Mama Vivas - It's a Vivas Thing!

Nov 17 2009

Great Photography

Every once in a while, we get priceless moments in time that we just want to capture. There have been countless times over the past 22 years where I have thought to myself, "OH, I wish I had a camera right now!" Instead, we try hard to keep that moment in our memories and hope that we never forget it. Sometimes we do, however, until the memory is jarred back by a thought, a smell, or a laugh.

A great picture isn't only about the actual photo. It's about what was going on at that moment..and about how the photographer felt. For instance, don't they look like twins? They're actually three years apart, and this was one of those priceless moments where they were at complete peace with one another.

The picture below is actually of me and the Drama Queen. We were at one of the Smart One's karate testings. It's not a great photo in terms of quality, but it is one of my favorite photos. I had no idea my picture was being taken. I think it shows me as a mom. And a wife. And I wonder what my husband was thinking when he took this photo.

I can't even begin to express this picture. It's simply a boy and his rat. What other's may not know is that this wasn't just any rat. This was my son's gift from God; his special friend that he needed. Buster picked my son; and his heart was broken the day Buster passed. We all cried. But I'm glad that he was able to have his time with Buster.

This is one of my all time favorite pictures. It's my dad. My dad instilled the love of picture taking in me. He loves to capture life. This was taken during one of those moments when he was filming my children; his grandchildren. Again, I love those moment when the person is caught unaware.

The next two photos are of my children. The first is of B-boo. She was getting ready for a production she was in and kind of caught unaware. This was her last year before becoming the big teenager. I had helped her put on some make-up for the show. That was fun. And then, I grabbed the camera and she looked up and smiled, and I remember thinking to myself, "When did she grow up and become such a beautiful young woman?"

This is of the Smart One getting ready for a test. I laugh every time I look at this photo. He was obviously having a good hair day! I just love the look on his face. Happy. Content. Excited.

These next two say it all. At least I think so! Ah, the beauty of God's creation! The sunset will always remind of a time when I just needed some peace…and to know that God had a handle on it, know what I mean? And so, God gave me that sunset. It was amazing!

But THIS is my favorite photo of all! It is the photo that inspired me to write this blog. You see, on Good, True and Beautiful's blog today, they are giving away a rolled canvas print of a digital picture. I immediately thought of this picture, because I've always wanted to get it printed on a canvas. This picture is of my youngest two children. We had *hatched* some butterflies from caterpillars. We had a special net home and we watched them spin into cocoons and then emerge as butterflies. When it finally came time to release them, we went out into our backyard on a beautiful, spring day. The Smart One was so careful to take them out without harming them. The Drama Queen wanted to hold one, so he carefull placed the butterfly on her fingers. This picture is of that moment, as he was handing it off. When I look at this photo, I see the wonders of His creation; my beautiful children enjoying something so rare and wonderful. This was one of those moments when I was so glad to have my camera handy; a moment
not ever forgotten, and always cherished.

Nov 15 2009

Warning Label

This post is for my women readers only. Trust me, guys, you'll just want to move past this one!

I debated whether I should write this or not. I wondered to myself if I was crossing the line on the blog world of the internet, but then I decided, women everywhere need to be warned. This is serious!

As some of you may remember from a previous post, I hurt my foot. I've been dealing with foot pain for a while now. It's slowly getting better, but it's not all well yet. To help things along, I was given a resistance band. The idea is to sit down, place your legs straight out and then use the band to pull your foot in to stretch the tendons out properly before walking around for the day. I am to do this three times each day. The nurse showed me how to do it and it didn't seem dangerous at all.

As my foot is getting better and today was a bit chilly, I decided to wear my nicer jeans and a sweater to church. The jeans are a bit long since I am a bit short, so I need to wear my boots with them. I thought that if I stretched my foot good, I would be able to stand wearing the boots for a couple of hours at church, especially since most of the time is spent sitting. I had my jeans and tank top on (no sweater yet) and sat down stretch out my feet.

This is kind of what it looks like, except I only stretch one foot at a time. (That's not me, btw!) The nurse explained that your arms get a good work out, too, because you're supposed to pull as hard as you can and stretch your foot towards you to get the tendons to stretch. I've done this exercise a few times with no issues.

Until today.

I started with my right foot. No problem.

I moved to my left foot. No problem.

I moved back to my right foot and that's when it happened.

Big problem.

This is where the warning comes in.

A) Be very careful where you place the resistance band.

B) Be very careful to watch where the band is at all times.

C) Don't pull too hard.

All I remember is that one minute I was pulling and stretching my foot and in the next instant I was doubled over in searing pain, moaning and screaming with tears streaming down my face. I had visions of the scene in "A Christmas Story" when the dad is downstairs in the basement trying to fix the furnace and unrecognized cursing is being sent up through the vent. I saw a white light. I could hear B-boo's concern as she ran into the bathroom with concern, stating,

"Mom, are you ok? I heard a snap. Did you hit your face? Is your nose bleeding? ARE YOU OK, MOM?!?!?!"

All I could do was moan in pain. Serious pain. Blinding pain. And shake my head, "no" to her pounding questions.

When I could finally catch my breath and wipe the tears from my face, I looked up to find her still standing there with concern on her face.

"No, I didn't hit my face. It hit my chest."

Her eyes widened in realization at what her mother had just managed to do to herself. She got it, because she used to be a competitive gymnast and she knows about resistance bands.

I could tell that she was trying hard to decide if she should let the laughter out or not. She was probably wondering if she'd be in pain for laughing at her mother's pain.

Finally, I had no choice but to laugh at the situation, because, after all, I am a Vivas, and this is definitely one of those Vivas Things. She laughed, I laughed, we laughed together.

And then I told her to leave because I needed to check things.

Except for the three inch wide welt that runs COMPLETELY across my chest, I am ok; I think.

I'm hoping the fiery pain will subside soon.

It's probably a good thing it wasn't my face; I'm sure I'd be blinded for real instead of blinded with pain.

Ladies, please heed my warning. This is very dangerous. You have to pay very close attention to what you're doing.

Oh yeah, my foot feels better, thanks for asking.

Nov 13 2009

Laughable Moment #23

Boys will be boys, right? Yah.

The other day, the Smart One got up out of bed. We were surprised as he didn't have school..and well, let's just say he isn't exactly a morning person. He was still in his clothes from the day before. We had a good laught about boys being boys, which then led into a discussion of junior high boys and their lack of …er…care about their hygeine. Which led to more laughs as we discussed how boy will just be boys and just don't care.

And then I went upstairs.

A few moments later, B-boo came into my room laughing.

I'll try my best to give you the visual. Watching B-boo as she re-enacted the story was priceless.

She said that the bathroom door was open, so she opened it a bit more to tell Chicken Noodle Butt to hurry up and brush his teeth and come downstairs because we were leaving to go get him some pants. She was telling him this as she opened the door to find him in the *boys takes a whiz stand.* He was pushed forward taking a whiz while brushing his teeth.

His response?

A muffled *ok* while he continued to whiz and brush his teeth at the same time!

Yeah, boys will be boys alright!

Nov 12 2009

Joy of the Week

It's that time of the week again…sharing my joy for the week, hosted by

And did I ever have a joy for the week! Shall I share? Well, ok, you twisted my arm! My joy hit big time Saturday night. After a full day, (and a pretty good one at that!), Punky came over and we got ready for…oh..shall I say it? My FAVORITE Christian artist, Todd Agnew and the Promise Remains Tour! I was so excited! Punky knew how bad I wanted to see the concert and so insisted that we go. She took B-boo and I with her and we had a blast!

Do we look like we're having fun?

I love this picture!

Anywho…first we listened to an awesome new group, Kimber Rising. Their voices are amazing! What a treat. Next on was Building 429. I liked that they were pretty versatile. They'd go from party animal energizing music to a ballad on the piano. I especially enjoyed, "I Am Free!" Finally, we took a 10 minute break and then…Todd Agnew came on! Yeah!

First, let me say that he looked nothing like I thought he would! I loved that he was so comfortable in jeans, a t-shirt and yes…completely barefoot! And Todd didn't just come out and give a concert. He led a worship experience! Not only does he have an amazing voice, but a wonderful sense of humor and amazing heart for our God. I nearly cried when he played Grace Like Rain and than took it right into Amazing Grace! Yup, that was definately my joy for the week! And when it was all over and we were walking out, another friend who'd come to the concert came up to me and handed me Todd's new cd! I'm telling you, pure joy!

Oh…and there was this other little thing that gave me some joy tonight. The Drama Queen has been trying hard to pull out her tooth. She's nine now and has only lost two teeth. Yes, really. She finally succeeded tonight in getting that top tooth out! Oh what joy, I'm sure!

Nov 11 2009

Why Mom’s Can’t Sleep

It's a holiday today. As a homeschool mom, I'll be sure to remind my kids why they don't have school today and to pray for those families whose members are serving or have served in our armed forces. And I'm not making light of what today is. But holidays mean something around here.

I have six kids at home. Count them…six. (I have a college student but he lives on his own, so he doesn't count in this post.)

Six kids means that I can have six different places to be on any given day. It means, everyday, I have four public school schedules to keep to at three different schools, plus working homeschooling around my youngest. Whew! It makes me dizzy thinking about it. Add in doctor appointments, counseling appointments, sports, activities, etc…and I am one tired mom!

Which brings me back to a holiday. It means I don't have to get up at the crack of dawn to take anyone to school! Don't get me wrong; I love getting up at the crack of dawn and making breakfast for my kids and having that special time in the morning. But I'm getting older and tired.

So back to that holiday anyway! Last night, hubby made the littlest ones promise not to wake up anyone…at all…this morning. (I did tell him that he should realize that is a promise they won't be able to keep. The Princess can't stand being alone, quiet, for anything and Chicken Noodle Butt will find something to cry over.)

I also have this problem. Once I'm awake, that's it for me. I can not go back to sleep. It's the same for me at night, too. Wake me up, I'm up.

A friend asked the other day how can she be so tired and yet not fall asleep. I replied that it's the brain. It finally has time to function, so it goes into full mode. Mom's go to bed wondering if they've accomplished everything they should have during that day and wondering how they can get the everything accomplished the next! Unfortunately, God forgot to give us a turn off switch for our brains.

So this morning, it's a holiday. I don't have to be anywhere. I get to sleep in, right?

At 6:47, the little one goes into the bathroom. He's talking as loud as he can about counting and the fact that something is yellow. I pretend I don't hear him, but he starts to get louder. I finally just say, "Shhh!" He stops, and it becomes quiet again.

Next thing I know, my phone goes off. Now, I know that I turned off the alarm, so this means it's a person. It's 7:03 and my sister-in-law wants to know if I want to go to the parade today. I tell her I'm asleep and ask when and where. She says she was asleep, too, but mom woke her up so she's texting me with one eye open. I consider the parade.

"The little ones might like it. That means I'll have to wake the older kids up. That means I'll have to get up soon and make breakfast. Oh wait, we're all supposed to be sleeping in until whenever we want today. We do need sleep. But hold on. Chicken Noodle Butt needs pants and it's supposed to get cold tomorrow. I'm supposed to find time to get him pants today…and it needs to be cheap. Penneys might be having a sale since it's a holiday, or I can take him to Savers. It sure would be nice if hubby had a job. If I take them to the parade the Drama Queen will be walking around a lot on that broken growth plate. She'll probably like that but we really should keep her off of her feet. Oh, that's why I promised her we'd paint today. Oh man, that means a mess…I wonder if I can con Chicken Noodle Butt into doing something else. I could give him a puzzle. Maybe I we could all work on a puzzle together. Oh wait, I need to call the ortho doctor and find out where his leg braces are. Today's the eleventh and they told me to call today if I didn't hear from them. Speaking of doctor visits, I need to make them a dental appointment, too. I wonder when I can get them in. Speaking of teeth, maybe I should make a good breakfast today. I could make biscuits and gravy. That sounds really good, but it will have to be for a late lunch/early dinner because I need to thaw out the sausage. I'll have to look up a recipe for gluten free biscuits for the Smart One, and I'll need take out part of the sausage to make the Drama Queen dairy free gravy. That reminds me, I still haven't replaced the broken skillet, but I think I can manage with the pot. Giggle…I better make sure the Drama Queen doesn't touch it otherwise she might break another toe. Speaking of gluten free recipes, I need to find one that doesn't have eggs so I can still make stuffing this year for Thanksgiving. Did someone let the dogs out? I hope they gave them water. Oh man, they need a bath today. I wonder if the kids can handle their baths by themselves. Roxy is a pain to bathe. We really should have named her Marley; dumb dog."

About this time, I realize the toilet is running, so I get up to go jiggle the handle. Chicken Noodle Butt starts crying about something, so I head over to find out what is wrong with him. Hubby comes upstairs to take over and let me sleep. Yeah, ok. I head back to my room and lie down. I text sister-in-law to tell her the plan for today was for everyone to sleep in as late as they want. She laughs; I laugh.

I try to go back to sleep.

"I wonder what to get the Good Looking One for his birthday. Poor boy has to work on his birthday. It really would be cool if we could all show up with a cake and sing to him at work. I wonder if he'd get fired if we did that? Maybe if hubby is working we can take him out to lunch. It will probably be pretty crowded though since it's black friday. Oh, I hate going out on black friday…who does that anyway? It was fun though, last year, when he took us out in the middle of the night. Boy, was it cold. That reminds me, what are we going to do for the Smart One's birthday. I can't believe he's almost 12. He'll be hitting puberty soon, that will be fun. I wonder if the Good Looking One will teach him how to shave, too. The Talented One loved that! Christmas is coming soon. What will we do? What do you get a 22 year old? The little ones are easy; legos and barbies will make them happy.And they do seem happy a little don't they? I wonder if we'll end up adopting them. Where will we put them? I wonder if I can get a good job and just have all of my salary go into adding some rooms on the house? Then we'd all fit. Speaking of fitting, I can't believe the Talented One and the Smart One are graduating college and high school the same year. Can we really throw a big party for the graduations and the 18th birthday all at once? It could be like a family reunion! That's be great. Where would we hold it?"

8:25, I get another text message. This time from Punky, asking me to bring the choir book so she can make copies. "It sure would have been great to skip activities tonight, too." I text her back ok.

I write this blog.

It's now 8:46 am. Hubby thinks I'm sleeping. I think I'll go make some coffee and cuddle with him.

No, no parade today. It's quiet in the house for now and somehow, that seems a much better way to spend my morning.