rving and walmart and america

they go together i think. did you know that you can camp for one night in most walmart parking lots? for free? this is how i'm planning the next vacation. we're just hopping from one walmart to the next. not to be weird or obnoxious, but have you ever noticed the crowd at walmart? they are basically the same crowd and it doesn't matter what walmart....you could be on the west side of cincinnati (sorry westsiders) or near the san francisco bay area....it's not much different. hot dogs, apple pie and a bunch of americana. SO, david and i went to our first rv show. yes, hundreds of rvs in an enclosed area and guess what? all of the walmart shoppers were there! after a while the campers and the shoppers all blended into one giant mass of an american flag and we had to leave before we got morphed with them. SO, we're still shopping and wading our way through the sharks...i mean salespeople...trying to find our little piece of america wrapped up in an aluminum frame that can sleep 10.

today....

i have been trying to live there. i have this annoying habit of living in the then and the when. mostly, the when. it's crazy at times being a mom of four almost 5 and thinking of when gets me by...when the baby is born...when we go on vacation....when summer comes and we're camping fools again...when the kids get older...when we have more money...when we have less money...blah, blah, blah....

today, i'm thankful for my friend who is hosting an all girl singing night. we're going to get together and just sing. not for any purpose other than we all sing. one of the thens that i think of often is just that. singing. my entire life revolved around singing. it was my purpose. and now since being married and having kiddies....it just don't happen anymore. i am thankful for the many people in the then who sang with me, who gave me chance and i am entirely thankful for the life i have had! i'm hoping this sing night will be one of many.

all time low

i really should just skip the headlines on my opening internet page that say "couple jailed for abusing 6 month old". but no, i'm drawn in, tempted, and of course read the article....see the picture of the man and pray that he burns in hell forever. in a situation like this i have NO sympathy. none. any of my pacificist views go flying out the window and i want that man to be maimed, tortured, hurting and finally dead. a slow agonizing death. the baby has broken bones from head to toe, was sexually abused AND if she lives will probably be blind and/or paralyzed. it scares me to feel this much anger towards a complete stranger. it is just a reminder to me how much true evil there is in the world. it's a good thing i'm not god. people who have committed THAT kind of evil would have absolutely NO chance of mercy.

next time, i think i'll skip past the headlines.....

thinking of names....

for the baby. it gets harder on the fifth. for one, you have the input of four (well, three) other well-meaning children. if you've started a pattern...you know, first letter all the same, which we HAVEN'T, names from a certain country, OR the usage of old family names, your options are limited. not too limited...seeing how there are a bazillion names out there. our dilemma is that we chose the latter.....to use old family names as our children's middle names and now it's david's mom's family's turn. the problem is that she doesn't know her family's history so the names we have to choose from are not THAT old. which means....there are some jo's and some betty's and some bill's and so on......these are not exactly the names i want. we did find out there is a may and a minnie, which are getting more towards the era i'm talking about. but as far as the boys? swilford. that's the big boy name. with all due respect, i don't think a swilford will cut it. the other issue, is that i hear lots of names i love....all claimed by good friends. the other issue is that MY family has some good names that i love, but their quota is up! so, here i sit. thinking of names. maybe this one will break the mold. maybe we will just let the kids think of the name!