summer 2011

summer 2011

Paul and I, all 16 kids and Ashley, Benjamin's wife...Christmas 2012

Paul and I, all 16 kids and Ashley, Benjamin's wife...Christmas 2012
family

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

you read my blog??!!

Now when I sit here in my comfy chair and spill my innermost feelings, I am not conscious that others will be reading what I write. I just write. Then when a real-life person mentions they read something here, I wonder what I wrote. I wonder what on earth possesses me to expose myself to the whole world, or whomever of it happens to stumble upon this.

Today is Paul's birthday. He is 51. I cannot believe that I am married to such an old man. ha. I know he doesn't read this, so I can say that. He doesn't seem old though. He is in wicked good shape, he works out and eats right. He isn't stubborn and set in his ways, although he has a tendency to be...but doesn't give in to it. No, he is flexible and humble. The way he views life is to be thankful, first and foremost. When I am flipping out because I think it is the end of the world the way one of the kids is behaving,he reacts with goodness... even when his nice new truck landed in the ditch, courtesy of Aaron and Samuel one snowy night. He knows that all things work together for the good. He doesn't yell or lecture, but he thinks about things, then encourages and gives hope.

So for his birthday, we are going to our training for the baseball stadium where we will be volunteering. Tonight is just to get a feel for the place. What a nice birthday outing. But, it is what it is, whatever that means. I think it means to make the most of it. So we will.

I got my black pants yesterday, and oh they are unflattering. Makes me never want to eat chocolate again. Hey, I should buy a pair just to wear around the house, and get a few more mirrors up in here.

Chocolate. Oh, how I love thee! I have stayed out of the chocolate chips lately...but don't give me a pat on the back because I have switched my allegiance to milk chocolate. Now, I do not eat candy any more. no more. But somehow, despite this firm rule, I have slipped into eating chocolate. I ate the ears off the hollow bunny that Charlotte Claire didn't want. I wondered first and foremost how in the world could a child NOT WANT a chocolate bunny. She said simply, "I don't like them." I think she was switched at birth. And while we are confessing, I ate that bunny's whole face, too. And a bite of his tail. I had to make myself put him back in his box. He is still there. I am going to throw him away, he is too yummy. And, I had milk chocolate non-pareils. Too many. Not on the same day of course. I eat right, but then the chocolate... I have stayed totally away from the other candy, but here and there the chocolate calls me...no, wait: the chocolate ALWAYS calls me, but here and there I have listened to it's lies...oh, it won't hurt. Just a little. It has been a busy day, you deserve it.

No, I am not crazy. Or am I? Does food talk to anyone else?

Yah, so I just have to get back into my groove of telling it to shut up. No taste is better than a small taste, for me. Because once I eat one, I want to eat the whole thing.

And that is my battle. My life-long battle.

So today I have swept the floors, washed pans from last night, washed dishes and loaded the dishwasher, folded towels, wwashed the smocks we wear to the Dome because there is a Dome event tomorrow, taken Suri out to run around and fetch sticks. Oh, she has a lot to learn. She runs and gets the stick, then runs in circles around me, ignoring my pleas to Bring It, Drop It. Sometimes when she gets close I will tell her to Sit, and she will, then she will Drop It. She loves to Go Get It, and have me chase her. She also loves to high-tail it over to the neighbors' to play with their dog. She is totally deaf to us when she does that....and I think of the old saying, "there are no bad dogs, only bad owners.." ouch. My mother used to say that one's dog behaved like one's children. ouch again.

And now, I shall get out of my comfy chair....










12 comments:

Jessica Ogden said...

Personally, I am so glad you share your whole life on here. :-) Your posts brighten my day every day.

Grace said...

Happy Birthday to Paul!

Anonymous said...

I just wanted to tell you that I laughed out loud at your comment about wearing the unflattering pants all the time! It's a brilliant idea.

Mert

Anonymous said...

I love your blog! Happy birthday to hubby! And I'm soo jealous of Disney World :-)

Anonymous said...

And congrats on new grandbaby... Due date?

Martha said...

Wait until you run into a stranger in Target (or Kohl's) and they tell you they know who you are because they read your blog... Oh, wait! Maybe that's already happened to you.

Chocolate does talk. I've heard it. And I would eat the bunny's ears, and face, and tail too, if there was a bunny to be eaten. "The bunny, the bunny! Oo, I ate the bunny..." (Do you ever watch Veggie Tales?)

Martha said...

PS, Happy Birthday, Paul! You are only 2 years older than my handsome husband.

Anonymous said...

Still reading every day year after year:) congrats on being a grandma soon xx lara in NZ

Cindy @ Marriedtothemilitary {dot} net said...

I agree, I love honest blogs, I wish that I still wrote a more personal one. I actually thought about making one just for me, but honestly I am not sure I would ever blog there.

Oh, I know you know a lot of people with little ones, I have a giveaway for a 4 pack of made in the USA BPA free sippy cups :-) Tell them all to enter.

Happy Birthday to Paul. You always praise him on your blog, he should read it, you speak so nicely about him :-)

16 blessings'mom said...

Thank you, Jess. Ben and Ashley are expecting in October, not sure when.

Martha, even worse is meeting a stranger in Kmart and realizing you already know her because she was the nurse who was in the exam room with the dr. during the pelvic exam you had the day before. And yes, I ate the bunny...the bunny...LOVE Veggie Tales!

Martha said...

Oh yeah! That would be worse, way worse. I'd feel suddenly naked even fully clothed.

The OB nurse who nearly delivered Nathan ended up going to church with us a year later. It was a bit strange at first, but after a while I wasn't the only church member she had been "intimate" with.

AUTISMOMMA said...

Of course we read your blog! How else would I survive these kids without a bit of inspiration??