Being an Introvert and Other Random Thoughts ~

I'm an introvert. I even took a free personality test online last summer that confirmed this little fact. I've always sort of known this, but couldn't figure out how I could be a true introvert if I like to be around people. Several months ago I remember hearing a sermon on the difference between extroverts and introverts. For the first time I got it.

Extroverts get their energy from being around other people. Introverts get their energy from being by themselves. It really has nothing to do with whether you like to be around people or not. There are periods of time when I crave the solitude of my home and the quiet of being by myself; give me about a week of this and I'm ready to spend a day running errands, having lunch with friends and just goofing off (being somewhere besides my house.)

This very minute my dishwasher is running, I have laundry in the wash and I'm actually looking forward to tackling the rest of the house because I'm alone and it's quiet. We had a super fun weekend. It was busy busy busy...and now I'm filling my tank with solitude so I'll be ready to do it all again over Spring Break.

Before I tackle Spring Break,  I want to share a few pics of our last big adventure.

I don't know what we would do without the older kids on our show team. They. Are. Awesome! K thinks this girlie is the coolest! She's very patient with the little ones and is always up for a game on the iPad. Thank you T for being you!

When K is bored with all the other electronics, she reaches for my camera. It's hilarious to see the pictures she takes and totally cool to see life from her perspective.

San Antonio didn't have as good an outcome as Ft. Worth. Let's just say we learned "you can't win 'em all." I'm so glad I took a few pics of R with Fast Freddy beforehand.

We finally made it to the Alamo. It was pretty awesome. All I've heard my whole life is how disappointing it is. I disagree. It was amazing to stand in the very spot where so many lives were sacrificed for our Texas freedom!

Totally cool picture of one of the biggest trees I've ever seen. Keep in mind I'm not a world traveler. :)

It was a beautiful day ~ couldn't resist taking one of the Lone Star waving.

What trip would be complete without a visit to Bass Pro Shops?

Here's a little funny for ya (and no, I'm not above sharing the embarrassing things I do.) We were getting ready to check out of the hotel and head to the Alamo. R has been looking forward to this Big Time since they are studying Texas history this year. I start asking him questions and he's spouting off Alamo facts right and left. I am very impressed with his knowledge. I'm thinking to myself...what is that thing they say about the Alamo? For the life of me I cannot remember. So I ask ~ "What is it they say at the Alamo?" Both R's in unison, "Remember the Alamo!" It was hilarious! I bet I don't forget that for a while. :)

This reminds me of another funny...we were on a trip to Oklahoma to see my sister. Just me, my mom and the kiddos. We're driving along talking and somehow the conversation turned to mattresses. Mom starts talking about how comfortable theirs is since she put a...oh, what's it called? "You know that soft pad I have on my bed," she says, "I can't remember what it's called." I say, "You mean the 'memory foam?' Talk about hysterical. We laughed until we cried. What can I say, I am my mother's daughter.

It Ain't All Rainbows and Lollipops ~

I'll start by saying (and this will come as no surprise to anyone) I'm a very inconsistent blogger. Whew...that feels better. So, if you're still reading my blog even though I only post a few times a month I say, "Thank you." I'm one of those weirdies who is constantly writing in my head; sad thing is I'm rarely in a position to write these brilliant thoughts down and a few minutes later...*poof* their gone.

My list of blogs that I follow are growing and I'm fascinated with the bloggers who write everyday. I struggle with whether people really care to know my thoughts on a daily basis and if I really want people to know those thoughts. On the other hand, it's my blog. I'm blogging to get my thoughts down and if someone happens to read it then great! I wonder if other bloggers have these same feelings? I also struggle with thinking every blog post has to be some brilliant life lesson or something cute or sweet my kids have done or said. Quite frankly, I'm not observant enough to catch every life lesson that's thrown my way and my kiddos, however cute they may be, aren't always doing things that are blog worthy. I mean no one really wants to know how many days R is grounded from his XBox or how long it's going to be before K gets to have a friend over. The last thing I want to do is paint an unrealistic picture of my life. I don't want this blog to be only about rainbows and lollipops.

I'm a mom and I struggle. There. I said it. I struggle with whether my kids are eating healthy enough. I struggle with whether I'm teaching them to love others. I struggle with whether I'm living my life in a way that they see Jesus in me. I struggle...I could go on and on and on.

This morning was tough. And I mean a "if anything could go wrong it will" kinda tough morning. We left the house 3 minutes before the tardy bell was set to ring and we live 10 minutes from school. I'll let you do the math. :) We usually pull up to the school with at least one minute to spare; not this morning. The kids were dropped of with instructions to go straight to the office for a little blue slip.

There are some mornings we talk all the way to school. I love taking advantage of those minutes in the car with the kids. Some mornings we just crank the radio and sing all the way (well, K and I sing. R thinks that's goofy.) Then there are some mornings that I say a little prayer and hope God gives me the words to make things all better.

My words this morning ~ "I think we need to put things in perspective here. Yes, your strap is broken on your lunch box. Yes, your zipper broke on your jacket. And yes, your cup fell out of your backpack, crashed to the ground, busted open and spilled out everywhere. (Yes, all this happened while we were trying to get out the door this morning.) All of these things have resulted in a terrible morning, but I know a couple of kids who are having to live by themselves, do their own laundry and fix their own meals because their mom and dad are many miles away while their mom fights for her life while battling leukemia."

It's hard for adults to put themselves in the shoes of others, how do I expect my kids to do that? I don't know, but I do know it's super important for them to learn that even though little things might happen throughout our days that inconvenience us, we have to keep it all in perspective and realize that we can't get all worked up over the little things.

I Heart Glitter ~

When I was little I was not a fan of glitter. I was pretty much not a fan of anything girly. I don't really remember playing with dolls or dressing up. My mom tried relentlessly to dress me in ruffles; she was fighting a losing battle. To this day, I would rather be comfortable than foofy. :)

I remember trying out for cheerleader in Middle School. Cheerleading tryouts were more than just doing a cheer in front of the student body and a few judges...oh no, it was an all out campaign. We made postures that read, "Vote for Me," we made little hand-outs that screamed, "Vote for Me." It was a major undertaking and my mom had her glue and glitter ready to go. My postures were pretty darn cool...you remember Care Bears right? Oh yeah, the Care Bears wanted everyone to vote for me. And glitter? You had never seen so much glitter in your life.

Fast forward 25 years...

Last night K and I created a nifty little box to collect her Valentines in...and yes, we busted out the glitter. I actually have two Ball jars filled with several different containers of colored glitter (I never thought I would see the day.) We had glitter everywhere and it was fun!

While we were working on her Valentine box K told me about a little girl in her class whose box was really pretty. She said her aunt had made it for her. I thought about it for a minute and then asked her if it would be more special if she made the box by herself or if I made it for her...she said, "It would be more special if we made it together." And that is why I love that girl so much. She has such a sweet heart.

Happy Valentine's Day ~

Fort Worth Stock Show ~

We recently returned from the Ft. Worth Stock Show; overall it was a success. R came home with a 5th place ribbon out of 80 ~ we were thrilled. I believe it's best to go into it thinking you're not going to do that great and then when the judge motions you towards the scales the excitement builds.  When you get pinned a second time, you can hardly contain the excitement. :) This may sound like a pretty negative attitude, but I sat by some people in the stands who were very disappointed that their 'person' got 8th place. I just think when you have realistic expectations the victory is that much sweeter.

K and Homer right before he went into the show ring

K loves to get in the pin with the pigs. She sprays them with the mister (which they love) gives them drinks with the mister (more love) and brushes them. Our pigs are super spoiled at the shows and I gave up worrying about her getting pig poop on her a long time ago...

The morning of the show K woke up at 3 in the morning complaining of an earache. I gave her Tylenol and hoped for the best. She fell back asleep at 4 and woke up at 6 crying again. We had planned to be at the show barn about 8, so her crying just put us in high gear to load up and get out of the hotel. Honestly, I'm surprised management didn't come knocking on the door to kick us out she was crying (and screaming) so loud. This was one of those moments when all my patience was tested and I had to remember how painful earaches can be. We were out of there in record time, searching for the nearest Walgreen's on the Garmin and taking really deep breaths. Here's where the story gets good...

1st stop ~ Walgreen's. Closed.
2nd stop ~ Walmart. No ear drops.
3rd stop ~ CVS. No ear drops.
4th stop ~ Another CVS. No ear drops.
5th stop ~ Walgreen's. It's 7:55am and they open at 8. Big R tells me to go ahead and try to go in...I walk up to the door and the lady smiles sweetly through the glass, holds up 5 fingers and mouths the words "5 more minutes." So, I go back to the car...we sit for 5 minutes in complete silence (at this point both kids are asleep.) It was one of those moments where there were no words. I finally go in, buy the ear drops and we head to the show barn. It takes 20 minutes to get to the barn and I kid you not there is a Walgreens and CVS not two blocks from the Ft. Worth Stock Show and Rodeo. Again, complete silence in the pick-up.

Here's the kicker...we park, K wakes up and says, "My ear's not even hurting anymore."

There's two reasons why I'm telling this story:

1. There are just some stories in our lives I do not want to forget and
2. I love it when things happen that seem horrible at the time and then a few days later I can look back and laugh. (I'm pretty sure big R's not ready to laugh about it yet.)

R and Homer with a 5th place ribbon

We made it home and are looking forward to the next trip. I'll be sitting down to make a list of all possible ailments and stocking a medicine chest for the road...

Always thinking of her ~

This is not the blog post I had planned for today. I've been trying to get back in blogging mode, but to be quite honest I just haven't felt like writing. It takes me a while after the holidays to get back in the swing of things. My house is finally back in order, and I'm the type that can't do anything creative if there are other things that need to be done first. I do consider my blog to be an aspect of my creative life. I love to pick just the right picture and edit it if need be. I love to pick the right words to get my feelings across and when things are out of order, my creative side hides. :) I'm slowly finding it, so last night when K came in wanting to read a poem she had written I had a funny feeling I might have just stumbled upon my next post.

Her class at school has been talking about and writing poems for the past few weeks, so she sat down and wrote this one last night ~

My dad, my dad I see him everyday.

My dad, my dad I love him everyday.

My mom, my mom I see her everyday.

My mom, my mom I love her everyday.

My brother, my brother I see him everyday.

My brother, my brother I love him everyday.

My sister, my sister I see her in my heart.

My sister, my sister I love her with all my heart.

My heart literally melted as she was reading her sweet poem. I know she could see in my eyes how much I loved it. I scooped her up in a great big hug and told her so; then she asked me, "Do you think Sissy has curly hair or straight hair?" I told her I was pretty sure it was just like hers...