I just had dinner with my beautiful in-laws and great-grandma tonight, they were concerned for me, as my blogs have been heavy….I only write, I realize, when I am overwhelmed with emotions….

I was thinking about it today, I am okay about being accused of certain things, like being outspoken, strong, emotional, even rebellious…all of those I can accept, some I need to take to the Cross and have adjusted.
  One thing I will not tolerate is the label of “fake or phony”…think what you will of me, judge me as you want, but KNOW I will always be honest.
  I have been quoted for this statement, “you can’t be healed if you can’t be REAL”…so I guess my blogs are authentic, if nothing else.

So, tonight Gary and I walk into our home, and a full on “NERF’ gun war is underway…all four boys, totally engrossed in the moment, the battle and the victory…our oldest son Tyler running through the house in his boxer shorts and slippers, dodging the dreaded “bullets” from the “gun”  of our four year old Noah, (decked out in his own batman boxers, cool sunglasses and “deadly weapon”)…. the girls are finishing home work, quiet and appearing to be innocent, they are after all the little ladies amist the loud brothers….Michael is showing me his new web site, all about him and Swaziland, and charming me with, "you look beautiful tonight, mommy"….Caleb is obsessing over Landon’s birthday party tomorrow, he just can't wait!

Gary and I just laugh, smile and start herding people to showers and eventually their beds.
  We pretend that we are irritated that they are so wild….but in truth, we are loving every moment of them, with all their personalities…so full of life…
This is it! The everyday, the every breath, even the madness that we cannot take for granted…
Life is truly beautiful, if you chose to truly live it.
  It is the little things, like tonight that I will never forget, that I will always cherish…These are the moments I will miss the most when my children are grown and on their own, these are the stories I will tell their children, years from now.
How blessed can one women be?
                                                                                     
Black kids Christmas 2005 in the mess