not me! monday

just a few things i did not do this weekend.

i did not...
-let wes eat half a bag of sun chips just because i was too weak of a mother to tell him, "no."

 

-take pictures instead. (hey, who uploaded that not proof?)

-tell maddie that i would pay her to be my model this summer, while i practice my soon-to-be skills. she's my daughter, she'll do what i tell her to do. if she wants to eat. am i right? am i right? that's what i thought (i did not pay her for these.)




-take lori's picture, while laughin' hysterically, because her belly profile looked like harry carey's. (may he rest in peace:0) however, it does make sense. forrest loves his cubbies:) oh, beth. beth, beth, beth, beth. tisk, tisk.


-"tear-up" when this pic finished uploadin'. that would be pretty weak. i'm hard-core. (if we were from, say...kentucky, i might be a lil' worried 'bout these two.)


-let them walk, while i continued to push the stroller. i have much more control than that. they'll sit in the stroller, and like it.

 

-waste my precious "wes is nappin'" time takin' pics like these. oh, how i do not wish i had those two hours back. dang you pretty, back-lit flowers.

-throw those fake apples in the pic for the "effect." (did it add anything? just curious.)

-have trouble seein' for hours after tryin' to get this "sunburst effect." there are just some things i will not risk in my quest to conquer my camera.

 

and, i most definitely, did not let scottie take maddie, will, brayden and hadlie to hunter's basketball game. and let wes spend the night with a friend, just so i could work on these pics.

 

oh, and i did not look at my sister like she was a freak, when she said, "wes! only one more week 'til your birthday!" i totally have the party planned and i know exactly when my third child is gonna turn 2. it's next...monday? tuesday. no, monday. whatever. he'll get his party. enough of the pressure, already!

a muddled mess

that's what this post is gonna be. a muddled mess. a hodgepodge. a heterogeneous mixture. (i don't know.)

i guess i'll just number the things on my mind. it'll still be a muddled mess, but maybe you will be able to follow along. and i will too, when i read this years from now. :)








1. so, Easter. that was fun. i mean, you know. it was a beautiful day. one of those Easter's that is just warm enough that you force yourself to go with the sandals. even though, any other day, you'd be whinin' like a dog about how cold it is. and speakin' of bad weather. that brings me to #2.

2. i want to move to fiji. seriously. or arkansas. whatever. i'm not that picky. (okay, shut up, you got me.) i don't like winter. and what's worse than 3 months of winter? 5 months. or 6 months. ughhhh.

but of course, when i start whinin', i start feelin' guilty. (not when i whine to scottie, just God.) and then He puts stuff in my head and i start believin' it. like, "if it wasn't for winter, summer wouldn't feel so sweet." and i guess, i believe that. because, isn't it kinda like the whole, "if it wasn't for the lows, the highs wouldn't feel so awesome." you know? am i right? like that feelin' you get when your headache goes away. or your allergy medicine kicks in. or when your husband takes the kids to chuck e.'s for the afternoon. or when you go grocery shoppin' and you "accidentally" loose your phone. (who said that? i would never do that. that's just wrong.) am i right you californians? is it true? ya'll probably get so tired of the 80 degree "groundhog day." don'tcha? i knew it. it's all about the seasons.

but, i know we are here in this lovely town for a reason. He has made that very clear. and, don't get me wrong, i love my friends and church family, and my house, and my neighborhood. and we are so blessed. and, my prayer is that my family bring Him glory in everything. so, i guess i'm just gonna have to man-up. you know. go buy that "kick-butt" trench at the fossil store. bundle up. you know me, always lookin' for that silver lining. :}

3. will's wit of the week:
me: let me fix your tie.
will: i don't wanna wear it like this.
me: so.
will: please mommy?
me: it's Easter, will. and mommy doesn't ask much of you. (that always gets 'em.) i mean, it's not like i'm askin' you to...
will: die on the cross? (in a really low key, sad tone.)
me: uhhhhhmmmm. exactly. (what? i got the tie fixed my way. you do whatcha gotta do.)

anywho.

4. and, lastly. but not leastly.

i hate the devil. i know, right? where did that come from? but, i just sometimes like to say it aloud. there have been things goin' on the last few weeks, that is nothin' but spiritual warfare. and eventhough, i have already made-up my mind that i will not believe his lies or let him get a single victory, here i sit, bummed out.

it's just like the scriptures says, the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak, mark 14: 38. that's me. i know what i know, and i still let my flesh be overcome. i'm weak. i'm simon peter in the garden of gethsemane. Jesus was like, "dude. you're killin' me. i'm in here prayin' and preparin' to die and save the human race, and you can't even stay awake for an hour, like i asked you?" that's me. i want to please Him, but i get weak. i "fall asleep in the garden." i let things bring me down. but not today. today is a new day. and, devil, get behind me. i don't know if that made a lick of sense, but it feels good to lay it out there.


will's bonus witt of the week (ohhhhh)
the setting: a booth in the only restaurant in french lick, indiana.
waiter: who ordered root beer? (with a spanish accent. turns out root beer in spanish is root beer. huh.)
me: ohh, will that looks so good. i love coke in a bottle. and it looks really cold. that makes all the difference.
will: no, mommy. the difference is drinkability.


uhhhhhhh. i got nothin'.

extreme(ly)large pic post: welcome home edition

"blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth." matthew 5:5
welcome home, mcfarland family. welcome home.

you know i always like to make excuses when things aren't perfect. so, here i go. i really, really should have; a)taken my camera out of manual mode, and b)rented a wide-angle lense on the day of the reveal. BECAUSE. i'm not gonna beat around the bush, i was hooked-up. t-bone let me go in and out all over the place, and i couldn't keep up my settings. i can't post the ones from inside the house because i pinky swore. except for this...michael(one of the designer peoples) didn't eat his steak, and i'm not shy, so i took it from him. what? he hadn't eaten on the steak. anyway, scottie walks in and says, "why am i not surprised? no one is even supposed to be in here, but here you sittin' in the kitchen with a camera and a steak dinner." i know. what can i say? to God be the glory.:)

movin' along. slowly.

t-bone(whom i am guessin' you are all under the assumption that i have left scottie for, by the number of times he has been mentioned on my blog), came and got me from in the house and threw me (i mean asked politly if it would be okay if i came and took pics) in the bus. so, i started takin' them from the bus driver's seat. they are horrible quality, because my settings were set for inside, but they're fun for me. you can see my family in this one. wavin' at me on the bus.

okay, these were so bad, i tried to make them look artistic. pretty dang sure i failed. remember my camera men friend people? they were so close in my face with their honkin' cameras and nose rings, makin' fun of me takin' pics out the little side window. but, as always, makin' me laugh. they should realy be the faces of the show.

oh, and, scottie hates being in the spotlight. and you can't tell from this angle, because i was on the porch(ahhemm), but there were thousands of people to either side. he was represen'in' (white girl ebonics for representing) estridge for abc and thankin' everyone. he was so nervous. ask me how i know? okay, i'll tell ya'. i could tell by the way he was squeezin' his butt cheeks. what? eleven years, people.

this was a few minutes before the limo pulled up. that's paul estridge on the left.

i love this pic. the limo pulled up, and i was havin' trouble seein' over big, tall goon. i mean scottie. so, i bent down and snapped this. my family doesn't quite get why i love it so much. but, to me, i can see ty in the reflection and i know that he is about to open the door to a whole new life for these four incredible people. it's the anticipation this captures. that i know they were feelin'. the, "i think i'm gonna throw-up, (in a good way) feelin'."

aren't they cute?

come on ty. leave the dude alone. we all know the story. just move that bus.

and then they did.

i'm not gonna lie and say i've seen every episode over the six seasons. but, guarantee his reaction was absolutly the best. absolutly awesome. he took off down the street screamin' and cryin'. he said later, "my spirit man was already runnin'. and when they moved that bus, my physical man was just tryin' to catch up." (and you know, i love me some spirit man.) and that was exactly what this man was waitin' for. doesn't he have a cute (in a scary big guy kinda way) cry face?

a couple of the designer's reactions. (all of them were cryin' like babies.)

this is a pic of ty, tellin' all the builders, that this is why they did what they did. and, this is the part they'll remember forever. you know? i think he's right.


and then, somehow, they managed to get him back down by the house. and ty said, "bernard, i think there's some people here you might wanna meet." mr. mcfarland turned, and with pure determiniation, yelled, "where are they?" as he lifted paul, all 240some-odd pounds of him, off his feet and swing him around like he was his long lost brother. well, i guess he actually is.:)

and then scottie got his turn. this couldn't have been a bigger blessing for him.

and he was off again. down the other end of the street. he was so appreciative. he wanted to greet everyone. so, ty waited. nice "hollywood" reversal.

but, you know he had to go see, "...the rest of the house."


and if you want to see the rest of the house, you'll have to watch the season finale on may 17 on abc.



little side note, speakin' of earth(scripture up top), they renamed the street.

extreme(ly) large pic post: we got the house edition

annoyin' bullhorn guy: "alright, i need everyone that is not in the shot to clear the lot."(except for me. heeheeheeh. thanks t-bone.)

okay, places everyone. here comes, jim bob. no, that's a lie. his name is mercury. i know, right? i really pegged him as a jim bob.

i swear scottie can figure out a way to incorporate golf or basketball in everything.



these shoes say to me, "woo-hoo. we never get to play golf!"

t-bone,put down the basketball and run. here comes annoyin' bullhorn guy. ahhh, that's not fair. i'm sure he's only annoyin' when he's usin' the bullhorn.

i'm a barbie girl, in a barbie world. laugin' plastic. it's fantastic.


oh, my. just give him the keys already.


"we got the house, people!!!" (in my best raspy ty voice.)

yeah...we got the house. woo-hoo. high five. alright. aren't we pretty? omgoodness.

now, we get to stand around and look like we carried in all the furniture. i feel pretty. oh, so pretty.

he knows he's pretty. oh, so pretty. i'm just kidding. really. for the most part, all of the "talent" really seemed genuine and emotionally connected to the family and the build. i was pleasantly surprised.

these two camera men thingys, kept me smilin'. they were both so cool and so nice to me. even though, i know, i was in their way most of the time.


more later.