Alright…you talked me into it.  I’ll tell you about what I did on the York College choir tour bus…but only because I can hide behind my computer.

(You should all know that my heart is beating rapidly right now as if I’m having a panic attack.   I HOPE you enjoy this and appreciate the courage it is taking to tell this story…)

<deep breath>

Okay…so it’s my sophmore year in college, and we are on our Christmas break choir tour, in which we travelled for about ten days on an old (and loud) bus…stopping every night to sing for different churches around the country.

There are around 50 to 60 college kids on the bus…and I’m sitting with my friend Mary pretty close to the middle of the bus.  We are just sitting there yacking and playing cards and doing whatever to pass the time.

(Did I mention that the bus was loud?  It was loud…I mean the bus itself…plus all the 50-60 voices on the bus…)

About six rows behind me sits this really ornery guy named Donny.  And instead of playing cards to pass his time, Donny decides to be the funny guy…

So Donny calls out to no one in particular… “Hey, what’s the name of that one restaraunt?  The one with the great burgers?  Rudd…what?”

(Notice that he switched the letters around in the word…just setting someone up…)

(Because if you don’t say it right…Fuddruckers…it comes out  Rudd—–)

(See why it was so hard for me to tell you this?!?) 

Okay, so I heard him asking…and SO didn’t get that he was joking.  I was just trying to be nice and help out the poor guy who was simply trying to think of the name of a burger joint.

So, I stand up at my seat, turn around and holler, “F—–s!!”

Now, keep in mind too…no one else really heard Donny ask the question in the first place.  All they knew was that seemingly out of NOWHERE…sweet little Laura stands up on the bus and drops the F bomb.  Out of nowhere.

Right as it’s coming out of my mouth…of course I realize what I’m doing!!!  But it was too late to do anything about it then, wasn’t it?

And so I flop back down in my seat and put my head down in my lap…trying to decide whether to laugh…cry…or throw up…

The whole bus…of course…is getting over their shock…and dying with laughter…for like the next 50 miles of road time…

And I’m sitting there trying to remember how to breathe correctly (kinda like I’m doing now). 

And Donny (bless his stinkin’ little heart) appologizes to me a hundred times…cause he was just being silly…and didn’t think ANYONE would fall for it…

I’ve never lived it down…and probably never will…

And now you know too.

Okay, I’m going to go do some breathing exercises in an attempt to calm myself down after just sharing with you the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to me. 

You go ahead and laugh…

(Shucks…I’ll admit…it IS really funny.)

I’m not sure my burning down the barn story or my shoplifting story will top this one…but I do hope that after learning this dark secret you’ll still come back for more…

Here are a few highlights of the kids in the kitchen on Tuesday!

Elias and Justus made scrambled eggs completely by themselves.  They made a great team!

You should have heard Justus (the professional egg scrambler) explaining to Elias the way to scramble eggs…  It was SO cute!

For lunch, the boys made Shepherd’s Pie.  Justus and Asa peeled the potatoes…

And Justus started browning the meat.

Elias and Malachi helped mix the soup and veggies into the pot of meat.

And Elias whipped the potatoes.

Then, each boy made a “personal” Shepherd’s Pie.  (Sorry for the smudge on the bottom left of the picture…I SO needed to wipe off my lense!  Also, can you tell that I had different aged guys putting on their potatoes?  Who do you think did the one on the top right?!)

For dinner, the boys helped me make Chicken Tortilla Soup.  Justus used the food processor to chop up the tomatoes and chili peppers.

Asa poured in the chicken broth.

Malachi added the chicken and the corn.

Everyone got to help tear up tortillas…

And, YUM…you have to try this soup that they made!!!!  It is so good!!

Allright…the dishes are done and the boys are off duty for the night!  See ya tomorrow!

Last week for Gratituesday, I featured my in-laws…

This week, I thought I’d talk a bit about what’s going on with my side of the family…as they also deserve to be appreciated!

In 2004, I lost my mom to ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease).  Such a painful loss…but God is good.  Some day I’ll write more about that time in my life.

Today though, I want to tell you about how things are going with my family currently.

Last winter, my dad announced to us (all nervous and giddy-like) that he was going on a date…his first one since Mom died. 

Well, talk about mixed emotions for me…  Happy for him…wanting him to have someone in his life…not sure what to think about it…feeling freaked out that my Dad was going on a date…knowing this was normal and good…

Several months later, I was standing up with him at his wedding.  (Another day of mixed emotions!)

So, let me tell you about my dad’s wife, Tacy. 

What a wonderful lady.  

Tacy lost her husband to cancer just about a year before my mom died.  She and my dad share the understanding of what it’s like to lose a spouse.

She has two adult children…who are also wonderful.  Really wonderful.

Tacy loves the Lord, loves my dad, loves my children, loves me.

I’ve heard of some crazy situations when a parent gets re-married.  You know, the stories of how, “Dad’s new wife spends all his money…never lets him come see his kids and grandkids…tears the family apart…”

I am so thankful that Tacy is just Tacy.  She’s sweet and giving.  She treats my boys like her very own grandkids.  She’s happy to hear my voice and see me when we visit.  She encourages my dad to be the great man that he is.  Tacy is an answer to prayer.

I’ll always miss my mom.  We all will.  But God gave us a blessing when he put Tacy and her family into our lives.

And for that, I am grateful.

Please join me this Gratituesday and share with all of us what you are grateful for!  Leave a comment here…or grab the Gratituesday graphic and share today on your blog.  Be sure to leave a comment here with your blog address so that we know to come read about what you’re thankful for at your site!

Give thanks to the Lord…for He is good!  His love endures forever!  Psalm 136:1

This week…my kids are going to be doing most of the work in the kitchen (while I lie out back in a hammock sipping lemonade…). 

(Oh, that is so funny…)

They are so excited to be put in charge this week!  And they are learning so much!  Each day this week I’ll be sharing the things I’m teaching them…  It is SO important to start ‘em young!!

Here’s a look at what my kids did in the kitchen on Monday!

Elias was the first one awake…so he got to mix up the pancakes…he loves getting egg slime all over his hands… 

Asa did great cooking his pancakes…he added blueberries just before turning them over…YUM!

Justus got a little frustrated that his pancakes didn’t turn out pretty…but I assured him that they would taste great on his plate as a Great Pancake Pile Plop…  He agreed.

After breakfast while the big boys were upstairs working on their journals, Malachi helped me make Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Brownies.  (Because I knew I would need some chocolate after lunch…)

He did great counting the cups of rapadura (dehydrated cane sugar juice) and flour.  (I’m not sure why I gave him a spoon that is as tall as he is…)

Ah, the best part of helping Mommy… 

Lunch wasn’t too difficult, as we had burritos that I had made and frozen a week or so ago.  Justus just put them in the oven to warm up…and then got to go work on math while they heated. 

After lunch everyone helped with the dishes!  Asa rinsed…

Elias loaded the dishwasher…

And Justus scrubbed the burrito dish.

Asa wiped off the table. (Hey, check out my two week old flowers!!  They look as beautiful as the day Matt brought them to me!!  I LOVE them!)

For dinner…the boys helped make Beef Stroganoff.  Asa sliced mushrooms…
…and sauteed them in butter with onion.  Then we added the meat.

Elias and Malachi got the noodles ready to boil.

Then Elias washed the asparagus.

Justus set the table…

And we sat down to a scrumptious dinner!

These boys were so excited to tell Daddy all that they had made today…and they even said, “And we get to cook everything all week too!!”

Check back in tomorrow to see how they do!  I love to see how much they’re learning!!

Take a peek over at Tammy’s Recipes to learn more kitchen tips!

Please join me for today for Gratituesday!