I Do-It-Myself.

Are you ready for another guest blogger?  I am!!
I can't even remember how I discovered Mandi from Tidbits from the Tremaynes.
Most likely from a blog that led to a blog...you know how that goes.
Once I read her lively posts and saw her adorable kids, I was hooked.
Mandi is funny, down-to-earth, a real sweet heart and funny (did I already mention that?).
I so wish that we were neighbors.  She's the type you could totally go ask for a cup of sugar and you'd go home with something else!  Maybe some scraps of trim!  heehee
Maybe one day we'll meet in real life.
So without further adieu...

Last year, we searched for our first house.


And while I knew I was full of all kinds of cuh-razy decorating ideas, I only had two main priorities for this new house of mine: location and an "open" feel.

Um, yeah. My house is a full-of-windows peepshow, man. Felt like I was getting snowed on the other day. That'll do for an "open" feel.

Anywho, this house: it's new-ish, from a real estate perspective. From a decorator's perspective? Hehehe. . .

Yee-ah. It was built at that age where there is now a lot of need for an update. Are you thinking lots and lots a brass? The original builder's white? Then we're on the same page.

So, for a gal with all kinds of crazy ideas floating in the noggin', a new house to torture, and a hubby that works all kinds of crazy hours. . .

Oh. Crap. The hubby works all kinds of crazy hours. And I couldn't even really use our drill. Dang. I's in a tight spot.

That was when cold, hard reality gave me a good B-slap to the face:

it's you. Or it's not getting done.

So I guess it'll have to be me, dang it.

(excuse the hair; that totally hist 'do is an "I've-got-a-project" 'do)

Now would be a good time to tell you that I love molding. It goes with everything. Including chips.

(On my favorite project list)

Now, I'm not telling you that I have no fear when it comes to a saw. They scare me so bad they might make me pee a little. Might.

I'm not telling you that I don't make mistakes.

(also on that favorite project list)

Ahem, my bed might be covering up a slight spacing discrepancy with that wainscoting. Might.

I'm not gonna tell you that I don't have a close relationship with spackle (the mistake hiding wonder),

Or that I haven't accidentally drilled my finger, sanded my hand, wasted an entire piece of molding with bad cuts, spilled paint on the carpet, pulled out crooked molding with a crow-bar, snapped the measuring tape back in so fast that it flipped back, broke a blood vessel, and I thought I broke a finger it hurt so bad. . .

All I'm sayin' is, besides that my house is a hot mess, is that practice makes perfect.

Right??

My first guest! It's all in the name.

Today's guest blogger is a very dear friend of mine in real life.  Though we are far away, we are still close.  I could write a long post on just Anne and me and the things we have been through together.  She is a funny lady (can you tell I am drawn to funny people?), she is super nice and down to earth.  Her heart is VERY big.  I hope you enjoy her as much as I.  You can follow her life as a home schooling mom, pastor's wife and domestic diva here. 

This is my first guest post ever!  I feel a bit strange.  I had so many great ideas bouncing in my head!  I thought I would get comfy, and pretend I was drinking a tall glass of Alamama tea, and talk.  Thank you my friend for inviting me, I only wish I was sitting in your rocking chair of your living room.

For those who don't know me, I am Anne.  That is Anne with an E.  I am very proud of my E.  I am also very adamant about my name, it is one syllable.  It is not Ann•ie.  With the surge of internet forums and email names, I needed a name to remember, it had to be easy and short.  I picked Anne of Alamo.  I am not from Texas.

When I started my email accounts and made my internet name, I lived in a little town in New Mexico, called Alamogordo.  This is the town where a small church called The Potter's House is located.  At this church, I accepted Jesus Christ into my life, married my husband, dedicated my 4 children to the Lord and met and have grown to love and be loved by so many wonderful people.  This little church is touching the world!  Taking the words of Jesus Christ to Go Ye into all the World and Preach the Gospel and How will they KNOW, unless someone sends them? (Anne paraphrase).  

This church sent my husband (along with my children and myself) to preach the Gospel.  We are now in Yuba City, California.  Leaving the church in Alamogordo was one of the hardest things I have ever done.  They were my family, and support. But we were not sent out and abandoned, we were sent with support both financial and spiritual.   This church prays for us on a daily basis.  That is how we are able to do what we are called by God to do!

We have been here in Yuba City for almost 3 years, seeing lives transformed (including my own) and pressing in for all that God has for us.  My family loves it here.  We have been blessed in so many ways.  My husband has a part time job that meets the needs, but is off by 8am to give him the time to still do what he is called to do here! Our homeschool adventure has been paid for by the Great State of California.  Our home is lovely and our neighborhood safe.  My parents live 90 miles away.   We have many Starbucks.  Fruit grows in abundance and is given to us in bags full.  We have green grass all year.  I love it here.

 

I have people jokingly call me Anne of Yuba, but my heart and allegiance is to my mother church in the town of Alamogordo. I tell them just as adamantly as I would about my E on the end of my name, it is Anne of Alamo, you see,  I don't ever want to forget MY ALAMO! 

Mommy Nuggets

I have been wanting to do this for some time.  However, when it comes to learning new things on the computer...well, let's just say that I have made more then one long distant phone calls for help.
(Thanks Anne and Denise.)

I have made some wonderful friends through blogging and wanted to introduce you to three of these ladies through my blog.

First is Patti from Notes from Home.
I was introduced to her through a mutual friend.
As Anne was telling me about Patti, I knew I wanted to get to know her.
I haven't been disappointed.
Patti is funny, honest and loves people.  You can feel it through her blog.
Without further ado, here's Patti...

First of all, thank you Alamama for asking me to be a guest blogger- what an honor to be invited here! If you're not familiar with me, just pour yourself a cup of tea, pull your chair up to the computer and get cozy...we're gonna be besties by the time this is done;)

I asked Alamama to give me some topic ideas that she wanted me to post about. You know- to narrow things down for me? Cuz sometimes I tend to ramble. It comes from having too many kids, I think. My mind is always going in a kazillion directions, and it takes some prompting to reign it in. Staying focused is not a particular strength of mine.

So one of the topics she suggested was mothering a large family. I'm pretty sure Alamama was referring to the amount of children we have. And not their size. Because if you saw us in real life...well, let's just say we're not exactly giving the tall people of the world a run for their money. I like to think of us as vertically challenged. It sounds so much nicer than plain old short doesn't it?

Where was I...oh, yes...staying focused...on....mothering a large family!

By today's standards I guess you could consider us a large sized(as in amount) family. My husband Sam and I have ten children, ranging in ages 22 to 9 months. We are blessed with 7 boys and 3 girls, the youngest of whom, Lily, was born with a lil' something extra. We like to call that "something extra" designer genes, but some people call it Down syndrome ;)

I never planned on being a grand multipara when I was younger. That's latin for a woman who has carried six or more pregnancies to a viable stage. In English it just means crazy.

Sam and I looked at each other shortly after we were married, and nine months later out popped Jason. That's pretty much all it took. I've discovered that if we even think about having another child, my body goes into full blown reproduction mode, no questions asked.

So here we are, ten kids later, and I have to say that I am more blessed today with ten, than I was with two. People always ask us how we do it financially, and honestly? It's a miracle of God. It truly is. We're not living in a mansion, but we have so much more today than we did 20 years ago. I really do believe that God provides for us when we are open to receiving His blessings- whether that be two kids or ten. Where God guides, He provides.

SOOOOO, staying focused...and in conclusion...(don't you just love it when preachers say that? I am sooooo tempted to guffaw loudly when ours does, but being that I'm his wife....that probably wouldn't go over too well.) IN CONCLUSION, I am going to list 3 things I know now, as a mother of many, that I wish I knew when I started out as a mommy.

1)It sounds cliche, but it really does go by too fast. Just blink, and those little bundles of joy in your arms are leaving your nest forever. So cherish each moment- the dirty diapers, the runny noses, the terrible twos and even the frustrating fourteens. And the next time your 3 year old drops an entire roll of toilet paper (your last) in a freshly filled-to-the-brim toilet...smile, count to ten, and think, "this too shall pass." And head straight for the liquor cabinet chocolate. Reese's are my drug-of-choice for these types of situations. King-sized if the toilet was loaded.

2)Less is more. Our kids really don't have to have all the latest and greatest toys and gadgets and doo-dads. My children get more pleasure out of making family memories than any x-box or Intendo (as my 3 year old calls it) could give. As we approach the Christmas season, my littles are peppering me daily with "where are we going to put our tree up this year?" and "are we still gonna decorate gingerbread houses like we do every year?" and "are we going to get the snowman mugs down soon?" It's the little things in life that make sweet memories for our children. And besides, do they really need that new Webkinz... when they can't even remember to take the real dog out?? before he leaves little morsels of chewiness for tiny toddlers to discover?? Methinks not.

3)PRAY. PRAY. PRAY. Mommy fuel is not enough. And it runs out fast. We need God's fuel. Actually, we need God to just turn our gas-guzzling SUV's into Prius's. (how's that for politically correct? hehehe, in real life I drive a 15-passenger Dodge Van. Take that, Swagger Wagon!)

Staying focused....our SUV/Prius transformation only happens through prayer. Daily doses of it. LARGE daily doses. The truth is- I can't parent or teach or nurture or correct or love or guide my children into serving God and being productive adults in and of myself. I need a supernatural infusion, I need Holy Ghost Help to keep me running on all 4 cylinders...in short- I need God. And if I don't take time to get ahold of him, all of my mommy efforts are in vain. When I'm at the end of my rope mentally, I need to pray. When my kids are seeming to go wayward, even in small areas, I need to pray. When I feel overwhelmed and under-appreciated and just maxed out on every front...I need to pray.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Philippians 2:4

So those are my little Mommy nuggets of wisdom...not pearls by any stretch, but maybe some food for thought in your daily diet here in bloggyland.

...and hopefully tastier than those morsels my dog Tillie left for me behind the papasan this morning.



Think I'm gonna buy me a Webkinz!!