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    October 28

    Busted!!!

    Yesterday, I was having a "low mother moment."  My main thought was "Man, I sure don't get paid enough for this job."  I was somewhat laughing at myself for such an absurd comment...being that I don't get paid at all to be a mother...but really I was just wallowing in all the circumstantial crud happening around me.  I attempted to take a mental break by walking in to my room to see if I had any emails or to go to the bathroom or something....just 2 minutes please where I don't have to take care of "mommy stuff"....and in walks Tyler....singing....What was he singing.....the VeggieTales (R) song from Madame Blueberry...."A thankful heart is a happy heart.  I'm glad for what I have.  That's an easy place to start...."   Embarrassed  OOOooo.  I was soooo BUSTED!!!!  So I took a deep breath and thanked God for my kids, family, house, friends, food, and anything else I could fit in to the time it took my to smile and laugh and finally start to sing along with Tyler.  Nothing like learning from the very person I would assume that I am supposed to be teaching.  Does this mean that he is actually learning some things from me? or is he learning things in spite of me?  Wink
    October 24

    So True!

    One Flaw In Women

     

    By the time the Lord made woman,
    He was into his sixth day of working overtime.
    An angel appeared and said,
    'Why are you spending so much time on this one?'
    And the Lord answered, 'Have you seen my spec sheet on her?
    She has to be completely washable, but not plastic,
    have over 200 movable parts, all replaceable
    and able to run on diet coke and leftovers,
    have a lap that can hold four children at one time,
    have a kiss that can cure anything from a scraped knee to a broken heart
    -and she will do everything
    with only two hands.'

    The angel was astounded at the requirements.
    'Only two hands!? No way!
    And that's just on the standard model?
    That's too much work for one day.
    Wait until tomorrow to finish.'

    'But I won't,' the Lord protested.
    'I am so close to finishing this creation that is so close to my own heart.
    She already heals herself when she is sick
    AND can work 18 hour days.'

    The angel moved closer and touched the woman.
    'But you have made her so soft, Lord.'

    'She is soft,' the Lord agreed,
    'but I have also made her tough.

    You have no idea what she can endure or accomplish.'

    'Will she be able to think?', asked the angel.

    The Lord replied,
    'Not only will she be able to think,
    she will be able to reason and negotiate.'

    The angel then noticed something,
    and reaching out, touched the woman's cheek.
    'Oops, it looks like you have a leak in this model.
    I told you that you were trying to put too much into this one.'

    'That's not a leak,'
    the Lord corrected,
    'that's a tear!'
    'What's the tear for?' the angel asked.

    The Lord said, 'The tear is her way of expressing her joy,
    her sorrow, her pain, her disappointment, her love,
    her loneliness, her grief and her pride.'
    The angel was impressed.
    'You are a genius, Lord.
    You thought of everything!
    Woman is truly amazing.'

    And she is!
    Women have strengths that amaze men.
    They bear hardships and they carry burdens,
    but they hold happiness,
    love and joy.
    They smile when they want to scream.
    They sing when they want to cry.
    They cry when they are happy

    and laugh when they are nervous.
    They fight for what they believe in.
    They stand up to injustice.
    They don't take 'no' for an answer
    when they believe there is a better solution.
    They go without so their family can have.
    They go to the doctor with a frightened friend.

    They love unconditionally.
    They cry when their children excel

    and cheer when their friends get awards.
    They are happy when they hear about
    a birth or a wedding.
    Their hearts break when a friend dies.
    They grieve at the loss of a family member,
    yet they are strong when they think there is no strength left.
    They know that a hug and a kiss
    can heal a broken heart.
    Women come in all shapes, sizes and colors.
    They'll drive, fly, walk, run or e-mail you
    to show how much they care about you.
    The heart of a woman is what makes the world keep turning.
    They bring joy, hope and love.
    They have compassion and ideals.
    They give moral support to their family and friends.
    Women have vital things to say and everything to give.


    HOWEVER, IF THERE IS ONE FLAW IN WOMEN,
     

    IT IS THAT THEY FORGET THEIR WORTH.

     
    PLEASE pass this along to all your women friends and relatives

    to remind them just how amazing they are.

    Red heartThis is an email that I have recieved at various times.  Don't know who wrote it first, but I think that is sooooo TRUE!!!  To all the ladies I know (which is a lot):  This one is for you!  May you REMEMBER your worth! Open-mouthed

    October 23

    There's only one October...

    ...Smile  Have you seen those overly dramatic comercials for the MLB playoffs?  Well Nathan and I chuckle over them all the time because I find them just plain ridiculous....and we even love baseball...go figure.
     
    Red heartWe love baseball so much at our house that we play any chance we get/any way we can. 
    Fam SepOct 07-026Fam SepOct 07-038Fam SepOct 07-019a
    October 20

    The Many Faces of Beth

    I just added pics in the photo section at the bottom of this page......Beth's faces.  She makes so many faces these days....So much personality!  There isn't much for me to say because her face tells the story so well!  Check it out.Fam SepOct 07-058
    October 16

    Ba-Nana Banana Hey!

    (That is a "song" that I would sing for Tyler some times when he was much smaller and I was in the middle of pealing his banana.)
     
    Lots and lots of Bananas!!!!  About a year ago, Tyler set a household record of eating 8 bananas in one day....the next day he ate 6.  (with no adverse reactions in the diaper department. Smile)  Over the course of this last year, his daily banana intake has dwindled to barely one banana a week....Until today the boy downed 3 and 2/3s bananas almost rapid fire for breakfast.  WHOA!  Where did this surge come from?  Does a monkey live at our house now? Surprised
     
    (Pic of Tyler at about 10mo. trying to chew on a banana with the skin still ON!)
    Family Spring 06 086
    October 13

    Cleaning House!!!

    SurprisedWhoa!!!!  Major house cleaning started today.  Man, we sure needed it!!! 
     
    Nathan and I shipped the kids off to Grandma and Grandpa's house all day today so that we could clean (9a-5p of cleaning).  I was dreading it every moment that I anticipated the process starting....you see....I am a major packrat and I am learning to let go of more stuff.  Because, let's face it....it really is just stuff and most likely JUNK!  Nathan is the level headed one in this scenerio and he totally helped me keep focus and prioritize.  Storage bins were purchased.  Furniture was moved out/around.  Clothes were pitched/donated.  A rental container for stuff was rented (we are slowly considering a move so if staging has to be done for "strategy" then our stuff has to go somewhere).  We are not even close to half way done...so many nooks and crannies have not been touched and Nathan can't get his car in the garage at the moment....but OOOOO EEEeee, you can see some major progress!  (I kinda wish I had some before and after pics but really the before shots could be quite embarassing) 
     
    After the kids had a ball playing like crazy with the grandparents and taking some huge naps, we brought them home.  What was Tyler's reaction (Beth went straight to bed)? 
    "We cleaned up."
    "Yes, son. We cleaned up.  Does it look nice in here?"
    "Where's all the stuff?"
    He then walks over to a small red box (that he hasn't seen for a while and I keep notes and cards from Nathan in) and says, "Is it in here?"
    Needless to say I find this all very humorous and interesting...like a rocking chair would fit in a 12inx10inx4in box.  In the end, he realized that his basketball hoop from the living room now fits in his room so that is all that he seems to care about at the moment. 
     
    All I care about at the moment is that I and We made it through.  I did it without giving up.  We did it without any real fueding or tension....we were pretty calm the whole day.  And now, I and We feel so relaxed and free with all the new found space/air in our house.  So, knowing that we need to do more on the next free weekend is somewhat exciting to look forward to.  Weird!  Wink
    October 08

    Usin' Your Cranium

    Tyler discovered our game:Cranium.  Of course he wanted to play the game but it is really and adult game so we took parts and pieces of it and made our own game....mostly matching the "guys" to the board and talking about all the pictures on the board.  Two amazing things happened as Tyler was trying to process all this information against what his young noggin already knew and I will share it here-
    1) A very early comment he made, when I tried to point out the pictures of the brains and expain that they are on the inside of his head, was that "feet in the shoes, in the Dr. Seuss book of ABC's"....what does that have to do with anything!?!?!?!  Well what he really meant was Oh, the Places You'll Go, by Dr. Seuss.  We went and tracked down the book, he turned to the 2nd page of writing, pointed and said "there is the brains in shoes."  All I could do is laugh and examine the page with amazement....it says "You have brains in your head.  You have feet in your shoes. ..."  Yep, he knew it.  There is a picture of a guy walking around streets so I don't think he gets it all but he sure has stuff memorized and can pull information from what seems like nowhere. 
    2)  After that we were back to playing and attempting to draw/scribble pictures.  I asked him to "draw Beth" just to see what he would do.  Rather than draw anything, he stated that Beth is pink and Tyler is blue.  Ok, maybe a little social condtioning here with clothes and all but I decided to probe him more....Mommy is silver and Daddy is red.  Really!?!?  My theory is that silver is a reference to my jewelry (which is gold) and red is because Daddy has a favorite red IU t-shirt that he wears frequently. 
     
    I am not sure that any of us will know trully what was behind the comments and thoughts but Tyler is capable of some BIG thoughts.  And really, the two kids in my house never cease to amaze me. Red heart God has bound up so much stuff into childrens' bodies and brains that having such upclose encounters with my two blows my mind on a regular basis.  (I need to remember that the next time temper tantrum and fits find their way into our house/conversations.)  However, it might be a little better for them also, if I stop observing them like I am back in Chemistry/Physics lab again....there are no reports to write....Tongue out just learning and fun to be had in this funkylife.
    October 03

    She's a movin'

    We have a "mover" and a "shaker" in our house.....BETH!  Smile  She used to make the distance in the pics (across the living room) in about 1.5hr.  Now she is at about 30min.  Yet, she does not really crawl....it is more of a scoot.  Her motivation: Party Tyler and his toys!
    October 01

    What is the meaning behind "Funkyhammer"?

    I am asked that question quite often and it is usually accompianied by some giggles.  So, since this is still is a relatively new website under the "Funkyhammer" umbrella...I figured that I could type the story once here and sort of cut down on the number of questions.  So....(DRUM ROLL PLEASE)....Here it is (Beware it is not as glamorous as you might think):
     
    One day, my senior year of college, two friends of mine and I were walking down the hall to a meeting (or the computer lab...exact detail is a little foggy now, but I can picture the hallway).  We were discussing how there was this one sister group of ours on campus where a high percentage of the guys had nicknames and maybe even a few girls.  So we were contemplating how really there were no guys in our group with nicknames. (The great quandries of life) Wink.  One guy said, "yeah, like someone could be named 'Funky Hammer' or....".  I don't remember all of the examples any more but my freind PJ constantly reminds me that I volunteered for the nickname at that point in the conversation.  I think that I may have agreed to it as a joke...to be facetious...but the details are now foggy and the name has stuck because of my crazy dance habits in college...I think...Hmmm.  Yeah, I said this wasn't a glamorous story, but there you have it folks.  Smile
     
    PS-I know that there are many spelling errors in this entry because I used words that I don't usually spell very often and I can't find the spell check in this program....I think that maybe I should start doing rough drafts in Word(R) and then cut and paste to this....at least then I will know where the spell check is. Tongue out  Wow! Modern Technology, am I/are we really that dependent!?!?!  Now there is a question to ponder.