Time Flies

Doesn't it, though? The kids and I moved to our new digs a year ago. Technically, thirteen months ago. Believe me, I've had a hard time adjusting, which is funny because I thought I'd take to it like a duck to water, and that my kids would be the ones with the difficulty adjusting. Who knew they'd take to it like ducks to water? I guess I knew that. It is, after all, how I've brought them up - to roll with the punches, so to speak. And roll they did! They used those so-called "punches" (which weren't really punches at all) to their advantage. They've blossomed into pretty fascinating people.

Kailey is driving. On a permit, mind you, but driving. I have new grey hairs to prove it. Tim is now taller than Kailey (she's 5'2"). Kenzie is nearly as tall as Kailey. Needless to say, Kailey feels cheated in the height department. Small, but mighty, I tell her. She's an oboe whiz. Seriously. And flute and saxophone, too. That girl's talent will earn her college scholarships in music. Thank goodness that's what she wants to do. Her wit is sharper than ever, and I love talking to her. Tim will be thirteen at the beginning of August. He's up to my nose now. He's a trumpet whiz. Unfortunately, trumpet-whiz-types are pretty much a dime a dozen, so scholarships are harder to come by. He's seriously contemplating keeping the trumpet as his jazz and marching bands instrument, and learning the bassoon for the scholarship money. Only in 7th grade, he's going to start lessons this fall for trumpet with a professional trumpet instructor. I'm pretty pleased about that. Kenzie begins her French horn trek this fall. A good French horn player can get good scholarship money as well. (Parents, have you noticed a theme here? If your kid has any musical inclination AT ALL, and you are trying to figure out how to get enough dough for tuition, seriously consider having them play an instrument. I'm pinning down all the details, so by the time I get Kailey in college, I should be an expert). Anyway, Kenzie is my shadow, and I can see in her the potential to be and do many things. I like how her world, and Kailey and Tim's worlds, are blank pages, waiting to be filled. It's my job to guide them as best I can.

They all made friends relatively quickly after our move. I credit getting involved in church immediately. If you ever find yourself uprooting from all you've known and settling down in a new place, that's the way to start... getting involved in a church family. All three kids have hit their stride, and I am so glad for that. It's a blessing.

I'm still working on my stride. I keep thinking of the old adage, "You can't teach an old dog new tricks." I'm not sure I quite buy that, but there is some truth to it. If you're going to try it, then I recommend the following:

1) Have someone there who will hold you up when you just can't do it on your own. There will be days like that, but they'll pass more quickly with a hand-holder.

2) Pray. A lot. When everything around you changes, there is one aspect that remains constant, and that's the Lord. He's always there, always knows what to do, and never lets you down. And He waits on you to wise up and seek Him out. I've learned to seek Him out first, then somehow my hand-holder, Ron, is there giving me the support I need.

3) Get involved in church, as I mentioned above. It truly is the best way to meet the kind of people who will be beneficial in your spiritual walk, and who will be there when you need them.

4) Don't wait on potential friends to seek you out. Seek them out! Be outgoing! No one has to know you're shy, and it's a good way to overcome shyness. Believe it or not, I'm shy. Sure, I'm loud, boisterous, funny, life of the party, etc., but I do not make friends easily. I'm still working on that. When asked to go to dinner or whatever with friends, Ron usually has to kick my bootie out the door. Not because I don't necessarily want to go, but because I tend to be a dyed-in-the-wool homebody.

5) Keep in touch with friends who are far away. This is hard to do most of the time because everyone is so busy with kids and work and church and life. It takes a lot of effort, and I'm probably pretty bad about it. Just because my friends don't always hear from me, doesn't mean I'm not thinking of or praying for them.

6) Keep a blog. Easier said than done. When was my last post? I don't remember, and would have to look, but I think it was in the winter, and it was a recipe I posted. I often think of topics I'd like to blog about, then forget about them when I finally have time to blog. I should keep a list somewhere.

7) Be thankful for wherever you are, and whatever God has you doing, even if it's not a whole lot. Right now, I'm not doing a whole lot because most of my time is spent on kids' stuff and then work (during the school year). Church praise team is my thing, and I cherish the times I'm scheduled. For now, I think that's all God wants me doing while I'm still settling in (I also like to think of it as getting my sea legs).

Speaking of sea legs, just got back from our honeymoon. I'll blog about that later, after I've had the chance to upload pictures and contemplate all I thought about while my toes were in the sand and surf, with my best friend by my side. Those are my musings for today. Perhaps I'll come up with some interesting stuff later, but that's all I got for now.

New Recipe (for me)

Those who know me well, know I love trying new recipes. I love sharing the new recipes when I think they're worth everyone trying, so here goes. This is not the original recipe, as I had to tweak it to work for my 6-person family. You will have leftovers, more than likely.

Meatball Stew (for the Crock Pot)

4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 package (16 ounces) fresh baby carrots, cut up

1 large onion, chopped

3 celery ribs, sliced

1 package (32 ounces) frozen fully cooked meatballs (homestyle or original, not Italian)

1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed tomato soup, undiluted

2 packages brown gravy mix, prepared as directed and combined

1 cup water

1 envelope onion soup mix

Place the potatoes, carrots, onion, celery and meatballs in a crock pot. Mix remaining ingredients in a bowl, and pour over meatball mixture. Cover and cook on low for 9-10 hours or until the vegetables are done.

Not many in my family like celery, so I left that out. Green beans would also be good in this stew. Upon eating the stew, Ron and I agreed that green pepper chunks would be excellent in this recipe, so I'll give that a try next time. I bought some fancy bread at Panera to go with the stew, and that was just perfect. If you try it, let me know how you liked it!

Second Time Around

It's been quite a while since I last blogged. I've been rather. . . . busy. My friend, Alana, suggested that I should start blogging again, and that I'd have a lot to blog about considering all the events in the last year.

A year ago on New Year's Eve, Ron and I were married. 'Twas wonderful, and still is. Of course, true married life didn't really kick in until the kids and I moved to JC six months after the wedding. Here we are, nearly seven months after moving, and I can honestly say, married life is grand. Oh, don't get me wrong, it's not all sunshine and roses (we do still own the house in Branson - it's not sold). We have four children, all busy with their activities, our jobs, church, unpacking boxes (yes, still). Then there's the whole getting used to living with each other. For years, I've been accustomed to being the sole adult in a house with three children. Now, I've got back up, and four wonderful blessings running around.

I'd forgotten what it was like to have someone to back me up. Someone to bolster me when I wasn't quite sure what to do next. Someone who loves me in spite of what I look like when I awake (it's not always pretty, especially when I'm sick with a cold). He's very gracious and kind, and he still makes me giggle and blush. Nice to know I can still do that at nearly 43 years of age. Anyway, I can't tell you what it means to me to finally have a traditional family again. I can't tell you the difference it's made in my children. They've always been good, but now they're beyond good. They're relaxed. I'm not sure if that makes sense to anyone but me.

Something else about the second time around: I know what to expect in marriage, and what my role is. I don't think anyone really clearly outlines that for the bride and groom who are brand new to marriage. It's a serious thing, and I don't think people take marriage all that seriously any more (just look at the tabloids). I'm so glad that Ron and I take it seriously. We've both had marriages fail, so we have a greater appreciation and reverence for our marriage. There's no taking the marriage or our spouse for granted this time around because we both know how fragile things can get. We both know the nurturing that has to be done so that the marriage will thrive and prosper. I'm so very thankful for him, every single day. Thankful for the God-fearing man that he is; a man whose heart was so loving and big that he could love three children who aren't his biologically, but whom he treats as if they are; a man who overlooks my faults and sees me as God sees me, and loves me in spite of myself.

So things are transitioning well. A huge burden will be lifted from both our shoulders once the Branson house sells, and then I'll feel like we can really get on with things. It's that one dark cloud on an otherwise sunshiny day, but like all clouds, they do pass on by. Luckily, it's just a cloud and not a storm, although if it were a storm, I have quite the wonderful fella with whom to weather it.

Things I'll Miss About B-Town

These are in no particular order.

All the restaurants!

The Imax. Gotta love those seats AND being able to eat a sub or a pizza or ice cream while watching the movie.

Seeing Yakov at K-Mart.

Seeing a random Osmond shopping at Walgreens.

Seeing Jim Bakker's wife at the dentist (that just happened today).

I'll miss my dentist. This is very true. For those of you who don't know, I enjoy going to the dentist. Not quite to the extent that Bill Murray liked going to the dentist in "Little Shop of Horrors," but I like having healthy teeth and gums. My children also don't mind going to the dentist. So, Dr. Q, I will miss you and all the work you do for me. You should have quite the nice family vacation this year, thanks to me.

I'll miss working for the school. While the work is stressful and sometimes emotionally taxing, summers off made it ALL worth it. I hope to get a job at JC-ville's school district.

Godfather's Pizza. Okay, so it's not in B-town, but it's within driving distance.

Living close to family.

All the friends I made here.

The friends my children have made.

My neighbors. Really, they're worth buying my house, just to have them next door.

My church family. When I say family, I mean that. I've been in churches since I was 7 years old. I've never seen a church pull together like this one does. I've never seen a church with the bold outreach this one has. And I've never seen a church go through so much adversity, eyes focused on the Lord, and make it through like this one has.

Playing piano at church. There was a time I would have laughed if someone told me I'd miss driving the piano on Sunday mornings. Perhaps I'll play piano at my next church, if I'm needed. Perhaps God has other things lined up for me. I guess we'll see.

Traffic. I know, crazy, right? If you live here long enough, you become so accustomed to it that it's startling when it's not around.

Silver Dollar City

Dixie Stampede

Maggie Moos

Andy's Frozen Custard. Okay so there's one at The Lake, but that's different than having it less than 10 minutes away.

The trails near the dam. I go there for solace.

My buddy, Kim, and the excellent job she does on my nails. Perhaps I can get her to meet me half-way every three weeks or so.

My hair stylist.

The shopping, even though I'm not big on shopping. It's just nice to know it's there.

The scenery.

Elvis impersonators shopping at the grocery store.

Well, that's all I can think of for now. One of these days, I'll blog about things I'm looking forward to in JC-ville.

Random Thoughts from the 70s

I've been reading some of my old blog posts to see if I think any differently than I used to. I have found I'm pretty much the same. This is good. I think. Anyway, back in 2008, I did some "Random Thoughts" blogs, and thought I'd do another one from my memories of the 70s. Here we go.

Candy necklaces, purchased for a dime.

Candy bracelets, purchased for a nickel.

Bubble gum cigarettes with powdered sugar inside the paper to give you that "this isn't a bubblegum cigarette; I'm really smoking" look.

Vinnie Barbarino and Horshack. Mista Kah-terre!!!

Being 8 years old, and my parents dropping me off at the skating rink for 3 hours of skating. They did not stay to watch me. I was perfectly safe there, and no one ever thought twice about leaving their little kids there. Can't do that sort of thing any more.

Big Chief pads of paper, and those really fat, tall pencils. I always had to have red.

Oh! And those fat crayons!

Malibu Barbie. That's when Barbie still had straight arms. Toward the 80s, her arms were bent at a 90-degree angle. FYI, Superstar Barbie was the first to do that.

My Tuesday Taylor doll. She came with a blue bathing suit, a white skirt, and sunglasses. You could lay her in the sun, and she would tan. She'd even develop tan lines! And she had two-tone hair with a twisty scalp. Flip it this way, she's a brunette. Flip it around the other way, she's a blonde. Best doll ever.

The Crissy doll. You could make her hair grow by pulling it out of a hole in her head. You could make it shorter by twisting a knob on her back. My mother wouldn't buy me one. I still want one to this day.

My Mrs. Beasley Doll. I had two. True story. In case you don't know, Mrs. Beasley was a doll featured on the show "Family Affair." Blue dress with white polka dots, yellow hair and shoes, black retangle-rimmed glasses. Pull her string, and she had all sorts of sayings. We had this mean Collie named Sam. This dog didn't like me, nor did he like Mrs. Beasley. One day, he got to her, and chewed her mid-section to bits. I had the flu that day, was pretty ill, and had to go to the doctor. I wouldn't let the doctor examine me until he could prove that he could fix Mrs. Beasley. (I generally don't like doctors, which is really ironic, isn't it? heh). So fix her, he did. He taped her up, put a bandage on her head, and she was as good as she would ever get again. She didn't talk anymore, though. So, I let him examine me, and I was better in a few days. That Dr. Hite sure knew his doll medicine. Anyway, my parents were so moved by my concern for my Mrs. Beasley that they bought me a new one. I kept them both for many, many years, until my parents' house flooded in 1990, and they were destroyed. Again, I'd love to have one of those dolls.

Okay, I think that's enough for now. Obviously, I was a wee girl back then, as most of my references are about dolls. Perhaps I'll think a bit more on the 70s topic, and blog more later. Feel free to share any of your thoughts from back then, if you're old enough to have any, that is. ;-)

Double Digits

It's a big deal when a child finally hits those "double digit" birthdays. My youngest turned 10 today. It's hard for me to believe. Life was so completely different 10 years ago. Life is so completely different now. If you'd asked me 10 years ago what I'd be doing in 10 years, I would have said something completely different than what I'm actually doing. While the last 10 years has gone by relatively quickly, there were times during the ten years that seemed to drag on for an eternity. Those of you who know me know of what times I speak. Those were shaping times for me. Those were times God used to get me to where I am now. It was rough getting here, but I'm glad to be here. Oh, the blessings that God bestowed in the last 10 years. It thrills my heart to think of the ones He'll bestow in the next 10 years.

Ten years from now, I will more than likely be living in a somewhat empty nest with my beloved, Ron. Our children will be in college and/or embarking on whatever career path they choose. Kailey will be 24. Jake, 23. Tim, 21. Kenzie, 20. Grandparenthood might even be looming on the horizon by then. Hopefully, no matter what we're doing or where we are, we'll be serving God on this journey.

So, my dear Kenzie. . . Happy double digits! And may the next 10 years of your journey be very blessed!

Only in B-Town

Or maybe not only in B-Town, but it seems I see it all here. Anyway, last Friday, I'm at Wal-Mart, stocking up on a few things (only 20, as I was in the 20 items or less lane) for the weekend. I usually don't pay much attention to people around me in Wal-Mart, or any store for that matter. I typically have my list, and want to get in and out of the store as quickly and painlessly as possible. Today, however, I spent a lot of time in that check-out line, behind 3 other customers, also stocking up for the weekend.

For some reason unknown to me, as the customer in front of me finally got to put her purchase on the counter, I took notice of her purchase. Two items. It was all I could do to contain my laughter, and remain composed. I had to turn away, which was a bit of a mistake, because my 14-year-old (yes, she's already 14, can you believe it?), looked at me and mouthed "what's wrong, Mom?" I just shook my head. If I told her, she wouldn't be able to contain her laughter either. I couldn't resist. I had to tell her. It was too good to keep to myself. What's the likelihood that a person would be buying those two particular items, and only those items?? So, I motioned with my eyes, and mouthed "look at what that woman is buying." My daughter looked. She knew not to laugh aloud, so she, too, turned around, looking at the magazines, shoulders shaking with laughter. We both, by some sort of divine assistance, were able to keep from laughing aloud until after we got to the parking lot. Now that's some control, yes? Perhaps you won't find it as funny as we did, when you discover what that woman was stocking up on that day in Wal-Mart, but I'm still finding it difficult not to laugh as I write this. And what were the two items she purchased?

A 10-pack of frozen burritos, and a 24-roll pack of toilet paper.