Pruning and Growth-Ouch.

Dear Readers:
Have you ever had everything pruned from your life all at the same time and totally out of the blue, causing you to wonder, “What the heck just happened?!”.
(If so, I would love to hear about it. I think it’s encouraging sometimes to know that you are not alone in the stage of life you are in.)
However, one thing that I have learned-just like in the world of gardening-pruning creates growth.
And, I want to grow.
But sometimes, I don’t enjoy the growing pains. There’s a reason they’re called “pains“.

The first major change in my life this year was losing this guy-Cowboy.

It may be just a cat to the rest of the world, but he was my buddy for eight years. Cowboy rode on my shoulder as I: did the dishes, folded laundry or talked on the phone. He looked for me and would make ewok sounds if he couldn’t find me. He slept on top of me most nights and lept into my lap as soon as I allowed. He passed away too early.
I really didn’t think I could miss an animal this much, but I do.

 

This is not our old church-it’s some Catholic church somewhere..
After attending our church for the last ten years, Biceps and I knew it was time to leave. That meant, the end to him drumming every Sunday morning, the end to us teaching the youth, the end to mowing the lawn and caring for the church’s general overall cuteness factor.
And it also meant the end to our relationships with our pastors and many of our friends.
It was weird to quietly fade into the night. We are presently living in the “Bible belt” so finding another church isn’t a problem. We just want to be at the right one. There are a lot of weird ones out there.

 

Biceps has pretty much quit doing this (kicking butt on stage) for over fifteen years. I have been to thousands of his shows, toured for years with him and his bands, sold merch, drove the bus, did the accounting, wrote the thank-you notes and ate the crappy food.
This life as the band wife has been wonderful and exhausting.

 

But presently, he has started doing this.
No, not serving chili…being a fireman and serving chili at the Firemen’s Chili Feed.
I know, he looks good doing both things, really.

 

And then lastly-my lovely Iweb site crashed earlier this year-leaving me stranded for months without the ability to blog. I lost contact with almost all my blogging buddies, missed out on fantastic link parties and had to rebuild my readership/friends/followers. (Won’t you be my friend, please?)
The Iweb pruning caused some major growth within me.
And while I watched my friend’s blogs grow and grow, I was forced to sit back and save my pennies, waiting to hire someone to rebuild my site in a better platform. This new site is much better, but I am still dealing with the repercussions of being out of the blogging community for almost 8 months.
Unexpectedly, the world didn’t end without my blog up and running.

With each passing year, I gain the growth from pruning-along with a few gray hairs. But isn’t that why gray hairs are referred to as wisdom?
But each trial, each pruning session, has brought me closer to the fact that I know nothing, and reconfirmed that everything I own could blow up and I’d still be ok.
So, with the pruning there are the “pains“.
But, I suppose what I’m saying is that I can survive the pains.

A Child is Born-Literally

So, this happened. And it was good. Real good.

A baby boy was added to the clan via my brother and sister in law. With his beautiful face, my heart was smitten.

Grandma’s heart was smitten. Bicep’s heart was smitten.
There was a lot of smittening going on. Yes, that is a word.

He had a few problems breathing right away, so he was encased in this awesome astronaut helmet that gave him some extra oxygen. Other than that, this little boy was/is perfectly fine and healthy.
He’s just traveling from arm to arm, smittening away. He’s doing a great job.

The Christmas Crazies-Help!

Dear Readers:

I am sure you don’t ever feel like this:
that you own a brain of mush due to too many list-making events,
that you want to bargain/convince yourself that a nap over a work-out is a better investment and
that you wonder how everyone else is so put together while you feel like a flopping fish.

I am also sure your living room never looks like this when you are trying to decorate for the upcoming festivities-while on a short time line and a small budget.
And you hope your mother-in-law that is staying with you for a month doesn’t feel neglected as you try to reconfigure your Christmas trimmings-introducing all non-breakables due to the new naughty kittens that have become a part of your life.

But, I want to be honest, dear readers. That is exactly how I feel-mushy brain, wanting a nap and floppy fish-like. When I am tempted to complain, it’s great to remember just who the heck is in control.
And it ain’t me.
There is so much changing in Biceps’ and my life right now that I’m not sure which end is up. (And I usually label those sorts of things.)
Throw in a dash of new babies being born, a broken car windshield, a church departure, both sides of the families coming in for the holidays, Bicep’s two new careers and a “home-made project” that is overwhelming…and you’ve got my yesterday.

So, since your house is probably all decorated, your life feels in control and your brain is not mush-please pray for me and my weakness. I need your help. I am leaning on you-and of course, God. He’s pretty good to me when I want to whine about stuff like this.
Wah.

Christmas No-No Decor

Dear Readers: Due to the naughtiness of these two,

Christmas is going to be a little weird this year. We just can’t trust them. They are naughty. They will break, bite, and eat anything new or shiny that comes into my home and I need your help. Let me explain:

 

This is what happens when such naughtiness abounds in my house. Things get broken. Words are said. Spray bottles are utilized.

 

In order for me to maintain sanity, this will not be seen on my fireplace this year.

 

Nor will this be gracing my dining room table bringing cheer to my Christmas dinners.

 

And this will definitely not be in my breakfast nook.

 

For some reason, Cowboy never bothered any of my Christmas decor.

 

However, these two are another story. Any suggestions on how to have kitten-proof decor? I need your help.