Barefoot In The Garden

AHHHH! Home again Home again...

Jiggity Jig...

Number of Emails upon our return -- 296 (plus 16 in spam)

Number of blog posts to catch up on --over 100 (Google reader only says 100+)

Number of pieces of junk mail in the mail box - too many!

Number of new commenter's here -- 1~!

Amount of food left in cat food bowl -- NONE and one hungry kitty!

Number of days we planned to stay -- 3

Number of days we actually stayed - 4 (I LOVE homeschooling!)

Cost of one speeding ticket (garnered by hubby) --$50

Cost of vacation --- PRICELESS!!!

We had a GREAT time at Williamsburg and Great Wolf Lodge!!! I'll post details later -- goin to bed!

The shopping best left alone....

Bathing suit shopping.

I hate shopping for bathing suits. Guess what I did today. All because someone who shall remain nameless left crayons ion their pants pocket - and when I washed my WHITE and blue adorable tankini that ACTUALLY COVERED ALL THE BITS, guess what happened to it.. come on,  I bet you'll NEVER guess....

YUP -- GREEN, RED, YELLOW AND BROWN all over it. Did I mention we're going on vacation in 2 weeks? To Great Wolf Lodge? You know that cool place with the indoor WATER-PARK? UGH... so I had to submit to shopping for, TRYING ON, and actually buying a new bathing suit.

I'd rather go to the dentist. And those of you, gentle readers, who know me in real life and would say -"But Heather! You look great, you're slim! What are you complaining about?"  I will TELL you what I am complaining about -- clothing hides an multitude of sins, a bigger back end than you think, and railroad tracks and saggy baby belly skin galore. All of which are shown to their "glory" in most bathing suits.

Sigh.

Nothing like going in Target and having your son (in his less than quiet voice) point to a poster on the wall and announce "Mama, you better not buy that one! It's not modest!!" (K~ in his defense it wasn't modest - it was a string bikini). BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE!! While in the torture chamber dressing room, having said less that quiet son say as you're trying suits on "Oh no mama, NOT THAT ONE", or "NONONO , not that one either - THAT doesn't look good".

You all can't have him - he's MY little ray of sunshine.

Truthfully, finding a modest bathing suit (you know not cut to my navel and properly covering the "girls" while also covering my more ample posterior without looking Grammy-ish) for a non-laugh inducing price is about as easy as finding the Holy Grail. I refuse to pay $90 for the TOP half of a bathing suit. 

However as hope springs eternal, and we ARE going on vacation in 2 weeks - I kept looking. And I WAS SUCCESSFUL!!!! I got an adorable Tommy Hillfiger tankini (but wait Heather - didn't you JUST say you would not spend $90 for the top of a bathing suit?? Why yes, yes I did - pray, continue reading) and another by Longitude (and yes it's plus size - which I am apparently in when it comes to bathing suits). And I got them both for $60! YES gentle readers - I got 2 name brand bathing suits in a brick and mortar store for $60 TOTAL! Where you ask -- why TJ Maxx of course. And next time I will go there first.

And all while dragging 2 children along - who did not cease to point out that most bathing suits were "not modest Mommy" THAT was fun, really, try it sometime. Make sure the kids point out that about a string bikini next to a woman who has just reached over to pluck one of said bathing suit off the rack. Good Times!

I would post pictures of the suits (the SUITS-- not me IN the suits-- I don't want to shock anyone!!) but hubby had the 'puter with the thingymabob for the camera....

OMW!! FUNNY Christians!

I borrowed this DVD from a friend of mine (I need a laugh while the hubby is STILL working out of state during the week - that makes 5 weeks now!)

Thou Shalt Laugh

It is hilarious (for the most part, there were a couple comedians I didn't laugh out loud over)... OMGosh -- just think  of this one Joke..

"Teenagers are God's revenge on mankind... It's as if God himself looked down and said "Hey, let's see how they like it. To create someone in their own image that denies their existence..."

I was really not expecting to like it as much as I did - my friend and I have very different senses of humor - she likes Jim Carey, and movies like "Something about Mary" and "Dumb and Dumber" and they have never really appealed to me. SO I was not expecting to enjoy it as much as she did.

Was sooo worth it! Comedy without curse words, or inappropriate innuendo (except for the Brownies! you gotta see it)

So go buy it rent it whatever... it's totally worth it!

Why?

Why is it the first day it's 70 degrees....

you daughter is sick, no fever, but mysteriously throwing up  everywhere....

Oh yeah and the 6 year old has a cavity. His first trip to the dentist will be to have a tooth filled. Yay. I have Mother of the Year all wrapped up this year.

SHOES!!! I HAVE SHOES!!

Muwahaha! I LOVE all my new shoes!! I have 6 new pretties. And no you can't see them. Sorry. Aren't I mean? Mostly because my hubby has the 'puter that has the doohickey that you put the camera card in and her it STILL working out of town each week. (yes, that was me screaming a high pitched banshee like wail...) And cuz - all the batteries are DEAD.

I also finished 2 adorable quilts for my kid's beds - and you get no love there either. Trust me- they are A.DOR.A.BLE. really. And I thought Thing 1's was going to turn out horrid - the fabrics are LOUD but they totally work. And HE picked them! Smart boy.

Church was nice this Sunday. I totally didn't want to go. What with the whole losing an hour and all, but I got the God alarm clock installed -- and it's really reliable, and no snooze button. WHAT?  You don't have the God alarm clock? That is the one that blares praise music in your head until you wake up, get your sorry self out of bed, and GO TO CHURCH FOR GOODNESS SAKE. Yeah, that one. So, anyway, mumbling and grumbling to the Big Guy - we got up and made it to church in record time. And YES, I HAD yelled at everyone in my family by the time we got to church.

And He had a plan for me that day. And Praise Him for it.

And today, He had another plan for us. We had to go to the post office today. And we ended up in line behind a Muslim woman covered from head to toe. She and I greeted each other, and I could truly HEAR the smile in her voice. I looked at my daughter and I could SEE that she had a question, and so could this woman. However when I asked Thing 2 if she had a question she didn't want to ask. The woman was very nice, and told her that Thing 2 had a pretty dress and that she liked T2's shoes. She still didn't want to ask. The woman and I ended up having the nicest conversation about our families. She asked how old the kids were, and the typical - "what grade are they in" question. And when I told her we homeschool, she told me that she did as well, and we got to talking about why we homeschool. She asked if I did it though the online schools, and I told her no, that I bought our curriculum because I wasted to use a Christian based curriculum and I felt that what was offered at the public school was not right for our family or faith. We continued to have a NICE conversation about our faith based reasons for homeschooling (she homeschools her 4 youngest - and has 2 married daughters).

She asked if I was Amish, which made me smile- because if you met me you would NEVER think that. However what that question reminded me is that just as there are differences between Christians in our interpretation of the Bible, there must also be differences in interpretation in Islam. Since I see some Islamic women who only cover their heads, and some who cover completely. I told her no, that I was not Amish, that I was Christan, as the Amish are but that Amish believers are a little different in their dress. She immediately understood, and said- "but you believe that Jesus was the Son..?"To which I replied, "Absolutely,with all my heart"

We continued to have a Grace filled conversation about our children and the struggles of homeschooling with faith in a worldly world. Having to be cautious of influences on our children. It was, to me, beautiful. Neither one of us felt the need to condemn the other for our faith, and neither one of us felt the need to justify ourselves.

It was truly Grace filled. I have no idea what other Christians have said or done, or if anything has ever been said or done, in the name of God and Jesus, to this woman and her family because of her faith. I pray that our 10 minutes showed the grace of God, and the hope that we have in the Lord.

When we got to the car, I praised the children for their behavior and talked to them about why I was happy. I talked with them about why this woman was covered and how I was proud that God used us today to show her God's grace and love. I pointed out that even though we do not have the same faith and that she did not know Jesus, that I was not mean and condemning to her, that the Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself" applies to EVERYONE. Not just to Christians.

And at bedtime, my babies prayed for her and her family, that they would know the love of God someday. My heart could burst.   

WHAAA HOOO!!!

We're going on vacation!!!! Great Wolf Lodge had a KILLER deal at one of their resorts (and it was an unadvertised special - so foiled again Ring-o-Thieves) and soooooo my family and my best friends family are off to a Great Wolf Lodge in 3 weeks!

I am soooooooooo excited!! We go the morning after I start my new classes -- but I'll either need the time to recover from my humiliation - or to crow with excitement. We'll see. We are visiting the co-op this week they are having a nature center nearby come in and do a couple classes, and we were invited to visit. YAY!

ALSO -- I forgot to post my KILLER deal on A.FLIPPIN.DORABLE shoes!!! K -- anyone know Zappos? Well Zappos has this great deal where they price match 110% and this other store Endless was having a huge sale --- go see Mir at WANT NOT for all the details!!! I got 6 pairs of delicious designer shoes for the price of 1!~~ And they ARE.SO.CUTE. SO now spring - hurry up and get here so I can wear my new shoes!

So -- hubby is home for the weekend! YAY!  gotta go spend time with the hubster.

Um... Hi?

Yeah -- so I've been MIA. In reality my hands have been tied. Every time I sat at the computer to write a post - my brain would shut down. I have written posts in my head dozens of times, but they never got further than that. I have written THIS post several times in my head - this is just the first time it has gotten this far.

God wanted me to SHUT UP. So I did. I have been living my life. My kids are making me nuts, they are a little squirrelly since DH has been away for the last 3 weeks for business during the week. And this will continue for at least 2 more weeks. Yay Me. I have backed off on the amount of schoolwork (IE worksheets) done during the days and the kids have responded well, they ASK to do their work. It's nice.

I have been having a grand time swapping books on PaperbackSwap.com  I have a huge box of new books to read.

I have been making 2 new twin size quilts for the Things - they have finally outgrown their crib size quilts (they are beloved though! We will still use them of course) Once they are done I will try to post a picture.

I am getting down to the wire on my Backyard Gardening class. I have been contracted to teach at a co-op nearby and 2 classes at my home. I am stunned at how I managed to start a business by "accident".

I have bought a bunch of new music -- Mercy Me, Building 429, BarlowGirl, Kutless, Steller Kart -- oh year and the WHOLE BIBLE -- on CD so I can have it on my Ipod. Cool huh? I find it especially soothing to listen to the bible before falling asleep. It doesn't replace reading the Word for myself -- but I defiantly enjoy it. And I can listen to it in the car with the kids.

Things are movin and shakin - hopefully spring will be here soon. We got a bit of snow today - and my SON shoveled the sidewalk for me. He makes my heart sing.

Now to go check on my cream cheese pound cake (yeah I'm doing really well with the hubby gone....)

OH YEAH -- Dancing With The Stars starts March 19th!!!!!!!