Beauty

Define Beauty.

Beauty is roaring laughter that comes from a smile. It's a sprinkling of freckles across a little nose. It's big blue eyes that dazzle. It's long legs that just learned to peddle a bike.

Beauty is a heart so big it cares for everyone. It's a spirit so loving that it befriends anyone. It's a thought for others that are younger. It's a concern for those less fortunate.

Beauty is a daughter born seven years ago today. A girl that captured the world's heart with the blink of her big blue eyes.

Beauty is my sweet big girl!

Happy Birthday Dear Mae!

Such a Big Boy!

He's skinny as a rail and just tall enough to be called lanky. He's funny, good to his siblings (most of the time), and holds my heart in his hands. He's fair skinned but he's as rough as they get. He's fast, he loves to play sports, ride his bike, and make people laugh. He's my first born. He made me a mother.

Happy Birthday Dear John Russel!

Perspective

Perspective....There is so much in this word. I just finished a book my mother let me borrow. She borrowed it from my brother and his wife. It's called The Noticer by Andy Andrews. It's a good book. A quick read. It makes you think about your life and the little things that we consider so big. So....Let me ask you a few things:

Does that cranky lady in the grocery store that scowls at your children make you want to say something smart back to her? Or should you just smile and think about the "real" reason she is so cranky?

Do you tell the mother that is volunteering at the 2nd grade Thanksgiving feast to stop bossing you around? Or do you just smile and be thankful that she is there making her child's school a better place?

Do you turn the TV on because your children are wrestling in the floor? Or do you pull a book out of the book basket and sit down and read to them?

Do you feel sorry for yourself because your husband is gone 5 out of the 7 days of the week? Or do you thank the Good Lord that he has a job and he is so happy to see you when he gets home?

Do you tune your children out when they talk non-stop in the backseat? Or do you patiently listen to their little stories (complete with stutters and mispronunciations) and reply with enthusiastic exclamations (even when you've heard the same story 20 times)?

Do you volunteer in the nursery at church because you feel obligated? Or do you smile, and read, and hold, and love those precious children and realize that you are doing the most important thing in the world?


What is your perspective? Where will you let your mind lead you? It's all up to you.....with a little help from Jesus.

By the way, William and Terri, I'll be returning the book this Christmas!

Disney Pictures

Ok, friends. It has taken me so long, but I'm up and running now! Rusty got me a flash drive for all my pictures. Do you know that I had over 300 on my camera! Well....I did. Here are a few from our Disney trip. I'll be posting more from Halloween soon!

Enjoy!

Kid Funnies

Will: Yesterday while riding home from picking Will up at preschool I asked him to sing his song he has been practicing. He proceeded to do so..."Silent night. Home at night!"

Mae: While I was brushing Mae's hair yesterday evening she asked, "Mom, is hypotheticalosaurus a word?" I said, "No, but hypothetical is." She said, "Um, yea. I know that hypothetical is a word, but the other word I made up last night to fool John Russel."

John: I asked him if he knew what being popular meant. He replied, "Yes, that's when everybody wants to sit by you and stuff." I asked, "Are you popular?" He replied, "Of course!"

Happy Halloween!

Will: Trick or treat! Smell my feet! I don't care! I'll pull your underwear off!

Mommy: Will! That's not nice!

Will: OKAY! Trick or treat? I don't care! I'll put your underwear back on!

Happy Halloween Everyone!!

Musings over Breakfast

Today at breakfast Will held up his bent arm and asked me, "Mama, what's this?"
I looked up from my breakfast preparations to reply, "Um...Your elbow."
He then said, "No, Mama! This!" as he grabbed himself under is arm.
I said, "Oh. That's your under arm."
To which he replied, " No, Mama! That's my Batman!"

It took me a few seconds to comprehend. But then I finally got it after I realized that we had watched Underdog last night!

You can't beat his favorite super hero!


Then, my sassy Mae Mae replied, "Mama! Why didn't you just call it an arm pit!"

Oh, the joys of a good, deep breakfast conversation!

The First Part of the Trip

It was in the 70's and overcast, but that didn't stop us!

Having a blast at the beach!

Building a sandcastle!

I love the sand!

Look at all the crazy surfers!

Here we are at Newport Beach.

On the way to Newport Beach!

The windmills at Palm Spings.

Newport Beach Pier!

We are having such a blast! I'll post more pics soon!

Disney Wayund!

We're going to Disney Land!
The kids are so excited. Well....we all are actually.
We leave tomorrow. We are going to work with Rusty, who has some stuff to do in Palm Springs, and then we're off to Anaheim!
Oh my goodness....Can we contain the excitement!
Will keeps saying, "Oh yea! We're going to Disney Wayund!"
He also keeps asking me if batman will be there.
Oh well....Mickey will have to do!

It's Been A Long Time!

Excuses.

My Daddy used to tell me, "No excuses!"
I guess he just didn't want to hear it, and I'm sure you don't either.
Here are a few anyway.

I've been busy with the kids' school.
I've been busy with the kids' swim team practice.
I've been busy with John's soccer and soccer practice.
Rusty is out of town most of the time.
My birthday came and went.
I've had to clean the house, do the laundry, mop the floor, fix lunches, unload the dishwasher....
The big kids and I got the swine flu.
I've been getting ready for a Women's Retreat (that I didn't get to go to...thanks Mr. Flu)

Let's see....what else...I probably could add a few more.
After all they are just excuses, and I'm sure, just like my Daddy, you just don't want to hear it!

Neither do I!

I promise I'll try to do better!

Will's New Do

Ok Ya'll! I took the plunge. No more little boy hair. We decided to get Will's hair cut. After cutting it myself his entire life and almost cutting his ears off I decided to go to our friendly neighborhood hair stylist, Natasha. Will's hair is straight as a bored, and I just couldn't get it right. Also, it grows really fast....so I decided to take it to the next level.

Here He is!!!!!



Here is Will getting his hair cut by Natasha (aka Miss Tasha). She is a super sweet girl that goes to our church.

Here Will is after his bath. He loves his new "batman" haircut, as he calls it. Rusty thinks he looks like his Uncle William. What do you think?

I miss my sweet baby. I feel like he grew up a few years after he got this cut.

Oh Well.....It does grow fast!

Holy Toledo! It's Batman!!!!

Well....Will finally pooped in the potty after much, prayer and bribes and prayer and threats and prayer......he finally did it! So after searching the world (well Sahuarita) over I finally found a batman suit and a wonderful friend to dress the part! So.....here he is! He finally paid us a visit tonight!

Thanks, Dan...or BatDan!

He fooled everyone! Shoot, I was almost fooled myself.

All except Mae, that is. When he left she whispered to me, "Mom, was that Mariah's Dad?" Can't fool her, Nancy Drew!

It's Batman the Brain (as Will likes to call him)

The Big Kids and Batman

Batman is awesome!

I'm a big boy, Batman!

Hello, Batman!

Have You Ever Felt This Way?

Ok...So ya'll know I got my haircut recently. I love it. I do! It's so easy and cool. (as in temperature) Here is my problem. My haircut girl (stylist...whatever you want to call her) goes to my church. That means I have to see her every Sunday AND every Thursday because she attends my bible study.

She's a super sweet girl. I love her and the way she does my hair. What's the problem, you may be asking? Well, I'm so self conscious about how I look when I see her. I feel like my hair must look perfect. The way she so expertly styles my locks. When I expressed this to her she called me silly and told me how cute it looks. This loving comment, did not seem to relieve the stress.

So...tomorrow is Thursday. I have to go work in John Russel's class in the morning before bible study. There will be no time for primping before I head to my lessons and fellowship with the other ladies of the church.

Please join me in prayer for a good hair day that can withstand second graders in centers. I may just have to add this to my bible study groups' prayer requests!

Mae the Funny Girl

Yesterday Rusty got home just after the kids got off the bus. We were all very excited and happy to see him, as he was us. The kids rushed to him squealing with delight and tackled him as soon as he walked in the door.
Then it was my turn.
He hugged me and gave me a big long kiss and hug.
Mae then said, "Ewwww! You guys are getting married!"
We both informed her that, in fact, we already were married.
Which she replied, "Well, it looks like ya'll are doing it again!"

She is so hilarious, my girl!

Sorry

Oh, faithful readers (I know I have too many to count)! I am so sorry. I know that you have been sitting on the edge of your seat awaiting the latest in the Workman Five Saga. We've just been so busy lately. Busy, busy, busy I say! And what do I have to show for it? Well.....nothing!

We have been busy adjusting to life back at school and with Rusty traveling with his new job. When school starts back around here we take on an entirely different life and routine. I know all you mama's out there know what I'm talking about. New dinner times, homework times, bed times, wake up times, breakfast times. Throw soccer times, and no daddy times in there and you pretty much have it.

Funny thing happens during these adjustments. My mind starts blanking out, and I become extremely forgetful. I forget all kinds of things....like my phone number and if I took the trash down or not. You see, these two things are kind of important, don't you think? So...I've put my blog on the back burner. It's not that I've forgotten. It's just that I was trying to make room in my head for important stuff. Stuff like....Did I put both peanut butter sandwiches I just made in Mae's lunch box? Oh....let me check.

I did do something that you may think is exciting. I got my hair cut off! The picture isn't wonderful, but I'll post it anyway.

Sorry. You only get a shot of the back. I couldn't take a good one from the front. It was too hard to take it on my own.

Anyway. I promise to do my best in posting more of our goings on.

I know ya'll are dying to know!

The First Day of School

Here they are! The big kids are ready for school!

Mrs. Steward, the principal, is ready for a super fun day!

This is Mrs. Burke, Mae's first grade teacher. She was John's teacher last year.

(Notice Will. He is wearing his backpack and carrying his folder. He's ready too)

Our school. Sahuarita Primary School!

After school we invited friends over to share in our traditional first day of school cupcake celebration. We all had a good first day!

Growin' Up!

The other day we were leaving a friends house after a much needed play date. We were saying our goodbyes at the door. It was taking longer than need be standing at my neighbors door in the desert heat, so I said, "Say goodbye friend!" We then walked on down the walk as John mumbles, "Bye, AJ." He then quickly says to me, "Mom! Don't say that! Goodbye friend!" (In his most mocking voice)

At that very moment I realized that I embarrassed him. I did something too babyish. I then said, "Oh! I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that." I really meant it too. I have felt the same emotions more times than I can count.

Then the sweet boy said, "Oh, Mama. It's ok," as he ran up to put his skinny arm around my waist.

You see. He really felt bad for me for being so lame. He felt the sweeping emotions of being embarrassed of me and then feeling sorry for me in less than a minute.

Oh, the pains of growing up.

Here's the rub.

It's so much more painful for me!

Uncle William has a farm..eieio!

*Happy Birthday Will and MarySelle*

*Kiss this fish*

*Run, Run, Run*

*Sweet MarySelle*

Hello People!!! It's been awhile! We've been settling back in after our trip southeast. We've had swim practice and dental visits and pto stuff. You get the picture, right? Ok. So, I've tried to figure out how to post on my trip. I could just post all the pics, but I find that a tad boring. I think I'm going to try and do several little entries on a few of our jaunts while down in the deep south. I hope you find them as amusing and fun as they actually were!

Here goes....

Will and my niece MarySelle share a birthday. My sister in law Terri and I thought it would be fun to celebrate together, although it was after their actual special day. So we planned a day at their house.

Let me give you a little background. My brother William and his wife Terri teach Ag at the local high school. This involves all kinds of things that I'm so unfamiliar with, one of which is raising and showing sheep. They had some of these creatures at the high school, which is just down the road from their house. We just HAD to go see us some sheep! Off we go! My mother, aka. Mimi, my four city kids, and my brother's family head on over to the high school for some sheep schoolin'!

Oh My, did we have some fun. And we learned so much.

Such as...

Sheep poop little brown balls on the ground. Everywhere!

Sheep actually say BAAAAA! (This fact confirmed by Will by squatting in front of the sheep and encouraging her by yelling, "Say Baaaa! Say BAAAA, sheep!!")

Chickens can run very fast!

Uncle William has found the perfect job for himself!

Mae wishes she could live with Uncle William!

Then we all headed on over to Uncle William and Aunt Terri's house for some good ol' birthday party fun! My sister Selle, niece Elizabeth, and my friend Lisa and her two kids met us there. We jumped on the trampoline, we played with dogs...country dogs...that live in the country...there's a big difference if you didn't already know this, and we fished!

Oh Boy, did we fish. We had some bait, but we really didn't need any. As soon as the hook was placed in the water a fish jumped up to bite it. Now, these were little tiny fish, but the kids didn't care. I think we caught about 70 all together. It was crazy fun!

After fishing we had birthday cake, popsicles and watermelon because what's a day in the country without some watermelon!

William, Terri, and their girls live in the perfect most beautiful spot. Their house is just perfect sitting amidst soft rolling hills and beautiful natural landscaping. The field behind their home that leads to the pond is overflowing with gorgeous wildflowers. It was a glorious setting for the perfect day.

Thank you Uncle William, Aunt Terri, Conlee and MarySelle! We had a blast!!!

A few differences.

Ok...so we've been back in the south for a little over a week now. We've all had so much fun we can't stand it. We've eaten and played and eaten and swam and eaten and visited friends and eaten......get the picture. I'm sure I've gained at least 10 pounds.
Anyway.... I wanted to share with you some of the things about my former home that I took for granted. I hardly noticed these little differences while living here in the deep south until I moved away and came back to visit. Here are a few.

The First has to do with the humidity. Now, I knew that this existed. I knew I was going to be slapped in the face by it as soon as I stepped off the airplane. What I didn't realize is the little tricks it plays. Humidity holds smells in the air. It amplifies them. I never noticed this before. It also puts a little spin on smells like mildew and perfume. I know this sounds crazy, but old buildings take on a new life with humidity, and ladies at church can be smelled miles away.

The second thing is the trees. Of course there are a million more trees here in the south then the southwest, and these trees are much much taller and bigger. It took a year of living in the desert to point out the magic that the sun and these trees can create. The sun passes through all of these limbs and leaves dappling the ground and various objects with the most glorious light. It's simple beauty high lighting all of God's glorious creations. I know you may find this silly that I'm just now noticing this. It's not that I'm just noticing it, I guess I've just missed seeing it for a year or so.

Again...we have all had so much fun. We have almost one more week until we head back to the desert. I'm going to go for now so I can watch the sun break through the trees as the humidity holds the smells of summer in the air for me.

Tennessee.....Here We Come!!!

The bags are almost packed. We are itching to go! Tomorrow the kids and I are heading to Tennessee. We will be visiting friends and relatives all over west Tennessee. We can't wait!

Did you know that Memphis is mentioned more than any other city in music. Isn't that fascinating! I looked over some of the lyrics on the Internet. Some songs I know...some, well, I've never heard before. My favorite song about Memphis is one that was popular when I was a little girl. (I know...very sad) It may have been a commercial...not quite sure. It goes a little something like this.

My radio's picking up FM100.
I hear Memphis calling me home.

Do you remember it?

Relationship

I'm sitting here on the couch working on schedules for the children's ministry at church. John is playing his DS and Mae and Will are in the chair playing their own little games. As I finish my schedule I pay more attention to the younger two. They are so funny. I love watching these two play. Mae proclaims that she is Will 2nd Mommy.

Will is yelling Upsy Daisy! Upsy Daisy! Upsy Daisy! Mae is flitting around behind the couch. She says, "Mama, when he says that he's really calling me. That's what he calls me sometimes." Will then grabs her arm to turn her around and says, "Mae! Go put this up for me!" as he hands her his sippy cup. He's so bossy! She lets him get away with so much. They then go back to their chair and proceed to play their game of sitting upside down and falling into the floor.

Ahhhh! The priceless relationship that these two have. I hope that it continues forever.

Three Years Ago Today

William Lea Workman

June 21, 2006

10lbs 3oz

I can't believe it.

Where has the time gone.

What happened.

Oh Yea!

I blinked.