Impact

Today is a sad day. Yesterday was too, and the day before that, and tomorrow will be as well.

My wonderful cheerleader/pom coach from high school won her battle with breast cancer and received the ultimate prize: heaven's gates.

Coach and Mrs. Peacock

I say she WON because she did-- winning is all about how you play the game. Winning is continual perseverance, constant endurance, crossing the finish line, and ALWAYS keeping your head held high. She taught us that! She fought to the very end and wore Jesus's name proudly on her jersey.

She never gave up, but rather: I think she was here until she reached everyone she possibly could with her message. Her message of faith and Christ's love for all of us, of how He is always by our sides, no matter what trials we face. I think she stayed here until she and God decided she had completed her earthly tasks, and then He took her home.

This past Easter, she made a video to share with her church family about her battle with cancer and the victory she has found in Jesus even through the toughest moments of her diagnosis. It will make a profound impact on your life! Please watch!

http://vimeo.com/63036529 Part 1

http://vimeo.com/63036531 Part 2

There's one amazing crowd-roaring, brass band-playing, spirit fingers-waving, Cotton Eyed Joe-dancing pep rally going on up there right now, I guarantee it. She's having the time of her life.

Mrs. Peacock was so much more than just a coach or a teacher. To all of us, she was all different things. Everyone has their own stories... I'll tell you what she was to me.

She was a friend when we felt like we didn't have any.
She was a mediator when the immaturity of high school plagued us, and we had a cat fight in the locker room.
She was always fair in making decisions that involved us.
She was a counselor when we needed guidance.
She was a new perspective when we had trouble understanding our parents' point of view.
She was a comedian when we had a bad day and needed a laugh.
She was always ready with ideas when we were drawing a blank.
She was an advisor when we were weighing our options for post-graduation plans.
She was an encouragement when my post-graduation plans weren't the same as everyone else's.
She was an inspiration to all of us who had starry-eyed dreams of marrying our high school sweethearts.
She was ecstatic when I called to tell her I really was going to marry mine! :)
She was a positive thinker when the other team had too many points on the board.
She was a realist when we got too carried away.
She was a second mom to those who didn't have one.
She was an example of a Godly mother and wife.
She saw the potential in each of us even when we were blind to seeing it ourselves.
She loved to sing and dance.
She told the best stories.
She gave the best hugs.
She made high school fun.
She was beautiful.

When she retired, I hated to think of the years of future squads who would miss out on having her guidance. RHS was losing a legendary figure who could take a bunch of little girls and turn them into young ladies before graduation. But then I realized that she instilled in us the ability to do the same thing she did for us: reach out to young girls in their most impressionable years, and help them. Help them to be better, to be confident and to reach their full potential. It started with her, and she's given us everything we need to be able to make it now start with us, and our impact. I personally can start with my girls. All my mommy friends can start with their daughters, or younger sisters, or girls in the youth group at their church. We can all follow her example and start somewhere... We just have to start.

I choose to start with my kids, and myself.

I choose today to set a positive example for my kids instead of being the frazzled nut job who runs around like a chicken with her head cut off, starting five little projects around the house and never finishing them, angry at myself for never finishing them, and then bringing down everyone's morale with my poor attitude.

I also choose to take better care of myself and get healthy again. I have been doing Weight Watchers with my mom for several weeks now, but I've slacked off quite a bit. I'm going to get back on it, and also get outside and get to walking/jogging! By the time the Komen Race for the Cure comes around next year, I want to be able to run the 5k. I'm going to run it for Mrs. Peacock!

I found on FB this morning that there will be a celebration of her amazing life this Saturday 5/4/13 at 11am at Fellowship Bible Church in Rogers, AR. I hope everyone can make it so we can all celebrate her together. And I hope they play Billy Joel's "Uptown Girl" just for her!

Love and miss you, Mrs. Peacock. Thank you for investing in my life!

Mom, Wife, Friend... and Felon?

So I'll make this short and sweet. (Like me!)

If you get a ticket for not wearing a seat belt, pay it. It's likely in the neighborhood of only $25, and it is NOT. WORTH. THE. TROUBLE. of not paying it.

Shall I tell you a story? Ok, let's all sit indian-style on our carpet squares like we did in 2nd grade. Hands in your lap, don't touch others. No interrupting until I'm through.

Once upon a time, many years ago (literally!) I was driving to Tulsa to pick up some friends from the airport. Upon stopping at the toll booth halfway to my destination, I took off back onto the highway without noticing the state trooped who was idling in the median next to the turnpike. He quickly caught up to me. I look in my rear view mirror to see this lovely sight:

America!

He SAYS he stopped me because I was going 79 in a 75 (really?! FOUR MPH OVER?!) but he says "I'm going to go easy on you and just give you a ticket for not putting your seat belt on after you left the toll booth." I'm thinking, "Gee thanks, how generous of you."

He goes on to tell me in gruesome detail about how many "purty young girls" JUUUUST like me have been scraped up off of the highway after being in accidents while not wearing their seat belts. I smiled and nodded. A lot. He eventually took his beer belly and crooked aviator sunglasses back to his patrol car, and we both went on our way.

Long story short: I forgot about this ticket. I think I stuck it in my glove box, and then later threw it away. But its JUST a seat belt ticket. The great state of Oklahoma must have much bigger fish to fry than to deal with a measly $25 seat belt ticket, right?

........... Wrong.

Apparently the great state of Oklahoma views all fry-worthy fish on an equal basis. So my unpaid seat belt ticket ranked right on up there on an equal level with sex offenders and wanted cold-blooded murderers.

I'm just kidding. Its still just a seat belt ticket, after all.

Fast forward to a year and a half later, when I need to get my AR DL renewed because it was nearing its expiration date. I take my happy self into the DMV and am told that there is an outstanding "issue" in Oklahoma that needs to be settled before I can get a new license. I said "Ok... So what do I do in the mean time since my license is going to expire?" The lady behind the counter simply said "Don't do anything to get pulled over, and no one will be any the wiser."

Well, that sounded easy.

So... I kind of forgot about that, too. I didn't REALLY forget, but it just wasn't a priority. I mean, the lady at the DMV didn't act like it was a big deal, or even very time-sensitive at all, so I could just take care of it whenever I got around to it. Right?

At some point, I lost my license card. Probably in that point of my life where I changed wallets/purses daily because I didn't have anything better to do? I needed a valid state ID to be able to go take a drug test as part of my application/interview process with Walmart, so I went to the DMV. Still haven't cleared up that OK issue, so I'm trying to talk my way around it and explained to the lady behind the counter why I needed an ID. She didn't even ask if I had a driver's license or what the status of it was; she just printed up a nice shiny state-issued photo ID and handed it over. Only cost $5.00! "Woohoo, I'll take 10, one for each of my purses!!" is what I wanted to say.

Got the job at Walmart.
Moved to the rental house.
Got married.
Had two more kids.
Bought a house.
Changed utilities multiple times.
Went to the bank at least once a week for three years.
Managed to avoid midnight sobriety checkpoints on "drinking" holidays.
Changed car insurance.

Amazing what all you can do and no one asks for a driver's license, huh?

Three months into our new auto policy with Allstate, my sweet little insurance agent's assistant calls to tell me that a "blip" came up on my MVR and it "may cause some premium issues"... She says she's going to put the information to me in the mail. A few days later, I receive a generic letter stating that policies are subject to change if changes are made to your driving record due to an accident or moving violation.

That's it. A generic letter. Nothing stating what's wrong with MY driving record or what (if anything) is going to change with our auto policy.

Fast forward to two weeks ago today.
Driving through the pokey little town of Centerton, AR, on my way to drop off the eldest J-baby at the babysitter's house, and what do I see in my rear view mirror?

Yup.

America!

(Except it was daylight. 7:34am, to be precise.)

Apparently, I was "speeding"... 37 in what I thought was a 35, but was really a 30. The officer asks for my license.......................

Whoops. All I have is my pretty little state-issued NON-drivers ID. I smile sheepishly as I hand it over and said "I only have this with me. I'm sorry. You can run my information off of it though."

He asks why I don't have my license. I say I lost it (which is true!)... He asks why I didn't get a new one and why I have a non-drivers ID instead. I said the lady at the DMV said I couldn't have another license until I get a petty little thing in Oklahoma cleared up (which is also true!) and that she told me just to drive carefully until then. (I ONLY speak the truth here, people!!)

He takes my license and insurance card back to his car for an excruciatingly long two minutes. Meanwhile, Jailyn is tugging with all her might at the straps of her car seat, trying to break free so she can see the policeman and his police car.

He comes back to the car and says "Ma'am... do you know your license is suspended?"

Uhh... What?!

I said "No! I thought I just had an unpaid seat belt ticket!"

He says "What do you think happens to your license when you don't pay a ticket?!"

I said "But its a SEAT BELT TICKET! It was 25-freaking-dollars! It was nothing!"

He says "If it was nothing, then why didn't you pay it?"

Touche.

He looks proud of himself for making his point. I suppress the urge to ask him how many times a week he's goes to Krispy Kreme.

Long story short (again... I keep trying to shorten it but it's still a long story -- funny how that happens) he tells me I cannot drive my car until my license is reinstated. I have to call someone to come pick up my car or he's going to have it towed. I'm allowed to drive it off the main road that I'm sitting in and park it at my babysitter's house.

I then have to call my mother to come pick me up and take me to work. She arrives and I do the walk of shame from the babysitter's front door to the passenger side of her car. I explain everything to her and that unfortunately I can't drive again until my record is cleared in Oklahoma, which could take a week or so. She handles it with a lot more patience than I would have expected and offers to drive myself and the kids to and from work and the babysitters houses every day until its all said and done.

At one point about a year ago, I called the state of Oklahoma's Department of Public Safety and got the skinny on my ticket. The ticket itself was only $25, but when you don't pay it on time, it accrues a lovely little fine. It's now worth a whopping $136. Plus a $50 reinstatement fee to "reinstate my license to good-standing status." Lovely.  I also learn that the state of Oklahoma is rather technologically-inept, and they cannot process payments for the purpose of settling these issues by phone or online. Everything must be done by "snail mail." So I have to mail my fine payment in, wait for a receipt to be mailed back to me, mail the receipt back with the reinstatement fee, and then give it a couple of days for everything to clear in the system. So I put a check in the mail to the County Clerk and waited for my receipt. Four weeks later, I receive my check back with a letter that says personal checks are not accepted, only cashier's checks or money orders. At that point, I said "screw it, I'll deal with this later." Who has time to go to the bank and get a money order? Twice?! Not this girl.

As it turns out... that was a pretty dumb thing to do.

So for the last two weeks I've been "chauffeured" around by my mother, who drove to our house every morning, parked her car in my driveway and loaded up my kids and I in my mom-mobile, and made the "delivery route" to drop us all off at our destinations, then did it all in reverse every afternoon to pick us all up. It also took almost the full two weeks (12 days to be exact!) for all the correspondence back and forth to occur, and to be able to get to the DMV for a new license. (BTW, Arkansas Drivers Licenses look weird now.)

Today is my first day on the road again ("...Just can't wait to get on the road again...") and as I pull into the babysitters' neighborhood this morning, I pass my old friend Krispy Kreme, the trusty Centerton cop who pulled me over two weeks ago. We made undeniable eye contact, and I KNEW that he would pull me over to check my license before I left the neighborhood. Sure enough, I was right.

AMERICA!!

But I was ready for him. He walks up to my open window and I held out my new shiny license, smiled and said "Good morning, officer. Slow day today?"

He didn't think it was very funny.

But he checked my license, brought it back and wished me a good day. And off we went on our separate ways.

Now I'm back on the road, singing at the top of my lungs with my eyes closed/eating with chopsticks/texting everyone in my phonebook/applying eyeliner and mascara, all at once, all while driving. But at least I'm wearing my seat belt.

I'm totally kidding, I don't do any of that while driving. Except the mascara, and only at stop lights.

The last piece of this drama will occur at 1pm on Tuesday May 21, 2013 when I go to my must-appear court date for my driving-on-a-suspended-license ticket. That should be super fun. I might even wear a cocktail dress and take along a peace-offering gift for the judge. OR I'll just show up early, be incredibly apologetic and remorseful, and cross my fingers for only a fine, and pay it without complaint.

This concludes story time for today, folks.

In case this has changed any of your opinions about me, here's a reminder of why I'm still a good person:

I make cute kids.
This is my positive contribution to society.

Until next time!

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, Its Off to Work I Go

Ok, so I WILLLLL get better at keeping up with this blog, I swear to it. I SWEAR, I TELL YOU.

I actually titled this post two months ago, and began regaling you all with the tales of my first week back to work post-maternity-leave... I got about 150 words in and I'm sure a toddler ran into a wall or an infant spit up on me or something of equal distraction value, and I saved the post but never finished it. Life with three kids is a bit of a circus, and the majority of the time, it keeps me from ... well, almost everything that doesn't directly involve them. Blogging does not involve them, no matter how much they want to help!

So I've been back to work for almost two months, and Mr. Jackson is three and a half months old already! Time is going by so fast, I'd almost swear its in overdrive.

Jackson Keith, 3 months old!!

Isn't "time" a funny thing? I think back on how many times in my life I've wished for it to hurry up, like when I was waiting to turn 16, waiting to graduate, waiting to hear about a job I wanted or waiting to go on vacation. Then motherhood happened, and I feel as though I'm daily planting my heels and straining with all my might trying to stop time from going by so quickly. I rock Jackson at night and remember doing the same thing for Jailyn FOUR YEARS AGO. Seriously? Four years? It feels like four minutes ago.

I digress. So I'm back to work, and enjoying my job immensely. I have to enjoy what I do, or else it is not worth being away from my munchkins all day, five days a week. I'm doing whatever I can to take extra classes and workshops to get a few certifications under my belt, with hopes of moving up a bit more in the Human Relations field. I've decided that I'm in HR for the long haul... People are my passion and I'm happiest when helping them. So now the big question is: Recruiting? HR Manager? Talent Development? Where shall I go? Stay tuned. :)

Another big change since my last post: WE ARE IN THE NEW HOUSE!!! Finally!! I'm not sure who's more excited: us or my parents! We have our own space, and they have the sanctity of a quiet house again! It's probably a toss-up as to who is more thrilled. We are unpacked (for the most part) and settled in, but I haven't done any decorating yet. Pics to come once it looks and feels like "home" instead of just a house. You won't believe the before-and-after's!

Here's a sneak peek of my FAVORITE room of the house... my beautiful kitchen!

Custom designed cabinets, painted by the hubby, who also painstakingly hand-laid the gorgeous tile... He made my dream kitchen come true!

Also since my last post: Jaibug turned 4 in March, and has started going to a babysitter during the day instead of to the great-grandparents house with her little brother and sister. My awesome friend Lyndsey keeps Jailyn, and another girl close to Jailyn's age, along with her own son while her older two kiddos are in school during the day. The older two get home from school about an hour and a half before I get off work so Jailyn gets to interact with them, and she is loving it! Jaret and I feel its so important for her to have interaction with other kids before entering kindergarten, and this has been a wonderful opportunity for that! Jailyn LOVES Miss Lyndsey! (And I think the feelings are mutual!)

My big girl on our birthday lunch date to On The Border (her choice!... that's my girl!)

Jordyn and Jack are best little buddies. Our new routine when we get home at the end of the day involves going outside to play for a bit before dinner (if the weather's nice) or going into the "toy room" to play (if its too cold) but FIRST, Jordyn always goes to the same corner of the couch, holds out her arms and says "I want to hold Baby Jackson, please!" So they get a little cuddle time every evening, and sometimes again before bed. Its so fun to watch their relationship grow. Jackson just lights up when his sisters are around.

Best Buds!

Our favorite photographer (and my best friend!!) took some awesome pics of the kids during her Easter Mini-Sessions and I just have to share them because they are too. flippin. cute. (Of course they are, they're MY kids! ha!)

My three ring circus. I just adore them!



This picture gives me chest pains...
Where did my little baby go, and who is this BIG GIRL living in my house?!



"Hey, this chick digs me."
(Get it?! Haha... I crack myself up!)



I feared for the life of this baby chick in Jordyn's hands. Thankfully, everyone walked away unharmed.

That's about it for right now. We're busy bees around the Bonds household, but I'll try to keep updating more frequently!

Until next time!

Cinnamon rolls, light fixtures, and a microwave.

Happy Birthday to me! I turned the big 2-6 yesterday. Its not a milestone birthday by any means,  but to me it feels like the beginning of the downward slope towards 30.

For my 30-something-year-old friends, there's nothing wrong with being in your 30's. I just personally am not ready for it! I'm also having a hard time believing that at 26, I'm now older than a lot of the people in positions I've admired for most of my life, like college-age and Olympic athletes and break-out musicians and actresses. Most musicians in the current music scene are early-20's, and on more than one occasion I've seen the Backstreet Boys referenced as "old school" -- I wanted to scream "NO!! They are not OLD; they were popular when I was younger!!" Then I remember... that wasn't just a few years ago anymore. That was 14 years ago. Yikes!

To celebrate my impending demise new age, the hubby greeted me yesterday morning with hot cinnamon rolls, and played with the kiddos while I enjoyed a hot shower without little knocks at the door or "Mommy! She hit me!!" being yelled through the wall.

Daddy and his boy!

A little pre-breakfast playtime!

After breakfast we made a family trip to Lowe's to pick out light fixtures for the new house. Two toddlers and a 6-week-old in Lowe's on a Sunday morning (when they are surprisingly busy!) was a fun adventure. Jordyn was furious with us that we put her in the shopping cart while Jailyn got to walk "like a big girl"... When the cart filled up and we were forced to let Jordyn walk, she took three steps on the polished cement floor and wiped out. Multiple times. No tear-worthy spills, but it definitely slowed down our progression towards the check-out counter. As we waited for the cashier to ring us up, Jailyn reached into Jackson's carseat to "see what he was doing" and poked him in the eye, setting off the alarm of baby wails that echoed through the store. Oy.

My shopping buddy, pre-eye-poking.

Glad to be out of there, we loaded up our goods and hauled them over to the new house, where the girls ran around with the dog while we walked around admiring Jaret's progress on the house. It is so close to being move-in ready, its crazy!

Let me interject on the birthday-happenings to tell you a bit of the story about our house:
We set out on our house hunt with a very specific budget in mind, and quickly figured out that the only thing we were going to be able to afford in town/in budget/in our desired size was a fixer-upper, so that is what we got. About halfway into the demo, we realized that updating the kitchen and painting some walls weren't going to cut it with this house-- we had water leaks, mold issues, tile on top of linoleum, busted door frames, shotty electrical wiring... So many more issues than we initially expected. So what was just going to be a few weeks worth of work has turned into going on 5 months. BUT in that five months, and only working a limited amount of time per day (3-4 hours in the evenings, during the days on weekends) Jaret has accomplished so much! Unfortunately most of it is work that you can't immediately SEE. When you walk into the house now, you see pretty newly-painted walls and trim... What you can't see is the new insulation, new wiring, new plumbing, new wall studs and hours of man-power that went into those walls, before the sheetrock even went up. THEN there was mudding, caulking, texturing, priming, and painting; all new trim and casing cut, installed, primed and painted; old (hideous!) tile chipped up BY HAND, all the glue and remnants sanded and buffed away, and new tile laid and grouted; a new kitchen custom-designed, cabinets ordered and installed, then primed and painted; and several large alterations such as removing a crappy DIY kitchen pantry, compliments of the former owners, and expanding the closets between the kids' rooms to make one gigantic closet. And don't forget the 6-7 full truck-loads of trash that was loaded up and hauled off to the dump during this process! I'm sure you can understand now how ALL OF THIS being completed in only a few hours each night and on the weekends, can take longer than we would have originally preferred. If one more person asks me "When will you be in the house? What's taking so long?" I might judo-chop them. Seriously.
~~Rant over.~~

Here's some cuteness.

Naptime :) Love those lips!

I took the kids back to my mom's house and got them settled down for naps, then went back to our house to see what I could do to help Jaret. I got the happy task of installing new switch plates and outlet covers. Let me tell you what-- they're the best looking outlet covers this side of the Mississippi. My screwdriver and I were working in perfect harmony. (Jaret hasn't let me do much concerning the remodel, so anything I have been able to do, I take great pride in! Even if its something that Jailyn probably could've done, and probably in a shorter amount of time.)

We reached a stopping point, went back to my parents' house to get cleaned up, and then enjoyed a nice dinner out with the kids, my parents, and my brother. The girls were very confused as to why I didn't have a "birthday party" or presents to open... I had to explain to them that birthdays are different for mommies and daddies, that sometimes our presents can't be wrapped. On Friday, I picked out and purchased new bedding and luxurious sheets for our new master bedroom... saving Jaret the trouble of having to shop for a birthday present for me. :) On Saturday my mother took me shopping for a kitchen staple for the house: a new microwave. Trust me when I say: I'm very very excited about it! I never thought I'd see the day where small appliances, light fixtures or wall color swatches would bring me such joy. This adult stuff is weird, I tell you.

Jailyn finished my birthday dessert for me. The girl is not shy around chocolate cake!
Makes me proud :)

We spent the rest of our evening playing with the kids until bedtime. It was the perfect birthday. I have everything I could have ever asked for, and more!

Jordykins is always the life of the party!

Jack and his favorite lady.

"I don't always pose for pictures...
But when I do, I give 'em the stone face."

I'd better start planning a certain almost-4-year-old's birthday party, since her birthday is rapidly approaching! This past 6 weeks of my maternity leave has flown by, so I'm sure the four weeks between now and Jaibug's birthday will be gone before I know it, as well.

Until next time!

Krazy Kids

Today is a yucky, cold, wet day in our little corner of paradise in NWA. Its the kind of day that makes you want to curl up on the couch with a warm blanket, a hot drink and a side table full of various snacks, put the phone on silent and watch 8 consecutive hours of sniffle-inducing chick flicks. Grey and dreary outside, making the day feel a bit sad.

So, to remedy this, I thought I'd brighten your day by regaling you with tales of my two little stand-up comedians. If this doesn't make you smile, well... you must not have a soul. Ha.

SILLY GIRLS! :)

Enamored with little bro :)

I've been home on maternity leave with Mr. Jackson for the past six weeks, so I've had an unlimited amount of time to witness my girls in all their wildness... The kind of wildness that, during our normal life routine of me being at work and them going to their great-grandparents' houses, I wouldn't normally get to experience. Sure, I would get to see this side of them on the weekends, but I just contributed/blamed their craziness on the fact that they missed me throughout the week so they were just REALLY excited to be spending Saturdays and Sundays as uninterrupted time with Mommy... But I see now that I was wrong. So wrong. My kids ARE wild, crazy, unstoppable little balls of energy. All the time. Every moment of the day. I would say "except when they are asleep" but I'm pretty positive they probably even dream in this same state of craziness. They are never-ending. Its actually quite impressive!

Meeting Baby Brother for the first time!

Sibling time on the living room floor :)

Such a great big sissy!

Stinker face Jordyn and her little buddy :)

Bringing Jackson home from the hospital was a bit of an adjustment. The girls wanted to hold him, touch him, kiss him every second. If they couldn't get close enough to him for their liking, they let me know it. We spent lots of moments those first few days home with ALL THREE kids in my lap or surrounding me in bed or on the couch, so they could continue to analyze him. Of course this included a million questions, most of which I couldn't answer with a straight face.

"Mom, why is he so small? Is there something wrong with him? Can he wear my dolls' clothes?"
"Mom, why does he have so much hair? Are you going to cut it off? Can I touch it?"
"Mom, why does he cry? Can't he talk? Can he say my name? Can he count to ten? Because I can!!"
"Mom, can he eat peanut butter and jelly with me at lunch?... Why not? He doesn't LIKE peanut butter and jelly?!?!?!!"
"Mom, why are you holding him all the time? Can't you just put him down and let him walk on his own? He's probably going to get tired of you."

This momma's boy will get millions of kisses in his lifetime!

Ahhhh. Be still, my heart. :)

My favorite questions were the ones that I wasn't really prepared to answer. Yup, you guessed it: "How did he get out of your tummy?", "Why does he have to eat under a blanket?", and "MOM-- what's that thing right there?!! Is that his TAIL?"

The "out of your tummy" question still hasn't been definitively answered. These little munchkins are too smart for their own good. I've told them he's come out of every toddler-appropriate orifice: I coughed him up, I sneezed him out my nose, he came out my ear, he came out my belly button, etc... They didn't believe a single story. When my answers weren't satisfactory, they asked my mom, dad, brother and Jaret. Mom and Dad made up stories not too far off from mine. Jaret told them the doctor cut me open, took him out, and sewed me up with magic stitches that healed instantly. My 16-yr-old brother opened his mouth to answer but I cut him off, afraid of what he'd say. Finally when Jailyn STILL hadn't gotten an answer that she deemed reasonable, I heard her resort to asking the source itself. I laid Jackson down to sleep in his bassinet in the bedroom one day and went to the kitchen to make lunch. Jailyn snuck back to the bedroom and I heard her say as she peered into his bed "Ok, Jackson, how did you get out of Mommy's tummy? You better tell me the truth!"

I know that breastfeeding is nothing to be ashamed of, but I still tried to conceal it from the girls, at least for the first week or two when we had lots of drop-in visitors. You just never know what a 3-yr-old is going to use as a conversation-starter with your boss or the neighbor across the street. When I finally let them witness Jackson nursing, they asked the basic questions ("why are you doing that?", "can I do that too?", etc.) but it really didn't hold their attention for very long. I guess it wasn't interesting enough. Still, I knew one day it would creep up in conversation in public or with a stranger, or at an inappropriate time. Sure enough, in the middle of my best friend's daughter's first birthday party, Jailyn decided to announce it to the entire table during a lull in conversation that "My brother eats my mommy's boobies!" Proud moment. Not just what she said, but also the fact that obviously she's misunderstood what's going on... She thought he was eating ME. Wonderful. This led me to let them witness a pumping session in hopes that they would better understand WHAT he was eating.

The penis question is my favorite. Everytime I change Jackson's diaper, I remember the look on Jordyn's face as she witnessed a diaper change, gasped and pointed, and shrieked "Is that his TAIL?!?!" I laughed so hard I had tears pouring down my cheeks. She then turned to Jailyn to announce it to her, even though Jailyn saw it as well, that "Baby Brudder (brother) has a TAIL, Sissy!!" When I finally gained my composure I explained that it was not a tail, that it was a body part that differentiated boys from girls, that there was nothing wrong with it or with him, and it was normal. Both girls were enamoured, couldn't wait to hear more about it. Jailyn wrinkled up her nose and said "Is it SUPPOSED to look like that?!" Oh that girl, she lets you know exactly what she's thinking. Still, even after all of my explanations, Jordyn told her daddy when he got home that night that her baby brother had a tail and we needed to cut it off because it was getting in the way of his diaper.

My favorite boys!!

When Jackson isn't doing anything interesting enough to hold the girls' attention (i.e.: when he's sleeping, eating, being held by someone other than them, being changed, getting a bath, or just not making any noise) they are all too happy to entertain themselves. Over the past six weeks, we've watched a lot of Disney movies, had a lot of tea parties and dress up time, completed lots of puzzles, and read lots of books. When these activities get tiresome, the girls find other things to do, including but not limited to: faking injuries in order to be able to play "doctor" and wear band-aids, hiding "buried treasure" all over the house and then finding it like Jake and the Neverland Pirates, jumping off of the couch onto a beanbag with arms outstretched like Buzz Lightyear, and spending a significant amount of time fascinated with umbrellas and my large purses (thanks Mary Poppins!), among other activities as well. Along with this adopted play, they've picked up a wide new range of vocabulary and short phrases from movies and the Disney Channel. Jordyn often announces the end of her afternoon nap by coming into the living room and saying "Ahoy, matey!" and has called me a codfish on more than one occasion... We may need a time-out from watching Peter Pan. Jailyn runs through the house singing songs from Tangled and brushing her hair. They're also both newly interested in trees, thanks to The Lorax.

Things are always interested around the Bonds! :)

Until next time!

Let's Try This Again.

Hmm. My last attempt at keeping up with a blog was not so successful. I'm really disappointed in myself! But in my defense, I didn't have internet at home at the time, so that really limits the amount of posting you can do, especially when the mobile Blogger is less than cooperative...

Ehh, no excuses. I just didn't make it a priority.

SO-- Let's try this again!!

Life as we know it has had some changes, and they deserve to be documented. And probably poked fun at!

Since December of 2011 (the date of my last entry) I have changed jobs at Walmart, Jaret has taken on a lot more responsibility with his company, we've FINALLY rid ourselves of the rental house from Hell, purchased a house in Rogers and are in the last stages of the remodel process, have temporarily moved in with my parents during said remodel process, and last but not least: grown our family headcount by one more J-baby!! I don't know about you, but I think that's a LOT in a 14-month time frame! It's been stressful, exciting, confusing, exasperating, and at times we've thought "We. Are. Crazy." -- and I'm sure others have thought the same about us (that we're crazy!) -- but its ok. We're keeping the spice in life. That's what its all about, right?

In early summer of 2012, we began the house hunt. We decided early on that we'd like to purchase something in a good location with good potential that needed some TLC, and make it our own. I also began the job hunt, internally, at Walmart... Looking for something new, exciting, fulfilling, and most importantly: doing what I love, which is helping people. In June. I left my comfort zone of the Electronics Merchandising/Replenishment department and joined the Transportation HR/Recruiting team. My team of 5 people recruit, interview, and hire the drivers for the Walmart Transportation Private Fleet. Its right up my alley! I LOVE the recruiting field, and aspire to be a recruiter for Walmart in the future. Right after this transition, we found a house, made an offer and took off on a roller coaster process (called such due to the fact that it had a LOT of up's, down's, drops and deadly curves, and I spent most of the time feeling like I was going to vomit) that lasted 3 1/2 months of agony and frustration, until we FINALLY signed the papers in October, two days after our 3rd wedding anniversary! We moved in with my parents at the beginning of August, thinking that we'd be closing on the house in just a few short weeks... which turned into months... and then with snags here and there with the renovation process, we are still here. Yes, 7 months later. Yes, we're managing -- ALL 8 of us, in one house -- and yes, its safe to say that EVERYBODY is looking forward to the day we move out. :) During all of these changes, I had a little secret. A little secret that kept growing bigger and bigger, until we could no longer keep it concealed as a secret: another baby Bond was on the way. Baby Jackson joined the gang in mid-January, and we are thrilled with our new addition! He's so sweet and snuggly, and his big sisters are beyond smitten with him. As much as I would have loved to have spent my maternity leave in our new house, with my "first born" furry child, getting things arranged and decorated and enjoying our own space, my parents have been great about adapting quickly to this new little person in our lives and making room for him in their home. I can gladly say that the house is coming along GREAT and we'll be in very soon; all we're waiting on now is carpet install and kitchen countertops. Then let the moving madness begin!

Also in the midst of all of these changes, Jordyn Leigh turned TWO, our family gained another new niece in Dallas, my sweet Lena Marie (my best friend's daughter) had her first birthday, and Miss Jailyn is just four weeks shy of turning FOUR. I seriously don't understand how time flies by so quickly. It's just not fair!

The J-babies are quite the bunch. I have many names for them: my munchkins, my mini-me's, my minions, and my favorite: my three-ring circus.

Jailyn Renee' is quite the little mother hen over her baby brother. She runs to him when he cries, adjusts his blankets, gives him a pacifier, strokes his hair... I'm fairly certain she'll be my main "competition" in terms of his affection and attention in years to come. I'm ok with that. :) When she's NOT playing "Mom" she's marching around here like a 3-going-on-18-year-old, often with her hands on her hips, my sunglasses on her head, two pockets full of attitude and a quick comeback just WAITING to pop out. She's a fiery ball full of sass. Part of me hopes we outgrow this phase very quickly, and yet another part of me hopes she always stays sassy and just defiant enough to not let others influence her into conforming to "one of the crowd", but that she stays her own person, full of spunk.

Jordyn Leigh is a running, laughing, eating, shrieking, dancing, skipping, singing, jumping, tumbling, silly little fireball. This child is incapable of walking: it doesn't get her anywhere fast enough. She has her father's "wonderful" gift of selective hearing, and can tune out anything she puts her mind to, except the "Dinner's ready!" call. She would eat constantly if we let her, but she runs/jumps/dances every calorie off. She has a head full of curly hair, a body full of energy and a mouth full to tell you, at all times! Always telling stories, singing songs, or sometimes just rambling on in words/sounds that only make sense to her. She's only quiet when she's sleeping. She keeps us on our toes... I wouldn't have her any other way! :)

Jackson Keith is our newest little love. He's the spitting image of Jordyn as a baby. He is super smiley, super cuddly, and super sweet. I'm so in love with this new (little) man in my life!

That's about enough of an update on the life of the Bonds for now... or at least, that's as much of an update as my kids will allow me to type right now. They're climbing all over me, the laptop, and each other as we speak.

Until next time!

Privilege

Today I had the privilege of being able to participate in a Daily Walk series meeting. The Daily Walk is a monthly meeting where anyone is able to attend an hour long meeting with Executive Officers of Walmart and hear them share their personal testimonies and their convictions, and talk about work/life balance in regards to their faith. They open up the last few minutes of the meeting for an open-forum Q&A session. Its hosted off-campus, generally in an open space, and its brown-bag-lunch style. Spend an hour, bring your lunch, and hear some pretty cool people speak—I’m game.

Today was especially uplifting. And powerful. And I am SO glad I attended.

 

I had the privilege of hearing Mike Duke speak. Mike is the President and CEO of Walmart, in case you’re living under a rock or you don’t know much about Walmart. He and his wife Susan are a couple of big-hearted, Southern-hospitality-minded, God-fearing Christians who have long since won my heart and admiration with their genuine love for people. They’re so involved in their church, their family, and their community, including Susan serving on the Board of Directors for the NWA Children’s Shelter that has captured my mother’s (and my family’s) love for so many years.

 

After a comical introduction by Don Soderquist, Mike spoke for roughly 35 minutes about his humble childhood, being raised by Godly parents in a small small house with a hardworking father who instilled discipline and motivation to work for your goals in Mike. He spoke about growing up knowing about God and learning about the Bible, but later in life learning that knowledge does not build faith; communication with God, trusting Him and believing in the knowledge you’ve gained is what builds faith.

 

I love how the majority of Southern boys relate football and religion. This was no different with Mike. He spoke about listening to a group of Georgia State football players who were involved in FCA talk to his 9^th grade football team after practice one day, and how they shared their faith in a way that sparked his yearning to understand the Lord on a deeper level. This makes me fondly remember my FCA group in junior high, and all the community leaders, local notable athletes and other role models that came to share their testimonies with us in our young impressionable years, where we constantly raged the battle of temptation versus triumph in Christ in our minds. (It also makes me think of the wonderful Christian example set for us in high school through our cheerleading coach, Martina Peacock, and how thankful I am to have had her influence in my life not just for a few years, but hopefully for many to come, thanks to staying connected through social networking.)

 

My favorite part of Mike’s speech today was about how God led him to NWA. 15 years ago he and Susan came for a weekend-long interview to not only meet with Walmart executives, but also see northwest Arkansas. He said he felt God calling him to be somewhere other than St. Louis, but he was trusting that God would show him a sign as to whether or not that Bentonville was where he should be. Though they were immediately taken with Bentonville and the culture of Walmart, he got his “sign” while visiting Central United Methodist Church that Sunday morning, when the pastor’s sermon centered around a particular Psalm that Mike and Susan had been clinging to in the weeks leading up to their visit here: Psalm 23. Trusting God to truly be his shepherd and lead him to where he needed to be, the Dukes came to Arkansas.

 

Now… a lot of you who are reading this are probably thinking “Am I on the wrong blog? Is this really Amanda who’s writing this?!” You’re not used to seeing this side of me. I don’t share my views on God, Christianity, the church, or faith. My reasons why are not important, or at least are not relevant to this posting… but for a few of you who’ve known me for years, you know I’m a believer. I believe, I pray, I read my Bible. I still have the same Bible I used in junior high and high school, listening to Tad Thompson and Hutch Kufahl preach at Studio 412 at FBC Bentonville. I’ve kept it because I love to read all the notes I made in the margin, all the quotes from Hutch’s sermons and Tad’s powerpoints. I like to remember my faith as when I viewed it with the fullest passion, headstrong and reverent, regardless of what others’ said or thought. I carried my Bible to class with me, I referred to it often. Since the days of Sunday morning and Wednesday evening youth services, Sunday school get-togethers, and church group summer pool parties, a lot has changed: never my love for Christ, but I’ve struggled a lot with trusting Him. Especially when most of the people who helped encourage my relationship with Him turned away when I needed them the most. Therein, a lot of my trust issues are with those who SAY they follow Him but do not demonstrate it.

 

Let’s not open that can of worms right now… Continuing with what I learned from today.

 

I could completely relate to Mike’s story about seeking a sign. A couple of years ago, I was working in retail and loving my opportunity to do such. I loved retail management, being up-to-speed on cutting-edge fashion, and working with fun people every day. The money was good, the discount was great, and I was having a blast. Then Miss Jailyn made her appearance, and suddenly my priorities got a big slap in the face, knocking me into my new reality. I needed a more stable schedule, better benefits, less stress, and to work with people who were more understanding and family-oriented. Retail (especially commission-driven) is greedy, exhausting, and was giving me headaches.

 

I started praying for a new opportunity. Anything that would allow me to be more available to my daughter, take care of my family, and pay the bills. Something less stressful, something that would better me both personally and professionally. Something I could do to make a difference, but also wouldn’t drain me of all my energy so that it would do a disadvantage to Jaret and Jailyn.

 

After previous applications had gone unnoticed or unanswered, a friend stepped up and pushed my resume through to a recruiter at Walmart. I got a phone call, followed by an interview. I received a job offer that had pro’s and cons: better benefits and more stable working schedule, but less money. Closer to home but now needed a regular baby-sitter instead of just whenever Jaret couldn’t keep Jailyn. (We’d both be working days as opposed to my previous three nights a week and weekends.)

There were both benefits and disadvantages to taking this job, so I was honestly torn in my decision. Plus, there’s always apprehension about starting somewhere new, being the “new kid”, going through training and making mistakes to learn from them, etc. So I prayed about it, and asked for a sign as to what decision to make.

 

The next day at work was a breeze… Everything went the way it should, the schedule worked flawlessly, sales were awesome, and everyone was in a great mood. It was beautiful weather outside, I got a lot of compliments on my outfit that day, and my hair curled just right. For a brief moment, I thought everything was just as it should be and I was being silly “wasting time” looking for something new. Is this wasn’t a sign that I was where I needed to be, I didn’t know what was.

Then, the skies opened, and the bottom fell out.

 

My boss came storming in, in one of her ridiculous rants: tore the store apart, destroyed newly constructed displays, cut people’s hours for the day to “save payroll” and belittled us for “prematurely celebrating” a good sales day at only 6pm when “there’s always room for improvement and we’re open for three more hours.” She killed everyone’s upbeat attitude, turned team player’s against each other over commission issues, and made a huge mess of the store while criticizing all of our merchandising tasks we had already completed that day. This negativity spread like wildfire and soon we were frustrating with customers, frustrated with each other and frustrated with ourselves, because of her.

 

Boy, was I wrong about my “sign.”

 

So I accepted the job at Walmart, enjoyed (perhaps a little too much) giving my notice of leave at work, and went on about my life. Quite quickly, things turned around at work: more “thank-you’s” were said, more praises given, etc. But it was too late.

 

I started with Walmart feeling nervous and anxious and apprehensive about all the challenges that lie ahead… and one by one those challenges fell away. God gave me my sign that I was where I needed to be by easing my mind about every issue I faced and giving me a clear, simple solution to each one. He let me continue to feel anxiety so that he could reaffirm my need for Him. He continued to present challenges so that I could learn to seek the solutions in Him. Trust me, they were sometimes hard lessons to learn but they had wonderful outcomes and rewards in the end.

 

Everything I’ve experienced at Walmart has been an opportunity for growth and development. There have been challenges, obstacles, hurdles, etc… And there have been great rewards, acknowledgements and relationships to come from each of them. Every time something pops up that casts a shadow over my work-day, the sun shines a little brighter when it’s resolved. I have had continual affirmations that I am in the right place, at the right time. Case in point: when I was beginning to get burnt out in customer service and felt I could no longer give my all to that department, my current position became available on the portal. I applied for and interviewed for it, among several other positions, and honestly thought I BOMBED the interview for this position… and I was so surprised when I received my first of three offers from the same interview panel that I thought I bored to death. I am now surrounded every day by a fantastic group of people who all have their opportunities and personal successes as well, and never hesitate to share them with me so that I may learn from them. I know this may sound monotonous along with some of the things I’ve posted about my job on facebook, particularly in my notes about Thankfulness (which I fully realize I never finished out my month of thankfulness, no need to remind me)… but to me, this is important enough to keep bringing up.

 

Today was another affirmation for me, another sign that I’m where I should be, that I work for the right company: listening to my CEO confess his love for Christ and his faith in his Shepherd. How many companies are led by a God-fearing Christian these days? Moreover, how many multi-billion dollar companies have leaders who will talk about their faith so freely, without hesitation despite the fact that so many people find mention of religion to be “offensive”? How many CEO’s say that they are where they are today because God put them there; when they could so easily spend hours and hours boasting about their accomplishments and degrees and experience and connections, etc etc etc, and instead barely take two minutes to sum up the truth—God called and Mike followed. I’ve never been so proud to be a Walmart associate.

 

During the Q&A session at the end of the meeting, someone asked Mike if there was anything that we could be praying for in relation to the company, or even for Mike himself. His immediate answer was to pray for the associates, especially “in the frontlines”as he put it. Pray for the store associates as they are working their tails off, keeping the shelves stocked and helping customers and keeping the checkout lines running smoothly. Pray for those who are working overtime, away from their families, to provide a good experience for the customers at Walmart. And he said to pray for our customers. Pray that everyone experiences the true meaning of the holiday season, and that everyone stays healthy and happy. Finally he said to pray for the success of the company: not in a financial sense, not in a market-share sense, but just in the sense that the company is put in the position it needs to be to do God’s will. To serve its customers, to help the community, to provide jobs. To me, this was such a powerful answer. Another affirmation that I work for the right leadership.

 

I have a new outlook on my work family and my company today. One little hour has reignited my fire for Walmart, my passion for its culture, and my love for its influence. My faith received a breath of fresh air as well. I am more energized to do my best at my job. I’m proud to work where I do. I’m thankful for the example set for me by my leadership.

 

I’ve found a new truth in Psalm 23.