Playing Hookie

Some days, we just need a break.  At our house, today is that day.  Mama needs to just sit still and let the world spin without any input from me.  So, today is a day of hookie.  A day when pajamas may not ever change into a nice pair of pants and top for errand running.  The shoes of choice will be slippers.  The Curlee Hairs that are home will definitely roll around with rat's nests.  Not much is expected except for a day of rest. 

I had big plans today.  Lots of chores to be done around town.  A Bible study to attend.  A mother's day out where I should have dropped off two little tots.  But, not today.  The agenda has changed.  Today is a day of ease and comfort.  All the rest can wait until tomorrow.  Hope you can fit in some rest for your soul soon, too!

Sometimes the most important thing in a whole day is

the rest we take between two deep breaths,

or the turning inwards in prayer for five short minutes.

~Etty Hillesum

Hey Bama...How does your Tide Roll?

Harvey Almorn Updyke, 62, of Dadeville, has been charged with criminal mischief. WTVM-TV attributed the news of the arrest to a source at the Lee County Justice Center.

Bond for Updyke was set at $50,000.

A University of Alabama fan admitted to using an herbicide applied in lethal amounts to kill the Toomer's Corner oaks at Auburn University in an escalation of the schools' football rivalry.

We all want to leave a legacy.  None of us want to move on from this world and be forgotten.  We are hopeful that at least one person will think of us years from now with some fondness.  Don't we? 

Well, I guess you can say one Alabama fan is likely not to be forgotten anytime soon.  "What's up with that?", as my 8-year old would say.  I mean, come on buddy, get a grip.  I understand being a die-hard fan...I'm married to one.  I get the idea of pulling for your team no matter what.  I understand that football in the SEC is a religion.  I'm not the biggest football fan, but I get it.  Really, I do!

But, I don't get the idea of poisoning a couple of beloved trees to make a statement.  I just don't.  And at 62 years old?  There is a time and a place for pulling for your team.  Surely, during this whole process of getting the chemicals, priming the syringes, and injecting the trees, there was a moment when Mr. Updyke had to hear a little voice inside of his head that said, "This might not be the best idea?"  I think 99.9% of America can agree on this. 

So, tomorrow afternoon as all the orange and blue tree-huggers come out to Toomer's Corner, I say, get your hug on!  The VOL fans in our home support you and shake our heads about this one.   And to my brother-in-law that pulls for the Tide...you may want to take a step back from this one, buddy! :)

War Eagle!

Auburn coach Gene Chizik, left, greets Alabama coach Nick Saban after the schools played in 2009.

CAPTION

By Dave Martin, AP

Nick Saban and Gene Chizik released a joint statement Friday addressing the situation. From USATODAY

"This is an isolated incident by one individual that is not representative of what the greatest rivalry in college football is all about," the statement read. "The players and coaches at both schools have a tremendous amount of respect for each other on and off the field, and we encourage our fans to show that same amount of respect now and in the future. We will move beyond this regrettable incident and continue to enjoy this great rivalry."

It All Just Feels Good

This mommy is happy today!  There are so many things going well, that it is hard not to smile.  Here's my list of blessings and thing I am beyond thankful for...

The Sunny Weather ~ Oh, how happy I am to see the sun shining brightly outside today.  I heard it is supposed to get warmer each day this week.  Pure bliss for me and my boys.

Valentine's Day and School Parties ~ My older two boys went to school today loaded down with bags.  We didn't have a full day of school at all last week, so I felt like maybe today was the first day of school.  The boys completed their cards, boxes, picked out presents for the teachers, and we sent in goodies for their parties.  It just feels good to help out and be organized...I know the boys feel good about it too!

Our playground ~ Since moving here, we have been talking with the boys about getting a playground.  Whew!  Those things are expensive and each one has tons of bells and whistles to examine.  But, we have decided to shop around as a family to find the perfect fit.  I think the boys are really excited about looking around for their new toy.  Hopefully, we can teach them about money management along the way!

Our New Year's Resolutions ~ I am a HUGE fan of good food.  I love to munch my way through the day.  After four babies, I have gone a little soft around the middle.  So, the hubs and I decided (for one of our NYE resolutions) to cut out all things white in our diet until bathing suit season comes around again.  This means no sugars and starches.  Basically, we don't eat anything that has over 5 grams of carbs in it.  Wow...do you know how much this eliminates?  We do, and we feel great about it!!  I'm not just saying that to try to stay positive.  Really, I love it.  I feel great because most things that go into my body these days is grown and not processed.  This, my friends, has been much easier than keeping my nose out of other people's business...definitely still working hard to stick with that one!

So, as Mr. Rogers used to say...It's a great day in the neighborhood!  We are feeling good today and can't wait to get a piece of this day to call our own!

Hope your day is great too...tell me about all the blessings you have going on in your own corner of the world :)

Every now and then,
when the world sits just right,
a gentle breath of heaven
fills my soul with delight...
~Hazelmarie ‘Mattie’ Elliott,

A Breath of Heaven

Tomorrow's Newspaper...

Tomorrow's newspaper headline reads...

On snow day #13, sweet, young, kind, beautiful mother leaves four boys at home with their daddy to flee to warm beach vowing not to return until late spring.

Don't blame me if the newspaper took some liberties describing the mother :)

Many thanks...

"No one has ever thanked their in-laws on public television. I had friends coming up to me, in the middle of the ceremony after my speech saying, 'You realize you ruined it for all of us.'"
– SAG Award winner Julianna Margulies, who thanked her husband's parents for producing "a superior person" during her acceptance speech, on Ellen

So, the long story short is that Julianna Marguilies told her in-laws how thankful she was that they played a major role in making a great son for her to marry.  This made me giggle.  While it is quite nice to say these thoughts, and moreover sharing it with the national viewing audience, it really is a sentiment we all feel.  Right? 

I mean, who wants to say of all the a-okay guys, I chose the least superior.  I met this guy that was -meh, a-okay, nothing special, really quite ordinary- and I chose him.  I want to marry him, promise to be his partner for life, and maybe even make a family with him. 

Noooo!  None of us thought that, did we?  No.  We thought we had chosen the most superior person for us.  Just thought I'd share the little chuckle I got when I saw this. 

By the way, many thanks to my in-laws for creating a "far superior" person for me to choose!

Life in the Bubble

As I was passing the Tiniest Hair over the side of his playpen today, I thought to myself I wish life was like living in the pen for a while.  How easy it would be to spend our time surrounded by four padded sides, amongst toys of our liking, with hands of a parent always close.  My fears would be eased.  My worries would be met.  My choices would be small.

But it isn't like that, is it?  We have choices that are broad.  We have fears that are great.  We have worries that are unceasing.  But, isn't that what living is all about?  If we aren't feeling all of these pressures, we aren't really living at all.  It is in this middle area, above the roots and below the clouds, that we dwell among all of the messiness of life. 

Eve found this out too quickly in the Garden.  She chose the darkness, when she was given the option of free will.  All of us have chosen the darkness at one time or another.  If we had never left the playpen, there would not have been the darkness near us to choose.  The bubble could not have been penetrated. 

Again, it isn't like that, is it?  We have the choices all around us.  That's where the character comes into play.  That's where the worries take root.  That's where our fears grow deep.  The choices lie along our journey.  The choices are ours to make.  

 

"To live is to choose.

But to choose well,

you must know who you are

and what you stand for,

where you want to go and

why you want to get there." — Kofi Annan

We can choose the darkness or the path that is made of the light.  We can choose to come out of the darkness and live for the light.  The light can be ours to take each morning, never to look back into the darkness.  For the darkness can be nothing but a memory ~ A wayward dream that made us who we are, but not a definition of our whole person.

  

The lyrics below hold a chorus that seems to strike me at my core...

"Take this sinking boat and point it home
We've still got time
Raise your hopeful voice you have a choice
You've made it now"

That's just it.  We've still got time to take this sinking boat and point it home.  It only takes a moment to choose.  It can be made here in the middle of our life.  Or, I suppose, it can be made in the fleeting moments before our death.  We can turn our lives toward a beacon of light that will set us in the right.  Once this choice has been made, we know what we stand for, and we just need to head where we want to go and never forget why we want to go there. 

{Falling Slowly  artist: Glen Hansard}