Max

So I'm sitting here not wanting to start part-time job number two and was trying to think of something I could post about.   Then it hit me!  I've not told you about Max!

Some time back, my mom told me a stray dog had come around their house.  This is not unusual.  They are way out in the country and unfortunately people drive "out there where no one will ever know" and dump their dogs out to fend for themselves.  We are not sure if this is what happened to Max or if he truly just ran away or what.  Nonetheless, after a week of not feeding him and consistently shooing him away to no avail, my parents gave up the fight and decided to keep the dog. 

For a while the dog was called "dog."  Finally the kids and grandkids all pitched in with what they thought the dog's name should be.  Then we voted.  (My family is nothing if not a democracy.)  Max received the most votes so Max it was. 

My parents have talked about getting a dog for a long time but never went through it.  I don't think they ever would have.  Enter Max.  He's a holy dog - straight from the heavens we say.  God knew my parents needed something to take care of (I'm sure if they could read this right now they would say, "Yeah, right!") and be a companion to.  That's why God sent Max to them. 

Well, that may be a little overdramatic but anyway you look at it they have a dog now.  And the awesome thing is they really like this dog.  I mean, really, really like this dog.  They have become, uh-oh, attached. 

And so have my kids......

Things I Do Not Know

A funny thing happened the other day.  Brad asked me if I had noticed how Poptart has started saying, " I know" to everything.  Now this in itself is not funny, but in light of the post I've been working on (in my head) it is a little ironic. 
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I remember a specific conversation with a cousin when I was younger.  I don't remember the exact age, lower-elementary-age I would guess, that I still remember to this day. 

Apparently when I was that age I had a pretty bad know-it-all attitude.  And this cousin called me on it.  Also apparently, I said "I know" to anything and everything that anybody said to me.  She called me on that too. 

In my defense, I think I was saying it more as in "I hear you and I agree with you," but it came across as "I already knew that, why are you wasting my time telling me?"  Thus the ever-needed attitude adjustment my cousin gave me that day. 

So in honor of that conversation, here is a list of things I do not know (or perhaps just don't want to try and figure out):


I don't know why I got all teary-eyed when an elderly woman in Wal-Mart looked me in the eyes and told me to enjoy Poptart all I could - soon she'll be grown, she said. 

I don't know why hangers make me angrier faster than anything else in this world.  You can't deal with more than 1 hanger at a time or they get all hooked together and it's just infuriating. 

I don't know why I am having a hard time allowing God to have His way in my life. 

I don't know why I can't be as honest as I would like to be on this blog. 

I don't know why I bought a new bedspread that does not match the color of my walls. 

I don't know why my children have to have the TV up so loud. 

I don't know why it's so hard to keep in touch with family and friends. 

I don't know how anything works. 

I don't know how I can go to the grocery store with a well-made, well-planned out list and still think of something I forgot by the time I get home. 

I don't know what Brad is going to be when he finishes school or where we'll have to go for Brad to be whatever he is going to be when he finishes school.  I do know this terrifies me. 

I don't know how Poptart is going to like Kindergarten. 

I don't know what the parents of my students think of me as a teacher. 

I don't know if my friends really like me. 

I don't know how Gogurt can eat so much. 

I don't know why I let some people intimidate me. 

I don't know how to stay close to God all the time. 

I don't know why I love chocolate so much. 

I don't know why men are so sexually driven. 

I don't know why God keeps blessing me when I do not deserve it. 

I don't know how to really have church. 

I don't know how to tell people what they mean to me without crying like a blubbering idiot.

I don't know why I can't witness. 

I don't know why my feet stay cold all the time. 

I don't know how Brad and I are still together. 

I don't know why, on the warmest day yet, I feel like crap and just want to go back to bed. 

I don't know what my kids will end up being.  


So there you have it.  A partial list of things I do not know.  It could go on and on.  While making this "I don't know" list, a song popped into my head.  I will leave you with the lyrics...

I don't know about tomorrow, It may bring me poverty;
But the one who feeds the sparrow, Is the one who stands by me;
And the path that be my portion, May be through the flame or flood;
But His presence goes before me, And I'm covered with His blood.

Many things about tomorrow, I don't seem to understand;
But I know who holds tomorrow, And I know who holds my hand. 

Mavala - Will It Work?

ADDENDUM:  The sleepless nights I was expecting never came to pass!  Poptart is doing great!  I don't want to jinx it, but I think we may be past the thumb-sucking era.  She has even decided to give up puppy.  And for those of you who know puppy, that is serious.  He has been living on the bathroom counter for the last few days and nights.  She says she does not need him anymore.

I have to say though, she has said things like, "When this stuff wears off I'm sucking my thumb forever!"  And my favorite (about an hour after we put it on) "Momma, I think it's worked already, so I'm gonna go wash it off...."

Today she hasn't mentioned it one time.  Is this really the end?  The end of my sweet little thumb-sucking, puppy- tail-rubbing daughter?  Yeah, I think it is. 

And I'm blaming it all on Mavala.  Thank you. 
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Poptart is struggling with sucking her thumb.  She has become aware of late that it is sort of "babyish" and since she is about to turn 5 she thinks it is time to stop.  Her dentist and I agree.  (I can already see a change in her teeth). 

Enter Mavala.  It is a fingernail polish with a bitter taste that is supposed to stop thumb sucking in children.  Adults can use it too if you have a bad habit of biting your nails. 

We've been discussing doing this for days.  Some days Poptart would be all for it.  Some days she would break down in tears at the thought of it.  I told her I would do it whenever she was ready. 

She just brought me the bottle and asked me to put it on.  So I did.  Now I'm waiting.  Waiting for the tears, the begging to wash it off, the sleepless night. 

I'll let you know how it goes.......

Moving Day

Yesterday was moving day.  It went well as far as I could tell.  Nothing got broken except one wheel on a rolling storage cabinet thingy.  I for the most part tried to keep my kids out of the way.  It was hard because they were so excited.  You would have thought it was them moving into the new house.  Picking out their room, begging Pop to put their beds together, and inspecting every part of the house.  And yes, they did ask to spend the night there.  We said no.......

We haven't been back over there today.  It's sort of strange knowing my in-laws are this close.  They have always been 6 or more hours away.  Now they are less than a minute away!

They are having a couch, dining room table, and a refrigerator delivered today.  So at least now Nana can buy groceries.  Tomorrow their phone, TV, and internet get turned on.  Then they'll really start to feel normal again!  Finding doctors will probably be the next big thing on their list, a doctor for them and a vet for the dogs. 

I really hope they like it here!

They're Here!

Nana & Pop arrived safe and sound Thursday afternoon.  They were tired (Pop said he felt like he had ridden a horse all the way here after driving the U-Haul for close to 6 hours) but all-in-all they were in good spirits.  Their two dogs have also settled in nicely. 

They close on their house Tuesday.  We will be helping them move-along with some guys Brad has enlisted for some help.   For now we are all staying in our small abode...poor Pop has to sleep on the couch.  I'm sure he'll be happier than anyone to get in his new house and get back into a bed. 

And to all of their friends and family in Alabama who have been calling and texting, they're doing fine - we are taking good care of them.....so far!  

They're (Almost) Here.....

After a year or so of talking about it, it's finally happening.  Brad's parents are moving to Mississippi, to our city, and in fact, to our neighborhood. 

How do we feel about this move you ask?  We are excited, nervous, happy and a little anxious all rolled into one.  Brad and I have never in our married life (over 12 years!) lived in the same town, let alone the same neighborhood, with family.  When we were in Louisiana my family was 4 hours away and his parents were 8 hours away.  Then we moved back to Mississippi where my family was only 1 hour away and his parents were 5 hours away. 

They are moving from Scottsboro, Alabama, a wonderful small town nestled in a valley alongside the Tennessee River.  That is where Brad was born and raised, and his parents have lived there for all of their lives.  Brad left Alabama to come to college at Mississippi State which is where he met me and has never returned to live in Alabama. 

This transition will change the lives of everyone involved.  For Heaven's sake, I'm about to have babysitters!!!!  Just kidding - I have promised not to take advantage of them.  But it will be nice!

Many of you understand the aging parents thing.  And I definitely understand them wanting to be closer to their son so he can take care of them in their aging years.....

They should be arriving in a few hours.  They (them and their 2 dogs) will be staying with us for a few days until they can get into their house. 

I can't believe it's really, really happening!

Our Day Trip

Poptart and I went to see my college roommate and her son on Saturday.  Fortunately, she lives in our college town and works on campus.  So she has to put up with me coming to her house every now and then and taking a stroll down memory lane.  She gives the best tours of campus and most every sentence spoken starts with "Remember when....."

Her son and Poptart are five days apart in age.  We've got pictures of them together since they were babies.  Even though we live 2 hours apart, we have managed to get together fairly often. 

Mississippi State has changed alot since I was there.  Those students do not know how good they have it!  I could tell them a few things about how it was in the "good ole' days!"