Life, recap'd

So that last post was a doozy, ay? Yeah, it sure was a doozy to write and LIVE. I think back on that day and am glad it is over. I am so incredibly thankful for the love and support from friends, near and far. For encouraging words. For your prayers. They were felt. That was one of the hardest days of my life, I'm so not kidding.

I read this on Above Rubies' status update {facebook} on Friday. I could easily think it was written just for me...
'Are you struggling with children that are not making "great" choices? A wise friend reminded me that we, as mothers, have a function to complete. We complete it to the best of our abilities. She said that Billy Graham's son, Franklin, was the most rebellious in the family, and he is now running that full time ministry! Time to let go of fear and guilt, do our best, and let our great God do the rest! Love Michelle'
As you can imagine that spoke to me.

*deep breath*

Great weekend, huh? Isn't it always a great time to get together with family, go to church and just be joyous. My sister wrote on facebook, it should be like this 365/yr and its true, it should. But life gets crazy sometimes. We have deadlines, commitments, work, chores, relationships to maintain....

How nice was it to come together at church and just worship our Lord, the Resurrected Savior!!! To reflect on that gift and what it truly means. 

Our weekend was so busy. Oh em gee. Saturday was off the charts, busy. *deep breath* It started with a baseball jamboree. The boys haven't played for a couple years, and they just loved it. There is just something about baseball. The last year they played, AJ was extremely bored. He was so annoyed with playing the outfield and never getting any action. Well, this time AJ had a few great plays and Scooter (Av) hit a double. It was a nice swing!!

Lani turned 9 on Saturday, too!! We had such a great time with family and friends. It was small, as small as it could be with my family. Hubby grilled up some amazingly scrumpcious food. It was all about Lani, she got some cute gifts and had a good time. We did a candy hunt....bc the twinadoes ruined half of our eggs....and it was fun to sprinkle candy in the long grass around the trees, bushes and an old tree stump! I got a picture {on my phone} of 5 kiddos 3 and under sitting on my porch with suckers in their mouth....precious. The boys outside playing HORSE with both Gpa's, uncle and dad. The lil ones wanting to be outside...SO bad!! They were most of the time. Football in the front yard. Fun. Great conversation. 

I was able to find matching outfits for the kids for Easter....no pictures though, as I have lost my battery charger....sad, sad, sad. Believe me, they will be wearing it again for family pictures!! {so you will see them} And I may have to buy a new charger. Like tomorrow. 

As busy as Saturday was, I will forever have it etched in my memory. It was a great day. A great day to have a birthday. A great day to have a bbq. A great day to have family over.

Love,
Alisha

Ton of Bricks

You ever feel like you've been hit by a mac truck? Ton of bricks?
Or a cement wall......today, {yesterday} I ran smack dead into one.

The thing is..it caught me by massive surprise. Huge surprise. Shock, really. Why am I surprised? I shouldn't be. How dare I begin to get too proud. To think *I* would never have to deal with that. Ever. Honestly, I shouldn't be surprised. Satan, with all his craftiness needed to start working overtime. He {and I don't even want to capitalize that word, but since its the beginning of the sentence, fine.} began to see that he didn't have precedence over the heart of this child. He didn't/doesn't reign here. Oh and believe me he still doesn't....but in his scheming ways, trying to take whats not his, was slick. Funny how that's surprising, right? Who am I to think that we are above dealing with any situation? He started to see how close this child was becoming to their Heavenly Father, how they were making great strides in their own walk with Him, knowing who they are in the Lord, and it made him down right boil, fester really.

And this child was deceived and stumbled.

I think I could've lived my whole life with skipping yesterday. Seriously, one of the hardest {parenting} days of my life.
Empty.
Hallow.
Anger. I was/am angry at myself for not seeing it coming. Angry at how ugly the world has gotten. Angry that my children are in a public school system that indoctrinates them 6+hrs out of the day w/ the enemies agendas. Angry at what Christians have allowed this country to become, how we've just given Satan an open door. Angry at myself for not being a perfect mom {I know its ridiculous, but I'm sure its normal} Angry at culture/Media do I even need to say why?
Heart wrenching sadness. 
Embarrassment.

Just a few of the emotions that went through me....and I couldn't quit. I wanted to quit so bad, to be done with the day, wake up and the nightmare be over. I just needed to get into bed, wrapped in my down comforter and be comforted by the Heavenly Father. I had to keep going. I had school conferences to do. Kids to pick up. {I literally drove 30 miles yesterday in a 3 mile radius}Awana to go to. Grand Prix cars to finish. And all I wanted to do was run far far away....or home.

Panic struck me. 'They' don't realize the ramifications. This is serious. There's no way this happened. This is so far deeper than this person is even able to comprehend. The levels of who it will effect....because our actions always effect others, is more than they even understand right now.


HE did get me through yesterday. So grateful. I, in between times of self-pity, kept His scriptures playing (and replaying) in my mind. And if they stopped, I'd pull out my phone and look up more.

Psalm 31:24
Psalm 138:7
Matt 11:28
Isaiah 40:29-31
Philipians 4:13

His words were a comfort to me.
This song came on at just the right time. Although, I'm sure the car next to me at the stoplight was very concerned for me {I didn't have the guts to look....that would've been weird and uncomfortable.}

Luckily, for this child His mercies are renewed every morning. {not that there won't be consequences}
And although I still don't want to deal with this situation, or talk about it, or be judged.....I know He will work it together for good. I know this ugliness will be used for His glory {why couldn't it be something else??}

Why am I even blogging this? I don't even know. I can't sleep. I was awaken by lil man, and my heart is still broken .  And I started this blog to document our journey....HA! How authentic would that be to only write about all the great foofoo stuff? Life is real. Its hard. And I need to write. 

Life has to go on for us. It doesn't stop. I have other children to parent. I still have to get kids off to school. I have to smile. I have to keep going {or swimming, as Dory says in Nemo} and I can't give into self-pity....because its more about this person, not me. And I wish I would've gotten that one book at Acquire the Fire.

Obviously I used 'vagueness' as not to shame this child. Please respect us and not ask details {even family.} Not kidding. Just pray for this child, as this will likely follow them for years to come.

As I'm pressing the publish button, How Great Thou Art is on the radio. Just thought that was an awesome piece of info.

at this very moment

there is popcorn on the floor
dinner is not done
i've just gotten home from evening kid pick up
antwone has ran out to get some christian crack aka caffiene
boys are scurrying around to get baseball stuff together
ariana is playing fast pitch, first home game i've missed
alaina is doing hw and finding jammies to wear for pj night @ awanas
avery left his glove @ my parents, he found a backup
washer machine is going
10 dishes in the sink- i counted
recycling that needs to be taken out
2 toddlers with chocolate faces
i've been told of a 4th grader cutting herself @ school-such a sad, hurting world
antwone is back, taking boys to practice
im here w/ the chocolate toddlers, a almost 9yo, and
a teen who is getting her track stuff together for tomorrow
we're about to leave to pick up ariana
and go to awanas
who needs to eat dinner anyways

Ocean Shores, WA

My little sister, best friend turned sister in law, and mama went to Ocean Shores a while back. I haven't posted any pictures of our weekend, so I thought I would here. Before I do, I thought I'd share something about our rumored weather.

The truth about Seattle, Wa weather, is, well, its not great! BUT, it isn't as bad as some may think or hear. No, its not a tropical destination. We get all four seasons. Our winters don't provide feet of snow and our summers don't provide many days in the ninetyplus degrees, a hundred degrees isn't heard of. It rains alot, and most complain about it. But did you know that Seattle isn't even on the top ten list of rainiest cities?? Mobile, Alabama registers five feet of rain annually and PacNW doesn't even enter the list until 24, that being Olympia, according to this. Florida has 4 cities on the list. crazy.

Head over to Eastern WA, over the Cascade Mountains and its an entirely different climate. Very dry and very warm summers.
And there are areas here that get alot of snow as well.

Washington is gorgeous. We have mountains, oceans, rivers, lakes, islands, bay waters, wildlife, green everywhere.....beautiful autumns with leaves of all colors and spring is just as gorgeous with birds chirping and blossoms blooming everywhere.....

that being said, I'll share pictures of our girls weekend!!

The deer are everywhere, like cats a native said.

sisters

Mama and baby girl

By far, my most favorite sign EVER!!

Love these cute lil shops!!

 

This is just some of the pictures taken on our girls weekend!!

They are everywhere...

Downstairs in the tv area {the tv is blasting, but I KNOW he's asleep.}
Upstairs in their bedrooms.
TWO in my bed, and its NOT the two you'd assume.
Twins in their OWN beds, and went to sleep without screaming!!

There is something peaceful about the evening, when all the kids are in their respective places.
They are home and accounted for.
Sleeping.
Isn't that just the most peaceful time for a parent?

My house is full, and they are everywhere.....
but I wouldn't have it any other way.

back in the swing of things....

Today I got 'back in the swing of things' as my dear Nani said last night {love her}

it was an interesting day for sure

twins-

7+books read

lincoln logs

puzzles

hopping, running, jumping outside

enjoying birds chirping

wind blowing

branches swaying

more puzzles

coloring

more books

snacks

lunch

water

juice

wood magnet dolls

dancing

mozart on cd

naptime in the car

all the kids were at school today

the husband working

and today I had to get my groove back 

parenting the twins alone

like a regular stay at home mama

 

my long-haired boy

Tomorrow I take my long-haired boy to get a haircut

he's 10 1/2 and has his hair long 3/4 of his life

thats him

last summer it was down below the middle of his back

longer than ALL three of his sisters

often called a young lady by strangers

well, usually sweet elderly....

and he doesn't correct them

he just lets them continue

{although he feels a tad uncomfortable}

this is clearly a boy---ponytail and all

he's always loved long hair

 to go against the 'norm'

he gets that from his mama {at least that's what I've heard}

but he's just him

no show

not seeking glory

just knows who he is

 I just had to include this

it was taken a year ago

he hates his picture taken

this is him telling the mamarazzi to stop

and then we took off 9-10 inches in the fall

and it was still loooooong

but him

I'm excited to see how it will turn out tomorrow

or i should say today

he's slightly nervous

it will be the first time his hair will be above his shoulders since the fall of 2006