On Fridays, I sometimes like to repost one of my favorite old posts.

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To my two boys, the loves of my life and the reason my life is worth living:



just a few words from your momma...

Treat people kindly. Respect the elderly. Share your toys.

Laugh a lot.



Violence is not the answer, but self defense is. 

Never, ever start a fight. But you better damn well finish it. 

If I ever find out you are being a bully or partaking in bully-like activity, be prepared to come home to nothing more in your room than a bed, one blanket, and one change of clothes. That includes underwear. Everything will be taken away from you. You will have no privileges and I can only imagine the talking to you will get from your father. Believe me when I say you will feel like you are at the strictest, toughest boarding school ever if you bully another human being. That is, if we don't decide to just send you away to one.

That goes for sticking up for the person you see getting bullied also. Standing back and doing nothing is just as bad as being the bully yourself. Remember that. 

If you want to paint your fingernails pink, paint 'em pink.



However I would prefer you go with "bad-ass black."


(also, don't overdo it on the self tanner like your momma tends to do)

I will at times force you to do things that put you outside your comfort zone. I'll never put you in danger, but sometimes we all need a little "push" in order to overcome our fears.



You can thank me later.

I hope you become strong men, the leader of your household, the provider for your family and the ultimate protector. I hope through my teaching and example that one day you will find a woman to marry who upholds Christian values and has strong moral character. Someone who is not tarnished by the feminist movement and who believes in standing by and sticking with her man. 

I hope that you will always see the value in that and will in turn treat your woman like a goddess, always put her on a pedestal and never think twice about swimming through shark infested waters just to bring her a lemonade.



I hope you always stand up for what is right, even if it's not the popular opinion.
Especially if it's not the popular opinion.

I hope you to stand by your convictions, keep your word and always stay loyal to those whom you love. If you mess up even once, it's hard to get that trust back.

On the other hand, I hope you know that you are not, in fact, superman. You will fail and you will fall down. But it's how you get up and start again that is the true measure of a man.

I hope you always stay close to your momma, but once you are married, your wife is your first priority, and she is the one who matters most. If you marry the right woman, then she should be. 

I hope you raise your own children with an iron first, so they can see what it means to be a strong man and father. However, I hope you aren't too tough that you aren't afraid to cry with your children and show vulnerability. And to always tell them you love them. Tell them everyday. They need that.

Also, get down on the floor and wrestle with them every chance you get.

Thank you for letting me take gazillions of pictures of you. Because we both know that when I present something like this:



what you really feel about my always shoving the camera in your face is this:



Thank you for letting me get those moments on film so I can keep them with me forever.

Also, please forgive me for putting your guys' hair in a ponytail.



And for dressing you up like a girl.


(In my defense, this only happened once)

Never betray your brother. When the whole world is against you, your brother will never leave your side. You may not believe me now, but he IS your best friend.



Respect your country. You may not always agree with the person in power, but remember, it could be a lot worse elsewhere.

Don't believe that you know it all. That couldn't be further from the truth and it just makes you look silly. A wise man knows that he is never done learning.

Hold on to your innocence for as long as possible.

Work hard. Very hard. Get your hands dirty. Your dad and I will always spoil you with love, but when it comes to making a living, that will be completely up to you. Even if we have millions by the time we die, it won't just be handed over to you. You will have to work for every penny.



Please don't be a cat person. Your mom hates cats.

On the other hand, always have a dog in the house. On your worst days, that dog will love you unconditionally. He always will. Even if you forget to feed him or leave him out in the snow. THAT, my friend, is true love right there.

Always open the door for women and the elderly. Give up your seat for the pregnant. Chivalry is becoming a lost art, it's up to you guys to keep it alive.

Let the kids win.

Always lead, never follow.

Unless you are following Jesus Christ.

Just try never to let Him get too far out of your sight.

And always, always, alwaysalwaysalwaysalwaysalways

know just how much I love you.

It's the holidays, and everywhere I look in my personal life, I see so much love, family, support, kindness and so much good. My kids are happy and healthy and they will have a Christmas filled with all the aforementioned and presents. We didn't go all out this year, in fact we kept their gift giving pretty small, but the fact is, unlike so many other children, my kids will have something to open. So many kids will have nothing this Christmas. 

And that breaks. my. heart.

So many people won't have anyone to spend the holidays with. They will be home alone on Thanksgiving, eating solo at a diner or standing in line at a homeless shelter. We may pass these people every day and not know it. They could be the person in front of us in traffic, driving too slow, too fast, maybe taking a few extra seconds to realize the light in front of them turned green, so if we could all think about that before angrily honking our horn or driving by and shaking our finger at them. They could be the person who bumps into us in a crowded store and makes us drop all our gifts we were taking to the register. Before yelling at them to "watch where you're going," we could instead smile and say "pardon me." A little kid who is acting up at the childs play area could very well be a little kid who won't see a single present this Christmas and won't get a chance to sit on Santa's lap. We should remember that, and not be quick to judge or act in anger or frustration. 

I think this holiday season we should go even further then that. To not just stand back and stop ourselves from acting in anger, but to reach out more. Say hello and smile more to strangers we pass, offer to return someones cart in the grocery parking lot, pay for the persons order behind us at the Starbucks drive-thru, hold the door open for someone even if they are just far enough away that you could let it close behind you.

To extend grace. 

To realize that maybe, just maybe, the person who seems like they deserve it the least, need love and compassion the most. Actions are powerful, yes, but words are paramount. Watch your words. You never know what it could mean to someone. I can tell you there have been very specific times in my life, that I remember vividly like it happened yesterday, where I was completely overwhelmed, felt like I wanted to curl up in ball and cry myself into oblivion, when a complete stranger said something to me, reached out and said something. They didn't have to, but they did. It may have been simple to them, but it meant the world to me. There are people out there who feel like no one in this world cares about them, and as someone who has no idea what that feels like, I don't want to contribute to that feeling for anyone. It literally hurts my heart to think of the deep, deep pain and loneliness that others feel (except murderers and child molesters, I hope they burn in hell. Just had to throw that one out there) and I think we as human beings have a responsibility to be good people. To build others up and not tear them down. 

It's important.

Because as one very wise person once said, BE KIND. FOR EVERYONE YOU MEET IS FIGHTING A HARD BATTLE.

ps. Want to read another awesome blog post on this subject? Check it out here.

pps. I'm still getting lots of amazing comments on my "If You're Crazy And You Know It Shake Your Meds" post. If it's something you're interested in, you can read here.

What's wrong with this picture.

I know. Absolutely horrible, right?

I mean, look at all that gray in my husband's beard! So not ok. Better get to dying that shit babe. Momma no likie.

Oh wait. You weren't thinking that the fact that my one year old is reaching for the beer that my three year old is pretending to drink was what was wrong with the picture, were you?

Phew. I mean, that's a regular occurrence in our house.

I'm not sure what it was, but on this particular day, the babe was all obsessed with daddy's beer.

Like, had to have it.

For example:

I saw him down on this lil' rock here for an impromptu photo shoot. I had the beer in my hand thinking it would make the babe smile when I "peek-a-booed" it from behind the camera.

Uh. He just got pissed.



And more pissed.



And even more pissed.



'Til I handed it over.


(I can just imagine what he's thinking; "that's right bish. Don't mess with the Boss.")

Then he just chilled.



And showed a hint of a smile.



All is good. Weez happy now.

At least all was good until tragedy struck and the beer can got pierced by a sharp rock. And sprayed all over babe's face.

And then hubs picked it up and shotgunned the rest.

We are fabulous parents.

Oh, say "hey" to my oldest, never wanting to be left out. Pretty sure he knocked the baby off that rock and said baby is just to the right of this picture crying tears of horror.



And yes, that is pink polish on his toenails.

Oh, say "hey" to the hubs again, with his nice frosted facial hair.



Hey hubs.

Oh look, a baby in a tree.



I sat him up there and told him to hang on and not to let go.



For the sake of my mother not getting extremely mad at me, let's just say that he did not in fact fall out of the tree. And not only did he not fall from that tree, but he did not fall flat on his face and cry for a good thirty minutes.

He did not fall from the tree. Are we clear on that?

Good.

You know what I love? This one.



And myself when I'm having a good hair day.



Ok fine. So the baby is having a better hair day than me.

He represents well.