Crazy Lady Breaks Down at PA Turnpike Toll Booth

Yes ~ I am that crazy lady (I know, it's so hard to believe, right?) and no I don't mean that my car broke down!

Let me tell you the story...On Wednesday I went out to PA for the day to visit my friend Michelle and her two beautiful children! It was a lovely fall day - The leaves are starting to turn colors, the weather was gorgeous, no rain in sight! We had a great visit...got to catch up a little, have lunch & the kids had fun playing...We pack ourselves up & head on home. I was reading the directions backwards to get back to the PA Turnpike - Becky & Matthew were in the back seat arguing & hitting each other & screaming - Very distracting - I was trying to follow the signs - "Stay left for PA Turnpike", etc...Well, right as we approached the toll booth area & the kids were still screaming at each other - I was supposed to get over to the right (but is wasn't correctly marked) - I realized this as I was cruising by in the left lane and glanced over to my right and saw the lovely purple toll signs...I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, but figured it was like the GS Parkway where sometimes you go through a regular lane & then there are 2 more toll booths before you get on the highway. NOPE! Not this exit!

So now I'm heading towards home, the kids settle down and fall asleep & I am going over in my head how I will explain to the toll collector what happened, what exit I got on at & hand him my $5 to pay for the toll (which was only $2.25). He had to understand my situation or at least have pity on me, right? I knew the worst case scenario would be that I would have to pay the highest toll on the card but I figured how much could it be - $4 or $5??

Well, the guy proceeded to tell me it was $19.25!! I didn't have that much cash on me nor did i have my checkbook! I was like - Now what do I do? He told me that I have to drive across all of the lanes of traffic, through the orange cones and go over to the Turnpike Building to pay the money! I just looked at him in total shock! I was so furious because this wasn't even my fault! I couldn't believe that this was happening to me - I just wanted to have a day out to visit my friend...Did I say something mean to him? Did I argue my point to him? Nope, I just broke down & started to cry! I proceeded to drive through the orange cones, parked the car, woke up the 3 kids & schlepped them into the building. I had my sunglasses on but could not stop crying! The people were like "Lady, what's the matter! Calm down...it'll be okay" (Personally, I think I really scared them!)

Well, I finally sort of calmed down, told them what happened & they told me that the exit is not properly marked & I have to send in the payment for the toll, but then also gave me a claim report & told me to send that in explaining what exit & how it wasn't marked, etc. and they will refund me the money. We'll see...Anyway, looking back on it now, the whole scene was kind of funny! For those few moments when we first entered the building, I never saw Matthew & Becky be so quiet or stand so still. I think they thought I was going to jail or something!

Anyway, I hope you all have a great weekend - I am going to a Women's Retreat with my friend & two of my sister-in-laws - I can't wait - They're picking me up at 5pm & the kids are looking forward to a special weekend with Daddy...

Part II

Well, I just wanted to elaborate a little bit about the things I mentioned in my last post ~ I basically have been wrestling in my mind with what are the right things for our family such as homeschool or go to school ~ three kids or four kids ~ Things like that & when I had mentioned that I feel that God has given me a peace about things I meant this: Danny & I have chosen to homeschool our kids which is just an awesome opportunity to spend a lot of time with them, to shape their education towards things they are interested in, and to bring them up with our family morals and values. Some days are great - I get to exercise before the kids wake up, take a few minutes of quiet time also, we get through every lesson smoothly, Jake takes a good nap, Matthew keeps his self-control - then all seems right with the world - It makes me feel great! Then there are the other kinds of days where everything seems out of control - Jake is fussy, the phone keeps ringing, Becky complains "I don't want to do school" and Matthew is bouncing off the walls! These are the days where I hear myself in my head "If they were in school I be having a good day" and then start to cry because I am thinking about them actually not being here and being in school all day! Well anyway, here's where the part about the peace comes in...

We all have good days and bad days regardless of what each day consists of in terms of daily tasks - Going to work in an office, staying home with your children, homeschooling, etc. The bottom line is that even though we may have some "bad days", (which aren't really even that bad if I step back for a moment), I am not doubting that the paths we choose for our family are the right ones. The good days far outweigh the "bad" ones and my new peace comes with accepting that every day doesn't have to be "perfect" and I don't have to complete 10 different household projects in one day, plus exercise, get school done, take care of the baby...The latter three are enough...Sometimes because of the type of person I am in terms of always wanting to do a project around the house I put pressure on myself to get these things done when the real reason I am home here in the first place and not in an office somewhere (where I definitely wouldn't be able to work on house projects) is to be a mother! Everything else will get done in time...

I went to a MOPS group yesterday and the Mentor mom was talking about families and how when a husband and wife get married they become their own family and they have to rely on one another to plan out what is best for their own little family. She remarked how there are times in her life now with four grown, married children where she may not always agree with the choices that her children make for "their families" in terms of money matters, how they are raising their children, etc...but she has to respect those choices. She also spoke about handling one issue at a time, like if you are telling your child for the 100th time to get their shoes out of the living room to focus only on that & not add in "and your room is a mess, and you left the tv on, and you need to take better care of your things!" I am going to try that advice starting today to focus only on one thing at a time with the kids and see how that goes...

Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled...

This past Sunday in church, our Pastor gave a sermon regarding "The Spirit Within Us" and the main portion of scripture he referenced was John 14:1 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me." He discussed how "Human beings were created to be filled with God's spirit. A person who does not have God's Spirit will not be able to live the life that God created them to live..." What he said really spoke to my heart because I have many people in my life that are close to me who are going through some difficult trials in their lives right now...I pray for them all on a daily basis!

I really feel that no matter what someone is going through, no matter how hard something is to deal with, or how stressful the unknown things of life can be, if you put your faith & trust in God and really know that you are allowing Him to guide your day to day path by His Spirit, then you'll make it through...

Last week I feel that God was speaking to me regarding some things that I had been praying about in my life regarding mothering, schooling and basic household life...I had some different opportunities throughout the week to really self-reflect and I feel a new peace inside about a lot of things...I am too tired tonight to elaborate, this will have to wait for a Part II or something, but I just felt like encouraging you that if you pray faithfully and wait for God to reveal to you what he has planned for your life instead of trying to make things happen on your terms (which I was trying to do a LOT!), you can really have peace, joy and contentment in your life! Try it, you might just be surprised!

Mr. M

My kids think that whenever anyone has a birthday, they have to have a "theme" ~ Last month they were over my brothers house celebrating my dad's b'day & thay asked him "Grandpa, what's your theme?" - My sister-in-law had some Winnie the Pooh stuff left over so his theme was Winnie the Pooh! Then they said that in October is Uncle John's b'day and what was his theme going to be?

Well, my brother John (& Jimmy & I) used to love the Letter People, so the kids decided that that was his "theme". The Letter People was a phonics program that they used in our elementary school growing up & each letter of the alphabet became a character to help children learn the sounds that it makes - Each letter has a song, too & we have it on CD! All of the kids picked their favorite letter and have been practicing for the past few weeks (Matthew doesn't even realize how many hours a day he has been actually "doing school" by listening to these songs)

Last night we celebrated John's birthday & it was complete with performances of many of the favorite letters and even a Mr. B ice cream cake - It was so much fun! I can't wait to see the footage on DVD (no pressure, Jim!)

Anyway, Matthew's favorite letter is Mr. M & I have posted his picture and song below...

MR. M
I'm Mr. M, with a munching mouth

My mouth must munch, munch, munch

My mouth has lunch, lunch, lunch

I munch from morning to midnight,

Midnight to morning, munching mouth,

I'm Mr. M

Meatballs, macaroni, mashed potatoes, I adore

Marshmallows, maple syrup, melon, milk,There's room for more...

For Mr. M with a munching mouth

My mouth must munch, munch, munch,

My mouth has lunch, lunch, lunch,

I munch from morning to midnight,

Midnight to morning, munching mouth, Meet Mr. M

Milkshakes, marmalade, mayonnaise, I adore,

Muffins, mushrooms, and molasses,

More and more and more and more!

I'm Mr. M with a Munching Mouth

My mouth must munch, munch, munch

My mouth has lunch, lunch, lunch

I munch from morning to midnight

Midnight to morning, munching mouth

I'm Mr. M, With a munching mouth

I'm Mr. M ~ MUNCHING MOUTH!