Money

Why is it that money is such a sore spot in marriage? Why is it so hard to get on the same page? I know it is possible. I know people do. But why does it have to be so hard for so many? It seems like some people think that they are on the same page but really that just means one of them doesn't give a crap or isn't making any effort to really know what is going on. Only one person is really involved/invested in the finances of the house. Why is the bliss of ignorance so appealing? I guess that is just the control freak in me talking. I have been reading through The Total Money Makeover and although we don't need a TOTAL money makeover reading this has lead to some seriously interesting discussions as of late. Also, some realizations about our personalities and how we feel about our roles in our marriage.

Ahh, money. I recently said that money is exhausting/life-sucking for me and my husband asked if it would help if he made more...I said no. Then he asked if it would help if he made less...I said no. I don't really know what the answer is. All I know is that we need to figure it out. But as we are addressing this issue I am learning that we aren't the only ones and a lot of marriages walk around with this dirty little secret of money disagreements.

Reality Check

"And so like runaway slaves, we either flee our own reality or manufacture a false self which is mostly admirable, mildly prepossessing, and superficially happy. We hide what we know or feel ourselves to be (which we assume to be unacceptable and unlovable) behind some kind of appearance which we hope will be more pleasing. We hide behind pretty faces which we put on for the benefit of our public. And in time we may even come to forget that we are hiding, and think that our assumed pretty face is what we really look like."

Simon Tugwell-The Beatitudes

I got a burb!

As some of you know I have been impatiently awaiting the day when I would be a real adult and have my own car...the day has come. We purchased a 1999 Suburban. And now I can have like 3 more kids and still not have to get a new car! Although, I don't get to drive it just yet becuase it is going to the mechanic this week to make sure it is in top running order for our big trip to Yellowstone is 8 days!

I got a burb, I got a burb, I got a burb, hey, hey, hey, hey!

Lucy and Jack

Here are some recent shots of the Lucy and her lucious curls. Also, this little vest was HANDMADE by my talented friend Jess.

On a related note.

My friend Kathy W. has a mom and dad that have all the things to be self-sufficient and every year they kill off their cute little chickens to eat them...I have had the priviledge of enjoying one of these and they are delicious. So, when Kathy mentioned that she would be going to kill chickens and did anyone want to help (totally joking, of course) I said yes if I could get paid in chickens. Or at least get 1 or 2 for helping. And they said I could! So this July I will be killing chickens so that I may have a couple to feed my family safe, healthy, happy chickens. I'll let you know how it goes. I'm sure I will become a vegetarian afterward; not that Food, Inc. didn't push me that way already.

Oh...boy...

Well, it was an interesting day for me. I learned some very...let's say...enlightening things today. The first is that Google keeps a detailed record of all the things you google. It is specific to you and they keep a running list. Also, all those annoying pop-ups aren't random; they are chosen from the words in your emails from your gmail account. So, if you are looking for a car; like us, you will probably have car ads; like us! And the kicker on this little nugget is that the owner of Google in a tv interview said he would give these lists to the government anytime they wanted them. Just an FYI.

So if you don't want to do that you can go through this international search engine called www.startpage.com

The second and depending on where you are in your life even scarier thing I learned today was from the film/documentary Food, Inc. and I will say a couple of things. If you like your ignorant and thus blissful state of living and food consumption that do not watch this. It will change the way you are able to eat and shop for the rest of your life. It will scare you and gross you out. But mostly I hope it motivates you to really examine the food you eat and think about where it comes from and if it is really as healthy for you as you think it is.

If you aren't going to watch it then I give these suggestions: drink milk that says it is free of antibiotics, hormones/growth and otherwise, the same goes for your chicken and beef and pork. DO NOT buy Tyson products...trust me. You do not want to consume or feed these "food" products to your family.
Official Food, Inc. Movie Site - Hungry For Change? - Trailer and Photos

There you go that is my spotlight on the truth as I know it today. We must do what we can to protect ourselves and our families at such a time as this...

Sharing hard times

Recently more than one set of friends of ours are going through hard times. Yet, even as we watch them and cry with them and shake our heads at the crazy things that happen with them and the new things in their lives, I am remembering that God is good.

I have also been struggling, for a long time, with my Dad and had that come up again. But what I know to be true of all these things is that we keep asking what is God doing that will change us?

I was having a converstation with my husband last night about one of these people who is really struggling and we just got to talking about pain. Then I was watching The Biggest Loser, one of my favs, and Michael was speaking to all this pain he still felt even though he had lost 200 pounds. And I was just constantly reminded yesterday of one thing. Everyone has pain/wounds/hurt.

Life is full of hard times, of pain, of wounds. There are so many wounded people walking around us with no one to tell them that they are not alone. So many of the things we do in life cause hurt. Relationships hurt sometimes. People are broken. Very, very broken. How can we live in this brokenness? I say we share in it. I say we open ourselves and relationships up to see the broken parts and to expose them so that we can move on and not feel so stuck in that dark place. No need to pretend. No need to act as though you have no pain, no hurts, no wounds. If we are all honest we know that just isn't true. I was recently encouraged by a book loaned to me by a friend and in it the author encourages you to find a like-minded person to be REAL with. I have found that to be life-saving for me and I just say to those whom don't have that-get it. Life is too short to pretend nothing bad ever happens. Don't let Facebook dictate how you see the world. It isn't always sunshine and rainbows you know.

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope you all have a fabulous day tomorrow and it is filled with peace and joy. I wish for you no fighting children, no whining, house projects completed by husbands, flowers, and lots and lots of hugs and kisses and people telling you that you are irreplaceable. Because you are! The world would be crap without all of you. I mean it. You do the world's most important work every single day that you direct your children to be better people; no matter how old they are!

Have a great day and Happy Mother's Day to you all!

Sunday afternoon

Today I did the impossible...I went to my basement and went through all the outgrown clothes that had piled up in the corner by the closet where I store the "hand-me-downs". It was a large pile. I knew it was large because Casey finally noticed it and asked what it was! That means I better do something about it or it might be gone...long gone.

So, I started to sort into boys and girls clothes but realized I needed to get to some of the bins in the back of the closet, of course. So, pretty soon I was organizing the whole thing! I realized at this point that I probably had more "hand-me-downs" than I needed. So...I purged. 2 hours later I am proud to say that I have organized and reassembled my closet and have an entire black garbage sack of clothes to go to the Union Gospel Mission. Yeah for me! I feel like I just lost 5 pounds! It feels really good to have that done. I highly recommend a good cleaning out of a closet if you haven't done it lately.

Ahhh, the things that make a mom happy!