Hey, Mrs. Wilson!

I put on rice and went to read blogs play with my baby.

I heard a boiling noise.

I remembered that I put rice on and went to check on it. Whoops.

It was bad. It was not as bad as this, but it was not good.

Nothing was damaged, but I had to start the rice over again.

While I was in the kitchen, I left my baby alone with my laptop and my slurpee.

When I remembered this fact, I ran back to the den to find Liliana flicking blue slurpee on the keyboard.

Awesome. (Noah. Breathe. In. Out. Repeat.)

When the rice was back on, I remembered that Liliana was supposed to be having her evening nap. She went down 15 minutes late (which is okay in the morning and afternoon, but not that swell in the evening.)

As I came back down the stairs after tucking her in, I remembered again about the rice. It was boiling. It was okay. I put a lid on it and turned it to low.

Like I said, I’m a genius. And Mother of the Year.

I’ve climbed on the band wagon. I opened an etsy shop. If you don’t know what etsy is, it’s like a giant craft fair. It’s a site where people sell all things handmade. From clothes to diapers to lampshades … you name it and it’s there.

I listed my first item last night and will continue to list items for the next couple days. My first one? A taggie blanket. I’m starting small. There is a link to my shop in my left banner.

My goal by the time we move is to be able to work from home. I love working outside my home, but more than that, I want to raise my children myself. Kaylie started daycare when she was 7 months old and was in it until just before she turned six. I don’t want to do that with Liliana. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with daycare, it’s just that Liliana will most likely be my last baby and I want to be there for the early years.

The plan (after the move) is to have a day home caring for 2 or 3 children that are not my own and to have an etsy shop. I’m hoping that it will be enough for me to contribute to our income. If not, I will find a job outside our home. Plans change, but that’s what I’m hoping for.

During this now-over Christmas season, I think we’re over saturated with false pictures of Jesus. False physical pictures. All the pictures I’ve seen portray a white baby or a white man. Jesus was not white. Are you shocked? Think about it. He was born in Israel to Israelite parents. I know that He was not conceived the conventional way, but I do believe that he looked just like any other Israelite man would. He had dark skin and black hair. He was not white, he did not have blonde hair, and he did not have blue eyes. He did not look like Brad Pitt.

I got a call from my former boss (aka father-in-law) yesterday to set up a microphone at the church for a commercial that a lady was shooting today. Not a professional commercial, just an announcement she wants to give this Sunday, but she will not be there. Video will be speaking in her place. Anyway, she needed an assistant. I thought Todd would be the guinea pig, as he usually is, but nope, he was filming. The boss made me do it. And I’m not even on payroll at the moment … argh. I HATE being on camera. I saw salt and water and figured I’d be drinking salt water. I was wrong.

She asked me to stand, close my eyes, and stick out my tongue. She put a couple grains of salt on my tongue and asked a couple questions. Then, with my eyes still closed and my mouth open, she dumped a whole spoonful of salt in my mouth. Probably the grossest thing that had ever crossed my lips into the sacredness of my mouth. She was then kind enough to hand me a glass of well deserved and very refreshing water to wash down the disgustingness that inhabited my mouth. My tongue is still burning.

I’m always glad to help, but next time I’m going behind the camera.

• Stop procrastinating
• Make memories with my children
• Be the best wife I can be
• Spend time with my Lord daily
• Never go to bed angry
• Always put my family before my addictions (blogging, scrapbooking, TV, ebay …)
• Take a trip each year, even if it’s a short one
• Attend each and every one of my childrens’ concerts
• … I’m sure I could keep adding to this … but I have to listen to #6!

*****

Every month we get a Focus on the Family bulletin insert in our weekly church bulletin. I love reading them because (1) I’m a sucker for Dr. James Dobson and (2) I am a sucker for a good story. This is the story that came in this last week’s insert. It made me quite sad, but it inspired me (see #2 in the list above).

“Daddy, can we build a birdhouse today?” my 7-year-old daughter, Makenah, asked me early one Saturday morning as I was knee-deep in a “honey-do” project list.

“Well …” I hesitated. With a house and four children under 8, I had discovered that my project list never ended. I had tucked away the birdhouse instructions for weeks, after promising Makenah we would build it someday.

I paused a moment and took to heart my wife’s daily mantra: “Let’s make a memory.” Then without hesitation, I decided that “someday” had just arrived.

“OK, Makenah. Let’s build that birdhouse.”

We spent the afternoon measuring, cutting, and piecing together spare cedar planks in the garage. Makenah colored arrows, directing the birds to the food.

A few weeks later, memories such as this one were all I had left of my family. As we drove home from a relative’s wedding one stormy evening, our minivan was caught in a flash flood. My wife of nearly 12 years and all four of our small children went home to heaven. Somehow, I survived.

Amid the perpetual pain of missing my family, I have peace because I cherished them while I could. I built that birdhouse with Makenah - seven weeks before it was too late. We spent quality time with our children; I have no regrets.

Today, start living a life of no regrets with your family. Make a memory. None of us is guaranteed tomorrow.

A picture of me and my girls in which I am not totally disgusted with my huge spare tire (because in this picture you cannot see it)!

Thanks for the picture Grandma!

Oh yes, and I finally added (in the post below) the one and only picture (I’m so lame) that I took on our Pine Lake expedition on Sunday. For some reason Kaylie looks like her best friend just died. I have no idea why.

I’m still not totally satisfied with this template or header … it’s a work in progress … it may change daily …