Well it's Monday and time to get back to work. After being sick all last week, it seems I have an abundance of housework to do, need to get caught up on my Bible study, definitely should pay some bills and do some grocery shopping. Something in the refrigerator has a less than pleasant aroma, so I should probably tackle that pretty quickly as well. Jeff was great last week, but I had to give my two teenagers a pep talk (they'd probably call it a lecture!) about how they ought to have picked up some of the slack.

I had to cancel the prom-dress trip today. The consequence of some teenage attitude problems in our home this weekend. She was waiting for my final verdict this morning, after which I had to endure her sad sniffles all morning. It amazes me how loud her quiet weeping can be. Like a wounded little puppy with really big sad eyes. Really played on that prohibitive conscience of mine, but I held firm. I venture to speculate, that had I held firm earlier on, we might have avoided some of our present struggle. This parenting thing is hard sometimes. I make decisions that I am pretty sure are good ones, but I just keep second guessing myself. I guess in view of eternity, a delayed shopping trip is pretty small.

I am starting a Bible study tonight that I'm pretty excited about. We are going through "Jesus, the One and Only" by Beth Moore. We have about 12-13 ladies and I think it's going to be a really neat time. I am unsure of the spiritual condition of a couple of them and I am looking forward to seeing what God will do in their hearts. I am trying to be more consistant in my prayer life, one of my New Year's resolutions. I am so easily distracted when I pray. I can just be going gangbusters, really pouring my heart out to God, and the next thing I know I'm planning what I'm going to eat for lunch or determining how badly I need a haircut or something. By the time I realize I've lost my focus, I can't even remember what I was praying about. And I wonder that my 10-year-old is off task so often! I think it's genetic.

Well, I need to get off the computer and let Christian start school. I had him two days ahead of schedule at the beginning of last week. He is now three days behind. He doesn't focus well without me standing over him cracking the whip! He's chatty this morning. He's pretty much kept up a non-stop dialogue (well, make that monologue, I haven't been listening very well--just added a timely grunt or two) the whole time I've been writing. This doesn't always bode well for our looming school day. It's usually days like this that I find him out playing with the dog in the middle of a lesson...

TTFN!

Look how industrious I am, three posts in less than two weeks. I'm on a roll now folks! I am feeling so much better and seem to have energy to spare. Some might say I'd be better off using it to tackle the floor-to-ceiling laundry pile before me, but I think in the long run, this will bring much more satisfaction. Those clothes will be dirty again next week, but ahhhhh, the memories I will have captured via the written word.

Jeff is off on his second meeting of the day... the first was a breakfast meeting, the second a lunch meeting. I want meetings! Brittany got inspired to make breakfast for the four of us here at home and set off to the grocery for ingredients. She came home with $16 worth of makings only to realize she bought sausage and hashbrowns that were not microwaveable. She was less than pleased to realize she would have to use skillets and the stove. The end result was just fine though and we all layed on the couch afterwards complaining about our full bellies. I commented at the table that I thought she had prepared a bit too much food, to which David happily responded, "You forget mom, we're the Graves!" I believe that is comment enough!

Brittany and I are headed out for the long-awaited prom dress hunt on Monday. I must confess, I am not looking forward to it. I'm anticipating that we will have a different approach to the whole process. I will immediately head to any rack with a clearance sign on it, whereas Brittany will be gazing around waiting to hear one call to her. I know this is 'a rite of passage' or some such thing as that, and being that she is my only daughter, I should be reveling in this bonding experience. I think I'll take my camera and make a scrapbook moment out of it. I'm sure there were some ideas about that in my magazines...

I must go get Christian dressed. I do not understand that boy's aversion to clothing. I have told him and told him that 50 degrees is not tank top weather, but it is not processing. All three children are involved in a wrestling match on the sofa as we speak. It is all fun and games now, but how long will that last? I shall keep time...

Well, I really should go make some sort of attempt at housework. I should at least make sure everyone's got clean undies for church tomorrow. (About 3-1/2 minutes--it's now all out war!) TTFN...

I'm back...

Well, I proudly showed my husband my very first blog entry, only to receive a lukewarm review from him, however he felt guilty for not lavishing praise on me and I got a pretty good back rub out of it. All in all, a success!

I have been sick since Saturday. I look a mess, sound worse and am basically completely repulsive. Fortunately, I feel too sick to care! Jeff keeps complaining about finding my kleenex all over the house, however I have stashed it everywhere in the event of an unexpected sneeze! I have managed to thumb through all my back issues of Creating Keepsakes this week, so when I do feel better, and rid my home of the 'a tornado just blew through' look, I am chalk-full of new scrapbooking ideas! One article I really found helpful was encouraging me to do a scrapbook page about what a sexy woman I am... celebrate me! Maybe I could use a nice phlegm colored background to really capture the current me!

Brittany is quite anxious for me to mend so I can take her prom dress shopping. A first for both of us. I offered to go in halves with her, generously committing to $25. Did you know that it's hard to come by a prom dress for $50. Apparently they don't sell them at Target or Walmart. She did a little online browsing and swooned over a little $238 number. Something about it 'calling her name!' We will definitely need to come to a compromise between my trash bag with arm holes ideas, and her cinderella dream. She's also trying to pressure Jeff into letting her go tanning. So far he's holding firm. We are trying to teach her to value her skim-milky complexion! It's just not natural to be tan in Indiana in April. By April we haven't seen the sun in months...

Gotta run, all this has exhausted me. Must resume my position on the couch under my warm electric blanket...

Hello all -

With the encouragement of my husband and nephew, I am going to give bloggin' a try... I have pledged many times over the past year or so to write more, maybe even keep a daily journal, but alas--my disorginization has gotten the best of me, and I have failed. Maybe this will help inspire me to greater and greater writing feats! And of course, you all know how much I LOVE praise, so heap it on me!

It is a typical bleak Indiana winter day, although I can't complain about the 50+ degree weather. I just miss the leaves and green things! Christian is endeavoring to inspire me in song, kind of his version of what a nun might sound like. He is full of chatter today about his life's ambitions. He still dreams of being a professional baseball player, however as he matures and reality sets in, he is coming to accept that perhaps this isn't in the works! He is now trying to decide between being a secret agent or a real estate agent! Should the agent thing not come to fruition, he thinks he might like to manage a radio station. The random variety of his goals amuses me. I have assured him that due to his present effort in school, I believe a job at the Circle S convenience store might be looking good.

It is David's birthday today! 14 years old. You should see his mop of hair right now. He looks like a mushroom--a disturbing trend I've noticed among his peers. We are currently in negotiations over it. I am busy (at least until I got distracted doing this) getting his presents wrapped and his birthday dinner made. Brittany invited Gumdrop (the boyfriend!) over as well, but I'm waiting to see if he's coming or not before I decide how clean the house needs to be. David is trying to learn to play the drums. Praise the Lord, he practices at church! Time will tell whether he's inherited the Graves talent for music, or the Clark's complete lack of it.

Oh dear, I just looked out the window only to notice Christian playing with the dog, wearing only David's P.E. shorts and some water shoes. I could swear he had more clothes on than that just a few moments ago. Perhaps it's time for me to wrap this up for now...