, heading off to work and listening to the radio announcer say things like the Pentagon has been hit. I remember thinking this is the United States of America, planes do not fly into the Pentagon. I watched TV just like the rest of the world and my heart ached for those families. I felt a special connection to those women who lost husbands that day and all those little faces we saw on TV, the little ones who we came to know as the babies of 9/11. You see my little girl was just three months old. I wondered what would happen in her future and how the world would look. I wonder what happened to that America. The one where we all had flags flying and we supported our troops. I remember listening to George W. Bush and feeling proud to be an American. He brought this nation through one of the most difficult times in history. We are back to complacency. Congress can’t get anything done because of the division in parties, the economy is in the tank and Obama is not proving to be the Savior everyone hoped for. In spite of all of this I hope that America can reach down deep again and stand together. I hope that we will pray for our troops and remember those men and women not just fighting in Iraq right now but all of those that fight everyday of their life, those that fought in Vietnam, Korea, and WWII. All of the people that serve us every day and keep us safe. Today, my little girl is 8. She remembers nothing of 9/11. It is something that she will learn in history and I will tell her stories about where I was on that day when she is older. She doesn’t understand the threat of terrorism. She goes to school in a safe place and says the pledge of allegiance. She learns to sing the Star-Spangled Banner with sign language. She studies the Presidents and makes Abe Lincoln’s hat. She comes home and sleeps soundly at night. She knows that her great-grandfather fought in WWII and Korea and her grandfather fought in Vietnam. She knows her daddy was in the Navy. She is an all American girl. One day she will understand the sacrifice that they made and she will be thankful just like I am today.

~Scarlett

Perfect Imperfection

2009-09-02T13:20:00.000-07:00

I am a perfectionist, yes I will admit it. I can’t just let something go it has to be perfect. Ask anyone, my husband, my kids, my mom…they will all tell you that I am a perfectionist. Sometimes I love it other times I dread it. There are bare walls in my house with no art because I cannot find the perfect piece and I don’t want to just stick something on the wall. I have repainted, resewn, and revamped many an item because it was not just the way I wanted it. Yeah, seems like a lot of work but once it is perfect, I am happy. If I leave it I just see all the imperfections and it drives me nuts. I will admit though it is tough being perfect especially with a house full of kids, family, dog, cats, rabbit, pigs, life. I have learned to overlook a lot to keep my sanity and occasionally I stop and ask myself…does this really matter? Who cares if the beds aren’t made or stacks of clean laundry sit in the laundry room…life will go on and it does. The world does not fall off it’s axis and we all manage to survive but have you ever experienced perfect imperfection? You know where you plan for everything to be just so and it doesn’t work out yet somehow the moment is perfect? Things fall into place in a way that you would have never imagined they could. I love these moments. They keep me humble and human and help me to remember that I really have absolutely no control over this world or my life. I try but in the end…no control! This week was one of those weeks. I planned, prepped, and prepared the best I could for the first day of school. Lunches packed, backpacks filled, clothes laid out, alarms set, bedtime stories, and goodnight kisses. I even reminded myself to set out the camera for those first day of school pictures. The morning went smoothly and we all made it out the door in time, excited, happy, anticipating that first day and guess what, yep not one photo. I check facebook that night and everyone is posting pics of the kiddos smiling with their new school attire. What did I have….nothing. Nothing but lots of hugs and kisses before the bell rang, a million mom I am going to miss you’s, and two will you please come see me at recesses….see perfect imperfection….who could ask for more. So, maybe today or tomorrow I will break out the camera and get 4th day of school pictures but for now I will cherish the fact that they will miss me and yes, I will go peek on them at recess.

2009-08-27T21:03:00.000-07:00

A conversation overheard by a mother that involves her 5th grade son and friends....

Boys:

So, who is your teacher this year....various answers.

So, who is in your class..... various names.

So, what girls are in your class....various names.

Um, I think there are some new 5th grade girls....who....what class....what do they look like.... oh, you know her name.

Mother:

oy!

It's time for Fair

2009-08-20T11:58:00.000-07:00

Fair.... corn dogs, rides, fried dough with sugar, animals, and lemonade.....close of summer. Well, it is fair week in Kerbyville and for us that means lots of excitement. We have 2 4-H'ers in this house which means lots of projects to get done. Let's see decorate pens at fairgrounds, record books, interview, load pigs, shave pigs, brush rabbit, load tack box, and make sure show clothing is ready. Whew, I am tired just thinking about it. Ah, but Fair, the excitement in the air, a culmination of all that hard work over the winter coming to an end. The final project completed. My daughter's eyes will light up tonight as she walks into those barns. She should have been born to a rancher or farmer. She will walk the aisles and pet every beast in that barn. All the cows, sheep, pigs, rabbits, chickens, ducks, and horses. She will ask to do every project next year and we will have to tell her she has to pick one. She will clunk around in her pink cowgirl boots and by the end of the night she will be every one's best friend. That is just how she is, she loves fair. I love it to, I have to admit. I think I should have been born to a rancher. Don't get me wrong, I love some good shopping and dining in the city but there is just something about being in a barn full of animals. Yeah, I know...it stinks...for some. As a girl I always dreamed of having a horse or cows or pigs. I can see that same dream in my girl's eyes. If I could I would buy some land and we would move to the middle of nowhere and she could have all those animals to love. For now we will settle for the pigs, rabbit, dog, and cats. So tonight we are off to fair. Here are the projects that they are taking:

Thumper (the rabbit, no she does not sell him, he will come home)

Hambone (he will be sold)

So next week we will be exhausted but in a good way and in October we will start all over!

Scarlett

August

2009-08-07T19:14:00.000-07:00

(deep breath)...August, it is such a strange month for me. Part of me is ready for a schedule and some structure in my life and the other part of me longs for the lazy days of summer to last forever. Laying by the pool, taking trips to the lake, visiting friends and family, talking fireside until the wee hours of the morning.....summer, all the things I treasure in my life. A few more weeks and we will be back to early mornings, packing lunches, football practice, homework, schedules. It is funny how the school years have changed for me. It used to be me looking at the calendar and counting the days until I was done with work and could spend all day home with my babies. Now I look at that calendar as a time keeper counting down the years until they leave home. They just seem to be moving faster than I ever though possible. Summer is coming to an end and my boy is entering his last year of elementary school. I don't know what is harder, watching him walk into that kindergarten room or watching him walk into 5th grade on his last first day of elementary school. Part of me wants to squeeze him and make him stop growing so fast but the more I squeeze the more he tries to wriggle free, just like when he was 3. Only this time it isn't just out of my arms, it's away from me into his own little life. With a role of the eyes and "mom" in only the tone that a preteen can give you he navigates his way through this world taking a piece of my heart with him. I know, we all did it, became independent, we just didn't know what it was doing to our mothers. Good thing or we might all still be living at home. I want him to be free and independent. Strong, sure, successful. I love watching him grow and gaining insight into his world. I will cherish this last year of elementary. I am blessed to have been with him the whole way, working at his school. So this year as I look at the calendar, I won't be counting down the days until summer break. I hope this year is long and sweet. I hope it takes it's time before June roles around. Until then, I will enjoy every last minute of our summer break. September take your time!

Let's Go Down to the River

2009-08-03T14:00:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday my gigi was baptized. I can hardly believe that she has reached this stage in her life but I am proud of her. She was so cute when the pastor asked if it was okay if he baptized her. She said yes, just don't let go of me cuz I will just float away. So we all gathered at the river and watched her special day. Here are a few pics....

2009-07-09T21:27:00.000-07:00

So life in kerbyville has been just a leetle busy lately. We have gone from one fun activity to another. This week we were able to spend a little time at home to recover from all the fun we've been having, well that and trying to avoid catching the stomach flu. Yep, it's July and the flu bug is flying around. It managed to weasel it's way into our tiny little cabin in the woods over the 4th. Our family managed to stay bug free although a few others fell victim to a very violent bug. Yuck, bless their hearts! Our week at home has given us some time to stop and create. We spent 2 days on the back deck creating altered books and listening to all kinds of music. I just love summer. We've also been spending some time in the garden. We have lots of raspberries, yellow squash, zucchini, cucumbers, and I spotted my first tomato tonight...yum! The kids have enjoyed helping pick raspberries although I think they eat them faster than they pick. Romo also likes to share in the treats. Here are a few pics of gigi helping pic. I know, I know the hair is wild but hey, it's summer!

2009-06-29T22:16:00.000-07:00

Whew, where do I start? Cabin trip, class reunion, birthday party, and now a trip to McCall. I promise I will post pics soon!

Oh Summer Where Art Thou

2009-06-15T08:48:00.000-07:00

It is 65 out and has been raining on and off for almost 2 weeks....need I say more?

Values in a Valueless World

2009-06-10T17:39:00.001-07:00

Ever feel like you are fighting a battle or better yet a war. Lately I have felt like I am fighting the battle of my life and it is for my kid's souls. I know that sounds a bit dramatic and this little post could easily turn into a rant but man, I am tired and we still have a ways to go. I know, I know, I could go on and on about back when we were kids but let's face it we do have a few more things to deal with than our parents did. You know, cell phones, email, IM, texting, internet, video games, etc etc. The list of techy things goes on and on. I am not anti-technology by any means. I'll be the first to admit that I am just a little addicted to facebook, my ipod, and my cell phone. I am just not ready to had that over to my 10 year old. He is not ready to handle it either, but I swear the next time one of his friends, friends me on facebook I am gonna scream. Or better yet when they ask why we don't give him a cell phone I will definitely lose it! Come on people a little discernment here. I mean seriously you are gonna hand you kid a cell phone and say go for it? Do you listen to the news? Have you heard of sexting, pharm parties, and the crazies that prey on our kids? If you haven't you either to old to know what I am talking about or to young to have kids in this age group, so I guess you can relax for a little while. I know not all kids fall into this category and there are some really awesome kids out there. I work with them, my kids have them as friends. It's all that stuff out there that you just pray your kids will never try or even be interested in trying. That is what gives me a tiny panic attack when I think of it. I am trying to teach some good old fashion values in a valueless world. You know, you have to work hard in life to succeed, you need to be responsible for yourself, be reliable, stick to your word, and don't compromise your values. I guess it would be easier to just give in but then what price would we pay in the end. I don't want to find out. So I will put on my armor and continue to fight. Some of you might just be as tired as I am, if so keep it up!

Happy Memorial Day

2009-05-25T19:25:00.000-07:00

Creatively Challenged

2009-05-22T08:29:00.000-07:00

I don't know that "creatively challenged" is really how my friends would describe me, well at least not the ones that really know me. I think of myself as a pretty creative person. The challenge lately has been time. I long for the day when I can just sit and create. It takes a little time to clear you head of all the everyday clutter and get into that creative mode. I have a fabulous stack of fabric just screaming to be made into two very sweet baby boy quilts. I mean one of the fabrics is blue camo...how cute is that! Any hoo, despite my lack of time and organization I can dream of being creative or at least live through others creativity and I have. I have found two very cool blogs that I am starting to enjoy. Material Obsession and Marie Grace Designs. Check them out under my favs. These are the women that actually have the time to sit and create. I will be there soon. One summer project is to clean out my craft closet and take back my craft room that has been overtaken with games, playdoh, sculpty, makers, crayons, and pipe cleaners. At least someone in our house is creating! For now I may not get to sit on my porch and knit or quilt or paint all day, not yet. I am still raising babies although they are no longer babies and are quickly becoming preteens. So I figure a few more years and all that arguing, driving, cleaning, cooking, snuggling, fixing owies, and answering the mysteries of life will be replaced with painting, quilting, and knitting. Doesn't sound so bad putting that off for a while does it. Right now I will stick with the mom thing, I love it way to much. And hey, all my grand kids will get to wear the funky sweaters I make for them.

:) Scarlett

Things that make me smile.....

2009-05-20T18:11:00.000-07:00

:) Scarlett

2009-05-12T10:32:00.000-07:00

Since I was mothering on Mother's day because my little gal was sick, this is a little late. Just wanted to share a little of what I have been blessed with not only as a mother but also as a daughter, sister, and friend. To all the girl's in my life I say thank you for doing life with me. It just wouldn't be the same without you. I love you all!
Click on the link to see the video.

Mother's Day

2009-04-20T20:34:00.000-07:00

Well, here is alittle bit of what has been going on around here:

Easter egg hunts

Easter egg unwrapping!

Playing with cousins

Football

Spring Break Adventures across the sea.

Fun in the sun!

A little cheerleading.

Some Basketball.

It has been a very busy spring. Lots of fun and adventure!

2009-04-14T14:44:00.000-07:00

Life in Kerbyville lately:

1) Spring flag football is in full swing. Practice, games, cheering, more practice. Fun for the boy.

2) A new cousin has joined the group. Now we are up to 6 grand kids. Very busy and exciting.

3) Spring has sprung, winter has returned, spring again, winter, um hopefully spring will stay soon!

4) Yard work, yard work, and more yard work...that is what happens when you have such a big yard. Now work on the pig pen. Piggies come in 2 weeks.

5) School is very busy for me and the kids we are down to 35 days and counting...ooh la la summers a coming!

6) Lots of summer plans on the books. If you would like to visit Keryville give me a call so we can get it scheduled...it's getting full of fun!

7) More to come....all of this excitement has been documented in photos. I guess I need to find the time to post them. Soon I promise!

~Scarlett

Awaken

2009-04-06T18:25:00.000-07:00

The world is awakening...spring is here. I know we may have a few more cold days in our future but the trees are budding, the birds are singing, the flowers are blooming. This time of year I always feel that I have survived. I survived cold dark winter. I can feel the sun on my face...ahhh, we have made it!

Reflecting...

2009-04-03T18:31:00.000-07:00

I have had a very busy week. It seems like a whirlwind which is usually how April goes. It has been a good week though. This week I was awarded Elementary School Counselor of the Year for my entire school district. Quite an honor. I am humbled, proud, surprised, shocked, and completely in awe all at the same time. It is a real honor to be chosen by your peers to receive such an award. Part of me is celebrating and part of me is wondering how I managed to be the winner. I am not one to put myself in the spotlight and I often wonder if people notice what I do or if it just happens behind the scenes. I guess they have noticed. It has caused me to look back on all that I have done in my career. You have dreams and aspirations when you leave school and head out into the big ol' world. Young, green, lots to learn. Then it seems you are 15 years down the road and some how you have become the expert in your field. Feels very strange and then I realize that maybe I am accomplishing what I set out to do in life. No, it was not to receive awards or recognition, it was to make a difference in someones life, to change the world for the better one person at a time. It was to help just one child make it through their parent's divorce, the death of a loved one, a move to a foster home, or walking them through getting help from abuse. I am privileged to do this everyday. To some that seems like a very hard job and some days it is. I love it though, it is my passion. I might complain about the number of students I have, pay cuts, lack of funding, and legislative interference but I go in everyday because I know for some kids I might be one bright spot in their day and if I am it is all worth it. So I am happy to be honored but I would do it all again with no recognition just to know that I made a difference in one small life. That is the heart of a school counselor.

Manic Monday

2009-03-30T13:44:00.000-07:00

Okay so it is Monday and to add to that it is the Monday after spring break. Blah, back to school, back to work, back to a routine. You always get a reality check after a week of no alarm clock. It is an even bigger reality check after a week on a tropical island, it was 34 degrees this morning...34!! Seriously people it is almost April...ahhh!!! So as I was dragging my kids out of bed this morning, and I was literally dragging them, I was thinking okay this is not so bad, I am awake, we can make it. We were on track and then everything fell apart. Gigi didn't get dressed fast enough, the little man was trying to squeeze in 5 minutes of TV watching before we had to leave and I was wondering if we were going to make the bus. Pile in the car, race down the street to the bus stop, we make it. Now I am all alone and on my way to work. Ah, breathe. So I drive to the wrong school, realize it about half way there luckily they are close so no biggie. Here is the kicker, I am so hot I have to crank up the AC. I am thinking I over dressed until I look at the temp on my car thermo. and realize it is 34 out. Okay, did my fever return, no I feel pretty good....hot flash! Are you kidding me?! What the heck? So if you happened to see a 30 something gal driving this morning with the windows down, red face, and singing "Just another Manic Monday" it was probably me. If you have no idea what "Just another Manic Monday" is please keep your prissy comments to yourself. You certainly missed a great decade of music and you are so far from hot flashes that I don't even want to know what you think!

~Scarlett

2009-03-20T08:08:00.000-07:00

I know I have been blogging about my kids a lot lately but they have given me so much good material lately that I can hardly resist. Here is a conversation between my gigi and little man in the car. Don't you just get the best conversations in the car?!

I asked my little man why several girls from his class were complaining that he was annoying. He said I don't know. So gigi chimes in, maybe they like you. LM says no they don't crazy girl (yes he calls her that sometimes). So I begin breaking up the fight that is about to start. Then gigi says what do you get all butterflyie (have to put the e sound on the end) when they are around. Lm stop it! I tell gigi we are not talking about people liking each other and you are to young to have boyfriends or girlfriends or to be talking about going out. You can talk about going out when you can actually go out so that is when you can drive a car. We have about 6 years before that will happen. Gigi chimes in again, well I am getting married in 21 years. Okay. So in 20 years I would be 1 year away from getting married so there. WOW! What do you say to that as a mom?

2009-03-17T09:32:00.000-07:00

I tell you my kids never leave me empty handed when I need something to post about. I just love to listen to their stories and conversations. Last night while we were in the hot tub gigi was telling me all about Saul. Here is how her story went.

Mom, did you know there was this guy in the Bible named Saul? He went walking downtown looking for a church because he wanted to find some Christians to persecute and you know...cuucck sound (slid her finger across her throat) kill. On his way there was a very bright light so bright that he was blinded. It was God telling him to quit killing Christians. His friends that were with him were so scared. So since he was blind he decided to believe in God. Then the light went away and fish skulls fell out of his eyes and he could see again. So he changed his name to Paul. Well, I think it was Paul or was it Paul first and then Saul. Oh, I can't remember. Any way he changed his name and kept going down the road to gymnastics.

So cute! and yes I told her it was the road to Damascus not gymnastics.

Sweetness...

2009-03-16T14:17:00.000-07:00

Okay, you get two posts today. I was just sitting here thinking about my gigi and I thought I would share a little of my world with you. Every day I am amazed at my kids. I love, love, love them even when they drive me nuts. Can't hardly stand to be with out'em. The other day we were in the restroom of a local restaurant (we do our best thinking there). It happens to be decorated in a western theme, cowboys, boots, horses, all the things my little girl loves best. Our chat went something like this:

Me: I bet you like this bathroom with all the horses and cowboys. Are you gonna marry a cowboy one day?

Gigi: Nope, I am gonna marry someone who loves to have lots of animals around and who is not allergic to them.

Me: oh. good plan.

Gigi: I am gonna have horses and chickens and cows and pigs and a chiuaua.

Me: Oh, cowgirls usually have bigger dogs than chiuauas. Your horse could step on it.

Gigi: Cowgirls have chiuauas.

Me: really?

Gigi: yeah, there are lots of cowboys and cowgirls in Mexico and they love chiuauas there.

Me: hmm, good point. I guess you can get a chiuaua and still be a cowgirl.

Live like you were dying...

2009-03-16T09:02:00.000-07:00

cuz you are. Pretty profound huh? This week was the wrap up of our 30 days no regrets. I wish I had been better at blogging about it but life just got in the way. That is okay because I have no regrets about not getting around to my computer. I was having to much fun living. I will say as soon as the service at church started this weekend I felt a blog post coming on. It started with the song "live like you were dying" by Tim Mcgraw and the story of Tim Mcgraw's life and how he found his father. He wrote that song after he sat with his father and watched him pass. I began thinking about this past month and all that has happened in my life. I know we all know that some day we will die but I really don't think we think about it much more than that. Oh, when we hear the story on the news of someone dying young or watch our grandparents leave this earth we might think about it a little more. Maybe we hug our kids a little tighter or tell our hubby that we love him a little more but after a few days we are right back in the rut of life taking every day for granted. So how do we keep that passion for life alive, how do we keep our focus on what really matters? In this world it can be hard. When everything around us tells us that it is all about money, power, stuff, status, looks, and who knows what else, it can be very easy to take our eyes off what really matters. So how do I keep focused...a lot of prayer. That is it. Simple huh? Well not really. Despite all my prayers I still get tempted to take my eyes off my goals, to get discouraged, to forget what matters. There are a few things that I have done to help me keep that passion alive. One of the things that I think has changed my life the most is marrying my husband. He has the same passion and goals that I have. Although we are completely different in our thinking we have the same goals. We are passionate about our family and we love to live life to the fullest. I love when we have an opportunity to do something and he says, if you don't do it now you never will. That has pushed me to do things I never would have otherwise. He does the same things with our kids and now I see the passion that they have for life. We have a bucket list and we are checking things off. We both agree that we don't want to look back and have regrets. No regrets about the time we spent at work instead of with our kids, no regrets about putting off vacation, no regrets about not being involved in our church and community. Yeah, I'm tired and sometimes I am over scheduled but it is tired in a good way. I have no regrets and I hope to keep it that way!

Wicked Weekend

2009-03-12T10:25:00.000-07:00

Most of you know that I spent the weekend in Portland with some friends. We went to see Wicked. What I was amazed to find out is how many people on facebook probably think I spent the weekend in Portland doing something entirely well, wicked. It is a musical people! and a very good one at that. Loved it and desperately want to take my gigi who saw the program and was very interested. We had to go online and look at pictures of the Broadway show. I had to explain every scene and tell her the entire story. She wants to go now. So I am putting that on my bucket list, that and Thanksgiving weekend in New York and the Macy's day parade! Yep that is going on there too. I would love to tell you all the details of the weekend but that would take a while and you may not understand everything anyway especially if you are male. You know a group of girls, no kids, no responsibilities...fun. We had tons of conversation, well pretty much non stop talking. I think we scared a few waiters...especially Addison... and a few restaurant patrons. Some pretty interesting shopping, downtown Portland has some very eccentric shops and we managed to stay out of trouble which is saying something for some of these girls! So if you ever have the opportunity to spend a little time with all the gals that went you will probably hear some funny stories and you will make some new friends very quickly. These girls are awesome, fun and the best part...they are real!

Chaos

2009-03-05T19:57:00.000-08:00

Okay people, if there is still anyone out there, I have about a million little things floating around in my head to blog about. I always seem to think of them when I am driving. Seems like I do a lot of that lately. Burning up the highway between here and basketball or gymnastics or cheer or football or awana or 4-H hmmm, sounds a little busy huh? Well it is, that is why all I can seem to muster lately is the few little lines I squeeze out on my facebook page. I am afraid if I go all deep and dark on facebook some how the few friends I manage to have will unfriend me. So here is my two minute update. More to come on this sad little blog of mine. It is neglected, I know. Oh and by the way, disregard my previous post. It was snowing here today so somehow I think spring is long gone. Blah! Oh and I am off to the #1 unhappiest city tomorrow....Portland. Yep heard that on the radio today. It is the unhappiest city in America. Hopefully I will make it a little happier. 7 girls, no kids, no husbands, Wicked, hotel, shopping, sleeping, eating.....how could that not make it a happier place!

~Scarlett

Spring's a comin'

2009-02-24T20:24:00.000-08:00

Can you feel it in the air? Ah, we are almost there. I know I whine and I know I complain but winter is hard for me. I feel like I am in a fog and only half way living. It's weird. When the days get a little longer and the sun shines a little more I can feel my soul waking up again. I love to feel the sun on my skin and have it actually warm me. Love it! I will take 105 over 35 any day. I know some think I am crazy but I am a warm weather gal. Flip Flops, sun glasses, iced tea and bbq's are what I live for! Sometimes I wonder why I put up with Northwest winters. But I do and I try not to whine to much. I am sure the mister would love to not have to hear me say how cold I am and I am sure he is ready for me to stop putting my ice cold feet on him at night. I know that I have a few more weeks, even months before the warm weather is here to stay but I am taking what I can get and today it broke 55 so I am rejoicing!

Bucket Dippers

2009-02-18T13:20:00.000-08:00

Bucket Dippers, that's what I call them. You know the people that come along and just dip out of your bucket but they never really put anything back in. Energy drainers, passion stealers, dream squashers, whatever you want to call them, they are the people that make you want to run the other direction, screen your calls, and fill your calendars. I know that might sound mean but I know you all have someone that comes to mind. I used to put up with people like this in my life. I had to be nice, didn't want to offend anyone, be the good girl and all that jazz. Here is what I have learned though, it has nothing to do with being nice or good or loving, it has to do with setting boundaries and not letting people steal your energy. I know God has called us to love our neighbors and to show His love to others and I think you can do that and still set up some boundaries in your life. Last year I read a book and it really changed my thinking. It is called Fool-Proofing Your Life by Jan Silvious. It is a study on relationships from Proverbs, an honorable way to deal with the impossible people in your life. Sounds nice huh. Well, it has changed the way I deal with some of the people in my life. We all have fools in our life. Those people that never learn, constantly make the same mistakes and always blame everyone else for it. They create strife and spread slander. Some of them are friends, some relatives, some that we inherited through marriage, and some that we have chosen to have in our lives either through friendship and well sometimes marriage. The Bible defines these people as fools. It also warns us that when we keep the company of fools we are headed for destruction. There are ways to deal with these people that leave you feeling frustrated, angry, hurt, drained, and ready to slam your head into a wall! If you are thinking hey, I need this then I highly recommend this book. It is a fairly easy study and very eye-opening! All of this to come back to the fact that their are people in our lives that drain our passion. Part of One Month to Live is to live passionately. I think that really making a conscious choice about who we allow into our lives is important. I deal with people daily. Some are in crisis, some are hurt, some are reaping the consequences of their actions and looking for a quick fix. Whatever is happening I try to be there and listen and help resolve some of the problems. I hope that I show them the same love that Jesus would, the same compassion but at the end of the day they are not the ones that I confide in. Even Jesus had his 12 disciples that were his closest friends. He was closer to some than others. He was even betrayed by a few. It's that very similar to our lives though. I have close friends. Some are closer than others and yes, I have been betrayed by a few as well. I am at a place in my life right now where I am very happy about those that are on my inner circle. I trust them and love them and know that they support me. I can't say that life has always been that way. I have had times when I have had to think hard about who I would call on if I had a problem, crisis, emergency. That is not a fun place to be. I have cut my bucket dippers out! It has been hard not to get sucked back into the drama but you know what, I am so much happier! I just came to a point that I was done, couldn't take it any more. I still pray for these people and I hope that they will change but I am not going to be the one to change them. So they are gone. What does that mean? Well I still talk to them but I keep things are a more superficial level. I don't allow them to steal my energy or suck me into their drama or make me feel like I need to fix their problem. Was this hard at first? yes, I felt guilty but what I found is that they will survive and I have a lot more energy and a lot less frustration. So I was already working on this but when I started One Month to Live it actually reinforced this in my mind. I mean really, think about it, if you had one month to live would you be spending it with the people that you are doing life with right now? If not why?

I give

2009-02-17T19:57:00.001-08:00

Okay, so I knew when I said I would blog about my 30 days no regrets that I would not make it everyday. It only took 3 days for me to miss so I am revamping. I will just update on what I am learning and any profound thoughts that I have. One thing I did learn is that having a very busy schedule can zap your passion that and certain people and unattainable goals. I am thinking the very busy schedule is the culprit for me. Let's face it, I am a single mom for most of the week, I am basically working 2 full-time jobs this year, I have 2 kiddos in activities, I try to cook healthy, keep a decent house, walk the dog, and get some creative time in here or there. Well, all that could zap your passion. I am not complaining about my life and trust me I am constantly looking for ways to clear my plate but where I am is busy. It can at times zap my passion. Right now my passion is a little ember. I can honestly say it is not burning bright. I am just plain tired. Most of my energy is drained at work. There is so much to do and very little time to do it in. To put it in perspective last year I worked full time at one school with 520 kids. This year I am working at 2 schools, 1 with 500 kids the other with 610. Get the picture....crazy! So I am trying to keep things in focus and make it through the year. Next year should be different. So what have I learned this week. There are things that can take away your passion. People, unachievable goals (perfection), and a hectic schedule. I have more thoughts on this but it will have to wait until tomorrow. I need to go get some rest!

Day 2

2009-02-10T20:19:00.000-08:00

Today was interesting. It started off like any ordinary day but ended with chaos. My sweet girl was knocked in the face today at gymnastics. When they called to tell me she hit her lip I thought no big deal. Plunk an ice pack on it and I am on my way. When I got there and she showed me her mouth..well that was another story. She lost her two front teeth a few months ago and the big teeth had not came through. Now they are. Um, I don't think that is good. Any way, we headed to the ER. All is well as far as I know. She has to see the dentist tomorrow to make sure there is no damage to her permanent teeth. She has one baby tooth that was knocked loose but thanks to some hydrocodone she is sleeping well. Her brother informed her that if she damaged those adult teeth she will never get front teeth. This concerned her a little but I told her they would build her new teeth just like her Uncle. She was glad to know and said he had good front teeth so that would work. Gotta love big brothers!

Day 1

2009-02-09T18:55:00.000-08:00

Okay, we will see if I actually record 30 days of no regrets hey, I can try. So I just noticed that this is my 100th post! I guess I should have a give away or party or something....don't get excited...I'm not. Woo Hoo, there ya go celebration! Well, it is Monday. That word can send shivers down your spine. If I were a day of the week I would not want to be Monday. It gets a bad rap. So our Monday started like most...hectic, late, tired, cold, foggy, blah. I decided this morning that I didn't care! I was going to have a good day and I was not going to nag at my kids so I didn't. We were late this morning but I did not let my heart rate rise. What is 10 minutes in the grand scheme of things? Guess What...nothing happened! No one died and it was no big deal. So I think I saved myself a few years off my life by not allowing my blood pressure to rise and I know my kids had a better day because of it. We had a nice peaceful ride to school and a great day. We had a yummy home made dinner thanks to my Rachel Ray magazine and now I am sitting alone while they are at a 4-H meeting with dad. Simple but good! No regrets. So I uploaded a little video for all you moms out there. Cute but made me think about my kids' perspective. I want to be a little less like this!

30 days no regrets

2009-02-08T09:37:00.000-08:00

Ever wonder what you would do if you had 30 days to live? Well, you can join me in a challenge and find out! Our church is doing a 6 week series called 30 Days No Regrets. It is based on the book by Kerry & Chris Shook. The challenge is to help us focus on what really matters in life. I like to think that I already live this way. Passionately, full and with no regrets but I know there are some things that I need to work on. I am always saying "in the grand scheme of life will this really matter"? One of my favorite lines to keep things in perspective because it is so true. I mean honestly if your kids eat popcorn in the living room does it really matter?, if they play in the mud, paint their nails bright red, smear makeup on their faces, or stay in their jammies all day....WHO CARES!!! What really matters is what they will remember about you in 20 years. What kind of mom are you? Do you have fun and did you make great memories together? Yeah, if I really only had 30 days to live I would probably quit my job, yank my kids out of school, and go do what ever we wanted together but that is not reality. We have to pay the bills and educate the kids. So what can I change? Well, that is what I am working on figuring out. I think I do a pretty good job cutting loose with my kiddos...well at least when I am not stressed and over worked. I guess what I would like to think about is what differences am I making that will last for eternity. I know....big....but it is something that I would like to think about. So are you up for the challenge? Let me know what you might be thinking about. I would love to hear some others thoughts and ideas.

~Scarlett

I've got sunshine

2009-01-26T20:17:00.000-08:00

I am happy to report that there was sunshine in Kerbyville today and tonight I actually saw the stars. To be honest I had forgot they were there so we I headed out to feed the dog and looked up it was a nice surprise. Some of you may wonder what I am talking about and why I would be so happy for sun. When you live in the Northwest there is something called stagnate air. I know sounds lovely. Basically the air does not move so when you live in a valley the air above becomes warmer than the air below. This really means the air does not move so you get a low cloud cover and your valley becomes a pit of fog. That's right, cloudy, foggy, and gray for 2 weeks. So when a storm rolls in and moves out that air, you start praise'n Jesus. Even if that means it is sunny and the high of 20. Hey, at least there is sun!

Double Digits

2009-01-24T21:07:00.000-08:00

My little man turned 10 today....10! Wow, I know what every mom says...I can hardly believe it. But you know, it is true. I wonder where the time went. You spend the first 5 years wishing they were more independent and that you could get a little free time and then they get in school and you just wonder where the time goes. Now I am the mom of a "tween" and again I wonder how that happened. There is no way I am ready to handle a tween or teen but I said the same thing about a newborn. Now all those diapers and feedings seem like a breeze compared to questions about life. You know those questions that you really pause before you answer because it really matters what you say. You can't get away with those simple answers that you gave a two. I mean what do you say when he asks what meth is and why do people go to jail when they use it. Wow!!! See pause and stop. So I have decided to take it a day at a time like all parents do. I like that he is at an age where he is still safe and with me most of the time but I can tell you those teen years are sneaking up and I am trying my best not to think about it. Breaks my heart a little. That same heart that breaks just a little as he gets older and more independent swells a little with pride when I think of the boy that he has become. He is kind, funny, smart, friendly, and helpful. He has values and a strong sense of right and wrong. He is a leader. That strong will that I battled at age 3 is now paying off a little. He knows his mind and is not afraid to stand for what he thinks. I pray that he will continue to grow and keep true to himself and what he believes. So to my little man I say...Happy Birthday!

Christmas Crafts

2009-01-15T08:02:00.000-08:00

Well, Christmas has come and gone but I am just getting around to sharing my Christmas craftiness. So here you go. These patterns were fun and easy. It was such a treat to see everyone open them and enjoy them.

My SIL nad niece in their matching aprons. Gigi is begging me to make her one so I better get the machine fired up!

Fun sling bag from Amy Butler. I could barely part with it so I think I will be whipping up a few more of these.
Another fabric combo that I did. Very cute.
These bags are super spacious but really cute. I think they would make a really fun diaper bag. The inside has pockets to hold all those baby things.
Just a few of the fun things I whipped up. Super cute and easy. Now just to find the time to make something for myself!

A New Year

2009-01-08T19:40:00.000-08:00

The new year has rolled around once again. Everyone is hitting the gym and making resolutions. I am not one for resolutions. I think if you want to change something you should just do it. Why wait around for Jan. 1? I was thinking of this as I was driving to work today. Why...I have no idea. Maybe it is because it occurred to me that it is Jan 8th and I have not even thought about it being a new year. No time to stop and reflect. So this morning as I was driving on clear roads and I was actually on time I had time to think. As I was thinking ever so deeply a song came on the radio. One life is the name of it. I love this song and thought to myself....hey this is going to be my motto for 2009. No resolutions to hit the gym or lose a few pounds or eat better or recycle more. Nope. My motto is going to be to live life to the fullest. If you have heard the song it is all about a man who is dying and reflecting on all he missed in life, how he would change things if he could. My favorite line from that song is you only get one chance to find out what you don't want to miss. Simple yet profound. So quite down cluttered closets, stuffed drawers, old workout videos, unfinished scrapbook pages, and endless projects because I am not making any resolutions to finish you! I am going to have fun, love my kids, play with my family, travel, read, sleep late, chat with friends, stay up late, talk on the phone to long, spend to much time on facebook, watch to much TV,create, make messes, and love life! So there I guess I made a new year's resolution. That's it. None of the things that I am supposed to do but all the things that really matter. Happy New Year everyone...there are some warm chocolate chip cookies calling my name....yes I am going to eat them and yes they will be good!

~Scarlett

Our Imperfect Christmas

2009-01-05T17:41:00.001-08:00

Right before Christmas I received an email that talked about the imperfect Christmas. It was saying that we need to focus on each other rather than all that needs to be done. It also talked about how most traditions start when something goes wrong. I laughed to myself and thought about how I try not to get hung up on all that needs to be done……I think that was my mistake. As a lot of you know our Christmas was far from perfect. Oh it started out perfect. Plans to go back east and spend Christmas with my family after 14 years of not having the holiday together. All was on track. Gifts wrapped and shipped, bags packed, tree down and then we get the call….flight cancelled. Again no big deal we will just go a day later…nope couldn’t get out until the 27th…now it is time to panic. What are we going to do? The mister is very concerned about our gifts that are on their way to VA. All of our gifts, even the ones from Ol’ Saint Nick. So I tell him to call Fed Ex and see if there is anyway to pull the package. They say no problem we will have the package to you on Christmas Eve. Great….everything will be okay…right? So I suck it up for my kids, put on a happy face, and pull out a few Christmas decorations. All is well. Then Christmas Eve roles around. No package. The mister calls Fed Ex, no problem your package will be delievered in Fredricksburg tonight…..WHAT?!! It was supposed to come back to Boise. Okay just keep it there because we will be there in a few days. Now I have to rush out on Christmas Eve and find something that will make Christmas wonderful and magical for my kids. Great, just what I had planned for Christmas Eve, shopping! Off I go leaving the mister at home to make cookies for Santa, get the gifts, head to church, come home, put out cookies and reindeer food, wrap presents, fill stockings, and fall into bed. What the heck just happened? Christmas day roles around and all is well. Kids are happy and Santa came through. The mister is still nervous about our box so he calls Fed Ex. Oh the box will be delivered to your hotel tomorrow morning. On the 26th the mister calls Fed Ex again. Oh your box will be delivered to Idaho on Friday…..WHAT??!! It is supposed to stay in VA. Nope on it’s way home, but we are leaving. The mister talks to the Fed Ex manager and explains this whole messed up situation and they say they will try to fix it. I take down the Christmas decorations again, pack again, and plan to go to the airport very early….again. On the 27th we head to the airport, go through security, mister can’t find his cell phone, that is because it is at home…great. Calls his mom who is staying at our house and tells her to mail it. Do we dare use Fed Ex? We get on our plane and sit on the runway for an hour while they deice and attempt to put in all the luggage. We are an hour behind schedule and I am getting nervous. We land in Seattle at 9:01 and we are supposed to leave at 9:15. Missed our connection…boarding closed!!! Nice. Wait in Seattle for 5 hours. Catch the 2:00 flight to DC. Sit on the plane for an hour while they find a pilot. Circle around twice, wait for a repair guy to fix a latch on a door, take off….finally. Hopefully we make it. Land in DC at midnight. Fall into bed at 2am. Wake up and think maybe the worst is over. Little man says his tummy hurts, Send the mister for some Pepto, give the little man pepto, little man hurls all over the bed in the hotel room. Nice. Merry Christmas! The mister and I just laughed at each other. What else could go wrong???? We have a yummy late Christmas dinner with my family and despite missing a few presents still have a lot of fun. On the 29th the cell phone and gifts arrived…yeah! No more puke and no one else got sick. Our trip was fun and coming home was a breeze. During all of this I kept asking God what He was trying to tell me or teach me and I had no answers. Trust me I was grumpy because nothing was going right and I mean nothing. Then it hit me….the imperfect Christmas. I realized that I had the imperfect Christmas and everything was okay. We still had the spirit and love and each other which is all that mattered. So just like 2000 years ago, everything did not go as planned yet it was wonderful. This is a Christmas that will go down in history in Kerbyville. One that we are already laughing about. It was our Imperfect Christmas!

2008-12-26T20:51:00.000-08:00

I am heading home for the holidays tomorrow morning. May not be on time and let me tell you this will be a Christmas to remember but now I am going home. Can't wait to see everyone that has been waiting for us. It will be a good day!

Salvaging Christmas

2008-12-23T18:26:00.000-08:00

Well, we are stuck in Boise that is. I was supposed to be in Virginia right now, hanging with my family and getting ready for Christmas. It would have been the first time we were all together for Christmas in 14 years. Yeah, it was a big one. We are here though. So now I am having to salvage Christmas. I know this will be funny one day. Not so funny now although I am trying to laugh and I have had several conversations with God about this one. We were all checked in yesterday and putting the kids to bed since we were going to have an early morning. That is when the mister checked the flight status and there it was.....cancelled. Great. So we call Alaska and they tell us it is our flight out of Boise that is causing the problem. We could get out of Seattle. Hmm...do we try to drive to Seattle. It is 9pm, snowing hard, and it is a 10 hour drive to Seattle. The mister calls back and asks about Salt Lake, LA, Portland, anywhere...nothing. Dec 27th is the earliest we can leave. Okay I guess we will take what we can get. Then we decide well let's try to drive. Alaska calls back about our flight on the 27th, I tell the girl that we are going to drive so we will fly out tomorrow. She says Oh no. She had cancelled our flight for the 23rd. Okay, I guess we are going nowhere. Now being the efficient girl that I am, I had already taken down the tree, packed away all the decorations and shipped all the gifts FedEx....even the Santa gifts. What now?! So the mister calls FedEx and gives them our sob story...the gifts will be here tomorrow. Just in time for Christmas eve. Since I was heading out of town we had no groceries...nothing...no milk, no eggs, no cheese, no bread...you get the picture. So I had to brave Walmart and Costco 2 days before Christmas. Fun Fun! Now I am home sitting by my fire trying to figure out what just happened. I am salvaging Christmas. It will be fine. We will be fine. I will spend Christmas with my family. It may be on the 28th but we will still be together and this Christmas will go down in the history books for us.

~Scarlett

My 2 Front Teeth

2008-12-23T09:47:00.000-08:00

Christmas Vacation

2008-12-20T21:17:00.000-08:00

Christmas Vacation is here and boy am I loving it. The month has been hectic to say the least. I am ready to take a break and just enjoy some time with my family. Tomorrow we are going to open a few presents, head out to breakfast, and go see high School Musical 3. We haven't seen it yet and it is in the dollar theater now. You probably are wondering why we are opening presents so early. We are heading back east for Christmas so we are opening a few presents that don't really need to travel across country with us. My wonderful husband is taking me home for the holidays. It is the first time in 14 years that my family has been all together for Christmas. We always see each other in the summer but travel at the holidays is not the easiest. We are spending Christmas in Fredricksburg. I am excited to see the decorations. It should be beautiful. It will be fun to have my family around me. I have most of the presents wrapped and almost all the projects done. I will have to post a few pics of some of the things I made this year. It was fun to do a little crafting even though I had to squeeze it in between a million other things!

My People

2008-12-16T20:02:00.000-08:00

You know how there are times when you just need your people. You know the ones that know you, really know you. No frills, no masks, no fuss, just you. That is what I need right now. This week has been hard. Despite all that is going on around me I am trying to keep that Christmas spirit but let's face it, this world sucks! There I said it and I feel a little better. I love to hide out this time of year at home, Christmas music blaring pretending all is good in the world unfortunately this week I have not been allowed to do that. Yesterday I had to go to a memorial service for a very good friend whose daughter died. She was 38...young. She committed suicide. I know I can hardly believe it myself. Seems to be a theme in my life this year and I am starting to hate it. Before I headed off to that memorial service I had to make a call to Child Protection. Usually this is not a big deal, I make the call and leave the rest to CPS. This case is different. Sad. That is about all I can say about that. I also hate it. So I am doing what I do to survive. Writing it here. This is my place to dump so sorry if this is not uplifting but I just had to dump. BLAHHHHH....So come friday I am leaving it all behind and I will spend the weekend with the ones I love the most in the world and I can hardly wait. My Christmas music will be blarring and all will be right in the world again.
~Scarlett

Simply Christmas

2008-12-14T20:15:00.000-08:00

Last night was our music program at church and it was fabulous. I think it may be the best one yet. The band was awesome and the kids did a great job but the message is what touched my heart and I needed that. I went into the program thinking one more thing to do on my list of gottados. I had a conversation with a friend right before the program started about all the shopping, wrapping, partying, and trimming I still had left to do. We both agreed it was the busiest December we have ever had and neither one of us were in the spirit. About 15 minutes into the program we both had tears streaming down our faces. The entire message was about how all the things we have to do keep us so busy that we forget why there even is a Christmas. It is simply this...God with us...He sent his Son so that we could be with Him and He could be with us. That is all God wants is to be with us. How amazing. So quite down shopping and wrapping and trimming because my heart needs to be still. My heart needs it to be Simply Christmas.

~Scarlett

Sweetness

2008-12-09T19:03:00.000-08:00

I was driving in the car with my gigi the other day and we were listening to Christmas toons. The song Mary did you know came on and she started singing along. It was so sweet. I have always loved that song, one of my favorites. After the song was over we had a little conversation about it. It went like this:
gigi: Mom Mary was sooo lucky.

me: Why is that sweety.

gigi: Because she got to see God.

me:(chills) Yeah she was pretty lucky because God chose her out of everyone in the whole world and she got to have baby Jesus in her tummy.

gigi: She had a magical baby.

me: I am sure that it was very magical having an angel come and tell you that you were going to have a baby.

gigi: It must have been magical to kiss God.

I love this girl more than words can ever express. Thank you little one for reminding me why we celebrate and giving me perspective in all the hustle and bustle.

~Merry Christmas
Scarlett

2008-12-03T21:34:00.001-08:00

Okay so you have to hear my totally absurd Target experience. Tuesday night as I was trying to squeeze in making dinner before picking up gigi and a friend from gymnastics I hear a crash in my living room. I run in to see my Christmas tree laying on the floor. I think what the heck just happened. I ask the little man to help me set it back up when I realize the tree stand broke. We have a fake tree and bought this tree stand last year at Walmart. I call the mister who happens to be in Beverly Hills working and spotting stars (Will Smith) so he decides to help me and search the net while I am driving to get gigi. Tree stands are not very easy to find but he spots one on the Target website. It says IN STORE ONLY so I went to the store. After searching for a while I decided to ring the customer service thingy. Here came someone to help me. I asked about the tree stand and she looked totally clueless so she referred me to another guy that was supposedly the Seasonal expert. I ask him about the tree stand again clueless. I said well it was on your website as an in store only item. He looks at me with a completely straight face and says "Well, 99.9% of the time our website is wrong". Are you kidding me???!!! So I say well that is really helpful. Then he offers me a tree stand for a real tree. I tell the guy that I need one for a fake trees. He says oh, the fake trees come with stand. um yeah I have a fake tree I just need the stand. So he just stares at me like I am nuts. Then along comes Miss clueless to let him know he has another customer that needs his expertise. I walk away shaking my head and wondering what corporate would think of him tell me that their website sucks. I should have know when he walked up that this was hopeless. He had the shifty eyes...you know where they both go in a different direction so you don't know which one to stare at. I know mean...but you are laughing and if you aren't you really want to. Any hoo, back to square one. I head home but on my way call the mister to let him know that Target's website is wrong 99.9% of the time and a cross eyed dude stood between me and my tree stand. The mister says I just called Walmart for you and they have one. I swing into Walmart and head to the Christmas section just hoping I do not have to call on an associate for help. There on the shelf is one tree stand. The irony??? it is the exact same piece of *&@# tree stand that I had at home in several different pieces. I grab it pay the 7 bucks and head home wondering what the heck just happened. Seriously? Did I do something to deserve this? Got home put the tree back up only to find that it was swaying back and forth. I put books under each leg, say a prayer, and go to bed. What else do you do?

Bah humbug....Scarlett

** If you happen to have a good idea for a tree stand apparently there is a market. Just make sure it is not a piece of %$#@.

Forgiveness

2008-12-02T05:21:00.000-08:00

Okay it is 6am and I am posting. If you know me at all that is crazy because I always get up at the last second. I have a huge knot in my neck so I was up at 4am. Hopefully my massage lady will fix that today. As I was sitting here in the quiet of the morning my mind has a little time to wander. A luxury most moms don't get due to all the background noise. There has been a theme in my life lately that has surrounded gratitude. I know that it comes with the Thanksgiving season and all but this year it has spoken to my heart. Last night in our small group we were asked to give one thing that we were thankful for. No pat answers allowed, you know the ones, God, kids, husband, country. We had to really think about one thing we were thankful for outside of all that. One word has been coming up lately and that is forgiveness. I am thankful for forgiveness. Maybe that sounds like a pat answer and yes I am thankful that God forgives our sins but more than that I am thankful that God allows us to forgive others and that He heals relationships. I am also doing a Beth Moore Study right now (Psalms of Ascent) and I have been struggling just a little to get into it. This week hit me square in the face. It was about forgiveness. She talked about how God forgives us and does not keep a record of our sin. If He did we could not stand. I thought about that and what that really means. The fact that God keeps no record yet we keep every detail of when we have been wronged. I know I do. God has been working on my heart in this area and when I finally got it the very thing that I was so desperate for him to fix and heal was done. I cannot tell you the burden that has been lifted from my soul. For that I am thankful. I am thankful for forgiveness.

Happy Holidays

2008-11-30T17:44:00.000-08:00

Well, it is official....the holidays are here. I hope that your stop here gets you in the holiday spirit. I love Christmas and all that comes with it, baking, shopping, parties, and the magic that shines in my kids eyes. They get so excited they can hardly stand it and I love to help that excitement out just a little you know hearing reindeer on the roof or spotting Santa taking a test flight getting ready for the big day. We are heading to Virginia this year for Christmas so Santa will deliver there first since they are on eastern time. It should be fun. We have decked the halls in kerbyville and the oven has already been fired up for some baking. So with that said...let the season begin!

~Scarlett

More Gratitude

2008-11-28T21:13:00.000-08:00

Today I am thankful for time at home. We skipped black Friday and spent the day at home. Gigi was so excited to put up the tree so we decked the halls. It is always fun to get out all the ornaments and remember when. Then we spent a little time visiting our neighbor and her grandson. Gigi loves to go over and do art and she is always willing to let the kids break out the paints and go to town. I got to spend a little time in front of my sewing machine working on Christmas gifts. We topped off the night with an invite from friends to head to the dollar theater. Overall a very good day totally free of crowds, sales, traffic, and crazy people! I am thankful for that.

~Scarlett

Day 2 of Thankfulness

2008-11-25T19:34:00.000-08:00

Today I am thankful for chocolate. I know that is really deep but I made triple chocolate biscotti last night and it is what got me through the day. Thank God for the little things!

~Scarlett

Week of Thanksgiving

2008-11-24T20:33:00.000-08:00

So in honor of Thanksgiving and wanting to focus on all that is good in my life I am dedicating this week to all that I am grateful for. Today I am grateful for my family. They are the ones that get me through the week and I am always happy to come home to them. I love you all. I have included some pictures of my family. This was the very fun weekend that we had in Moscow at the U of I vs. BSU game. Despite our loss we had a very fun time tailgating!

The little man just had to make a poster to support his team.

The mister has not lost his touch when there is a baby on board.

Who couldn't love these cuties.

The girls had to make up a cheer routine. IDAHO, Idaho, Idaho, go, go ,go!

The little man working intently on his poster.

I hope that you have lots to be thankful for as well.

~Scarlett

Mexico

2008-11-21T19:43:00.000-08:00

I thought I should probably get on here and post a few pics from Mexico. Before I know it January will be here and I will be so far behind it is not even funny. I had to put this pic by itself because it needs some s'plainin'. This my friends is what you call a Mexican Taxi ride. Just imagine 15 people trying to fit into a VW van of some sort. Well, let's just say we did it and apparently it is legal to let your kids ride in the hatch back. I really have no idea why I was telling them to sit on their bottoms, somehow I thought that would prevent them from flying through the window in case of an accident. Do you notice the sleeping baby? Um Yeah, car seats not required. He slept the whole way through cobblestone streets, weaving in and out of traffic, and pouring rain....quite the adventure. The kids loved it and thought we were on a roller coaster ride. I on the other hand was trying not to look at the road.... way to scary. I realized how well trained my kids are. They attenpted to put on their seatbelts in every taxi. Some work others well not so lucky. The manual rolldown windows were a real treat. They had never really seen them so they were facinated. Kept them entertained the whole way. Here are a few more pictures:

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

2008-11-16T20:13:00.000-08:00

As most of you know there have been a few things happening in Kerbyville. Last week the mister's grandfather passed away. We all headed up to Northern Idaho to celebrate his life. I call it a celebration because we have a lot to celebrate because of him. Grandpa has been battling Parkinson's disease for the last few years so his death was bittersweet. We will miss him but we know that he is with the Lord and I am sure that he is having the time of his life. Grandpa was one of the most wonderful men I have ever met. He always had a kind word and a smile. He worked harder than anyone I have ever know. The man was unstoppable. He ran a dairy for over 30 years with his brother so you can image how hard the two of them worked. When he found out he had Parkinson's he began a battle. He would walk between 3 to 5 miles a day trying to keep the disease from winning. I have always wanted to make a difference in the world and I only hope that at my funeral people will say the things that they said about grandpa. He did not earn a great fortune or become famous but he made a great impact on many people. He left a legacy by investing in people and loving them. He lived what he believed. We will miss you grandpa.

We're Back...

2008-11-09T07:17:00.000-08:00

Well, almost. I am sitting in the Seattle airport writing this post. We are almost home from a fabulous trip to Mexico. The kids had a blast and learned a lot of spanish. My gigi no longer says yes, she says ce. We had a lot of fun and took a ton of pictures. There were several highlights on the trip and I honestly can't name my favorite thing. While we were gone a lot changed. We watched a new President get elected via spanish TV. We caught part of the election results in a little resturant called PiPi's while the Mariachie Band played. My gigi lost her two...yes two front teeth during a fiesta. Luckily the tooth fairy has her passport so she made it all the way to Mexico. She brought 50 pesos! Gigi used that to buy a few treasures at the Marketplace. She is pretty good at bartering. Smart girl. We have a few more adventures this week but I will post more later we have to board our plane.

Vandal Victory!

2008-10-27T20:17:00.000-07:00

Well it was homecoming weekend at the Uof I. We headed north to take part in the festivities. I must admit that I had forgotten how charming the Uof I can be in the fall. The leaves are changing and the air is crisp. You can feel football in the air and you can definitely smell the tailgaters cooking up some yummy things are their bbq's. The little man was impressed when we ate lunch and all the waiters were wearing their Vandal gear. You get a little tired of the blue and orange in bronco country. We headed over the Kibbie Dome and caught a little tailgate action, jump houses, and shopping at the bookstore. The game turned out to be a nail biter and the Vandals pulled out a Victory. I have never seen a team or fans so excited over a win. The dome erupted and my little man cheered like crazy. Here are a few picture of the weekend:

The fam on the turf celebrating the victory. The little man had to run a few touchdowns and gigi did a few flips....maybe they have a future here!

Had to get a picture with Joe Vandal!

The guy showed up and started leading some cheers before the game started. You have to admit he is in the spirit.

He is ready for some football.

The kiddos outside the Kibbie Dome. The little man made a sign because he wanted to get on TV. Hey, it's not ESPN but Altitude will work for him.

3:42am

2008-10-23T16:52:00.000-07:00

I know funny title for a posting but that is the exact time that I have woken up the past two nights. Hum, what is that about? Actually, I know....stress, that's right the s word. All day long I talk to people about what stresses them, how to manage it, you have to let it out or it will get the best of you, well I need to listen to my own advice. I have been going about 100 miles an hour the past few months. The good part, well it's almost the end of October and I actually don't know how that happened. The bad part.....3:42am. I know when I am stressed because that's what I do, pop wide awake at the wee hours of the morning and start mulling over my day, what lies ahead, and what mistakes I made the day before. I know, crazy. I need to get it out in my awake hours so it doesn't come out at 3:42am. That is where you come in. Here is where I am laying down that stress, right here in my virtual journal. You are probably thinking what have you been so stressed about? Well, good question. I did manage to figure that out at about 4:18am. Things at work with some students...you know the yucky stuff that counselors have to hear and handle, it comes with the territory but occasional life gets out of balance and it gets the best of me, family, my brother is going through some medical treatments for thyroid cancer, we are keeping positive but still you know, and of course kids, my kids get a little stressed in life and I need to make it better for them. So with all that said I have been trying to figure out how to regain some balance in my life. I think I found a little peek into what the answer will be....no, not Puerto Vallarta in 10 days, although that will definitely help. It is the Ladies Bible Study that I am starting. We are focusing on the Psalms of ascent. I am not totally sure what that means but all I know is Beth Moore promised that I would be happier after this study and I am holding her to it. Not that I am not happy but hey we can always be happier right? She also said something that really gave me a boost. We are only in the situation we are in for a moment. We are not stuck there forever. So with all that said, life will calm down soon and things will get back in balance. Even in the mist of stress and even at 3:42am, I am happy and grateful for the wonderful people in my life, the mister who rubs my back, my kids who miss me when I am not there, my friends that let me vent, my family who calls and gets way excited to see me, and even my job because I know it is my calling. God has blessed me more that I ever imagined or deserved. So to all this stress.......I am letting you go!!!!

~Scarlett

Repair Man

2008-10-17T11:02:00.000-07:00

So I am sitting here waiting for the repair man. I am always amazed that they can tell you they will be here between 10 and noon and we actually come home and wait. I am wondering if I could just tell work I will be there sometime between 8 and 4. Do you think that will work? I wonder. Actually I have nothing to complain about. I am at home, it is quiet, and I am going to cut into that stack of fabric I bought. Thank you repair man!

Fridge on the fritz

2008-10-16T20:26:00.000-07:00

So like a week ago my fridge was making a very strange noise, since I was on my way out the door to work and late like usual I decided to worry about it later. Sometimes you just have to do that. When I came home there was no noise so I figured all was well. A few days later I started to notice that my milk was not as icy cold as usual but again thought it was in my head. A few days after that I mentioned it to the mister and he agreed that things did not seem as cold. Last night I was becoming concerned so I cranked to to as cold as it gets went to bed and decided I would call a repair guy in the morning. This morning I got up as usual and was following my daily routine...shower, let the dog out, wake up kids, make my carnation instant breakfast,.... umm this is where everything fell apart. You can imagine my dismay when I went to pour the milk into my instant breakfast and it looked more like cottage cheese than milk....no....it was not frozen...Ewwww! Panic...maybe I waited a little to long to call that repair guy?!

~Scarlett

I'm in LOVE

2008-10-15T18:18:00.000-07:00

So I got the new Williams Sonoma fall catalog and I must say....I am in LOVE. Pecan pumpkin filled pancakes were one of the many yummy recipes included, not to mention all of the amazing dishes, cookware, and thanksgiving decorations. I was instantly inspired and for some reason I can hardly wait for Thanksgiving. Just looking at the catalog made me want to break out the dishes and start cooking. I start to get that way when the weather turns cooler, the urge to make some yummy soup or a roast just takes over. You know those dishes that just instantly comfort you....mmmm...chicken n' dumplins. See just writing this makes me hungry. Does anyone else get this way? Well, I have already decided I am going to try some of these recipes. I will let you know how they turn out. Now I just have to find the time!

The Best of Both Worlds

2008-10-14T17:36:00.000-07:00

Life has been a little busy in Kerbyville. I have lots of things floating around in my head to blog about. I finally made it to the fabric store last night and found a few little goodies that I will be posting soon hopefully. As we speak or in this case type I am downloading some really cool scrapbooking kits from the shabby shoppe so I have lots of work ahead of me before the holidays. All of that aside I will get to the point of my post. As my gigi and I were driving home from the fabric store last night we were jamming out to radio disney. I know.....seems like I am feeling older lately, it's the christian station, the 80's, or the disney channel in my car. Did I mention that a lot of the 80's songs are now on easy listening....yeah our parent's station that was so not cool when we were growing up! Any hoo, as we are listening to radio disney it occurs to me that I am singing along with Hannah Montana and I know all the words. Then gigi and I try to decide who it is that Hannah is singing with is it Joe Jonas maybe....sounds kinda like Joe....no it happens to be Corbin Bleu....oh yeah sounds like Corbin. Cool. Then it occurs to me, when did this happen? When did I become a radio disney junkie? Who knows I just am and I have to admit I love singing along with my girl! Ohh, a tune just popped into my head....peanut butter jelly time!!!! Uh, that is a whole other post!

In honor of this post here is a picture of my gigi at the fair. She was in the rabbit dress up contest. She is Hannah and her rabbit is Miley.