Gettin' Some Ink

So, forever, I've wanted a tatoo. I'm not sure what and I don't know where. I'm not talking something big, but just something small & maybe on my foot. Aaron is absolutely against it. . . no ifs, ands, or buts. He doesn't want me to get one. So, I had this dream the other night:

I was at my parents' house and my brother was there. I was working on solving this murder mystery case of a woman named Mary. I had kind of talked about it with my brother and my mom. I was about to have a huge break in the case.

My brother had a tatoo machine right there in my parents' house, so I decided to go for it. He asked me what I wanted and I told him that I didn't know, but I wanted something small. I told him to be creative. So, I sat down in the chair and in like 5 minutes, he was finished. I didn't feel anything!! When he said he was finished, I looked down at my forearm & there on my arm. . . well, taking up about 3/4 of the inside of my whole arm, was a picture of Mary. Underneath her picture, it said, "In Loving Memory of Mary ____". I kind of FREAKED OUT! I thought I told him "something small"!!

Then, I look down on my left leg and on my shin, he tatooed a GIANT sun. . . like, takes up my whole shin!!

So, my mom is going to cut my hair, so I go and wash my hair and cover my arm with a towel. While she's cutting my hair, I realize that forever, I will have to wear a long sleeved shirt. I will also have to wear long pants! He actually did a really good job -- the picture looked just like Mary and the sun was really neat -- but it wasn't what I asked for. Plus, Aaron would be FURIOUS!!!

I remember my mom seeing my arm and asking what was wrong with my arm. I showed her and I remember being mortified!! I had this dead lady's picture tatooed on my arm when I didn't even know who she was! I was just working on the case to find her killer!! Plus, on the entire bottom part of my leg was this gigantic sun!!

Then, I woke up.

I think I could . . .

The other day, I was outside swinging Jaxon in his swing that is attached to the old, run-down, piece of "tree house" that we got from the front of the Prayer House when they were remodeling. You know, that piece of wood thing that was falling apart before we got it & it held a swing and all of our kids got splinters on? Yep, that thing.

So, I'm swinging Jaxon back and forth, back and forth and the rickety wood is also going back and forth, back and forth. Then, I had this idea. I wish I could build my kids a tree house -- and I don't mean hire someone else to do it. I mean, build it with my sweat and tears. I mean, me with the tape measure & the saw. I mean, hammer in hand swinging away. I'm talking trap doors & stairs & a look-out & a place where you can run around the outside of the whole tree house, kind of like a balcony. It would have swings below and a slider pole for quick escapes. I mean, the coolest tree house that ever was built!

Oh how I wish I had the skills. . . or the time. . . or the tools . . . or the money. . . or whatever I would need to do all of that.

What's Up?

I feel like it's been forever since I posted anything. . . well, it has been since I posted anything significant. So, here's what I have been up to:

Children's Church:
The kids have been working for over a year to fill up this jar for Backpacks. They've been emptying their piggy banks and stealing dad's change stash to see that this jar gets full. Well, this last week, it happened. So, this Sunday, they are getting a GIGANTIC Super Bowl Party. We'll have pizza & ice cream & then they get to tar and feather me. . . with chocolate syrup. I'm actually really looking forward to it. Crazy, I know.

The hallway murals are finished in the classrooms! Emilie did an AMAZING job!! Now, we're waiting on the flooring. I'll have to post pictures on here at some point of the transformation. It's just crazy what a great job she did painting on cinder block.

Backpacks:
I'm now feeding kids in the Elementary school & the Intermediate school. This Friday, we will be feeding 91 kids in Clyde. That makes me happy. I'm sure most people know, but I'll take time on my blog to say it again: OUR BACKPACK PROGRAM IS FEATURED ON RACHAEL RAY'S WEBSITE!!! It's no longer on the front page of her website, but we got to be there for the month of January!! It's still in the archives, though. You can check it out here: http://www.yum-o.org/how_cool.php?id=66

Backpacks is getting donations almost daily from people around the community. It's amazing how people will give to a need, but they will pour out for a vision. I've had opportunities to talk to a few clubs in town and the Baptist Church. Right now, the Baptist Church is coming to pack backpacks on Thursday evenings with me.

I forgot that I didn't update on the Backpack Christmas Project. In 2008, we did Christmas presents for 92 children in Clyde. In 2009, we did Christmas presents for over 200 children in Clyde, Abilene, & Baird. How cool is that? I never could get my slide show to upload anywhere, so if you missed it, you missed it. Or maybe I could burn you a CD so you could watch it. I'm not sure if you would have to have PowerPoint on your computer or not. But, I worked on that slide show for 4 weeks & it still made me cry the Sunday that we showed it at church. I was blown away by how amazing God was to take care of all of those kids. We would think we were finished & we would have leftovers to pass on to someone else. Again, we thought we were finished & we had more leftovers. It was crazy, but I was honored to be a part of it.

Home:
I'm trying again to learn how to balance everything. Yesterday, I realized that I work a lot. I mean, a lot. Yes, I love what I do, but I have times where I just want to relax and do nothing, but there's work to be done & a house that needs cleaned & laundry that needs to be folded & bathtubs that need to be scrubbed & ___________ & ___________ & ___________. So is the life of a working mom, I guess. So, I'm going to work on some scrapbook stuff for a while. I'm going to take some time to just do stuff for me or things that I like to do. I realize that I get in task mode and unless I run into someone, I won't have any kind of relationship. . . not good. So, I'm working on being a better friend. . . how about that? ;)

So, there's my blog post to kind of catch everyone up. . . or at least the few that are left in Blogville. Maybe I can get better about updating here. :)