The Odyssey

Last year at this time, we were trying to adjust to life in the Philippines. We were severely plagued with jet lag. We slept all day and stayed up all night for at least a week. We were excited about the opportunity of living in a foreign country. We were still in awe and looking forward to the possibilities. Right now, I miss living in the Philippines. It was exciting and different and made us see life from a different perspective. It made us value the people we love in the USA. It made us value our country. Even though we complain about our government and so many things here, I still feel that America is a truly great country. We have opportunities others only dream about. Freedoms (for now anyway) that some can't even imagine. I was reading an article the other day about the billions of pounds of food that is wasted yearly in our country. In the Philippines, they were rationing staple food because there just wasn't enough. Children were left to beg on the streets. The elderl...

For the first time in my life, yesterday I wore a shirt endorsing a person running for office. What I didn't expect was for random strangers to just come up to me wanting to talk about it. The first lady told me how she ordered some t-shirts, posters, yard signs, and something else from his website but it hasn't come yet. So, of course, I had to brag about how I got my shirt in less than a week. Another lady said I didn't know you could get campaign shirts in maternity sizes. Several other people wanted to actually discuss the election with me. Of course, I was in Walmart with my kids so the timing and place wasn't really conducive for that type of discussion. I really didn't expect that reaction though. I've seen people walking around campaigning for people all my life. It never made me want to engage them in a conversation though. On a side note, Danae doesn't know who the actual president is. If you ask her, she'll say President Barack Obama is the pr...

This is something I've always wondered about. Do parents have a favorite child? My parents did. It was me. I was also the only child so there was no competition. But, what about families with more than one? Like us. I've been accused of having a favorite child. They say it's Danae. That's kinda funny to me because if you saw us at home, you would think opposite. When we sit to watch television or read a book, Brayden is always curled up in my lap or on my shoulder while Danae would prefer to sit with her daddy. But, he's not my favorite. He's just a mama's boy and she's a daddy's girl. We have no idea where #3 will fit in. By the way, my due date is supposedly February 22nd but I don't think that's accurate. Anyway, my stepmother clearly has a favorite child. And, she doesn't mind sharing that information. You would know it as soon as you walked in her house. She has tons of pictures of one child while you have to hunt for the pictures of...

The other monumental even from last week was my baby's birthday!!! Brayden is now 2! Even though we were without electricity most of the day he still had a fabulous day! He played with his friends all morning. He was so tired when he came in for lunch that he fell asleep at the table. After his nap, he played with his friends more. The sweetest thing happened that day. Our neighbors from across the street brought over a Hostess cupcake with two candles in it and sang to him. He was so happy! This small gesture was really touching because they didn't have to but they wanted to make sure he got to celebrate his birthday since the original plans were ruined. Never mind the scarf on his head. It was totally his idea. I think it's cute in a Pirates of the Caribbean kinda way. His friends brought over a gift for him too. He's sitting on it. That evening we went to Applebee's for dinner. It was probably the worst meal ever because they didn't have much there. But, Dway...

So, in the grand scheme of things, Ike didn't hurt us too badly. We lost most of our fence and had a lot of tree branches in the yard and Dwayne thinks we lost a couple of shingles off the roof. We were only out of power for a few days. It was restored on Monday evening. Our water was only out for one day. Some people have lost everything and I can't even imagine what they must feel right now. A lot of people in Houston and the suburbs still don't have electricity. Our church is in the same boat. We had to use a generator this weekend but it was still good. I actually enjoyed our few days in the dark. Thankfully, God sent a cold front through so we didn't have to deal with extreme heat. Our family spent a lot of uninterrupted time together. There was no television to distract us. We all slept in our bed together. Every night, we just talked until we fell asleep. We realized just how silly and goofy our kids are. Danae likes to make up songs and Brayden is just nuts. We ...

My daddy celebrated his 67th birthday yesterday. I just realized he's very close to 70. To me, 70 signifies old. So my dad is getting old. The good thing is that he's in great health. He's in better shape than I am for sure. His two favorite things to do are to play softball and sing. And he's pretty good at both! He was so happy yesterday because both of his grandchildren sang to him and held a pretty lengthy conversation with him. Usually, one of them won't be in the mood to talk on the phone. My dad is the epitome of laid back so he didn't want to do anything for his birthday. He went to Walmart to buy some things for the house and spent the rest of the day practicing a song he's leading this Sunday at his church. He spent last weekend in Cincinnati playing ball. All in all, life is good. Here's another happy birthday to the old man! As you can see from the pictures, Danae holds a special place in his heart but then she is his first grandchild.

is going to mess up our plans for Brayden's birthday this weekend. If we don't get to go to Sea World like we planned, I guess I'll have to come up with something for next weekend. In comparison with Danae, he has already gotten the short end of the stick when it comes to birthdays. He's going to look at the pictures when he gets older and feel like the redheaded stepchild.

School just started and the kids are already selling junk. Yesterday, our doorbell was ringing off the hook. All the neighborhood kids came by to show their little booklets. I didn't buy anything because I'm tired of it. Actually, I stopped answering the door. I do not need another $20 candle or $15 box of candy or wrapping paper or random kitchen utensils. When will this mess stop? If our government would stop cutting education funding then the kids could focus on doing their homework in the evenings instead of their side jobs as door-to-door salespeople. Last night, I left to go to the store. One of the kids who I ignored was pointing at me and telling his friend "I knew she was there." That made me laugh. These kids are gangsta! He looked like he was going to come and beat me up. Nah, baby, I ain't buying nothing. Well, I would buy something from our next door neighbor only. She's so sweet and cute and I couldn't resist her. But, she hasn't come yet...

I stayed up watching Serena win the US Open last night and claim that $1.5 million check. Danae wants a tennis racket. With those payouts, I just might have to get her one. I'm sure this is a good time to teach her or have someone else do it. If she starts learning at 3, she should be pretty good at 13. Right? Anyway, I love to watch Serena play because she's so strong and competitive. I didn't leave my house at all yesterday and it was pretty nice. I cooked breakfast, lunch, and dinner, did some schoolwork, and relaxed. Even though I'm home every day, I don't get to relax every day. I'm usually refereeing fights, cleaning, teaching, and slaving away in this house. I'm so addicted to Big Brother, it's not even funny. I can't wait to see who wins this year but I will be so pissed if it's Jerry. My baby is almost 2 years old and I can't believe it. Time passes so quickly! We're taking him to Sea World to celebrate. It should be a lot of fun...

During my pregnancies, I have the most vivid and crazy dreams ever. Last night, I dreamed that I found out my mother wasn't actually dead but was in prison instead. I don't know what she did though. So, I confronted my dad to ask him why he lied to me and why he had to be so dramatic about it (meaning going through with a funeral). He said when she committed her crime, she was dead to him and he thought it would be easier for me to just think she was dead instead of knowing the truth. For some reason, he never told me about her crime and I didn't ask. I just kept trying to find out where she was so I could go and visit her. The even crazier part is that I actually woke up wondering what if my dream is true. I know, I know, let's just blame it on pregnancy and keep it moving. I had another crazy dream the other day that a celebrity died. It's an old school singer whose death would have a whole lot of folks upset. I won't utter his name though. Speaking of prisons...

I was watching Suze Orman on TV recently. I love to watch her. She is so honestly brutal with the people she comes across. I think she is absolutely fantastic. This day, she was giving advice on spending money as normal and two of her statements really struck me. I believe that God gives us messages in many forms and using many people. He knows that most of us don't diligently study his word. Yes, we may read a scripture now and then but we don't deeply search the scriptures. Please note that I said most not all. However, He doesn't want us to remain ignorant about anything because of His sincere love for us. So, two of her statements immediately made me thing about the Bible. The first one was: "Money is the physical manifestation of who you are." I immediately thought of the verse that says: " Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in he...

So, we were at the library today when I noticed a strange young woman there. By the way, I did not almost pass out this time. It seems that my blood sugar levels have gotten back to normal. Anyway, there was a young Asian woman in the children's library (which is really nice) just wandering around by herself. She had a messenger bag and a rolling computer bag. So, my kids were at the coloring table when she walked over and just started talking to another mom there. "How old is your daughter? What about your son?" The mom says she doesn't have a son. Crazy Girl: "Yes you do. I saw you with him." Mom: "I'm sorry you have me confused with someone else." Crazy Girl decides to stay and argue with the woman about whether she has a son or not. The mom eventually closed her mouth. Crazy Girl continues to randomly walk around. A little later, we were in a different section playing with some toys. Crazy Girl comes near and starts talking to another mom. ...