There comes a time in the lives of men....or in my case, women...oh wait someone already wrote that...

Tonight I am contemplative. There is so much going on for me right now. Most it of I cannot, no, will not share on here....I don't trust who may or may not read this blog. But there's a whole ton of stuff that I am dealing with. Some of it is deep, painful and raw...some of it is stupid human games and silliness. It all feels heavy though. So today it made me take a long look at how I deal with stress.....

1. I talk to myself. Actually I talk to the people who I am mad at or who have hurt me. Except I do it in the mirror. And I am very mean.

2. I eat. Why oh why is this???? Why do I always turn to food like it's somehow going to make me feel better about myself? Yes, my Burger King lunch was delicious, but were the 12,000 calories worth it? Did it fix anything? No.

3. I cry. Not a lot, but there are moments when I feel so overwhelmed that I cannot help it. I used to think that crying was a sign of weakness.....now I know, sometimes I just need to let the tears flow.

4. I laugh. It's really bizarre....sometimes, the stress just makes me laugh out loud and by loud, I mean LOUD. People think I'm cracked out and try to commit me to the looney bin. I just get rolling and can't help myself....everything is hilarious.

5. I shut down. I go into a "coma", if you will. I slap on a happy face and literally shut down. No one can hurt me that way.

6. And finally I heal. I realize that my life is not over, that I am surrounded by people who love and affirm me and I know I can get out of bed tomorrow. One of my favorite quotes is, "Tomorrow is fresh, with no mistakes in it". I cling to that....it's all going to be ok.

I am so excited!!! My friend asked me to do a spotlight piece on her blog!!! That means that maybe more than 3 people will read what I have to say :) I can't tell you how excited I am about it, it borders on OCD actually...so go take a peek! Read through her blog while you are there, she's an amazing writer and hilarious!!

No Missed Opportunities

There are times in your life when you can define it or remember it with a song.....this summer this was our theme song.....

You Capture
Halloween/ Silence

A day late for You Capture, but that's ok....

Silence first...when Matt gets home from work early and all the other kids are at school, this is usually what happens...silence....
A happy Bumblebee
My pumpkin girl

Molli as Molli Lou Who and Liam as a skeleton

For more on You Capture head over to I Should Be Folding Laundry

I am not happy. I had a post all written and done for yesterday and it didn't post!!!!!!!!!! AHHHH!!!! *deep breath* Moving on....

Today is Thursday. I love Thursdays. Well ,Thursday nights to be specific. Why, you may ask. Well, I'd be happy to tell you. Thursday night is ladies night. Last year, I started going over to my beautiful friend Rhonda's house to watch Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice. It became our ritual. It me, Rhonda, Tara, Jaymie, and Dana. We get together every week. It's not so much about the shows, although we love them. But it's become this tight knit group of women, a place we go to every week and can share whatever is going on. These women have become my confidants, my secret keepers, my friends, my joy. I can always count on them for laughter, sympathy, anger and tears. I have become a better woman because of them and I am so thankful for them. So here's to you ladies....I love you all and am honored to share my Thursdays with you!

Break out the drinks, it's almost time!!!!

It's Election Tuesday. I packed up my boys and headed out to vote. I was slightly nervous that there would be a wait and what would I do with my 6 month old and 19 month old??? But thank heavens there was NO line and we were in and out in five minutes. Everytime I vote I am always stunned that I am allowed to do that! What an awesome country we live in. I will say that even after being all patriotic I will be so glad when this day is over and all the ads and phone calls stop!!!

I am so thankful today....thankful for heat, for hot water, for food, for my family and my van. It may sound silly but it's just been one of those days where the very simple every day things seem overwhelming. I am so grateful.

My sweet Liam is giggling at me over the top of my laptop while I am writing this so I will go and snatch him up and smother him with smootches now :) But I will leave you with a recent favorite snapshot of mine. Till tomorrow.....

Here we go.....I'm gonna post every day this month. I swear. :)

The past few weeks have been busy for us. We're finally into a pattern of school/work/church. I LOVE having five kids in school. It's been great having just Liam at home. I've started babysitting for my friend's adorable little boy so it's tons of fun with my two little boys here. It's definitely a change!!!

I'm so excited about what our family did last week! We decided to sponsor two kids from Compassion International!! The boys picked a young boy and the girls picked a girl!!! I can't wait till we get their pics in the mail so I can share their precious faces with you. I love them both so much already! We sponsored a girl named Fia and a boy named Arnoldo. My kids are so excited to write letters and get to know all about these two young kids. They've asked if we can send them clothes and toys. It's so exciting to see them excited about giving. We've got some things cooked up for a different Christmas this year, but I'll save that to share later. :)

Tomorrow is election day and I am SOOO glad! Not only will I have the privilege of going and helping to choose our leadership, but it means that my home phone will FINALLY stop ringing every 5 minutes with calls!!!! Hallelujah! So don't forget to vote tomorrow!!!