New Inspiration

As I was waiting for the final few cds to burn for the Tekemah Herman prom and was crusin' around on pinterest and saw this picture....

I know I said I have so much going on and I need to learn to say no, but that's to other people, not myself.  A little documentary via pictures of my everyday life....But in this, no editing, no making sure I click the picture where there is no mess....ALL REAL, ALL TRUE! 

I vote YES!

Once we get through.......

This has been the common phrase coming out of my mouth since the beginning of the month!

Once we get through all three kids having strep throat...
Once we get through pink eye.....
Once we get through me totalling my car....
Once we get through buying a new car....
Once we get through Blake having H1N1...
Once we get through Blake getting tubes.....
Once I get through these meetings...
Once we get through my computer dying....
Once we get through this pre-K year with Cole....
Once I get through editing Prom pics.....

I have been using this excuse for being a crabby, non-attentive, exhausted wife and Mommy for 2 months!  And has it helped?  NO!

I have come to the conclusion:  Once we get through "said problem", there will be another obstacle!  There will always be obstacles, Always things to get through and deal with.  Always ways to show others & yourself your strength. 

Life is tough!  It's ALWAYS changing!  I'm NOT in control.  I suppose it's my OCD kicking in.  OCD you ask?  Come on!  If you know me you know that I like to be in control.  I make lots and lots of lists, and if I do something that's not on the list, well I put it on the list and cross it off.  Yep, I'm that girl!  I feel like I need to be in control at all times.  Work and my life is stressful.  And when I can't control things in my life-I do control the things I can.  I rearrange furniture, or reorganize my music files, or dye my hair, or chop it off.  I NEED to feel in control!

But isn't that funny?  I am not the one in control.  I can put as much effort and energy into trying, and it's just not going to work.  It's something I constantly have to remind myself of.  I have been swallowed by stress and sooo much stuff.  I can't go back and not stress, I can't go back and be nicer to my family, but I can work on it. 

I CAN say no.  If it's going to be too much, I MUST say no!  And I am not in control and I need to trust that's it's all happening exactly the way it's supposed to.

I think I need to wear flip flops more so I can see my tattoo more :)

Hope everyone has a great week!  Look for another blog coming soon about our FUN-FRIEND-FAMILY-FRIDAY!

What We've Been Up To....

The clouds from last Saturday....The forecast was "catastrophic" weather was coming our way.  These clouds were scary but sooo cool!  I couldn't resist taking a pic.  Luckily we didn't get any horrible weather!  We did get LOTS of wind that kept knocking out the power...but that..I can live with!

Cole bought his VERY OWN hunting permit for the first time!  I can't believe he's old enough to go turkey hunting!  He was so proud of the permit and how he got to sign his name.  He didn't get one yet, but there's still plenty of time!

We've been taking advantage of the nice weather by playing outside.  The boys favorite thing to do is ride Charlie Brown.  Blake is pretty scared and we figured out if he's on there with Cole, he LOVES it!

You know how you get a knew car and you see the first door ding, and it hurts just a little? :)  Yeah....Beau left his truck idling outside while he came in to give the boys kisses before he left in the morning.  He went back out only to find his truck rolled backwards, the wheels turned and it rolled down a hill right into my car!  Yeah, this one hurt a lot!  I'd had the car for 10 days at this time.

Blake had tubes put in his ears.  This is his before surgery checking out all of his monitors.

They brought him back to me before the anesthesia wore off so he could wake up in my arms.

Within 30 minutes of waking up he was running up and down the hallways in his little hospital gown with the back wide open, flapping in the breeze :)  He did great and hopefully no more ear infections for him!

More time playing outside!  They love being pulled around in the wagon, but they are a pretty heavy crew :)

Thanks to my niece, Jinell, Mommy & Daddy were able to FINALLY use their gift card to Texas Roadhouse we got for Christmas!  Beau managed to eat a bunch of peanuts, 2 1/2 rolls, a salad, a cactus blossom (bloomin onion), a loaded baked potato, a 16oz steak and a 22oz beer!!!  I had the ribs and they were AMAZING!  So was this Jamaican Cowboy!

Welp, I think your all caught up!  We continue to stay busy ALL the time, forgetting things we were supposed to do, digging dirty clothes out of the laundry basket to wear again because we haven't had time to do laundry, working all the time, church responsibilities, friends and  family!  It's always crazy, but always worth it!

Friends & Moments Like these...Few & Far Inbetween

I've been neglecting my blog!  Wish I could blog and drive at the same time :)  Three days a week I head up to Santee, Nebraska and drive an hour each way...My mind races and I always think of all these different things I want to blog about but then I get home and life happens.

Today I decided that I would ignore the huge pile of dishes on the counter, step over the sippy cup that I think had milk in it at one time, but it is now resembling cottage cheese.  I will ignore the huge mound of dirty clothes, the clean ones that Blake decided to pull out of the hamper and decorate the living room with.  I will put on hold the 500+ pictures I have left to edit from Prom this weekend, the reports for work I need to finish up and the dinner I need to get ready before the boys get home.  I will just write!

This last month has been a whirlwind of stuff.  Strep x3, ear infections, pink eye, a totaled car, ENT appointments, buying a new car, pictures, scary bad weather, a ridiculous amount of referrals and work related "stuff".  This Mama was at the end of her rope.  I needed a break!  I needed to get out of the house away from my family!  Don't get me wrong, I love them to pieces, but everyone knows, Mom needs some time too! 

Beau was turkey hunting all weekend and I was lucky enough to be the photographer for Tekamah-Herman's prom.  My sister came up and stayed with the boys.  I didn't even know if I should go because of the "catastrophic" weather that was supposed to be headed our way.  The plan was to go take pics, then go stay with my parents and SLEEP!  Ah!  The word even makes me smile!  I was going to get one full nights sleep!  I was going to get to sleep in!  I NEEDED SLEEP!  Yeah....Well that didn't happen.  But what did was fantastic & so worth the minimal sleep I got!

Here is a little background.  I grew up in Lawton, OK.  I moved to Nebraska in 8th grade.  8th grade is a tough year for girls anyway, but being the "new girl" in a town where everyone has known each other since birth is TOUGH!  I went from 500+ kids in my class to a class of 53.  I didn't want to move at all.  I hated it.  I missed my friends.  So much in fact my parents have the $400 phone bill for one month to prove it!  Yes I was a cheerleader.  I was in FBLA and FFA and Student Council.  I wasn't popular.  I didn't have a lot of good friends I could really count on.  I had a few, and that was enough to get me through high school.  I was lucky enough to spend Saturday night with one of them.

I talk to 3 girls from my high school.  Angie, Jenny and Ladonna.  At our 10 year reunion Angie and I got a chance to catch up.  We realized our lives now were a lot alike (crazy busy with kids!).  So we had been talking more on facebook.  I called Angie and asked if she wanted to go have a drink when I got done Saturday night...Man I needed a drink.  We decided that I'd just come out to her house and have some drinks there and sleep in her basement. 

It was just what I needed!  We had SOOOO much fun.  I have not laughed that hard in years!  You know the laugh that just won't stop and you are crying and your going to pee your pants (well, if you've had 3 or more kids you will).  I could try to explain all the things we laughed at and try to reenact it for you.  I tried to do it with Beau when I got home, and it just isn't that funny retelling it.  Beau looked at me like crazy when I was telling him about her German Shepard and the mud in the bed.  It took me a few times to get through the story without laughing like crazy.  It was one of those, you had to be there nights!

But we did come to some conclusions.
*In the grand scheme of things it doesn't matter if you were "popular" in high school or if you were Homecoming Queen.  It doesn't matter how many friends you had then! 
*Sitting for hours going through pictures of your kids IS fun!
*Facebook stalking other old classmates just goes to show that we are HAPPY where we are and are lucky we aren't them!
*Dogs and kids make mud, messes, poop, they drag random crap around your house, the destroy things...and that's ok.
*Old houses that have "character" are WAAAAYYYY better than any Hearthstone Home.
*Old Miluake and Crab ragoon mix out of the bowl is YUMMY
*Storms were way cooler when you didn't have to worry about your kids
*Some people look for funnels when the lightening strikes and lights up a night sky, while some people look for creepy guys standing in their yard.
*Heated tile floors are the best (and I am getting one of these eventually)
*German Shepard's can stretch the length of a King sized bed
*Kids are the most important things in our lives and we are happy we are attentive responsible parents (most of the time)
*We are pretty lucky to have 2 of the best guys in the world we call husbands
*Staying up till 4am not child related makes you exhausted the next day, but so totally worth it!

But the best, most important, valuable conclusions I came to was:

It's not WHAT you have in your life but WHO.  It's about all those little moments you will never forget!  Once again, I am so blessed and lucky to have people like Angie in my life :)  Yep.  I'm pretty happy with how things turned out!

A worthy read!

I am not perfect.  I make mistakes. I say things to people I shouldn't.  I have unclean thoughts.  I am so lucky to have a Lord who forgives.  I try everyday to be a better person than I was yesterday.  When I was in Jr. High I wrote a goal for my life.  It still holds true "I want to change peoples lives in a way that couldn't be achieved otherwise."

I work everyday to help others.  My job has blessed me the ability to get into homes and families that most people are unable to reach.  I write this blog.  I continue my education in all areas.  I try to be the best me.

I have one way to do this.  LOVE.  I try hard not to judge others.  I am not in their situation and have no clue what they are going through.  I will NOT spread hate.  I will not JUDGE.

So instead of judging those who are spreading hatred and anger and causing many to feel bad about themselves, I am going to share something positive!

I read this blog earlier and it is AMAZING!  I have not read a more useful, more true, fantastic, educated, worthwhile piece in a LONG time.  So please take the time to read it.  It will be worth every minute.

It is a daily struggle for all of us.  We can only improve.  But please, don't share hatred.  Please don't look down on people.  Please do not judge.  It doesn't solve any problems, it makes people feel bad about themselves and it makes things much more complicated.

http://www.danoah.com/2011/11/im-christian-unless-youre-gay.html

Easter 2012

I LOOOVVVEEE  Easter!  I think it may be my favorite holiday!!!  We are able to celebrate the true meaning of the holiday without so much extra "fluff".  You don't have to wrap a bazillion presesnts.  You don't have to put up a tree and decorate your whole house.  The weather is nice and the kids can play outside.  And Church!  It's a must & always GREAT!!!!

The boys made crosses out of tissue paper and dyed Easter eggs on the days leading up to Easter.  We talked about Easter and why it was significant.  I even found some cool videos on youtube for younger kids so that they better understand Easter.

I love our church anytime, but it's super fabulous on Easter!  Our pastor always does a FANTASTIC job!  It's a sunrise service so church begins at 7.  And surprisingly we were only 5 minutes late :)  I saw a quote on pinterest that reminded me of my house "If you don't ask your kids "Why are You Naked?" at least 5 times, it's not a normal day."  Their idea of getting ready is much different from ours :)

It was a great service & then fellowship afterwards at breakfast!  & Hunter ate a roll bigger than his head!!

We went up to Beau's Mom after service.  I spent the morning making deviled eggs with Eldon and also making cheesy potatoes while the boys went and got the 4-wheeler!  When everyone was done we went on an Easter Egg Hunt and the boys played outside!

Now....The Annual 4-Wheeler Ride!  What fun!  It was started in 1997 in Maskell, NE by a few natives.  At the beginning the were just a few 4-wheelers.  They rode the trails through the bluffs, etc and then made it down to the Green in Wynot, Nebraska.  Everyone would get a pop, hang out, then sign their names on the wall.  I went in the Green a few months ago & they had painted over all the names :(  So sad!

I've been on the ride off and on for the past 10 years depending on if I was pregnant or not :)  This is another reason why I love living where I do.  It is WONDERFUL getting to see all your friends.  Some people you only see once a year and some you see more often.  But no matter what, it's like nothing has changed.  Nichole & I still yell at the husbands for going to fast or being to dangerous, The Pinkelman's on their raptors being crazy and the Koch's....well if you know the Koch's, I don't even have to say it :) 

There is such great companionship.  This year there were 27 ATV's on the ride.  We would get through a stretch of trails and big hills...and then wait...count and make sure everyone made it.  Everyone really cares about each other!!!  Here is the link to the slideshow I put together of all the pictures I took!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsrXPlMjd8g&feature=youtu.be

Oh how I needed to hear this!

A friend of mine posted a link to "How To Be A Great Mom".  I almost didn't read it.  Usually these lists are the same.  Play with your kids, Teach them this, or do this with them, etc.  This list was fantastic!  It's everything a mother needs to hear!


http://zenhabits.net/how-to-be-a-great-mom/

These are things as a Mom, you tend to forget.  "Be True To Yourself"!  YES!  I am doing pretty good in this category.  I make sure I take time for photography and blogging.  There are many things I don't do because I don't "have time".  This is something I think you have to work on daily as a parent!  I would love to work out and have more girl time...Just a few things that go by the wayside.

No guilt and no perfection!  If you know me at all you know I want to do everything I can to the best of my ability.  Who doesn't?  My problem is that I take on too much.  I always feel bad if I say no to anyone.  I wear myself too thin.  I need to learn to say NO if I don't have the time...and not feel guilty about it.  It's hard to remember that no one is perfect and that's OK!

Another thing I think I do well is learned helplessness.  In the field I work I see this so much.  It's not because the parents don't care, it's because they care too much.  They feel guilty and want to make their children's life as easy as possible.  Every parent feels that way sometimes but its something every parent has to get past!  They have to realize that by doing this they are hurting their kids more than helping them.  What is our whole job as a parent?  To love them and care for them yes....But most importantly teach them well enough so that they are able to not only survive but excel on their own.  You have to teach them to do things on their own.  This starts when they are little.  If they can put on their own coat, let them do it.  If they can't, teach them to do it on their own.  If they are scared to try something, let them know that you are there for them if they fall, but make them do it!  It's the only way to success!

We as parents worry to much, stress to much.  Teach by example, not by force!  Beau is a great example for the boys.  He is just the man I want my boys to grow up and be.

Check out the list!  She did a great job with it!

http://zenhabits.net/how-to-be-a-great-mom/