Flight of The Gypsy Bird

This is Pedro. He's pretty much the best dog we've ever had. Is he a dog? Nope. Is he a cat? Nope.  But don't tell HIM that.  According to him, he is a weird combination of pig/dog/cat... A pig-at-og...pigatog...that's kinda fun to say, actually... ANYWHO! He's SUPER smart, and his intelligence tells him, often, when he needs to back down from a fight and because of this? He avoids unnecessary confrontations. I think Christians could learn a lot from him in that arena. BUT!  That is not the point of my ramblings today. But then...He's only ever had to make that decision with a fence between him and who or whatever he has come into contact with that made him nervous...UNTIL last week. See what had happen was:  On a Thursday evening,  the stud hubs was making the rounds to lock up the house for bed and saw blue lights flashing through the glass on our front door. Curiously, he opened it to find two patrol cars and a truck with a horse trailer parke...

Hahahaha! Ya'll. This picture was so me the other day. HAHAHAHA! Went down for a "Surrender" and just about surrendered for REAL. This is why I'm always in the FRONT when I work out with my TV or my computer...So people who work out with me only see the back of my head and not the "Oh sh$#, I can't get up!" face. HAHA! Too much real, right here. Hahaha! So, about 6 weeks ago, I started reclaiming my life and my health. I had my eating plan all mapped out and I was so motivated through the first workout.  I weighed more than I ever have in my life and my health was scary. I'm asthmatic and diabetes runs in my family and I was well on my way to heart issues.  My first workout in 2 years was an ugly one, but I completed it...Even if I did cheat a little.  It felt SO good to be active...until. About 20 minutes after I had finished the work out, my entire body began to get this tingly-numb feeling...my muscles felt like they were going to sl...

Today, I'm thinking about this afternoon when I'll trapped in the car with my kids who have been cooped up in a classroom all day with no permission to speak freely.  I'm thinking about how many times I will hear "Momma!" or "Mommy?" or "Mom, Look...Mom!"  And can I be honest? My skin starts to crawl a little.  From the time I get the first child in the car at 2:30pm to the time we get home after picking up the Senior from Cross Country practice at 4:00pm, I will have been fielding non-stop "Mom!" questions for a solid hour and a half...With no break. See, I have 5 kids at home now, so when one inquisitive mind is satisfied, another thinks of something they want to know...and most times, they are so lost in their own quest for the ultimate knowledge that they demand my attention before I'm even done answering the first one....I need coffee...or wine...just thinking about it is giving this hermit-ish mama anxiety... ...

  Storm Damage. I think video footage of massive storm damage is among the most heart-wrenching things to watch. Video footage of people's lives, well-being, dreams, hopes....just....leveled. It's been 6 years since a tornado ripped through our small town and the lives and hearts of many were permanently affected .  6 years since hopes and dreams were crushed and life as many knew it changed forever. Every day we drive past the scars...although houses have been rebuilt and lives have slowly moved on, the land has yet to recover.  Once majestic trees now stand as ghostly reminders that something terrible happened. We pass one of the paths that the tornado took, everyday on the way to and from school...to and from town...to and from anywhere. At first, it was a solemn reminder of lives lost, a beacon of hope that humanity was not lost, and for our family, a grateful prayer was said every time we passed it for the sparing of...

Hypothetically...or Literally... At what cost am I willing to seek His face? At what cost am I willing to be obedient? At what cost am I willing to maintain a right relationship with Him? At what cost am I willing to follow biblical principle? At what cost will I let not even a  hint of falsehood be a part of my life or speech? At what cost am I willing to decide that no matter what anyone says to me, thinks about me, or does, that I will stubbornly honor those in leadership over me? At what cost am I willing to support when I dont understand the method or the direction? At what cost am I willing to love unconditionally in the face of a hoarde of flaming arrows? At what cost am I willing to press on no matter who comes with me? At what cost am I willing to 'be' and not just 'do'? At what cost am I willing to rebuke offense and embrace grace? At what cost am I willing to curb my flesh when it raises it's ugly head? At what cost am I will...

So.....yeah. I've been kinda quiet for a bit. Not really, but web-wise..well...you know what I mean. It's been a little on the nuts-ish side ever since Pop passed...Passing on that Wednesday, back and forth to Brooks to comfort "Momma", help sort and and find pictures and figure out all the details involved with an unexpected death on Thursday and Friday, nephew's first birthday party (at which I almost lost my cool and jumped a heffa...thank you JESUS for a little girl who KNOWS her momma..."Mommy? Come walk with me?"), Church on Sunday (which my Abba is so precious...had me scheduled to sing a song about peace and resting in his arms a month before Pop even passed... <3 ), Veiwing that night, Funeral on Monday, and somewhere in between, 5 out of 6 kids AND myself managed to pick up STREP (I had blisters and lacerations in my throat..ACK!) which pretty much wiped us out for the rest of that week and the beginning of the next....SHEESH!  O...

My Abba showed me something about myself today. Went today to get the epic ink that has been haunting my dreams for..like...EVERRRRRrrrr..errrr....errrrrr....so yeah. I've been so PUMPED since Mother's Day when my baby told me that he was going to let me have it. Circumstances being what they have...ahem...(the idiocy of spray on SPF and Lake Tobesofkee for the ENTIRE day...erm yeah...not fun times in the world of Nicki) I've had to postpone the awesomeness. Well, thanks to Kristan (the worlds MOST amazingUH babysitter) Shane and I took off to Ink Wizzard this morning. Last night, I was stoked....like COMPLETELY. This morning? A bit nervous...I mean, it's been like 7 years since my last tat...and it was a tramp-stamp...this sick art was huge compared to that. I got to thinking about my ideas and what Daddy and I had talked about concerning this. So I asked Him: "Do I really want to do this?" He didn't answer...which is so uber frustrating to ...