*Today I took our littlest…let me remind you she is 18-months-old…to the dentist…per the state of Tennessee requirements and OH MY GOODNESS.  Hell hath no furry like a fiery 18-month-old getting her teeth cleaned.  I literally had to lay on her small body to keep her from flailing right off the dental chair.  I need a nap.

*Mom confession:  I don’t like playing with our kids.  Playing is hard work.  Creating a Lego mad scientist chamber from thin air, throwing baseball over and over and over again, being student Mom to teacher Harper and finishing all the homework assignments which she has given me.  Laugh all you want.  Critique and criticize all you want, but I’m not a player.  Give me all the art projects of the world, but please don’t make me play kitchen.  Maybe they will be scarred for life and hash it all out in therapy one day, but I don’t recall my mom playing much and I still think she was the greatest mom ever to live.  I remember her reading to me and letting me color my heart out wherever I wanted…in the bottom of my closet was my favorite.  I remember homemade rice krispy treats eaten from a bowl, crawling up in her bed for chats and her letting me cover my walls in every dog poster I could get my hands on.  And her brushing my hair and rolling it up in sponge rollers.  I don’t recall much play at all and I feel like a semi adjusted adult human.  Never the less, sometimes and by sometimes I mean the rapture is near, I get a wild hair and play.  Like today.  Amon and I played the following: one game of Candyland, one game of Memory and a solid 20 minutes of Mr. Mouth the frog game and now I am in full exhaustion.  I need another nap.

*The Ngungwane tees by Sasquatch Design Society have been an off the chart success.  So much so, they sold out and have been reprinting bit by bit to keep up.  I mailed out another big batch yesterday morning.  We are families with kiddos and other jobs other than fundraising so it might be a week or so before your tee arrives, but I promise we are doing our best.  Thank you for your support and your patience.  Thank you for choosing kindness and generosity.  It’s been amazing to watch God work.  Marcie text me this morning and said they printed another big batch of tees so bring on the orders.  I have heard raving reviews of how much everyone loves the quality and softness.  I’m a total fan.  And don’t get me started on the kid sizes…they are insanely awesome.  You can read more about the tees HERE and place your order HERE.  Every purchase gets up closer and closer to that playground for those precious kiddos.

*I’ve been quite the weepy creature lately.  It’s true.  I’m a mess.  I am completely at peace with Mom’s death and really have felt the healing only God can provide, but sometimes the sadness can sink back in especially when looking at family structures and relationships.  I’ve been in a bit of a weepy season as of lately.  So what if I got all emotional like while waiting for the gynecologist.  It happens.  It’s normal right?!?!  🙂  Recently I have become more and more aware of “the stares”.  I know our family looks a bit different, even though our outward appearance is not that uncommon today, but throw in an 18-month-old who is away from her family, has big emotions and is also smack dab in the middle of her terrible twos and oh the stares.  They have honestly never bothered me until now.  Honestly I’ve never noticed them until now.  Maybe it’s the flailing small body who is kicking and screaming in public places which makes me more aware, but those stares make me want to flip people off, yell loving things like “show some freakin’ compassion” “you don’t know us” “take a picture it will last longer” “would you like to restrain this tiny, but unhumanly strong child yourself” and then head to my car for a good sob.  It’s true.  I am very Christian like.  I heart Jesus.  A stare makes me go all crazy person on the inside, but man oh man, a smile which is clearly backed with compassion and empathy gives life.  I want to be a life giver!

*I have determined if and what I am eating when Josh Kelley gets home from work each day can accurately report how my day has gone.  Hi!  My name is Laura and I am an emotional eater.  Ive got all kinds of probs.  For example:  I adore sweets.  Like I have the biggest sweet tooth known to man.  If you know me, you know this well.  Sweets are part of my hard wiring.  Jesus created me and clearly wants me to enjoy sweets.  Due to my sweet tooth I go to great lengths not to purchase them and have them in our house.  We try to only eat sugar on the weekends.  I personally fail at this miserably each week.  If Josh Kelley comes home and I am eating frozen chocolate chips I dug out of our freezer because there is absolutely not another sweet thing in our house this is his fair warning…tread lightly…Laura is unstable and likely volatile.

*Hudson’s birthday is right around the corner and he requested, wait for it, a surprise party.  If you knew Hudson personally you would know this is actually no surprise and he is actually the most perfect child ever to throw a surprise party for because he will be completely and totally surprised and wear every bit of the surprise and excitement and shock on his sleeve.  It is going to be amazing!

*And lastly, Josh Kelley has been trying to get me to start listening to books I want to read via our library’s audio book download from our library app.  I’m always “I want to be a reader” and yet it takes me approximately 192 days to complete one book.  I finally got wise and took heed from Josh Kelley.  That dude does know a thing or two.  You guys, I don’t think I will ever A) Purchase another book or B) Actually read to myself ever again.  Audio books from the library are A) Free and B) Someone reads to you.  Give me all the lazy “reading” of the world.  I started Jen Hatmaker’s new book For The Love yesterday and am currently on chapter 22.  CHAPTER 22 on day two.  This is unheard of.  And Jen reads her book herself.  I have laughed so hard I’ve cried and then sobbed like a baby from her meaningful words.  It is a delight.  Go download a free audio copy today, stick those ear buds in which amazingly drown out all kinds of undesirable noises like fighting and whining and find yourself almost completely done with the book tomorrow.  By the way, chapter 21 is simply amazing truth!

Happy Thursday!