Good morning, folks! We’ve got a HUGE storm rolling in so I wanted to make sure I jumped on here real quick to tell this tale of murder!

Milo, my sweet little beastie dog, has murdered/eviscerated a baby ‘possum….a wee little ‘possum. We were calling him in for the night when we heard a strange flapping sound. Ususally, Milo comes running but not this time…so we became concerned that the flapping around was a beastie eating our beastie! Just as we are discussing this, Jake starts to head into a mini meltdown.

Using one of those little red laser lights, because we have no flashlight, Pete was able to determine that Milo was the beastie that was doing the eating. Was it a rabbit, bird…what? Jake melted down more when he realized that Milo could be eating something that was rabid. So now we had a murder in the back yard and a melt down in the house.

Oh I got to hurry…they are saying that the storm is almost here….

Pete tried to grab Milo to take him in but Milo wasn’t gonna leave his catch. He was left outside to finish his feast…there was no way we could have gotten that ‘possum from him without being bitten….so he played with it…and we gagged.

Eventually he was ready to come in. Jake picked him up and dropped him onto the ground…..I sat at the computer with my feet on the desk…screaming…Pete sat on the couch telling us that Milo DID NOT have ‘possum guts all over him! I know he didn’t because Pete had done what he always does when something has gone awry…he had poured bleach on the victim! I’ll have to write another post about Pete and his bottle of bleach…

This morning, Pete and I were talking about the murder. I know that beasties eat other beasties but it has been hard for me imagine my little beastie doing that. So, because I usually let my stupidity hang out in the mornings, I asked Pete “do dogs really eat raw meat like that?”. Not missing a beat, he replies, “Yes, Jenny. Dogs have not discovered fire yet!” What would I do if I didn’t have my dh to makes things clear! lol!

Pete and I went out just a bit ago to check things out. I know…we’re gross like that! Anyway, this little wee ‘possum was on his tummy with his little front and hind legs stretched out behind him…awwwwww….really, it was sad. I know ‘possums are u-g-l-y but this was just a little thing so there was some cute there.

Pete found his heart, kidneys, liver and some of the intestines right at the back deck. In all honesty, that was quite interesting. Everything was pretty much intact and we could really tell what was what! Cool!!

That dog is gonna have to get a good bath before he lays on my couch!! Sheesh!

Sorry, no picutres….

My favorite cousin is an artist in the Nashville area. She creates beautiful paintings that are loved throughout the south. The last time I saw her was at the quilt show in Nashville. It was a real treat to get to talk to her and her daughter. I really admire her because she is so artsy…I want to be her when I grow up!

I found out a few weeks ago that she had gotten sick. One morning as she was getting out of bed, she fell and hit her head. All the docs thought she had experienced a stroke but extensive testing proved otherwise. Since then, we’ve discovered that she has lost her short term memory…in fact, I think she may have lost more than her short term memory because she didn’t know that her parents had died which was quite a few years ago. So, that means that she probably has no idea who I am! This is all just heartbreaking to me…not that she doesn’t remember me but that she has lost so much…

So, in honor of my favorite cousin who once told me, “I like all my rooms to be white so that the people who are in them can be the color.”, I’ve changed my background color from pink to white.

Hearts Connected by Gwen Meharg…one of my favorite artists!

Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life.
Proverbs 4:23 NASB

I’ve been thinking about this verse lately. So how do we protect our hearts and our childrens’ hearts? What are some practical ways we can do this? Off the top of my head I can name a few ways but I want to know about all the ways…so I am turning to the Lord and asking Him to reveal those to me. This will be my running list of questions for our family. Some of these may sound extreme and that’s ok. I’m not judging you or your family if you do or don’t do these things…I’m just following my convictions. If you have a suggestion please leave a comment…God uses others to teach us!

• Are we reading good books or are we reading books that are chocked full of unpleasant words and situations? This is a whole other post in itself! Stay tuned! lol!
• Are we watching tv shows that are filled with unpleasant words and violence?
• Are the tv shows we are watching being discussed? For example, news stories.
• Are we sporting good attitudes or bad ones that bring discouragement to others?
• Are we encouraging each other to be in God’s Word?
• Is our home kept tidy so that we feel safe and peaceful and able to focus on things that are pure and lovely? Sigh…..no….

I’ll be adding more as God reveals different areas to me. And again, I’d love to hear your suggestions!

Sometimes I get really tired of hearing that we need to set aside time for ourselves, we need to make sure our needs are met…blah, blah, blah. What we really need to be doing is getting ourselves out of the way and focusing on others more. There is some truth to the “take care of yourself” attitude though…You really can’t take care of others if you are not taking care of yourself…both physically and spiritually. I have not been doing either and that is why I am probably wiped out!

Taking care of me physically is not going well…taking care of myself spiritually is not much better. I need to make time for exercising and I need to carve out some time where I can be secluded and be able to really meet with the Lord. I certainly know that He will meet me anywhere, it’s just really hard to hear Him when 5,000 different things are going on.

I really do have a huge desire to serve my family in a way that brings glory to God. I just need to find some time to work on me so that I can in turn be a better servant. So how do I do this? I’m going to start with prayer. I’m going to pray that God reveals to me the perfect time to exercise and to study His Word. I will count on Him to wake me up early if that is when He wants me to meet him….I will also count on him to give me the energy to rise from the slumber I enjoy so much!

Since God created time, I am going to turn it all over to Him and let Him schedule my days. I will be listening and watching as He reveals to me what I am to do each day. I will create a schedule but will not turn it into a god….I will go in a different direction when God leads me. The hard part will be dying to my ol’ stinky self! I mean really, isn’t it funny how we think we know what’s best for us when actually we don’t know a thing?!

Ahhhh….the Final Day!

Sticking with our healthy treats theme, we served juice pops. After the program, we had a hot dog lunch with chips and cookies. I have never seen the Fellowship Hall so trashed…soft cookies had been smeared on the chairs covers, drinks spilled on the floor, trash over flowing…sheesh! Where in the world were the adults??? Yowsie!

…..and it’s over….whew! I’m beat!

Lo and behold! First thing this morning I had a mom come and tell me how much she appreciated all the healthy snacks…she has no idea how much I needed that encouragement. The lady who was upset about no cookies was able to put a few in a baggie and so that worked out well. I also sent her home with the cookie crumbs and told her that she should make a pie crust with them. Tomorrow we will have juice pops and a lovely hot dog shindig. Nothing like a big ol‘ pot of boiling wieners! Ack!!

Much better day today, folks!

We served fresh fruit and pretzels. No one died which was wonderful….we have one little girl with an allergy to strawberries but she wasn’t there today. I’ll have to admit I was a little concerned about that one…I had made a fruit dish just for her and made sure it got nowhere near the strawberries….cross-contamination bites you know!

As far as I know, there were no complaints this day…which is good because I have been so close to losing my religion several times. I figure it would not be the most appropriate action in the midst of VBS…”Look at the Snack Lady! She’s losing it!!!! Run!!!!”

***Note to self: stick with what you know best…and that ain’t snacks, lady!

Would you all believe that my oldest son has tricked our van…and our only means of transportation right now…into thinking it has been in a wreck?

Last night he was told to hop out and shut the side door. He jumped out and was trying to act all cool and…strong I guess…and he slammed the door pretty hard. I’m sure all the kids in the van thought it was terribly funny and everyone had been entertained quite well!

When Pete tried to start the van, it wouldn’t start. This afternoon, AAA came and hauled the van to our mechanics place where we discovered that the inertia switch has probably been activated which means that the fuel line is shut….basically, when Nik slammed the door, the van thought it had been in a wreck and in an attempt to save my family’s life from a burning fiery death, the van cut off the gas!

I loved my van before but now I really love my van! lol!

Ok…so we all thought it would be a great idea to take our sweet little dog Milo, out for a walk the other day. We gathered up his dog collar and leash and proceeded to get him ready. As soon as he realized what was going on, all hell broke loose and this sweet little dog let his ugly hang out all over the place. It was a mess, I tell you!

Here are the boys talking nice to Milo and trying to calm him down. His mouth is open and we know he’s getting cranked up….

Looking a little worried…see his mouth open and his teeth showing….it’s getting worse….

Let’s try a “sock muzzle” so he won’t see the collar coming his way….

Obviously, that didn’t work and now Milo has turned into the “upside down demon-dog”!

Things go from bad to worse when “upside down demon-dog” decides to take out the camera man!

No….we never made it out for the walk that day….and I’m not sure that this little dog will ever be able to get dressed for a walk! You should see all the scratches and maul-marks on our arms…sheesh….

Remember I told you that I’m in charge of snacks at VBS this year? Well. I am…and things are going fairly well….except for the woman that is complaining about the snacks! With the help of my friend Mary (who refuses to blog), we have planned good and healthy snacks. We have several kids with allergies so we’ve been extra careful with snacks and in all honesty, I think our choices have been good.

So, I guess I’m a big fuddy duddy because one of the adults has complained about the snacks. I’m so sorry…I really should have filled your child with lots of sugars and such so they could experience the sugar high and then have a meltdown in the parking lot. I mean really, did I really hear her suggest that sweets be given to her child?? She’s a grandmother…I say take him home and stuff him full of your sweet baked goodness and please forgive me for feeding your grandson grapes and string cheese…oh the horrors!

There’s always someone isn’t there? I’m sticking to my plan though…we’re serving healthy snacks. If your wondering about the grandmother, I helped her fill a ziploc bag with sweets from the “teacher table”….sigh….

Obviously, I need to check my attitude…or maybe I just need a nap!

And I see I’ve erased my signature again…sigh….

Jake: (sitting down on couch where Belle is laying) Goooshhhh…Ippy. (big long sigh showing great disgust)

Belle: It’s not my fault that I can’t keep my farts inside my body!

Lovely…..

VBS is this week…..and I’m already beat!~ What’s the deal with that? I think it must be too much stimulation for me because I come home and crash like I’ve been working for seven days straight!

This year I’m working in a different area…snacks. I have to put together snacks for both the kids and the teachers. I have a great team of people and everyone worked well together. We served grapes and string cheese to the kids and the teachers got veggies, brownies, spinach dip, etc. So, really, it’s not that hard…but I’m still wiped out…sigh….I guess I’m getting old! lol!

Tomorrow we are going to be serving the teachers breads and pastries from Atlanta Bread Company. Since ABC bakes fresh daily, they get rid of their baked goods when they close. Isn’t that neat?! Mary (who refuses to blog!) arranged all of that…she’s neat too! I told her to save me one of those yummy chocolate pastries…those are my favorite.

In a little while, Pete and I are going to a writer’s workshop being hosted by a local author. She’ll be sharing with us all the ins and outs of writing and getting published. She said that she would be available to read and critique but I’m not quite there yet….I pretty much know that my NaNoWriMo novel is not ready to be critiqued because I haven’t actually started on the first draft! lol!!

I’m tired….I need a nap…..

Lavender over at The Birds and The Beads has tagged me fro the 8 random things about me. I think this is my third time playing along! Fun!
Here’s the rules:

1) Each player must post these rules first.
2) Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3) Tagged people post their eight things and these rules.
4) End your post by ‘tagging’ eight new people to play.
5) Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog for these instructions.

1. I was in college with Kenny Chesney. He sat next to me in Advertising. On weekends we would go down to Quarterbacks and listen to him play his guitar and sing cover songs. We laughed at him when he told us he was going to Nashville to become a star…..

2. In college, I was the president of the American Marketing Association.

3. I held several offices in my sorority, Delta Zeta. My favorite was Pledge President.

4. My freshman year, someone broke into my dorm room and stole my favorite pair of Benetton jeans, my eel skin pocketbook, mini recorder, fifty bucks and some makeup. The police found my pocketbook in the dumpster at the hospital…they made me get in the dumpster to get it….I was impressed with their chivalry.

5. My sophomore year, as I was moving into my dorm room on the second floor, I heard a girl yell “Jason, Oh my god…Jason….”and then I heard a thump followed by a lot of screaming. I called the RA and told her that something strange was going on…that maybe someone had been hurt. She called me later to tell me that what I had heard was Jason falling down the elevator shaft and hitting the bottom…thump! Jason fell from the fourth floor. Apparently, the elevator had stopped between floors and he tried to jump out and lost his footing and fell. I will never forget the sound of his body hitting the ground.

6. About a month later, I met Jason at a party! He was limping just a little….

7. I was a business student with a focus in marketing. I graduated with my B.B.A.

8. I went to aerobics twice a day and sometimes three times a day. Now it’s more like twice a year! lol!

Here are my tags:

dig up some more stuff girls!
Sonya
Judi
Nancy
Stacey

My first car…ohhhh how I loathed him. He was named Norman and he was a 1972 Chevy Nova…he was beige…he was ugly…he only had two doors…he was not a Honda CRX. He was sold at a garage sale for $200 to two guys who were going to “pimp my old ride” by painting it candy apple red!

No, really, Norman was a really good car…he was dependable and protected me several different times when I was on the rode driving. Of course, he protected me from other people since my driving skills were stellar and still are.

Pete bought me a Honda Civic with four doors right before Nik was born. Strapping a baby into the back of Norman was going to be too much for me to handle. I think Pete knew I would have a break down!

Now I drive a Windstar minivan and I love it. In fact, when I was selling Mary Kay and was qualifying for the red Grand Am, I was a little stressed because I wanted a minivan not the Grand Am! Lol! It was kind of hard for my director to use the Grand Am as incentive with me….chocolate probably would have worked just fine!

The only thing better than a minivan would be one of those conversion vans or 15 passenger vans that quiverful families are seen driving around in….you know we want to have a baker’s dozen when it comes to kids!

Check out some more car stories over at Annie’s!

The neato mosquito, Sassy, tagged me for the 8 Random Things Meme!

Here is how this thing works:
# * Each player must post these rules to begin the meme.
# * Each players starts with eight random facts or habits about themselves.
# * People who get tagged must blog about their eight things and post these rules.
# * At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
# * Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

• 1. I’m a counter…yep…I count things….just a smidge OCD! I really prefer to sort things into groups of seven. I don’t lose it if I can’t, it just doesn’t feel 100% correct!
• 2. II like for my canned goods labels to be facing front. Same thing with my spices…
• 3. I can clean up poop accidents but not puke accidents…I end up puking on top of the puke.
• 4. I do not eat hot dogs…you can’t make me!
• 5. I have met Chris Rice and Lee Ann Womack…in fact Lee Ann Womack stood at Gus’ bedside and tried to not cry…she was sweet and so was Chris.
• 6. I can do a perfect zaghreet…watch the video below to learn how you too can zaghreet!
• 7. I don’t eat any kind of meat while it’s still on the bone…ack. This means I can’t save money buying chicken legs and such…I’ll die cooking it….it’s chicken boobs for me!
• 8. I can quilt up a storm but I can’t make clothes. I tried to make tank top once and I sewd up the arm holes!

Really, I think everyone I know has done this…wait have you done this Stacey? If you haven’t played along yet, please do so and be sure to leave me a comment letting me know so I can link to you! Have Fun!!

My sister told me that she would Warholize a photo for me…however, I found a site where I can do it myself. I tried Warholizing Jonathan Rhys Meyers from The Tudors (yes…I’m still quite devastated that I didn’t get to see all the episodes…) but…well…it took away from all of his kingliness….is that even a word? This is fun!

It’s been busy around here this week!

We started out the week trying to find out where the smell of satan was coming from…no, Sonya, it was not the biscuit behind the tv! Actually, it was a wet towel that one of the kids didn’t hang up after using!

Pete spent a good portion of the first half of the week studying for finals and preparing for a presentation. He did well on both the test and group project! Way to go Pete!!

Monday was a “blue” day for me…not so bad though. God, as always, brought me peace!

On Tuesday, I received my wonderful FREE canvas! I love it! You can see the before and afters here.

Of course, on Wednesday, we tried to attend the 4th of July parade but it was so stinkin’ hot that we left. Unfortunately, we didn’t get home in time to see Nathan’s Annual Hot Dot Eating Contest…sigh…good news though, the US took back the Coveted Mustard Yellow Belt thanks to Mr. Chestnut’s awesome hot dog eating skills!

We watched several movies this week….DeJa Vu being my favorite. It was nice to slow down and just watch some tv. I crocheted and got 10 granny squares done for the Share a Square Project. I also worked on my ripple ghan.

Yesterday, I gutted both the den and the den bathroom. I am pleased with my progress though I had hoped to gut my whole house…really, that was too big of a goal but that’s what I do!

Today, I am continuing to gut…I’m working in the kitchen and hall bathroom today. If I have time, I’m going to start on my bedroom. When I was purging yesterday, I got rid of two bags of stuff and I’ve got a box of books ready to go to our local used bookstore.

Good times…folks…good times! Let’s hope next week will be as productive…..

Visit more Weekend Reflections over at Judi’s blog!

There are times that I just can’t wrap my mind around the fact that Gus is no longer here with us. It just doesn’t seem possible that he was here and now he’s gone….quickly…just like that. If I dwell on this fact for long, I start to feel myself spiraling down into that pit of deep sadness and depression…that place I don’t want to be. That is where I start to doubt our decisions in hi care….should we have moved to Pittsburgh…should we have insisted on the surgery that could have lengthened his bowel….should we have done more research…should I have….should I have…did I…did I…did I let him down? And there in that dark, dark pit I hear the words of the Lord…”No, my child. You did not let him down. “

As I try to climb my way out of the pit, I realize who’s words I have been focusing on…who has been shooting me with little fiery darts of doubt and condemnation. I remember the verse in 1 John 4:4, “Greater is He who is in me…” and I know that even though satan is attacking me, I will never be overcome by him. My source of strength is the Lord who is much more powerful.

Peace starts to envelope me and I hear the Lord yet again “It’s just a matter of time, Jenny. “ I know exactly what He is saying…I look over to my right and there, a little bit from me, is Gus on a red ride-on toy…he smiles and blows me a kiss. I turn to Jesus to say “thank you” and He smiles and says “Soon…”

It’s here folks…in my house. Really, it is….and I’m not one bit happy about it!

You see, not only does my home look like a drug dealer’s home but now there is this horrible smell….is it an animal that has gotten in and croaked…is it a dead bologna sandwich….is it a decaying corpse from a drug deal gone bad??? Who knows….but today, folks, I will not stop until I find the stench and destroy it! Destroy it and then some!

You see, we just can’t have the smell of satan in our house…it’s just not right or proper!