I'm just saying...

I took Makayla to the airport so she could fly to see her dad for Thanksgiving and passed by a woman with a shaved head. It seemed to me that she might have cancer and my mind connected with a book I just read about reality; "The Four Agreements" by Don Miguel Ruiz.

Who says we have to have our heads shaved to wear wigs and why couldn't it be cool to have a new hair do whenever.  So, I googled wigs and found this cute one, which by the way kind of already resembles my current hair style.  I've had curly hair most of my life, so why not wear it straight and long for a week. I'm just saying...

We saw a great dane in the back of a jeep in a parking lot today and my kids were commenting on it's size. My favorite comments came from Travis (3): 

T: It's a horse, dog.

T: It's not going to eat us.

We asked the owner how much the dog weighed and he answered, "150 lbs". My next thought was relief that I don't have to clean up the dog's waste; it weighs more than I do, I'm just saying...

This picture was easy to take because this is where you will find my dh anytime of day. Just consult his multiple daily facebook status updates for further proof. There are worse things I could think of to be addicted to and yet, he has agreed to take sabbatical. 

Actions speak louder than words, I'm just saying...

I get to work in my son's first grade class every Tuesday for a couple of hours, thanks to a most amazing friend and mother of another first grader. I hurried to take a picture on my iPhone while the class was focused on the flag. Every week these young children pledge their allegiance and I almost tear up watching the innocence in their little faces. 

My heart is so full of gratitude for our soldiers. The men and women contributing to my daily freedom to blog or shop or nap in the middle of the day, I'm just saying...

If tomorrow all the things were gone. I would still have...

I am thankful for...

family. I am so grateful to be experiencing this life with my family, Tom, Makayla, Matthew, and Travis. Although Makayla is not with us this Thanksgiving, I am that much more thankful for her joy, her peaceful spirit, her strength, her compassion, her loyalty and her love.  

health. Today I ran in the Turkey Trot with friends from church. To feel the wind against my face and hear the sound of feet on the pavement is proof I am healthy and free. 

love. Regardless of my bad behavior or forgetting my love for myself, I always see love all around me from family, friends, or from my divine Father in Heaven. 

friends. Each and every one of my friends brings so much light into my life. Friends that comfort, support, encourage, inspire, empower, contribute to my creation.

home. To have my own home to come home to, to clean, to decorate, to create a space for my children to grow and create and BE is rewarding.

abundance. I AM grateful for my abundance of love, health, joy, money, peace, and family.

peace. This is my greatest blessing. Peace allows me to learn, love, laugh, and live out loud.

connection. Engaging with others is like heaven on earth to me. I love getting together with friends, learning about them, speaking truths, and feeling the spirit.

joy. I am so grateful to have a dh who loves to laugh as much as I do. Having joy makes this experience that much more rewarding.

Lately...

affectation \n.\  an artificial way of talking or behaving put on to impress others; pretense.  an unnatural action, expression, or trait that indicates artificiality

1. Today I audibly laughed at the farmers market while picking grapes. What made me laugh was the realization of my fruit picking affectation. I picked up a bag of grapes, set it down, picked up another, felt for firmness and triumphantly placed the grapes in my cart. Another woman noticed my affectation and misinterpreted it for expertise. It just struck me funny, what do I know about fruit? The woman put her bag back and started looking again for the perfect bag.  

2. This is a typical day in the life of my two boys. Even though they look and behave like a real cowboy and superman, I have always suspected an affectation. 

3. My brother in law took his daughter and Travis to the cliffs near our home and took some pictures. Later he added in some extra character compliments of Photoshop. He told the two to pose with an affectation of notable introduction. IOW: put your arm like this and smile.

4. Tom and I are both very competitive especially when playing board games. Once when I was pregnant I threw a deck of cards at him because I lost. Tonight we went on a date to the ocean and played scrabble with our camping lantern. Because I usually lose at this game and to save face, I paced myself capitalizing on Triple Word spaces and Triple letters for Q and Z flaunting myself with affectation. I actually did end up winning with Pique and Zine. Tom let me have Zine short for Magazine. Thanks Tom. 

I Am Here to Create. And OWTHGFIA!!

Today I was planning a girl's night out in my head, we'd go to dinner and then individually declare what we are going to create as our contribution to a family, a neighbor, or society. 

I was overcome with emotion and excitement at the thought of making the declaration of what I am creating, not on Friday night, but in life! What is it that I am creating? Is it sadness, fear, futility, or frustration? Or is it love, joy, passion, and enthusiasm?

I choose moment to moment what I create in life. In reading the book, "East of Eden" I was moved by John Steinbeck's words,

It seems to me that if you or I must choose between two courses of thought or action, we should remember our dying and try so to live that our death brings no pleasure to the world.

And this is my story, it's your story. Lately, I have forgotten who I am (again). This is called missing the mark in my world. So, I'm recommitting (again) to my creation statement, 

My divine purpose is to inspire, empower, and give joy by being a powerful, loving, passionate spirit being of light creating a world of awakening where Christ consciousness and spiritual connection allow others to remember their divinity bringing freedom, healing, and peace. 

And so it is.

An Almost Perfect Trip

My mother-in-law treated us to Knott's Berry Farm on Monday during the Veteran's Day super-sized weekend. The trip was fun and would have been perfect if Makayla was in town to have enjoyed it with us. Here is grandma, Matt, Travis, and their Uncle Raymond (age 8).

The first ride was the Snoopy Air-Mail ride which Matt so bravely volunteered to go first. Travis stood in line with him, but when the time came to hop in the seat, he graciously said, 'noIdon'twanttogo'. (as in a quickly spoken sentence that sounded like one word)

This is Travis' very first amusement park ride, which he gladly buckled into and afterwards commented, "That was totally awesome."
This was Tom's first ride, a train of 8 semi-trucks with 4 loud honking horns per truck. After I took the picture, I jumped in and joined the harmonious music. 
Grandma gave the boys each $4 to spend during our day trip. We were going to eat when we passed by the midway games and there hanging on the back of the triangle shooting game were 14 brand new, shiny electric guitars. 

Matt's conviction was clear and his actions undeviating. I was thrilled to be a part of his excitement and although I sent as much positive energy his way during his $3 shot, he walked away beaten. But not for long. He put his money together, which included the $1 he had left over from the park and the $3 he charged his dad to repurchase a pomegranate from off our kitchen counter and countless birthday money he's been saving, and found he has only $15 to go to buy an electric guitar the sure way.
Walking out of the park, I witnessed Travis pat his pocket several times feeling his $4 still safe inside his khaki shorts.  Thanks Grandma for a terrific park day.

Excellent. And excel.

I want to share this excellent find. I stumbled on it while looking for a gift. The coupon book includes 52 ideas to reward and encourage excellence. Here are some of the greats:

1. This coupon entitles you to HEAR THE WONDERS OF YOU! Everyone in the family will take turns telling you all the reasons WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH!

2. Tooth Fairy Bonus. Put this coupon under your pillow, and you'll have a tooth's worth of cash in the morning. 

3. VEGGIE VETO. You get to skip eating veggies for one meal.

4. OWL HOURS. Pick a Friday or Saturday night, and stay up as late as you want.

5.TOTAL SLOB COUPON. Lounge in your grungiest clothes, and do nothing all day! And don't forget to wad this coupon up and throw it on the floor!

6. SUPERSIZE YOUR ALLOWANCE. This coupon entitles you to DOUBLE your normal allowance for one week. 

7. SUPER YOU! For one night, you will be honored for the amazing kid you are by being waited on hand and foot. The entire family will refer to you as either "your majesty" or "your highness" all night long. 

I love the rewards because they are more creative than my typical choice of a trip to golden spoon or the donut shop. My daughter's favorite is One Day to Shop 'Till We Drop. She can't wait to get rewarded. 

Hawg Wosh

hogwash /n./  any worthless stuff.  meaningless or insincere talk or writing; nonsense.

hogwash /n./ 1. The other morning at breakfast my three year old told me he couldn't have waffles because Dad told him I threw away the syrup. Hawg Wosh! I said and then chuckled at the word because it reminded me of my childhood and oh, the things we'd say. Like 'worsh' for wash and 'boughten' for something we purchased previously.

hogwash /n./ 2. What I heard was a scream and what I overheard after the scream was this:

M: Travis it's ok, they don't come out until night time.

T: But I'm scared and I don't want to go in there (the master bedroom)

M: The aliens only come out when it's dark.

T: Oh.

Someday I picture them as adults reminiscing, remember the one time when you taught me....

And if I happen to overhear that, I may know the hawg wosh between those two.

hogwash /n./ 3. Our brand new niece came to visit tonight. Makayla held her while Matthew read her a book for his homework and Travis talked on his pretend phone while occasionally shushing his brother and sister, "I'm on the phone." 

Travis read this book with all the exciting voice fluctuations while she slept. I plan on telling my niece some of my own hogwash stories; not now of course but definitely when she's a little older. This is known as payback for ALL the hogwash my sister-in-law has told and taught my kids. 

6 Good Reasons to Camp With Your Family and Friends

I'm consumed by 13 loads of laundry and lots of clean shoes that were full of sand and are now unable to dry on the front porch because it's too cold today. It's all worth it; we enjoyed another great camping trip with my sister's family and friends. 

This trip was great for several reasons. 

1. The kids were amazing and well behaved for all three days even considering the two warnings to stop the potty talk and one referee reminder on sharing and not screaming. 

Me: Is there another way you could handle taking turns with the football besides screaming and throwing yourself in the dirt? 

Travis: Find another ball?

Me: Grin.

2. All the kids entertained themselves with good 'ol fashion dirt, balls, sand, and water and kites. I am an enthusiast for wholesome entertainment and camping holds all the possibilities. 
3. I remembered to sunscreen and re-sunscreen the boys to keep their skin young, and I remembered to tell my daughter to remember to sunscreen and she did. We spent hours and hours in the sun and sand. Everyone took turns being buried and even the warm running water from the showers didn't remove all the sand, and we kept going back to collect more in our ears. 

4. This picture is the camping night life which includes guitaring and singing and smores and history. I love this picture because it reminds me of a picture in my belongings of my cousin and me in front of my childhood house with our front teeth missing. I always had a crush on my cousin and I knew I couldn't marry him, but I enjoyed our time together and I hoped some day I would marry someone as cool as he was. 

These two are stuck together like glue when our families get together; they aren't bothered by the 294 miles between them, they just pick up where they left off in their own kid fantasy land. 

5. I got to boogie in the ocean with Makayla, Tiff, and Raelynn. Our girls were out in the surf and standing 50 feet above the ocean I said to my sister, "I wanna go in. Go with me, please" She was never one for peer pressure, but there we were 10 minutes later choking on salt water and flying on our boards like we had been shot out of a cannon. 

Makayla: When I say bump, don't take the wave, but if I say take it then take it OK?

Me: (Thinking) You are so much cooler than I ever was at 11. Ok.

She took it.

6. The amazing dutch oven cooking that my sister always orchestrates.  Before the trip she begged to plan, shop, and transport all the food for our trip and being a supportive sister I admitted. She did ask me to help prepare and clean up with her and so I did. And yet, she still does way more work than I can ever offer. 

Sidebar: I did marry someone cool and stunningly good-looking. Grrr.