This About Sums It Up.

For the last two weeks, Jena's 5th grade English Language Arts class has been learning about how to write an interview. Last week they even had a real reporter from our local newspaper come and talk to them and give them some tips.

Without me knowing, Jena chose to interview my very best sister friend in the whole wide world, Heather. So when Jena came and asked me for Heather's phone number, I was a little defensive - like 'why are you gonna be callin MY friend?' defensive. ha. (Jealous of a 10 year old is cool.)

So here is the interview. I hope you are able to see the love that we have for our Heather.
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Heather Barthelme
I think it is so nice when people do something to help others. Heather Barthelme is a close family friend that I have known my whole life. Heather lives in Kansas along with her husband, Stephen Barthelme.

Stephen is in the United States Army, so Heather and Stephen have to live in Kansas right now. They were stationed in Kansas on August 10, 2009. Before that, they were stationed in Mannheim, Germany. They had to live in Germany for 3 years. It was a fun adventure to live in Germany, but it was hard for Heather to live so far away from her friends and family.

Heather said that she likes living in Kansas because it is closer to family and friends. She is also very happy it is in America.

Heather’s job is to help support families when a family member is deployed. Heather is called a Family Readiness Support Assistant (FRSA). An FRSA helps families to get use to how the military works when they are new to the military, are moved to a new post or have a family member deployed. The reason she chose to be an FRSA is because she was once a new military family that needed help. But her absolute favorite part about the job is seeing families be reunited.

Heather likes families. Before she was married, Heather was a foster parent. She took care of a baby boy for over two years before he was adopted by a new family. It was hard to see him go, but Heather was happy she got to love him and help him.

I hope that you have enjoyed learning about my great friend Heather Barthelme. The reason I chose to interview her is because I wanted you to read about someone that I love very much that has a very big heart and always helps the people around her.
By Jena Carr

No Recall on These Tears

Yesterday I cried.

Yesterday I cried in front of a stranger.

Yesterday I cried the ugly cry in front of a stranger that was shocked and had no idea how to handle me.

Last weekend we started cleaning out the garage and we decided it was time to get rid of our baby crib. I knew it was time. I think Wyatt might have slept in it ONCE in his whole two years.

(Sweet Baby Wyatt - 1 month old)

We bought that crib about this time 14 years ago. All four of our big kids slept in that crib every single night until a new baby came along and kicked them out.

We have been saving it in case we have another baby.

(Jena - 5 months old)

We have been saving it in case our kids want to use it for their babies.

I listed it on craigslist last week. We only had one inquiry and it turned out to be a scammer.

So Wyatt and I took it to the resale shop just up the street.

(Wyatt helping to haul the crib into the store.)

I was shocked. Not only did they willingly give me a very nice check for both the crib and the less than two year old mattress, but they also pointed out that ours was one of the very few drop side cribs that isn't on the giant recall list. Wow wee!

So I get the darn crib unloaded. Carry the crib, the mattress and the baby into the store and the gal begins to write me a check. She wasn't really poking around, but it sure seemed to me like she was taking her own sweet time. Ya know, things kinda go in slow motion when you are trying to hold back the flood gates.

(Our crib has been put into a corner.)

Before she could sign the check, the water works started. The full on ugly cry. She tried to comfort me and remind me that the crib would really be helping a family that needs one. She signed her name quickly because she realized it was only going to get worse.

I drove away bawling my eyeballs out. Our crib is gone.

Maybe if she had tried to comfort me by telling me that I am taking the first important steps to not being on the Hoarders program I would have felt a little better.

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Oh, and just cause we got rid of our crib doesn't mean that we won't welcome another baby. So if you are reading this and know me in real life, don't assume that another baby was an 'accident' or 'unplanned' or 'unwanted'. Cause if you do, I might just hafta punch you in the belly. Besides, if we are lucky enough to have #6, I'll most certainly never put him/her down.

CinderELLA, Hard Work Pays Off

So you all know the story of Cinderella. Well, we have our own version. And I think you might enjoy it.

There once was a girl named CinderELLA. She wanted to go to the ball (try-out to be on her 7th grade volleyball team). She worked hard perfecting her dance moves beforehand. She was very nervous.

On the day that they were handing out ball tickets (try-out morning), 70 girls waited in line. She was certain that she wouldn't be one of the 20 chosen to dance (play on the "A" or "B" team). Sure enough, she was right. Many of the other girls had much more beautiful gowns (club volleyball girls) and were chosen to dance instead.

She was very sad.

CinderELLA heard that there would be a few more tickets handed out before the day of the ball. Everyone in village (mom/dad/sibs/teachers/friends) encouraged her and helped her prepare just incase she was asked to the ball.

CinderELLA worked very hard.

She tried her hardest to please her step-mother and step-father (coaches). She even wrote a one page essay on why she would like to serve her step-mother/step-father (not evil) and step-sisters (girls on the team).

So her step-mother allowed her to come to the ball (practice/games) as long as she was working hard (team manager).

CinderELLA arrived before the sun came up to begin her daily chores.

CinderELLA cleaned the floors.

CinderELLA provided the refreshments for her step-sisters.

CinderELLA picked up after all of the guest.

CinderELLA even made sure that all of the girls at the ball had a place to sit.

Well one morning, CinderELLA showed up early to serve her step-sisters and was called in for a talk with her step-mother/step-father. CinderELLA was very nervous.

Her step-father told her that she would be allowed to dance at the ball. CinderELLA's hard work was paying off. CinderELLA was very very happy. She felt proud of her accomplishment and was very very thankful.

Tonight was CinderELLA's first dance at the ball (game). All of the other girls had already been to two balls. CinderELLA was very nervous. The people in her village (mom/dad/siblings/friends) were very nervous for her too.

CinderELLA was thrilled to ride in the carriage with her step-sisters.

CinderELLA got to wear her beautiful dress (uniform) for the first time.

CinderELLA had the time of her life. She knows that she still needs to work hard on her dance moves (serving, etc.) but she smiled the whole time she was dancing because she was so thankful to have the opportunity to attend the ball.

The End.

P.S. And btw, these stinkin spandex shorts almost caused a war in our home. When Ella told us that she made the team and 'needed' the darn shorts, I said NO WAY and Jeff said YES WAY!!

Why in the world are these shorts allowed? They are SO inappropriate. (In my opinion.) Of course, I realized tonight that Jeff was right and if I didn't buy the shorts for her that she'd be THE ONLY girl out on the court learning a lesson in modesty. Maybe tonite wasn't the night for this 7th grade girl to hafta learn that lesson in public. And yes, I was probably the ONLY mom in Academy measuring the inseam of the make-us-look-naked shorts to make sure that I got the longest pair. I tried to buy her bike shorts, but the sales gal highly discouraged me. I guess she was right too!

Do You Really Want People to See That?

This morning when Jeff was leaving for work, Wyatt and I followed him out. We normally do because Wyatt likes to wave at dad riding away on the little scooter. But I also had the car keys in my hand. Jeff asked what I was doing. I was going to the car to get the camera. He asked why. I told him that I was planning to make a blog post about how I hate doing the laundry and the dishes. He said 'do you really want people to see that mess?' ha.

I told him how a few lady blog friends write about making their nest comfortable for their kids. And how it gives them pleasure to serve their families.

Me, not so much.

Don't get me wrong. I like to have a nice home. I like for our kids to have what they need. And I want the kids to grown up remembering that they were well taken care of.

But I don't love washing clothes. I hate folding clothes. And I can think of a million things I'd rather do than wash the bazillions of dirty dishes that we have every day.

Funny how I don't mind keeping the porch clean. I like working outside and tending to the plants and the front of the house. I love walking up and having a clean and nice entryway. Just don't come inside. The mounds of dirty clothes and dishes my cause you to faint.

I feel very fortunate that I am able to mostly stay home. I feel like one lucky ducky to have this family. This home. This life.

I guess we all have some sort of job that we hate doing. Just so happens that the two jobs that I hate the most will never never never go away.

I guess I need to work on my attitude about these jobs.

Oh, and did ya notice my fall wreath? I keep thinking if I decorate for fall that maybe, just maybe, the temperture might drop from 97 to 91. Fingers crossed.

We're All Friends Here

Last Friday night, we went out with our friends Amy and James to celebrate Amy's birthday. It was a perfect night to head to the Rattlesnake Inn in Florence, Texas. The weather was almost fall like, the beer was cold and one of our favorite Texas singer/songwriters, Max Stalling was performing. What a GREAT way to celebrate our friend being born.

Max played all of the favorites. We had a great time watching the college sorts be loud and stupid. We enjoyed watching the older couples dance and hold hands.

At the end of the show, we kinda of waited around. James had bought a couple of CDs and he wanted to get them signed. Max is a friend to James and his brother Thomas. They have even had Max out to play at our annual camping trip.

James was waiting in line behind a super cute and fun dancing couple that Amy and I had commented on earlier in the night. They were there with a large party. It almost seemed like it was some sort of family reunion. Well, naturally as the super cute dancing couple got to the front of the line, all of their people started joining them. Amy and I laughed as we watched the group grow larger. And then there was the picture taking. And the autograph signing. And then more introductions. And and now cousin Jill is here, so we should take one more picture.

The whole time, James is just standing there. I continued to make comments to Amy about it. I was growing more and more frustrated by the fact that those people had no regard for James and the fact that he (and all of the folks behind him) had been waiting in line too. All the while though, James doesn't seem to mind at all. This went on for a while (seemed like hours) and finally, James is up! Woo hoo.

So James is talking to Max and then he calls for Amy to come up and say hi too. So I get in line behind the last people. I am thinking since it is Amy's birthday, we should take a Max picture to go with the other 4 or 5 that we have. James is saying to Max 'you remember my wife Amy?' yes yes. And then somehow it comes up that we want to take a picture. Jeff gets the camera. They tell to me come on up. I say 'no no - we'll wait. I'm behind these people.' Those people say 'no, go on ahead' and then I say something assy like 'I watched all of those other people cut and I don't wanna be like them - we are good to wait.'

At that very moment I kinda felt like everyone was looking at me.

And then Max says, 'Come on up, let's take this picture. It's okay. We are all friends here.'

I've kinda been carrying that with me all week long.
What a great way to look at things.
Even though I am still kinda bugged by the whole disregard for the people behind you thing, he is so right.

We are all friends here.

Thanks Max for helping me to keep it all in perspective.

And if you are still with me here, then I think you should take a second to watch Max sing a coupla new songs that I really love.

The Mind

(My kitchen nook with some of my favorite things.)

Remember when we were kids and there was the TV commercial for the United Negro College Fund and the slogan was "A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste"?

Well, I was thinking about that slogan as it pertains to our kids the other day.

(Hand cut by Joanie for my 38th birthday.)
(This one is a Phoenix, I think. I just noticed the little piece of paper fell off the back. Waa.)

One of the things I love most about summer is that I can see that the kids are not wasting their minds. That they do things that interest them. That they have the opportunity to try things that they wouldn't normally try when in the school house environment.

(Hand cut by Joanie for my 39th birthday.)
(A charm to provide good fortune in the four seasons.)
(And I don't know how to rotate the picture, so imagine it with the square on top.)

About a week before school started, I was finding little cut-up pieces of paper all over the house. Seems that Miles had decided he would be Edward Scissorhands. A few days later, while vacuuming the couch, I found a piece of red construction paper that was folded into a perfect rectangle.

I grabbed it up and was definitely a bit irritated. UGH! Another unfinished project or piece of trash that has been left here for me to pick up!!!

Well, I took a minute and unfolded it before I threw it away. Low and behold, it was beautiful. An incredible, beautiful creation! So shocking and stunning that I had to sit down and really study it.

Turns out, Miles did it. No book. No computer. No TV show telling him what to do. He had just been thinking about making paper designs like the ones that Grandma Joanie has given me for my last two birthdays. And then he sat down and started cutting.

And look at this master piece. I love it.
(Hand cut by Miles, 7 years old.)

Kinda makes me wonder what other things the kids are noticing around our house. And how the things that they see are inspiring them. And maybe, just maybe, bringing out a hidden talent, hidden skill or even an interest that we wouldn't otherwise know about. I'm not a paper cutter. (Or a line cutter for that matter. ha ha. Made myself laugh.) How or what would I ever teach them about this art?

The kids are constantly looking at their surroundings and taking it all in. Are we even aware of the impact that these surroundings are making on them? Do they feel the love that is shown on all of our walls? Love for family, love for friends, love for art?

It appears they do.

And I didn't even know.

Guess I should go get those piles of clothes off of the dining room floor now, huh?

(And P.S. - this is one of the things that I miss most about summer being over.)

Sparkling Emeralds

I have never owned an emerald. But I did work at Emeralds once.

One of the most outstanding things about working at Emeralds was the girls. And boy-o-boy, it was a load of young girls living life and having fun.

I was one of the oldest employees (ha) and there were only two of us that had kids.

I loved hanging with all of those young girls. They were always trying to help me with the hip and trendy.

I am pleased to say that I am still friends with a handful of the girls that I worked with.

I feel very lucky that I have such a great relationship with Robyn and Jeri Lynn. Over the last 10 years, I feel like I have watched them grow up.

We worked in the backroom, they introduced me to Coldplay and the Gourds. I introduced them to spit-up and diapers.

They were the first girls that we ever let keep our kids.

The first diaper Robyn ever changed was for Miles and now she has two sweet babies of her own.

Robyn and Brent came to Sam's 4th birthday party and Brent taught him how to ride a skateboard. Isn't that something? A few years later, she became his beautiful bride.

When Robyn got married, Jeri Lynn danced with our girls. And now she dances with her own sweet baby.


If I could have our daughters grow up to be like anyone in the world, it would be these two young women. Full of love, optimism and a smile for everyone that passes their way. They were never afraid to take advantage of every opportunity that life had to offer. And when they love, they LOVE BIG. And I love that.

I also love that we still have them in our lives.

And that they are still sharing their life experiences with me and our kids.

Oh how lucky we are.

This past week we had a chance to play at the park with their kids.


We were also lucky enough to visit Jeri Lynn in the Austin studio of her jewelry company Herndon and Heald. (Yep - they are famous!) And can you believe that they really make all of that jewelry by hand. Melting every piece of metal to create those beautiful sparkles. Wow. Whew I grow up, I think I might pick up the Sundance catalog and buy myself a pair of their beautiful earrings!


And the kids and I also got visit with her fab husband, Ian, and see some of his mind blowing art up close. We spent about an hour in Ian's Austin studio learning about his art process and about the job of being an artist. Wouldn't it be great if we could hop on our jet and see his work first hand at Barry Friedman in NYC?

If only every child could be fortunate enough to have folks like Robyn, Jeri Lynn, Brent and Ian in their lives. I know we are thankful.

I know I am counting my lucky stars.

And I am so looking forward to making so many more memories together.