Someone Should Tell Her!

I caught Audrey trying to be a fashionista tonight. I snapped this picture after she'd ditched a single purple glove and a white Dora winter sock hat.



She's trying, really she is.



LOL

The funny thing is... she thought she was being pretty.



But then again... she always has been a dork...



but what a beautiful dork she is. =)

Reminders

Saturday, June 28th, Old navy's flip flops are on sale for $1!!!

If you love Old navy flip flops like I do... run and getcha some!! (And pick me up some too, would ya? I'm out of town. Please and Thank You.)

also...

don't forget that Saturday night is the Great American Backyard Campout!! So, pitch those tents and get out in the backyard with your kiddos.

=)

Cardboard Testimonies

John's mom sent this to me in an email this morning. I dare you to watch it and not bawl your eyes out. It's pretty powerful stuff! You will need to scroll down and pause the Cinderella song first.

The Bane of My Existence

I know you all have been wondering why you hardly ever see me with my hair down. Or why, if you do, it's always straightened. Well... I decided to set the record straight today.

I have quite possibly, the thickest hair on the planet. I have more hair than any one person should be allowed to have. think tina turner... only on a white girl. I'm not kidding. My hair is easily as thick as horse hair. I've plucked a single strand of hair from my head on numerous occasions that could have been used to string a guitar. It's thick... and it's coarse. and if that wasn't bad enough.... it's naturally curly. I'm doomed. My hair was the butt of much ridicule on the school yard growing up. When I go to the salon i have it "thinned" two differet ways and it's STILL thick. I've tried every hair product on the planet that's promised me tame locks or less volume.

but it is what it is.

However... there's good news...

... big hair is back in!!!!!!!!

and if it's not, well, today I'm acting like it is.

I took these pics with my webcam sitting in front of my computer...

prepare yourself first though... they aren't pretty.

ok... so here's me. after showering last night, putting in a ton of taming product, and letting it air dry overnight...



YIKES!! (I thought so too!)



then Levi sees me and gets in on the webcam action



I contemplate wearing my hair like this forever. really, it's so much easier!



But in the end, i curl up into a ball in the corner and suck my thumb regressing old hair taunting memories. And then go dig out the hair straightener.

thank you. amen.

Junior Chamber of Commerce

the junior chamber of commerce would like to welcome it's newest honorary member...

Levi Christian.



(photo taken Saturday at the farmer's market)

Levi is starting a photography business. The month of June is all booked up... but a few slots remain in July. He's very busy.

In all seriousness though...

yesterday the kids and I went for a walk down to Cosmo/Bethel park. Before we walked out the door Levi yells "Wait! my camera!"

At the park, there is a stocked lake with a trail all the way aroud it. On the lake, were three separate families of geese.

Here is a pic i took of one of the geese families. Mama, Daddy, and six goslings...



Levi walked down close to the water to get the perfect picture...



... and in typical mama bear (er, goose) fashion the mother goose (har har... get it? mother goose. ha) came up out of the water ready to protect her brood, and in total diva style she stopped to pose for the camera.



and here is the picture my young budding photographer snapped...



is that not a perfectly framed shot?

Seriously.

*fluffs feathers*

Dancing With Cinderella

This blog post will probably be all over the place. I'm sorry if none of it ends up making sense. I'm kind of just clearing my head. don't we all need to do that from time to time?

*sigh*

anyway... here goes.

You may have noticed that I've changed my blog's song to "Cinderella" by Steven Curtis Chapman. I've also titled this blog post "Dancing with Cinderella." I'm not kidding when I tell you that this song was in my dream today as I napped. This whole chain of events has been happening that I absolutely can not deny as the voice of God!! It all started Tuesday of last week when I was sitting in my minister's office. Every once in a while I get in these moods where I really need some one on one Eric/Becky time, so I call him up at the office and say "Eric, it's Becky. Drop everything... I'm coming in to talk... NOW!!" and he'll say to me "anything for you Becky!" (ok, not really, but whatever.) so anyway... we were talking and he said something to me along the lines of that it's very real that God speaks to people. and I confessed to him that while I know this to be true... I very rarely if ever have felt like I knew for a certain fact that God was speaking to me. That unless He were to email me directly and be like "Becky, it's God!" then I don't usually know if I hear Him... or what to "listen" for. I wonder if certain things that I perceive to be "signs" from God are really from God, or not.

Ok, so long story short... there's the backgroud info heading into this chain of events. This was Tuesday remember. Then Wednesday night, the kids and I went to church. I almost did not go because we are doing Wednesday night For The Master right now and there aren't any adult classes. But, I figured I'd go and let the kids go to class and I would find a quiet room to have my own meditation/quiet time with God... Something I've really been needing/craving especially since the talk that I'd had with Eric the day before.

So, I took this book with me that I've had sitting on a shelf forever (I mean, YEARS) that I still have not read called The Power of a Positive Mom. It is written by a christian author, Karol Ladd. I wrote a blog post a few days ago where I included a scripture from Proverbs. I got that from this book. What you didn't know though, is that I only quoted part of the scripture. I blogged: "She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come." but the rest of that scripture is: "She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tougue." yeeeeah. I'm totally needing a refresher course in all of this. So... I start reading this book Wednesday night at church.

In the book, the author is debunkig the myth that modern society wants women to believe that motherhood causes women to miss out on the exciting things in life. She writes,

"Modern society is rampant with self-centered philosophies of "self improvement" and "self-actualization." We are bombarded daily with messages that tell us we should look out for number one and pursue our own interests and goals at any cost. This pervasive thinking, by implying that the selflessness of motherhood is not a worthy investment of our time and effort, often creates feelings of inadequacy in moms. The underlying myth is that if we endeavor to be attentive mothers, we are missing out in life. not so! Life begins with motherhood." she then goes on to write (and this is the part that really got me): "Besides, as Jesus said in Matthew 10:39, 'Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.' Committing ourselves to love and care for our children as God commands -- even if it means putting their needs above our own time and time again -- is the way to a full and abundant life."

Later in the first chapter, she encourages us to remember our employer. She writes

"If motherhood is our job, for whom do we work? Do we work to please the people of this world -- a society that tells us we're unimportant? Do we serve only our husband and children? Or are we working to honor our own needs? Colossians 3:17 gives us the answer. "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." She writes: "Our work is for the Lord. It is ultimately God we are pleasing as we devote ourselves to our family. It is God who will reward us one day for our untiring effort. If we were working for people in this world, we would no doubt want recognition or pay for our services. But ours is a higher calling. We are not working for money or accolades on earth; we are working with all of our heart for the Lord. In fact, our entire job is done from the heart, rooted in the motherly love God has given us for our children."

You're probably sitting there going "well, DUH Becky!!" and the thing is, yes... I already know all of this. But you know how sometimes, even though deep down you already know something, sometimes you just need to hear it again, or read it again, or have something happen that grabs your attention and makes you go "oooooooh"

that was me last week.

I needed that reminder that I am working for the Lord as I raise my children. That I am not working for other people, or for myself, but for the Lord our God, who trusted me with HIS children here on earth... and that if I lay down my own life for HIM, to do the things that HE is trusting me to do... then, I will in return find my life.

I confess.... I've really been selfish lately. And, yeah, I play the single mom card. it IS hard to get up day in and day out and take care of kids all by yourself. nobody walking in the door around dinner time to talk to, process the day with, hug even, for pete's sake. It's tough. I find myself counting hours until bed time on days when I feel like I can't take one more sibling fight in this house!!!!!!! and all I want to do in those moments is be selfish!

and then this morning in church, Eric is up there preaching away, when all of a sudden he whips out Mark 8:34 "Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it."

Ok God... I hear you now!!

That's twice in one week that I've been lead to the same scripture... found in two separate places.

So, we come home from church today, have lunch, and lay down for a nap, and this song by Steven Curtis Chapman is literally in my dream, only, it's a woman singing it, and I'm listening to this beautiful voice sing the song, when I feel someone nudge my shoulder, waking me up. Only, the nudge wasn't in my dream. It was very real. and it did wake me up. I thought it might be Levi who had crept ito my room, so I rolled over to see what he wanted, but noone was standing there. I walk into the living room, and Levi had fallen asleep on the floor. I was the only one awake.

but I'm telling you... I felt that nudge!

(I hear you, God!!)

If you listen to the words of the song, he sings:

She spins and she sways
To whatever song plays
Without a care in the world
And I'm sitting here wearing
The weight of the world on my shoulders

It's been a long day
And there's still work to do
She's pulling at me
Saying "Dad, I need you

There's a ball at the castle
And I've been invited
And I need to practice my dancing
Oh, please, Daddy, please?"

So I will dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
'Cause I know something the prince never knew
Oh, I will dance with Cinderella
I don't wanna miss even one song
'Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she'll be gone...

She says he's a nice guy and I'd be impressed
She wants to know if I approve of her dress
She says, "Dad, the prom is just one week away
And I need to practice my dancing
Oh, please, Daddy, please?"

So I will dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
'Cause I know something the prince never knew
Ooh-oh ooh-oh I will dance with Cinderella
I don't want to miss even one song
'Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she'll be gone

She will be gone

Well, she came home today with a ring on her hand
Just glowing and telling us all they had planned
She says, "Dad, the wedding's still six months away
But I need to practice my dancing
Oh, please, Daddy, please?"

So I will dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
'Cause I know something the prince never knew
Ooh-oh ooh-oh I will dance with Cinderella
I don't want to miss even one song
'Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she'll be gone

what's haunting about that, is that about a month ago, Steven Curtis Chapman's youngest daughter was killed in an accident. long AFTER this song was written.

tell me, that God is not speaking directly to me!! (I won't believe you though)

so, last week, I worked more on Dancing with my Cinderella (and Prince Charming). We had a very full week. Many fun activities. I think it was a good week for all of us.

You know... (and this is going off on a whole different, yet kind of related, rant...)

if you love something, and want to get it, or keep it in excellent condition, you have to maintain it. You want your car to run smoothly... you have it maintained so many miles. You can not put something aside and ignore it, or forget about it, then go to pull it out months later and expect it to run in pristine condition. If it's been sitting for a while not getting any TLC, it's probably not going to respond right away. and the same goes for relationships. your relationship with yourself and with others. Maintenance.

Dance with Cinderella.

I am

Cinderella and Prince Charming today at a new park we discovered within walking distance of our house:

Happy First Day of Summer!

Bex and Company kicked it off in style.

We woke up early (earlier than usual for a saturday morning anyway. ha!) and went to the Columbia Farmer's Market. Picked up some fresh veggies (salmonella free tomatoes anyone??), a french baguette, some banana bread, smoked brisket, and the kids had some honey ice cream. From there we went to an arts festival, and then home to change into swim suits. We spent the rest of our afternoon splashing around at the pool and are now home and completely exhausted. LOL.

well, I am anyway. the kids are playing hide and seek. Oh to have endless energy!!

I took a ton of pics at the market and made a collage (click to enlarge)



I hope everyone had a fabulous first day of summer! here's to popsicles stained shirts, watermelon seed spitting contests, fireworks, getting bugspray in your mouth, getting mosquito bites anyway, citronella candles, catching lightening bugs, ants on the checkered picnic cloth...

... lazy days of summer.

Works For Me Thursday

(since I didn't do a Works For Me Wednesday)

I'm convinced that the gym uses those fun house mirrors. You know... the ones that make you look wider when you stand in front of them? yeah. I'm convinced the gym uses those as a ploy to make you even more disgusted in yourself than you already are when you stand looking at your reflection, thus making you want to work out harder.

but hey...

it works for me.

now excuse me as i melt away into a pool of sweat

*dies*

Meet Chandler

Chandler is two weeks old today, and this afternoon I got to take pics of him and kiss his sweet baby cheeks.

neener neener.

Not Giving Up ... (yet)

"She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come."
-- Proverbs 31:25

God says so.

BOO-YAH!

speaking of not giving up...

tomorrow is my parents wedding anniversary. They've been married like 80 years!! (ok, 32)

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!!

A Year Later

It's funny how much kids change physically in a year, and when you spend every day with them, you don't notice it, until you look at a picture of them from a year ago.

Last May, after Madison's birthday party, I took this picture of Levi and Madison with their friend Allison.



now, a year later... here's the same kids...



crazy huh?

Exotic Dancers

Sunday afternoon, the kids were playing outside, John was cleaning out the truck, and I was just getting done taking the kids for rides down to the field and back up on the 4-wheeler, when the sky turned a threatening shade of dark. John and I had the kids grab all the toys that were out and hurry inside. We were "finna" get dumped on.

The wind was picking up speed, the clouds were rapidly morphing into huge scary thunder clouds rolling in and John says to me "oh man, you should grab your camera and get pics of this!"

So....

that's exactly what I did.

I got the camera and spent the better part of ten minutes just standing in the parking lot snapping pics of the wicked storm that was moving in.

I have to interrupt this blog post to say, that John works and lives on the outer road next to I-44. about 200 yards up the interstate is a... how do I put this?... strip club. Only, that doesn't clearly paint the picture. "Big Louie's" is like a compound. It's a strip club, adult store, bar, restaurant, etc... all rolled into one area, complete with flashy neon signs. One of the signs says "exotic dancers" in huge neon red letters. John was like "man, if you could edit those exotic dancer signs out, those would be amazing pictures."

Then, later, he says to me, "you know, I was thinking, what better "exotic dancer" is there than the ones dancing in the sky right now? GOD'S "exotic dancers"

and that is the best way to describe the clouds that were rolling in. Truly exotic, and dancing across the sky. morphing from one big dark shape into another in a matter of seconds.

So, in the end, I kept the exotic dancer signs in the pictures... because in a way, it's fitting.

Just another Missouri summer storm. Gotta love the Ozarks!! =)













We left John's house at around 6:00. He had to drive us back up to Columbia, since he'd picked us up on Friday night and we didn't have our car. Just as we hit Jeff City and turn headed towards Columbia, the skies opened up, and God reached down. It was starting to get dark and it was the most beautiful sight! So beautiful, that John stopped the car and I ran out into the middle of the Hwy to snap a picture of the sun rays. My mom used to call them God's fingers. So pretty.

Exotic even. =)

Lawn Mowers

or four wheelers...

whichever.

For some reason, my four year old, who knows good and well what a 4 wheeler is, kept calling them lawn mowers this weekend, thus the title of this blog post.

So... picking up where I left off...

after we left the red power round up, it was off to play in the dirt... 4 wheel style. We headed down to the place that we usually go muddin' and played around all day with our friends on 4 wheelers. Some of our friends have a son who recently got two wishes granted from the make a wish foudation. His family just got home from a week long cruise aroud CoCo Cay Bay (wish #1), and wish #2 was to have everybody get together for a day of 4 wheelin' and a cookout with a band. Well, the band got nixed. His mom told the make a wish people that they'd already done enough and just providing the food for the cookout would be plenty. So, they showed up with the goods around 1-ish and we all ate, then played around for the rest of the day.

again... John was totally in his element. And it was new for me, I'd never seen him ride his 4 wheeler before, I mean SERIOUSLY ride it... and I must say, it was pretty hot!! =D

*blush*

did I just say that on my blog?

*blush*

the kids had a BLAST. they got to ride on the 4 wheelers, in the dune buggies, and mid-day, we all headed down to the river for a dip. The water is still freezing cold, but that didn't stop anyone from jumping right in. After a while, the kids started catching little crawdads.

After swimming, we went back to camp to dry off, snack around a bit, play on the four wheelers more, socialize around the campfire, tell outlandish tales, and watch a slideshow of pics from the day.

We stayed until around midnight, and then made the two hour trip back to John's house. The kids were all asleep before we got to the end of the gravel road heading out. It was one very long, very busy, but very fun day.

John taking Audrey for a ride on his four wheelin' muscle man machine:











*swoons*

After she was done with her ride, she sat in the back of a truck and watched the big(ger) kids play...





Levi in the dune buggy:



Madison getting geared up to ride:



Me and my new toy... er, John's 4 wheeler:



*cough ahem cough*

(sorry, something was in my throat)

If it's not red, leave it in the shed

We had a very packed weekend, this past weekend. It all started Friday. After John got off of work at 5:00 he hopped directly in his truck loaded up with his four-wheeler in the back, and headed up to Columbia. This is a pretty big accomplishment for John. Usually, when he says he'll be leaving town right after work, what he really means is that he won't actually pull out of his driveway any earlier than 8:00. John's a pretty busy man, he never has his bags packed in advance, and there's always something last minute that comes up... but on Friday, I got a call from him at 5:07 telling me that he was headed our way. Pleasant surprise! He arrived right around dinner time and since we were all starving, we headed to Shakespeare's pizza. YUM!

Saturday, everyone woke up early early so that we could get to the Boone County Fairgrouds by 8:00. Why? Because that was when the gates opened for the Red Power Round Up. Oh yeah. You read that right. Red Power Round Up. Jealous huh? What? You've never HEARD of Red Power Round Up?? Oh... well... neither had I... until last week anyway, when John annouced that we'd be going to it on Saturday morning.

So, I know you are dying to find out what in the world the Red Power Round Up is, right?

I'm here to answer all of your questions. Um, or at least the ones I can answer. Like, "why is it called the Red Power Round Up?", and "Is it held in Missouri every year?" and "Why did John care to go so badly?" and that's the extent of the questions I know the answers to regarding red power.

Alright, you know how John Deere tractors are always green? C'mon, you remember the old country song... "and the whole town said, that he should have used red, but it looked good to Charlene, in John Deere green." Well, if he'd used red, it would have been Farmall Red.



And Farmall tractors are made by International Harvester... which... John is obsessed with. This year a country song has been released titled Interational Harvester... "chug a-lug-a-luggin 5 miles an Ow-Errrr (hour) on my International Harvesterrrrr."



More than you cared to know about tractors? John is going to read this and laugh his hiney off that I'm sitting here acting like I know what I'm talking about. Really, I have no clue. I'm just kinda making it up as I go along. Sounds good though, right? Humor me.

So anyway,

There are people in this world who are obsessed with International Harvester. There are entire groups of people who form clubs around International Harvester! I know, crazy right?





International Harvester is who makes the Scout, which is what John collects. The truck we go muddin' in is a scout. I've written a blog post before about all of the Scouts John has in the field down below his house. It's an obsession really. A hobby that I know he wishes he had more time and money to dedicate to.

So, to answer my second question... no, the red power round up is not held in Missouri every year. Different states take turns hosting the event, and John can't ever remember a time that it's been in Missouri, so this was a huge deal for him. He's driven all the way to Ohio before to attend a Red Power Round Up. Being in Missouri, much less right here in the same town his girlfried lives in almost put John straight over the moon. He wasn't going to miss it come you-know-what or high water.

So, we went, we saw, we conquered.



We didn't get lost in any mud holes, just stepped in a lot of them.

We even made a fashion statement.





and then we hit the road for the rest of our very long, very busy, very fun day

Salon de Rebekah

In an effort to save money I've decided that I'm done paying $10 at Wal-Mart's puny little salon every time Levi starts getting shaggy... which is quite often since he doesn't take after me at ALL in the hair growing department... his grows SO fast. *sigh*

so... tonight, I bought a $14 20pc. ConAir haircut kit, and set out to do it myself.

one of the 20 pieces is a barber's cape. I'm lovin' that. Haha. Felt all professional.

anyway, you all be the judge...

here is Shaggy pre-cut:





here he is after:







I think that I cut it too short in front on top, but I figure, eh... a.) it's summer time... and b.) it'll be all grown out again by next week anyway. LOL. This first time is a learning experiece anyway, right? Yeah.

Funny story...

When my brother and I would be home from college at the same times, He'd occasionally ask me if I would cut his hair. If I tried to tell him no, he'd get a chair, put it in the center of my bedroom, sit in it, and not leave until I'd agreed to cut his hair. He always won. Yes, nathan... I remember that. haha.

Here is the mess that was left on the floor around the chair...



It's still there too. Will someone come and clean it up for me? Please and Thank You.

My sister thinks she's cool cause she cuts her own hair. Well... move over Chelsea! I'm opening up shop!!

Or not.

but I AM saving money!!