The 24 reasons why I love my smart phone.

If I had the nerve, I would re-title this post to say, "The 24 reasons why I am glad I didn't ruin my smartphone by peeing on it."

But I'm not that brave.

I am afraid some sicko would go*gle "smart phone" and "pee" and end up here looking at all my reasons I love my phone. That just gives me the shivers.

I know it's happened a million times before to lots of other great people. Your hands are full so you put your phone in your back pocket. Then you forget about it when you enter the restroom. Normal people might hear the PLOP as their phones hit the water. Not me. No ma'am. I barely even register the {how should I put this} splash. I thought it was just a jiggly toilet seat. Little did I know that MY LIFE was in that toilet!

Everyone with a smart phone knows EXACTLY what I mean by that!

After screaming and being sufficiently freaked out for the occasion, a friend of mine grabbed my {wet} phone and took it all apart and dumped it in a baggie full of silicon beads. It all happened so fast. I will never forget the look on his face when he realized WHY my phone was wet.

ICKY.

A day and many prayers later, my phone came back to life! {Praise Jesus!} I didn't lose one single thing, most of all my pictures.

The reason for this post. The 24 reasons why I love my smart phone, and the stories behind them.

**warning, very long post ahead! 
**literally fought with wordpress and blogger for two days on this post, so the pictures are in very random order.  I just want to be done!!!

Skip and I both graduated from Texas Christian University.  They send baby gifts when alumni announce births.  Wit found this in a drawer!  He is TCU quality, alright.

Alana and I trained to run in a half marathon this December.  {What? What?}  This was before the race started, the after was NOT SO FRESH!  What a journey this was for us.  Lots of emotional highs and lows.  My lowest point in training was fighting with Achilles tendinitis.  Very painful.  Around mile 8 of the race, it gave out.  I couldn't run without excruciating pain.  I convinced Alana to go on without me and we parted through a haze of tears.  I was turning back when a friend from church came alongside me and said I would regret this forever if I didn't finish.  Even if it took hours, I was finishing.  My friend Pam walked a mile with me and finally I decided I wanted to run the rest of the race.  It was only God and me at that point.  He gave me the strength to cross that finish line with my head held high!  I am so proud of what we accomplished!

Happy Valentine's Day! Love decorating for this special day!

I love these women! We met in the early days of parenting at MOPS. What an incredible gift! Alana, Michelle, Shelley and Jen...I love you!

Wit meets the Easter Bunny!  My only kiddo who wasn't terrified!

Sweet Langley had a speaking part in her 2nd grade musical!  Her lines were about how F-U-N music is and how it helps us learn.  {doesn't she look like she is having FUN?}  So proud of my shy girl for having the courage to speak in front of hundreds of people.  Even if she didn't look like she was having F-U-N!

PLAY BALL!!!  Opening day for 2012.  My favorite player is up to bat. 

Zeb's athletic cup, aka, "Mr. Happy."  I will never understand boys.

Easter Sunday 2012.  This is the first year no one had matching new clothes.  I call it growth on my part.  I just don't care anymore!  Or, maybe I do care but I'm too tired.  Anyway, they look lovely!  I am proud of my kids!

This picture makes my heart happy.  Less than a year ago, my brother had a stroke and you would never know it.  He is getting stronger and healthier as the year has gone on.  I am so very proud of all the work he has done for himself.  I love that he takes such an interest in my kids.  He taught Zeb how to grill the most amazing burgers!  We love Uncle Mikey!

Easter Sunday at my Grannie's house.  We had a wonderful time celebrating Easter with a lot of food and outdoor fun!  My cousin, Renae and her son, Ayden came from Kansas.  From left to right, Renae, Grannie, me, my pretty mom, and Langley!  I am blessed by these amazing and strong women!

Skip drooling and dreaming over an 80 inch TV.  I couldn't get him to move from that spot and when I did, he had drool running down his chin.  Thou shalt not covet.

April 18, 2001 at 7:47am this awesome kids was born.  Eleven years has flown by.  Being a first born means that we make mistakes together.  I am trying to figure out how this thing called GRACE works!  But mostly, I love this kid!!!!

Her mission?  Find every climbing tree and climb them.

I take my Wingman along when I volunteer at school.  There is a secret workroom in Langley's school and that is usually where we like to do our work.  It's quiet and small and just the right size for a paper fort built by a three year old!  He makes a new one every week!

SOGGY.  Where have you gone, Soggy?  Wit misses you so much.  I keep thinking you will turn up, but you stay hidden.  Thank goodness I had the presence of mind to order two of these amazing blankies.  I am so afraid we will lose the last one though!

P90X.  It's a miracle I even get up in the morning!  I set my alarm for 4:45 because my sweet neighbor comes over at 5:00 sharp.  We spend an hour working out before the world wakes up.  I have come to love this time so much.  Meanwhile, across town is another friend that wakes up at 5:00 to do the same.  We text each other to make sure we got ourselves out of bed!  It's a great way to hold each other accountible!

What a fun memory this was!  My stepdad is a professional angler {it means he fishes real good for money}.  Anyway, he was in a tournament on our local lake and was in good standing to come in first.  We sent him this text message the final day.  AND...He won!!!  It was so exciting!  He's kind of a big deal in the fishing world and we get the priviledge of calling him, "grandpa."

I can't get enough of this face.  This loud, crazy, yelling face has me head over heels!

There are no words.

First time Wit wrote his name!!  W-I-T!!!  So glad I had my camera to capture this precious memory!!

October 28, 2003 at 1:59pm a beautiful, sweet, kind baby girl was born.  Life has never been the same!  Now she is eight and I just want her to freeze here.  Thankyouverymuch.

One of my favorite things I did last year was to run a 5K with Zeb on Thanksgiving morning.  It was amazing to be with him.  Skip and Zeb have so many more chances to bond through sports, but running is mine and his alone.  We had the best time talking and laughing.  My heart will remember this day forever!!!!  And, wow.  That kid is fast!

After the half marathon and all my ankle struggles, Alana recommended that I have my running assessed by a local running store.  They video you running and can tell everything about you in the thirty second feed.  I have always had Asics and through this process learned that they are one of the worst things for MY running.  They fitted me in a Brooks minamalist shoe.  Not only is it sassy, but it is the miracle that I needed to keep my running up.  Currently, Alana and I are still running twice a week.  We aren't training, but maintaining about 5 miles.  The shoe assessment was well worth the time!  If you run, DO IT!!!

Thank you so much for hanging in there with me!  I have about 300 more photos on my phone that are now safetly uploaded to my computer.

JUST IN CASE...

The Bucket List.

So, I am about to plagiarize in a big BAD way. Three of my favorite bloggers (and women) Kristen, Denise and Sara posted their summer fun lists.

Not only am I stealing their idea but I am also stealing the quote that Denise used in her post about being proactive.

"if i'm not proactive

i'm reactive

and that can be very unattractive."

(I just copied and pasted that little pearl right off Denise's blog)

(The days of me being worried about the punishment of plagiarism are behind me)

(Thank the LORD)

I admire these mommies so much and think The Bucket List  is something my family desperately needs this summer.  Because here is the truth.  I am struggling.  In a bad way.  The best way to communicate this is in numerical order. 

The heat has fried my paragraph writing skills.

1.  I haven't found "the groove" yet.  Our nights are late, our mornings are late.  The whole time that I am awake, so are the kids.  We haven't settled into a livable routine yet.  This is hard.  I need time alone each day to rejuvenate.  This hasn't been happening and I am feeling defeated upon waking up and it lasts all day.

2.  My house is TRASHED.  I don't function well in a messy space but I don't have the time or energy (see #1) to fix it.  I feel like a hamster on a wheel to nowhere.  I know someone wise will say to ignore the house and focus on the kids because time moves so fast.  blah blah blah.  I know that, but a messy house means a messy unorganized day.  And a messy unorganized day means a very FRAZZLED JANELLE.

3.  The constant fighting is KILLING ME SLOWLY.  My tolerance level for all the fighting is at an all time low.  Everything grates on my nerves right now. 

4.  Along with the fighting is the constant demand on my time.  Someone needs something at all times.  From sun up to sun down (read #1 again).

5.  Littlest one potty training.  (Read #1, and #4)

6.  It's HOT and HUMID and I'm not really an outside kinda girl.  (I added this one late because I have been hot all day.  Hot Janelle = Crabby Janelle.) 

7.  I have one child that thrives on tight structure.  Without it THE WORLD STOPS SPINNING and all *&#$ breaks loose.  High perfectionism and OCD tendencies are not a good combination with a laid back summer.  Transitioning into summer is very hard on this little one.  It affects the whole house, namely me.  With enough time, things eventually fall into place but not without severe gnashing of teeth and loss of privileges a mile long.

(insert pity party here)

Add that all up and you have one frustrated, drained, irritable, tired, emotional mess of a woman.  Not the mommy that my kids deserve.  Not the wife that Skip deserves.  I am not giving them my best. 

I am very unattractive.

After reading Sara's, Denise's and Kristen's blogs I felt very convicted of my attitude and my attention to the here and now.  I won't ever do this perfectly, but I can do better than I have.

We spent the day creating our Bucket List.  I am happy with the ideas my kids presented.  I told them we would try our hardest to do most of these things.  Some of them cost $$ so we will have to see if it fits in the budget.  But now we have a plan.

And I have a proactive attitude.

Here is our cute bucket.

And here is our idea list that they typed, printed and cut into strips. 

White Water

Splash Country

Eat out

Silver Dollar City

Bowling

Mini golf

Camp in

Cars 2

Picnic

Blueberry picking

Hotdogging

Tubing

Neighborhood pool

Rec Plex pool

Grisham’s pool

Lunch with granny

Lunch of choice

Donut date

Craft

Invite a friend

Uncle Mikey's store

Library incentives

Skating

Jump mania

Kids cook dinner

Take Bristow to lake

Play Doh

Horses

Movie Theater

Sprinklers

Redbox

Baseball Game

St. Louis

Lunch with Dad

Nature hike

Take a walk

Paint

Bouncy House

Ride Bikes

Feed ducks

Picnic

Make cookies

Star Gaze

Go Carts

Ma & Pa’s house

Gramma Papa’s house

KAMP!!

B2 School Shopping

Creek

Make Ice Cream

Play at the park

Wiffle Ball game

VBS

Thanks for listening to my heart!  I know that a lot of great mommies out there are feeling the same way.  Mothering is HARD.  Harder than anything I ever imagined.  Let's sharpen and encourage one another to be the mommy that God desires us to be.

Imperfectly yours,

I probably broke a million rules filming this...

Race on over to THE TRACK BLOG to read my testimonial about our date night with the kids. While you are there, use their website to plan you next Branson vacation, including a fabulous trip to any one of The Track locations. Sign up your email address and you can receive Branson/Track insider information all year long. You must come visit our fun town!!

My mission as a mom is complete. I have successfully embarrassed my children with this video.

Score.

I have a feeling, however, that when Langley starts driving I will be the one telling her to put her phone down and she will be the one blowing me off.

Score for her.

In the meantime, we will stick to go-carts!

Disclaimers (for my peace of mind only):
1. I hate hate hate the sound of my voice! Can you say, shrill?
2. Sorry about the crotch shot at the end. Nice.
3.  I bet there are a handful of people that go watch the video again just to see what I'm talking about.  That's just awkward.

The day we met Karman.

A few months ago we started making some changes for our family.  Our calendar was jam-packed and no one was happy.  We met ourselves coming and going most of the time.  Rarely did we eat dinner at the same time and I hardly saw Skip.  Our kids complained.  They both said they wanted more time at home.

Easier said than done.  Right?

We sat down with both the kids and made a list of their activities and asked which ones they could let go of.  Zeb made a couple of cuts that were pretty painless on his end.  He wrestled with the decision for a couple of days.  After he made up his mind, he never looked back.  It has been a real positive change for him.  He requires more time to just BE.  Going from one activity to another was so stressful on him.  We started to see a huge improvement in his behavior. 

*sigh of relief*

Langley's activity cut was a little harder.  Mostly for me.  The activity that she chose to stop was gymnastics.  She has been in gym since she was 18 months old and she made it to level 2 on the team.  We have invested lots of time, energy and money into this sport.  The level 2 girls practice two nights a week for a total of four hours.  Each level adds more hours and more nights.  For the better part of a year she has been asking for a break.  I am not proud of it, but I refused.  To be completely honestly, I let fear creep in my heart.

What if she takes a break and never goes back and then she won't be a great athlete or cheerleader?
What if she comes back and has lost so much?
What if she can't get back on the team?
What if she becomes an adult that regrets quitting gymnastics like I do?
What if...?  What if...?  What if...?

Fear and doubt and mommy guilt held me back from letting her take a break.  Shame on me.

I realized it was my issue of insecurity and not anything to do with gymnastics.  Once I got a little perspective we sat down with her and weighed the pros and cons about taking a break.  We agreed to take December off and then assess.

Well, December turned into January.  January turned into February.  February turned into March.  The child has not missed it.  Time to let go. 

{Please do not hear me wrong.  I am not against these activities, or any others.  I just know my kids and I know they had too much on their plates.  Behavior was in the toilet, theirs and mine.  We just needed to step away for a little bit and catch our breath as a family.  Sometimes, too much of a good thing is still too much.}

In the meantime, we have been asking Langley if there is anything else she would like to pursue now that her school nights are more free.  In the future I can see her wanting to try karate or an instrument, or tennis.  But the one thing she expressed an immediate interest in was horses.  Every book this child checks out of the library is about horses.  Most of the pictures she draws have a horse in them {and a rainbow...love her}.  She asked if she could learn to ride a horse. 

Okey Dokey. 

Thankfully, we have a dear friend at church that has a sweet mare in a boarding stable north of town.  She has such a passion for horses and encouraged us to come and ride her Karman.  Karman is as gentle of an animal as you will ever find.  She is 22 years old and incredibly patient and obedient.



She is beautiful and gentle.  Everything you want in a horse!



We finally found a great sunny day for our outing with Karman.  It was absolutely perfect.  I am not sure God could have made a better day.  Everything from the weather, to the horse, to the behavior, to the sunset was amazing.  This was the happiest I have seen my kids in a very long time. 

I am so thankful that Zeb was able to come with us.  I didn't think he would get as excited as he did.  He was the first one to jump in the saddle.

See how docile Karman is?  She didn't flinch when Wit started grabbing at her face.  What a beautiful moment!

Langley.  A little nervous, but she soon got comfortable.  I just love that she already knows how to hold the reins.

Zeb was so comfortable in the saddle.  He is a natural.  Our friend recognized that and let him get to a trot.  Awesome!

A little girl's dream day!  I just love Karman's colorful blanket.  Makes me think that this horse was made for my rainbow girl.

One happy boy after a good trot.  I love that toothless (still) smile!  He wants to go back on spring break!  I don't think Jamie will be able to get rid of us!

I am glad that we have time now in our schedule to pursue a different activity.  I don't know if horses will be something that Langley wants to follow, but at least we have some breathing room to let her figure it out.

Slowing down to breathe is a lesson that I hope my kids will learn.  Life moves too fast.   It's good to have times of stillness.  It's been necessary for our family.

I am sure we will fill that space up again with things.  And that's OK.  But for now I am enjoying being home more and having days free to go ride horses, play with neighborhood friends, or whatever comes to mind.

Thank you, Jamie and Karman.  We had the best day!

It's a "snow" day!

It's a "sleep until 9:00" day.

It's a "stay in jammies" day.

It's a "DON'T HIT YOUR SISTER!!!" day.

It's a "sunshine and snow" day.

It's a "don't let the sunshine fool you" day.

It's a "one more cup of coffee" day.

It's a "please don't leave us daddy" day.

It's a "layer up" day.

It's a "bake chocolate chip cookies" day.

It's a "GO TO YOUR SEPERATE CORNERS" day.

It's a "play-doh" day.

It's a "chase me and tickle me" day.

It's a "snow ice cream" day.



It's a "WHAT HAPPENED NOW?" day.

It's a "go play in the tee pee" day.

It's a "laundry stops for no man" day.

It's an "UGH! Bristow's eating my toys again" day.

It's a "read a book" day.

It's a "kettle korn" day.

It's a "Mo-ooom, he's not playing with me" day.

It's an "I can't move with all these layers on" day.

It's an "after lunch is nap time" day.

It's a "Wii" day.

It's a "Yahoo! Did you see that, mom?" day.

It's an "are you ready to be nice?" day.

It's a "hide and seek" day.

It's a "we still need to practice your spelling words" day.

It's a "we ran out of marshmallows" day

It's an "I am glad to be your mommy today" day.

I need to play a little KETCHUP.

I feel the need to post something. Anything.

I am sure the only way to play Ketchup is by formulating a list. Since the creative side of my brain isn't firing this may be as good as it gets. I know, so inspiring.

1. Friday was my birthday, my 35th birthday to be more exact. Something about a 0 or a 5 at the end of any age just wears me out. My day was gloriously spent cooking, cleaning, shopping for groceries, volunteering, wiping noses, packing for a weekend trip. Basically it was JUST ANOTHER DAY. I did wake up to several birthday emails and wishes. That was fun. Also, my mom brought Panera to my house so we could sit and talk for a while in between all the other chores previously mentioned.

This birthday really had me thinking about my life. Am I where I want to be? Do I feel accomplished? I came up with only one answer. ABSOLUTELY. This is exactly where I have always dreamed of being. I am married to my best friend. We have the privilege of raising the kids that God designed for us. We are surrounded by family...all of our family. I have the most incredible friends anyone could ask for. I am blessed beyond measure. I can't think of one thing to add. I am rich.

2. The major low-light of my BIG DAY was forgetting my son at school for the first time. Right after my mom left, I was elbow deep in dishes and kitchen cleaning. At 2:00, the phone rang. It was the secretary at my nephew's school saying that he was in the office. I assumed she was going to tell me that he was sick and needed someone to pick him up. She informed me that school let out at 1:30 and I needed to get there quickly.

What??!! SCHOOL LET OUT AT 1:30? ALL THE SCHOOLS? WHY???

Frantically, I load the car and head out towards the school. All the while trying to reach the Primary building where Z was. When I reached them to tell him I was on my way, they said he was crying and scared. My heart plummeted lower than I knew possible. I started sobbing. By the time I arrived at school I was doing the UGLY cry. Once I saw Z, we hugged and cried together. My heart had shattered into millions of pieces. How could I have forgotten early dismissal day? The redeeming factor of the whole ordeal was that we also picked up my nephew. Thankfully, he had such a good attitude about the whole thing that it diffused any further heartache. (And a HUGE shout out to Pam for saving me that day!)

3. Every Fall, Skip's family rents a cabin retreat for the weekend. A very long, relaxing weekend filled with food, games, movies, naps, fishing, bonfires, laughter. It was the perfect ending to a day filled with ups and downs. Twenty-two of us filled this 5 bedroom cabin sleeping wherever one could find space. It is the stuff memories are made of.

4. Another not-so-great thing happened on my BIG DAY. After my frantic drive to school my car started to leak. Not just a little leak, but a flood-the-garage-floor kind of leak. Since we were on our way to the cabin we didn't have time to do more than clean up. In truth, we forgot about the leak and the potential problems that might come from it. Monday, I get ready to drive to gymnastics and music class. The car is driving weird. The car started to smoke. The car is in the shop. The car will cost $1200 to fix.

5. OHHH! I won something! I entered several giveaways hosted by Rocks In My Dryer. I won something from a blogger that I "know". I am so excited! I choose The Dangererous Book for Boys. Thanks, Sarah!! You made my day! You all have to check out her blog. Prepare to be encouraged!

6. I read this list of ups and downs and know that I am blessed. I wouldn't change this life for anything. Although I could live without #2 ever happening again. I only need to experience that once!

Happy Halloween from Ralph and Nellie

Nellie: Ralph, tell all the kids Happy Halloween.

Ralph: WHAT?

Nellie: IT'S HALLOWEEN, RALPH. SAY HAPPY HALLOWEEN.

Ralph: You are the Dancing Queen?

Nellie: HALLOWEEN!

Ralph: Woman, I don't have to eat green beans if I don't want to.

Nellie: Not GREEN BEANS. H.A.L.L.O.W.E.E.N!!

Ralph: Halloween? Why didn't you say that in the first place?

Happy Fall Day

Saturday Part III

Just when you thought our day was over...

My mom graciously offered to take the kids home with her after Lou's party on Saturday. I was hesitant (in truth, I practically BEGGED her to take them!) Skip and I had another birthday to celebrate that evening so we welcomed the kid-free night.

So, off they went to carve pumpkins at Ma & Pa's house. I am thankful that they are willing to host this because my kids wouldn't know what the inside of a pumpkin looked like without it. I am not about the mess. They have made it their tradition for which I am grateful.

I love seeing what designs my kids come up with every year. First, they draw out what they would like. Then Pa proceeds to make it happen. Z wanted a scary face and Lou wanted cross-eyes.

What an awesome way to end this fun-filled day!

Saturday Part I

Saturday was a crazy day! Three days later and I am still trying to process it all for the sake of the blog.

For me, it started off at 5am baking a birthday Castle cake for Loulabelle's 4th birthday party. I am sure I can give you all the boring details from that morning. And I know you would all be on the EDGE OF YOUR SEATS to read that I showered and cleaned the kitchen. So I will spare you the boring and go straight to the fun.

ZMan had a soccer game at 11:00, so we loaded up the car and headed to the soccer fields. The team played awesome and Z is playing his heart out this year. I love watching him play without abandon. He has been so hesitant in year's past, but not anymore!

After soccer, we made a quick costume change from soccer people to Anakin and Padme. We were invited to my FAVORITE FALL PARTY ever! We have attended this annual party since Z was 6 months old. That first year he wore a zebra costume and laid on a blanket with all the other babies. I love seeing our group picture change from year after year.


Here is my Anakin. I love this face filled with freckles and mischief. I never know what he is up to. The gleam in his eyes tell me that he was in Star Wars heaven. For Z, that is the perfect way to spend a day.


Here is the Star Wars gang minus Yoda who was asleep in the barn. (I didn't know Yoda could sleep...) Anyway, we have a Storm Trooper, Hans Soccer, Anakin, Padme and Obi Wan. Star Wars had a strong showing at this year's FAVORITE FALL PARTY ever. It was so much fun to see their epic battles. I loved watching the boys care for sweet little Padme. She had a blast being included in the fun.

The party wouldn't be complete without a Family Adventure Game, pumpkin decorating, costume parade and tons of good food and friends. It really is my favorite Fall activity.

I had to leave the party early to get ready for Loulabelle's CandyLand party. We must have been CRAZY to have these two parties on the same day. It made for lots of wardrobe changes and lots of hair products. WHEW!!

Stay tuned for more...