Hey, it's been awhile...

Since being on academic hiatus...

Life! It's SOOO busy...

Ok, I don't really know how to pick up blogging again. It's not something I was wild about doing. I keep a journal and I have certain romantic notions about putting pen to a page. Like one day, my greatgreatgreat grandkids will say, "she actually touched this page." I guess I could save my keyboard, too. Anyway, blogging started to become a chore, really. Another "to do" on my lllooonnnggg list of "to do's" and as you'll soon learn, I needed to trim down my life. I don't know if I should back-track to LAST AUGUST and try to remember all the things we have done over the last year and THEN try to come up with clever captions for all my pictures and THEN try to journal what each of the cleverly captioned pictures are all about. So, I will figure that out later. For now, I want to focus on moving forward. Call it my Tuesday Resolution.

Last year, was one of the hardest in my life. It was deeply, emotionally, hard. Which, for me, is something a lot bigger and a lot harder to cope with. It was, in a word, humbling. That humiliating type of humbling that comes from getting what you deserve, and then trying to pick up the pieces after everything seems like it shattered. It was more than "biting off more than you can chew," it was denying that I am a human-being that has limitations and what's even worse, it was denying that my husband and my children are also human-beings with limitations. Needless to say, I was forced to my knees. And like I said, I deserved it. But I also needed it.

Some of you may be surprised to read that last year was such a toughie. I'm the type of girl that sort of keepseverythinginuntilitallboilsoverandhasameltdownoverpizzaatIHRSA, (lucky for me I have family that forgives Madi, Joey, Page, Lisa...), but as I have come to know what I've got, and what I'm not, and who I am (Thanks, Jason Mraz), I've also learned that I really, really want is to be more honest. I want to be more vulnerable. I also want to be happy. To have peace. To reconcile myself to who I was and who I am and create someone even better. To do these things, is to accept that I am not perfect, and I am not supposed to be. There is only one person who is, and I'm trying to get to know Him better. So, here's to Tuesday resolutions, growing older and wiser (you know you are, Kalie), and letting myself change.

MR

The Rice Pad

The antics never end over here at the Rice Pad. My last blog post from a year ago chronicled how the twins were just starting to talk. Well, now they are the talkingest dang monkies around. Not only are they talking, but they have all sorts of new tricks. Here's some improvements from last year:
*They finally (!!!) will sit and watch "a show." I could never, ever, EVER, get them to sit and watch anything on the TV, but now they love to watch "CuriousGeorgeMonkey" and Yo Gabba Gabba. Honestly, it is a lifesaver.
*They love to try and take pictures of mom (as seen above)
*The love to ride bikes and play baseball and go to the swimming pool
*They hate being in "trouble." If I say "you are in trouble," they get these big puppy-dog eyes and say "no, Mommy! No!"
*Like I said, they talk all the time but Benji and Wilson love to sing as well. They currently love Take Me Out to the Ball Game; the DoReMi song from the Sound of Music, You are My Sunshine, and Fun.'s We Are Young. They were also obsessed with Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire for awhile there.
*They love their family. They love LaLa and Uncle Jake and Noni and Papa and Grammy and Pompa and TyTy. They pray for Max EVERY night. Every time they see a little girl they ask me if it is Maggie. They love all their boy cousins, SO MUCH. They just love people.
*They say prayers, talk about MELT MY HEART
*They call me Megan half the time and Mommy the other...I have no idea why
*Favorite sayings: "What da heck?"; "Watch a show?"; "I wuv you, mommy"; "Megan!"; "Nook" (milk); "Who was dat?" (they ask whenever I get off the phone.

These two little monsters are the light of my life.