It seems I tend to forget about this place, until I have a need to vent. Not necessarily a negative vent...but just a way to vent things that are on my mind. So here goes.

I have started a business. I am now a Celebrating Home Designer. I love it. For the most part. The only time I don't love it is when I forget WHY I started it in the first place. I did simply to have something to do. Something for ME! A hobby, if you will. Jade often has to remind me that this is JUST A HOBBY for me....not something to stress about. He is so good to me.

I went to the Celebrating Home National Rally earlier this month. And of course EVERYONE is so gung ho, that I feel like I'm failing at my business. But since I'm not doing it as a way to make money as much as a way to meet ppl and have fun, my goals aren't the same as theirs. I'm letting their goals and ambitions guide me, instead of my own. And that takes all the fun out of this for me. It is like I'm following a road map someone drew to take them to NYC, when I'm simply trying to get to Blair, OK. It doesn't really work.

So I am trying to refocus. God FIRST. My FAMILY second. And THEN this hobby/business of mine. Which is the way the company tells you to set your priorities, anyway! lol  I am just so afraid of failure. I am afraid that everyone around me is expecting me to fail. Which is crazy. I have THE MOST loving family in the world. Any pressure put on me is my own. So how do I stop stressing, give this to God and make it FUN??? I'm not sure...but I'm hoping to figure it out, sooner rather than later!!

Hi all.  It is nearly Christmas.  Can you believe it?? I still have some wrapping to do.  Santa is coming early to our house. The kids got a letter form him yesterday, saying he is going to be in our neighborhood this weekend and he is willing to stop by early if we want him too.  So we all sat down and discussed it and decided that would be a good idea since we are all going to be at Mom and Dad's for Christmas Eve/Christmas Day.  Isn't it amazing how Santa "knows" these things and helps us out like that???? He is a good guy!


Shailynn has started a blog.  I found a site where I can set her up a secure blog.  ONLY ppl we invite can see it.  She is having a blast.  And so is everyone else who is reading it. lol  I started it b/c she loves to write stories.  I wanted her to have a place to write her stories, to share them with loved ones and to get feedback.  So far she is spending a lot of time typing 1-2 line posts...but it is fun.  She has one story on there (I posted it on here a couple of days ago. It is what gave me the idea to set her up her own spot)...and she has been working on "part 2" of it.  Hopefully soon.

Well, we have a lot to do today, if Santa is going to show up this weekend.  So I'd better get off of here. 
I'm not sure I'll have time to get on here again before Christmas.....so just in case..........



MERRY CHRISTMAS, Everyone!

Jade says I am the "accident prone" person in this family.  Yet HE is the one that is bent on destroying our vehicles.  When we lived in IA, he was the one that drove just a little too close to the construction cones and busted the driver's side mirror.  He was frustrated about that for months.

Just now, he and the kids were heading out to the store.  He was backing out of the garage, being extra careful.  He was driving the new van, but backing towards the old van.  He got out once and checked to make sure he had plenty of room.  He got back into the van and backed up some more....and I hear a crunch. (I was standing in the doorway watching.)  

He gets out again...and I tell him I think he hit it.  He says, "What?"    

He knocked the passengers side mirror off of the old van!  Can you believe that???  That poor van has no luck with its mirrors. 

Crazy man! 

Oh crap...I just had a thought.  I THINK that is the mirror he HAS to have to legally drive.  Hmmmm. 

Gotta love him! 

Well, it's "officially" official.  We are moving again.  Jade was offered, and has accepted, a new position in Muskogee. Yesterday he and I went to Muskogee.  He had to have a "new employee" physical.  Afterward we met with a Realtor and looked at homes in the area we are hoping to move. I absolutely love looking at homes....I hate making decisions.

There is a lot that will go into our housing decision this time.  (Isn't there always!!)  We can't decide between renting and buying.  He will be splitting his time between Muskogee and Tulsa.  He has also been told that at some point he may be able to choose WHERE he wants to be based within his area...which is the entire eastern half of the state.  So we could pick and choose.  We don't know WHEN that might happen though.  We also don't know with certainty that it will happen at all.  AND we aren't sure we WANT the option of moving anywhere ever again!  lol  Although, looking at our history...we won't stay anywhere for long. hehe

The fact that this is happening at THIS time of year is NUTS.  We aren't planning on moving until January though. I've not even started packing yet.

Jade will begin this new job on December 22.  He won't be working with VBA. Now he will be in Visual Services.  He is really looking forward to it.  This position will be a lot more client oriented.  It will be more "hands on" than paper shuffling and he is looking forward to that. He likes helping the people...not trying to get "the numbers". 

I'm excited for him.  He is really looking forward to this.

I just found out some disturbing news.  My 6 year old just basically told me of an addiction he has.  I was never aware of this before.  It seems he would get his "fix" when he was at his Nana's and Pawpaw's house.

I am a bit disturbed.  He told me of his sneaking around and hiding.  It seems he is quite devious for a child so young.

His drug of choice you ask?  You are not going to believe this.  It is mind boggling.  How does a child get his hands on something like this and no adults no about it???   It is Cool Whip! 

Matt was telling me about some of his exploits when he was "littler". He told me, giggling the whole time, that he used to get a spoon, get Cool Whip out of a dish in the refrigerator and then run to the bathroom and sit on the side of the tub and eat his spoonful of Cool Whip!! 

Silly boy!    I must say he is definitely keeping me laughing lately. 

Okay, you've all heard that dryers eat socks.  It always seems that socks go missing in the wash, and for some reason the dryer gets blamed.  I'm hear to tell you all that this is NOTHING but a fabricated lie. And I believe it was started by the washing machines. 

I have a front loading washer and dryer.  I just moved some clothes from the washer to the dryer and noticed something sticking out of the rubber ring just inside the door of the washing machine.  I pulled it out and it was a sock.  But while pulling it out, something else came out.....another sock.  Before it was all said and done I had 2 handfuls of socks on top of my washer.  Nasty dirty/blue tinted socks.  I have no idea HOW long they have been in there. 

I have complained for months how Matt never seems to have socks....and I have bought more socks for that boy and than anyone else.  Guess who's socks were stuck in the washer!!!   Yep....mostly Matt's..with a couple of Shai's thrown in. 

Long story short.  My appliances are conspiring against me!  The dryer is INNOCENT, but the washer....that' s the one you need to keep your eyes on!! 

Just thought I'd send out a warning!  Your washing machine is NOT to be trusted!

Feeling bad for blaming the dryer all these years,
Missie

Kids say the darndest things!!! 

Tonight our kids are at my grandparents' home.  Tomorrow my mom will pick them up and they will spend the week with my parents. 

Matt just called me, a bit homesick.  He is my sweet baby.  Shailynn never gets homesick, but Matthew is a lot like me.  We were talking about how soon we started missing each other today.  I told him I missed him before he ever left, and he said he didn't miss me THAT early...but he started missing me in the car.

I told him I can't come get him tonight...it is way too late to drive an hour to pick him up and then drive an hour home.  So tomorrow he has to make the decision if he wants to go on to Nana's and Papa's house or to come back home...and he has to live with whichever decision he makes until the end of the week. 

Trying to get him excited about his trip again, I asked him, IF he goes to Nana's and Papa's house, what are his plans for the week. His answer, "Play with Audrey and Abby.  Play the Wii.  That's about the extent of it."  

He is SIX years old and that is what he said.  "...And that's about the extent of it!"

I told Jade and he nearly fell over laughing and then he reminded me something that Matt said at Jade's parents' home 2 weekends ago.  The guys were outside tearing down a fence and something wasn't going their way.  Matt said, "That's just a travesty, Dad!"  Grandpa Brad got a kick out of that!!  He is a funny funny boy.

Jade's black eye is almost gone....the one he got from that same fence! 

Both kiddos are doing GREAT in their school work.  I've had to give them both, at different times, the "You don't know everything....You WILL make mistakes...It's all part of learning" speech. They don't like "not knowing" something.  They think they should be perfect at everything. It frustrates them when they aren't.  But they are learning that learning is sometimes difficult.  They are doing well though. 

I found out today that my Papa has to have surgery on Thursday.  He has a 90% blockage in the artery in his leg.  They are going to go in, remove the blockage and put in a stint.  It scares me, but I am confident in this doctor and this hospital.  They are the ones who did the same thing for my Grandpa Calvin.  The doctor is good at what he does, and the hospital takes excellent care of their patients. 

I'm thankful that it is THIS doctor and THIS hospital, b/c this is very scary for me for some reason. I know this is a rather common procedure, but I can't help but be concerned. 

I'm not sure I can do this story justice, but I have to try.  Matt and I just came in from town and I stopped at the rose bush to pull off some "dead heads".  He asked why I did that and I explained it to him.  He starts looking for one to pull of and he says, "Hmmm, I guess they are having a good time, huh?"  Confused I look over and he has spotted two grasshoppers.... one on top of the other.  Now I'm REALLY confused...b/c my six year old shouldn't know anything about a "good time".  While I'm contemplating how to ask exactly what he means, he says, "Yep, they're having a good time.  Piggy back riding, huh guys? "  I nearly fall over laughing!  I keep a straight face....until he grabs the limb they are on, pulls it down, lets go and says, "I bet that was a good ride!"

Ahh the joys of sweet innocence!   And the laughs it gives us who aren't so "innocent" anymore!  lol