Some wisdom from Solomon

So yesterday, we are driving home from a very busy day at the pool and spending the night with gramma when my son says this, so randomly,"MOM, I am going to be a telemarketer when I grow up"After I compose myself from laughing so hard I blew snot out my nose, I say,"Oh yeah, what's a telemarketer Sol?""It's when you call people all the time and they hang up on you"Pretty interesting the mind of a 5 year old boy. Don't know why but I guess that sounds like fun to him.

Ready SETTY GO!!!

Ready ....Setty..... GO!!
That's what Isaiah says before he jumps off the couch or into the pool or pretty much get's ready to take on the world. "Ready , Setty, GO!!" This expression has been running through my head for a while now as some new things have been stirring in me and I just need to make the leap and get the ball rolling. For some reason though, I procrastinate when change is coming down the road I will wait til the very last second to make the changes or plan for the changes or pack for the trip or whatever. I know that this is the way I have been but what I don't know is , is this the way I always want to be? It reminds me of my hubbies mother and how she would wait til the plane was almost leaving the terminal before getting him to the airport because she just didn't want to say goodbye. They were literally the scene from Home Alone when everyone is running and rushing to catch the international flight and they forget the kid at home. I can't say that I blame her for waiting so long to get to the airport but the affect this had on Mo I don't think was all that good. So that's what brings me back to my own behavior in waiting to make changes until I am almost forced to make them. Is this good, is this bad, or should I just continue to be indifferent about it? I don't think that I can be indifferent about it anymore though because what I have realized is that this trait has trickled over into the way that I handle things with not just me, myself, and I but all other relationships are affected by my choices to wait, procrastinate, or otherwise do nothing. Some things have got to change in me. I know who to go to for help. I am equipped to handle these changes and now it's just time for me to say, "Ready, Setty, GO!!" and take the jump.

Just a few pictures

The pictures that I took were mostly with Gina and Izzy's brand new camera so by the time I realized I should take some of her with my own camera to post and email she was already in the nursery. So these are through the window but you can still see how beautiful she is and all that hair :)

Can you say , proud Auntie.

Savanah Rae Guzman

Savanah Rae Guzman was born this evening at 6:58p.
She is beautiful.
I am already in love with this precious person.
My sister is amazing and God is so good.
Pictures to come soon.

Gotta love Ellen and Gladys

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuT0Zf3kJX0
Okay so this is the first time I have done one of these u tube thingys and I apologize in advance for those of you who might not care for Ellen but I thought this was stinking hilarious and just wanted to share the giggle with everyone.
There are two Ellen's in my life who make me laugh and I still haven't figured out which one is funnier.

Baxter, A dog and his bone

Last night our new dog Baxter kept me up from about 1-4p. I would dose off in between his hyper adventures but not for long. He doesn't usually keep me up at night but last night the Giant brought home a GIANT bone for him from the grocery store, he could barely fit the bone in his mouth, and this dog went nutts. Literally, he is the kind of dog that can't just sit there with a bone and enjoy it he has to figure out where the best hiding place for the bone would be. So that's what he did, ALL night. From the backyard to the living room, to the bushes right outside our open window, to the pile of girls dolls on the floor. I finally had to put an end to it around 4:30a as he had woken up Emma and she was not happy. It really was funny now that it is over. I have never had a dog so obsessed with a bone. He is the typical dog I guess in that sense that once he gets a bone he has to bury it. Makes me wonder what we will find in our backyard someday if we ever try to change the landscape. And, guess where the hyper dog and his bone are now? Well, the bone is nowhere to be found but the dog is asleep right by my feet dreaming of big bones I am sure.

Some questions unanswered is okay

How much more in this life have I misunderstood because I didn't have the correct interpretations or all the facts gathered before making up my own conclusions? How many more decisions will I make because of my own fears that will lead to lack of true freedom?

The older I am getting and the more I am learning about life in general I am coming to realize how much I have misunderstood. How many people I have taken the wrong way or thought of so differently then what lies beneath the surface. In many ways it seems to be a bit of an awakening for me to realize that I don't nor will I ever have it all figured out and that's okay. I want to be a life long learner. I want to still be asking questions about my God, my husband, my children, my family, my country until my dying day. I don't want to know everything there is to know but I do want to know everyone that I can possibly get to know with the time that I have been given.
A friend recently posted a blog in which they asked if you were to tell your life's story with only six words what would you say.
I said, "Live life fully , moments pass quickly" which is more of a saying than it is a story so I think I would change that to say, " one life, many questions, still peaceful"
What would you say?

Summer , Whoo hoo

The summer got off to a great start this morning as every one of my kiddos and even their Uncle all slept in. We all got up leisurely after 10 and then headed to the park to meet up with some friends. When we were there the kids caught some tadpoles that I was hesitant to let them keep but Emma was quite convincing when she said , "Mom I will get online and research exactly what they need to stay alive and then I will clean the house to buy them whatever they need and then ....." can you just hear the plea from this 9 year old girl with her sister and brothers right behind her cheering her articulate adult conversation on. I was overpowered by the forces that be and caved into allowing baby frogs in my house. Then she had the brilliant idea to make a lemonade stand to raise some money to "save the tadpoles" and well I have to admit that this kid is one smart cookie and when it comes to having a plan of action she has got it in the bag.
So here I sit and type while hearing every 5 seconds "Lemonade 25 cents!" This is a very busy street and they haven't even been at it for an hour and have already made 2 dollars wait I take that back someone just donated a dollar so 3 dollars in less then an half hour , I'm thinking if this works out well she might have just found herself her first job :) She can start saving for college now.

MORE PICTURES

So this picture was taken from our bedroom window in New Orleans. The one to the right is of me and my mom-in-law in front of a famous restaraunt and the other two are some silly pics , one is the Jesus bus that on the front read "Jesus is the first" and on the back read "and the last" it was covered with lots of interesting things but that quote just made me smile the way it was so appropriately placed on the front and back of the bus. Enjoy!

We are Back

The top is Mo,me,and Kay in front of Jackson square in New Orleans and then bottom two are Mo and Kay on her grad night and me and Kay in New Orleans trying on sunglasses.

We arrived home safely late Sunday night and spent the majority of memorial day just chillin with the kiddos. It is funny when you go away for that length of time(which I don't often do) you come home and everything looks different. I was actually excited to get back to doing the dishes. I missed our kiddos so so so much. I knew they were in great hands it's just I saw so many things that I would've loved to have shared with them and the whole trip would have been that much richer if they were there. I am not saying that I didn't thoroughly enjoy the break from them it's just that they are all at such fun ages right now and so traveling and seeing new things wouldn't be as hard as it used to be, but that was not for this trip. The time with the Giant was so great and we really got to have alot of time with our niece, Kaylanne who graduated last Friday night.

Some highlights from the trip were

Niece graduating

Nashelles' Restaurant

9 abandoned cars in a matter of a few minutes

House filled with antiques for 100,000

6 turned over dead armadillos

The town of Stonewall

shopping at Dirt Cheap

Meeting new people named Doo and :)

The soon to be famous swimming pool in Stonewall

New Orleans

and lots of late night chats

Thank you to everyone who prayed for us and our kiddos while we were gone. I missed you all and look forward to catching up with everyone. It seems like it's been a long time since seeing all your friendly faces.

Mississippi

We leave tomorrow for Mississippi to see our niece graduate from high school. I don't know how much access I will have to a computer so I probably won't be bloggin for a bit but upon my return I promise a few pics from the trip and also the highlights.
We are leaving the chillins here so could everyone please be praying for them as 7 days is a very long time for those that are under 10 years of age(well it is also a long time for those that are 32 years of age but that's another prayer request.) I know that they are in very good hands and I know that the time with my hubby is going to be fabulous but I just want to cover all the basis here at the homefront and it helps me to know that people are praying , so thank you in advance.
See ya when we get back.

A truth that is self evident

"The people who influence us most are not those who buttonhole us and talk to us, but those who live their lives like the stars in heaven and the lilies in the field, perfectly simply and unaffectedly. Those are the lives that mould us. " Oswald Chambers
I read this quote today and it really struck me to the core because I believe and have seen this to be so true. The people who have influenced me the most in this life (in a positive way) are the ones who are just living thier lives the best way they know how but purely and simply. They are the people who are not striving to be or to do but they are confident in thier uniqueness and they teach with thier actions rather than thier words.
This isn't a new concept, "Actions speak louder than words" is something we have all heard before, but I guess the way that Oswald said it this time made me stop and take note. This is not something hard or at least it shouldn't be. We should be able to just live life like the signs of nature that never change thier purpose. The stars and the lilies are pefectly simple and unaffected and that is something I want to be perfectly simple and unaffected by lifes circumstances. I want to know deep within, my lifes purpose, so concretely that life is not a series of stressful striving attempts to know who I am, but rather a life so simple, at peace, and unaffected by the elements around me that I continue to remain who I am whether or not the world around me likes it or not.

John Alvin Ford Munnerlyn

OH HAPPY DAY!!

My treasure friend Allie gave birth to baby FIVE today and I am so thankful that even though I couldn't be with her Jesus was. Thank you to everyone who prayed for baby and mom and please continue to pray for healing for momma and health for that baby boy who has no name yet but when he does I will be sure to announce that as well. What a precious, precious thing life is.

Semester coming to a close

I can hardly begin to explain the joy I feel knowing that I am almost done with this semester of school. I love school but this semester was unusually difficult for me, not because the classes were hard, they weren't, but because the timing of these classes got sandwiched in between a very, very busy season of life for me. There was also a little issue with one of my instructors that has been very hard to navigate through without getting bitter or discouraged about school in general, but today I took my final online exam with that instructor's course and I WILL NEVER take another course from her again in the future. I am so glad that I am finished with that chapter of my life. The words of my freind Mindy ran through my head all week, "Finish Well!!" she said it in passing but those words have encouraged me so much in the last few weeks that I thought I would just give a shout out to her and tell her, Thank you! Also, I just wanted to thank my best friend for helping me so much and for just being the incredible Giant of a person that he is. WHOO HOO!!

Season change, People change(come on sing along)

Today while driving back from dropping my girls off at school I was just completely in awe of how faithfully around this time of year the green begins to appear. The leaves on the trees start bursting forth like a brand new thing is beginning. The sprinklers that were out on the lawns and the people chatting with their neighbors made me truly grateful once again for the seasons. It is amazing how this season, Spring, brings about a sense of new life. People begin to clean house like they haven't cleaned in many months and you see next to the garbage cans the things that they no longer want or need. Yard sale signs begin to appear because of this.Everything begins to take on a shine. Where life was dull and drab from the winter it begins to look bright and happy again. I am so glad that despite my temperament, that in many ways likes things to stay the same, God continues to make the seasons change. He is beyond good to faithfully make the seasons change and today on this beautiful Friday morning I am just completely aware of why I love Him so much.

Walking into a Dark room

The other night I forgot something after youth group was over and it was in the big , dark, room up at our church. I knew walking into this room that is was dark and that it was also filled with many a chair, but that didn't stop me from barging on in looking for what I had left behind. About way halfway into the mangled mess of chairs I realized that I should probably go back and turn the lights on or I might be there for another few hours searching and wounding myself.
What struck me about this quick little scene played out in my life is that I didn't just turn the lights on in the first place. I don't know about everybody else but I so often know what I should do but often don't choose accordingly. I know I shouldn't eat after a 6p for good health but I do it anyway, I know I should excercise also for good health reasons but I don't, I know shouldn't stay up so stinking late when I have to get up early with kiddos but I do anyways, and so on and so forth, etc. etc. ......
Why don't I do what I know I should before I stumble and get hurt? Am I alone in this plight of stupidity or are there others of you out there who do the same thing and if so please share so that I don't feel alone. Oh yeah, and I am not calling you stupid if you do share this trait that would only be me :)

African American or can it just be American??

The current Essay I am working on is challenging the writings of W.E. DuBois essay on Our Spiritual Survival. This was the man who had a big part in forming the NAACP and this essay is a very beautiful piece of literature with much of it that I agree with. My challenge comes in with wondering can you be truly African and American at the same time. I don't know many Italians or Irish that go around saying I am Italian American or Irish American. The only race of people who I think this kind of thinking makes sense with are the Native Americans because they were truly the Native Americans. I am all for representing and teaching others of our original heritage and therefore keeping it alive, but I like so many others who have greatgrandparents who immagrated from another country don't go around saying that I am Italian American.
SO my question to the bloggers out there( brave enough to jump in this ring) is do you think you can be African American or shouldn't you just be American and know that with that title comes the knowledge that we are all from different original soils, cultures, and histories??

Emma Faith's blog

Just thought I would drop a note here and say that Emma and I created a new place for her to blog since we forgot all the info from her last blogspot. She wanted to make a new one anyways so off to the side is her link or you can find her at emmafaith.blogspot.com

For anyone who is wondering what a almost 9 year old girl might be thinking :)

Random Blog thoughts

Today was a great day. My moms group was awesome and it is simply because the people who come are awesome momma's who I am deeply grateful that I get to know better each week. Then I got to spend the afternoon with a wonderful friend and she brought her furry friend for a playdate with my new furry friend and it was really cute.Then tonight we had breakfast for dinner, yum(one of my all time favs) At my english class we read over the essay "A Modest Proposal" written like a million years ago and basically by a crazy guy who wanted to eat babies(not really but kinda) Then I went to the store to pick up a six pack of beer and got carded. That was fabulous because I know there will come a day when that doesn't happen anymore. Finally, I am here with some time to blog and that makes me happy. Not much to say that is really important just wanted to chime in with something new.

Oh yeah and one more final random thought, there is a player on the Bo Sox team this year named Coco Crisp :)