Word (Or Three) Depending On Your Intrepretation

Okay, I know that in this picture Abby totally looks like Sean Combs (aka P Diddy) or at least her interpretation of P Diddy.



But what she's actually saying here with all this attitude is that she really wants to be four.

Her BFF at church, Mia, turns four on Thursday (HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MIA!) and Abby informed Jason last week that she needed to be four because being three hurt her pinky finger. If she were four, she could hold up all four fingers instead of having to hold down the one.

Makes perfect sense, right?

I'm just wondering what does that mean for me when I turn the big 3-0 in August.

Ctrl + Alt + Del

If weeks like this one had a reset button, I would have pushed it way before now.

Here's a rundown of the week that the Loopers have had since my last update.

*My dad had a massive heart attack on Friday morning. He was driving to a cabinet job when he had his heart attack, passed out and totaled his van. God certainly knows what He's doing because had my dad been in his shop working, he could have fallen on a piece of equipment or lay in the floor for who-knows-how-long before someone found him. The way it happened, a lady called 911 immediately and he got attention. St. Francis is a fantastic hospital. Unfortunately they couldn't get in touch with my mom so they called me - talk about scary! - and as God would have it, Jason was off because it was my spring break and we rushed to Greenville, kids in tow, and talked to the doctor who said Daddy was lucky to be alive. He stayed in CCU overnight and then went to a regular room until Monday morning. He goes back April 18 for bypass surgery because he has some major issues going on in his heart. I'm so very thankful for a God whose thoughts are higher than mine and whose ways are better than mine.

*I went back to school on Monday to collect two sets of papers - not a big deal but one more thing to be done.

*Abby started running a very, very high fever on Wednesday afternoon (104.8) and we took her to the doctor only to be told she has the flu. We immediately sent her to quarantine and Jake to my sister-in-law's. I've been out of school and just now washed my hair for the first time since Tuesday. Jason and I are both on Tamiflu, Jake's coming home tonight, and Abby seems on the mend.

And although it's not my issue, Heidi's dissertation was due on Tuesday, which was immensely stressful for her, but she got it done, so way to go, baby sister!

The picture above is Abby this morning when she was feeling okay.

This picture is Abby about 30 minutes later after a few minutes of sitting still and some Disney Pocahontas. Okay, I know it's not exactly true to history, but a flu-ridden baby gets to watch what she wants.

Chuck E Cheese - Say Cheese!

My sweet Jason decided to take today and tomorrow off to by with me and the kids for the last two days of my spring break. We had grand plans to go to Charleston to eat seafood and celebrate our anniversary which is coming up next weekend. But alas, the best laid plans - well you know the rest - succumb to poverty. :-)

Instead we opted to head to Chuck E Cheese since it is too cold and wet to go the zoo and the children's museum is too expensive and Jake can't really enjoy it anyway. And, I had a coupon for Chuck E Cheese.

Let me say, Chuck E Cheese smells like the skating rink and definitely isn't known for it's pizza. That being said, Abby had a grand time collecting tickets, which she traded in for four - yes you read that right - four rings and a bracelet.

Mommy and Daddy played skee ball and rode a questionable motion ride. Let me say something about that experience: while Abby and I were at the water shooter game, a little boy came up and asked if he could play. I of course said yes, and he then thought that we were his family. He played that game with us, and when we went to get on the questionable motion ride, he followed, climbed into my lap and rode the ride with me. Jason and I kept looking around for his mom or dad because if that were my kid and I saw him in the lap of another mom, especially one I didn't know, I would be a little upset. We never saw her, and when the ride was over, he hopped down and went on his way. I guess that's one way to not have to use your tokens for a ride.

The photo booth was a hit - even though Jake didn't know what in the world was going on.

Spring Break Means What?

Yes, it is finally spring break here, but today it is pouring cats and dogs. That didn't stop me and Abby and Jake from venturing out to the library for what they call Wiggles and Giggles. My friend Kelly told us about it, so off we went.

Did I mention that both my children were up by 6:30 this morning. Yes, you read that right - 6:30. Usually they take naps about 1:30 but today when we got home at 12:30 they both went down.

So, I caught this picture of my tired little man.
Normally he looks like this in his playpen.

But I guess 6:30 in the morning will do this to a little guy.

Bandaids, Anyone?

When you're three and a half, you get bandaids on your knees just because you're three and a half.

It's a good thing I get these things cheap with coupons.

My Life in a Picture

Please don't misunderstand. I LOVE this crazy, wonderful life. But this is where I am right now - the struggle between work and home. Oh my!

What You'll Find on my Nook

Here's the list of what I've been reading the past few months and what I hope to be reading in the very near future. (Things which don't include student writing or anything truly literary.)

This series by Joel Rosenberg:

Absolutely fantastic and thought-provoking. I burned out on the Left Behind series when it was the hottest thing several years ago, but I found that I couldn't put these books down. Well, that's not completely true. When I got to the last one - Dead Heat - I had to stop reading for a while because it was just a little too real. I highly recommend these.

When I Lay My Isaac Down by Carol Kent

I picked this up because it was mentioned by our interim pastor at church. It is insightful and moving. It helps me think about how to handle life in general.

Okay, technically this isn't on my Nook, but it's what I'm listening to:

How I've missed Phil Wickham all these years is beyond me. I actually downloaded his song You are Beautiful when I meant to download Cannons and when I realized the mistake, I had to go back and get the whole album. That's totally logical, right?

Here's what I have on my Nook and hope to read soon:

I need the crash course on parenting, I think. Since God is so gracious to me, I think that I should extend that grace to my kids.

I'm also torn between


and



What do you think?