Blue haired lady

It  hasn't occurred to me  that I am considered old!  Yes, OLD!!  When the heck did that happen??  Recently, I have been mistaken for my young friends mother.  My friend, AJ, is 32.  I guess I could be her biological parent.  We don't really look alike.  Except,,,,,I have white hair.  Tactless people ask if I am AJ's mother.  My friends all think it is hysterical!!  Of course they think it's funny!  They are all in their 30's.  I will be 49.  Still young, in my thinking.

  This  morning I spoke at a church Bible study about an outreach I am involved in.  As I drove out of the parking lot, I thought about how sweet those "blue haired ladies" are.  One blue hair gave me some money for our outreach.  Oh, those blue hairs are just the nicest ladies!  I smiled to myself.  Then, I saw myself in the rear view mirror.  Oh my gosh!!!  I AM one of those sweet old blue hairs!!! 

  My husband thinks I should go back to the unnatural color of red.  I don't like coloring my hair.  I feel it is a waste of my time and his money.  I can think of better ways to spend $60!!  I actually enjoy my white hair.  I like that I can wear vibrant lipstick.  (Bright lipstick is one way to spend $60!)  This is how God made me.  To be prematurely gray.  I am happy with this season of life.  I just wish other people would stop asking me how old I am.  I am the age I need to be!  Thank you God, for having me at the place I need to be!

My children

  My oldest daughter came home yesterday, for a short visit.  She and her husband live in Minnesota.  She and I had a few rough years while she was a teen.  About the age of 19, we became great friends.  I have been missing her company, so when she told me she had Spring Break this week, I asked her to come home.  She and I sat on the couch all afternoon, while the other 3 children drifted in and out of the living room.  Oldest and I talked and laughed and hung out.  Sometimes, she would hang out her younger siblings.  So peaceful, so wonderful to watch them!  After dinner, youngest daughter, went up to my room to watch tv.  Then I came upstairs, then came daughter #3, and then oldest daughter came up.  By 8:00, Oldest and I were in my bed, snuggled up.  Youngest, laid across the bottom of the bed, and #3, sat in various comfortable spots.  I sat in my bed, and looked at all 3 of my girls and marveled.  How awesome in God??!!  I can see all 3 girls in different seasons of life!  Young married, 13 year old teen, 9 year old daughter.  Makes me tear up, just thinking about our blessings in life!  Oldest and 13 year old, are the mirror image of each other.  Our youngest is the only child of the 5, that looks like my husband.  I like to look at all 5 of my children and enjoy each season of their life with them.  Someone once asked me, why we had so many children with such a huge age span?  I think that age span is the coolest thing EVER!!  I can look at my 22 year and see what is coming up next for my 13 year old.  I look at my 20 year old son, and watch the path my 11 year old boy is headed.  So cool, how God has allowed me to see some of the possibilities for my children.  Each child makes choices, but at least I feel a little prepared for the next season each one is headed for.

Food

  I have food issues.  Well, what woman doesn't?  I don't eat anything with wheat.  I try not to ingest anything with excess amounts of chemicals either.  If the list of ingredients is longer than my little finger, I don't eat it.  My 13 year old calls me a" hippie."  I have been called "crunchy" also.  This week I tried some new recipes.  Mostly Turkish food.  One of my friends is homesick for her Turkish food.  So I thought I would tackle it.  We had stuffed grape leaves, hummus, spicy spinach yogurt dip, and homemade baklava.  I could eat everything except the baklava.  Baklava is made with phyllo leaves, which has wheat in it.  But, my grandma used to make baklava all the time for us, when we were little.  I loved it!  So on Tuesday, I ate 3 pieces.  Wednesday, I had just a few aches and pains.  Thursday, I ate about 5 pieces. On Friday, the headaches started.  But, there were only 3 pieces left.  Of course I ate them all!!!  They were SO good!!!  Friday night, the aching knees started and then I could feel a migraine coming.  Before bed, I doused myself in peppermint oil.  That usually gets rid of my headaches.  I woke up Saturday morning, unable to bend my fingers, my head pounding, and feeling like I was going to puke.  Most of the day, I laid on the couch wondering why I eat junk??  Then remembering the wonderful taste and the sticky goodness of all the nuts and honey.  Oh my gosh!  So worth the pain!!!!  My husband asks when will I learn??  Probably never!  Sometimes it's worth feeling like crap!

A new season in life.

I have hit another season in life.  One that I thought my husband and I would NEVER reach!!  It happened innocently enough.  We were alone last night.  Yup, no kids all night and all day today.  Weird.  We have been parents since 1988!  I started to see light at the end of the tunnel in 2005.  It crept up on us.  One blink, and small toddlers are all gone.  I have told people we really enjoy the wide age span of all our children.  It shows us how quickly life with children speeds past.  One minute your child is wrapped around your leg, screaming to be picked up.  One blink, and that same child is screaming for you to leave them alone!!  Ugh.  I never really had a problem with the clingy toddlers.  I really didn't ever say they were terrible twos.  Terrific twos, we called them.  It is the terrible teens.  I am always in shock when my children push me away, when they scream to be left alone.  WOW!!  Where did my baby go??  But, don't we raise up our children to be independent adults?  Adults, that are capable of being productive in society?  So, I guess my husband and I are doing a fairly decent job at raising children.  They all have friends and a life.  So, I think they won't need as much therapy as we had originally thought.  #2 son, might argue with that point!

  Anyway,  I spent my day alone, dusting and cleaning.  Dusting the living room in #4 child's job.  As I was dusting and mumbling under my breath, about the crappy job he has been doing, I came across his secret stash.  His stash of Lego people and weapons.  Ha, had to smile to myself.  He is pretty cute for an 11 year old.  I continued to dust the dirty living room.  I went to my 2 sconces over the couch to dust.  Wait, what is that perched on the sconce?  A Lego skeleton, poised to shoot someone!!  Aaaahahahahahahaaaaa!   Life goes SO fast, a child's life speeds by!!

  Enjoy your blessings.  It goes to fast.
Don't blink, my favorite song by Kenny Chesney.

Thankful Thursday

Every Thursday is thankful at my home! Since child #3 was born, my mother in law has taken my children for the entire day! It started in 1997 after number 3. My two older children were in a private school. I was the Thursday librarian. So Nonni would take the baby. Nonni continued to keep the babies on Thursdays, even after two more children were born. Number 4 came in 1999, #5 came in 2001. When my husband and I decided to home school the last 4 children, Nonni was worried she wouldn't be able to still have the children on Thursdays. As much as I love my children,,,,,,,what mother would not accept having a day off during the week?? Somebody not in their right mind!!!! Nonni bakes cookies with the kids every week. Then she and the kids walk to her neighbors house and shares cookies with her "elderly" neighbors. My 13 year old has learned to bake from her Nonni, my son, has learned how to play cribbage with Grampa, and #5 has learned all of the above!! What a treasure this Nonni is! This is something my children will hold close in their hearts for ever!
Better get off the computer. Kids are standing in front of me with coats on and car loaded to go to Nonni's house!!

Have a Thankful Thursday!