A little accident..

This weekend the girls and their little girls came to the house. We had a great time. I think all the babes would say that the puffs were the best part of their day!!

Scruff MaGruff did not get to attend the party. I was afraid he would be so excited that he would bother the kids. He is very, very protective of kids. He does not like it when adults pick up a baby and they start crying- he will run over there and check it out and act like he is going to attack the parents if they do not put the baby down. It is very funny!

Scruff went to stay at his GanDaddy and GanMama's house. He loves staying there. Friday night, they were in Oxford and he went home with them and stayed until we picked him up Sunday afternoon.
When Scruff does not want to leave, he hides when I pack up his toys and say, "Let's go." Sunday, Scruff ran to the car so he was ready to go.

When we got home Sunday night, I worked on lesson plans and graded papers until about 10:35. I know, I know, hold your applause. I was so behind that it had to be done.
Scruff, for some reason, does not like when I work at the computer so of course he was whining and wanted to play fetch. I would get aggravated and throw it and he would bring it right back.

About 11, I am ready to go to bed and I say to Scruff, " Ready to go to bed?" He takes off running to our bedroom. I get ready to lay down and I see it.
Scruff had peed all over J's side of the bed- bad but funny that he did not do it on my side.
Why oh why did he do that?
I was so mad.He immediately hides and I scream for him to go get in his little house- his cage. He runs in there.

I take the cage and put in the laundry room- he is in serious trouble. I plan on him staying the night in there.
I scrub and spray and clean the bed. Notice the word I...hmm.
Well, J and I decide that there is no way we can sleep in the bed so we will have to sleep on the guest bed.
We lay down and we could not get comfortable.

The quote of the night was this:
J: I don't what happened to this bed but we don't fit anymore. Somebody grew.
O: Well if you are implying that someone is me, you can leave and sleep in the pee bed.
J: Oh, I'm not I promise....
O: Whateva
(No comments needed here because we both know we both grew :) )

As we were laying there, J kept saying, " Scruff MaGruff is going to be mad at his mom. He's going to love his dad and hate his mom. Are you going to get him out of the laundry room or not?"

Every 5 minutes he would say this. I kep saying no, he has to learn his lesson. But then I started thinking- What if he chokes on something and dies because I am not in there? What if this and what if that?

So about 12:30 I get Scruff out of prison and he is so excited.

If God allows J and I to ever have kids, I can already tell that discplining my children is going to hurt my heart and I will be a softie.

We had a restless night that night- tossing and turning. You know how sometimes you sleep but you are awake every 30 minutes and it never feels like you really relax- that was me.

I . was. exhausted.

The next day, I tell his GanDaddy and GanMama that he did this and you know what GanDaddy said?
Well, Ollie if you would take him out every once in a while he wouldn't have done that.

I just wanted to sew....

Let me preface this story by saying...the Horn's can get into a mess.
And this is a long story but one I wanted to remember....
Picture it...
My house, the Thursday after Christmas. Mom, Dad, Josh and Stephie Lou had come up to do some exchanging and Mom was going to give me a sewing lesson. Jay was gone hauling gas with his Dad.
I should have known the day would be crazy because....
When they get to my house, Josh comes in first and tells me that Dad got a speeding ticket. My Dad has never had a ticket in his 60+ years until that day. He was so mad but it was kind of funny because he is always the one to tell you to watch for " the law".  His famous words, " Slow down.. I saw 10 cops here earlier." He has never been right about where the law is.

We eat and then Mom and I sit down to start our lesson. Daddy says, " I want to do something outside( he was mad). Can I cut grass- to cut up your leaves?"  Sure, have at it.
I thread the machine with the help of Mom and am getting ready to sew and she says, " Don't let that thing that bobs up and down hit your finger!!"
My foot got excited on the foot pedal and the first thing I did was hit my finger. I screamed and so did everyone else in the house.

Things are going pretty good- we are sewing away. Then Dad comes in about 35 minutes later and sits down with us. He is looking around and says, " I wish you had a pickup." I was confused. " We do Dad, but Jay is in it." 
" No, I wish there was one here." "Why?"
Dad, still sitting there nonchanantly, " I slid the lawnmower into the ditch on its side and it is stuck."
WHAT??????
Now, this lawnmower costs more money than I will ever admit to anyone- I jump up and run outside.
It is sideways in the ditch. Stuck in mud....

Dad, Mom and Josh are so afraid that Jay will be mad. I said, " No, but we are getting it out before he gets home."
Josh and I dug and pulled and pushed but it was not coming out.
I knew I would have to get the towing strap from Jay's truck to pull it out.
Off Mom and I go to the gas company to get the strap out of his truck. Men are everywhere. Looking at me like I am crazy and thinking I am stealing something. I didn't care.
We get back and I am trying to tell Dad and Josh how to hook it up. Well, we couldn't hook it up to Mom's car because Daddy said there was no metal on it. I still don't believe it but whateva.

So, I had to make the call...call Jay...dun dun duuunnnnnn.
Here is our conversation:
 Hey. I need your truck. Can I go pick it up?
Sure. Whatcha need it for?
Something..
Something for me.
Yep. It is a surprise.
Ok sounds good.
Ok, I didn't lie- it was his and it was a surprise.

I go back and get the truck. When I get back to the house, I pull it up with the front facing the lawnmower because the truck has " towing hooks". Daddy said, " You can't pull it that way. Let me turn it around."
By this point, I am mad because I know those are metal towing hooks- meant to pull something out but whateva.( By the way, whateva is my new word :))
He gets in the truck and starts to back up and the truck starts spinning. Mud is flying and the precious grass is turning into rutted out mud.
At this point, it is comical.
He finally backs it up, we hook it up and start to pull and the strap came apart.
Thankfully we fixed it and tried again.
Finally, it comes out, tearing up the yard along the way.

Immediately, we all wash the lawnmower and truck to cover up evidence.
Josh and Stephanie are raking leaves into the yard to cover up the tracks. It was a little scary how fast we covered up the scene of the crime but you know we have always have a mess to clean up.

You want to guess where Tiny Tim aka Mom was? Inside sewing herself a Santa Clause. She was..... lots of help during Operation Lawnmower Removal.

I called Jay when it was all over because the lawnmower was not injured and told him the story. He was offended that we all thought he would be mad.

Needless to say, I only got to sew for 35 minutes and the rest was Operation Lawnmower Removal!!

Like I said, we can get into a mess.

Christmas 2011

I cannot believe that another year has gone by- I feel really old.
December flew by. I feel like I never got done decorating for Christmas until it was almost over- but in my defense- I had something going on every weekend.
I didn't take many pictures this Christmas but here are some.

        Our Christmas Tree

       We went to the beach in December. I didn't take any pictures except for this one of the sunset- beautiful!!

         Our pitiful attempt at a pic of us in front of the tree. We all look like a hot mess and I love how my Swiffer mop is in the background. Jay thought it was great.........yeah right.

 This next picture could take your breath away because it is so cute or you may laugh but I LOVE it. I had this printed and gave it to hims grandparents.

 Scruff MaGruff had a great Christmas. His Aunt Linda gave him a chicken which he loves. He carries it around everywhere. He was like a kid. I sat the bag in front of him, he knocked it over so he could look inside and pulled out toys. It was cute.

 He played and played....

 Family picture

Do you see the white circles? They were all over our Christmas pictures. You may think they are reflections of light but I don't :)

 Jay threw a stocking on Scruff and he did not like it.

 After Christmas, Josh and I made this for Mom. She has been wanting us to make it for a while. It has some of our favorite childhood ornaments and a few new ones. It is on a turn table. It really turned out cute and Mom is really proud of it.

 I also made these picture frames. I thought they turned out pretty cute for my first time to make them.
I really enjoyed painting them. This one is kind of an antique white.

I got a sewing machine for Christmas from Jay's mom and I used it to sew the bows.

You may all know this but burlap will unravel if you don't sew it up or sew it with wire in it.

I had no idea burlap was like that.

I used the white picture frame for a dirty santa gift.

 For another dirty santa gift, I made this AU key holder. It turned out pretty good considering it was scrap wood. Jay and I had so much fun that day cutting wood and drilling. He even helped me sew but shhh don't tell anybody.

 Our last Christmas event was on New Years Day. The Mitchell christmas.
Lawd, what a crew!!!

Let me just brag on the Hubs for a minute. He got me 2, yes 2, Coach purses for Christmas. While were in Destin, we went to the Coach outlet because I have never been. I looked around and they were having a great sale. I found one I loved but decided to wait.

Jay somehow during the trip went back and got me two of them.

I was really surprised. He always does a great job at Christmas.

So that is it folks- Christmas 2011 in the books!!

Thought for the day

I got this in a email from school yesterday and I really, really needed to hear it. Maybe it will help you too!

Yours and Mine

No one likes to face pain. When I have lived through suffering, my natural instinct is to move on and try to forget it. But God has other plans. What may be my natural instinct is not His. He never wastes my hurt or what I have faced in my life, and He does not want me to just bury it. He wants me to use it for His glory. How He longs to use the pain I've experienced—the things that I regret—the highs and the lows—the fears and the failures—the very things I want to hide from—to help others! He wants my life open and exposed so others might find freedom from their own pain, and I might discover healing for mine.

Ouch! Open and exposed is a very hard place to be! I want to build a wall to protect myself from my own pain. But building a wall doesn't protect me. It imprisons my heart. It imprisons my spirit. It imprisons healing of not only my own wounds, but those of others. My wall turns my heart into a heart of stone because, in closing myself off, I have shut out the Holy Spirit. However, when I allow that wall of false protection to tumble down, the Lord turns my pain into victory not only for myself, but for others. “I'll give you a new heart, “the Lord promises, “and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26).

            A heart that yields completely to the Holy Spirit is a heart of tender “spiritual flesh”. It is a heart that is malleable, vulnerable, and not afraid of the pain that often accompanies healing. It is heart that is ready to face the hurt of the past or the present head-on, and allow the Holy Spirit to do whatever is necessary. Willing to deal with whatever must be dealt with, this heart trusts that the Lord who has exposed the pain is capable of healing all that has caused it.

            "Now the Lord is the Spirit,” Paul imparts, “and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17). The Holy Spirit will liberate me from any wall that I erect, but I must be willing. Do I wear a mask so someone else will not see what I am going through? Once, on a day when my heart was broken, a friend asked if I was alright? And I answered, “I'm fine”. Perhaps God had sent my friend to help me at my point of need, and I held the wall firmly in place. Perhaps I had missed the very healing God wished to impart. I know that the Lord does not wish me to expose my pain to just anyone, but He does want me sensitive enough to the Holy Spirit to know when He has sent someone that I can trust. He longs for me to know when I have the freedom to open up my heart.

            On the other hand, perhaps the Holy Spirit wants to use me in the life of someone who is deeply hurt by either something in their past or something that has them bound in the present. Do I hold the wall in place, and not share my own pain and experience because I am afraid of my own vulnerability? If I do, there is no freedom because the Holy Spirit is held out by my wall. I have denied not only my own healing, but possible healing for someone else.

       Christ sets me free from the “old covenant veil” I hold in place so others do not have to see my vulnerability
and the pain in my life. My mind and heart do not have to be dull and hard. I do not need a mask to hide joy that
has faded because I don't want others to know. Where the Holy Spirit is, I have the liberty, the freedom, the

vulnerability, the trust, the faith, and the purpose to lay my heart before others so that there may be healing for

those the Lord has entrusted to me. And healing for me.

(Devotional copied from Edgewood Devotionals)

Catch up

It has been a long time since my last post. But if you only knew how crazy work has been the past month or so, you would understand.
I cannot believe it is November....the year is almost over. So I thought I would play catch up through some pics which are from summer time on.  These are not the only pics- I'm not that boring!

We went to Gulf Shores in July

 Had the girls over at the end of July...look at all the kiddos...now we have Emmalee

I almost hyperventilated when we all were taking this picture. It was so funny...Reese did not feel too good but oh how cute her poodle outfit was especially when her little head would drop. Emmalee was crying, MaKenna was injured during the photograph and Anna Kate was a trooper.

 The survivors of the picture....

 Look at Emmalee...love that hair!!!

 Josh, Hannah and Stephanie at the beach.

 AU game

 Love this picture

Here is my new favorite piece of furniture...windowpane table.

I got this at OxfordFest. I put wedding day keepsakes in it. I love it!!!

 I also got this to match it but do not have anything in it yet...

And now I guess Blogger is mad at me- not only you Elena and will not turn my pics the right way so I am going to stop for the night.
I leave you with me and my baby boy!! Him is so cute!!!

Happy Birthday!!!

10 years ago on this day..give or take a few days...was the first time I went to J's house.
It was his 18th birthday, we worked at the Pig together and had talked a couple of times. Krystal worked at the Pig too and so on Saturday, she told me that she was invited to his birthday party but wanted me to come along.
I would like to take this time to thank Krystal or Krystalina( J calls her that) for taking me because otherwise we probably would not be together....or maybe I should kick her...just kidding.
I was very nervous that night because I am so nervous around new people. I'll never forget that I was the only girl that had on shorts and I felt weird. Weird what you remember....
But I do remember that  J was " creeping"  or "macking "on the ladies that night.. not me or Krystal but some others..who shall not be named. So obviously it was not love at first sight between us because it took him a whole month later to call me. No, I am not bitter.... But I still bring up this fact very birthday he has and he always has a different excuse.
Happy Birthday J!! 28 years is a long time- but just think 10 of those years you have spent with me and I am sure they have been the best ;).
I love you.

Willington and Work

School is back. It has been so hard to get up in the morning this time around. I don't know why- maybe because I do not sleep well anymore. I rarely ever sleep an entire night through anymore. I try to go to bed about 10 but never close my eyes until about 11 and then I am up almost every hour on the hour. J says we are getting old and this is what happens- whateva- we are not that old. So needless to say, I hold on as long as I can in the mornings and sleep until the last possible second. Then when I get home in the afternoons, I am so tired. If any of you have any sleep advice, let me know.

However, this year of school feels different to me.  This was my 3rd First Day of School week. I believe the first week(s) and last week(s) are the most difficult. By far this was the easiest first week I have ever had and I hope it continues to be that way.

We did alot of fun things last week- tangrams, read books( yes math has books), got to use the laptops(white Mac books....so cool). They told me on Thursday I was their favorite teacher so far.
As much as I loved hearing that, it is not going to last long. They will not like me when we are doing parts of math that are not fun. When we are reviewing for standardized tests for the upteenth time, they will probably hate me.

But I have learned that God has entrusted me with these students for a reason. All of them need me for math but most need a responsible, caring, loving, firm, moral adult in their life. God puts us where we are needed and He has a purpose for us, no matter what our job might be. The first week of school I try not to pass judgement on these kids but I quickly find the students who are going to test me and am so quick to write them off as bad apples.

I am so thankful that God does not write me off when I mess up. As teachers, we don't need to write off our students so quickly. God wants me to influence them- no matter how hard it is and I am going to try my best.
Even when I am at my wits end, I have to remember I am here for a reason.

However.....

here is a pet peeve of mine: my name.

For some reason, I have no idea, kids cannot say Willingham. Last week, this is what I got:

Wellington, Willington. Willing...m, Mrs. Uh, Mrs. Ham, and last but not least.....Mrs. Whatchamacallit.

Mrs. Whatchamacallit caused to me to lose it and tell the precious one about disrespect and how calling me anything other than my name would result in a trip to the office. Every kid in the class sat there wide-eyed as I got my point across.
I just never thought when I became a Willingham that it would be that difficult to say. However, they do not think that saying Jaquaivnhgeomfmowfmn should be hard. I mean everyone can say that right. ( No I do not have a student with that name- but close.)

Praying for a great school year!! I am sure we will all learn alot especially how to pronounce Willingham!!