Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Bleck...The Stomach Bug!


Ewww.  What a week it has been!!  I don't want you to think I hopped in my car and drove to California for the week.  No, I have been submerged under my covers for almost a week and a half trying to beat down this horrendous stomach bug!  It was awful! 

But, I feel like the sunshine is coming back out, and I'm feeling whole again.  However, it did make me ponder about my health.  I thought, from deep beneath my down comforter, what if I felt this crummy every day?  It would be hard for me to get past the blahs and get motivated to do anything.  Perhaps that is where mind over matter would kick in?  But, would it?  I hope so. 

Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be. -Honest Abe Lincoln

Now that I'm feeling better, I have a lot to catch you up on in the life of the Curlee Hairs!  I'll post more throughout the coming days!  Hope you and yours have been well...we'll chat again soon!

Friday, September 17, 2010

How the Heart Swells!


Okay.  So, I've told you how he scares all of us.  The Wild Hair.  He runs our house and tells us all what to do.  None of us really ever wants to take him on.  He is scary and sweet all rolled into one, though. 

The other day, he told my mother that his mama and daddy were going to hell.  Yesterday, he told the Straight Hair he was fired.  From what?  I have not a single idea!!  Today, he very loudly declared he was NOT going to college!

He unfortunately/fortunately is told way too much by his older brothers.  He knows more than he should about this precious world around him.  He can name all of the Power Rangers, yet also loves to curl up at the foot of my bed in a soft blanket and watch Calliou.  He wants to play flag-football like "his boys", but wouldn't dare consider going to bed without his soft, lovable pet, Lambie. 
He's just not sure where he fits into this world of his. 

His older brothers had convinced him that he was going to have to go away to college for four years and never see his mama.  He was crestfallen.  He obsessed over it.  Then, he declared to The Committee,
"I'm not going to college!  I'm not leaving my mama!" 

He scares me...yet, he owns my heart with words like these.  My heart swells with emotion when I see how clearly he loves us.  Oh, how I wish we all could love this emotionally and openly to everyone around us.  I wish my heart could swell over and over again each day with raw love! 
What a world that would be!

Friday, September 10, 2010

Whew! What a week!

{The Wild Hair - During a dinner we had with a house full of The Committee's old fraternity brothers
...it's hard to be a party animal!} 


Well, having four children has finally caught up with me.  I have been thinking it was easy, breezy.  And, it kinda is.  But, I have had a week that has shown me that it can also be busy, tricky, tiring, fun, and exasperating. 

The Committee had a group of friends from back in the fraternity days come over for dinner last night.  The two older boys are in full swing in big school.  The two little boys have completed their first full week of mother's day out.  I've been trying to thin out closets, work out on a regular basis, cook healthier meals, and finish a fun book.  Whew!

I read trashy books.  I can admit it.  I don't read anything too educational or too heavy, for I don't have that many brain cells to lend to someone else.  So, I read contemporary literature (chik-lit, if you will), and I love it!  I am pretty sure that I have even spotted Fabio on a few covers of the books on my Kindle. 

In this week's book, one of the characters was detailing her fairy tale life.  She wanted to live in the suburbs...I do.  She wanted to be married to her best friend...I am.  She wanted to have four children...that's me.  She wanted to be able to get together with her best friends on a regular basis and laugh...I live for these nights.  It was so odd as I read this book to see that her dream was my life.  It is easy to get bogged down in life and think that things are so rough.  But, then one day someone spells out your life as their dream.  You look around as though they might be crazy, but you know what, we are all blessed in so many ways.  We just have take the time to see it. 

Count your blessings. Once you realize how valuable you are and how much you have going for you, the smiles will return, the sun will break out, the music will play, and you will finally be able to move forward in the life that God intended for you with grace, strength, courage, and confidence.  ~Og Mandino

Throughout the whole week, I couldn't stop smiling.  You see, I may be busy, but I don't really have that much to worry about.  I have friends that have to be at work at a certain time; not me.  I have friends that have marital problems; not me.  I have friends that have very sick children; not me.  I really only have to get my kids to and from school on time, clean my house, and love on my sweet husband.  But, as my mother tells me, everything is fine "for right now".  We aren't ever sure what tomorrow will hold.  This is true.  So, today I will be thankful for all that I have "for right now" and let tomorrow bring what it may! 

May your days be many and your troubles be few.
May all God's blessings descend upon you.
May peace be within you, may your heart be strong.
May you find what you're seeking wherever you roam.
Irish Blessing

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Good Morning, Kirk and friends!

What a great day today is!!  To me, today is the first day of fall!  You see, I'm waking up to see Kirk Herbstreit on ESPN's College Gameday this morning. 

When I first met The Committee, I had no idea that Gameday was a show, much less a ritual for this man.  Every Saturday morning in NCAA football season, from the first football season we were married, we've watched Gameday.  It was playing in the background as we vacuumed to get our first apartment ready to have friends come over and watch the UT/Florida game in 1998.  We sat on the couch to watch the latest football news in our very first home while we watched our new puppy play outside.  On the day the Straight Hair was born, we were coming out of surgery and into our hospital room just in time to catch Gameday and watch the UT/Georgia game.  We now watch it with our older boys and talk about the day's big games as they try to weasel away to go jump on the trampoline. 

It is a sign to me that cooler weather, changing leaves, two Curlee boys' birthdays, and cold beverages are in our future.  It feels good to know this each year.  It is a time that I can mark the changes in my family.  It makes me feel comfortable and content.  It feels great to sit by my husband and watch his favorite thing...UT VOLS football.  It puts the balance back into our life after a crazy summer filled with tons of activities. 

Bring it on Gameday!  We're ready for you and your posterboy, Kirk!!

One a side note, Neyland Stadium has recently undergone some renovations.  So proud of them and had to share...V-O-L-S...Go, VOLS, go!

Friday, September 3, 2010

The Feel of Love


"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around."
~Leo F. Buscaglia

Why can't we be more like the flowers of the field? Gently blowing and rubbing upon one another throughout each day.  Instead, we sometimes turn ourselves off to a loving touch, pat on the back, warm hug, and light kiss.  Why do we put up barriers?

I think of Linus in the Peanuts comic strip..he said something like this, "I love mankind! It's the people I can't stand!" Generally, it is easy to love the people I chose...my husband, my children, my closest friends. Other times, it is not easy...it can feel like a burden. Without a second thought, we shut the door without a look back. 

And, what about the people that have been placed in our lives?  How do we treat them?  Our family...our root system that ties us to this world.  There are times, when we take our mothers, our fathers, our sisters and brothers for granted.  Not thinking twice about how much love we have in our heart for these precious souls. What does this say about who we are and who we follow?
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Boy, is that Bible quote familiar!  It takes me back to my own wedding day, June 13, 1998.  There aren't many weddings that I've been to that I haven't heard how love is patient and kind. But, is it??  Take a moment...think about the last time you lost your temper...who did you fuss at??  Was it someone you love?  I know it was for me.  So, really how patient and kind is my love? 
 
Some people feel of the soft feathers of my down comforter.  Always willing to embrace me just as I would wrap this warm blanket about me on a dark, dreary winter morning.  Yet, we all know those people that are made to feel like sandpaper, gritty and abrasive on the outside.  These differences vary greatly throughout our world form one person to another.  While we think we always know what to expect on the outside when we encounter our neighbor, our friend, our child's teacher, our members of our family, we don't always know about what these people are facing on the inside.

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.
~Plato

Each person is carrying their own burdens in this world.  When I was a teacher, I had to remind myself daily that I was not aware of the environment that my students were leaving each morning.  What might appear one way on the outside was not always the case.  Therefore, through love and kindness, I could give my boys and girls a soft place to fall.  They could expect kindness from me each day.  It was my job to follow through with the delivery of love.

I reminded myself that a singular touch or kind word can make all the difference to someone at the bottom of the valley.  Even though some days are bad hair days, every day can be a day of giving from the heart. The gifts that I share do not have to be monumental, the smallest act of caring will do.  Rarely do any of us come out of the valley of despair and travel to the peak of success all alone. There is generally someone that has helped to guide us along this path to prosperity.

All four of my children have been delivered by cesarean sections. With each surgery, I am more and more aware that something could go wrong. This last February, I was unable to mentally be a part of my son's delivery because I was steeped in prayer during the entire procedure. It was a simple touch on the forehead from my husband that nudged me back to be able to focus upon the monumental moment in the life of our family. This gentle stroke was a true gift to me in a time of great blackness.

How many times do I walk past the stressed mother in Publix to reach for my own groceries without a smile to share?  For, I know what it is like to have a child throw a tantrum at the end of a long day.  Why do I complain about my children to someone who is having a hard time with her own fertility?  I don't take the time to think about how her heart is aching for one day with a child of her own. 

Today marks a day when I will think of that golden rule...treating another as I would like to be treated.  Today, my love for another will bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, and endure all things.  What about you?  Can you do the same??

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

The Big 4-oh!!

Today's post is in honor of my brother...he's an old, old man today!!  He's turning the big four-oh!  Here's to you Nathan!!  You've worked so hard to make your dreams come true.  I hope you have a great day and year...I love you!!


I'm fortunate, and I'm glad
I got you for my brother;

Even if I had the chance,
I wouldn't pick another.

Instead of counting candles,
Or tallying the years,

Contemplate your blessings now,
As your birthday nears.

Consider special people
Who love you, and who care,

And others who’ve enriched your life
Just by being there.

Think about the memories
Passing years can never mar,

Experiences great and small
That have made you who you are.

Another year is a happy gift,
So cut your cake, and say,

"Instead of counting birthdays,
I count blessings every day!"

I'm happy you're in my life;
You're my winner, come what may.

May your birthday wishes come true
On your very special day.