Wednesday, April 29, 2009

My Heart Psalm


'You did it! You changed wild lament into whirling dance; You ripped off my black mourning band and decked me with wildflowers. I'm about to burst with song; I can't keep quiet about you. God, my God, I can't thank you enough!'

Psalm 30:11-12

Drive-By Reflections

I seemed to notice all sorts of things as I drove in to work today...

It started with me pulling to the end of my driveway, noticing that the State people are there cleaning up the mess left by ol' Drunks McGee on Friday night.

Then, as I'm gettin ready to pull out on to the main road, I swear Steven Spielberg went zipping by...I mean, I'm not sure why one of the greatest filmmakers of all time is cruising around Haywood County in a beaten up grey car from 1992, but there he was none-the-less. In the words of Tom Hanks (in 'You've Got Mail', of course) 'it had to bee!'

So, I'm bee-boppin down the road singing way too many Miley Cyrus songs a little too well when I notice a pink ribbon on the door of a cute little cottagey looking house. It's sweet to me because last night as I was driving home from that amazing little meeting we call Church Council, I noticed a woman carrying a tiny little baby into the house and I thought 'Oh, thats so sweet!'. I dunno, just something about the way the mom was carrying the little bundle was real touching to me...then this morning I see the pink bow and I think: I bet that baby was coming home for the first time last night, and I got to see it! It was a simple little moment, an intiment moment for this little family, and I got to witness it. Is it wierd that this little sighting gave me such joy?

After I notice all of these things, I start thinkin, has my addiction to all things Miley crossed the line from 'I keep up with what my kids are in to so that I can stay relevant to them' to 'Oh my gosh, it's Miley!'...I think so...I'm finding more and more that things I honestly only watch or listen to so that I can stay up on what to encourage or disscourage my kids from getting in to are things that are becomming my favorite things...I mean, have you SEEN 'Phineas and Ferb'?!?! It's hysterical! I can't get enough. And 'Sonny With A Chance'...sigh. What can I say? I feel there are no justifications for my addictions to the Disney Channel, or that I have Disney West, Disney East, Toon Disney, Disney XD and Playhouse Disney all programmed into my favorites on my tv channel guide. And the fact that I beat down the doors to see the Hannah Montanna movie, and bought the soundtrack off iTunes the instant I got home? I can't help myself!

I gotta get back to work, but I'll do it while I sing every. single. word. to the Phineas and Ferb theme song...

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Talk About Makin A Girls Day Start Off Right..

I awoke to this on my facebook page, and it makes me so happy!

I don't know if you know how much i love you. Let me count the ways....
1. I love you like a goat on a hot day.
2. I love you as loud and funny as Ruby Roohead snores.
3. I love you like a pickle loves it's juice.
4. I love you as many times as you say "your mom" in a week.
5. I love you like a fat kid loves cake.
6. I love you like a chikfila loves cows.
7. I love you, but I can't keep doing this...

I'm giving the the longest facebook wall msg ever just so you know I love you

I am extremely thankful for the ways in which God takes care of my heart. Ashley, or as we call each other, Pickle, has been a direct little hug from God's heart to mine. I'm so thankful that I've gotten to get to know this kid...like, woah.


Monday, April 27, 2009

One Wild Friday Night...In Pictures!

So I finally let my urge take me over and I took pics of the havoc wreaked by our little Friday night escapade...The pics don't show it nearly the justice it deserves, but I couldn't resist!

Kujo Comes Around...

So Kujo is pretty skittish and doesn't let us near him...he pretty much runs if we even blink in his direction. Today I was playin with Rubs (pronounced roo-bs, not rub like a back rub...just occured to me that people might be thinkin why do they call her that?) Anyhoo, there I was playin with little Ruby Roo and lo and behold, Kujo ran over and just climbed in my lap! I can't believe I had a romp with Kujo the Human Eyed Neighbor...





Saturday, April 25, 2009

One Wild Friday Night...

Oh goodness. So David and I normally have what we call 'Friday Date Night' and this week we thought 'Ooo, a quiet night in with Ruby sounds like just the ticket...'. We snuggled up...not together, me on the couch and David in his recliner...there's something nice about being able to snuggle without even being in the same chair...anyhoo, we watched Get Smart and ate some super yummy bbq courtesy of the Boy Scouts, and just enjoied laying around.

Around 9:45 we decided that we really are quite the grandma and grandpa and darn proud of it, so we went to bed before 10 o'clock. By 10:30 we were almost conked out when we heard this insane sceeching and squeeling of tires that seemed to last forever, followed by a practical sonic boom that blasted through the bedroom windows that were open for the first time of the season.

David jumped out of bed and began dressing, and I called 911. It sounded like just the worst thing you can imagine, and my mind went to all the worst places. David hopped in the truck and drove onto the main road and it turns out the crash was directly in front of our yard. By the time I get out there, all the neighbors (all 3 of them) were gathered around in true Wisteria Lane fashion.

Turns out the guy was as many sheets to the wind as you can concieve...once the cops came it was discovered that he was more than twice the legal limit for the alchie. At any rate, there I was with a blanket in case he was in shock, there were the neighbors positioned below the crash to flag traffic, and there David was in front of the crash to flag traffic and babysit the 'victim'.

I was super proud of my little Hubs for how he handled the sloshed one. He kept tryin to get up and get back in his car saying things like 'Gotta get me and you a smoke man, and I aint talkin cigs' or 'I hope you didn't call the cops cause I'll get in big trouble' and 'Them guns ain't mine, man, I swear them guns ain't mine.'

When I heard 'guns' being repeated over and over my heart started doin the Daytona 500 and I quietly slipped away, back into the house to call the cops back with this new info. I am just ridiculously out of shape and the guy on the other end of the phone kept sayin 'Calm down, Mrs.' and I kept sayin, 'Oh, I'm calm, I'm just in dire need of fitness boot camp'...well, I said this in my head, not to the guy.

So, about an hour of babysitting this guy, the cops show up. They come around the curve and the guy starts freaking out. He's headin to his car mumbling about needin a smoke and David starts sayin for me to get back...way back. There go the race cars in my chest again as I think 'Oh, snap'. The neighbors get in between him and the car as David heads to the cops tellin them to get down there quickly cause he prolly has guns. Oh, the good ol cops get to him and theres beer cans everywhere and he had thrown multiple guns (I mean, like more than just a few) over the side of the road into our neighbors yard. When the neighbors checked their mail this morning they also found a huge bag of drugs that he had thrown out. The cops took our statements, the tow truck came and took the car, and the dude was taken off into the night in a swirl of blue flashing lights.

As for the car and the guardrail and the trees along the side of the road? All destroyed. About 50 feet of the guardrail was wraped around this poor tree, slicing off most of its branches and then trailing off down the creek. I have never ever seen such a sight. That poor guardrail prolly saved this guys life, and it was in shambles. I didn't know you could do that to metal...

I keep thinkin, if someone else had been on the road, or even if David and I had been checkin our mail, this world would prolly be minus a few folks tonight. I know it could have been way worse, and for this, I am in awe of my God and how He keeps us safe. I praise Him that it was only this guy on this night. I hope that he gets some serious jail time and that he's in a jail that has the Kairos prision ministry...

As for today? The road has taken a beating, and I'm sure the guy is feeling some aches from his head crashing into the windshield.

Competetion Between The Snorers...



Soo, I can't sleep because I can't decide who snores louder...my husband or our tiny little doggie? They are quite a pair, and scarily similar when they sleep...they roll over on their backs, scratch themselves and snore like maniacs. They also both have dreams where they talk to each other...well, I know David is talking to Ruby because he says things like 'Get them bugs, Rubs' or 'Good girl...bite them skeeters on the butt'...Ruby only lays on her side and runs her paws in the air and whimpers and sometimes barks, so I am assuming that she really must be chasing the bugs and maskeetos like he says she is in his dream...at this exact moment David has decided to stretch about, uncovering me incessantly whilst Rubs decides that it is time for a midnight snack...off she pitter pats to the kitchen for some treats.

I normally don't do the writing of the notes thing, as I never feel that I am clever, witty or even remotely interesting enough, but seeing as how we just moved into our new house a week ago and I have had my lifeline...uh, I mean internet, back only a short yet glorious day...coupled with the fact that I can't sleep...well, I figured I could chat about our adventures of late...

We've been looking for a house for ever so long...two looong years. We were content and happy where we rented but anxious to put down some roots and own our own home. We found the perfect little spot back out in Fines Creek, where we both grew up and where we really belong. The folks who sold it to us couldn't find a house for themselves to buy so we jokingly said, we should just switch houses and you rent ours! Oh, funny funny David and Leah because that is exactly what they did. Sounds only mildly ironic until we discover that since we are now simply swapping houses, we will have to swap everything in one day...as in, close on the house in the morning and be completely moved by the afternoon...

Sooo, thanks to our parents and Davids BFF Justin, seven vehicles and one dump load later, we had everything but the recliner and kitchen table in one long caravan traipsing all over Haywood county to relocate the Mehaffey family of 2.5 (Ruby has to count for something...)...

So amid Easter at Lake J, presented by Long's Chapel (and phenomenal at that...I mean, AMAZING) and all of the work and planning that we had to put into that last weekend, we actually got a ton accomplished before David had to return to work on Monday.

I on the other hand, took a rare gem-of-a-week-off since all my kids are on Spring Break and our Pastor is trying to make me take better care of myself. I thought 'ahh, this will be great! I can relax, unpack and decorate all week at my own pace, get acquainted with my new home, and, best of all, watch One Tree Hill everyday on SoapNet (which I am begrudgingly addicted to thanks to my good for nothin best friend Lauren Jean King...arrrrg, matey...)'

But Monday rolls around and I decide, lets head in to town...which was needed and fun, but I missed OTH...oh, Ill catch it tomorrow I say to myself...

Tuesday, that fantastic kid that feels practically like my sister, Ashley, well, that Pickle came over and helped me paint some old furniture...we were feeling very Martha when we began but by the time it was done we were thinking that Martha is out of her mind...in the meantime, I am going to introduce Ash to OTH, and glory BEEE the tv goes out. Well, I am comPLETEly too dependant on tv, so being without it for two days was probably a blessing...I did get much more unpacking and such done.

Wednesday I had to wake up early for the tv dudes to arrive and so I was grouchy all day...I thought, what better way to pull my self out of a funk than to have Caleb and Megan do it for me? So I went and kidnapped them from Long's Chapel Child Enrichment Center, and we came back to the house and played and did arts and crafts and Caleb whipped me on SuperMario...as in, the version I was playing before he was even born...and I let down my generation by getting smacked down by a 10 year old...

So on Thursday I took them to see Hannah Montanna (and Amanda and Sawyer came too and he was HOOT sitting on that seat, bouncing up and down, swinging his legs and trying his darndest to sing along...although he was confused by why his Meggie sat with her friend from school and not him, and he tried so hard not to fall asleep...which he did in the end) and it was, as I knew it would HAVE to be, incredible. I am such a nerd the way I love that kid so much, and we came back to the house and the moment our internet was connected, I downloaded the entire soundtrack on iTunes...gotta stay relevant with my kids, right?

Speaking of internet, the lady who helped me on the phone with the setup was amazing and fantastic and a joy to have help me in our 40 or so min conversation...unlike the dish network people, with whom I spent almost 2 hours on the phone with on Tuesday...the internet lady was also much better than the phone people, who still cant seem to tell us how to check our voicemail from home.

So, I feel like I am at home now, what with the internet being hooked up, the tv and phones all working, my Mama 2 coming to visit, and Amanda and Saw, Davids sis Sarah and her bf Jarrod and their new 'doggie' and of course our parents, even Davids MiMi who lives far away, plus Caleb and Megan coming and christening it and giving it ample blessings (Megs said something to the effect of 'Oh. my. goodness. LEAH...waaay better than the old house...not that it wasnt pretty but this one is so airy and fresh and light. And the tire swing and barn make it worth it and the creek too. Too bad about the horses that were your neighbors before, but these chickens and goats will do'. This all coming from a 7 year old who I have helped raise and who looks more like her mom every day...enchantingly beautiful)...all of these things make me feel like I am home.

And the fact that Ruby and most importantly David are so happy here, it just really feels like home. I love being right at the foot of the mountain where I grew up. I love that its wide open and I can only see one house from my house and there are no Super Wal Marts within walking distance...although i do adore that place...regrettably...I love the rolling hills in which our land sits and the mountains that frame us in...I feel a peace when megan and caleb and david are playing in the barn and creek and on the swing that makes me gladly anticipate the day when we will have this yard filled with our own children (this is not a hint that this will be soon all you wishers out there!! a year or two more at least, Im just saying...).

Only wierd thing is this: the first day we moved in this crazy looking dog with human eyes came and accosted Ruby to be his lover and she of course, wasn't having it. Now he hangs around and hasn't left ONCE and he is skittish but just bold enough to stay around the house ALL THE TIME. He is so creepy, David has started calling him Cujo...or is it Kujo? At any rate, when Cujo lays down in the grass he peers into the windows and looks like he has no feet...just a dog body with people eyes...all our visitors are equally creeped out by him...

So, the thoughts that I could ride out the snores were correct...although Ruby is still sawing the tiniest of logs, its not loud enough to start David up again, so I will try and get some sleep...but ahh! Now that blasted Kujo is barking in the night! There's something strange in the neighborhood...Where are those Ghostbusters when you need them?

Here We Are...

So, the reason the name of the blog is Life @ 25 is not just because of our ages (which won't last long, I know), but also because of where the mail comes:)

Anyways, I've been getting requests to start a blog (really?!?!), so here it is! It will feature my thoughts on the life that David and I (and of course little Ruby) are living, and quite possibly every other topic under the sun...I have lots of thoughts!

Hope you enjoy hearing about our simple but important little life!