From this point forward.....

I'm just gonna' be "keepin' it real".  

No really....I am.  I probably won't be brave enough to post horrendous selfies or anything.....but I have been thinking about how NOT real our Facebook lives are, and have decided that maybe by posting "real" pictures, that folks will realize that their "real" lives aren't so bad.  

So let's just get started, shall we? 

Here's my keepin' it real picture for the day.....

Yep....that's our Christmas tree.  I took it down the day after Christmas.  I was all gung ho about getting that thing outta' here this year.  It had stopped drinking water, and frankly, it just hadn't been looking good for about a week or so.  But if I am REALLY being honest....I do this every year.  I LOVE putting the tree up, but I am over it by Christmas day.  

And typically.....I would have one of the girls haul it off to the local fire house where they would let you drop them off.  But this year was a little different, and for a myriad of different reasons.....that darn tree is STILL laying in my driveway, on January 6th.   We weren't in town for a couple of days.....and now school has started back, and I don't have the truck at my disposal anymore because we have a new driver in the house.....but that's a whole blog post in and of itself.  

So there it sits.  Looking like we don't know what to do when Christmas is over.  I'm sure the neighbors are beginning to wonder.....

But like I said....I'm gonna' keep it real.  

So while I am at it.....let's just go ahead and take a look at the living room, shall we??

See?  Not perfect.  Jeans from a backpack slung into a chair, boots lefts where they were taken off, a new toy from Santa for Sophie there on the couch, and a much loved "Dilla" on the floor (no that isn't a dead rodent in my house.....Sophie has a stuffed armadillo which is her favorite),  some socks on the floor, unruly wires and charging cords.....oh! And fancy that?!  A laundry basket.  

There you have it.  Not perfect, not pretty, and not the way that I would like it to look.  BUT......the reality is, that's what it looked like 30 minutes ago, and because I have chosen to sit here and blog a bit, it's what it still looks like.  

See here's the thing.  We all get caught up in the "wanting things to look perfect for the picture that we post on Facebook or Instagram.  But the fact is.....none of us are perfect.  Not our houses, our bodies, our marriages, our kids, but that's ok.  God doesn't expect us to be.  He wants us to give Him our imperfections.....so that he can make something beautiful out of our lives.  

So while we are on the subject of not being perfect....now's probably a good time to say that I hope to be back to blogging again.  The last couple of years have just flown by....surgeries and recoveries, becoming a high school football mom (LOVE THAT), working,  but I hope to be back on here more regularly.  

So how about you?  Does the thought of keepin' it real scare you to death?  Or would you be willing for someone to see how not perfect your life is?  

If seeing my imperfections makes one person feel better about their own......then perhaps I will have succeeded.  

I'm just sayin'.  

Suit for Jack $6.25, Experience of being a Legislative Page....priceless

Yep....you read correctly.  A hand tailored suit that perfectly fit Jack.....for $6.25.

Six dollars and 25 cents for that snazzy suit, that fit like it was made just for him!  (I love thrift stores!!!)

And you're probably wondering what he is doing there in front of the Alabama State House....dressed up looking like he belongs there or something!  Well....he actually DID belong there, because he was selected to be a legislative page!!!

Yes...a page.  No....I didn't know what it would entail.  I just knew that when he went to Montgomery for the 4th grade field trip to the State Capitol and saw the legislative session in progress, he told me then, that once he turned 12 he wanted to apply to become a page.  And that's exactly what he did.  

Now...if you know me at all...then you know that no trip with us is uneventful...ever.   

So here's the rundown:

• When they tell you to report to the 5th floor lobby at 12:30, and you have a 2.5 hour drive....you should give yourself a little extra time.  But this is me we're talking about it here....and that's just not how I roll. 
• When the paperwork tells you that you can park for free at the Cramton Bowl parking lot and walk to the State House....be sure that said 12 year old child has shoes on that a)not only fit his foot two days prior, but that b)still fit his feet the day of the trip.  Because that's not a short walk, and blisters don't feel good.  At all. 
• You should be prepared when the Speaker of the House says, in his very-smooth-yet-commanding-voice, "We have a special guest with us today...." and calls out your name and asks that everyone please acknowledge your presence. ...and they all look up at you from the House floor and clap (!!)....ummm...yea....that one took me off guard.  Glad I had changed from my traveling clothes at a rest stop and later thrown some make-up on in the bathroom after I got Jack situated on the 5th floor! #truestory 
• There is constant movement on the House floor.  The Representatives are not all sitting there quietly(like I assumed they would)....and between them walking around and the pages moving to-and-fro delivering messages....it looks like a colony of ants in motion!!!

• Jack said that sometimes it was very hard to read their writing....and he needed to be sure he was delivering the messages to the proper Representatives!

• This pictures shows Jack standing right next to Representative Joe Faust for whom he was paging. 

• He even made a few friends in the process!  They had to help each other out a few times!

• I could tell by the look on Jack's face, in this next picture, that he wasn't sure he was delivering to the right person...

• When the Governor made a surprise appearance at the legislative session, Jack wasted no time in getting to him for a hand shake/photo op.  

    

• When shaking the Governor's hand, Jack quickly reminded him of when they had met previously at a local restaurant a few years back! (I can't make this stuff up).
• Desperate times call for desperate measures blisters on my child can do amazing things.....like prompt someone who failed parallel parking in her driver's test many moons ago...to not only parallel park successfully a couple of steps away from the entrance to the building, but do it on the first try.  #highfive #blistershurt #yesheisalwaysacharacter  #proudofhismom

• And I know you're going to be shocked...but we were actually AHEAD OF SCHEDULE...so I was able to snap a few "must have pics" of my very grown up baby boy. 

• When sitting in a committee meeting on day two, the main speaker introduced Jack, and tried to catch him off guard and asked him if he'd like to say a few words to the group!!!  Ha!  Those that know Jack, can probably understand when I tell you that he did look startled for a moment, (as the room burst into laughter), but then quickly thanked them all for having him there.  As we were leaving that day, he told me how badly he wanted to get up and put in his two cents about the subject they were discussing!!! Can you imagine if he had???
• Day 3 was a little more challenging for me....as I wasn't able to score a parking spot quite as close.  And....after dropping him off, finding a spot, walking quickly to get there in a timely manner, I realized, in the bathroom on the 6th floor....that I had in fact, FORGOTTEN my deodorant.  No, I'm not kidding.  Yes, I know this is a personal subject, but it's one that can cause me excessive anxiety just THINKING about having forgotten it....then add to that list, the fact that typically on legislative session days the elevators are shoulder to shoulder full of people.  I stood in that bathroom, looking out the window at my parked van, contemplating should I, or shouldn't I create more perspiration by walking to it to get the forgotten deodorant.  But a girl's gotta' do what a girl's gotta' do.  And when telling Jack this story later on..on the ride home, he cut me off quickly and says, "You don't even need to tell me...I already know that you walked back to the van to get the deodorant!!  I know YOU, mom!!!"  Sigh....he was right.  Hey at least I didn't stink!!!!
• And while Jack has so many different stories and memories of our past three days, one of his "highlights" he said, was Ms. Ernestine.....

But don't let that sweet smile of hers fool you, because I snapped a picture of her doing what she did best...give orders!!! Ha!  She was a pistol!!

• When it was all said and done, I couldn't believe it was actually over....and before we could even get to the van, Jack was letting me know that he wanted to do it again, and even told Ms. Ernestine he would see her next year!!  LOL

I would like to extend a special thank you to Representative Joe Faust for allowing Jack to be his page, and introducing him to so many people.  Representative Faust is a fine Christian man, and I am thankful to know that we have someone like him representing us.  

All in all, it was a wonderful, enlightening, educational experience.  One that I'm sure Jack will never forget. 

And next time, if there is a next time....I feel sure he will be POSITIVE his shoes fit well and are comfortable before we leave home.  

I'm just sayin'.