Friendship - It's a Vivas Thing!

Aug 04 2009

Teens!

Teens. What is it about them that scares so many off? I happen to adore them. Yes, I know they can be loud, annoying, obnoxious, messy and they most definitely will eat all of the food out of your home…but they are also fun, eager to please…and well, they keep ya hoppin'!

My life with them includes anything from cleaning and decorating for parties at my house to babysitting on a whim to staying up half a night playing yahtzee or hearts with them (or watching Alias)!

Highlights of my summer with teens:

A party full of teens and reptiles.

Another party with amazing chili dogs and hamburgers.

A week at camp which included much laughter, walking, running, games, chair stealing, food…and yes, hearts!

Numerous texts and facebook messages while I was away on vacation. (Rule #1 for hanging with teens: you must be able to text!)

Ambushed by those same teens when I came home.

Teens that have moved in and won't go home…ever.

Teens that if, you just happen to get rid of them…they come back. Like a boomerang.

A newly painted bathroom upstairs!

Things that come with these teens:

Spontaneous,free babysitting; as in, I have to leave, you have to watch the little ones. It works.

Free trips to the grocery store…well, not free actually, they like to add things in. Beware of that one!

Coloring hair.

Kitchen workers; they'll do things like mop the floor, peel 20 lbs of potatoes and take out trash. Sometimes you'll get burned…literally, but they don't mean it.

They're honest. Brutally honest. As in…if they don't like your shoes, or your shades of purple don't match…they'll tell you. I ignore them, of course, but they'll insist on repeating themselves the next time you wear it.

They're kiss ups. They'll tell you whatever you want to hear in hopes of staying at your home or trying to talk you into taking them somewhere…like Walmart or 7-11, but as long as you are aware of this, the relationship works. For instance, "I'd love to take you, but I have to clean."

Mostly, they're fun. Really. They know I love 'em…and that they can call me at the drop of the hat and I'll give them a ride home from work or a place to stay when needed.

Teens….can't live with them, can't live without them. And I like it that way!

Aug 01 2009

Whew!

It's been one of those weeks again; you know, one of those "Whew, I made it through!" weeks! A recap, if you will:

Monday was full of, well, to be honest…I don't remember! I really can't remember what I did on Monday, isn't that terrible?

Tuesday; ah, I remember Tuesday! It started off with me taking my niece for an eye exam. She has various struggles with school, so I wanted to make sure that her vision isn't part of the cause. Turns out she is far sighted and needs reading glasses. Hmmm….that could interfere with reading then, couldn't it? We had fun picking out some awesome "Bratz" frames; red and black with fireworks on the side. Any girl will love them! From there we took B-Boo to the dentist, then home for a quick bit, then back to the dentist and finally, we made it home by 6:30.

Wednesday I got back up, EARLY, for more eye exams for my nephew, and two of my own kids. Turns out my kids eyes are pretty decent, but my nephew was even more farsighted than my niece! So, we spent time picking out awesome eyeglasses for him, too! The rest of the day is a fog, but sleep didn't come quickly enough!

Thursday, I woke up early. I then decided to go back to bed and cuddle with my youngest for a bit since I didn't have any appointments until 9 am. At 8 am, I realized that it was Thursday and that I had 15 minutes to get ready in order to get the Talented One to make up bowling by 8:30. Needless to say, I was one of those moms who ended up driving him to bowling in my pajamas! But I didn't stop there! I then headed over to my in-laws to pick up my nephews, still in my pajamas! By the time I made a couple of phone calls and headed for the shower, the Talented One called me to tell me he was ready to be picked up. So, still in my pajamas, I headed back to the bowling alley and rushed home just in time to grab a quick shower before taking my nephew to school. I managed to drop him off at 12:20, rush to Walmart and make it home by one for a meeting with our Youth Pastor. He's great and didn't mind that I by this time I had 9 kids in my house! We managed to wrap it up just in time for me to go back and get my nephew and get the kids ready for an afternoon swim at the aquatic center down the street! We'd planned to just eat hot dogs while we were there, but the pool hours had been changed so we lost an hour. No problem, we'd head home and cook something fabulous, right? Not, because a friend of the Talented One called to ask for a ride home because his car broke down. We headed over in our swim suits and brought him home with us for grilled chicken and fried potatoes! Finally, at the end of the day, we attempted to watch Alias, but I fell asleep. Sorry, girls!

Friday was back up again, for yet another session across town by 9 am. After my niece was done, we headed to the allergist for the Drama Queen. Once we got her settled, we headed home to find that B-Boo and a friend had primed the upstairs bathroom and were ready for me to start painting. (Oh, did I mention that we were remodeling the upstairs bathroom?) The girls helped until it was time for them to shower while I finished up. I managed to finish just as 5:30 rolled around, giving me enough time for a quick shower before we headed off to another niece's birthday party after we dropped the Smart One off for karate!

And finally, today, Saturday, I thought I'd sleep in. Nope! Hubby headed off to the men's breakfast first thing while I got up and finished putting the bathroom back together before taking the Talented One to bowling. I met hubby at home and we proceeded to put the cabinet back into the bathroom so that we'd have another functioning bathroom! Whew! Just as we were done, we headed off to Karate since the Smart One was testing for 1st Degree Red Belt. He passed! A bite of sushi in celebration and we headed home for the rest of the day!

I managed to get my bible study done and type this blog and watch Alias, all before bed.

Whew!

Jul 24 2009

Diapers and Mice

A while back, I wrote a post about "Things We Were Never Told About Being a Mom." Yesterday, I drove 13 hours in order to get home. It's been about a month now since I'd seen hubby, between my travels and his, so there was a high motive to get home quickly! (Not to mention, 13 hours in a van with 5 kids can be exhausting!) We finally made it home only to be invaded by some certain teenagers who shall remain nameless. In addition, one of my bff's is here in town, so she was here when I got home, too!

Hubby, in all his lonely time, started taking the videos from the camcorder over the years and transferring them. It was good to watch some old videos while my friend, her daughter and our kids talked for a bit. B-boo wanted her dog since she hadn't seen her in two weeks, so we headed over to a friend's house to pick her up. Roxy-the-bird-dog spent the past two weeks out of the house because she was/is in heat and honestly, I don't want puppies right now. Yes, I do have my limits! (Hush up, Bruce!)

So anyway, of course, the nameless teens had to come with me. Then they had to write "thank you" notes and plaster them on the bedroom of another nameless teen who helped watch the bird dog. Then, we had to go to the pet store to get, well…some stuff.

And as we were walking into the petstore, with the dog and the crazy nameless teens, it dawned on me again…this was one of those moments. Honestly, in all my dreaming of being a mom, having a family, etc….I never dawned on me that one day, one night, I'd be walking into a pet store to purchase diapers for our dog and a mouse to feed our snake. (And for once, they didn't make me sign the paper that says I promise to love and protect that cute widdle mouse until I take her home and feed her to my snake…Seriously, I love animals; and the snake has to eat, too!) I never thought I'd be making said teens put the diaper on our dog in the van I also never dreamed I'd have. Really.

We finally made it home and I went upstairs to spend some quality time with my dear hubby. And promptly fell asleep. Poor man; I really do love him!

Jul 15 2009

Vacation Day 4

We woke up today not sure what we were going to do. Whitewater rafting was out since the river is so slow…and low. After getting to the point where we just decided we'd head to town for a stroll, the Talented One gave me the number of Buffalo Trading Post. The price was reasonable and the timing perfect, so we headed over to go for a ride!

Hank was a sweet man who not only made sure we put on cowboy hats that fit for a photo opportunity, but also made sure the kids rode the horses around in the arena for a bit before taking off to make sure that they could handle their horses well. A definite plus in my book! Once the kids were ready, we headed off to the mountain for a beautiful ride. What a great way to spend part of our afternoon!

B-Boo

The Smart One

The Talented One

Drama Queen

B-Boo on Bullet…who didn't like to stay on the trail & has a passion for trees!

How do you like the view from here?

After we were done with our ride, we headed home for a quick change and then back out for dinner. Promptly stuffed, I headed to Pagosa Candy Company for a sweet treat. If you're ever in Pagosa Springs, this is a must stop! Their candies are delicious!

And finally, we stopped by the grocery store on the way home. While there, I managed to dump blueberries all over the produce section and spill a brownie mix that had a hole in it, unknown to me. While waiting at the check out as the cashier ran to bring me another brownie mix, I turned around to the now growing line and apologized; saying that I am usually the one who is stuck behind people like me! They were gracious and didn't complain. I'd say it was a pretty good day after all!

Jul 08 2009

Peace

Over the past few months, life in our house has been anything but peaceful. Taking my niece and nephew into an already chaotic household just added more chaos. And while I know our lives have been turned upside down and inside out, I'm sure that the change has been even harder for them. It's a good thing we always wanted a large family and even better that we know how to laugh! And love.

Camp is something I've been going to with our teens for a few years now. I love it; I look forward to it every year. Twelve days ago, I wanted to change my mind. I wouldn't have, but I wanted to. It seemed like it was too hard to make the trip and leave the four younger children home.

Camp was fun. It was exhausting. It was crazy. It was hilarious at times. It was fast.

And then Wednesday evening came. We had Worship outside at the Greek Amphitheater; at sunset. It was, simply put; AMAZING!

Although the music and the view were beautiful, I simply could not stay in my seat. I was totally drawn around the corner where I could watch the sunset in full, worship by myself and be alone. And I found my peace. While I stood there watching the changing sunset, it was as if God and I were there all alone. A cool breeze swept over me, whispering to me; assuring me that He is with me indeed, and that I can do what He has called me to do. It was pure and simple peace. I stood there in awe of His creation; His presence and was able to fully worship.

A friend told me yesterday that I looked better; refreshed. God is good.