The "24 hour" shopping trip to Dallas came at the perfect time this year. My husband was at the end of his two week sick leave and thankfully felt confident enough to take care of the boys so I could spend some quality time with some wonderful girlfriends! Pam, Kathryn, Tracy and myself started down I-35 in the late afternoon on Thursday. The only small glitch being me losing the keys before we even took off. Glad my friends had faith in me :) That night we ate at the Cheesecake Factory, browsed the aisles of Target, then headed back to the hotel for girl talk. Friday we did some major shopping at Ikea, Sam Moon, the mall and that evening found a great outlet mall. I love my girl time!

Here is Pam posing in front of the store that gave us our 'catch phrase' for the trip. Thanks for the side splitting laughter and the million of inappropriate comments that stemmed from your famous quote :)

Ikea! After trying a million different directions and only seeing the store in the distance we finally found the parking lot and were excited to see all the things Ikea has to offer. It did not disappoint! Pardon the squinty eyes . . . we have not seen the sun in over TWO weeks. I found a great student computer table and chair for under $50. Score!

Aaahhh, pedicures. This is right before we hit the outlet mall and my feet were already killing me! Obviously Pam didn't get the memo we were suppose to wear white shirts :) I need to mention that these chair messagers gave me a back ache-not relaxing! Afterwards we hit the local Steak-n-Shake and the strawberry shake made everything better. By now it is 5 PM and we are just now deciding to try out the outlet mall.

We ended up staying at the mall until closing time. I had shopped to my heart's content and was coming home with five pairs of new shoes! We had dinner at the Olive Garden and filled up the car(with the strangest gas pump ever!)and were on our way home. Wouldn't you know the moment we cross the border it begins pouring on us! It was slow going on I-35. Here we are at 2 AM at Kathryn's house. I tried to get a picture of all of our loot. I had taken out the third seat in the Expedition and we had it filled almost to the top!

It was a great trip and I hope we can do it again soon(this Fall?). It is amazing how much can be accomplished in 24 hours :) Thanks for the laughs and memories girls!

I had a hard time convincing my husband that I needed a recovery day. He was unsympathetic when I explained how late I got in, how my feet hurt from walking all day, that my back was killing me from the faulty message chairs and my stomach was queasy from all the yummy food I ate. He just didn't understand :)

The Rest of the Story

I cannot express enough how lucky I am to be surrounded by wonderful and caring friends and family. The cards, emails, facebook messages, flowers, chocolates, phone calls and side hugs(they know me well!)each gave me confidence to face the challenge of the day.

The weekend went quickly as we were busy with my sweet nephew's first birthday party on Saturday. Cooper & Wyatt spent the night with Papa and Grandma as we traveled back home with little Abram. It was a quiet Saturday evening, which I fell asleep by 9:30 PM! Sunday was emotional, but strangely encouraging as I was able to connect with dear friends who truly care about my well being and were there to listen, talk and shower their love all morning long. I felt strongly about being at church on Sunday because I feel like it is important to be around extended family in good times and bad. Plus, I have taken the lead at our children's worship and was looking forward to hearing one of our fifth grade boys lead the sermon in Rock Solid Worship. Being around the elementary students was uplifting and allowed me to forget my own sorrows. Satan was not going to have a hold over me.

Life Group was an amazing time of connecting on new levels with friends. It was exactly what I needed to prepare myself for today.

My sweet sister in law, Jessica and my brother took the boys off my parent's watch and had them spend the night with their favorite cousins. We had another night of quietness.

With anxiety building about the upcoming surgery I decided to start and finish all the laundry before I went to bed. Around 1 AM my goal was completed. Off to bed I went although it was a horrible night's sleep. I worry WAY to much!

This morning I was a nervous wreck. I hate going to the hospital, surgery scares me to death, my blood pressure was out of control and my heart rate was off the charts. My poor husband tries to help as best he can, but he is at a loss at what he can do. Sadly there is nothing he can do to make my nerves calm down.

My sister and mom arrive around 10 AM. I am so glad they are able to make the drive to help me out as my sister stayed behind to take care of Abram and my Mommy went with me to the hospital to keep me in check!

The moment I walked through the doors of the hospital I am a basket case. The thought of the IV going in, the medicine to knock me out freaks me out, coming out of surgery gives me the shakes and I hate the fact I have to be there in the first place. I have issues.

Into my hospital gown I go, the IV is put in, I am laying on the hard 'bed' with some sort of hot air mattress on top of me with a blanket(?) to keep me warm. I had three wonderful nurses who tried their best to put me at ease. I am convinced nurses are angels on earth! After I am set and prepped for surgery my worrisome husband, Mom and three, wonderful, dear friends come to my side to sit and talk with me until I am wheeled off.

An hour and half I have to wait and honestly without all of them there talking and distracting me would have been a nightmare. They will never know how much I love them for being there for me. Taking time out of their busy schedules and lives to just sit and talk and make me laugh, there is no words of appreciation I can give. They were my lifesavers. I get tears in my eyes as I write about them all. God sent me wonderful friends to make this journey bearable and I am grateful.

Despite the circumstances that sent me to the hospital it was the best experience I could have prayed for! I remember nothing, I came out of the sleeping medicine with tons of energy and alertness and was ready to go home. We were leaving the hospital by 2:30 PM. We made a drive through the pharmacy and through Chick-Fil-A(I was STARVING) and then were on our way home.

I sat on the couch the rest of the afternoon talking with my Mom and sister and a couple hours later my SIL and brother were there with my two sweet boys. Everyone left around 6 PM.

It is now almost 11 PM and I still have not fallen asleep. The pain medicine hypes me up and I have been sitting in my bed all evening watching TV, catching up on blogs, downloading photos and writing posts! Brian has taken over the rest of the house and is not allowing me out of this room. Bless this man!

Physically I feel fantastic and for this I am glad. I have no pain, have a great appetite and am ready to resume my boring daily routine. Emotionally I am feeling good too. Friday was by far the roughest day for me. Many tears were shed. I know there my still be lingering emotional times to go through, but I have a baby to love and hold onto and this has given me great comfort.

I will never know the 'why' of losing this baby and I am at peace with this. Even if God gave me a reason I still don't know if I would understand. What I do know is I have many things to be thankful for. I choose to focus on those things in my life.

I believe I will still be blessed with baby #4 in my future.

I hope with all the downtime I have in the next couple of days I can update this poor neglected blog with stories of our vacation to Disney World, kindergarten basketball and my 10/11 month post of Abram. There is so much share!

20 weeks-Halftway Point

This morning was the big day. We were finding out the sex of the last little Lusty baby. Here I was halfway through with being pregnant forever and I was excited to see what we were having. This had been the dream pregnancy people talked about. The one where you loved being pregnant. No morning/afternoon/evening sickness, nauseousness or acid reflux to speak of. My only symptoms seemed to be extreme tiredness and an occasional bout of crying at the most ridiculous commercials. All was manageable and we were on our way.

I had my babysitter lined up for Abram when Cooper decided he didn't want to go. I had mentioned making a trip to Sam's after the appointment and he was a no-go. "Just tell me if it is a boy or a girl when you get back, I'm playing checkers with Brooke," he said. So off I left with just one big four year old boy to my doctor's appointment.

Ultrasound lady called my name and I asked if we could wait five more minutes for my husband who had a slight brain blimp on the time of the appointment and was running late. I told him I was going to go in without him, but decided at the last minute to wait.

I laid down on the table and turned to see the monitor full of anticipation. Two weeks earlier I had heard the heart beat which was strong, but had yet to feel the baby move. There on the screen was our baby. . . and he was very still.

Yet beautiful. He looked very peaceful curled in the fetus position, sleeping like the little baby he was. Absolutely no movement. I began to ask why as the technician moved the wand around my ever growing belly. She was silent and my heart was racing. Why wasn't he moving?!

"I'm sorry honey, there is no heartbeat."

I looked at Brian, the tears beginning to swell in my eyes, and quickly looked at Wyatt who was busy playing his Leapster with his headphones on. Turning my head back to the screen I saw my little boy again and was trying to hold in the tears as best I could.

"You can see water on the brain here. This tells me he had some sort of infection, which eventually took his life. Of course you can never know 100%. Let me step out a moment and speak with the doctor."

I stared at the ceiling my mind stopped as I pictured the tiny baby on the screen. Gone. My shattered expectations were hard to bear. Get me out of here now!

She came back and ushered us across the hall and into the doctor's office immediately to our own private room. We waited on the doctor and looked at each other in disbelief. Was this really happening? At twenty weeks? We were only here to find out the sex of the baby and be on our way to tell all our friends! My phone rings at least five different times while we are waiting for the doctor. Thankfully Wyatt is consumed by the lack of Leapster playtime to noticed anything out of sorts.

The doctor comes in to express his deepest sorrows and explains the steps to be taken from here. I have two choices (1)Outpatient surgery where I will be completely asleep. Tissue will be taken completely out. No chance of testing done on baby to determine what went wrong. (2)Induction and eventual delivery of baby. High dosage of pitocin and normal delivery steps taken. Benefit is baby would be able to be tested.

Choice #1 which sadly cannot be done until Monday. Why did my appointment fall on a Friday?! Off to the hospital we go for blood work and pre-op paperwork. First phone call to my Mom. The thought of calling people who are expecting exciting news and having to deliver horrible news is heartbreaking. I can only call two people who will call others for me. I cannot quit crying.

Third floor of the hospital, labor and delivery. I fill out the paperwork and sign the official documents and am on my way for bloodwork. Ten minutes later we are in the van and driving.

Just as friends and family don't know what to do or say . . . I don't know how to feel or say to them. It is a whole awkward moment I don't want to face. At times I feel at peace with the situation and the next moment I am crying at lost dreams. I know my friends and family are sorry and some more upset at times than me. Just looking at them and seeing the disappointment is to much. I just want to disappear for a time and come back and things are back to normal. I hate for others to feel sorry for me or worry about what they should say.

I am thankful for blogs to get out my thoughts. I am anxious for Monday's surgery and am ready for it to be over. Tomorrow we are celebrating my nephew Ben's first birthday and I hope I don't make the day uncomfortable for anyone. I sure don't want to be a rain cloud on my sweet nephew's day.

I have three beautiful healthy boys who I am very grateful for. I am sad I will not be able to meet my fourth little boy face to face and wasn't able to protect or put my arms around him to show him how much he was loved.

So ends this pregnancy.

Unexpected Moments

*I've lost the cord to charge my camera and I am to lazy to go to the store to buy batteries for it, therefore it is the camera's fault I have not updated the blog. I hate writing and not having any pictures!*

Stars must align, the air must be just the right temperature and most importantly all people involved MUST have an open schedule for this Mom and Dad to get away for a night, let alone a whole weekend. We had such an opportunity last weekend as I drove the two hours to drop the boy's off at my parents house.

What did we do you ask? hotel? beach? loads of fancy dinners? quiet alone time? sleeping? more sleeping? No. We chose to go with our church youth group and attend as sponsors at Winterfest in Arlington, TX. I was up way past midnight each night, ate so much fast food I gained ten pounds, dealt with teenage drama and had the time of my life.

I am very glad to be married to a man who likes to be around teenagers as much as I do and is willing to give up a weekend to be together at something like this. We heard some encouraging speakers, a hilarious stand up comedian and uplifting songs that surprisingly gave our marriage a boost of joy that we were not expecting. God indeed works in mysterious ways.

Thanks to my parents(and sister, BIL and nephew who are still living there)who took on the extra challenge of three little boys. I know the work it takes and appreciate what they are willing to do to give us a chance to put the parenting duties down and have some fun with a great group of teenagers and the other sponsors that went along.

Now I need to catch up on some sleep!

Having curly, thick hair myself I love how Wyatt's hair is super straight and easy to manage. Except when he wakes up and it looks like a bird's nest. He hasn't had a haircut in over two months, but his older brother religiously visits the barber shop every ten days. Cooper has his mama's hair and the moment it gets over a half an inch long his head begins to resemble a Q-tip. That is why I can never have short hair. I've tried it once before and it isn't pretty{think Carrot Top-yikes!}

I broke down yesterday and had Wyatt's haircut. He was tired of it getting in his eyes and has been complaining for quite some time and I finally let him have his way:) No clippers are used on his fine hair, only scissors. He also gets to go to a fancy kid friendly stylist instead of the man-only barber. After he had it cut he looked at me and said "I can finally see again!" BUT(!) he looked so cute with the longer 'do'.

January is half way over and I have felt so busy and overwhelmed, yet have nothing to blog about. I am in the middle of the winter blahs and am ready for warmer weather. Sid the Science Kid and Reading Rainbow have been my homeschooling lesson plan as I am to tired to pull myself off the couch. I am still waiting for that second trimester boost of energy and hopefully it will hit soon or I will become one with the couch.

The next couple of weeks look to be quite exciting and hopefully will give me the jolt I need to finish up this winter season.

Long Overdue

So many things to blog about

-wrestling tournaments with a six year old(ugh.)

-church Christmas program(only one child participated)

-Christmas pictures 2008(went well!)

-my 9 month old

and many other things we have been busy with the past two weeks. I cannot seem to take time out to blog about the experiences as I am trying to write the annual Christmas letter. I can usually sit down and write it out in one evening and this year I am on day ten with corrections still being made. I hate writer's block.

I've been tagged(twice!)and thought it would be a great time to jump start my blog habits again.


8 TV Shows I Watch

1. LOST(starts up again in January!)

2. Grey's Anatomy

3. Amazing Race(I want to be on this show)

4. One Tree Hill(you are missing out if you are not watching this)

5. Survivor

6. The Office

7. Sons of Anarchy(on FX and shockingly brutal)

8. Gossip Girl



8 Favorite Restaurants(I'm a simple girl who can eat the same thing day after day)

1. Chili's

2. Pei Wei's(child size Lo Mien with DanDan sauce)

3. Ted's(fajitas for all)

4. Mazzio's(meatbuster with NO Italian sausage and a calizone)

5. Furr's(so many CHOICES)

6. Johnnie's(Theta burger and onion rings)

7. Marble Slab(ice cream, yes, but worth one whole meal!)

8. Chick-Fil-A(a number one with a Lemonade-value size please)


8 Things That Happened Today

1. comforted the baby with another bloody lip

2. made a breakfast fruit smoothie for Cooper & a waffle for Wyatt

3. took a shower(before noon - go me!)

4. sang the 7 continent song with Cooper at the top of our lungs

5. reminded the boys for the millionth time to stop calling each other a penis

6. texted with the babysitter-no go for a sitter on Saturday night, boo!

7. ate mini corn dogs for breakfast with ketchup, mustard and ranch dressing

8. bought stamps for my Christmas cards; plan on mailing those TODAY


8 Things I Look Forward To

1. getting my Christmas cards out of my sight

2. checking the mail for Christmas cards from my friends and family

3. traveling to my Grandma and Papa's for Christmas Eve

4. finishing the book The Shack - yikes that book is deep!

5. Christmas being over so life can be back to normal, if there is such a normalcy.

6. trip to Disney World with the two older boys

7. going to Winterfest with the youth group

8. Coffee Talk with the girls in January


8 Things I Wish For

1. health and happiness for my family

2. three boys who have a close relationship with our God

3. for my anxiety to go away and have peace for God's direction

4. to lose 100 pounds(maybe not that much, but still)

5. to not worry about how much I weigh;)

6. a housekeeper and a cook

7. and nanny and personal shopper

8. and a Christmas wrapper(can't I just hand them their gift without wrapping it?)

I now tag: PAM! my sister Amy, Carrie, cousin Shelly, my SIL Jessica and Michelle

My Christmas decorations have multiplied

Getting out the decorations for Christmas is such a daunting task for me. Starting out I am very excited and quickly pull the boxes out of the attic. Once all eight(!)boxes are safely inside I am exhausted and ready to quit, yet I realize I have a long day ahead of me. I always start with the mantle because it is the easiest to put together.

Ugh. It was a long day and my back is screaming at me as I have now decided I need to rearrange my living room too. Brian is working late so he will be excited to learn that he needs to help me move my desk and rocking chair to another room. He knows it is dangerous to leave me alone so long into the evening so he should be expecting something when he gets home. Just probably not to be moving heavy furniture!

For the sake of tradition I let the boys put the ornaments on the tree. I'm debating whether to redo it or just let it be. They seem to decorate in bundles. No ornament has its own space, they gathered in clusters. At least they all made it to the tree and not on the floor in shattered pieces, right? They were proud of their placement and so far so good with Abram not being a bit interested in the tree. He watched the whole process as he chewed on his football. He is easy to please.

It is now seven o'clock and all three boys are in bed. When daddy works late my patience begins wearing thin VERY fast, so it is early bedtime for all. Bad thing is they will be waking up at the crack-of-dawn which is not good for this late sleeper. Good thing is that Brian is only working a half day so he will be here to save the afternoon. Score!

Last night/morning I arrived home about 3 AM. It has been a LONG time since I was out on the town at that time of night. I was able to chat with a new friend(hi Amanda!)who let me tag along with her co-workers(nurses rock!)and talk about all things Twilight. We met for a late night dinner(Yum . . . Chili's)and then headed over to the theater THREE hours before the show was set to begin. When we arrived the auditorium was already three fourths full, but no matter where you sat it was a great view. Most everyone was rockin' their Twilight shirts and giddy with excitement about opening night.

The downfall of the evening was the uber excited movie worker who had his moment in the spotlight as he would come in about every thirty minutes with his LOUD microphone asking trivia questions and supposedly getting the crowd excited. At one point we endured a high school boy reciting poetry on the stage and I quote from one of those poems, "I miss you as much as a burned victim misses his skin" Yeah. The movie could not begin any quicker.

BEST part of the evening was when the lights finally dimmed and the movie began, except for the super creepy movie trailer that had me jumping out of my seat. The movie was awesome! Not as good as the book(are the movies ever as good as the books?)but the directors did a great job of casting the characters and giving a good vibe to the book. I've already made plans to see it again over Thanksgiving weekend with my mom and sister. And I plan on buying a Tshirt(go Team Edward!).

I contemplated erasing that last sentence, but it is true I am now a die hard Twilight fan;~)

My eyeballs hurt, I've gotten less sleep than with a newborn baby, my sink is overflowing with dishes, my clothes are piled high on the closet floor, every toy we own is scattered on the floor of the boy's room, my friends have been ignored, my children are wondering where their mother is, my husband has given up BUT(!) I am finally finished with book #4 in Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series. I really enjoyed the books and had a hard time putting them down to do anything productive at home. It is one of the downfalls of finding a great book, let alone a series that she has written. Once I start reading I have a hard time doing anything else until I finish it.

I am going with friends to see the opening midnight show of her first book Twilight this week! I'm very excited to see how the movie compares to the book. With the recent trails and pictures it looks to be very good!

Off to do damage control with my house and family;)

Family

Twenty eight years ago today, when I was five years old, I gained another brother(Jody) and sister(Marla) and nine months later another sister(Amy). Before then I was the oldest and ruler of my universe to my younger brother(Jonathan). It was a huge change to my little world and I actually look back on the time with fond memories. Blended families can be hard and I am grateful to have entered mine when I was young. I liked having an older brother and sister who was totally too cool for us 'babies', but had no idea how much we watched them. It was a harder adjustment for them being teenagers and realizing the world can be a harsh place to live in.

Happy Anniversary Mom and Joe! Your devotion to one another is to be admired. You both faced so many trials during your marriage and with God's grace moved through them all! Did you ever think all five of us would move out so you could have the house to yourselves? HA! Too bad . . . we are bringing on the grandkids;~) I love you both very much and appreciate the spirit of family you try to instill in your children.

Are you free to babysit next weekend?

Lesson Learned-Again.

A couple of weekends ago we had the privilege of dog sitting for a cadet at Brian's school. A few times a year I have the urge to get a dog. I think of all the fun the boys could have and the responsibility they would learn. This was our test run and I am glad after three days the owner came and took him home. This little two pound dog it WORK! Little Dalton cured the need for a little puppy to join our family at this time. The boys did have a great time playing with him, but I had to watch them constantly to make sure they didn't hurt the little dog unintentionally. No matter what the owner had to say about the little guy being potty trained is hog wash. His little bladder could barely hold an ounce before he was going again. Therefore he spent the majority of his time in the garage or on the back porch. Hopefully the next time I feel the need to get a dog I will return to this page and relive the work it takes to have one! We will not be getting a puppy until the last of my babies is at least five. You heard it here and Mom you can hold me to that;~)

I have been tagged twice and I am going to get this done all in one post. In the first one I was tagged by Jessi and the rules are as follows: you had to take pictures of the things listed with no straightening or cleaning. Easy enough . . . let the games begin.

The Master Closet: a bunch of clothes that I don't wear half of anymore

My Sink: I am an Arbonne lover!

Favorite Room: The backyard is very peaceful and I love to sit out here and watch the boys play and run around. One of these days I will get a patio set, until then it makes for a great place to make a sidewalk city!

Self Portrait: It is ME for better or worse



Inside the refrigerator: Yum . . . I am getting hungry!

Kitchen Sink: yes, the sink is clear of dirty dishes and I PROMISE I took this when I was suppose too. I am a freak of nature who cleans way more than I need too. Laugh all you want, but there are days I should be doing other things and I just clean. *sigh* There was another tag going around about the inside of your vehicle. I couldn't bring myself to show others the inside of my clean van. It is a illness, seriously! BUT LOOK! See I am a collector of all things on the countertops. I am normal, see?

The second tag I was hit with MONTHS ago and I am just now getting around to it, bad me! Gina I have not forgotten you and this tag is for you! Six Random Things About Me". Here are the rules: Link to the person who tagged you, mention the rules, tell six quirky, yet boring & unspectacular things about yourself.

1. I drink a full luke warm water bottle every morning before I eat breakfast. It is like my morning coffee. I'm not sure why I do this, but it wakes me up and gets me going in the morning. I like to drink my warm water and read my blogs before the boys get up.

2. My momma taught me to make my bed every morning right when I get up and I am a good rule follower because I still make my bed every morning.

3. I cannot stand to cook. I have no desire to cook dinner for my family and each day I groan at the thought at what to make for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I get no satisfaction at making a great meal. My poor family. I am just setting up my future daughter in laws for greatness;)

4. The phone is my enemy. I do not like to talk on the phone. There are many times I let it ring even when I am capable of talking to the other person, I just don't want too. It drives my friends and family crazy. Email is my best friend.

5. Laundry is an all day process. I must wash ALL dirty clothes and when the dryer beeps all the clothes come out and are folded immediately. All clean clothes stay on the couch in piles(hanging, underwear, socks, shorts, Tshirts, etc)until all the loads are finished and then I put it all away. Laundry is usually done once a week.

6. I MUST sleep with a box fan at every season of the year. This includes when we travel. My husband loves packing up the box fan and NEVER complains about it-do you hear the sarcasm?

I Gave You Fair Warning

Dearest sister,

At our white trash weekend I was trying to get a picture of the group in Mom's living room. You were being very unruly and not posing nicely each time I tried to take a picture. I gave you fair warning that if you continued to make that horrible face that I would post it on my blog. Did you change you ways? The answer is shown in this picture . . . no. You thought since my blog was on hiatus I had forgotten this little rebellion, but I did not. This is really your doing as I specifically named the price for your actions. Here's to you little sis!

Love,
Your wiser older sister

tap, tap, tap . . . is this thing on?

*phone ringing*

me: "hello?"

SIL: "jenny, is everything going okay?"

me: "yeah . . . why? have you heard something differently?"

SIL: "no, you just haven't updated in a LONG time."

me: "glad to know somebody still cares. I'll get right on it."

SIL: "thanks. are you sure all is going okay . . . ?"

me: "yes! facebook and fall season premieres have taken over my life."

SIL: laughing, "sounds just like you!"

me: "thanks, I'll go update now."

Another Year Goes By

I love September for many reasons. The beginning of fall weather, the State Fair, the beginning of school, and the best part of all MY BIRTHDAY! This is my sister Marla and myself at a joint birthday party at my Grandma's house. I turned 7 and my sister turned 12. Are you not just loving our new clothes? In 1982 these clothes were cool and my Grandma had good taste, still does to this day. She is what I would call a hip grandma.

Sidenote: I have a feeling my mother is having a hard time focusing on the words of this post because she realizes I took another photo from her album. Mom-I PROMISE I will return this picture and put it back in its rightful spot. I am only preserving this picture now on my website, it will not be lost with the other pictures in your magnetic(!) photo album. The end:~)

Even at 33 I still love when my birthday comes around. I am a bit selfish and it is the one day a year I want to focus on me, me me. It is all about what I want to do, eat and spend the day. Thankfully I have a great family that caters to my selfish ways. I can blame this weakness on my parents, right? Be worried. I am passing this tendency onto my children who also get their own special day ONCE a year. I'd like to keep the spirit alive;)

Off to celebrate!

Choices

I'm sure you already know about this. It was shown over and over on TV, right?

OK, so maybe it wasn't shown over and over, but surely it was shown on TV at least one time, wasn't it ?

This was the largest re-enlistment ceremony ever held in military history.

The ceremony was held on the 4th of July, 2008 at Al Faw Palace, Baghdad , Iraq . General David Petraeus officiated.

This amazing story was ignored by the 'mainstream' media.For those who have been in the Al Faw Palace, you'll have a better appreciation of the number of people crammed around the rotunda supporting the re-enlisting soldiers. American men and women volunteering to stay longer in Iraq, so that when we leave, the new democracy will have a chance of surviving, is the exact opposite of what the media wants you to think about Iraq.

If only a bomb had killed 5 civilians in a marketplace - now that's the kind of news the media is eager to tell you about.

A pizzeria in Chicago donated 2000 pizzas that were made and shipped to Baghdad , and were delivered on the 4th. The media did report that 2000 pizzas were sent to Iraq on July 4th... The only part they left out of the report was the event for which the pizzas were sent.

I can't help but wonder...What would the opinion of Americans be if they weren't getting such obviously biased 'news?'

I googled this story the moment I read it in my inbox this morning. I found a great you tube video of the ceremony. . . WOW! It is amazing all the bad news you hear on the news about the war and how the positive news stories go unheard of.

I am by no means a political enthusiast, it all becomes hazy in my eyes. I have watched both the Democratic and Republic National Conventions. Obama's speech was amazing and powerful and there is no doubt he is a wonderful speaker. Speaking with friends they felt the same way as I did. McCain, eh? Not the best speaker, but listening to the message tuned in the left side of my brain. Leaving my emotions out-I can make a decision.

1.215 soldiers, marines, sailors and airmen made the choice to re-enlist. THEY feel they are making a difference and who better to know than the people actually THERE and doing a job they feel strongly about. Let us not sit and watch our TV and listen to the news radio and make a decision by what others are telling us. Go, research and read up on the candidates. Look for the positives, there is enough of the negative floating around.

My name is Jennifer Lusty and I approve this message ;~)

Becoming Flexible

As I was scrubbing pee off the floor, walls, ceiling(!) and the actual toilet of the boy's bathroom on Saturday my thoughts were going wild. The beginning of the school year for the Huz is always busy. The past two weeks have been brutal as he is up and gone by 4:15 each morning and not home until 6:00 pm. I have been in single parent mommyhood and here I was after a LONG week cleaning the nastiest bathroom ever. Pity party for me as I was on all fours scrubbing away as HE was at the big football game. . . on the field. Brian had slept in until 6:30 AM on Saturday before he was dressed and gone, back to work. Ugh.

I had planned to have a babysitter and was looking forward to joining him for the day and into the evening as he had been working on a HUGE project for the ROTC, HooahPalooza. Here is the Tshirt he designed for the event which was held on campus corner after the game and well into the night. He has been working on this project all summer and was very excited to see it coming together. It was a block party held outside on campus corner where they had coordinated with five different bands for the evening. We were planing on going to the pregame activities, the game and off to the party afterwards. Let the good times roll, yeah!

Only one little glitch, my babysitter was a no-go. Boo! Did it changed his plans? No. Did he have to find a suitable replacement? No. Was he stressed because he hasn't had a 'break' and was exhausted from parent duties? Maybe. That was beside the point, because he still was able to go and enjoy all that he had been working on for so long. I was staying home, no plan B. Hello? Pity party 101.

There I was scrubbing away mad at all the pee two little boys can make and wondering how much a nanny could really cost. Luckily I did have a last minute replacement and although I wasn't able to go to the game or enjoy the fun pregame activities I was going to go to the after party and I was going to make the best of it.

At 6:00 I turned in my mommy card and headed out to meet Brian at campus corner. This was the exact moment a MILLION people were leaving Norman and I sat in traffic for an HOUR wondering again why I was excited to get away from the house. Then I looked down at my gas gauge. Empty. Seriously . . . I am a gas Nazi , yet there I was with a flashing light taunting me as I sat in the middle of traffic.

Did I mention that I left my cell phone at my parent's house, last weekend? Yup. and I still didn't have that dern thing so I have no way of calling Brian to let him know my gas crisis or where the heck I was in this mass of cars. I make it about two miles away when I ask some random if I can use his cell phone. I call Brian in hysterics about the gas issue and then traffic finally begins to move and I throw the phone out the window and go. I pull into a grass parking lot as the van glubs to a stop. I walk towards campus with my purse held closely and my keys outright ready to stab the first person that crosses me(I'm crazy like that).

Luckily half way there Brian spots me as he is making his way trying to find me on the road. All's well and today it makes for a good laugh. At the time, not so funny.

I must brag on my husband, HooahPalooza was awesome. One band in particular you must go see if you are ever in the Norman area, Mike Hosty Duo. Hilarious and very talented. We had the best time! The weather was perfect and even though the day didn't turn out as well as I would have liked, it ended great. I was out until MIDNIGHT and felt like a renewed woman. Poor husband crawled in about 1:30ish and was up this morning bright and early to teach the high school bible class. Gotta love him!

Tomorrow morning class will be conducted in the bathroom as I will once and for all teach the boys how to clean the bathroom MOMMYway. In twenty years their wives will thank me;~)

And I Only Thought I Would Be Watching Children

A service project I remember doing with my youth group was work camp. For five straight days I was up BEFORE the sun meeting with other kids, dividing into our team groups and going into rundown neighborhoods where we spent the mornings and half the afternoons scrapping and repainting family's houses. In the evening we went home to shower and then met up again at another church for activities and social time. I loved every minute of it, even drenched in sweat. Each group would average two to three houses that were completely repainted and the families that we served were just amazed teenagers would be willing to give up a week of their summer to help people they didn't even know. It was a good feeling showing the love of Christ.

Today I was able to serve my community along side my church family and the feelings I had serving when I was a teenager came flooding back to me. Our church organizes a 'Back to School Roundup' event to give away backpacks filled with all the school supplies a student could need ranging from elementary kids to middle school students. Volunteers also give free haircuts, check for lice, do finger print ID cards for children, have bounce houses and games, and provide lunch. It is a amazing experience to see unfold and I am grateful to be a part of it.

Even though I haven't been out of the country on a mission trip I am able to bring the mission right to the community I live in, to the people I come in contact with daily. The people that showed up today thought it was all about the free event and getting backpacks, school supplies and a new haircut. I know that we are planting seeds inside the hearts of the children and parents we served. God was working through me today opening my eyes to all the possibilities HE can bring. I may not see any of those people again, but that doesn't mean I didn't make an impact. By showing up today and by listening, smiling, encouraging and complimenting I put what was needed into their heart. I saw my other church family members doing the same and we worked together to bring the message that Christ cares for us regardless of who we are, what we wear or where we live. We are ONE under him. I will never be able to know who all was touched and had a open heart to learn more about God. Even if the seeds I planted today do not grow for many more years it is worth it. One of those children might be a future youth minister, missionary, preacher, elder, children's minister and best yet a child of God.

Thank you God for allowing our church the ability to hold and facilitate something like today. I love seeing you in action and being around others who are willing to give up a Saturday to help someone else who needs it. Thank you for showing me the importance of planting seeds, even small ones and what you can do with those.

Back & Better Than Ever

After six LONG days I have my computer back at home, yeah! Never fear I was not completely out of the loop for my husband brought his laptop home for me to use as mine was being fixed. So not only have I not had my mother around to talk to this week BUT I also couldn't blog and believe me when I tell you . . . alot has been goin' on!

I went old school this week as I went to each.individual.blog. to catch up on what was going on with my peeps. It was exhausting to say the least. THEN when I actually went down the screen to another site it was quite annoying to see that all my efforts of getting to another blog were wasted as they had not updated. Quite frustrating! You see, I have all the blogs I read neatly packaged into a program called Sharp Reader. It is so smart that it checks all the blogs I read daily and tells me when my 'friends' update. With one click I am able to see all the blogs that have been properly updated and I read and catch up. Done! I do not see how some of you still visit each blog everyday. Hats off to you!

As quickly as I could I put the boys to bed so I could hook up my fixed computer. The first thing to check was the trusty Sharp Reader. 188 . . . that is how many blogs had updated in the last six days. Whew! I will be up half the night just reading it all;)

It's good to be back!

Been There, Done That

I am not an overachiever as some of my friends, but here is my only 100 list from almost a year ago.