Look What I Found At the Walmart!

*** Updated with Pictures ****

Oh do I have something fun to share today! This is a project I have been working on, saving for, and if I'm really honest putting off dealing with since last July.

It all started when I took Jackson to get his driver's license last summer. The line was in one word- obnoxious. Seriously. I signed him in, found out about the 2 hours wait and devised a plan.

"Honey, you sit here and listen for your name. I'm going to run next door to the SUPER WALMART... love that store from the bottom of my heart. When you see that your number is getting close to coming up on that screen, call me on my cell and I'll scoot right back over here. "

Well, when I walked into the Walmart and knew I had close to 2 hours to kill, I started to meander in parts of the store that I usually don't have time for. Y'all I think that a fancy smancy designer person has been hired by the corporate Wally World. Because what I found made my heart beat fast.

I almost started moon walking straight down the aisle.

Now, I hate to leave you hanging... really I do. But I've got to get the kids to school. I don't think it would look too good to sign them into the school office late with the excuse that I was blogging.

However, I will back--- with pictures--- in just a few minutes!

I'm back and I have one thing to say before getting to my big Walmart find... today some people that I love very much got on the last good nerve that I had in my body. I even made them eggs today people. Homemade eggs with frozen baked biscuits. Don't ask what other kind of eggs are there rather than homemade. Remember I've used up my last good nerve today. Sorry... I had to get that off my chest.

Okay... back to what I found!!!

Stuff to decorate my bedroom. Beautiful, expensive looking, but really inexpensive bedroom decor. I'm telling you the minute I saw it my heart started singing. So, since last July I have been slowly collecting things, buying things, and waiting.

Now, without further ado, I present to you- The bedroom by Walmart...

All of the bedding, pillows, curtains and curtain rods are all from Walmart. Can you believe it???

The scrollie thing above the window had to be purchased to cover up some oopsie holes in the wall from another one of my brainstorm projects gone bad. I found those on clearance at Kirklands.

The lamps I got buy one get one free at Hobby Lobby.

This table I got at a junk store for $25. The chairs I found at an outlet store with no air conditioning. The salesman was overheated that day and gave me the chairs at a steal of a deal. The pillows are from Walmart.

I'll spare you the painful details of how many bags of junk that had to be cleared from my bedroom. Sad to say, my room seems to have been dubbed the catch all room for quite some time now.

Not any longer! When Art came home he was shocked. And when I told him most everything came from Walmart he was thrilled.

Dear Fancy Smancy Designer Person on staff at Walmart:

Thank you for making pretty stuff that people can afford. If you want to pay me for my advertising, I would love to talk. Really, you could send me some stuff to give to my bloggy friends and everyone would be very pleased. Then you could have many more women doing the moon walk in the aisles of your store and the world would be such a happy place.

Have your people call my people.

The Cutting Edge

*** Updated with Photos... see below!

I love being on the cutting edge of knowing something that I haven't heard others talking about yet. It just gives me this sense of smartness. It doesn't happen very often.

But when it does, I just can't help but to bust out in some serious dance moves.

Ones that could rival Michael Jackson. (Not that I support him at all but I do remember loving his dance moves when I was a teen.) You know the little hand swoopie thing from Thriller... oh yes ma'am. Great moves that with just the right head bobbing send teenagers into an embarrassment tizzy that just brings great joy to a mom approaching her 39th year of life.

Too bad I lost my glove with the fingers cut off. But I bet I could still find a shiny jacket with some chains draped from the bottom. Can't you just picture it all. What a joy to have grown up in the 80's.

Okay so back to my cutting edge knowledge...

What do you call the hair that is cut shorter around the forehead which frames the face?

Bangs?

Oh, that is so old school my friend. No, no, no...

Bangs are now called Fringe.

I love that!

"Miss Hairdresser, my fringe is just a little long and needs to be trimmed. Because I am in an 80's kind of mood. And well in the 80's we sure did know how to do fringe well. I mean using the right hair spray, I could get my fringe in a full and upright position."

Lysa and friend circa 1988

Now that photo gives a new meaning to the word Thriller does it not. Who told us our fringe looked good like that? Have mercy.

Speaking of have mercy hair do's... you gals and your requests for photos of the highlights that saved my life. Well, here you go...

This was me yesterday in the early hours of morning sitting down to have my sweet stylist, Dawn, cover over the highlights with brown... glorious, glorious brown. It was either do that or pull out a brown sharpie and color each blond strand myself.

Now I'm back to my plain old brown haired self.

And it's a thriller, thriller yeah!

That really is a horrible song that I don't like at all. But the words are appropriate for what I faced Friday morning ya'll:

"Darkness Falls Across The Land
The Midnight Hour Is Close At Hand
Creatures Crawl In Search Of Blood
To Terrorize Ya'lls Neighborhood"

Oh yes, we are talking BLOOD... did you see that word blood? Oh and I gag again! But in keeping with the 80's theme I'll say, "Gag me with a spoon."

It was a tick. And yes, I've already googled all the symptoms of Lime's disease and Rocky Mt. Spotted Fever and all of the other delightful gifts this kind of creature can bestow on a human. Especially ones with large, colorful, inviting hair do's.

And the winner of my "The Bathtub is Overflowing But I Feel Drained" book...

Cheri from Please Pass the Salt. Her guess was wrong but her poem hilarious!

May your Mother's Day be filled with only delightful creatures that don't bite.

How My Highlights Saved My Life

So, hello.

I promise we really are going to have a special guest coming our way soon to talk about Apologetics in an everyday person way. I talked with him this week and I would have been able to get it together to post today but then I went and got my hair highlighted.

Now my brain can't produce a deep thought to save my life. All thoughts are of the surface variety.

My girls think my highlighted hair is the best thing I've ever done. I believe one of them said I look like a teenager. Seeing as someone at a recent speaking event guessed my age somewhere between 45 and 50, being called a teenager is like a healing balm to my shallow ego.

My son Mark said, "Oh you did something to your hair. It looks good." I explained that I had gotten some highlights put in it and I was still trying to decide if I liked it or not. I told him sometimes I'll walk past a mirror and think, "cute." But then five minutes later I'll find myself staring in the mirror thinking, "oh, dear."

He was then quick to add that he really didn't like it at all but didn't want to hurt my feelings. Coming from a boy wearing jeans with red and white paint designs down the side of one leg, I highly regard his fashion and hair advice.

I think the thing that is tripping me up is that I'm a rule follower. And well, earlier this week I talked to Shari Braendel... color expert and fashionista extraordinaire. I thought she would be so excited that I was actually stepping out into the highlighted world of women's hair. But no, no, no.

She told me that I am the color type "clear" and of all six color types only the clear should stay away from highlights. But I'd already made the appointment. So, I then had a crises in my little rule following heart.

In my book it was against the rules to cancel the appointment for the next day. But then it was also against the rules to go ahead and have my hair highlighted because I'm a "clear." Which obviously only applies to my coloring and not the state of my brain.

I showed up at the appointment and the sweetest hairdresser in the world named Dawn patiently discussed my options... she is the bomb and cuts most of the Proverbs girls' hair now. Anyhow, she encouraged me to try it and if I didn't like it, we could fix it.

And here we are with highlighted hair.

So, this morning I sit down in my nice little air conditioned house... which by the way doesn't have any live plants in it because I'm good at killing things that are green. No live plants... did you get that detail. That means no trees, no ferns, no live anything that can hide creatures okay? And I'm all thinking about my highlights and my blog post and I'm running my fingers through my hair and what to my wandering fingers should appear???!!!!???

I can't even type it without gagging.

I'm serious, I'm gagging right now.

Oh my stars, I can't even say it or write it.

So, that's where you come in... finish this story in a sentence or two and I'll pick one of you to win a copy of my book "The Bathtub is Overflowing But I Feel Drained... how to defeat mommy stress."

And you'll be happy to know that I wrote that book back when "clear" described my thoughts not my color scheme.

Happy Mother's Day weekend sweet friends.

The Great Bathroom Embarrassment of 2008

Just a little note to self:

If I ever decide to build another home, I will not put the downstairs 1/2 bath right next to the front door. If I am tempted to repeat this situation that exists in my current home, I hope to recall the great entry way embarrassment of 2008.

Yes, the time I lost track of time and decided it no big deal to go potty with the bathroom door wide open. Just as I sat down, the boys came home from school with a friend in tow.

And I couldn't just quietly shut the bathroom door, oh no ma'am. I had to scream so that all eyes headed straight for my precarious position. And then I proceeded to hop forward still in a seated position to try and slam the door.

This of course gave my son Mark the brilliant idea to cap off my little escapade using a handy dandy mechanism he'd been saving for just the right moment. As I walked back into the kitchen hoping for magical words to erase said embarrassment, he had his device ready to go.

The minute I sat down on my usual chair a sound reverberated through the kitchen for all to hear. The battery powered whoopee cushion caused great hysteria to ensue.

But all was not lost. The boys were not interested in the cookies that bathroom flashing flatulence woman had made. So, I spent the better part of the afternoon eating yummy treats and designing a new home... complete with bathroom doors that automatically shut when one gets near the toilet.

And with that I closed my mouth

A special hello to those checking out my blog from the Proverbs 31 Devotion. Today's post is about wisdom based parenting. Not that I am claiming to be a wise parent. Just every now and then, God grants me just enough wisdom to handle a certain situation. Today's example is about me learning to admit when my child is actually right. If you'd like to leave a comment, click on the word "comments" below.

Last weekend at the beach I was officially the sunscreen dictator.

You know the drill: "Okay kids. We have pasty white skin. We have a bright sunny day. We have deceptively mild temperatures that will make us think we can stay out all day and not get burned. But don't be fooled young grasshoppers. That sun that feels so blissfully safe will blister the fool out of you. So lather up! Lather up! Lather up good!"

Basically it was an invitation for my teenagers to apply the least amount of the lowest SPF available.

Like any good mom I kicked into the second part of the drill after a few hours in the sun: "Time to reapply. Oh, I think you are getting red. Oh you might really want to coat that area extra well. I'm serious I think you need to use a higher SPF. Okay, but if you burn, I don't want to hear about it. I'm not kidding, I think you are going to be sorry. Not a peep when you have to sit out the rest of the trip soaking in aloe inside. Not a word...okay? Did I mention I think you are getting burned?"

And that was basically an invitation for the teenagers to tell me that something funny was going on with my sunglasses as they were absolutely positive they were most certainly not getting burned.

Let's just say there is a reason I am called Mom and they are not. Later that afternoon the third part of the drill happened while digging the aloe out of the bottom of my suitcase. "One day you'll learn that I actually do know what I'm talking about. When I say you need sunscreen- when I say you are getting burned- when I say you'll be soaking in aloe the rest of our time here- you should listen."

It would have sufficed for me to simply stop there. Point made. The consequences were speaking so loudly that I really didn't have to say another thing.

But with each complaint about how painful a sunburn is, I just couldn't stop myself. I just had to play that "You should have listened to your mama" record again and again and again. Finally, Hope stopped me when she quietly said, "Mom, I've learned my lesson. Please stop saying how you were right and I was wrong. I mean, just think how you would feel if someone followed you around for a whole day reminding you of your obvious mistake."

It stopped me dead in my self righteous tracks. Sometimes the wisest choice a parent can make is to stop talking and really listen. She was right. I wouldn't want someone reminding me all day of my mistakes. I carefully took her sunburned body into my arms and apologized.

And then I handed her the sunscreen with an SPF of 30... and we both smiled. Well, okay, she rolled her eyes. But inside I know she was smiling.

Still Holding Hands

The other day driving back from the beach an amazing sunset stretched before us. I quickly pulled out my camera and started clicking away. The way the night descends on earth is nothing short of an artistic masterpiece.

For me, it was like a love letter from the Lord. Though no words flashed across the sky, there was clearly a message in this beauty.

My mind was drawn back to many years. Fifteen and half years ago to be exact... December 5, 1992. A young couple stood at the alter having no clue what the vows they nervously repeated meant. "To have and to hold from this day forward"... it was just what the pastor said so they repeated it back in a clueless kind of way.

They felt in love. A giddy kind of electric current drew them together. They liked what they got from each other. It just felt right.

Little did they know that you don't feel your way into real love. You choose your way into real love.

I should look at the verses of 1 Corinthians 13 and realize it is not a wish list of how I hope Art will treat me. Rather it is a list of choices I must make of how I will treat him.

Instead of reading it... "Your love should be kind and patient and not keep a record of wrongs."

I must make the choice instead to say... "I am making the choice that my love will be kind. My love will be patient. And I will choose not to keep a record of wrongs."

Sometimes I wish I could go back and talk to my bride self. I would tell her to especially listen to the words of the prayer that Art's Dad prayed over us. There were many threads of wisdom with which a couple could weave together a banner to place before them... to be a reminder of the sacred vows and promises being made.

In one part of the prayer Mr. TerKeurst said, "And then when the sun is setting and the years have gone by, may this couple be found then as now standing together, still hand in hand, still thanking God for each other."

Something about that sunset love letter from God the other night made my breath catch in my throat. For I suddenly remembered that wedding day prayer. And I must admit I felt convicted.

Somehow in the craziness of life's schedule, I couldn't remember the last time we just took time to hold hands and talk about us. Not our teenager's choices, or the broken down car, or why there are so many weeds this year, or how did your meeting go today, or did you return that video back to the store... not that kind of conversation. No, I mean the kind of conversation that seems harder and harder to find time for in the midst of life.

The kind of conversation that we are overdue for is the kind you remember and treasure and hold on to. For another day will surely come where these conversations will be the sweetest of all our memories. The day when the sun sets on our lives and one of us will lay the other in the arms of Jesus...may it be so with no regrets.

A Mom's Conversation with the Lord

A few weeks ago, Ashley injured her shoulder while gearing up for her largest gymnastics meet of the season. If you've been following my blog for a while, you know that Ashley loves gymnastics and has spent a year preparing for level 8 competitions. She's had an amazing time with gymnastics over the past 10 years winning several state titles and progressing to each next level with great excitement.

But this year has been an uphill battle.

She's had to push through many hard times to get to the ultimate level 8 meet: Regionals. She finally qualified with her last event at her state meet. That same state meet that she competed even though she was sick and her mother was protesting.

Finally, with one last glorious flip, she made it! There were cheers all around and much joy as we all looked ahead to this goal she'd been talking about for a year.



She had great practices the week after states. Things seemed to be clicking along like she'd planned. But with one slip off the bar and a pretty bad landing, her shoulder was injured.

And no amount of rehab could get her ready in time. So, with tears and great disappointment, she had to scratch from the meet.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I know in the great scheme of life, this is such a small thing. But in Ashley's world, it is big. Therefore, it led me to have one of those conversations with the Lord that I'm sure many moms have had at one time or another. If your child has ever had to walk through the yuck of disappointment, maybe you can relate.

The Mom: Lord, I have to tell you it is a hard thing for a mother to watch her child work so hard for something only to have her dreams dashed by an injury.

The Lord: Do the words of Job 17:11 express the way you are feeling? "My days have passed, my plans are shattered, and so are the desires of my heart."

The Mom: Lord, you could make her better. You could strengthen her shoulder and make her well enough to compete. Lord don't you see her tears? If seeing her sadness breaks my heart, I know it must break your heart too. It is hard for me to understand when I know that you could fix this in an instant.

The Lord: Recall the beauty of trusting the only One who can see what is and what is to come. Remember my words in Nahum 1:7... "The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him."

The Mom: I do trust you Lord. But for all that work to end like this is so hard. It just seems so pointless.

The Lord: Oh, nothing I do is pointless. Nothing you go through is pointless. This lesson will work good for her now and it will work good for her in the future. You only think you know what is best for her. But I have such a grand plan and purpose in all this. Proverbs 19:20-21... "Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise. Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails."

The Mom: Show me how.

Isaiah 55:8-9... You don't have to have answers Lysa. You just need to trust. "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."

The Mom: At least tell me how to comfort her.

The Lord: I have put a gift right in front of you. Michelle offered her beach house to you. Take her up on that offer. You will be so blessed in this time away. As you walk through this experience of trusting me, your confidence in me and Ashley's confidence in me will grow stronger still. Jeremiah 17:7... "blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him."

The Mom: But what about the desires of her heart Lord?

The Lord: I am the only one who even knows the full scope of those desires Lysa. Your job isn't to figure out how to make her desires come to pass. Your job is to simply teach her to trust me and make wise choices. Psalm 37: 3-4... "Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart."

So, we packed up on the spur of the moment last week and headed to the Beach.

A glorious weekend of fun, sun, and connection with the Lord and each other awaited us. Here are Holly, Hillary, Me, Hope, Nancy, Ashley, and Brooke...

The weather was perfect...

Holly got in the ocean and swam with Brooke! Now that is a good friend for ya'!

Daddy even let Ashley put his hair in a Mohawk.

What a great Daddy!

Many reminders of just how Big and Mighty and Glorious our God is were at the Beach. And in the end, I asked Ashley where she would have rather spent her weekend- at her competition or at the Beach?

Without hesitation she replied, "At the Beach!"

Thank you Lord. While I may not understand your ways- I do trust them.