can split ends just be "in?"

I need a haircut! But, who has the time? And, I don't even know what I would do to it. Is it time for a change? I'm not sure.


Don't get me wrong, I love my long hair. It's got just enough wave in it to where I don't really "do" my hair. I can braid it, bun it, or ponytail it. But, it needs quite a trim. I mean, even my split ends have split ends! 


So, I think we should make split ends trendy. Okay? Okay. 


And, if any one has any super cute ideas, I am open to them!

g.g. update

We spent a long weekend in Amarillo to see our family and especially Helen, our sweet G.G. As of Sunday when we left, she was back in ICU. She was having a hard time breathing (that's what six or more broken ribs will do), and couldn't breathe deeply enough to expel enough CO2. So, doctors performed a bronchoscopy and removed some of the fluid developing in her lungs.

She is now on a ventilator and is heavily sedated. That's not a terrible thing because she needed to be able to breathe deeper, but the broken ribs were making it too painful for her. Now she has the machine to do what she couldn't. She just cannot get pneumonia. We don't think she could survive it. 

Her heart was seemingly good. However, she has been experiencing periods of atrial fibrillation (a-fib). They thought they had it under control with medication, but it returned a couple of times on Sunday. We're on a "wait and see" for that. 

One more problem:  She has a blockage in her upper GI. That has become a secondary issue considering her respiratory problems. We were told Saturday that it is slowly softening and should pass soon. 

Our G.G. Pea is just covered in wires and tubes! They're just everywhere! Jon and I prayed over her before we left and are continuing to pray for her each day. King Pea is pretty upset. He is super close to his Grandma. They have quite the special bond! Keep our G.G. in your prayers! I will update you again soon!

Beautiful G.G. at her rocking 80th birthday last July!

G.G. with Uncle Brian and Aunt Kim! I love our pea family!

bah hum love

Valentine's Day is always a bit of a bummer for me. So is Mother's Day. Let's just say I get the short end of the stick when it comes to any day that causes a restaurant to be busy. I think I can actually count on two fingers how many times we've shared a Valentine's Day together. So, my work family were my my Valentines this year!


We planned a yummy Valentine's Day luncheon for all of our employees. We had Italian food and homemade desserts. Everything was red and pink (and the boss pea does not like pink)! It was so cool to brighten our dungeon up a bit! :)


And...I also got a Valentine's Day card from a boy! We have a comedian at our workplace and let's just say, he got my personality to a pea!


In case you can't read it, it says:

Life is like a box of chocolate...

...Filled with Vodka!

It will get you drunk and make you fat. Happy V.D. (Valentine's Day)

There is also a fat, drunk, dead Queen Pea drawn on there! I laughed all day!

P.S.  King Pea was a sweet pea and got me chocolates! Dark chocolates! My favorite! Valentine's Day may suck, but I love my hubby and I know he loves me! We'll have our own Valentine's Day soon!

g.g. pea prayers, please!

King Pea's sweet grandmother is in the hospital and could use your prayers. G.G. Pea fell early Wednesday morning, breaking six ribs, puncturing her lung, and was not found until Friday evening. She is in ICU and seems to be doing okay, considering what she's gone through. She's in good spirits, especially after she got her sports section and glasses so she can watch her "telly."


She's feeling weak and won't be in a regular room for a bit. She had a minor surgery to help with her collapsed lung. She's a trooper, though! She's got a long road ahead of her, but she's being prayed over and thought of every second of the day!


We Penprase Peas are going to visit her soon and will update you on her progress!

super whatever

Not really a fan of football. It's alright, but I'm not going to go all bananas over it or anything. But, I do like the commercials. And the yummy bloody mary I am consuming. I thought this would be a great time to catch everyone up on what has been going on in the Penprase pea pod. Well, there are only about two whole people in the world who read this, but they probably care about what our little peas are up to! 


Abby Pea is barely passing Spanish; and that's a good thing! Holy moly, she is trying to give this Queen a heart attack, I swear. She's still dancing up a storm, but her classes have been cut significantly since the beginning of the school year due to the difficulty of school. High school is no picnic and takes more work than she was prepared for! 


She has her ears double pierced now; that's the big change we've had in her little life lately. She's gotten to the stage where she is no longer affectionate towards us .a.t. .a.l.l. I have to steal kisses and hugs from her when she's not looking these days. I have gotten accustomed to kissing her on the back of her head on her hair. It usually smells nice. Other than that, she's an argumentative, sassy teenager. But, she's *my* argumentative, sassy teenager! God has definitely given her the gift of gab and debate and besides Spanish, she's super smart (Could she become a lawyer?! Egad!!). I keep trying to convince her to join the debate club, but she even argues with me about that! :)


Anne Pea is still my Sweet Nanner! She cleaned house for me the other day without us even asking her to do it. I am still wondering what it is she wants.... She's had a birthday party almost every weekend to attend. I just knew that Abby Pea would be our social butterfly, but Anne Pea is little Miss Pea-opularity! I love watching her interact with her amazing friends. She is the most accepting, loving teenager I have ever seen. God has given her a heart of gold and I love it!


On the piercing front, she's begging for double pierced ears, but I told her she had to wait until she was fourteen. So, guess what she wants to do for her birthday! As long as it's not a belly button ring, I can handle it! 


King Pea and I are hanging in there. We are praying for some direction and guidance. We are at some sort of crossroads we've never been at before. We feel there are some changes that have to happen in our lives, we just don't know where to go from here. It has nothing to do with our marriage. No divorces here! No worries for our relationship! It has taken me fifteen years to get him the way I want him! ;)


Just pray for direction for our family. We could use the extra prayer or two to give us wisdom about where God wants us to be. We will certainly pray for you as well! Love you all!

when girlie peas hurt

As Momma Peas, we deal with throw up, diarrhea, sniffles, cuts, bruises. We even deal with bullying, name-calling, and mean girls. So much we can deal with. So much we can handle. So much we take on with our kids. We fight their battles; we cry their tears. When they hurt; we hurt.

There is a family hurting more than I can even imagine. They are the Kelley family. I don't know them and they don't know me. But, I can't get them off my mind.

Jordan Kelley was a 15 year old honor student and athlete that altered my family's life, maybe forever. Last Saturday night, he chose to take his own life. He jumped off a balcony at hotel in downtown Dallas. He landed on the second floor, shattering his body, and glass.

The shattered glass hit my daughter. As one onlooker put it, "...we heard something crash and a chunk of glass fell almost hitting a young woman, about to go onto the escalators to the second floor...." That young woman was *my* young woman.

Anne was at the hotel that night for a friend's birthday. A posh downtown hotel stay, dessert at Wolfgang Puck's 360 degree, spinning, tower restaurant and a trip to the Dallas Museum of Art to see Jean Paul Gaultier's fashion collection; it should have been a 13th birthday fit for a pea princess.

I can't "fix" this and it sucks. I feel helpless and mad and sad and...hurt. Hurt for my baby. I should feel more hurt for the life that was lost, for the boy that felt he had no way out of his problems and for the family he left in shambles. But, like him, I am selfish. I want my baby to be okay. I don't want to see her in pain. I don't know how this story ends. I don't know when she will be "healed."

I am learning as I go. I am having to trust that God will heal in His time. I have no patience; so I am learning.

Pray for peace in the souls affected. Pray for comfort and strength. Pray that these peas who witnessed this suicide will witness God's love to others. Pray that something good rises from the shattered glass. Just pray for your babies. And tell them you love them right this second.

holiday hangover

We peas made it through the holidays all in one pea-ce! We were so blessed to spend Christmas with King Pea's side of the family in Tennessee and Georgia. It was way too short, but so fabulous! Grandpa and Paula Pea were the best hosts, as always! We spent time in Georgia with our family peas that we haven't seen in way too long. Our girlie peas were sweet and wonderful. We couldn't be more blessed! Here's my pea-utiful family! We were missing a few, but it's joyous that we were together! And Grandpea Tim's eyes are open! Yay! 

We then went to good ol' Hale Center for New Year's Day/Christmas! I didn't quite get my fill of my niece peas! I needed several more days of them! Rylee Pea was so sweet. She is four, and Christmas with a four year old cannot be beat! She was precious and so thankful for all of her gifts. And she has the cutest pea-rsonality! She's funny like her Daddy, but she definitely gets her sweetness from her Momma! Preslee Pea was a joy! I don't think she spent more than two minutes *not* being held! I missed the baby girl smell even as we drove home! Nina and Papa D made the whole weekend wonderful! If only King Pea had been there....


And miracle of all miracles...I got to see my two best childhood friends! AND their baby girlies! I may have two teenage girl peas, but they have baby girl peas! Cody is my first best friend I ever had. I could tell you really funny stories about us growing up (but I'll spare you this time!). He and his beautiful and sweet wife have baby twin girls! Carlie and Sophie are just precious! 


My Cindy is my best friend from junior high and high school! I love her like a sister! She has *three* baby girls, who are all pea-utiful! I wish I would have seen her under better circumstances, but I wouldn't trade those few minutes for anything! I miss my awesome friends!


Last weekend is when I had planned on having my blog updated since it was the first after our travels. But, Queen Pea had a head cold and I pretty much relaxed. Even as I type this I am looking at our half-untrimmed tree! 


Our Christmases were chaotic, beautiful, over too soon, and blessed beyond our dreams. I ate too much, gained too much, and now it's time for normal life. Yeah, right!


Merry Christmas! It's never too early or late to celebrate our Lord's birth!