A Pajama Mama

Wow! Is it that time already? Our summer ran away from me without my permission.  (More on our rocky start to summer break in another post.)  We are into our third week of home learning already!  Here's a shot of the room where the action happens! And here's where I found these two one day... Learning together.

Anywhere with you is my favorite place to be.... This week we celebrated 19 years of marriage. We just thought we knew what love was and what being in love meant 19 years ago at the altar. We loved each other as much as we knew how...back then. 19 years together has brought about a love between us that is hard to describe, deep as an ocean, wide as the sky. We are one. About a month after we got married, I got upset everyday at my Hero because we'd get home from work...and he'd go fishing. In my mind, I couldn't understand why he wanted to go fishing more than he wanted to be with me. I cried about it. Yes, I cried. I thought I was enough for him...why did he need fish to help him unwind and de-stress?? Fish are slimy and they stink! And let's not discuss crickets and worms.  Oh the joys of being a newlywed, trying to figure out how to navigate a marriage relationship.  19 years later, my sweet card he gave me says it all... "Anywhere with you is my favorite pl...

My 14 year old daughter wrote a blog post on her thoughts about love, purity, and dating. What's so precious about Rayray is that these aren't just words on a page or her attempt to say what she thinks her parents want to hear. The overflow of her heart inspired these words. She lives this. To the young man who may one day seek to win her heart: You will receive a priceless treasure and if you do not realize that, then you aren't "the one." =================================================== What Purity is to Me July 12 Before I begin, I’m going to go ahead and let you all know that this is my opinion. Feel free to disagree and post a comment about what you don’t agree with. But I’m not getting into any kind of debate, so I won’t be responding to any comments. Again, this is my point of view and what I believe it means to be pure. Purity is more than just wearing a purity ring and saying “I am going to keep my body from evil.” It is more than waiting ...

All I did was blink. And we went from  here.... to here.... in one 7 year fell swoop.  Seven pounds to seven years in the blink of an eye. Happy Birthday, sweet princess!

Doodle : Remember when Rayray made a purse out of juice pouches? The Boy: Maybe one day you can knit yourself a purse with your own juice pouches. Me : You don't knit juice pouches together, you sew them. Doodle : Mama, why haven't you ever taught me how to knit? I have two knitting sticks and am ready to go! Me : Because I don't know how to knit that good. We'll have to get Mema to teach you. The Boy : Well, Mama, when you get to be an old lady you will know how to knit because allll  old ladies can knit!   And you can knit me a warm, fluffy sweater with love in every stitch!! Sometimes I feel like I'm living in a sitcom.

The Boy, age 10, came to me as I was finishing up dinner tonight and asked with sincerity, "Mama, can you get me some of that stuff I can spray on my skin to make me smell like a MAN?" This morning, I started school by asking the littles, "What is that smell!?" I had them each close their eyes and sniff whatever it was I waved under their noses. I had honeysuckle blossoms from the yard, apple pie spice from the kitchen, the BBW lotion I use every night, the body spray their teen sister uses, and the menthol chest rub (that stunk up the entire juvenile end of the house last night bc of all their COUGHING!). Anyway, all were very familiar scents to them. Then we read and talked about these verses... 2 Corinthians 2:14, 15, 17 says: In Christ, God leads us from place to place in one perpetual victory parade. Through us, He spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those being saved and  among those pe...

We have a precious new friend. Her name is Jenny . She's a young wife and mother to a beautiful baby girl. She's also the very real, transparent, and talented lead singer for Addison Road . And...Addison Road just so happens to be our most favorite band. And we just so happened to drive 5 hours to see them in concert a few days ago. Awhile back, we watched a 20/20 show on country teen star Taylor Swift. Camera crews went backstage with her before one of her concerts where we saw a plush lounge area set up complete with fully stocked snack bar, expensive furniture and candles lit for a luxurious, relaxing place to wait until time to go on stage to sing. Let's just say this isn't exactly the same picture for our Addison Road. Traveling on the road for months at a time in a borrowed tour bus with the baby...setting up their own equipment.....eating Ramen Noodles before a concert?  No, not the lap of luxury by any stretch of the imagination. So why do they do it? Is...