Wornoutwoman

I had the best intentions today.  After a very full and long two weeks of work, and a successful grand opening (in which I was on my feet for over 10 hours), I was bone-tired ... but still determined to get to church. I got up early, showered and dressed, and then put on my makeup.  I hollered to my little man down the hall to get dressed.  Since my hubs is a volunteer with the kids, he goes early. So most Sundays, it's just me and my mini-me going to second service to join my husband. After getting ready - I took about ten minutes to rest. After all, I still had a bit of time. I thought it couldn't hurt to lay down for a few minutes. HA! Unknowingly, my few minutes led up to a couple hours. The next thing I knew,  my husband was home from church, and I heard this from the kitchen ... bang, clank, rustle ... rustle. My kiddo was in the kitchen making me lunch because he knew I'd wake up hungry.  He'd face-timed his Nana on his iPod t...

I know people have certain expectations of what a Christian book should be about. Some have recently been upset because I write about characters that almost have sex or think about it, or maybe have questionable language. They want to know why there are characters like this in a book, which are referenced as Christian? So here's my answer ... I write about characters that are real ... around us every day.  Did Jesus choose to spend his time with perfect Christians or did he dine with sinners?  I think anyone, who has read the Bible, will know the answer to that question. Just because some of us are Christians, that doesn't mean that the good, bad, and ugly in our hearts turn white as snow overnight. For some of us, it's a process. It is a daily struggle to fight sin or temptation to transform into what God wants us to be. In my books, I write about the struggle in life. I allow the characters to go through their own process.  They do not have a perfect wal...

Tonight as I type, I look back to where I was 12 years ago at this moment.  I had just married a wonderful guy, who swept me off my feet and we were dancing to our favorite band.  It makes me smile to think how far we've come in such a short time.  I was blissfully happy and knew we'd have a beautiful life together.  However, within months of our marriage, I almost lost my sweet husband.  Due to a sudden onset of food allergies (which happens to adults sometimes), he had an anaphylactic attack, flatlined, and was non-responsive in my car. At this time, we were unaware of the cause of his issues. All I knew is that my new husband was no longer breathing and it was up to me to figure it out. I remember driving wildly through and into oncoming traffic, to beat the clock and make it to the ER to save him. I remember having flashes of a future that played before my eyes, like a film, of the family we would never have... the golden years we'd never share. G...

So on the sixth of July, I joined the club.  I turned the big 4-0h.  For the weeks leading up to it, I was a bit apprehensive. I wouldn't say I was depressed, but I was definitely dreading the big day. Usually having a birthday around July 4th, my day has days of celebration. From fireworks on the 4th to multiple family functions.  It's usually a weekend of fun.  I love love love my birthday. I wasn't love, love, loving the idea of turning forty.  So my husband decided to throw me a big party, to ring in the new year in my life.  And did he throw a party ... I invited a lot of people. Usually, most are out of town. I never thought half of them would attend. All in all, we had about twenty-five in attendance for a large dinner at one of my favorite Japanese restaurants.  From there my husband rented a large party bus to pick us up and take us out on the town. Forty was my favorite birthday ever.  Not only did he plan a large celebration, b...

Monday, March 10th, 2003, I proceeded to stand up at the end of my sales meeting to go back upstairs to my office. Something in my huge belly creaked, popped, and groaned just enough to keep me from standing. Most of those around me asked if they could help me stand because I was stuck in my chair. Me, being tough, brushed it off as nothing and thanked them for their offers. I got my fat self off my chair to waddle to the staircase. Thankfully, one of the men I worked with, also a father, was wise enough not to let me take the stairs back up to our floor. He escorted me to the elevator, swiped his ID card, and walked me to my little cubicle. I was to have a ride-along that day with a new rep, who was sick and coughing. I'd been riding with him three days prior and unfortunately was now thoroughly congested. I walked to his cubicle and told him I would meet him later as I thought I had a doctor's check-up at the hospital. He asked to drive me, because like everyon...

My husband is such a sweet guy. He was having a snack and picked up my latest mag that was mailed to us...Family Circle. Every once in awhile he'll surprise me with some knowledge he'll pick up on handy house tips or kid rearing, and I'll ask him where he heard that from. He just smiles like he's the expert, and I ask if he read it in one of my magazines. "Maybe!" He tilts his head at me, not wanting to admit he pays any attention to them. Tonight he brought me my Family Circle mag, which I had yet to crack open. "They've got a writing contest...You should enter." My husband is one of the coolest guys I know, bad habits and all...I love him to pieces. To not only read these girly mags (not those kinds people) but then find something in them to benefit me. I just think that's pretty awesome. (Again not those kinds of girly mags) Although I'm half a chapter away from the end of my manuscript and trying to figure out how to en...

Happy Valentines Day to the one I love. Hope you log on and see this today. I love you. For the rest of you, who aren't my husband, I hope you have a wonderful day of love. If you're with the one you love, count your blessings. If you're wanting to be with someone to love, have faith. And always know your heavenly father sends you Valentines every day, with much love in his heart.

For Christmas, my son got a hermit crab. Our 9-year-old neighbor girl across the street has one, named Larry, which he's always been fascinated with. She'll bring Larry over to play, which just thrills my kid. For months, he's been wanting one. One of my husband's co-workers got one as a gift, at the office, and was far from thrilled. My husband offered to take it off his hands, and we surprised my son on Christmas day. Now it's his own personal pet. Not that our dog isn't loved by my son, but this was given to him and it's all his. He knew he couldn't name it Larry since that name belongs to hermit crab across the street. So he improvised and stole from his favorite new character from the Bee Movie, Barry Bee Benson. My son's hermit crab is now called, LARRY LEE LENSON. :) My son feeds it, waters it, baths it...and plays with it daily. It's actually given such pride in taking responsibility for something that he's branched o...

Today was a momentous occasion as a mom, as I watched my son take flight on his bike... without training wheels. We took them off last week, but today was the first day he felt daring enough to try his riding it without the safety net. We got home around five p.m. and the beautiful weather just beckoned. As soon as he got out of the car, he wanted to try riding. I didn't worry too much about the helmet and knee pads, as I wasn't going to let go, so off we went holding him steady on his bike. He toodled around the driveway a few times until I offered a venture on the sidewalk. It was a much straighter path, and it would be easier on my back as I bent over to hold him steady. Once I saw how well he was doing, driving a straight line, I slowly let go. I told him, "I still got 'cha buddy. Keep going!" In truth, I was close enough to catch him if he fell, but he was sailing fast and furious on his own volition down the sidewalk without any knowledge of my ...

I think puppy love is one of the most adorable things in life. My son, who's now in PreK, has left his mother's day out class behind. They've all moved on to their schools, and have new classmates now. He came home a little bummed one day and told me the other day that he didn't have any cute girls in his class. He missed his girlfriend from mother's day out. I've written about them before in previous blogs . They just love each other, and it's so adorable to watch. So yesterday, I set up a play date at the Orr Family Farm. They've got everything from pony rides, train rides, pumpkin picking hayrides, playgrounds, mazes, and much much more. The kids have a ball there. This little greek doll and her younger sister came to play the whole day away with my son, who couldn't wait to see 'his girlfriend.' First things first...she brought him another love note, and then it was off to play. They all three had the best time. The ...

My son is at an age, where the boys and girls are already separating into groups of the same sex but still notice one another. He has a gorgeous little four-year-old girlfriend, who used to be in his class last session. Now they go to separate schools, so (sigh) they only see one another from afar at birthday parties. This past weekend, we attended yet another birthday party. I called his girlfriend's mom to see if she'd be there, and let her know that my son would be attending. This knowledge sparked this adorable little girl to write my son a love note. See it above...she drew him and her twice under the sun together. She wrote their names, but I cropped those out due to my son's and any child's privacy that I write about on my blogs. It was the sweetest thing ever to see her hand it to him. I wondered if he'd respond in kind and smile sweetly at her. He just held on to it, without opening it and returned to making his party favor bag with the other...

My sister has been dating a wonderful guy for about 9 months, who happens to have an adorable son, Jack (name changed). My darling little boy just came to the realization that my sister and her boyfriend aren't married, and the adorable son in this scenario isn't his cousin. Of course, I ask, "Jack is nine! If he were your cousin...where has he been for the last four years of your life?" Then the next question I got was -  "Well, then if Bob is married to Jack's mom then how come he hangs out with my Aunt?" So I had to explain that Bob wasn't married to Jack's mom anymore. We went over family dynamics and how some couples don't stay together, like Bob and his ex-wife...while still assuring him that his daddy and I love each other very much and wouldn't break up! It's a whole lot for a four-year-old to process. A few nights ago...he pulled out a real doozy while my sister and her boyfriend were at my house. "Hey, B...

My husband has worked in the media, and more specifically the music business, for quite some time. He has access to concerts, and meet and greets to most any show that rolls into town. This time he planned on taking me to Rod Stewart, who isn't one of my favorites but I know my husband really likes him. So I wanted to go to in order to give him a night out! If you've read the last few blogs, you already know I've had an upper respiratory thing going on. I'm coughing enough to make you cringe, and knew I wouldn't be good company for tonight's show. Long story short, he put an email out at his office to multiple departments to see if anyone wanted to go out with him to tonight's show. The only respondent was a single, cute, young female that although is engaged to be married is still none the less...single. I completely trust my husband! I know he loves me and would never cheat on me, but it still made me uncomfortable that he'd be spending ti...

Often I hear myself answering, YES, to a lot of little questions by my little boy. He's at the age that he's just talking a mile a minute and asking millions of questions. As I'm doing yard work or housework, and I hear 'isn't that right mommy?' - I just mmhmm while working. I remember my mom telling me a story from my childhood. She recalled it a few years ago, but it's becoming quite the center of my thoughts lately. She told me that she was in the kitchen, and I came bounding in at the bold age of 3, talking and talking. She absent-mindedly answered yes, to what she thought was a harmless question. The next thing she heard was me yelling out the front door, "THANKS MOM!", and she had to run to catch up with me. She didn't know that her 'yes' was permission to go across the neighborhood to a friend's house. I think all of us moms get caught up in our daily activities and automatically respond to our little one's q...