You Can't Take It With You....

Soon Rod and I will both be out of the country, so we decided to get our Will updated. Even though one knows that death is an inevitable part of life, it's a strange thought to ponder...especially when you have young children. Thinking about leaving my mom and children behind makes my heart ache; however, I'm not afraid to die. After listening to the recent series on heaven at church, it actually gives me great comfort and anticipation towards my afterlife. It is the people I would leave behind that makes me want to cling to life.

The day after we updated our Will, Leona Helmsley died. The headlines read: "Leona Helmsley leaves $12 million to her dog." Upon reading the rest of the story, you realize that this woman went to her grave with hatred, bitterness and unforgiveness in her heart. How unfortunate that a person chooses this path. The starving children in Africa, the homeless lying on the streets of America, all abused and neglected souls surely could have used some of that $12 million, but instead a dog named "Trouble" will reap the rewards. It made me sad for Leona Helmsley that she lived 87 years on this Earth and obviously never"got" it...that is, the true meaning of life. It also made me look inward and ask myself, "Are YOU getting it?" What am I doing to make the world a better place? When I meet my maker, will I struggle to tell Him about my kindness, my humility, my service or my forgiving heart? I hope not. I don't want to waste this precious life He gave me; and at the end of it, I want to really get it!

To all my 5 readers...bonvoyage...I'll update my blog next week!

Awww..The End of Summer!

The end of summer is fast approaching....next Monday is the first day of school! This event, along with my upcoming trip to Cancun, is making me feel a little jittery inside! I feel like a kid again, anticipating an event that is new and unknown. When I ask Alex if he is excited about school starting, he shrugs and nonchalantly says, "Nah." My stomach, on the other hand, is doing cartwheels. How can he be so calm?

Reflecting on these last three month's of long, hot (and surprisingly rainy) days of summer '07 puts a smile on my face. I got my tummy tuck at the end of May, and although painful, expensive and hard on my mom, was a procedure I am grateful I got to have. June brought record-breaking rainfall for most of Texas, and I was in recovery-mode, so the kids and I did a lot of "bonding" that month. July was back to the gym and swimming time and Aidan learned to hold his breath under water. August proved to be hot and somewhat mundane, but Sea World brought a welcomed break from our day-to-day routine. September is looming around the corner with great anticipation....school, Cancun, Rod's birthday, Alex's birthday, PTA...more of life's experiences to be shared!

Goodbye, summer....

Please don't strike, Hurricane Dean!

Since March, I have been planning a trip to Playa Del Carmen (30 minutes from Cancun, Mexico) for Rod's 40th birthday, but Mother Nature may put a damper on my plans. Yes, Hurricane Dean has hit the Gulf of Mexico. From what I have read, the most damage has been to the Yucatan Peninsula and the major resorts in and around Cancun haven't been too affected by Dean's wrath.

Although this is good news, I am still somewhat anxious. You see, I stay home with 3 boys. It has been a long summer. I am desperately needing some R&R on a tropical, 4-star, all-adult resort where my major dilemma of the day is..."What bathing suit should I wear?" I have been dreaming of lying on the beach, drinking froo-froo cocktails, reading a titillating romance novel and basking in my slothfulness. Not to sound too narcissistic, but doesn't "Dean" realize what he's doing to me? I know, I know, lives have been lost, homes have been damaged, businesses are closed...it's all quite tragic. However, I'm not sure "Dean" has ever stayed at home ALL summer with three hyper-active, bored boys whose greatest past time is to torment their mother. Surely, "Dean" is a man (disguised as a hurricane) who has no idea what a stay-at-home mom goes through...if he did, he would have stayed in the Caribbean.

To my fellow vacationers, Pat, Van, Mette, Allen, and of course, Rod...all I can say is...PRAY! :)

Sea World...or Bust!

My family just got back from a fun-filled and exhausting five days in San Antonio! One of the high points of our trip was visiting Sea World and feeding the dolphins! In the pictures above, my two-year-old is tempting a dolphin with his tidbit of dead fish. Realizing that the dolphin intends to eat the fish, Aidan decides to take it back during the feed...thus, a battle of tug-of-war ensues...but the dolphin wins...hence, the smile!

Sea World was amazing, and I highly recommend the shows. The food, however, was expensive and lacking in any nutritional value whatsoever. I was beginning to feel as big as Shamu since my diet consisted of mainly greasy fried foods with a side order of french fries (whether you wanted them or not). Come to think of it, I think Shamu ate better than we did. Luckily, I packed some oranges and granola bars so that my children wouldn't forget what real food tasted like. The restaurants on the River were exceptional, though, and every meal we ate in the evening was surprisingly good...sans the fries!

As I was unpacking from our trip and reflecting on the events, I think the children had a great time. One night we let the boys order ice cream for room service, which Alex was tickled about...okay, so it was $13 (with tax and tip) for three scoops of ice cream, but it's about the experience, right? Rod and I got two date nights by ourselves since my mom offered to watch the boys in the hotel room, so we had a great time. Hopefully, my mom enjoyed herself too (she said she did)! All-in-all we will have some great memories...

Have you heard of Huckabee?

Recently at church we had a guest speaker who happens to also be running for President. I hadn't heard of him until then, but I must say, he was quite impressive. I actually got goosebumps thinking what it would be like to have a leader with such conviction, values and new ideas. A politician that could be respected...could that actually happen? He wasn't there to talk politics or even promote his campaign (well...maybe just a little...) but to preach. And he was good.

Unfortunately, I don't see Mike Huckabee in America's future, and that makes me sad. My fear is that we are going to have another Clinton...God, help us! Hopefully, I haven't completely turned into my mother (sorry, mom), but if Hillary wins, I might just have to stop watching television. Perhaps I'll become an info-mercial junkie instead of a Fox News viewer. I won't know anything about what's going on in the world except how to make salsa in my new hand-held blender that turns into a vacuum cleaner...or perhaps I'll decide to watch a new reality t.v. show about a 40-something Scott Baio finding his true love (gag).

My reaction to watching Hillary makes me want to turn into my 5 year old, Andrew; put my hands over my ears, close my eyes and scream over and over..."I can't hear you. I'm not listening to you." Not only do I not agree with her politics, but I don't think she is a person of substance, moral-character or value. She just rubs me the wrong way, like a bad itch that won't go away.

Even though I voted for Bush, I don't think he's been the greatest President. I'm a fan of his moral-character and convictions, and truly believe he is a man of God. However, I must admit, that he too has made me cringe watching him blunder his way through media interviews. It's definitely time for a change. Even though I would prefer a Republican in office, I pray God's favor over America's soil...because we certainly need it!

Meaning to a familiar song...

Like most people, Alex loves music, but at 6 prefers grownup tunes rather than"baby" music (as he so respectfully calls it). Recently, Rod purchased a refurbished MP3 Player for he and Alex and uploaded some kid-safe songs for him to rock out to. The hardest part was trying to find some rap music that his still innocent-ears could hear, but we managed to find some Christian Rap that he likes...and Will Smith "Get Jiggy With It" is now a fave.

One of Alex's requests was "Hotel California" by the Eagles. Rod said he would have to listen to the words and make sure it was kid-friendly. It was a boarder-line decision since the word "hell" is mentioned, but we decided that if we talked to him about it, it would be okay. So one day while Alex is jamming out with his ear phones on he innocently exclaims, "Mom, I think there is a bad word in Hotel California. Can I tell you what it is?" I said, "Sure." He said, "Golitas...what does it mean?" I started laughing because I knew what word he was referring to..."The warm smell of colitas rising up through the air..." In actuality, I didn't know what the word meant but I told him I thought it was a type of flower.

Now my mission in life was to find out what the word "colitas" meant...or was that even the correct word in the song? After googling the lyrics to "Hotel California" and discovering that in fact, colitas was the correct word, trying to find out what it meant was another task. Google suggested that I mistyped and asked me if I meant colitis, which means an inflammation of the mucous membrane of the colon. Ooh! Surely, that can't be right! Don Henley can't be singing about the warm smell of an inflamed mucous membrane! After further investigation, I came across a website/chat room where people are pondering the lyrics to this song. Apparently, it has a lot of people stumped. Drum roll please....

[quote]It seems to translate as "little tips" or "buds" - presumably of the marijuana plant (Cannabis sativa) - where the tetrahydrocannabinol is most concentrated.[quote]

Okay, so I wasn't too far off the mark. I think for the sake of my 6 year old, we'll just stick with my version of a "type of flower." Marijuana plants do "flower", don't they? Ugh...now another mission...Google here I come!

Grandparents

Yesterday was my Aunt Sheri's birthday (my daddy's baby sister) and my Grandparents drove down from Cross Plains for a visit. As I was watching my Grandparents, who are in their mid-80's, interact with my children, it reminded me of my own childhood and how much I loved being with them. My memories are full of summers and holidays spent on their farm, picking fruit and vegetables from the garden, playing pool and records in the basement. No one can ever forget me banging on the piano and belting out my rendition of "Delta Dawn", "I Can't Live" or "Bette Davis' Eyes". My Aunt wasn't sure if she would live through this phase of my childhood, but 30 years later, we still laugh about it. Mumsy always baked me a chocolate cake (because hers was simply the best) and made me cinnamon toast and oatmeal for breakfast. I still crave her macaroni and cheese...something I've never been able to duplicate...and peach cobbler and apricot preserves. I loved going in to town and shopping at the local stores and picking out a little toy or treat. My memories of my time spent with them are so special because they made me feel special...something only Grandparents can do.

I am so blessed that my Grandparents have gotten to meet my boys and relive shared memories of my childhood with them. As Aidan was dancing around and singing "We Will Rock You" by Queen, Papa laughed and said, "Hey, did your mother teach you to do that?"...and I thought, no it's in his genes! Thank you, Mumsy and Papa, for passing on such good genes, memories and blessings to us all! I love you so much!