Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Cowboy



My babies were born in suburbia with a  1/2 Filipino, 1/2 country bloodline. They have an undeniable wild side that warrants plenty of outdoor time, running wild and getting dirty.  My family came from Oklahoma and Texas then settled in the conservative town of Bakersfield years ago. In the house that built me is where I grew my love for country music, ropers & wranglers.
I've always thought it admirable, the way of the cowboy; whether a real western boy or cowboy at heart. I remember the Summer I spent in Texas as a little girl and the kindness and respectful demeanor of the people in that small sleepy town. The way everyone greeted you with a smile and 'God Bless; the way they'd tip their hats and offer a helping hand to anyone in need.  The way the good ol' boys would hand out a whoopin' for the slightest sign of disrespect in the presence of the ladies. I admit, while my time there was short, it left a lasting impression.
I've made a conscious effort to instill the ways of the cowboy into my sons, building within them a desire to serve and work hard. Instilling a nature that is respectful, polite, honest, courageous, loyal, and thankful. I pray they will keep a sense of wonder as they grow, having adventurous spirits, full of dreams, and strong in character; Always willing to lend a helping hand or bow in prayer for a friend in need. 

They have their Daddy's sweet nature and momma's wild at heart. As my husband and I sit back and watch the blessings that God has given us grow into young men, we tilt our hats to the Maker with thankful hearts. We love to take the boys out into the trails and streams and let them run free. Skipping rocks, getting dirty, and scraping knees.  I hope that whatever path they choose in life, whatever city they call home, they will remain cowboys at heart.



 I hope I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an "Honest Man"-George Washington




It is not enough for a man to learn how to ride; he must learn how to fall.
-Mexican Proverb


The grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.
-Allan K. Chambers


My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard. Mother would come out and say, "You're tearing up the grass." "We're not raising grass," Dad would reply. "We're raising boys."
-Harmon Killebrew






Sunday, July 8, 2012

I won't give up...

Ok guys, This is a gushy one, but necessary none-the-less:

Life has clearly demonstrated that Marriage is not the fairytale you read about as a kid. It's not like the romantic movies that cause you to get irritated with your significant other because he doesn't "love" you like the guy on The Notebook. Humans are irritating/selfish creatures, and just because you marry one, doesn't mean they will stop with their irritating ways...it's a common issue with the human variety. Marriage was never meant to be easy, or fun. Marriage was meant to change you; to shake you out of your selfishness and cause you to grow; to help you learn the most important lesson you will learn on this earth...how to love.

I used to tell my husband that I loved him. To be honest with you, I didn't...most people don't love eachother...we don't know how. We have to be taught...The definition of love as defined by it's creator states that love is...

  ...patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. (1 Corinthians 13.4-7)

So while we may say we love someone, the truth is, it takes a life-time to learn how to truly love, and even then , some may never learn. The Husband and I have been through some hard times together. We have both been selfish in our ways and understanding of how to truly love each other. However, we have not given up. We know we need God's help to learn this lesson. We need God's perspective and Spirit of Truth to teach and guide us. He has shown me in my darkest hour that He won't give up on me...  Day by day we grow.. we learn...we mess us, and try again. We may not demonstrate all the factors that are encompassed in truly loving someone, but we persevere...we keep at it. With him by my side, I can say I will love you. I will choose to learn what that means and apply it to my life with you. Thank you for choosing the same my Turtle-bear.

Thank you for singing to me these words and reminding me when I am sad, that you won't give up on us. I love you...the best I know how, and I will learn to love you more for the rest of my life. You, my beloved, are precious and one-of-a-kind...I may not understand love in it's entirety, but this I know for sure...


I won't give up on us
Even if the skies get rough
I'm giving you all my love
I'm still looking up
 And when you're needing your space
To do some navigating
I'll be here patiently waiting
To see what you find

'Cause even the stars they burn
Some even fall to the earth
We've got a lot to learn
God knows we're worth it
No, I won't give up

I don't wanna be someone who walks away so easily
I'm here to stay and make the difference that I can make
Our differences they do a lot to teach us how to use the tools and gifts
We got yeah we got a lot at stake
And in the end,
You're still my friend at least we didn't tend
For us to work we didn't break, we didn't burn
We had to learn, how to bend without the world caving in
I had to learn what I got, and what I'm not
And who I am
 

BUT I WON'T GIVE UP

Monday, July 2, 2012

The Art of Nurturing Beasts-Summer Time

I often wonder if being a mother of boys is a feat God reserves for the former wild things...those of us who put our own parents through hell. I look at mothers with only girls, and they don't seem frazzled or fazed in their child-rearing (that is, until hormones set in and attitudes flare)... I've often pondered God's plan in giving me boys and wondered if it was His attempt to calm me and snap me out of my selfish ambitions; a pay-back 10-fold for all the anxiety attacks and nervous break-downs I provoked in my youth; maybe I'll give her a few wild things of her own to keep her on track and too busy to be wild herself (God spoke)..."character building" lessons I suppose.
When I became a mother of boys, my days of me time were replaced with trips to the E.R. for bumps, bruises, broken bones, and staples in the head; flatulence in place of fresh-air; and a house that never stayed clean for too long. Though I love my little beasts, they sure can wear me out!
Well, summer is here and the wild things of my household have reserved excessive amounts of energy and boyishness for their now stay-at-home mother. Knowing that this crew is from my blood-line, I had to have a plan to keep them in check for the summer; keep them occupied so they couldn't join forces with the neighborhoodlums & start their own terrorist organization. I'm determined to keep my crew's minds at work with good summer enrichment and I've invited some of the kids from my school to join...
These are the Summer adventures of the 4ACE Crew thus-far as the art of nurturing beasts continues: Aside from plenty of "Train-your-brain" school sessions at The Compound, we've included daily excursions, venturing out to explore the sights of summer...
Every day after school we are fish in water, spending hours at Auntie Jodi's pool...Atticus the Spartacus Legitamus has finally done away with the floaties and joined the league of big kids who can swim on their own...my princess mouse-face daughter, enjoys bossing the boys around with attempted drownings while hanging on their necks if they don't comply. 

Last week, we took a field-trip to the stables to learn about different horses.
While exploring the grounds, we managed to avoid contracting rabies while saving a drowning squirrel from a horse's trough... 

         We scooped the little rascal out with a rake and set him free to roam. While the girls were intrigued by the pretty ponies, the boys seemed more interested in finding a rattle snake and the large fountain of urine flowing from CZAR the black and brown  stallion. After almost getting stomped by the brown snorting/grunting horse that seemed angered by the loudness of the excited bunch of hooligans, we decided to leave the horses alone and head over to the stream to fish for critters. At the park, even the girls got their feet wet and joined the fun.



Atticus and His Crawfish
 Spartacus waded through the mucky water and eventually found an unpleasant surprise in his mason jar...I sat watching him from the hill as he threw his jar to the ground and darted up the hill screaming at the top of his lungs.

                  
Apparently, he thought he had scooped up a scorpion and freaked out in fear. When I went to see what all the fuss was about, I found this little guy staring at me. Spartacus calmed down when I explained what it was... Then fear turned into pride, having fished out this mini-lobster and cousin to the cockroach, he thought it would be a good idea to take him home as a gourmet offering for dad. Dad wasn't into the idea despite being a lover of anything edible so we let him go in the sewer...
Back at the house, Keith the Desert Tortoise continues to roam the backyard as he watches the chaos that ensues each day...dodging Nerf-missiles and bullets, being tripped over by Ninjas, and occasionally getting squirt in the face by a water blaster or balloon. Like the husband, he keeps his cool. Recently, he became a Ninja-Turtle for the day as we held a training event for the all the Ninjas we know. It was a packed house as the stealth fighters showed up to the top-secret event, but nothing out of the ordinary for the 4ACE Crew.


  I led my little Ninjas in some drills, then they demonstrated the ways of the warrior with some kicks and hiyahs . I have gangster-ninja skills myself, so of course I had to rep for the most fierce variety of ninjas, the Multi-tasking Momma types.
* Though we appear to be some-what conservative, the beasts often double as Ninjas when the sun sets...The neighbors would never know that behind the confines of our fence rests the ninja training grounds for the miniature people in suburbia.

   
  So the adventures continue as I work to keep my crew engaged and entertained. Hopefully we will keep our bones in-tact and our shoes off in the house so momma ninja doesn't have to jump-kick-chop/drop any mini-ninja butt...to be continued...

A Kill-Bill Kinda Crew, not to be messed with.