It's killing me...

Literally

It's killing me

I don't sit

It's not in my ability list

Even when I taught full time

I stood

I walked

I taught my students to learn while they stood

or moved

We would sit

maybe for 20 minutes

Then gone!

Sorry all my dear 4th grade teacher friends!

And my dear FL replacement

I didn't mean to hinder you

But this is killing me

It's been a week!

I'm done with sitting

I've only managed to make it this long because of the medicine they gave me.

It knocked me out.

I can't take this!!!

I feel like this! (but brown hair...)



The Family...but honestly, mostly, just one section of them...

Hello! I’m starting this at 11pm and I’ve taken pain meds. SO – if this doesn’t make sense, bear with me. Being forced to sit still makes you  think. When you think, you miss what is no longer within reach….the coffee pot, the cranberry juice, the dark chocolate…but most importantly, family. I’m super close to my family, by that I mean I care about them A LOT! I don’t bug the tar out of them by calling them all the time, or probably even as much as I should. Spending time with them is my favorite thing. Any moment I get to spend with family  is something that I dearly cherish. There is no need for me to talk the whole time, be the center of attention, or anything of that sort. Simply being near them is wonderful.

You see, we are truly blessed. By “we” I mean the LA (Louisiana, not Los Angeles) branch of the Langenmayrs…Microsoft Word says I’m spelling my last name wrong. Lovely application/program, thinks it’s smarter than me! Anyways, we are blessed. My parents are AMAZING!

Yes, I’m biased – but if you met them you would completely agree. And if you didn’t, well then you need your head examined. My mom and dad love their children first and foremost. My dad has done everything within his power to provide for us, love us, and teach us how to be God fearing adults. He calls and texts me just to tell me he loves me. When I am home in Indiana, he takes me out on dates just so we can hang out and catch up on life without interruptions. Dad opens doors for me, hugs me, and prays with me whenever and wherever he is. How many fathers do that? Last February he met Stephen for the first time. Dad wisely never said, “Yes, go for this man” or “No! Are you smoking something?!” He simply showed nothing but acceptance toward Stephen and love towards me. It frustrated me greatly at that time, but looking back it was the best thing. If he had said, “Yes” I would have gone for Stephen simply because Dad said so. If he had said “No” I would have gone for Stephen simply because he said No….and then later regretted it.

Just as a side note, my one “beef” with my father is this: Steve called to ask permission to marry me. My darling loving father had one question, “Are you sure? She’s quirky!”

But he is wonderful and very caring, gentle, compassionate, Godly man. I love him! I am so very blessed to have him!

My mother? Oh, you know, Mother Theresa incarnate – if reincarnation were real, which it isn’t. Momma didn’t want children or marriage. She met Dad and had 6 kids, homeschooled them, and drove them to all sports and church functions. Obviously, she changed her mind about marriage and children. =) Momma is my best friend. How many women can say that? I can call her at any time of the day, tell her anything no matter how great or small, and she listens. Compassionately listens and wisely advises or simply gives me a hug through the cell phone. Momma has the strength to remind me Who our God is and how much He loves me and provides for me, even in the midst of my “moments.” She saw Steve for who he was, and proudly proclaimed to the world that she is now the grandmother of 3 amazing grandchildren! Ok, so it was 3 in June, now it’s four. NO I’m NOT PREGNANT! My sister in law Katie is! And that brings me to the next part of my family – my siblings. 3 brothers. 2 sisters. We don’t call a lot. But…do you have those friends that you don’t see very often and don’t call very often? However, when you get together it is almost like you see each other every day? We are like that! We are a very tight knit group. We love fiercely and protect each other even more so. We laugh! We eat! We are LOUD!

Let’s just note that we are not Greek (because that totally reminds me of “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”) although we are Lebanese! I’m a quarter Lebanese with a German last name…my children have no hope of being level headed…

Katie is married to Solomon my oldest brother. Their oldest child is Nolan. HE IS A GEM! Oh my goodness! He does not sit still and loves to explore life! Nolan is not mischievious and in to things for destructive purposes. He simply likes to learn…and organize. It’s true! Nolan will turn 2 on May 11 and already LOVES to organize! No offense to my brother, but Nolan inherited that trait from Katie. =) Micah is their second child. He is still in the oven, but should be here by July 4^th – ish!

Then there is Abraham, the strong silent type. When he speaks, you listen! Unless he’s joking around and then you better be prepared with witty comments! There are not words for how much his quiet strength helped and encouraged me growing up, but it did. He is very level headed and very discerning. Where I trust too much, he sees truth.

(This is Abraham and Nolan when he was a few months old...Nolan is a few months old, not Abraham)

Jonathan – oh how I love him! He is our comic relief who encourages through Scripture and prayer! Jonathan has a love for the Lord that is convicting! He loves words, loves learning, and inspires people to do likewise.

Sarah is our tender hearted care taker. She is a gem and loves to help people. Sarah is also very goofy and at times “blonde” but with hair that is darker than mine. ;)

Esther? Oh, just put Abraham in a girls body and you have Esther! They are  8 years apart, but very alike!

I am so blessed to have them! Do you know that they never met Steve until just before the wedding? Yet they all welcomed him into the family with open arms. They opened their hearts and arms to our children…so much so that Kyle and Abby sobbed as they drove away from our wedding. Kyle and Abby were afraid they would never see these new aunts and uncles again. The Kafoure side of the family doesn’t do the word “step,” it’s family or not. In this case, it’s family. Thanksgiving was spent in Indiana. My babies still talk about going to the Children’s Museum with Uncle Solomon, Aunt Katie, Nolan, Papaw, and the rest of the crew. Kyle and Abby can’t wait for Nanna and Papaw (my mother and father) to come out so they can make cookies with Papaw and watch movies with Nanna (run-on sentence?) They also cannot wait to make pancakes again with Uncle Jonathan. He taught Kyle & Abby how to flip pancakes in the air and catch them on the spatula! “When will Aunt Esther and Sarah come visit so we can beat them in basketball?” “Will Uncle Abraham let us come visit him in Atlanta?”

Do you see? Do you see how much love my family has poured out on us?

Or Steve’s family! Ok, so MY family. I adopted them before he and I got together, at least I adopted Connie. She was my “mom at work” who prayed with me and looked out for me.  Jim and Connie are very, very similar to my own parents. It has been an absolute blessing to marry into their family. Jim is rough and tough and gruff and a HUGE softy! Did you know he switched his time off to come out here? It’s true. He wanted to come out here to help. He chose to come be a fill-in parent for me. Steve is a big boy and would do just fine, but Jim has a heart of gold. He knew it would be easier for us if Jim came out with Connie. Why is Connie here and not my mom? Because my mom couldn’t make it out here that fast. Life happened and it didn’t work out. My momma knows that my momma in law will look out for me as if she had birthed me herself. Connie & Jim love me as if I were their own. They love my babies and are going to practices, helping make lunches, helping with dinner,  playing basketball and catch with them. They are even loving on our goofy puppy! Why? Oh, you know – because they are fabulous. I married into a family of 3 brothers. I broke the trend. Andy is the oldest and married a petite blonde named Kristi and they have Michael. (notice “petite, blonde, and first name starting with ‘K’”) Andy is a hard working man that loves his family. Then comes Stephen. Third is Jacob. Jacob married Kelly who is a petite red head (notice K, petite, and again light haired) and they have two of the MOST adorable children IN THE WORLD! Luke and Audrey. Stephen? Oh he married a tall DARK HAIRED lady named Elizabeth. Yes, I broke the mold. I am not petite. I do not have light hair. My name does not start with a K. Just thought you might like to know I am the odd man out. …I am also the palest of them all!

(Jim & Connie at Steve's pinning ceremony) 

Andy (I can't find a picture of his wife & son with him =( )

Anyhoot, no offense to anyone, but I am really really really really really missing my fiery red headed sister in law. To be honest, in the beginning she scared me. Jacob is a big man, basically Stephen with darker hair and a little taller. He is a goofy man. I love to harass him. It’s fabulous! Kelly is quieter. “Silent” would be a good word for our first meeting. Steve introduced me to her at the Gator game. She smiled, I think, and that was it. Steve asked if we wanted to sit together and talk and I honestly was so nervous I just shook my head no. For crying out loud, she didn’t even give a full fledged smile! I am a friendly outgoing person, but I was already nervous just from being out with Steve for the FIRST TIME EVER! Plus it was feeling like a date and I had told him it wasn’t a date…he didn’t listen.

The next time I ran into Kelly was the “meet the family dinner.” Again, another quiet affair and I was so nervous I almost got sick to my stomach. Through much encouragement, I continued to at least smile and say hi. What did the trick, I think, was we both discovered we are big goofballs. It’s true. Kelly is HILARIOUS! She tends to be stoic but then pops out these one liners and it’s awesome! There is more to Kelly than meets the eye. In the few short months I spent down in FL after getting married, I got to know her more. For example, she adores her children. I have not seen many mothers of today drawing with chalk out on the driveway, just so their son would have a “train track” to ride around on. Luke is absolutely obsessed with trains. Kelly knew he would love to have a train track, so she drew one. Kelly has spent literal HOURS watching Thomas the Train, simply because Luke wanted to. Audrey was a tough case when she first arrived…ok so that’s not completely true. Audrey was a much easier start simply because Audrey came almost before the doctor could catch her. It was the first few months after that that Audrey was tough. You see, Audrey was colicky. Kelly patiently got up at all hours of the night when it was her “shift” and lovingly took care of Luke when it was Jacob’s “shift” to take care of Audrey. I never heard her complain. The only way you could tell anything was going on was Kellly looked a little tired. Jacob did an amazing job during that time too! He joked about the lack of sleep, but I never heard him complain either. My favorite memories of that time? Catching Jacob and Kelly at different moments when they would be gazing with absolute and complete adoration at this little bundle. I don’t understand that depth of love just yet.

How many parents of today who are going to college and taking care of two children who are 3 and not quite 1, would spend their spring break completely centered around their children? That’s what Jacob and Kelly did. I miss these two. I miss bantering with Jacob. I miss the quick witted moments of dry humor with Kelly.

 I miss my Luke kisses and hugs. …I can’t believe I am typing this, but I miss hearing Luke call out “Hi Aunt Pizzy!” I miss seeing Audrey’s incredibly pudgy face light up! It is a rare thing, but her momma and daddy can get her to do that. I miss hearing her squeal with delight as she rolled up and down the hallway in her walker.

Kelly doesn’t know it but she helped me SO much last semester and even back in January. See, I was bemoaning certain things in my life. Work, lack of fun, adjusting to married life, keeping up with the house (which, truth be told, Stephen did most of that.) Kelly? Oh, she and Jacob live with Connie and Jim. They have for 2 years. Kelly didn’t complain. Kelly didn’t whine. No, she simply said “You have to make the most of what you have and know it will get better.” …or something to that effect. Hopefully she will read this. I am terrible T\at telling people things. We were  doing dishes together when she said that. Kelly went on to say you have to count your blessings. It’s true, you do. I often think of that moment. She is right. Kelly is one of those people that when she opens up and talks, you had better listen. If you don’t, you will miss something that is very profound.

Steve and I moved in with Connie and Jim for 10 days before coming to LA. Yes, I lost my big girl panties and had a hard time with it. Kelly helped me realize how blessed I was. She helped me laugh and put a better perspective on the situation. Don’t get me wrong, Steve did too. However, a man doesn’t have the same perspective a woman does. Kelly hit the nail on the head. Steve did too – but, you know what I mean.

Kelly is fabulous. If you don’t know her, you are missing out. She and Jacob are a wonderful team…the kind of couple that will really go far together. Luke, just look at him! He is just as adorable and sweet as he looks! Audrey, what a gem! Poor girl, I’m told she is like my husband was. Pray for Jacob and Kelly! Steve was a handful as a child! I wish they were here. I love that family.

Hopefully, you read through this. I love my family, all of them, so very much. We are adding more people to our family soon I’m told. That’s not my news to tell though. ;)

2 Timothy 1:7

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity,

but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.

2 Timothy 1:7

My mom reminded me of this verse.

It made me realize how much...I lack.

The spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline.

These come from the Lord.

I am talking the talk....

Am I walking the walk?

No.

I'm not.

I fear that my children will never know how much I love them.

I fear that my husband will never know how much I love and respect him.

I fear the small things of life.

I fear that I will be forced to post-pone surgery.

Please understand, I am not trying to obsess or bore you with this.

It's hard to put my family through this.

My MIL and FIL are in town to help. I don't want to inconvenience them by ending up not having this. If I say, "by not having the surgery" they will be up in arms.

I don't want my husband to have to wonder if he's hurting me when he holds me.

I don't want my children to have to worry about hurting me with their hugs.

I don't want them to try and have to discern if my grumpiness is legit or if it's from pain.

God didn't give me the spirit of timidity or fear.

The devil does that.

He lives ... he feeds off of making us focus on our fears.

Does he not yet realize he lost?

The Lord strengthens and encourages us in countless ways.

The Lord sends us phone calls, text messages, hugs, kisses, puppy kisses and snuggles, when the devil sends fear.

Devil = 1

LORD GOD = INFINITY

Pretty sure God's score wins.

We simply have to focus on the LORD GOD.

Sitting here the verse about how if no one will sing praises to the Lord, HE will make the rocks cry out.

THE ROCKS cry out.

Have you ever heard a ROCK cry out?

I haven't.

Has your breath ever been taken away by scenery?

Mine has.

God will open our eyes to those blessings.

To me, that is when the rocks cry out.

Open your eyes next time you are outside.

Notice the intricacies.

Have you ever stopped to look at a leaf?

How many veins intersect and branch out?

Think about it...

Solar power?

The trees used it first!

Snow flakes...

No 2 snow flakes are alike.

Haev you ever been in a blizzard?

I have.

Not one of those snowflakes looks like another.

Can you even count how many snowflakes are there?

The LORD GOD who made you, designed you with a purpose, knows every decision you will ever make, grants you freedom of choice, and loves you still knows the number and design of each snowflake in that picture.

God did not give us the spirit of timidity.

He designed us with a purpose.

How can we accomplish that purpose if we are living a life of fear and timidity? Live in the Power of Christ, the LOVE of the Lord (because God is LOVE,) and have enough self-discipline to follow Him. God's yoke is light. The direction is clear.

Follow the straight and narrow.

Why not?

What will you lose?

NOTHING!

Why then, do I, who has known all of this since before I was born almost, still live with a spirit of fear?

Because I'm human.

Messing up is what we do.

The important part is what we do after our mistake.

Me?

I will be striving to live with the spirit of Power, of Love, and of Self-discipline.

How will you live?

Precious Moments & Checklists

Yes, both of these can fit into one entry.

Remember? It's me!

Just try to follow the random connections! ;)

Precious moments are everywhere.

Not the figurines, although you really can find them almost everywhere.

My precious moments are when I see Kyle & Abby's faces light up when they see me in the parent pick up line. I like to think it's because they are excited to see me and not simply because I'm their way of leaving school. :)

My precious moments are when Abby & I take a moment to take ridiculous pictures of ourselves.

Or when I'm fixing dinner and she's laying on top of her biggest fan...

I love those moments when my Kyle is such a ham that he doesn't want to share the camera!

Or when he decides to bust out his "duck face"...or as I call it, the guy actor trying to look all like tough.



I love it when this smile is nearby.

Even if that smile is because this (below) is about to happen.

Hopefully some day we can get him a boat similar to this one!

I love my precious moments like yesterday.

There are no pictures because we were too caught up in the fun.

We finished homework and dinner in record time!

We grabbed the basketball and played some ball while Kaden ran his legs off playing fetch.

It was wonderful!

I love it when a checklist shrinks!

Not exactly a precious moment, but it is something that I love!

I got reprimanded and as soon as my mother and my mother in law read this, I'm sure more reprimands will follow. BUT it was for a good cause!

You see, Steve has been working super hard lately at work and home.

He has been trying to plant a garden, fix the lawn mower, help around the house, and clean up a river tender that is in really bad shape. The other day he was venting about how it's hard to work so hard and still have so far to go! Well, we all know how much I love orderliness and cleanliness. I'm not OCD, so cut that idea out now. I only have "tendencies." Yesterday I also hit the point of, "I CAN'T SIT AROUND ANYMORE!"

So, I raked the small side yard and bagged it up.

5 fifty-five gallon bags full of leaves.

Steve said one was about 100lbs. I didn't take them to the end of the drive, I let him do that part.

I also went out back and picked up all of the gifts Kaden has been leaving us.

3 grocery bags full.

I vacuumed the floors.

Today I washed and waxed the car,

swept off the back porch,

hosed the years of dirt off the back porch,

washed the dog,

and it's only 12:05pm.

I love checklists!

Steve has banned me from everything other than cooking, cleaning, laundry, and spending time with the family. Luckily, that includes taking out the trash.

This dumb kidney, you see, bites me whenever I do anything that requires the slightest bit of exertion.

My personality type can handle that...for a while.

Well, I while was up 2 weeks ago.

I went crazy for a week and now I just hurt.

BUT at least I'm not going crazy!

I should have taken before and after pictures of the work I did.

It looks so pretty!

It looked so bad.

I love cleaning and organizing!

Maybe I should go into the house cleaning business.

...except it would irritate me if people purposefully messed up something I had straightened.

hmmm...I'll keep thinking of new careers.

By the way, totally off topic.

God and I had some sweet time this morning!

The fog was thick over the river.

It was a perfectly cool morning.

He asks us to Ask, Seek, and Knock.

Hard to remember amidst the craziness of life.

BUT

did you know that His word says He sings over us?

Continually.

His thoughts are ever upon us.

His angels are watching over us.

He is with us through all the joys and trials.

Why can't we focus on Him if He is capable of 

being with everyone,

protecting everyone,

loving everyone.

Shouldn't we be able to simply seek Him?

He is the answer to all our questions, the protection from all of our fears, the success through all of our trials.

Just a thought.

Brought on by my amazing TN sister-in-law.

You should check her blog.

It's SO encouraging and real!

We must be brilliant!!!

When you teach, if a student understands the lesson quickly and thoroughly, you move on!

Well, let's see, we've had about a million different large lessons hit us. All of which people have said, "Wow, I can't believe you are going through that!" So, if we have gone through all of those and continue to still get hit...we must be brilliant!

Or

...

the alternative

...

We are incredibly NOT brilliant.

If that is the case, then God has been trying to teach the same lesson through multiple life events.

We prefer to claim brilliance!

Our babies have adjusted to getting back to school and into a routine, which is much quicker than normal!

They are still adjusting to daylight savings.

lol

But who isn't?

We have been planning to get my kidney taken care of for a while now - a month to be exact.

Our original plan was to have it the 8th or 9th.

That got cancelled.

We scheduled it for the 16th.

Connie & Jim would come on the 17th.

Yesterday yet another change of plans.

The doctor had an emergency and needed to change my surgery.

Now we have it scheduled for the 22nd and pre-op is scheduled for the 20th.

Let's just hope no other big things happen or that the doctor doesn't call again.

I understand life happens, it's just frustrating.

Pray for my babies and husband.

I tend to go go go until I drop.

I go so much that I don't realize how much I'm hurting until too late.

When I say too late I mean, I have snapped at my children and husband.

That happened yesterday. I hate it.

Once I realized it was because of pain, I took care of the problem.

Do you ever do that?

Get going so much you don't realize you are hurting or how much you are hurting?

Anyhoot, just pray for them. They need the encouragement.

They are gracious and merciful and loving me despite my grumpiness.

NOW - on to the fun!

Last night Stephen graciously offered to take Kyle & Abby to school for me.

Of course I took him up on that!

A chance to get some much needed rest!

(I can't really sleep when he's gone so although I had a week to myself, I didn't sleep much.)

I didn't set an alarm clock.

I ignored his alarm. He said he would take the kids but we were both enjoying just laying together ...

We neglected to remember we needed to get the kids ready...OOPS!

7:20 am

What the poop!

Blankets flew! Pillows bombed the floor!

"Steve! You get the lunches ready! I'll get the kids ready!"

Stephen flew to the kitchen!

I ran to Abby's room and got her moving.

I ran to Kyle's room and got him moving.

Back to Abby - she's brushing her teeth with her eyes closed.

POOR BABY!

I got her hair done, clothes on, and to the kitchen.

Helped Kyle get his shirt on straight (poor little guy!) and out to the kitchen.

Steve was still finishing up the lunches so I asked him to go get dressed while I finished lunch and made breakfast to go.

The kids and I finished.

Check on Steve - he's shaving.

7:34am

"What time do I need to take the kids?"

"If you leave now you will get them there on time."

"I have to get dressed for work!"

"No worries! I'll take them!"

Mind you, I am in my robe.

I threw on jeans and a shirt & jacket. The kids had breakfast in the truck and made it to school with 2 minutes to spare.

Shew!

As I pulled up to the house, Stephen was just fixing to pull out.

Let me show you the mayhem of my home from this morning's scramblings...

Abby's room erupted last night and continued to erupt through this morning!

Kyle's room...

The only part of the kitchen that was semi clean.

Kyle & Abby's "to-go" cups of Carnation breakfast.

I told you, our room LITERALLY exploded!

The bathroom even exploded...

Poor little Abby came home with a pretty bad chest cold.

We gave her some medicine to dry her up and help with the cough, but she was coughing so bad it woke me up at 1:25am. I gave her some different cough medicine and the cough went away.

I fell back sleep a while later and LITERALLY had just fallen deeply asleep when something fell on me!

Poor Abby was having growth pains so bad in her shins that she was crying.

We gave her some children's advil and snuggled with her until she fell asleep.

Kyle slept fine and was completely upset when we left for school.

Who would help Momma Liz make the beds?

Who was going to help Momma Liz clean up breakfast?

"Don't worry, honey, I'll get it cleaned up. You just have a good day at school.

LOVE YOU!"

Kyle didn't like it, but went along with that answer.

Let me show you my "Mom" magic!

Bibbity!

Boppity!

Boo!

Abbra Kaddabbra!

Alacazam!

Forgive the spelling of my magic words...

They work when I say them!

Is my house completely clean?

No.

Dishes are done.

Bed made.

General mayhem is clean.

Three loads of laundry done.

About to go outside and rake up some leaves.

I would not ever trade one moment of this craziness for anything.

I love my Kyle & Abby.

I love my husband.

I love my Kaden.

God is good to us and blesses us each and every moment of the day.

The treasures

Life happens and it's so good! Do I enjoy everything that happens?

Well, do we like going to the dentist? Heck no!

But do we like the effects?

Yes =)

No, life for us is not like going to the dentist right now. It is more like going out for ice cream and ending up at the pool afterwards. =)

LOOOOOVE IT!

I love having Stephen home. =) He irritates the daylights out of me! Mostly because I'm a perfect angel that never irritates or purposefully says things to make him trip up. And I would NEVER ask him to help with dishes and follow that request by flipping him with the dish towel...I would never do that.

Just as he would NEVER carry on a conversation and distract me with random comments until I have no clue of what we were originally talking about.

haha! We have fun!

We would never do any of those things our our children either...never.

We got hugs yesterday. Hugs from our babies. It was so wonderful to feel their arms around my neck and to get their kisses again. It was heavenly to hear their laughter as we all played with our new toy (pictures to follow.) We even enjoyed hearing the mild bickering as they decided who had the toothpaste and where the mouthwash was. I loved being able to walk in and give extra good night kisses after they were asleep. We both loved being able to give morning snuggles and hugs to wake up our babies.

I had to laugh this morning because Kyle was so disappointed we didn't use his new alarm clock this morning. It is LOUD! Old school double bell with a hammer alarm clock. IF this doesn't work, I don't know what will!

I love when my husband eloquently tells me to stop doing the dishes and come spend time with him.

What wife doesn't want to hear those words?

We just held on to each other and laughed and talked.

All too often we (moms and parents in general...ok so all people) tend to take the treasured people in our lives for granted. We get so focused on the mundane things of cleaning, and laundry, and meals that we forget the people in our lives are MUCH more important than our task.

I'm asking God to help me re-prioritize.

Abby has one big problem with our new toy, the same one Kyle has.

"Why did we get this? You won't play with us all the time. You clean, do laundry, and cook!"

Wow!

Wake up call!

Time to put some things on the back burner so I can play with them.

How much longer will they want me to play with them?

A few short years and they will be "too cool" to play with their Momma Liz!

One thing I can say about the Coast Guard is this - it is making me realize even more what a treasure my husband is. It is making me realize how much I need to rely on my LORD for strength. It is helping my  children and I to draw even closer to each  other.

What else is there to do but say, Thank you!

Oh, except, I won't complain whenever Stephen retires. It will be wonderful to know that he won't travel every other week. Granted, the longest he has been gone is this past week for four days. The kids were gone too so that was easier on Kyle and Abby.

Abby! Abby has tryouts tonight! She is so very nervous about her tryouts. Pray she goes out there and just has fun! Kyle has tryouts on Saturday. It will be a busy weekend, by the way.

The grandparents (Stephen's wonderful parents) come in to town, Kyle has his tryouts, and Stephen leaves for another school. Thankfully Mimi and Poppa are coming. That will make it MUCH easier on my babies! In fact, Kyle found out that Poppa was coming and literally let out a YIPPEE!

He loves his Poppa!

Well, I would write more, but there are bills to pay, errands to run, a house to clean, and dinner to plan.

God is so good to allow us to go through tough times.

I needed last week to help me realize how much I love and need my family.

Can you follow my thoughts today?

I can't.

I'll blame it on my Friday surprise!

I'm no good

Seriously, I'm not. I stink - not literally because I just took a shower...yes, I used soap, shampoo, and conditioner. But for real. I stink. I stink at being alone. I stink at being still. No wonder God has to hit me so hard just to get me to hear His voice.

I love listening to His voice and following His will, when it coincides with my own. Yesterday it did not. I had a plan. A perfect plan...well, not perfect because that would have included me seeing my brother, sister (techinically "in-law" but she is amazing so I tend to drop the "in-law" plus her last name is Kafoure which is my maiden name.) Anyhoot, I was going to see them then plans got changed and changed again. I don't appreciate changes in my plans. God is teaching me flexibility. So now, I am ok with what He has done. But I still stink. I stink at being alone. It gives too much time to think and rest. I don't like resting.

It requires you to be still.

I have no children at home. I don't like that. My preference is to hear them laughing and playing. Even the occasional squabble would be welcome to the overpowering silence that currently reigns in my home. ...well, except for the fact I just turned on the radio to fill the silence. Do you see what I mean? I don't do silence!

Ok, so maybe that's why God hit me and made me be home alone right now. He and I had it out yesterday. So you know I was supposed to have that procedure done on Thursday. Well, after talking with the doctor's office yesterday, I discovered he is no longer comfortable doing the procedure this week. Why? Oh because he would be going on vacation Friday and leaving me in the hospital with no other urologist nearby. My initial thought was, "Well then, change your vacation."

My ever wise mother reminded me that I need to be thanking God for how He is going to work through the delay. My mother in law reminded me the same thing & that I'm not this doctor's only patient. My selfish reaction was, "Yeah, but this is me and I'm special." If Stephen were here, he'd say, "Yes, honey, you are special." No...I don't mean special like that! I mean I'm being selfish and I want this fixed! I had a plan!

God patiently chuckles and does what He knows is best anyways.

Kind of like when Kyle doesn't want to eat veggies, just dessert.

Or when Abby doesn't want to take a nap after staying up late and getting up early.

We don't want to do what is best, we want what is fun.

Having surgery isn't fun. But being pain free would be fun! So, tentatively we are scheduled for March 16th if TriCare will approve. My mother laughed at me when she heard that.

Why?

Because my momma knows it will take a LOT to get me to rest and be still for 2 weeks straight. You see, Stephen will hopefully now be with me when I have the procedure done. (PARTY!!!!) The day after the procedure my mother & father in law arrive. My mom will be there the day of the procedure. 2 moms....1 dad....I have no hope! I probably won't even be allowed to lift the coffee mug to my own lips.

Yesterday we did learn that there is a minimum 2 day stay in the hospital. Ugh! Good thing everyone will be here because my babies will be home by then!

Oh, by the way, I miss them. I want their snuggles. I want their hugs and kisses. I want to have to leave the room so Abby won't see me laughing at how she is aggravating her brother. I want to have to pretend to be upset and choking when Kyle makes an obvious statement in a whiny question. I want to see his face break into a smile when he realizes what he has done. I want to hear Abby look at me with her big smile and say, "You Loooooove me!" when she realizes she has been caught annoying him.

I want my babies home.

5 days and 6 hours and 30 minutes until they are home.

I want my husband to put his arms around me and make me laugh when all I really want is to cry.

3 days and 5 hours and 49 minutes until he lands in Jackson.

Did I mention?

Well, to be honest, I probably did not mention it. Why would I? It's boring. It's...well,

for me the fact is boring is enough.

However, because some of you might get upset if you here third party, I will tell you.

I did not go see my little man Nolan this week.

Nor did I go see the BITO(Bun In The Oven,) aka Micah.

I am having surgery instead.

I can hear your groans of boredom from here!

Unfortunately, it falls on deaf ears because I'm sipping a Triple Grande Carmel Macchiato.

So delicious!

Anyhoot, the kids are visiting family.

Stephen is at school.

My mother flies in on Wednesday.

If Tricare approves, I get it done on Thursday.

Keep your fingers crossed!

On to more interesting things!

Here are some pictures for you!!!!

I apologize for them being blurry.

Life has been on the fly!

Kyle has learned cursive! He wanted to try it on his own.

I supplied him with a dry erase board that showed how to do each letter of the alphabet.

We are SO proud of him!!!!

This little Doodle bug brought home an A on her spelling test!!!

AND she got the bonus point word too!!!!

Abby has also been growing like a weed!

When we moved here she as a size 5 pants and 13 shoes.

She now needs the length of a size 7 pant and is in size 1 shoes!

Abby picked these shoes herself.

Guess why ;)

The Gator backpack died.

We went shopping and decided we could decorate one that would be prettier than anything else!

What do you think?

If you know our babies, you know they LOVE having their pictures taken.

Here is some fun stuff we did on Saturday.

Saturday was a busy day!

Kyle woke me up at 6:23am to finish creating a birthday present.

We followed that with some Looney Tunes during breakfast.

GOTTA LOVE LOONEY TUNES!!!!

Kyle starting playing Xbox with Stephen.

Let me tell you folks, that boy loves his father!

Kyle was so excited to be playing Xbox with his Daddy that he couldn't even sit still!

He was dancing up on his toes back and forth while playing.

Steve finally told him (in a Daddy tone) to sit down so Steve could see the screen to play the game.

=)

Abby and I colored some Dora pictures, played checkers, and layed together on the couch to watch the boys play. =)

After they left, Stephen and I needed a happy thought.

Kind of like on Peter Pan.

You need a happy thought to fly.

Our babies are our happy thought.

But they left to visit family.

What to do?

We drove to Baton Rouge and visited Bass Pro Shop.

It was EXACTLY what the doctor ordered!

Stephen was bouncing as he walked and making me walk faster.

We all know Northerners walk faster than good ole Southern boys...so you know he was excited if he was out-striding me!

We went to dinner and came home.

It's weird without my babies.

They come back on Sunday.

My Hubby, my Hero, my Chief comes home on Friday.

My Momma comes on Wednesday.

It will be a busy week.

A long week.

A lonely week until my Momma gets here.

Today I dropped Stephen at the airport, but he needed a jacket.

His jacket died and Stephen neglected to remind me he needed a new one.

I convinced him to go to the mall with me so we could shop for a new one.

Oh, but guess what we saw first!

Another Bass Pro Shop!

Of course, we had to go!

Check out this picture...

Classic...I'm smiling at the camera and he's looking at the Bass Pro Shop.

Oh boy....

We need some decoration for our home.

Here's what Stephen wants.

I let him know that this would not win him brownie points.

Brownie points earns him food, a clean home, clean laundry, and various things like good coffee.

We drove to the airport.

I went in with him.

I don't do "see you laters" or "goodbyes"

I just go.

It's easier...slightly cowardish, I guess.

I walked up to the security line.

He kissed me good bye and told me to go get coffee at the Sbux in the airport.

He was hoping it would help me feel better.

Poor guy, I was tearing up at him leaving before we left our house.

I didn't make it to the Sbux.

I couldn't see through the tears.

I'm having a pity party.

I know 1 lady in my town.

The End.

We have been to about 5 or 6 churches, I think.

Not one has been a fit.

It's me and Kaden until Mom gets here.

I finally made it to an Sbux.

Got a drink and here I sit writing to you.

Can you name my drink of choice?

By the way, my dear "well-meaning-anti-caffeine" friends, the kidney doctor said caffeine is good for all sorts of things. Stephen asked if I should stop drinking coffee and that was the doctor's response.

Thank you Doctor!

Here are some verses for you.

I won't fill in the blanks.

But you know my family and our...extensions.

Stephen is being a man of God and these verses are holding us.

The LORD abhors dishonest scales, but accurate weights are his delight.

The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.

The righteousness of the upright delivers them, but the unfaithful are trapped by evil desires.

The righteous man is rescued from trouble, and it comes on the wicked instead.

The wicked man earns deceptive wages, but he who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward.

The truly righteous man attains life, but he who pursues evil goes to his death.

The LORD detests men of perverse heart but he delights in those whose ways are blameless.

Be sure of this: The wicked will not go unpunished, but those who are righteous will go free.

The desire of the righteous ends only in good, but the hope of the wicked only in wrath.

He who seeks good finds goodwill, but evil comes to him who searches for it.

If the righteous receive their due on earth, how much more the ungodly and the sinner!

Proverbs 11

Stephen loves Proverbs, it is literal.

I love Psalms, it's more visual.

However, Proverbs 11 is exactly the right Proverb.

Are you a Psalms person or a Proverbs person?