Moroschak Memories in the Making

Before and After

2011-04-04T20:37:00.000-05:00

So, since the Flood video shown earlier....here is what it looked like after the water came inside

and then I took an after shot of what I did with the downstairs room.

Will you turn out your lights tonight?

2011-03-26T10:33:00.000-05:00

Flooding issues

2011-03-05T16:43:00.000-06:00

Instead of telling you about my backyard flooding issues I decided it would be best
to just show you:)
The builders in the Clarksville area seem to skip issues that are unforeseen at the time of closings to the buyer but are to be found out later on unfortunately......

Put a Cork in It!

2011-03-04T23:26:00.000-06:00

In George that is.... Curious George.

Dawson came to me and said, "Mom, fix George! His stuff is falling out.

Here was my quick solution and it worked:)

Commercial Moments with Luke

2011-02-28T18:12:00.000-06:00

Let me share with you what Luke started at Dinner this evening:)

A Leche Commerical

Dawson's Story

2011-02-25T08:23:00.000-06:00

Let me share with you a little story of Dawson being born into this world.......

THE SETTING

At 36 weeks into my pregnancy with Dawson, the Moroschak family packed up the car in North Carolina to head to our new Duty assignment of Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

I spell out Kentucky instead of abbreviating it for more drama so to say. When I knew we were moving to Kentucky, my view of Kentucky was that the state was not

very "exciting" (in my small world anyway). It's funny what our minds perceive of everything.

If you could move to North Carolina or Kentucky, which state sounds better? I'm just saying.....

Really anywhere Overseas would have sounded better. I love living in other countries. It is SO incredibly exciting. The adventure, food i've never tasted or heard of before, a new way to communicate, a new culture to learn. Boredom never sets in for me when I'm living outside my comfort zone. (note: if your bored, live outside of your comfort zone)

O.K., you get my point about Kentucky.

We knew that when we arrived in "Kentucky" that there would be a temporary time of living in a hotel or at the guesthouse on the base of Fort Campbell.

That is when searching for a clean, safe, reasonable hotel becomes Very important.

Not to mention one of those things listed above that also accepts Pets!

Three Cats to be exact.

We would have had a dog also, our Great Dane, Sampson. I can't imagine traveling with a

Pony in the backseat. He was a fabulous Dog and lived 9 years, 4 of those in Germany.

The Choosing then narrows down dramatically!

To pay for a nicer hotel and pay for animal boarding = $200 per night

Not as nice hotel with animals = $100 per night

Now, some of you know that the military will reimburse you for your travel expenses but there are always the fine details and costs that will accrue.

The military only will pay for 10 days of Travel costs. Hotel and food costs only. A

Doggie/Cat Hotel stay is not reimbursable.

Military families can ready themselves only so far as they relocate.

We actually came to visit the area a few months prior to get a general idea of where in the Clarksville/Hopkinsville area we wanted to live so we could search online for houses from North Carolina.

Also, Joey made a Loner trip about a month before our move out to check out a few houses/neighborhoods.

We knew we needed to live closer to Nashville if our daughter, Briar, wanted to continue to Figure Skate. She has been a member of the United States Figure Skating Association competing in various competitions and we still wanted that for her.

Are you wondering which hotel we choose?

The Winner... the Guesthouse off exit 4. The big Green sign!

Oh the Loveliness of staying in a hotel with 3 cats and 2 children was only so lovely so long.

The man underneath us was quite the smoker and everyday we smelled his lovely cigarette smoke stream through our bathroom wall vents.

Stepping on kitty litter occasionally, no frequently, on the beautifully designed carpet of the room....Ah bliss.

You get the picture.

As we reached our deadline for reimbursement we knew costs were about to get to the "hurting" point.

At this time going into Labor wasn't even an "option" to happen (like there is one).

I was induced with Briar and Luke was 2 weeks late so I KNEW that I would not be early!!!

Yep, you know what's about to happen.

Before we go there, Joey and I had not agreed (nice to way to say it) on a name for our little boy. We had a small list of names that were being considered upon. I began praying for God to give me a name for this little guy months in advance. And boy, did God deliver!

DAWSON'S STORY

Passing the 10 day reimbursement mark in the Green hotel I awoke at 4 a.m. to a Name that had literally woke me up. I climbed out of bed.....

(stepping on kitty liter.... sorry had to throw that in)

to type in this name that woke me up in the computer database for the "meaning" of this name.

We have so much research we do as parents to find that perfect name don't we?

DAWSON, son of David, A medieval surname. Uncommon first name, English.

The "son of David" meaning struck me like a choir of angels singing.

I loved David's story and who he was as written in the good book.

And then ladies and gentlement........My water broke!

Right then and there staring at the name Dawson on that computer screen.

With eyes staring wide open I said, and not to myself,

"I guess that's going to be this little boys name"

DAWSON CALE MOROSCHAK

(insert baby image here)

(all pictures are digitized and cannot be pulled easily which is why i need to

get busy and scrapbook my children's photos before they are forever lost!!)

Back to the story....and a quicker one.

As we brought Dawson "Home" to the Green Hotel of Loveliness what did a Hormonal new mother do? Cry...... I did NOT want my baby to be in a place like this!

The smell of cigarettes in the air? No, my baby will smell the sweetness of clean air!

The ugly decor in the room? No, my baby will not be raised in this style of decorating!

I had to talk to my Mom and Dad. Yes, I went There!

I told my husband I could NOT stay here another night breathing in smoke and stepping on Kitty litter!!) I was putting my foot down, with my parents support!

After a nice Joey to mother/father in law conversation it was agreed to move next door to the

"Country Inn and Suites" and put the Cats into a Boarding Facility!

Mom and Dad offered to offset the cost, thank you mom and dad, and the hotel was quite literally a walk next door.

The new room actually had A DOOR between the sleeping area and the living/tv room!

It wasn't a home but it was a better.... Loveliness......

After a 4 night stay there and a Medical delivery of a Jaundice lit bag for Dawson, we were given keys to our New House! The builders had completed want needed to be done.

Can you imagine the excitement we ALL had?

We walked into our new home, the kids spinning around, arms wide opened checking out their freshly painted rooms as I held my newborn baby and plopped down against the wall in my new bedroom/nursery.

I sigh of relief as I sat there looking up at our high ceiling walls and enjoyed the clear, open space.

Not moments later the afterbirth contractions came.

Whew ladies, are these not the worst?!

Wow, Wow, and Wow!

I was extremely thankful for a Percucet perscription filled before we left the hospital.

It was going to be O.K., Until.....the new protective mother instinct kicked in. You know which one I'm talking about.

Sitting against that wall, eyes looking to the right and to the left, sniffing the freshly painted rooms which were VERY STRONG!

"My baby can't sleep here!! It's not safe for the kids and this newborn Baby to breathe this in all night"!!

Joey took a trip out to Home Depot and picked up many window fans.

We began the Ventilation process....but would it be enough to be able to sleep in our new home that night? No, as much as i wanted to stay in our new home, the fumes were too strong. The painter had just finished painting the night before we were given the keys.

We decided to keep the window fans blowing and working all night and guess what?

We loaded up our bags once again and checked into a

one night's stay at "The Quality Inn" just down the street!

Oh yes, one more night of the Loveliness of a Hotel room before we could move into our New, freshly painted home in Clarksville, TN.

Discussions with Luke

2011-02-21T10:18:00.000-06:00

Every now and then I just have to record Luke talking to me about something

because he just cracks me up!

Snow Day

2011-02-11T09:01:00.000-06:00

As we started off the morning with yet another snow day off school, a tractor with

a shovel attached to the front came down our cauldesac.

It wasn't "The City of Clarksville"

It looked like a Farmer maybe.

Looks like the city of Clarksville must have some sort of agreement

with the Farmers of Clarksville to help in clearing the

streets perhaps?! I mean I couldn't possibly believe it was out of the kindness

of this Farmers heart to clear the roads unless he's getting

paid...... Probably not. Maybe I'll never know.

Anyway...... after he came thru he left a snow pile a kid cannot resist!

I prepared the Snow Uniform and fast!

Snow Pants

Boots

Warm coat

Hat

Gloves (waterproof)

I did not want the other neighbor children to beat MY children into

this Wonderous Huge pile of snow!

And now, looking 40 pounds heavier, Out the door they went!

Having fun and yes with the neighbor children too.

You all thought I threw the infamous scripture

"Love thy neighbor" out the door as well didn't cove?

Naw

Dawson giving me "his" pose

Luke

It's an Ewok

A Barn about 2 miles down the road from us

Belief and Action

2011-02-07T11:28:00.006-06:00

To Believe according to the Websters Dictionary means.

"to accept something as true, genuine, or real"
   ( i believe in ghosts)

" to accept the word of evidence of
   (i believe you)

A little history behind the word  "Old English belēfan, from be-+ lȳfan, lēfan to allow, believe;"

*to allow jumped out at me a bit, no a lot!
As you may already know, Words change over the histroy of time.
Changing their meanings.
Some change a lot.
Others insignificantly enough to really change the meaning of the word.
Jesus said, "Believe in me and you will be saved"
As you all well know.
There is a Vast difference in Believing that God exists and "allowing" (there's that word again) Him into your life. You feel it.
Giving Him control of your life in Belief that He can and Will take care of your life, your needs.
When you Allow your 16 year old child to drive your car , or your friend to watch your children, You are stepping down and "allowing" them full control to make decisions on their own.
So my question for you is.... Are you allowing God to be center in your life? He loves you in a way where You are able and allowed to make your own decisions and choose your next step.
It's not forced.
So do you allow God in? Do you honestly feel yourself letting go of the reins?

Does life get so crazy busy that you don't even think about that last question until it's time for bed or perhaps right now as you just read it?
God wants so much more than for us to Believe in Him and his existence.
He wants us to Allow him into our Lives and be in control of it.
This requires us to verbally Ask him to do so.

Trust me....
He's waiting,
He's willing,
and He's ready! Are You?

The Finch that Flew

2011-01-31T22:24:00.000-06:00

Have you ever found yourself in a place where you felt trapped?
And, no matter how much you struggled to break free, you couldn't figure out
how to get out the way you got it.
You try one way, but you find there is no hope.
You try the next way with a bit more optimism and a better chance of success but to no avail, it fails, you fail.
So, then feeling as a failure the next way or turn you make you make slowly, hesitantly.
Peering around the corner ever so cautiously. And then, someone or something jumps out
and scares you and you find yourself running in the opposite direction.
Now, with only one more try to escape from within' or from whatever you are bound by. You
know you have energy enough for this one last attempt at Freedom.
Fear grips you from all sides. Your eyes begin to fill with tears. You press on in search
of an opening. That light in your darkness. You don't believe you can do it but you must!
The most intense feeling of Uncomfort falls on you.
You want to Run but with every bit of emotion you become intense and Fight yourself to GO.
Find the way out and guess what?
You Do. You did it.
Tears of Relief stream down your checks.
You did it.
It was hard, very hard, but You did it and You then Flew.
This Finch Flew.
Her wings were quite Battered and she almost gave up but right as I climbed to the top of that ladder she Found her way out! I can only imagine the Fear she felt but Happy she broke Free.
As she flew away you could even hear her chirping....singing......

The Finch was Free

What is Worship?

2011-01-29T09:58:00.001-06:00

What is Worship to You?

This was the question asked at our Worship Team Devotion this past Thursday night.

Great Question AND Great Answers. These are some of them:

Worship is a feeling of Celebration.

Worship is not limited to Music. It is doing whatever we may be doing to Glorify God in it, not ourselves.

Worship is a vital role in someone's life. Without realizing your NEED for God there will be
no need to Surrender. Worship is a Response to seeing/feeling that you indeed NEED him. Without getting to Surrender, you think you can do it all on your own, with your own "crafty" ideas. Ultimately...... God is in Charge.

Worship is what you worship. When you look at your daily life, what are you prioritizing?

Lastly, Worship is Freedom.

Freedom to Worship and Let go of all your Troubles, Fears, and Problems. You can
Worship Him

Anytime,

Anywhere,

and Anyway.

It's Surrender and the feeling is so Freeing! While others could be put in jail or even die still

for Worshiping they still are even though they are NOT Free......by Government law that is.

But no one can take away YOUR Freedom,

for you have a choice that no man can take.

Isn't that just Awesome?!

Into thee Groove

2011-01-26T13:41:00.000-06:00

In the past 24 hours I have the Reality check factor set in and I'll share how our schedule now

looks much different later but right now it's time to Switch gears to the Positive side.

But keep in mind..... many never make that switch.

When they choose that route what happens is:

Depression, Stress, Anxiety, Loneliness, Sleeplessness, Non-Cooperative Children, and

the bottom line is Pure Unhappiness! If that is what you want, then there is no need to read on.

You see, A Military Wife married a Military Man. We always said we NEVER would be able to

Cope with having our Husbands/Boyfriends away for long periods of time but guess what?

We Did Cope, or better phrased, We Do Cope.

It's very Hard. It's not Easy and it won't ever be.

It always boils down to the choices we make.

A Military Wife chooses to be Strong when she could very easily choose to be Weak.

A Military Wife chooses to be with Positive People and not Negative ones that will focus on

what she does not to need to hear.

A Military Wife holds Proud that she is Married to a Man who Cares about his Country so

much that he would die for it so that His children and His Friends Children have a Safe place

to grow up in.

Being a Military Wife/Girlfriend/Parent/Child is constantly Challenging and I know that
I will be posting my Challenges weekly.

I have my God who is my Hope and Rock that Holds me thru ALL that I am going through and am about to go thru.

When my 4 year old, Dawson, went to bed last night He asked me
"Is Daddy Home yet?"

Even though his Dad, Joey, explained that he wouldn't be home for a long while, the first night

his Dad wasn't home Dawson still had to ask.

Children don't understand Time.

I know that he will continue to ask me those questions and that's Ok because He loves his Daddy!

Every day holds a different Challenge and a different Choice we make.

I know some days I'll make the wrong choices.

I'll be sharing my life and the kids while Joey is away. I will try my best to be Transparent and

real with my feelings and what the kids are going through.

I know we will have some interesting days but guess what?

It will be Real and that's something we all need.

Another Deployment

2011-01-24T22:24:00.000-06:00

Shew...... As I type Joey is reading the boys a goodnight story. The last one for the year. Sad to think
about since it's only January.

Tonight we went to Hananoki to Celebrate Briar's 15th Birthday a little bit early so Joey could be there.
It is so expensive so we only go maybe once or twice a year!

As we ordered our dinners I told the waitress that their Dad was leaving tomorrow for the year to
Afgahnastan. The woman bowed her head, looked up, and said, " Mine never came back"!
Silence.....
I immediately tried to distract the kids to the vent on the gril?!?! Something...Anything.... I did not need my children to focus on this. The night before their Daddy is leaving!
I spoke quietly for the woman to come closer and gave my sincere condolences to her and her family.
The waitress was very kind and attentive the rest of the night yet I would catch Briar in a daze during our last family dinner for awhile together.

It's tough saying Goodbye for such a long period of time.
It's also a bit tough hearing a story like hers 6 hours before my husband leaves his family over the vast oceans to another Continent.

It's so difficult to get thru this next 24 hours... but I must and I know I can do this once again but one thing is for sure.

It is not easy.

Sleepover

2010-06-17T07:44:00.005-05:00

Oh such a delicate issue in the Moroschak household, a sleepover!

I remember Briar's first request when she was 6 and I thought, (outloud) Huh?! I didn't start sleepovers until middle school!

I soon came to the realization that sleepovers were a normal...... practically every

other weekend accurance.

I really pondered this.

I remember sleepovers being very exciting and something that I was able to do

#1 when I was a wee bit older AND it wasn't every other weekend!

This made sleepovers to me.... Special.

If I slept over at friends house all the time then it would become a normal thing to do,

therefore, not really so special.

To me, sleepovers are Special.

You pack up like your going on a little short trip:)

Mom and Dad won't be there to say prayers with you at night and your child is with another

child that you hopefully believe you know....LOL

They are not in THEIR bed with THEIR stuff. It may be uncomfortable for them at first.

I, being the over protective mother that I am, must know the family super well before my child is going to stay there when the sun goes down.

Like "for years" well.

I'm telling you Blog readers......there are some scary stories that I know and have heard and stories that I may not want to share that has happened to me at a sleepover!

These of course are my personal thoughts and I do not judge anyone for whatsoever your family may practice.

Just typing that last sentence made me laugh. Now-a-days, you feel like you should have a disclaimer form for all readers of your blog that everything you write are the thoughts of the author, yada...yada...yada.......

OMG, so this brings to the POINT of blogging today, LOL

Luke was asked to sleepover last night!!

He is 8, going to be 9 next month and this would be his first:)

I was greatly excited for him (and for myself) for it was with a family we were neighbors with in Germany for a few years and have now moved in a 5 mile proximity of us!

They actually stayed with us for a time while looking for a house here.

Super friends, Love them, anyway.....

No call came last night at midnight!

I did not expect one but you never do know.

Luke does wind up on the floor by our bed at least once a week.

This past week he was scared that the Blair witch was going after him since she appeared

and killed someone that lives in the next town over from us!

So, as i type, I hear thunder rumble in the distance which always bring a worried eyebrow raise

on Luke's face. He's learning to cope with his fears and I can admit that these are the moments when our children learn and most importantly, grow.

It's so important to let them grow and make decisions on their own.

So much is being handed to them in this day and age it is vital that we let them figure some things out for themselves.

Love to all my Blog Friends out there!!!

Operation Flood Serve

2010-05-16T15:01:00.010-05:00

On Saturday about 100 volunteers with Operation Blessing and Grace Community Church reached out to the Clarksville community.

We all know about the flood that hit this area 2 weeks but did you know that

people are still trying to dry out their basements, belongings, pictures, and still were sitting in puddles? It's become more of an effort cleaning up the mess this flood of devastation left behind.

Some have asked for help.

Others have been too prideful or don't know how to ask for help.

But our church is willing and ready to serve and help anyone who needs it!

Go to this site:

http://www.gcomchurch.com/2010-flood-relief-effort

"Do unto your neighbor as you would have done to you"......

I know that if something like this happened to me I would want people to be able to help me and not act as if i was taking a day away from their already busy lives. That they would WANT to help and assist me where I could not physically assist or emotionally feel overwhelmed. That they would see the need and have compassion for me.

Some people, I believe most people, don't want to ask for help. (that's how i tend to be anyway)

But that's why God gave us community.

To share life with and be there when troubles arise.

Sometimes you have to be the one insisting to help someone because it's so hard and embarrassing for that person to speak up or accept help.

It's so interesting how i relationship with Jesus can be so much like our relationships to people.

We so often don't want to ask Jesus to help us.

Like we are being a burden to Him asking for our needs when people/children all over the world are being persecuted and sometimes killed, or others sick and orphaned.

Our burdens will be different from another's burden but if it burdens you, then God wants to lift that burden off of you.

For it is then that He will give you rest.

Here are a few pictures of the flood recovery yesterday.

If you would like to see more, please visit my facebook page.

The Arts and Learning

2010-04-07T20:59:00.004-05:00

I am in my third week of being a Teacher. (other than schooling my own)

I have seen how much children learn when they are actively involved and engaged

in each learning moment so to speak. It's so cool to see their eyes get bigger and smile.

To see them Happy.

It's about changing up the "same ole" subject stuff and introducing it in a whole new way.

I know I get bored with it so why wouldn't they?

This experience from just the past few weeks really has shown that with all of the children in my class.

Today we wrote out our spelling words on my left over paper that protected my glasses on the way home from the store last night. We used the paper and made Origami Spelling Hats.

Children learn and retain more with music, crafting, and rhythm.

I am looking forward to starting the S.T.E.M. Program this week at the Arts Center.

All of this stemmed my curiosity (LOL, get it......"STEMed") and I pulled up this article printed a few days ago out of Singapore. This particular One is of the Speech by Mr. Lui Tuck Yew, acting Minister for Information, Communication and the Arts from the government of Singapore.

"Today, we celebrate and recognise the importance of how the arts and creativity can and will impact students’ thinking and capabilities. The unique proposition to use creative ways of looking at common space issues offers us new opportunities to express, discover and experiment with traditional ways of seeing and learning.

The arts can contribute to education in a number of ways. It helps to develop thinking skills; using the arts to develop certain faculties that will help in the learning process, such as critical thinking and spatial intelligence. It deepens our sensitivities and refines our proclivities. It enhances the teaching of academic subjects; the arts is an useful tool in teaching and in helping students to accelerate their learning. Drawing, for instance, can help in visualising math concepts, and theatre can help dramatise events of history and aid understanding. The Harvard Medical School provides a fine example of this. The School makes it mandatory for medical students to take a module in Visual Arts, so as to develop better observation skills for symptoms in patients. Arts in education can also enhance Social Emotional Learning, through using arts activities to teach life skills, such as teamwork, communication, leadership and confidence building.

"As part of this effort, MOE will strengthen the quality of Physical, Art and Music education as these subjects enable students to develop life-ready competencies like creativity, innovation, cross-cultural understanding and resilience. MOE will place greater emphasis on these competencies through the academic curriculum and CCAs. At the same time, MOE will build teacher capacity to deliver these 21st century competencies through the provision of pedagogical exemplars, training and professional sharing.

In the same vein, the AEF thus holds many new possibilities for academic discourse and promotes active learning, research, teaching, concepts to enhance the professional capacities of our community. It is decidedly fitting for SOTA to commit to share its knowledge and skills through the AEF as a catalyst to bring together a community of practice and innovation in the areas of arts education, and to seed new thinking in pedagogy, research and practice."

Unfortunately the United States is not able to put as much funding in the Arts programs in our schools.

The story of when Dawson was born

2010-02-27T09:52:00.008-06:00

We just celebrated Dawson's 4th Birthday.

I wanted to share a little bit of his story.

At 36 weeks into my pregnancy with Dawson, the Moroschak family packed up the car in North Carolina to head to our new Duty assignment of Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

I spell out Kentucky instead of abbreviating it for more drama so to say. When I knew we were moving to Kentucky, my view of Kentucky was that the state was not

very "exciting" (in my small world anyway). It's funny what our minds perceive of everything.

If you could move to North Carolina or Kentucky, which state sounds better? I'm just saying.....

O.K., you get my point about Kentucky.

We knew that when we arrived in "Kentucky" that there would be a temporary time of living in a hotel or at the guesthouse on the base of Fort Campbell.

That is when searching for a clean, safe, reasonable hotel becomes Very important.

Not to mention one of those things listed above that also accepts Pets!

Three Cats to be exact.

We would have had a dog also, our Great Dane, Sampson. I can't imagine traveling with a

Pony in the backseat. He was a fabulous Dog and lived 9 years, 4 of those in Germany.

(Blog about Sampson coming soon)

The Choosing then narrows down dramatically!

To pay for a nicer hotel and pay for animal boarding = $200 per night

Not as nice hotel with animals = $100 per night

Now, some of you know that the military will reimburse you for your travel expenses but there are always the fine details and costs that will accrue.

The military only will pay for 10 days of Travel costs. Hotel and food costs only.... animal hotel is not included in this;)

Military families can ready themselves only so far as they relocate.

We actually came to visit the area a few months prior to get a general idea of where in the Clarksville/Hopkinsville area we wanted to live so we could search online for houses from North Carolina.

Also, Joey made a Loner trip about a month before our move out to check out a few houses/neighborhoods.

(Blog about that later too)

Are you wondering which hotel we choose?

The Winner... the Guesthouse off exit 4. The big Green sign!

Oh the Loveliness of staying in a hotel with 3 cats and 2 children was only so lovely so long.

The man underneath us was quite the smoker and everyday we smelled his lovely cigarette smoke come through our bathroom vents.

Stepping on kitty litter occasionally on the beautifully designed carpet of the room....

You get the picture.

As we reached our deadline for reimbursement we knew costs were about to get to the "hurting" point.

At this time going into Labor wasn't even an "option" to happen (like there is one).

I was induced with Briar and Luke was 2 weeks late so I KNEW that I would not be early!!!

Yep, you know what's about to happen.

Passing the 10 day reimbursement mark in the Green hotel I awoke at 4 a.m. to a Name that had literally woke me up. I climbed out of bed.....

(stepping on kitty liter.... sorry had to throw that in)

to type in this name that woke me up in the computer database for the "meaning" of this name.

We have so much research we do as parents to find that perfect name don't we?

DAWSON, son of David, A medieval surname. Uncommon first name, English.

The "son of David" meaning struck me like a choir of angels singing.

I loved David's story and who he was as written in the good book.

And then ladies and gentlement........My water broke!

Right then and there staring at the name Dawson on that computer screen.

With eyes staring wide open I said, and not to myself,

"I guess that's going to be this little boys name"

DAWSON CALE MOROSCHAK

(insert baby image here)

(all pictures are digitized and cannot be pulled easily which is why i need to

get busy and scrapbook my children's photos before they are forever lost!!)

Back to the story....and a quicker one.

As we brought Dawson "Home" to the Green Hotel of Loveliness what did a Hormonal new mother do? Cry...... I did NOT want my baby to be in a place like this....wagh.................

I had to talk to my Mommy and Daddy.

I told my husband I could NOT stay here another night breathing in smoke and stepping on Kitty litter!!) I was putting my foot down, with my parents influence.

After a nice Joey to mother/father in law conversation it was agreed to move next door to the

"Country Inn and Suites" and put the Cats into a Boarding Facility!

Mom and Dad offered to offset the cost, thank you mom and dad, and it literally was a walk next door.

The new room actually had a door between the sleeping area and the living/tv room!

It wasn't a home but it was a better Loveliness......

After a 4 night stay there and a Medical delivery of a Jaundice lit bag for Dawson, we were given keys to our New House! The builders had completed want needed to be done.

Can you imagine the excitement we ALL had?

We walked into our new home, the kids spinning around, arms wide opened checking out their freshly painted rooms as I held my newborn baby and plopped down against the wall in my new bedroom/nursery.

I sigh of relief as I sat there looking up at our high ceiling walls and enjoyed the clear, open space.

Not moments later the afterbirth contractions came.

Whew ladies, are these not the worst?!

Wow, Wow, and Wow!

I was extremely thankful for a Percucet perscription filled before we left the hospital.

It was going to be O.K., Until.....the new protective mother instinct kicked in. You know which one I'm talking about.

Sitting against that wall, eyes looking to the right and to the left, sniffing the freshly painted rooms which were VERY STRONG!

"My baby can't sleep here!! It's not safe for the kids and this newborn Baby to breathe this in all night"!!

Joey took a trip out to Home Depot and picked up many window fans.

We decided to keep the window fans blowing and working all night and guess what?

We loaded up our bags once again and checked into a

one night's stay at "The Quality Inn" just down the street!

Oh yes, one more night of Loveliness before we could move in to our New, freshly painted home in Clarksville, TN.

The Lantern

2010-02-15T23:21:00.007-06:00

Tonight was the final planning meeting for "The Lantern". A brand new military ministry for women in the Clarksville area. The kick-off is this Thursday at the St. Bethlehem church off Dunbar cave road at 7:00.

Doors open at 6:45. Childcare is provided and this gathering will take place monthly.

There is such a need for support and understanding for military women in our community.

This gathering will be a time of Worship and Fellowship with one another as well as discussing topics that military wives may face.

Isn't it nice to know that you are not alone?

Go here for more information on this new ministry in Clarksville.

www.gcomchurch.com/the-lantern-military-wives-network.com

Catch-Up

2010-01-29T09:04:00.002-06:00

I have been VERY negligent of my Blogging....shame on moi!

Time to get back into the swing of things....

As i type, Clarksville, TN is supposed to accumulate 8-9 inches of snow.

It should all be falling from the sky in about 3 hours.

We are all patiently waiting.

Every now and then someone will explain...." Oh, I see a snowflake!!"

Such an event as this comes never so often.

I am checking out the circumference of hills here in our neighborhood, determined to

use sleds that have gathered dust and cobwebs from our snow days in Germany.

I do believe they probably look rather pathetic by now. BUT, who really cares, they will

slide over the slick snow if enough will fall?!

If pictures come later you'll know the outcome of our fate here in Clarksville, TN.

The family Thanksgiving

2009-11-27T08:10:00.006-06:00

This year Thanksgiving was different from all others!

The plan was to feed the homeless through the shelter in Clarksville through an organization called "Loaves and Fishes". When I called to see about our family volunteering they said they had enough help and couldn't fit anyone else in the kitchen.

I was sad but wasn't about to give up.

I called the Nashville Rescue mission, they had plenty of help.

I called the Salvation Army, they too had plenty of help.

Wow, I guess that's really cool that so many people want to help serve others!

BUT, I wanted to Serve!!!

I started to feel sad. I decided that we just wouldn't have Thanksgiving.

The next day, Thanksgiving, I turned on the Macys Thanksgiving Parade. I have watched that

every year and I love it! Well, Dawson loved it! For the first time, a child of mine was interested in all the floats and big balloons. He was very Happy. Happier then usual.

So i started to think, Walmart is open and we need to have a Thanksgiving dinner.

I hate Walmart so I gave Joey the list.... Muah....

While Joey was away I started to take the Christmas decor out! Seeing the parade started my Christmas clock!

Then I noticed that Briar started to behave a little differently too, just as Dawson was.

She wanted to start cooking! She started looking up recipe after recipe finding things to make!

Woe.........she has never done that before!

So, for the first time ever, Briar and I cooked together a full blown meal.

I was very impressed. She made homemade herb stuffing, homemade mashed potatoes, an apple delight dish, and a chocolate cake!

Having Briar in the Kitchen, cooking together, helped make Thanksgiving.....a Thanksgiving.

Then, Briar starts setting the table and told me not to come in there!

She made a serving area for all the food to sit on and had everyones drinks laid out.

I'm sorry, can you tell I was proud?!

Being from a big family, It's always a bit tough for me to be away from family on Holidays.

We have always invited another family or soldiers to come over or we have been invited to a friends for the big feast.

Hearing Luke say, "This is definitely the best Thanksgiving ever" made me realize that even though it was just our family, these 5 Moroschaks, it truely was a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Biteback

2009-11-18T19:58:00.008-06:00

As most of you know Luke is my 8 year old.

A few weeks ago our church, Grace community, showed a video and told the kids that they wanted to help raise money to help an organization called Biteback which provides nets, education, and spraying insecticides to help prevent Malaria.

When Luke first learned of this he spoke of it every other day and wanting to help these kids in Africa by raising money.

So finally I needed to step up and get him somewhere where he could ask for donations for Biteback.

Today was that day and Luke raised $240.

Luke proudly says, "That's 24 nets which means 24 lives saved from Malaria".

It brings such joy to us as parents to see him want to reach out and help others in this cause.

For more information on this effort visit http://www.biteback.net

Just goes to show you CAN make a difference in this world.

Overwhelmation

2009-11-17T22:01:00.002-06:00

I know that Overwhelmation is not a word in the dictionary but I think it's fun to make up words that still can make sense w/o the "official, lets make that a word worthiness"!

So, I believe I am.....overwhelmed and I need to take a big deep breath and make a List.

That always helps me prioritize things and get things accomplished!

Otherwise nothing will get accomplished.

Is it easy to not accomplish things but have every intention on accomplishing them?

Do you find that sometimes you ask yourself, Where do I start?!

I find myself looking like an idiot in front of........myself.

Arms out to the side in the middle of the house, talking to.......myself, eyes and eyebrows raised saying," Where do I begin"?!

So many projects left unfinished.

Laundry to be put away and not sitting in laundry baskets. Those baskets were intended to help carry the clothes from one spot to another and not stay in them i guess.

The key here with our busy lives is do THE LIST.

The problem I have is sticking to it!

One day I will have THIS list checked off only IF I look at the list every day otherwise I will choose to forget about certain projects and hope to get to them "one day".

Sometimes Blogs are for write rambling.

This is one of those times.

Extreme Home Makeover

2009-10-25T20:06:00.012-05:00

This past week was amazing as I was able to volunteer in the making of the Scott family home

here in Clarksville,TN. Our church was one of the partners for this extreme makeover and had a tent set up with snacks and food for the volunteers.

I had no idea I would get the opportunity to help until mid week when someone from church told me there was a slot where I could come and help out!

After that afternoon of volunteering, I was out there EVERY day! I could not get enough and saw the need for help in that house.

I was able to meet "Usher", who I am so ashamed to say I didn't really know

who he was at that time:)

On the final day I was with one of the interior designers, Paige, in Deidre's room, the ballet room. I suggested a painted design on a few things in the room and she asked if I would do it!

I about fell over. It was already amazing to just help her in that room but I did not expect to paint something in there! I don't normally shake when I paint but i kinda did this time.

I had more pics. but sure didn't want to overwhelm you with them.

The kids came with me that final day to "Move that Bus"!! They loved chanting that over and over. I was honored to be a small part of this home makeover.

It airs December 6th on ABC:)

Chris Tomlin Christmas C.D.

2009-10-06T20:30:00.003-05:00

YES!

The Chris Tomlin Christmas C.D. is out.

As some of you know from the past blogs I was able to be a part of this worship c.d. back in July.

It was just released out in stores today.

I hope you can go buy one.

More Craftiness

2009-09-16T22:42:00.003-05:00

(light blue background with red accents)

Here is the latest service I am offering:

Personalizing on canvas or the actual letters of your child's name or particular word you

may want done in your choice of colors to match your decor.

It is $6 a letter:)

I am having a Blast!

On Saturday I will be at the Red Barn at APSU along with more vendors.

I am SO enjoying creating/making different stuff!!

New Item

2009-09-11T23:08:00.005-05:00

Every now and then I put a picture up of something new I made

to put in my booth up at Artifacts.

Here's a pillow I made today and took up there:)

First Day of Preschool

2009-09-09T22:32:00.005-05:00

Tuesday was Dawson's first day of Preschool.

Because I am a "stay-at-home Mom, He had not been anywhere without me on the premises or

had me away from his presence for very long.

As I walked away from the preschool building I began asking myself if he would be alright?

I knew he would be safe, but emotionally I have been at his beckon call all his 3 year old life.

One on One to One on 10 children would be different for him to adjust too.

Of course, you can probably guess it, He never cried or complained and enjoyed it very much:)

YaY, so glad!

The most he did was call his teacher Mrs. Monster instead of Mrs. Easter.....

They sound similar right? HaHa

Artwalk Night

2009-09-04T22:47:00.007-05:00

It was fun to be the "featured" artist at "Artifacts" last night.

For those who have not been there.... the entrance is off of Strawberry Alley

and sits above "Hodgepodge".

The first Thursday of the month, Downtown Clarksville holds an art walk to

promote local artists.

Here are a few pictures from my artists booth last night:)

I have all my photography, fabric covered cork boards, dried flower wreaths, Hand sewn pillows and antique furniture, mostly from Germany.

Thanks to all who came out to support me!

I will put up pictures of the items I make each week.

"HOPE" Mother/daughter Tea

2009-08-16T19:23:00.007-05:00

This afternoon I was able to meet Amanda.

A 14 year old girl who is 14 weeks pregnant.

She was absolutely adorable........and also so very scared.

Laura Reed has begun a new program this year. A mentoring program at HOPE pregnancy center.

It's a great way to come along side a young pregnant mother to Love and support her.

The center had Natalie Grant come in and sing during the tea.

That was soooo great!

Amanda was singing right along to "Held" behind me.

This is going to be an emotional experience for me. It already has opened up a window in

a world I don't ever see.

I figure the more you open those windows the more that you will find.

It's sometimes tough but there's always someone out there that needs someone like You.

I pray I can be a friend to Amanda through this time and that she will gain my trust and grow

into a beautiful young lady.

Amanda and her mom, Joy

Brentwood Worship Conference

2009-08-15T22:19:00.002-05:00

Today I was a part of a vocal workshop held at Brentwood Baptist church.

Wow....the church is HUGE.........no Gigundous!

I knew these "type" of churches existed but I had never been in one before.

There was a cafe bigger then a Starbucks.

There were 1/2 size basketball courts enclosed with a chainlinked fence.

Different areas of the church marked from capital A-G.

The sound system was so very cool.

Welcome to the South??

Daniel Doss came down from Valpo and asked me to sing some harmonies and talk about my songwriting during his vocal workshops.

It was pretty cool:) I had fun.

It was great to see Daniel and Emily again.

I did miss out on the Ivy cupcakes though that i heard were Amazing.

I will have to taste those cupcakes sometime when I'm down in Brentwood again.......

Shopping perhaps???

The Clydesdales Deliver

2009-08-13T21:18:00.009-05:00

Today I took the kids to see the infamous Budweiser Clydesdale Horses deliver

Beer cases to local businesses on Franklin street in downtown Clarksville.

It was a pretty neat event.

Those horses are HUGE!

A fun concept to see how it used to be done years ago.

Delivery by Horse (and dog)

People

2009-08-04T17:03:00.005-05:00

I know most of us know this but it is SO true how much we do not know about a person.

You may know them for years and then BLAM they start telling you where they grew up,

Who their parents were, how their brothers are, and hurts from the past.

To Put it quite bluntly,

You really can't judge a person by their face.

Just like, you can't judge a book by its cover.

My quick blog today is to encourage you to LOVE on people. If your friends aren't telling

you stories of their past are you giving them time to Talk and BOTH ears to Listen?

Do you act like you are in a hurry?

Would you be comfortable talking to someone that doesn't seem to have time for you?

I wouldn't so they would never hear my story.

It is such a release when a person can talk about the past.

Talk is therapy.

I believe thats why girls talk so much!!! We need to express what is going on in our lives even if it's cleaning toliets.

If we don't express Life then we don't share Life.

Life becomes a bit duller without sharing it.

Birthday Days

2009-07-20T21:11:00.009-05:00

Yesterday was my Birthday and today is Luke's.

When I was at my birthday dinner in Germany, pregnant with Luke, I started to go into Labor and remembered praying that he would have his own special day and not have to share it with his mom.

He was born at 2a.m. on july 20th. What's funny is it was july 19th USA time.

So he has his own day. Hooray!

It had been awhile since we had celebrated a Birthday away from the house.

I personally like the "down home" Birthday approach with friends over at the house for games and food to celebrate Luke! This year would be different.

Luke wanted to have his party at Retros this year.

A little boys......let me rephrase that....a MALES ..... dream place to be where there are arcade games all over the place!

The games at retros are mostly from the 80's. They have all the classics and one I always loved,

Paperboy. Remember that one?

Yep. Joey, my husband, was not to be found during most of the party but he was there at least.

Being in the job he is in..... I must be thankful for that! He had to miss the last one.

The weather this year also I had to mention was SO incredibly nice. In the upper 70's, low 80's!

I can not recall the weather being so cool on our birthdays.

We have not one but two....

2009-07-12T20:46:00.006-05:00

The ride to their new home

For a long while our family has been contemplating adding a dog to our family.

I was not going to initiate things but Joey knew that he had, in a way, won when we started thinking of different breeds we like and which one we should get.

When I enter the converstation, Joey knows that it's going somewhere.

If I do not enter the conversation he knows its just not happenin'.

What we learn about each other in 16 years....

I wanted a Lab or Golden Retriever, both great for families. Joey wanted a Great Dane.

We had a Great Dane before and he was a great Dog but he was also very BIG!

We started searching rescue sights online and even TRIED to see the dogs at our local animal shelter. I was happy to get a mixed breed. It was closed and even then we learned we would have to go through a lengthy process to take one home.

Joey called quite a few different numbers.

One was a Lab that was going to be put down if no one called by Monday and others similar.

We found most of the info. on Craigs list!

The next day we received a call back from the people who had Border Collie Puppies.

They were $150 each and cute for sure.

We researched the border collies and saw they were extremely smart and loving dogs.

Every dog i believe has their quirks and the border collies were the need for

exercise (just like me) and instruction. (just like me)

We arrived to look at the all the puppies and they were all so darn cute.

I examined each of puppies actions very carefully.

So carefully that I stayed in that ladies yard for 3 hours!!

I think she wanted to get rid of me so she said , " I'll give you two for the cost of one!"

Joey's eyebrows immediately arose.....

My eyebrows immediately arose back yet not with the same certainly as Joey.

As time went on I began to grow on having 2 puppies. They would have company and a playmate at all times. It would also make the transition leaving their family to ours much easier. And it was. We came home with two adorable Border Collie Puppies and without one another I think it would have been much harder for Everybody.

Meet Oliver

and Tucker:)

Indianapolis

2009-07-09T09:48:00.011-05:00

We started out our trip to Indianapolis focused on our Family Reunion from my Mom's side.

It had been 12 years since this last Reunion had taken place and many would be missing.

My Mom and Dad drove up from Tampa to attend and they were definitely my huge incentive on making it up there.

Our trip started out Later then expected... Surprise, Surprise,

a normal accourance for our family.

We like to start off our trip with a Starbucks on hand and this trip was no exception no matter how late we are running!

As we were on the road for a good hour, we realized that we were going to loose an hour which meant we were going to be much later to this reunion then we had thought.

We knew we would really be getting there later when traffic came to a stop on I65 outside of Louisville. That put us back an additional 3 hours now.

We were beginning to wonder if there would be any relatives there to greet/meet the Moroschak family. My parents would stay as long as needed, bless them, but who would remain? Anyone, Anyone.....?

We arrived when most had already left but there was a good handful to meet and greet. A few memories to talk about with those "Oh Yeahs"......I remember that!"

Pictures were being taken from an Uncle and Second/Third cousins to account for us there.

So, we made it...kind-of.

It was a short but sweet visit with Mom and Dad for they had to start their long trek back to Tampa.

It was comforting to know that we would not have to make another long drive home until the next day.

We made our way toward downtown Indianapolis where we would stay at the Omni Hotel.

I knew it had to be nice because t

he normal rate for a room is $179 but we were able to get the Government rate which is $94.

Pretty gosh darn cool isn't it?

And we were not dissappointed. It was VERY nice.

I immediately noticed the old Union Station right accross the street from the hotel and began taking pictures. I jokingly remarked to the Vallet man that almost everyone probably does this same thing when the pull up to check in. He then told me that the Union Station was the first bulit in the United States. Very Impressive indeed!

Then he said that Fireworks had been cancelled last night due to rain and the big fireworks show would be tonight.

YES! I get SO excited about stuff like that. I was VERY thankful for a talkative Omni hotel worker.

As we walked in the glass turn around door. The boys had to make a few turns in it. It made Dawson feel like Curious George.

A glass vase filled with water and fresh lemons welcomed us at the front desk.

Joey asked for a room where the fireworks would be visible from our window and they kindly oblidged us the request.

A corner room on the 8th floor with a fabulous view of the Fireworks show!

It had been YEARS since we had gone a fireworks show. I especially was very happy.

The next morning I was so excited to be downtown I awoke at 5a.m. eagerly watching the morning come alive from the window.

I was ready to explore this city. A large white statue that we noticed driving in had caught my attention and I wanted to know the history behind it.

Eventually everyone was awake and getting ready.

While Joey and Briar were readying themselves I dressed the boys and started our explortation! Everyone knows it is not fun to be a hotel room with little children. They begin their jumping from bed to bed and eventually someone is going to get hurt.

We headed down the elevator and noticed a connector to another building. We followed it!

And guess what it connected to?

THE MALL!!

WHY????? I had just established our Budget.

The WHY grew louder as I noticed an H&M.

A store I loved when we lived in Germany and had not had the "Opportunity" to shop at in 7 long years.

Yes, I was in trouble. Could I maintain Poise and all Self-Control?

Joey knew something was up when I gave him a big Hug as we entered back into our hotel room.

"They have an H$M I explained"!!

His response...."Oh boy, i'm in trouble".

So the family went on a nice tour of the Circle mall in Indianaplois followed by a walk outside

to explore the very cool statue which turned out to be a Huge Monument.

If you were wondering if I was able to maintain self-control. I was!

Perhaps it was because I had just watched, "Confessions of a Shopoholic".

A bit embarassing to admit the movie had an impact on me.

Richards Cafe

2009-07-02T22:13:00.004-05:00

At least two of our church pastors at Grace have recommended

"Richards Cafe" in White's creek.

There is literally nothing around it. It is all by itself with one traffic light and without a B.P.

on the corner. It would be considered a hole in the wall. Aren't those the best though?

Beth, Cassie and I wanted to find a good spot to celebrate Patti.

She has to move away next week and we are SO going to miss her.

She is the type of gal that "holds the glue together".

Very dependable Most Excellent friend and we will miss her!!

She likes Cajun food and that is what Richards Cafe specializes in:)

When we walked in around 6:45 every table was taken. The waitress let us take on the cafe

bar stool table to the side that we knew was a "last resort" kind of spot but we liked it!

If you have ever seen Fried Green Tomatoes this place was very similar to the WhistleStop.

I had something I had never tried....i even forgot the name of it. It was lobster over rice in a cajun sauce. We also had stuffed Italian green peppers and Fried Pickles.

My maiden name, Bro is of French descent. Is Cajun more Louisianan then French? I.D.K.

All of us girls in the group love listening to music and they had it, LIVE and ORIGINAL.

Doesn't get any better then that!!

It's definitely date night worthy for Joey and I. Can't wait!

Oh yes, I found my place of good ole hangin' out with friends place.....

It's a 30 minute drive from the house but worth it.

Do you have that kind of place?

HOT summer days!

2009-06-20T12:57:00.002-05:00

It has been HOT HOT HOT the past few days and we had to be by WATER!

Whether in the backyard, Tiebreaker Park, or the Swan lake pool, water had to be present.

Luke was tall enough to ride the water slides at TieBreaker park. Last summer whenever we would pay he would step up to the ruler on the wall and make a huge "SIGH" and a frown would appear on his face. You can only imagine his excitement when he walked up to the same

ruler and just cleared the 4 ft. mark. His mouth dropped and he couldn't keep saying,

"Can you believe it Mom.....!!" over and over and over again.

After being denied slide rides all last summer he couldn't quite believe the woman was going to give him the wristband that would give him the entry needed to go down those slides!

It was disbelief and such excitement for him.

For a first Dawson is coming out of his comfort zone and exploring the water.

Being a Water Instructor for MANY years it is something you want your CHILD to make the attempt to ease into. If you pressure them they will become scared.

You have to realize children are not normally in big bodies of water so it is uncomfortable for them. The more you bring them to the pool the more comfortable they will eventually become.

This is Dawson's first year finally......enjoying the water. It's great to see!

Part 2 Christmas recording with Chris Tomlin

2009-06-14T15:04:00.000-05:00

I thought I'd share a few pictures from Friday nights recording.

A few of these I brought over from Daniel's iphone.

The atmosphere after the recording was very relaxing talking with

other artists.

Ed Cash has an incredible studio but what impressed me the most was to see how God was top priority at this recording.

It was worshiping our almighty God with the Red Record button ON.

Thank you D.D. for thinking of the team at Grace to be a part of this.

I took a picture of Matt Redmond but did not post it. It was way too "stalkerish" looking...haha

It was definitely amazing to be in a room with such "well-known" artists. I've seen their pictures on their c.d. covers and heard their songs over the radio but tonight I was able to watch and see how these people are Ordinary People being used by an Extraordinary God to Glorify the one that made each one of them (us, you).

Worship draws our hearts closer to God and you could feel that in the room last night.

However God draws your heart closer to Him, focus on those moments and encounter those moments. Don't let them pass them by........cause they will.

If you don't know what draws you closer to Him, be attentive and listen and you will find them.

"Be Still and know that I am God"

Daniel Doss, me, Allison, and Will

Christy Nockels

Recording with Chris Tomlin

2009-06-12T13:00:00.001-05:00

Last night Ed Cash held a live c.d. recording in Nashville for Christ Tomlin's new Christmas c.d.

I was able to be a part only because of Daniel Doss, a known musician and singer of the "Daniel Doss band", invited us from the Grace Community church Praise team to come.

What an experience!

What Awesome Worship!

Louis G. was there to lead us in prayer and Matt Redmond to sing on a few of the songs as well.

It was beautiful really.

I am looking forward to going back again tonight. Maybe I'll take a few more pictures....

God Be Glorified!

Louis G. with Daniel Doss

Briar's first Co-Ed party

2009-06-11T09:25:00.000-05:00

The Title I just had to use because I really do believe it is a big deal.

My little girl has gone from No Boys to bring them on!!

Now, I am not saying she is Boy Crazy......... she's just.... interested. She's 13 now!

Her birthday is in January so she has never had a summer party.

They ARE the funnest. I know, because my birthday is in July.

So, she asked for a summer water party and I (with a few thoughts up my sleeve) agreed with,

"sure sweetheart, you've been a good girl" ;)

Kids just want to hang out and I love to let them hang out at our house!!

It was fun, UNTIL Dad drove up and saw his little girl with the two remaining boys left.

I had to quickly explain that the girls had Just left and the boys parents were on there way.

Wheww....last thing i want is Joey pulling out the shot gun!

He was able to give them the "Hey Dude" stare I call it.

He's a Bald, Army dude so he's got that going for him, haha:)

It was a good time.

One other tip.

If you want your kids to help clean up the entire house....... hold a party, it works very well!

Dawson's Balloon Bath

Date Night

2009-06-10T09:48:00.000-05:00

Since Joey has been back we have shooting for one date night each week and so far so good.

We are having WAY to much fun..........

This is just one of the MANY, shall I say weird things, we do on our dates.

Routine

2009-06-03T08:31:00.001-05:00

I had to write SOMETHING! I am being harassed by a woman at church...(Lori) haha. Love Her:)

It is very easy to get out of the routine of writing...until you write again.

I love to write and it is very theraputic. So, this is an area where I need to kick my self in the

butuoi and get going!

I don't like to play "catch-up" but here are a few things that went on this past week:)

Sherri Larson had a baby dedication for her little girl Katie Grace this past Sunday. It was held at her home and was very personal and touching. Initially John Mark was going to sing/play for the Dedication but had to be out of town. Once again( if you read my blog) a cancellation turned into such a Blessing.

I had a little time to write a song about a mother and a daughter for Katie Grace. That sweet baby girl listened so intently to the music played that day.

I accompanied Christy as she sang "In my father's eyes" beautifully by Martina McBride,

It was an honor to be part of her special day.

One of our Pastors, Ron Edmondson with Katie Grace

Another thing going on in my life is a C.D. in the process. Mothers in the congregation would ask if there was a c.d. with the songs their kids were coming home singing. The Mom's said they also wanted to be able to sing along with them or just be able to finish the words of the songs. So I decided to get pro-active and invest financially and spiritually for these kids at Grace. Children can remember God's promises so easily through Music. When they are afraid they can remember the song "Do Not be Afraid" and know that God is with them always, etc......I know we hear this saying so often but it is so true.

Children ARE our future and investing in them will pay back 100 fold to you, to others, to God. Invest Well:)

Also there will be another c.d. of songs I have written for the grown up people.....

I'm privileged to be working with such Talented folks on the c.d.!

And.... life is getting back to being a "Normal" family again now that Joey has been home for exactly 1 month now. I will say that our family is Not Normal but we love being all together again and we are praying that was his last long deployment with retirement less then 3 years away! We plan to stay in the Clarksville Area ,

we have enjoyed it so much, and feel at home here.

You have big city Nashville only 30-40 minutes just South of us and the beauty of

The Land Between the Lakes 45 minutes in the other direction.

God has been so gracious to Us.

Paradise Ranch

2009-05-04T08:39:00.000-05:00

Saturday night I was asked to sing for a camp going on at Paradise Ranch.

Anything with Paradise in the name, I'm In!!

What especially got me was it was a camp for disabled kids. From Kindergarten to Adult.

It was a truely beautiful place with green pastures and streams. Reminded me of Psalm 23:2

"He makes me lie down in green pastures. (I didn't though)

He leads me beside still waters (I did that)

He restores me soul (He did that)

Being able to sing for this kids really touched me.

These kids are REAL, no masks to hide behind,

no inhabitions, they act as the feel.

Now, that is Beautiful.

I just had to share about a few the them.

Ronald was blind and was SO interested in everything! He almost asked me immediately what car I drove and if he could see/feel it after useing his hands to feel the guitar and then continue on inside the case and just Uuu and Awww as he felt the soft velvety texture. I took him to my car and he sat in the drivers seat and kept saying WoW. I said, "You can tell I'm a very messy person can't you?" He said YES and then continued on to feel the tv monitor in the car.

It was just amazing how because we see sometimes things aren't so

amazing.

Spending some time with Ron made me realize how much we have

to see that is amazing but taken for granted so often.

Then there was Kendal. She had cerebral palsy and loved to sing and dance.

When we sang "love song" by Taylor Swift" I asked her to come up and h

elp Meagan and I.

She jumped right on up there and sang along. Not a bit of shyness shown.

Then, One more.....Marvin, He was so darn exciting! He would very loudly and excitedly repeat the last word you would say as if to say a question? So sweet...but then again later in the night he was sneaking up behind your back to dump a

handfull of sand down your shirt!

Needless to say. This ranch is a great ministry to these kids.

The horses were beautiful. I'm glad God made them.

Initially I was not the band picked out to sing for this event.

The band that was to come canceled only 4 days prior.

I love how God does things.

I'm sure I wasn't as "talented"and exciting as this other band that was to come but to be able

share the gift of music to these kids was just amazing and I hope i can do it again next year.....

Singing with Kendal

Ron

Sold!

2009-05-01T15:12:00.000-05:00

There are three things in life I love:

Take Pictures and Turn them into even more then the picture itself

Sing/Perform/Write music and

Enjoy my family

Well, this weekend they all came together!

First, I sold my first piece of picture/art to a downtown Clarksville shop, "Hodgepodge"

Second, I was asked to sing at a camp for people with special needs in Springfield Saturday night and do a 45 minute set for them. It's at www.par

adiseranch.net

I have such a heart for these people/kids and I am looking forward to sharing it.

Third, My husband, Joey is coming HOME Sunday night!!!

The kids and I are jumping up and down.

It's nice to have a good weekend.

Now, if I were just 10 pounds lighter........life might be perfect....

Stranded

2009-04-21T22:43:00.001-05:00

One would think being "stuck" at the Opry Mills Mall in Nashville would be a good thing.... well, sometimes it's not!

It's not when your car won't start and you have 3 kids in the car.

One's on the phone laughing about it with a friend.

One's crying because he thinks we will never get home and we are in severe turmoil.

One is saying..... Let's go home as I hand out the last cookie to keep him contented.

It was interesting to see what peoples reactions were as I stand "helpless".

I put the hood up as a sign for all to see that Something was Wrong with the car!

Cracked the windows so everyone could hear that there were children here at stake!

Just kidding, they were cracked for air.

After about 30 minutes of Hope, I called on my insurance to send someone to help me start the car.

They said it would take up to an hour so we began the wait.

During the wait a kind young man named Quinton looked at us in the car and said do you need help? Was I ever hoping that Someone would say those words.

I pretended not to seem desperate, and did a good job at pretending.

He was dressed with his tie and slacks up to his rayban stylin' glasses.

He said he had a younger brother that was 5 years old and was 22 year himself.

Pretty strong maturity and integrity for that age group.

As he closed the front hood of his car he commented on doing part of his good deed for the week.

How many of us look to do a good deed each day or even in Quinton's case, each week?

What a difference it would make to people if we only paid attention to them just a little more.

I called off the auto team on their way to start me back up.

They hadn't arrived as I left the parking lot.

Thankful I got out of there a little faster then I may have had to stay.

Back into the Blog World

2009-04-17T20:10:00.001-05:00

How could I have left the Blogging world for almost 2 months now?

Well, it's actually quite easy just not to write.

Yet, I love to write and fill in all the areas of life that go untold if not written down. (or typed)

I'll be filling in some gaps at what has come to past the last 2 months.

But, I had to Start somewhere! That somewhere will be Today before too may "todays" go by with untold stories being told;)

Back I go and I guess I'll have to Blog a bit of the past because of it.

I Apologize for my Slackfullness (aghemm... Lori, thanks for that)

The Human Rubber Band

2009-02-20T07:22:00.000-06:00

After some school time in Nashville we decided to give the Rivergate Mall a try.

We have always gone to the Opry Mills mall but the Rivergate was closer and I was curious of what this Mall had to offer.
So, I don't know if you guys have seen this at the mall but I actually never have.

Where have I been?

The Human Rubber Band.

Smartly located by the little play area, it caught Luke's eye immediately.

Briar looked at it with fear in her eyes. I looked at it with a little worry yet wanting to strap myself in the swing myself! To feel free and add some excitement to my everyday routine.

NOPE, the thought just came and left quicker then my crush on Keanu Reaves ever was.

It was definitely Luke's time and place for some fun.

Honestly, I just wanted to strap him in and let him fly through the air with all the complaining about , " Ah, Mom, do we have to go in here???"

You know with kids, when they are at the mall it's all about the Carousel or in our case this Huge human slingin' rubber band.

He LOVED it and was definitely the most exciting "ride" he had ever been on.

After that excitement we went to the old fashioned carousel. There was no complaint from Luke. He picked the ostrich to sit on. Interesting choice.

Dawson choose a horse but I have no picture to show for it.

Briar sat and watched us with an evil smile while listening to her new ipod touch.

The evil smile was because I asked her to PLEASE ride with Dawson because I might get sick and she said no thanks, I don't want too.

I wasn't going to force her. I am the Mom, but after my vertigo experience going in circles, it is not my favorite thing to do.

I made it through!

It was a good clean mall. Not very crowded. We will go back.

Because whenever I say we are going to the Mall, Luke is going to chime in...

"Is it the one with the rubber band thingy!"

Naming

2009-02-09T08:50:00.000-06:00

As my computer was searching for internet connections numerous names come up on the screen to choose which one you want to connect too.

Of course I always know what our connection name is....it is the "Batcave" Uuuuuu, sounds so manly and mystereous. I wonder who named that one? Not moi.

Then on down the line I was amazed at what people do name their internet connection.

So we've got many peoples last names. West, Bryan, etc.... Nice, practical approach.

Then there's goofy people with a "Yipekya" connection, fun approach.

The more conservative type, 2wire 237, very technical approach.

Then we come to NOYFB............Well!! Figure out that one! There is someone very angry living close to me. I wonder who that is so I can stay away from them.

Just an interesting observation, I found, of how peoples personalities come through by naming their internet.

Check out YOUR neighborhood the internet access Naming way!

Pretty crazy!

Forget Go-gurts

2009-02-06T19:52:00.001-06:00

Have you ever bought Go-Gurt or even Ro-Gurt, if your kids wanted scooby doo?

We do what we can to impress our children or find a better way to enjoy foods.

Of course, the markerters came up with these yogurt on the go pouch things so you don't have to use a spoon. Not bad....but whenever I rip open the top I can't seem to do it correctly.

Also the kids never seem to get all the yogurt out of the pouch SO.....

Have yogurt in a cone.

My kids get excited about it.

Believe

2009-02-04T10:17:00.000-06:00

What if you didn't have anyone that believed in You?

It would be pretty hard wouldn't it?

I am thankful there are at least a handful of people that know me and Believe in me.

It is such encouragement.

Not all people will Believe in You.

God sends those certain ones to encourage and motivate us.

Those helpful Pep Talks.

Someone telling you not to give up.

Celebrating in lives Joys.

Crying with lives disappointments.

Lending a helping hand when no one around you seems to care.

Bringing out the Best in You.

God uses people to reach those in need. Have you noticed how many people have no one that believes in them? There are so many low self-esteems out there crushed by someone they loved. Everyone needs encouragement or you just fall on your face!

"But exhort one another every day as long as it is called "today" that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin"

Hebrews 3:13

"For as long as it's still God's Today, keep each other one your toes so sin doesn't slow down your reflexes"

The Message

Sometimes I want encouragement from certain people that I'm just not going to get it from.

That could be your parents, and the list goes on....

Believe in yourself even though at times you feel as if there is no Belief there.

Smile to the World when the World frowns on You.

Crafting Snow Days

2009-01-28T20:13:00.001-06:00

our crafting ledge

We had 2 whole snow days here in Clarksville, TN!

One day there was ice everywhere with no sign of snow until the next morning light and then there finally came the white stuff, SNOW.

I always love the kids reaction when they first wake up in the morning

and see the white glare coming from the windows.

Luke was the first to acknowledge the snow and then asked to wake up Briar to let her know the good news.

I don't believe Dawson would remember snow from last

year and so he was SO excited that he could finally make a snowball. He had been watching all these PBS kids shows where it had snowed so he knew what he could make with it but never had the chance until now.

On the first snow day we decoupaged. My good friend, Claudi,and her two children, Taska, 10 since yesterday, and Eric 6 came over and she always has many fantastic ideas.

Claudi and I have known each other since we became neighbors and friends in Germany 9 years ago.

What an amazing God thing to have Him bring us back to spend time together again for they live just a few blocks away from us now.

So these last few days have been labeled as

"Crafting and Cooking with Claudi"

She brings out the craft bug in me!

She brought over some wontons and a mixture of sausage/portebelo mushrooms/ and water chestnuts. We wrapped them together and put them in olive oil to make a delicious dish!

The next snow day she brought over a pea soup and I made a fresh loaf of bread.

Keep this up and I'll wish for snow days everyday!

I believe it's great to get what TN would consider "snowed in" to bring life to a hault every now and then don't you?

Here's a few pictures of our day in the snow.

No Other Gods

2009-01-26T10:21:00.000-06:00

We have just started a new book for our Monday night all Girls study.

The study was written by Kelly Minter after getting together with ladies and discussing

real life issues and what gets the way of our lives.

It's called "No Other Gods".

We are about to dive right in and discover what Idols we hold and how to let go and have God take control, not our idols. (which can even be ourselves)

It's time to get to what matters most.

God matters most. Does God matter most to you?

Each session ends with a dinner recipe and dessert.

So one week it's the dinner recipe and the next week someone brings the dessert.

It's Awesome:)

What could be better? Food - Friends = Heart discussion!

Panera

2009-01-22T10:22:00.003-06:00

What is it about walking into a Panera Bread or a Starbucks that is just SO INCREDIBLY COOL?

I know I sound like a nerd stating this but really what is it?

Yesterday, while in Nashville, I wanted to go into Panera bread just to look at the "cool" personas gathered by the fireplaces and see the fresh breads and to feel instantly healthy as I walked in the door. I know I became healthier with each step I made on the Panera floor.

I fed my darling 2 year old boy a grilled cheese made from healthy scratch stuff. The feeling of contentment as he ate the sandwich made me "feel" like I was being a good mother to my son.

I purchased a gluten-free carrot/walnut muffin with a smile.

This was not sara lee muffin....convieniently located for you by the grocers check-out counter......Heaven's to Betsy, NO!

Yes, the artsy atmosphere of the store was enough to keep me content for a week at most, I'm sure.

What I need to know is am I the only one that feels these ridiculous(?) emotions or could there be something incredibly wrong and I need to get out more??

Don't every buy!

2009-01-15T20:04:00.000-06:00

I will begin by telling you straight out..."Do Not Ever but one of these!"

I saw this while in Hobby Lobby. It looked like something very fun for the kids to do.
Pretend to be an archeologist and dig for the dinosaur bones.
They put these plastic dinosaur bones in plaster and the kids are supposed to be able to dig
and find them!
A kid would never have the strength to dig into this ROCK, not plaster!!!!
We started off with the plastic tools they came with and I ended up using a
HAMMER to get to these plastic bones! Imagine me banging away in anger trying to get these
things so my boys could be happy!
The boys were coughing from all the dust and the floor and table was covered with clay like dust.
We still did not finish cultivating these bones from out of core of the center of the earth and who knows if I will have the patience to try again tomorrow.
Just a word of advice.
This is not worth the frustration. I would rather, and will, put dinosaur bones in water and freeze them. It would be more fun to see them and they could let the ice just melt away and discover a bone at a time.
Yes, I am writing this in frustration but truely... I will be just fine... I'm getting my hair cut and colored tomorrow.

Plans

2009-01-12T09:04:00.000-06:00

Try having a "Life Coach" spend the evening with you and you will definitely realize things and get motivated!
My dear friend, Dawn Galloway, stopped in for a visit yesterday from North Carolina.
Conversation was wonderful and she ended up staying the night.
(You really can't resist our guestroom...... very cozy:)
There are not too many people that ask you questions in life that make you think. I mean really think. A few questions are good but try following each answer you give with yet another question!
You end up answering like 25 questions! She began to ask me, What is God leading me to do?
What is getting in the way of doing what God has told me?
For me, it is other peoples reactions. I cannot base my decisions and actions on how others feel about it but what God would think.
Proverbs 12:2
"A good man obtains favor from the Lord"
I think we all fall into wanting to please and be accepted by others.
God wants us to meet together and lift up one another. To be encouragers.
But, most importantly, we have to listen to what God is saying we need to do.
For He will equip us to fulfill the good work He will accomplish in each of us. (Phil. 1:6)
I have basically "shut down" from a gifting God gave me when I first put God first in my life.
So now, I'm going to MAKE time to listen and write the songs He gives me to write on paper:)
God uses music to reach people.
It's reaches the soul and can change lives.
So, whatever you have been discouraged with lately, be encouraged in the plans God has for you right now and for the future.

Blog Slacker

2009-01-08T09:08:00.000-06:00

I have been a Blog Slacker! Awwwwwww.... How could i start this New Year in such a way?
Shame on me.
Everyone has wonderful goals posted and dreams to go after this year. I didn't start off my
2009 with a BANG!
The reasoning behind this?
Could it be lack of motivation when this is the time I am suppposed to be super motivated? Yes.
Could it also be a slight lack of joy coming into 2009 knowing my husband and father of 3 would be gone the majority of it? Yes.
I won't bore you with anymore "Could be's":)
BUT, I am a positive thinker. If I was negative and reflected on the could be's then where would I be now?
I would be in an absolute mess and where would that take me?
NoWhere.
So do you want to get SomeWhere?
Then you have to start moving.
I'm ready to have a great year!
I have an amazing group of girls that come over weekly.
I have a wonderful Church home at G.C.C., without that my life would be so much more empty.
I love this area that we live in and am happy to say we will most likely be retiring here.
I have 3 Fabulous kids
I am married to a Hero (super hero I might add)
I have the privledge to be able to homeschool 2 of our children
I have a great God watching over everything we do and is in control of ALL things. What a comfort that is!
So here's to 2009!
I pray that you would grow just a little bit more in the areas where growth is needed most. (Isn't that just about everything?:)
So Dive In or at least put a hand in the water. It's all about Beginning those goals and dreams.
Diving in may be too overwhelming or it may be just what you need to get going.
Or, start by easing your way into the water.
First your hand, then your feet, then your up to your waist and that's when you just dive in and you've accomplished a goal or dream.
Life's Big just like the Ocean.
That's the place where Faith and Hope step in.

Park time

2008-12-30T21:23:00.000-06:00

The weather was just gorgeous today! I had to get the kids outside.
Of course there are always things that need to get done but
you can never deny that there's a beautiful day outside.
Since school is out on break we took advantage of playing on Sango Elementary's ground.
Briar skated on her blades and already asked if we could come back tomorrow!

Brothers!

Grace

2008-12-28T21:28:00.000-06:00

These last few weeks has been a great time of worship.
Usually when you think of worship you think of music and singing in "worship" yet
the word has so many meanings to it.
True worship is acknowledging God in all His power and glory in EVERYTHING we do.
Romans 12 says:

“I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable, or well pleasing and perfect.”

In Hebrews 13:16 God says, We are to be generous and share with others.
I have really felt that these past few weeks practicing with the Grace worship team.
We are loving one another where they are AT right now.
We are laughing with one another and crying with one another.
It's a great sense of community and friendship that God calls the Body of Christ.

cookie press

2008-12-17T21:01:00.001-06:00

Pretty neat what companies come out with
to tempt the buyer. They seem to always need to
come up with something just a little
different to catch the shoppers eye.
It worked with me....sucker.
A cool cookie press
with 4 different shapes to choose from. Cookie cutters
watch out!
It was Fun!

The Hoover "slider"

2008-12-11T10:26:00.000-06:00

Introducing the Hoover "slider".
I have been wanting something lightweight with suction to.....slide... over my hard wood floors.
I saw this handy gadget at Sears, our old fashioned appliance store, and saw there was a variety of choices.
Of course the sleekness of the machine caught my eye. Very, shall we say, Retro.
Yes, retro gets me everytime!
I decided to make the purchase with a customer friendly smile as I gladly declined to
"put it on your Sears charge card" remark. No Thanks!
As a person that likes to keep her house clean.............
I test drove this floor model all over my........floors.
It is a cordless/rechargeable and uses no bags.
I thoroughly enjoyed the lightness and glidieness of the model.
Down side, it did not pick up popcorn which I so oftenly enjoy. Also, the compartment for dirt
was quite small but hey, you can empty it and start over!
Everyone will say, " I want this under my Christmas Tree!"
Do I normally write a customer review?
No.
This is my first one and maybe i'm just in a strange mood today!

Sewing 101

2008-12-09T22:34:00.000-06:00

Briar and I took our first sewing class recently.
I can say as a proud Mom........She's a Natural.
There are some things that your kids take too very easily and you discover what those
things are as you try different things and go towards those things that they are interested in.
Okay, too many "things" in that sentence, but you get what I'm saying.
Briar had informed me that she wanted to be a fashion designer so this class was an
essential tool to take in this new found field inspired partly by "Project Runway".
It's so cool to see what gets your childs eyes to light up.
If you have children make sure you pay attention to what that light may be.
You won't want to miss it!

2008 Christmas Ice Show

2008-12-07T23:02:00.000-06:00

I was so touched by everyone that came out to watch Briar perform her solo in this year's Christmas Ice Show.

It meant so much to her, Joey, and I.

Afterwards we went to one of our favorite restaurants, Tangredi's Italian Kitchen, which is right around the corner from the sportsplex.

We met and became friends with the Italian owners of this restaurant since their daughter and Briar became friends through skating at the rink.

Whether a salad eater or not you will be after trying their Tangredi dressing.

They are in the process of mass producing this tantilizing dressing but that process will and is taking time.

There really is something about Community and having friends in your lives that

make all the difference in the world.
I mean really, with Joey away and without these great friends, our lifes would be a little more empty right now.
In an Uncaring world It's nice to know there are people out there that do care.

Remember in the last blog how I talked about brothers/sisters/moms/dads

sacrificing for each others activities? As you see in this next picture, it's been a long week for

Luke!

Ice Practice

2008-12-04T20:31:00.000-06:00

Well, Briar is getting ready for her solo in the Christmas Ice show on Sunday.
Her music is "I'm dreaming of a White Christmas".

I appologize, you may have that song in your head right now, BUT it's a good one!

We are at the rink every day this week.

Poor Luke is not feeling well and this is when single parenting becomes more of a reality!

This is when you have to say, "The Show Must Go On" quite literally.

Where one child has to go the others must follow.

Awww, the sacrifices we must make for one another.

The Polar Express

2008-11-29T22:37:00.000-06:00

Today we went on the Nashville star on a trip to Watertown as "The Polar Express"

They could not read "The Polar Express" story because Warner Bros. would not give their permission too, so they read "The Night before Christmas" Just as nice. Legalities now-a-days.......really?

Santa and his Elves appeared. Luke informed me that He was NOT the real Santa because he did NOT ask him what he wanted for Christmas! Luke was very disappointed about that.

There was Hot Chocolate served but no dancing.... I thought about it, doing a dance, but did'nt want to cause people to jump off the train. Trust me, they would have.(especially Briar)

The ride was close to 2 hours long each way. A bit longer then most would care to enjoy.
I mean really, there is no DVD player in this train! We can't stare at each other and be content anymore!

There is a train in working condition to ride to Watertown on!

Watertown was literally awaiting for us with live music, pony rides, and inflatables.

There is only 1 restaurant in the town and they are prepared and ready for the "Polar Express" train to come pulling in for it is their busiest day of the year! (They actually ran out of food last year!)

Free Popcorn in the town square (definite perk)

The reading

In Watertown

Turkey and Sushi?

2008-11-28T10:03:00.000-06:00

This Thanksgiving was very, shall I say, ethnic?
I invited friends over for Thanksgiving dinner and they wanted to contribute to the feast with Sushi.
At first, I thought, You can't have Sushi on Thanksgiving! Why not bring over the rolls?
But then, I thought Why Not?
Break up the Holiday tradition a little bit.
It ended up too be a lot of fun with a LOT of food!

I have also realized that I love to Entertain.
I love preparing interesting foods and the presentation is so fun!
I like for people for feel special.
That's how God see's them.
We have the privilege of showing and giving that genuine love.

It's so much easier to understand Love and give Love when you have had someone show you what Love really is.

"The Thankful Loaf"

Mitch being Thankful

Luke being Thankful

Tuscan cheese wrapped in riserva salami on a
bed of cilantro

Roasted Raspberry Chipotle Sauce

over cream cheese

Thanksgiving Traditions

2008-11-25T21:11:00.000-06:00

As the big Turkey day approaches what are some traditions that you do?

For myself it is:

1. Turning on the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade and usually only seeing parts of it.

2. Then on goes Football, just have to hear the sound of a football game in the background.

3. Making a Wish on the Turkey bone.

4. Before digging into the deliciousness we each Thank God for what we are Thankful for.

5. Absolutely stuffing yourself till you look like that stuffed turkey!

I'd love to hear what your traditions are??

The Movies

2008-11-23T17:09:00.001-06:00

Briar has been wanting very badly to see the movie Twilight after reading the book.
I have never just dropped her off at the local mall and said,
"see you in a few hours honey, and watch out for strange people!"
Not yet anyway, closer to 9th grade, maybe.
So, in order for Briar to get to watch this movie she had to be with a friend and I had to plan. We could go to the Mall Theater where I could hang out at Borders with Dawson and Luke.
Well, when we got there Luke saw Bolt being advertised and really wanted to see it.
Dawson really wanted to see it to, so he SAID. You never can tell if a 2 year old will really
sit there and watch a movie.
He actually did pretty good watching Madagascar but Joey was there so when he became
restless towards the end i could take him out in the hallway.
Was it worth a shot?
Looking at Luke's "PLEASE MOM" face. I decided to go for it!!!
Just do it right?
(I hardly even buy Nike products!)

Dawson made it an hour into the movie and then we began to roam the halls.
I did not want to leave Luke all by himself in the theater. I seriously thought someone may try to take him out the exit doors of the theater. But he begged me to please let him watch a little bit more. I figured He could stay if I stayed close outside and checked in on him constantly.
I have always been a VERY protective Mom. You kinda have to be now-a-days.
Was this nerve racking? Yes. Trying to keep a 2 year old happy in movie theater hallways is quite a challenge.
After 20 minutes or so I had to drag Luke away from the big screen.
We waited for Briar and her friend outside the theater which seemed like forever!
Will I do that again?
Eventually, another YEAR from now, Maybe.

Hockey

2008-11-21T20:42:00.000-06:00

When Briar has a lesson with her coach Luke skates around the ice. What does Dawson get to do?
Watch the Predators...Yeah baby!
He loves to watch them slam the puck around the ice. He looks like a person watching Ping Pong!
I can't tell you HOW many pucks we have!
So, we don't pay for season tickets and watch the big games..... we get to watch them get ready for the big games and have the best seats in the house without paying a dime!

Hot chocolate

2008-11-19T09:15:00.001-06:00

I accidentally introduced Dawson to Starbucks hot chocolate.
The melted chocolate bar in a cup. At a value of $1 for kid size. (tip....for adult cravings)
What was I thinking?
Will he ever be the same?

motherly agression

2008-11-17T09:41:00.000-06:00

Yesterday a friend invited me to the JumpZone and then over for dinner.
We had never been to this newly opened establishment. The kids were excited to Jump.
I knew when I pulled into the parking lot it was sure to be chaotic! Not even a space to park!
This is when normally I would turn around and come back later when most kids are in school.
Again, an absolute perk to homeschooling.
But, being with my invite, we stepped into the Chaoticness of Crazyness!
One woman remarked, "I've been here 3 times and it's never been this Crowded!"
"Oh, isn't that nice, just my lucky day" i thought to myself.
But, my motto is always make the best out of every situation. So I tried.
As my friend and I stood by the kiddie inflatable, we closely monitored them and made sure
they were not jumped on. We also read that only 3 jumpers where allowed in this particular inflatable at a time. So when the 4th slithered in from under the zipper the fifth came along as I closed the zipper.

A thunderous," Why did you just close the zipper on Him?"
Oh my.... was running through my brain. Take this calmly Heather, so I calmly replied,
"Only 3 are allowed in the inflatable and there's already four so I thought five would be too much". I said this very pleasantly.
She looked at me like i was racist (the child was of African American descent) and murmured words to her son, gave me "That Look" and walked away.
I had a hard time believing how a Mother could be so upset at me for just trying to keep the inflatables under control a bit. I guess i did'nt have a name tag that said, "Heather, JumpZone Employee of the month". But, I thought i was helping out. Keeping my little boy out of dangerous...Jumpers...
I hope that the woman did not try to tell her boy that I did not let him in because of skin color.
That would be quite a......way out there assumption but if people could always understand other then I guess this country wouldn't be at war right now either.
We will constantly have encounters like this in life.
It's how you react to them that can make a difference in this world.

I continued to get looks from this woman and looked as pleasant as I could.
I even made sure she saw me let an African American pass into the inflatable tent!
I wanted to say,"See, it's not because of your skin color. I was trying to abide by rules!"
But, enough said,

We will never fully understand each other.
We all have the freedom to think as we choose.
We will always get mixed signals.
We all have the ability to help make a difference in the World

Getting the Hint

2008-11-14T23:17:00.000-06:00

Let me start this off by saying... I know I shouldn't go when:

1. The skating coach called and both of her kids are sick so Briar's Lesson is cancelled.

Still decide to follow through and drive to Nashville anyway because I had planned some fun
with the kids.

2. I realize I forgot my wallet at home. Drive all they way back home to get my wallet.

3. Get back out. Make a quick pit stop and when I sat back down my pants completely rip under
the buttocks area. An experience that has never happened before.?
(hmmm, maybe a hint for me) So, I had to go BACK home to change
my pants.

2 trips back to the house = "Don't Go" = Did Not Go!

Off you go

2008-11-12T22:29:00.001-06:00

It was tougher than I anticipated to see Joey off today.
I seem to forget how hard the initial goodbyes can be.

I kept telling him to be an absolute Jerk before he left so it would be easier for me but he
wouldn't oblige. Man.........

Here's some snapshots of today.

May God watch over and protect you and keep you out of harms way.
May he wrap his arms around where you are and defeat the enemies that surround you.
I thank you so much for this family YOU have made and blessed for us so richly.
You are an awesome God with all power and might.
I know you will always keep Him close by and in your all knowing sight.

Nashville overnight

2008-11-10T12:36:00.000-06:00

Last night we all stayed at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Nashville.
It was a surprise outing for Joey.
Our good friends were able to pull together a great night out on the town.
Thanks so much Patti, Beth, and Eric!
What a great time walking downtown and listening to the local bands.
It's amazing how much there is to coordinate when you have 3 children!
Which is why we have never done something like this in our 15 years of marriage.

Jypsie was a great group made up of 4 siblings. Great musical talent!

Honorable

2008-11-08T21:12:00.000-06:00

As I write tonight it is becoming more clear that Joey will be leaving for quite awhile.
These are the times when everything he says and does it cherished and not tossed aside
like so often done.
In ways being married to a military man is such a privilege and life-awakening journey.
You see what is missed when they are gone as so many couples don't ever get to see.
Being in the military has actually been healthy for our marriage.
I know it sounds crazy to say that 12 months away from one another could be healthy but it really is or should I say can be.
If you always focused on the negative then that would not be good but focusing on the good allows you to see just what you are missing.
It gets very hard if you have children.
Having your little boy smile shyly at another man or call him daddy from afar breaks your heart and gives you quite a lump in your throat. You already know you miss him but it hurts even more when you see your children missing him too.
A main piece of our family puzzle can't be complete when he is away.
We know it is only temporary and realize what a great man we have in our lives.
He is fighting for the good of all of us here in America.
He is our honorable man we are so proud to have and call him Husband and Dad.

Although sometimes we wish we could jump in his rucksack and come with him.

Red cups are here

2008-11-07T22:14:00.000-06:00

Yes, Starbucks has brought out the Red Christmas cups.

Why a different style cup brings me such joy I really cannot explain...but it just does.
When the lady handed me a red cup with pumpkin spice it was ever so nice!
The thought of Christmas approaching was very exciting. (Let's hope that feeling lasts.)
I have already decided to make Christmas gifts for family and friends this year.
Too bad this approach will not work with my children though.
After browsing around the craft section in a Books-a-Million I was ever so inspired.
I am looking forward to making some pretty neat things!

Funny how little things such as a cup can made you feel all giddy inside.
(or maybe i just have issues)

Paintball Picnic

2008-11-06T22:48:00.000-06:00

Today was a beautiful day in Northern Tennessee.
Perfect weather for a picnic!
Joey thought Perfect weather for Paintball!
They go together right?

Political Party

2008-11-05T12:12:00.001-06:00

Last night we held our First Political Party.
Felt like a Football game with everyone watching the big screen (which we don't have)
eating Hot Wings and plenty of appetizers.
It was good to be with friends when a very important decision was being made for our Country.

Beth

Meagan

It was Patti's Birthday:)

Also, I took all the kids with me and was able to show them how the voting process works.

Of all the kids, Luke was quite interested in everything and paid close attention.
He got an A+ for the day!
His reaction to Obama being our next president was a look of devastation since our
candidate did not win but we reassured him that everything will turn out Okay.

Halloween

2008-10-31T22:28:00.000-05:00

I made 2 types of Chili tonight alongside with Jalapeno/Cheese Biscuits.
Perfect Halloween Grub!
We had a good time with a
few other families.

Mitch was Anpanman, a Japanese hero. The Anpanman gives food to the poor and
is kind of equivalent to our Superman.

Briar and her friend, Alexis
The Egyptian and Pirate

Luke's friends, Nicholas, and Mia

Joey and Anpanman

Akiko and I

Dawson checking out his candy...

Dawson eating his candy

Halloween Preview

2008-10-31T08:12:00.000-05:00

See......They do love each other!

Joey's work put on a Trunk or Treat for the kids. What a great idea, especially for the younger kids. A short 5 steps and you're at the next place to say "Trick or Treat!" They like that!

Joey brought our grill and cooked over 200 Hot Dogs.

Dentist check-up

2008-10-29T21:48:00.000-05:00

Briar and Luke had their 6 month check-ups.
No cavities!!!!
Luke's hygienist was awesome as she let him drink from the metal water spiket.
She had to change the water bottle after Luke's visit. It's amazing how much water
a kid can drink when it comes out of something cool. Many bathroom visits followed.

He is getting sealants on tomorrow. Just in time to ward off the Halloween Candy.
Briar was threatened to take better care of her teeth. It worked.
She realized Dad and I were right....did she say that? Heavens No!
But she knew...

God's Ways

2008-10-28T18:44:00.000-05:00

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither your ways my ways, declares the Lord.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my

thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:9

Basically, God knows much more than we can try to comprehend. Why do we sometimes continue to try to figure the big man out? It's human, trying to understand things but we possibly cannot always understand God's ways.

People come to know God in many ways. Most of those ways are through You, other people, your example.
You may have a friend that doesn't know the truth and they are searching.
Let them search through you. Don't feel like you need to TELL them the answers. Let them ASK the questions and be plain curious.
We don't know when God will reveal Himself to a person but He will and can if given the opportunity. I say this because so often people use the moments God shows Himself and Who He says He is and it is interpreted as a "fluke" or "strange occurrence". This is ways He shows Himself but He can't FORCE you into knowing it is from Him .
Sometimes you may really try to share your faith with someone.
They, Sometimes, won't get it.
Sometimes it may be a whole year before they say, "Okay, I think I'm ready to bring Jesus into my life".
Sometimes it happens when you least expect it and
Sometimes you become so grateful that He used a person like yourself to bring hope in someone else's life that will change them forever.

Count Pumpkin

2008-10-26T21:24:00.000-05:00

It being the week of Halloween, it was time to carve the pumpkins!
The ickie, gooeyness of the inner cold core is always fun for young(the kids) and old (me).
Hopefully, the pumpkins should stay intact by Halloween night. I don't know about you, but there have been a few Halloweens where the pumpkins caved in pretty quick. Sadly not able to
make it to the big night to glow for all to see.
I plan to saute the seeds tomorrow in cinnamon and butter. What a lovely combination:)

Luke had the idea of using peppers for fangs and here it is
"Count Pumpkin"

Day trip to Memphis

2008-10-25T17:49:00.001-05:00

Joey will be deploying in a few weeks and his Mom's Birthday was yesterday.
Perfect time to take a road trip to Memphis!
We both agreed that we would not spend the night. It's a 3 1/2 hour trip there and then the trek back. I had actually done that with the kids and without Joey and it wasn't TOO bad.
But of course we started out late and Got home late........try 3a.m. whoops!
We gave in to a home cooked meal of fresh turnip greens and okra for dinner and conversation.
It was the First time Dawson had ever laid eyes on an okra, yet taste one. I am from Michigan and that is not one of our usual side veggie dishes. Dawson liked the Okra, good for him!
Since Joey was driving I left it completely up to him and let him know that HE would be the one driving home. I knew my driving threshold could not last past 10p.m. The Army man in him knew he could Do the drive.... good for him... He did, and made it to the finish line!
We went to the Memphis Zoo while we were there and it was just an amazing Zoo.
We saw the Giant Pandas for the first time. Briar LOVES Pandas so she was very happy as you will see in the pictures to follow.
All the animals there seemed to be so.....happy. Very playful and active..
Don't you hate it when you go to the Zoo and most of the animals are hiding behind a rock or
way back in the FAR LEFT CORNER?
No animals were this time. It was the best day at the Zoo we have ever had!!!
Next time around though.....we are on a schedule!

The Navigator

Up Close and Personal

Briar's dream come true!

Briar and YaYa the Panda

This Giraffe was checking out Luke

The new addition to the Giraffes

Dawson, the photographer

A Happy Day at the Zoo

Pumpkins

2008-10-22T23:23:00.000-05:00

These are the pumpkins each of us picked out.

mine, Cinderella's pumpkin

Dawson's choice

Briar wanted one with a unique look!

Luke loves his huge pumpkin.(as seen pictured here:)

Farmer's Market

2008-10-21T22:04:00.000-05:00

I was able to get to the Farmer's Market in Nashville finally.... I had heard great things of
fresh produce but with the kids in hand it was always a bit more stressful to try and pick out
what you like while trying to keep track of at least one of the kids who decided to explore the area!
Now Dawson stays pretty close, Luke listens..for the most part, and Briar, well, she's just a little lady now so no problems there.
There were so many bright, and beautiful colors! I bought peppers JUST because they were so "pretty". Maybe I'll use them in a recipe?
I tried an Arkansas Apple that I never knew existed so I had to try one. It tasted very close to a sour apple I used to find growing wild. It did not beat out my favorite, Braeburn apples.
The market is open from July to October. I'm glad we were able to make a visit before all the Farmer's go back to their Farms....to Farm, right?
Something very cool though is that some Farms offer is to buy shares with them. You pay a cost to partake in their seasons fruits or vegetables and they have a big barrel for you to pick up each month. Usually May-October. Once you buy tomatoes from a farmer you don't want to buy them at a grocery store.
The kids were able to pick out their OWN pumpkins and we'll share that tomorrow.

My Baseball Player

2008-10-20T23:48:00.000-05:00

Today I did something I love to do.....take pictures! I took pictures of Luke's Baseball Team in different poses. I can't wait to play around with the hues and saturation of the photos. FUN, FUN, FUN. Here is Luke, #9

Bread

2008-10-19T23:48:00.001-05:00

When seafood was the answer for dinner tonight I started baking the bread!
A super simple recipe that does not require HOURS of bread rising. The consistency
was perfect! Here is the recipe:

Pene Bianco

4pkgs. active dry yeast
let dissolve in.......

1 cup warm water
add
1 cup warm milk

5-6 cups of all-purpose flour

1 tbsp. salt

1 tbsp. butter

1 tsp. sugar ( I used 1 splenda packet)

I used my Cuisinart food processor and after mixing all ingredients let it sit there for 20 min.
Took it out and let it rise for 45 minutes in a bowl.
Then you roll it into a rectangle tightly and pinch the sides and middle to seal it.
Put it on your baking stone, cover, and let rise another 30 minutes.
Heat oven to 325, make 3 slashes, 1/4 inch deep. and Bake for 55 minutes. (to the T really!)

Italian cooking
Antonio Cecconi

Hopkinsville

2008-10-18T21:24:00.000-05:00

This morning I went to the freezer to get the kids favorite breakfast, a pancake/sausage
on a stick! And this is what I found:
"One of these things is not like the others..... one of these things doesn't belong".....Sesame Street comes to mind.
Oh! So that's where our phone went.............That, may not work now.

After a few found treasures from Garage Salving after breakfast,
We took a drive out to Hopkinsville, KY.
We had never driven down to the main street of the town and I am always
ready to see a quaint downtown city. It was a beautiful fall day and the little
town was quite deserted.
My favorite part was seeing all the barns along the way.

Pow Wow

2008-10-17T20:45:00.000-05:00

Joey has Fridays off until he deploys so today, with Dawson feeling 100% better, we headed to Nashville for the Annual Pow Wow.
It was in it's beginning stages so we didn't get to see any cool Indian dancing...rats!
That's some fun stuff!
Briar wanted a dream catcher, Luke a gun (such violence), and Dawson a flute.
I felt guilty buying the wooden gun for Luke. I thought it may bring back flash-back
stories to the indians that were there. I couldn't help but think, why are they selling wooden
guns? Why not limit the weapons to bows and arrows? Indians, I thought, were anti-guns.
Just goes to show....anything for a dollar.

Sick

2008-10-16T21:17:00.000-05:00

We have a sick boy in our household today!
I took Dawson to visit our Doctor, and he has
Tonsillitis or strep (boy, thank goodness for spell check. I spelled both of those wrong!)
Not quite sure but it didn't matter, both needed to be
treated with an antibiotic. Instead of gagging Dawson for knowledge sake
the Doctor just treated him. Here is the little guy, still smiling on our way home from the Doctor:

They are such little fighters.

Today is also Joey's Birthday. I lit up some Banana Pudding! It's his favorite so why make a cake for "Birthday cakes" sake?

Friends

2008-10-15T21:17:00.000-05:00

Tonight we celebrated Joey's Birthday at our dear friends Frank and Claudia's home.
His Birthday is really tomorrow but Luke has a Ballgame so having a nice dinner would
not work out.
Claudia is quite the gourmet. Her food always looks and tastes delicious. The presentation, always amazing.
To sum it up she's a Cookbook Collector! Has more cookbooks then anyone I know! How much more gourmet can you get?
She fixed an Artichoke/Spinach dip, Pork with an apple sauce put together with egg noodles, German potatoes and pumpkin cheesecake for dessert.
We first met this great family as our new neighbors in Poppenhausen, Germany 8 years ago.

And now 8 years later they have relocated here at Fort Cambell. We couldn't be happier:)
Here are a few pics. of her creations:

Love U Claudi!!!

Beginning

2008-10-15T09:14:00.000-05:00

This morning I am meeting with a lady, a friend, to talk about my religion, Christianity.
We have decided to meet once a week to talk about God and today will be the first.
As big as the subject is, she was raised in Japan so she knows very little about who this Jesus
person is. Here in America, if you are born here, you know basically what Christianity is or who "Their" God is. So, I need to start at the very beginning. This is the first time I've started at the very beginning. (And I'm getting frustrated because every time I say that the Sound of Music starts going thru my head!)

Okay, it's a good place to start......

There was a video that was shown at our church on Sunday. The video was about a lady basically saying, "I need you to love me and show me what it is that's different about you" "Not to give up on her". Well that's how this lady said she felt sometimes!
I have been friends with her for over one year now and...
"it is time" (i'll try to stop quoting movies)

Sometimes people aren't quite ready for you to tell them more about God or Salvation. There really is a time or season for that to take place and if they are not ready, they won't listen!
It starts with a friendship.
It's important to listen to what people are saying to you.
I know God can do great things in a persons life.
I am grateful for what He is doing in mine and in all the others I see around me.
People need to see a Loving Jesus, not a Judging one.
Basically, show LOVE and Jesus will be seen through that love.
And "the truth shall set you FREE!"
This movie mindset needs to fly out the widow right now!

react

2008-10-13T23:25:00.000-05:00

Tonight our group talked about MANY things. That's what happens when you get a bunch of
girls together!
We are doing a study on the "Lies women believe, and the truth that sets them free".
In the book she talks about how Eve paid the consequences for her choices.
Her problems began within herself.
Every issue that you deal with begins within You.
You decide and then you will act on your decisions.
It's easy to blame others for the way you react or feel towards something but really it is YOU who ultimately make the decision and react on it.
It's EASY to react without thinking.
What's HARD is thinking before you react.
I'll be working on it.

Okay, enough philosophicalness( I know that's not a word)
or giving "the thought for the day". It's really not my forte.
Gotta change the blog up sometimes.

Squash

2008-10-12T23:43:00.000-05:00

Man oh Man, I can't tell you how excited I was to see my first homegrown Vegetable!
I hope the neighbors were'nt too scared off by my excitement because i did let out quite
an excited squeal. Squealing for Squash!(how often can you put Sq words together?)
I have not attempted this until now and honestly this could be a zucchini for all I know.
I thought the kids would get a kick out of watching seeds grow into something so I put
4 rows of seeds in our new garden. Pumpkin, Squash, Zucchini, and Cucumbers. Little did I know what one little seed can DO! It went from doing nothing to showing lovely green foliage and flowers to producing vegetables.
I REALLY get that parable now about planting a seed for people and seeing that seed grow and then produce.
I always was a hands-on learner.
Sometimes you're around and get to see what God does in a person's life but sometmes you won't. Those are the times you plant or show His love and later on down the line they hopefully GROW from other people planting seeds and eventually they will become like BIG squashes!

"He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yield its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers". Psalms 1:3

The need to cool off

2008-10-11T20:44:00.000-05:00

Yes, It's October 11th and in the 80's. I'm not a born and raised Tennessean so this may be normal weather. To me it just doesn't seem like it.
Now, if you're a parent you know you have to find someway to keep the kids busy if YOU want to get something done so here's what we came up with. Dad sprayed Luke and Dawson with the pressure washer from a distance in between rinsing off the car. It was just like a mister. It was a purchase my husband made in the back woods of North Carolina.
"I'll give you this stand-up freezer for that pressure washer....."
"Sounds good Joe" and with a shake and a smile it was a deal.
Multi-Functional tools is the way to go. Makes everyone happy:)
We've used that pressure washer more then that freezer already. Good dealin' Joey!
We had bought this jumpy thing on clearance at Toysrus a couple years ago and so putting the two together you get a lot of crazy wet fun.

Zoo day

2008-10-10T21:56:00.001-05:00

Today we went to the Nashville Zoo. I never thought it would turn out to be such a hot day though. It was in the upper 80's and it's mid October!
Here's some pictures.

apple tip

2008-10-09T08:50:00.001-05:00

Every since I had Luke I always found that once I peeled the apple for them they always wanted to hold this wet ball! And every time it would slip to the ground and I would wash it. So, Next time you peel an apple try corn-on-the-cob holders!

White Shoe Polish

2008-10-07T21:06:00.001-05:00

Today I left the house to get white shoe polish. That was all I needed to get. Little did I know it would turn out to be an ordeal!
First I thought I would save some $ and went to the DollarTree (and I admit, it was too avoid the bigness of Walmart). The Dollar tree had a little three pack of black/brown/and neutral.
Well, the neutral looked white....ish or was it beige. I thought I'd ask the cashier what she thought. She thought it looked white so why not?? It was $1. When I got to the car I opened the package to my unfortunate surprise it was not white but a beige color.
So with Dawson, we continued on to our next arrand to the post office right by Walgreens. "That's where I'll check next". After the post office run we walked on over to Walgreens and the whole 3 rows of shoe polish were GONE. I asked the manager where did the shoe polish go and he replied that they were replacing it all with the new Walgreens brand, W brand. It of course just was'nt in yet. I think WG sounds cooler but I'm not their markerter.
i really just wanted some white shoe polish.
So, the manager advised me to go accross to Freds...that's who... and check there.
As long as I could keep Dawson from wanting everything in each store my patience would be okay, stress levels would be low. We were doing pretty good.
I saw no shoe polish at Fred's so i asked one of their helper people and he said, "You would never have found it so glad you asked". (I guess it's not a top seller) He was right, I would NEVER have found it and as I glanced down the small aisle display cady I saw no white shoe polish! They had every other color though. My brain just didnt' want to accept it and I did not want to go to yet another store for this one item! But........there at the very bottom was ONE BOTTLE of WHITE shoe polish. YES, Thank you Jesus..........and that was it. And it only cost $1.

Meeting

2008-10-06T21:12:00.000-05:00

Tonight was our monthly meeting for the Music City Figure Skating Club.
I was asked to be the Vice President of the Club and accepted just a few months ago.
As many of you know Briar is a pretty advanced Figure Skater so it is keeping me better informed with policies and coach matters.
I am learning about all the "politicalness" of figure skating instead of learning from the outside from a mother's view. It's a good thing.
I never knew just how MUCH it has helped being on past boards. All the approving or disapproving. Second that and adjourning the meeting stuff.
I really am laughing inside when all this is going on because it is so unlike me.
I don't have much of a serious bone in my body. I can get serious if it is something I am defending but all in all I'm just not serious.
I know it eliminates a lot of stress in my life so I think it's probably a good thing.
Yet, it also puts me in bad positions also when others think I should be taking, whatever it is, more seriously.
So seriously, this is why I blog...... it just does'nt always make much sense sometimes.

2008-10-05T22:26:00.001-05:00

After chuch we all went out to yet another park, but this one was on the military base of Fort Campbell. I couldn't help but overhear some of the conversations these women were having. A bit depressing, not that the stories were depressing but the focus that was brought to them and the reactions. Most of these womens husbands were deployed and that alone tells you what kind of life they are in right now. Some of you may not know what it is like and by blogging you will find out soon enough from me.
Life is a bit more stressful, lonely, and down right emotional. Does that mean our conversations should just add to all these added emotions to only make matters worse? I mean, I have tons of sympathy for these women right now. I'll be in their shoes very soon but it's amazing what power is in negativity. It may be more "Exciting"??? to talk negative....... I don't get it.
I just wanted to pull them all together and talk Positively to each of them! I smiled but usually that just brought a smirk to their face.
I had to go. I wanted to go. It was like being in a huge room with very unhappy women.
I just so badly wanted them to think Positive and not on the Negative.

I'll have my days as well but today is'nt one of them.