Settling in with Boobie & Saxon...

We are 10 days into having Bobby & Saxon live with us here at our apartment. Here's a little humor for ya: Lincoln calls Bobby "Boobie". Because Lincoln has no understanding of volume control yet, he screams for Boobie loudly while in public places. This causes Bobby to laugh out loud & then his face turns beet red. It's a hoot overe here with 4 boys and me. I'm a little outnumbered!
They are settling in quite nicely, enjoying home-cooked meals & daily showers. They are at Rocketown every day with Ben, & hopefully by the end of the 30-day mark, they will be allowed to return home. Please continue praying that this will be the case.

Thank you to everyone who has given so freely in the ways that they have for our situation right now. Every gift card, piece of clothing, & check has been greatly appreciated & it is so special to us that you are all willing to help us. I do believe that God is performing a miracle to achieve a purpose so much greater than we can see with our own eyes. To Him be the glory.

xoxo

boo. hiss. growl.

Well friends, the season of American Idol has finally come to a close, thank God. I've been robbed. I still harbor serious resentment about Melinda being kicked off. I think it's a consensus by all that we are all furious at our DVR/Tivo machines today. It cut off the entire drum-rolling, tears-flowing, sobs-shaking, voice-trembling, awful "This is my Now" moment by Miss Seventeen. YouTube to the Rescue! Whew.

So many things to talk about. Let's get down to it. First thing on my list is Randy's jacket. What the?!? I have nothing to say about that except "it was kinda pitchy for me, dawg..." And when I say pitchy, I mean so ugly that it never should have existed. And oh dear Paula, what will we do with you? A broken nose caused by a crazy fall with your Chihuaha "Tulip", WAY-TOO long extensions, and not to mention the swaying & walrus-clapping. This summer just simply won't be the same without you in my living room every week. And I'm fairly certain that I caught Simon sleeping once or twice throughout the show. Poor Brit was so bored.

I don't have much else to say about Idol, simply because I got sucked into Lost last night. Way to go Hurley! I was sad to see Charlie die, but ratings come first. I was a little slow in realizing that we were not experiencing a flash-back, but a flash-forward. Ben caught onto that point way faster than I did. I was still reeling from Jack having a full-grown beard & being drunk all the time...I'm not sure what to think about the finale except good, good, and more good. Does this mean next year will be nothing but episodes filled with flash-forwards, while everyone returns to their normal life? Or does it mean that they're never getting off that god-forsaken island? We shall see in 7 months.

More coming soon.

It's a Monumental Day!

As you can see from this picture, Lincoln is learning how to be a big boy now. I bought him his very own toilet seat today, in which he could not have cared less. We came home, I plopped him on the seat & I acted like it was the best thing in the universe. This, in case you were wondering, involved me jumping up & down in the bathroom, clapping my hands, & hollering "Yea for the Big Boy Potty!"

I'm not sure if this is "official potty-training business", but it is an official introduction to it. I'm completely clueless on how to do this, but I do sit down next to him, read him his favorite books, & offer a cookie for any trickle I may hear. And sure enough, about five minutes into his book, a trickle I heard. Nilla Wafers are a great thing. Then came the pride. I made such a big deal out of it that he thought he was pretty cool. So now he never wants to get off the thing. I guess that's better than never wanting to get on, right?

Talk to you soon. In the meantime, wish me potty luck.
xoxo

Meet our new roommates, Bobby & Saxon

Hi Friends! These are pictures of Bobby & Saxon, the two kids that are living with us as of yesterday. We are the legal guardians of them for the next thirty days. Bobby & Saxon (14 & 12, respectively) are regulars at Rocketown, & they have grown extremely close with Ben over the past six months. Their parents are suffering from severe addictions & are trying to pull their lives back together. As they try to do this, we have offered to take care of the boys. They live in a trailer in Nashville with no AC. Their clothes are washed in the creek behind the trailer park. We had to shave their heads when they got here because they had lice. They are sad for their parents' addictions & confused about why they are here & how long they will be here with us. Please join us in praying for Bobby & Saxon, as well as Andrea & Bobby Sr. (the parents). Please pray that Andrea & Bobby Sr. stick with the rehabiliation program & get better. Pray that Ben & I will be good stewards & show Christ's love to Bobby & Saxon. Most importantly, please pray that God will be glorified through every step of this story.

A lot of people are asking what they can do to help us while the boys are here. They are lacking simple items, such as toothbrushes, underwear, socks & jeans. What they really love are "Tech-Decks" (finger-skateboards, found at Wal-Mart) & anything dealing with skateboarding. If you feel led to help out with this endeavor, feel free to let us know.

We'll keep you all posted.
xoxo

He discovered the skateboard.

the house is up.

It's America's Fault.

In the wise words of my husband Ben: "It's not American Idol's fault; it's AMERICA'S fault." I'm shocked that Melinda got kicked off tonight; so shocked in fact, that I may not even watch next week. It's a sad sad day.

and then there were three...

First things first. Does anyone else think Paula is starting to look like a clown? I think either her make-up artist is going blind, or Paula has started doing her own make-up when she gets drunk before the show.

Jordin: She sounded good, although I liked the second song much better than the first. Hard for the Money was "Mmm...Bop-Good". I like Jordin sometimes, not always. I think she's a little, ok, I mean way, too dramatic. That third song was just right for my senior high school musical.

Blake: Wowsa. Y'all know I'm not a huge Blake fan, but slap me silly--tonight he kicked it up. And I think he may be bringing sweater vests back because I hate sweater vests & I thought he was sex-ay. Oh Simon, for crying out loud, just say it was fantastic already. The Maroon 5 song sounded yummy too.

Melinda: I believe that she will win. Good song, Randy Johnson. When she sings, her voice sounds like a chord. And because she's a fellow Belmontian, she's the highest on my list. And my list goes. You go girl. And Hit Me Again Ike!--her Tina Turner song was so good. "That was Hot." Randy, get some new material.

Until next time, friends.

RETIRED!!

Hi friends!
The three of us just got back from Texas, where my dad had his very last flight with Southwest Airlines. He is 60 years old today, & at the age of 60, all pilots are required to retire. He has been a captain for 26 years, & we all were passengers on his flight, & then my mom threw a huge swaree, Texas Style, at their country club on Saturday night. Here are some pictures from the event. We had lots of fun, lots of dancing, & of course, lots of laughing.

Ummm...can you please look at how hot my parents are? They're still like teenagers. They danced more than anyone else out there & had the best time...what a hoot.

I, on the other hand, had to literally draaag Ben out on the dancefloor...he hates dancing of all types. And because he hates all dancing, I enjoy torturing him to dance with me.

It was such a fun weekend.
Congratulations Dad.

Get Packin', Boobies

Poor Lakisha's going home, y'all. Blake, Jordin & Melinda are all staying put for now. Although I haven't liked one song that Lakisha has done in a very long time, her farewell song of "Stayin Alive" was super sassy & well, pretty good. Go fig.
Other than the final decision, I nearly slept through that whole hour. It was so booooooring. Barry Gibb was horrendous and we are fairly certain that we saw his nipples through his see-through shirt. And when I say we, I mean me & Ben (yes, Ben joined the AI fun last night).
Oh, and Blake, I'm pretty sure tuxedo shirts went out by 1983.
Umm, has anyone decided to send in an audition tape for the American Idol Band competition? FOX, what have you done now?!?

Catcha on the flip side.

I Don't Doubt Doubt.

"Here lies the basic flaw of all doubt: It can never really be satisfied. No evidence is ever fully, fully enough. Doubt wants always to consume, never to consummate. It demands proof but will doubt the proof proffered it. Doubt, then, can become an appetite gone wrong; its craving increases the more we try to fill it...Jesus tells Thomas AFTER he sees Him to stop doubting and believe. Belief is still called for, still demanded. Seeing does not remove the necessity of belief. Seeing is not believing. We walk by faith not by sight."
--Mark Buchanan

I am what you would call a worry-wart, a pessimist...I'm a glass-half-empty-girl through & through. You could definitely label me 'high stress' when the going gets tough. Ben even goes so far as to call me "Worst Case Scenario", as I consistently assume the worst. I doubt things like Lincoln's eating habits, my ability as a mother, our finances, our house getting built on time, whether or not I'll get a good parking spot at Publix. More importantly & more disturbingly, I doubt the Resurrection. I doubt that Jesus was and is my Substitute, and that the stone was in fact, rolled away. Because I didn't see it, how can I really believe it? And not just believe it, but claim it to be my life source? But time & again, I realize that we are not called to live our lives doubt-free. If we were, then faith would be obsolete. There would be no need for it at all. And that gives me comfort...that even in the midst of my dark doubts & worries (whether they be trivial or life-altering), there are wide open spaces in me that long to see the nail marks in His hands and put my fingers where the nails were. Jesus' wounds are what resist the doubt. In the words of my Savior, "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

Lucifer Lincoln

I kid you not when I say some sort of evil has inhabited my son within the past 3 days. The sweet 2-year old has come & gone...and now we are dealing with a terrible toddler.

Terrible Twos Indeed.

I took Lincoln to the mall play area on Friday, only to stay there for 15 minutes because he decided that he wanted to make a spectacle of himself by throwing himself down on the floor, kicking & screaming. Oh, but not just kicking & screaming I tell you. Let me go ahead & give you a visual. Along with those special effects, he began to literally roll himself across the entire floor, making his way around the whole carpeted area. When he was finished with that, he started bumping his head on things. Awesome. Anger, frustration, annoyance, who knows...When I went to pick him up to put him in his stroller, he lost all control of his body & went completely limp...which almost caused me to drop him on the floor. At this point, I'm trying not to look at him because I'm laughing...what else is there left to do? It was the kind of screaming that you hear in horror films...like the ones where you think "dear Lord, make it stop or my eardrums will start to bleed..." Yep, that kind. He proceeded to do this the entire way out of the mall...the sales people were looking at me, shoppers stopped & stared. Ahh, fun times.

I wonder how bad the next temper tantrum will be...who knows?
The sky's the limit!

Hawaii & Poor Poor Chris...

Here are some pictures from our Hawaii trip. I won't post the ones where Ben is dancing with a Hula dancer...that would be embarrassing. Really humiliating. The last Audio Adrenaline show was really great; the guys had a good time up there playing together for the last time around. We spent a lot of time just hanging out at the beach, & I spent some quality time working on my sunburn. Hard to do, but I managed pretty well.

Well, I'm very sad today because my boyfriend is gone. Chris made a very graceful exit last night on Idol, & I am sad to see him go. I guess now we can go public. On another note, I'm quite surprised that Jordin stayed while Phil left. I guess America couldn't handle the alien.

Should I even tread the waters of Robin Thicke? There are no words to describe how bad he sounded. I wonder what Simon was thinking through that mess...and Randy was probably saying to himself, "That was a little pitchy for me, dawg..." Pitchy is just the first of many ramblings I could muster up...He needed to be voted off last night.

Next week should be good stuff...until then, my friends.

Who will it be?

Let's see...where do I start. First off, let me just say that my sweet boy is in transit on his way home with Ben from St. Louis. Can't wait to see that little guy. We missed him while we were in Hawaii. More on Hawaii later, Idol first. I know that you all have been waiting with bated breath...

1. Phil Stacy. I actually liked his song this week...and what's even better is that I barely noticed his shining-in-the-hot-spotlight-forehead. His voice sounded good.
2. Jordin Sparks. I dare say that you will be going home tonight. That performance last night was one that I wish to forget very soon. What was up with her dance moves & crazy hair? It was like a Halloween dress-up night gone horribly wrong. And poor thing didn't even try to argue her way out of it...she threw up her hands like "yep, it sucked, I agree". Hey Jordin, on your way out, throw out that crimper you used.
3. Lakisha. Girl's back in the game. She wasn't messing around last night when she sang that BonJovi song that I had never heard of. I hope she doesn't go home, but I do sincerely hope she considers having a breast reduction. I guess Simon really enjoyed it too, based on the kiss he gave her. Or the kiss that she gave him...er, or the kiss that Ryan made her give to him...is anyone else lost?
4. Blake Lewis. He certainly made me snore last week, but no snoring was had last night. I was wide awake while he beat-boxed through what I thought would be torture for us all. He looked good too, which never hurt anyone.
5. Melinda Doolittle. I thought Melinda did well, even if she did sing a song which I think could possibly be the worst song ever in the history of songs. It reminds me of an after-school special for teens with an attitude. But of course, she always manages to glide through it with ease. I think she's a keeper.
6. Chris Richardson. Chris, you are certainly wanted dead or alive. We had a talk last week about him signaling me onstage, but apparently, he's still up to his crazy ole tricks. Should we go on a break? We might not have to because as much as I love watching you & your smooth moves, you may be on the way out. It was good, but not "Melinda/Lakisha-Good", know what I'm sayin.

My vote of who will get kicked off are as follows:
-Jordin
-Chris or Phil (I'm hoping for Phil, as I would never want to disrespect my main squeeze)

Will post more later. See ya.