Looking For The Best....

Looking for the best... where do I begin. Life needs to slow down a bit. :)

The daughter is starting to look at the next step for college and the son is taking it easy for a while since he is not playing basketball this year. They are growing up quickly. The husband... well, he really is the best!! I am not just saying that because you should say that about your spouse... he really is the best husband in the world. I wish those that didn't really know him would have the chance. He is truely my best friend in the whole world. I don't know what I would do without him.

I am not going to post the gripes on this one as there could be so many since it has been a while since my last post. Our family has married off one of my sisters. It was by far the best wedding that I have ever been to. There was a lot of laughing - which who doesn't want that?


We are getting ready for Christmas, and hoping the money will hold up. :) My goal is to pay off a couple more bills in 2011. I would like to be debt free on the credit cards by 2012. That is a far stretch... but I am going to try hard to keep on a basic bill schedule. I am going to have to come up with some cheap ideas to help make up the lack of moo-lah we have. :) I guess it is time to start googling. :)

As for my job... there will be some changes after Monday night - but can't post them until after that. It's not that it is top secret - but it really isn't for me to tell it, as it really is not about me - but it will affect me. I will just wait... and that is really hard for me. :) I don't like what is going on... but it is a change - and we have to do what is best for our own personal being and learn to "LOOK FOR THE BEST".

As for now... I will close this post and try to at least blog once a week. I am not sure that anyone really reads my posts - but it is a good outage when you don't want to think about it anymore. I just write it down and then let it go.
So, I will leave you with one of my favorite quotes:

"We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned,

so as to accept the life that is waiting for us."- Joseph Campbell

Thoughts for the day...

Well, it is another day.... good or bad - life keeps happening!

Here are my thoughts for today!
Thought #1: H's school classes are driving me nuts. If they say that they are elective classes then let the students elect them - quit sticking them in classes that are not interesting to them. We did get them changed but after it was supposedly all said and done - the principal yelled at my kid and pretty much called him a liar. Just so that it is known... the principal also told me that there is a teacher that can't handle the students and that is why my child can't be in the class he wants. But hey, just punish the students... give them 3 classes as choice and see how far that goes. From this day on, I will not visit with him regarding anything that has to do with my child - I will go to the superintendent before I even stoop to his level again.
Thought #2: A is probably going to get called up to active duty again. So, back to Iraq he will go. We will know more in the next couple weeks.

Not as bad as it could have been, huh? Well, there will probably be more to say... but for now - I just have to think about things so that you don't get all my ramblings. :)

I just need to keep remembering to...
Love My Enemies & This to Shall Pass

Crazy Weekend...

Finally, I think I just might have learned how to be a parent. Just kidding... but I am trying to be better.

My son, H, is putting us to the test. He is such a great kid - but makes a few bad judgements here and there. So my weekend home alone - was anything but. :) He was at a friend's house and was supposed to stay the night - but decided to come home around 1 in the morning. Yes, I know he is only 16, but he acts older than he is. Anyway - he had been drinking at this friend's house... not really sure why the keys were not taken away... He drove as far as a tire shop and then called me to come get him. I was more mad that he drove to that spot. If he wanted to come home - he should have called first from there. So, I put my contacts in and went to get him. A and L were gone - so we had to leave his car at the shop. He got in the vehicle and gave me his wallet and phone. LOL - I never even asked for them. Then he proceded to tell me that he had messed up. I just listened... and that was hard! I only told him that we would be getting up early to go and pick up his car and that is life was pretty much mine for a while. We were up bright and early, like 6:30, and he has been pretty good so far.

We went to work on T's college house that day also... and he worked hard. He never griped once. Hopefully, his attitude will keep up as the grounding continues.

It was just some cleaning here and there - but overall, it is a cute house.
Here are a few before shots....

Here is her bathroom!

Here is her room before the cleaning!
And the kitchen!

Overall - we worked hard - and at the end of the day... we accomplished quite a bit!

Anyway... that was my crazy weekend. It started out crazy, but in the end would we want it any different? Life is just that... life... and no matter what my kids do... I would not want them any other way! I love them bunches and wouldn't trade them for anything. Once again - family is great!!

P.S. He even cleaned the house today! How crazy is that?? :)

Perspective

Gripe #1: Ok - so I have been officially put in my place by a younger sister. :)

I probably deserved it - should have minded my own business. I just get tired of people griping about my family members. So I made the comment that it needed to stop and then all "H" broke loose. LOL that is to put it mildly. So be it - she sent me an e-mail with all her thoughts rolled up in one and like I said - I probably deserved it. So lesson well learned.... It is all in perspective and obviously my perspective was not right - but isn't Life great?!? Everyone is so unique and I guess thats what makes the world go around.

Ok - so enough of that!!!

Here are a couple more gripes since I can no longer gripe to my family... LOL!! I will use this blog to do all my wonderful news (happy or sad....it's going to be here.... sorry but you've been warned).

Gripe #2: Train up a child in the way that they should go and when they are old... they will not depart from it! So... guess I should have read those words a little closer... I love my children - but sometimes they show no respect. I know that they are getting older and that they have minds of their owns... but on the other hand - they need to know when to zip it!

NON-Gripe #3: On to better news.... The middle sister is getting married!! Yea!! My only wish for them is that they are happy and living for the now... cause life changes daily. (Insert scream here) I have to come up with the toast. That makes me nervous!! :) Hopefully, she will not be too disappointed. At least I still have 4 months to figure it all out. It will be a beautiful wedding!!

Because it is all in our perspective.

Little things can either worry us to death or it can go with the flow.

It's all in how we look at it.

Perspective!

Put yourself in someone else's shoes and always think before you speak.

Guess I learned the hard way. :)

Take Away The Positive!

Last Saturday was a rather awful day! The daughter played softball against a team that they have beaten before and it was kind of like their regionals. It was the best 2 out of 3 games. She pitched the first game and we lost 1 to 0. Another girl pitched the second one and our team won, so then L pitched the last game and we lost again. Our bats sucked to put it mildly!! It's just crazy! So now our season is over for the year. She is going to play one more year for junior college, and most of the freshmen are returning, so here is to next year!

TAKE AWAY THE POSITIVE!!
#1: Before the games today - she was ranked number 19 in the nation on strike outs.
#2: Her team has won more games this year than any other year.
#3: L, as a pitcher, has won more games than any other pitcher since 1989.
#4: All the freshmen are returning.
#5: We have been fortunate to have great coaches for softball, that is high school and college. It is nice to know that they are there for the girls!!

So,now I hope that putting the positive out there will change my hateful mood. :) It is just aggrivating how your life seems so good one minute and awful the next. It will make us stronger in the end - but the end seems so far away... I think they call this LIFE!

So here is my quote for this blog:
In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on.
Robert Frost

It doesn't matter that we win or lose, cause life goes on. It doesn't matter that you don't show up for a reunion, get the job that is based on who you are, or that you get your bills paid in a timely matter - all that is for sure and now... is that LIFE GOES ON. It is your faith that keeps you strong and you have to always believe that it will work out for the best.

Life Goes On & Family's The Greatest!

Adjusting My Sails

Wow! Time sure flies....

A and I have been married for 19 years. We have a daughter, L (18) and a son, H (15). Family is such a blessing!

My goal for posting is to just look at life differently. I have a tendency to not look at views for what they are and then it drives me nuts.

That is why I am adjusting my sails! This quote says it all for my first post: “I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.” I hope by posting my frustrations - that a lesson can be learned.

Pet Peave - Something that drives you crazy. So here is my first one: Sports! Basketball to be exact. The playing time never seems fair for some and it makes me sad that kids quit something because they know they will not get playing time - and this is just JV - that's what is weird. JV is a time for learning - and you can not learn if the coaches are playing kids that get their time on Varsity. I know that sometimes it can not be helped - but it is better to take a loss and have the kids play to learn - then it would be to win and not have a team next year because the kids quit. I think that the coaches of today have forgot what their job is... to make a player feel like they belong and are part of a team, to make them love the sport, and to help them get to the next level if that is the player's goal.

I love going to games - any games really - so here is my lesson learned.... Hayden hates basketball! He has been telling me that since day 1 - I just wanted him to try it in high school. But, starting today there will be no more pressure. I am going to cheer for him when he plays and not worry about who else is playing. He has really come a long way - his dribbling has improved and he is finally shooting the ball (so far, his game high is 10 points). Life is to short! So please pray for me that I can keep focused on what is really important in life - which let me say is not basketball. :)