Have You Seen My Keys?

Pumpkin Patch '09

2009-10-26T18:02:00.000-07:00

We took the school kids on a trip to the pumpkin patch last week and they had a ball! We got to go through a corn maze, pick out a pumpkin, go on a hayride, play and learn about corn, soybeans, bees, and so much more.

the biggest thing that we learned was that it is MUCH colder out in the country than in town! Some kids didn't bring jackets and they were feeling the wind a little more than others!
But even with that challenge, it turned out to be a beautiful day on the farm.

These pictures are so out of order, but I don't have the time to rearrange, so we'll just have to deal. :)

The kids had fun trying to rope a "cow".

I'm not too sure what Ben is trying to rope here....the "cow" or his friend N!

One of our favorite stations was the tube slide.

Who knew that a box of corn would keep kids so happy? Do you know how much money I could have saved in toys? ;)

Even the older kids got into the corn. They loved it!

Everyone took a turn or two at the hay jump.

The hay bale maze was a hit with them, too.

After a hayride through the cornfield, we got to pick our perfect pumpkins.

We had a great lesson taught on chickens

During the bee demonstration, Ethan had a bee land on his hand. I couldn't believe he didn't freak out!

This picture is at the entrance to the corn maze. We were able to take a short tour through with a guide. Wow. I would get so lost in there!

Goofy kids

Fire safety

Yea!! Zadyn's Home!

2009-10-26T17:39:00.000-07:00

Our niece was able to go home on Saturday, Praise the Lord!

Thank you to everyone that prayed for her. She must be a strong little girl, because she did remarkably well getting over this illness.

Zadyn

2009-10-20T20:53:00.000-07:00

We went to see our niece, Zadyn, tonight and she is still in need of much prayer. She is doing better and is on the road to recovery, but is still very ill. The following two pictures are from her surgery, so I am warning you now in case you are squeamish when it comes to those kinds of pics.

This picture shows one of two stones that they found in her appendix. They think that the dehydration from the flu caused her to develop these stones and then one of them perforated her appendix....OR they blocked it and the fluid built up and it burst. If you look closely, the stone is circled.
This is a shot of the underneath part of her uterus. Apparently, when her appendix burst, it fell down into her pelvic area. The white stuff is infection. They had to flush all of her belly out. They are waiting for her stomach to "wake up" now.

Here she is visiting with us. She is doing very well, for the amount of pain she is having. They are keeping her well medicated for that.

Everything is better when Grandma is there!

Keep praying

Wow, it's a new post!

2009-10-19T19:18:00.000-07:00

Hello All! It's been a long time! We've been busy, busy, busy up here in the north. I hope you are prepared to see lots of pictures because, well, you about to.

I will start off this post with a prayer request for our niece, Zadyn. She is very sick and had to have an appendectomy today. Her appendix is believed to have burst around Thursday. She is on the mend, but will be going through a long healing process. Please pray for her and her family, specifically that she will not pull any of the tubes out that are bothering her. She has a central line for meds and she is not too fond of it! She is 3 years old.

Next, I will tell you that I made my first round of cinnamon rolls ever. Have I told you this already? Man, I can't remember! I guess I could look back, but I won't. :) These rolls turned out surprisingly well.

We even let the kids get up and eat a little bit before they went to sleep. How mean to make them smell them baking and then not letting them taste!

Fast forward to about a week or two ago.....after 3 years, yes...3 YEARS....I finally got the windowsill painted! When we painted our house a few years ago, we left the air conditioners in so that we wouldn't get too hot. WELL, my thought was that I would paint where the air conditioner was after we took them out for the winter.

That so did NOT happen!

So, 3 years later my husband brings in the paint and says, "Look what I found!"

Well, to make a long story short, the windowsill is finally painted. :)

Ok, what's next?

Oh yes, last Thursday was had our Youth Pastor and his family over for dessert and games. We had fun talking smack to one another while we played some game that I don't even know the name to. In the end, the men were victorious (whatever) :P.

The kids were thrilled to get a chance to hold the newest addition to our youth pastor's family. He's so precious.

Pastor Brian ran in his first marathon on Saturday. Because of the early wake up and drive time, we kept the kids for them Friday night. We had a ball with them! We are so going to miss having them around.

On Saturday night, we went to the annual hayride for church. This is by far my favorite activity of the year.

After helping with the clean-up, a few of us to a nighttime hayride. We had one whole wagon for couples only...and Barb. :) Her husband was driving, so we allowed her on our wagon ;).

Finally, last night we sent our youth pastor and his family off to their next ministry with a big fellowship after church. I can't even describe how hard it was to watch them pull out of the parking lot this afternoon. So much harder than I ever anticipated. The Lord is good though, and we know that whatever He has in store will be so much better than anything we could ever imagine. We love them so much and will miss them greatly. If you could pray for our church and our pastor as we begin our search for the new man that God has for us.

Pastor Brian and Ethan

Here, Pastor Brian talks to my nephew about continuing the use his talents for the Lord. My nephew has a definite gift of piano playing. Pastor Brian's wife was his teacher for the last several years.

Ethan getting a chance to hold the baby. He wasn't home when they came over and he wasn't about to miss out on holding him. :)I put this one in here for Aunt Mary. I know that she would like to see a picture of Ginger. Ginger is our secretary at church.

Our two families, one more time. They are so special to us. We have enjoyed them so, so much. We look forward to stopping by to see them when we travel south to see my family. They just happen to be right on the way!

My parents, with Pastor Brian.

This picture totally cracks me up! She couldn't stop blinking with the flash, so she just held her eyes open~ so funny!

So, that's our past few weeks in a nutshell. We've been through a myriad of emotions, but we know that in the end, God's will will be accomplished in it all.

Sarah's Birthday

2009-09-15T18:29:00.000-07:00

I don't have much to write tonight, but I wanted to share some pictures of Sarah's birthday. She was 9 on September 11th. We celebrated on Friday with banana splits at home and then at Piz.za Hut on Saturday with family.

I can't believe how big my girl is getting!

Oh, these pictures are in reverse order because I forgot that Blogger does that for some reason. So you can start at the bottom and work your way up if you want! :)

The Last First Tooth

2009-09-09T20:16:00.000-07:00

Ben lost the last first tooth of our little family on Sunday. He tried so hard to keep them all in because, well, he's my baby.

I was a little sad for me and very happy for him. He' s growing up on me.

I tried my hand at sourdough cinnamon rolls tonight.

Guess what? They turned out great! I even let the kids get up and try one. It was 10:30pm, but we don't do things like that on a normal basis, so they were thrilled to be able to come down and eat a half of a cinnamon roll with us. I mean, how could I make them smell that wonderful smell and then not let them have a little? I'm not that mean. :)

(this is a before picture)

Well, this one is short and sweet and to the point, but I have had a busy few days and I am going to bed! Good night :)

A Few Changes...

2009-08-25T13:20:00.001-07:00

Change.
There are so many different views of that word. Some people love it, some people hate it. It's your choice.
It can be good, it can be bad. It's your choice.
No matter how you choose to view it, it will always be there. So why not choose to embrace it, go with it, be thankful for it?

The first change that we have experienced over the last two weeks is the change we made in the kids' schooling. We have decided that it would be a great change in our family's life to put our kids in the Academy at our church. We are very thankful for the option to do that. I work there so it has given me the opportunity to be very involved in their education, acedemically and spiritually.

Obviously, this was a welcome change...one that we have looked forward to for over a year now. The Lord is good.

The next big change in our lives is that our youth pastor and his wife have felt the call to move on from our church after 5 years of service. They are nothing but a huge blessing and the whole church will miss them terribly. How thankful we are that they are willing to go where the Lord wants them. What a privilege to be able to help them, as a church, through this exciting yet emotional time. Many tears were shed when they read their resignation letter and many more will be when they do leave. We are so blessed to belong to a church that bears one anothers burdens, prays faithfully for each other, and loves one another in Christ. We are losing 4, well almost 5, beautiful "family" members soon. How thankful we are for the friendship that we have been able to develop with them. We won't be saying "goodbye", but "see ya later".

We wanted to have them over one more time for pizza and games, so we made that happen on Sunday. We had so much fun laughing with (or maybe it was at) each other! :)

Our teens love Pastor Brian, I think you can understand why....

We had fun teaching them how to play Garbage.

I love this kid! I had so much fun watching him while his mommy gave piano lessons every Tuesday. He's a hoot and a half!

We are going to miss Rebekah's piano playing on Sunday mornings. To say she is a wonderful player would be an understatement.

We are so thankful for the memories that we have been able to make with this family. They will always be precious to us. I mean, how could you not love that? :D

The Best Deal in My 34 Years!

2009-08-14T06:14:00.000-07:00

School will be starting for us on Monday, so this has been one busy week for us, er, me. My husband ALWAYS has busy weeks. I am fortunate enough to not have to have busy weeks all the time. What a blessing! :)

Anyway, I have been putting off getting my shoes for work (school) all summer. I knew that I needed some, but I just put it off. Mostly because I am too cheap to spend too much money on, well, ANYTHING!

Well, I decided last night was the night to go and accomplish this task. After all, I did have a $10.00 coupon from Pen.ney's, so I HAD to use it and thought I might as well use it on my shoes. I made my way to the clearance rack (of course) and found some cute, black, somewhat flat shoes. They had just enough heel to not be totally flat, but not so much that my toes are going to hate me by the end of the day. :) I looked at the price and they had been marked down from $50 to $9.97...great deal!
I looked around some more, and they had another pair in brown. I decided that I would get those, too. My total for both pairs would be about $10, after my coupon. I could handle that. :)
So I went to check out and the sales clerk rang up the first pair....$5.88! I asked, "Is that right?" To which she replied, "Um, yep. Great deal, huh?" My total was $12.10!
So after my coupon, I paid.....drum roll please......$2.10 for two pairs of shoes!!! That's 2 dollars and 10 cents!! Can you believe that?
I was so thankful for that because, truthfully, with school tuition and a possible India trip in my future (oh yeah, have I told you about that yet?), any amount of money that we don't have to spend is a blessing! :)

Hope everyone's back-to-school days are going well!

Fun Stuff for Today

2009-07-30T06:41:00.000-07:00

I thought that I would start with a view of my house at a quarter til ten this morning....

Ah, the quiet....so nice :)

Now on to bigger and much more important business! ;)

Who reading this blog thinks that my husband needs to PITCH these nasty socks?

I mean, really, can we not buy the man some new ones? We DID just pay the first months tuition for our kids to go to the Christian school, but seriously...I'm thinking we could swing a new pair.

And do you know what else? I actually found these in the dirty clothes this morning! When I took this picture last night, I said that these needed to be trashed...he said "why?"

Funny man.

They have gone to a much better place. Which could be considered a very true statement by the way his feet smell sometimes! :) I love you, honey :)

Just for fun, we took a picture of the massive hamburger bun that we found on Sunday. That made for one yummy double cheeseburger....of which my husband ate before I could take a picture of it!

Actually, we forgot to take a picture of it. :)

I hope to get pictures from our camping trip up this afternoon. We had a ball, even though we were minus a couple of guys.

We're off to ride bikes and enjoy the great outdoors. It's a beautiful day!

Have a wonderful afternoon!

Wordless Wednesday - Well... Just Fun!

2009-07-29T06:55:00.000-07:00

Scents

2009-07-25T20:17:00.000-07:00

What scents make you remember days gone by? Certain people in your life? Places you've been?

For example, I used to love Sun-Ripened Raspberry lotion from Bath & Body...until I became pregnant with Ethan. Now, every time I smell it, it reminds me of morning sickness. Blah.

Whenever I get on our church bus, the smell reminds me of going to camp.

Whenever I walk into my oldest sister's house, I can still smell the same scent that it had when our "adopted" grandparents lived there. (It a good one, by the way) :)

As I was looking through my dresser tonight to find a t-shirt to sleep in, I came across the shirt that my Aunt gave me while we were in Alabama a few weeks ago. I had mentioned to her that I ran in her honor at The Relay for Life this year, so she went and got me one of her survivor shirts to bring home with me. I pulled it out and instantly smelled the detergent that she uses and it took me right back to Alabama. I love that smell because it reminds me of her.

Thankfully, she is a breast cancer/leukemia survivor. The Lord isn't through with her yet! We love her so much and always look forward to seeing her and Uncle Frank each year.

We just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on July 11th. We all drove down and surprised her and my uncle with a big party.

They had no clue we were coming. It was great! I have a video, but I don't have it uploaded. I need to do that.

Anyway, for the occasion, we all went together and got them a laptop so that they could keep up with all of us up north. So if you're reading this Aunt Mary, I am going to start blogging more, so that you can watch our day to day lives from your kitchen table! Be ready, because I have a lot of cantching up to do!

technology...it can be a blessing. :)

My Aunt Mary

Most of the family

My mom and her sister
Happy 50th!

What's on Your Phone, 2nd Addition

2009-07-07T15:30:00.000-07:00

I had Eric clean my phone off again. It's been a LONG time since I had him do that, as the twenty-some pics that follow will tell!

First up is a picture of the baby that I used to watch before I started working at the school. It was her first birthday.

These pictures are from our trip to Holiday World with Eric's family. They like to go every year.

I have no words for this one!
My precious family!

This is an old one. I thinks it's the first one that I took after I did the last "What's on Your Phone?"
Eric's flat tire...that I helped him change...yes, I did! ;)

This is Kate. I love Kate!

"Look at all the buttons! I want to push one, please?" This was taken in Eric's office at work. He has numerous servers in there that have something to do with what he does all day...whatever that might be. :)

This was a cake that I thought was so cool.

Being reminded of God's promises
Hey, that's me! :)

Yet another first birthday party. This little sweetie is getting cleaned up.

Baby Evan We went to our friends house one night for supper and to play some games. The kids didn't quite make it the whole evening.

J-man found my glasses!

The cupcakes that I made for Ben's birthday this year.

Playing Hand and Foot with our friends. We were trying to see who could get a picture first.

"Hello?"

This was a little gas station that we had to stop at when we only had 10 miles of gas left and knew we were not going to make it to the next big town. It came right out of Mayberry! The kids were in awe over the dials on the gas pumps and how fast they were spinning! (funny)

Well, that's all there is. I know you are so impressed with my picture taking abilities! We have had lots going on here, I just haven't blogged about much of it.

I will be back a little sooner next time to tell you all about a little trip I may be taking.

Take Care,

Welcome Baby Evan

2009-06-01T12:18:00.000-07:00

A few minutes old

Getting his hair washed
Poochie Lip

Proud Daddy

I'm pretty sure he said I was his favorite ;)

What a sweet little blessing.

Today's the day

2009-06-01T04:48:00.000-07:00

I will be an Aunt for the 11th time today. We are at the hospital awaiting the arrival of Evan Lewis. My sister is getting prepped as I type this and my brother-in-law is pacing the floor, waiting to be called back for the birth.

We are so excited to have a new addition to the family!

My parents with my sister

One last picture!

Sisters

The whole bunch

Allow me to introduce you....

2009-05-27T13:43:00.000-07:00

...to the bottom of my clothes hamper.

I haven't seen this long, lost friend for some time now.

It was a sweet reunion ;)

Why I can't seem to blog as much

2009-05-26T19:28:00.000-07:00

My life over the last few days, in pictures...

School trip to the amusement park with HBA. The guy in the back with the red shirt is our pastor. Our church is very blessed to have him.

Car wash for the teens so that they could earn money towards camp. 4 hours....90 cars....tired people, including me!

This is Ethan's first year in the youth group.

I'm getting old. end of story.

Our fearless leader...Superman, I mean Pastor Brian. :) He has lost 40 lbs this year---You go PB! He's running a mini next Saturday. He inspires me.
The cake that I made for an exchange student that lived with a family in our church and went to the Academy. She came to America lost, and is leaving America a child of God. How absolutely exciting. If you could add her to your prayer list, she would appreciate it. She is returning to an unsaved family.

The verse around the cake is Philippians 1:6 - Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.

I pray that she will remember that as she returns home. Here she is helping out at the car wash.

Today was opening day for our new pool. The kids had a ball. Personally, I thought the water was too cold, but it was in the 80's outside.

Our fish has found her home, once more!

Welcome summer!

Ice-pops....and trials?

2009-05-19T12:38:00.000-07:00

My freezer has been overtaken for the summer. The ice-pops have taken up residence there, and they won't be departing any time soon. I am actually so happy about it, because that means I won't be freezing every time I go outside! Plus, you can't get much easier when it come to the kids wanting a snack. That reason alone makes me smile. :)

We are quickly approaching the end of school. I can't believe that we will have a 2nd, 3rd, and 7th grader next year. We have been so blessed this year.

We have also had our share of trials, but we have chosen to look for the good in those. That doesn't make it any more fun to go through them, but when trusting that they are there for your good and for your growth, they become blessings in disguise. Our God is so good and loving!

Think about it. Even though we have to discipline our children...and it's not very fun, for either side, isn't it only for their good? We do it because we love them and want the best for them.

Ultimately, THEY choose how to respond to that.

It's the same for us. We choose how to respond to trials.

I'm not really sure how I got from ice-pops to trials, but I did. :)

Our summer is getting full fast. I am excited to be home with the kids and to get out there and play. We spent so much time outside last summer and it was one that we will always remember. We are hoping to make this one just as memorable!

I am still contemplating whether or not I want to run in a half-marathon this summer. You all can weigh-in on that one, if you want!! :)

What are you doing this summer?

PS. I almost forgot to tell you that my team actually won 1st place in the church bowling league! Have I mentioned our name? Well, it's The Gutter Dusters....

Yeah, I know.

Somehow, we pulled it off. It was a fun accomplishment!

Plum Tuckered Out

2009-04-18T17:34:00.000-07:00

The day was just too much for him. This was taken at about 7:45pm. I'm thinking I've had a few nights like this myself!

Surprise...look who came to see me today

2009-04-16T17:42:00.000-07:00

MY BABY GIRL!

This is now...

This was then...
It totally made my day!

Look....My Toes!

2009-04-16T13:49:00.000-07:00

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Darlene, I am the owner of this blog. Had I not been meeting myself coming and going over the last few weeks, I would have been back sooner.

I would now LOVE to introduce you to my freshly painted toes!! Yes, I am finally wearing flip-flops and my toes have come out of the deep freeze that they have been in for the last several months.

We have been super busy around these parts. Sarah had a drawing that was entered in the local art show. We were very proud of her, as she is pretty much our only hope for an artist in our family! ;)

Benjamin turned 7 on April 2nd. I can't believe that my baby boy is 7 years old. We celebrated with family and friends and a trip to CECheese.

Ben also made it in the 1st grade spelling bee at his school. He came in 2nd place and spelled 58 words. They had to move on to the 2nd grade words and he missed the word "through". I'm thinking that's a pretty tough word for a first grader! We were so proud of him.

Last weekend, we had an Easter egg hunt at our church. We had over 160 people attend, many of them visitor. Pastor Brian was able to present the Gospel to them all. This is a fun outreach for our church.

After the Easter egg hunt, we traveled out to Eric's parents house to celebrate Easter with them. I am very proud to say that I am still a kid at heart....as you can see by the next picture...

(yes, I am aware that the white socks and brown shoes are a total fashion no-no...sorry. I'm just thrilled that my rear end fits on that seat!) :)

This was one of the sweetest pictures that I took that day. This is my niece and Eric's grandpa. He is 92 years old. 90 years separate them. She will love this picture some day.

We had a few extra kids the night before Easter. Some of our dear friends have crazy work schedules and needed a place for their boys to stay. Their mommy was able to meet us at church Sunday morning. It was fun to see all of the boys in their Easter suits!

We had fun coloring eggs on Saturday night. One of the boys said, "I thought that this was going to be boring, but it's fun!"

Sunday we went to the Sunrise Service and Breakfast at church and then our regular services. After that, we drove an hour to my sister's house and had lunch with them and my parents. I love this picture of Ben.

Here is my very pregnant sister and my newest nephew. She has 50 days left. I got to see him moving around...I had forgotten what that felt like. So cool.

On your mark, get set, GO!

What you can't see in this picture is that Ethan's shirt is hanging out from under his jacket and Ben has something all down the front of his pants. Other than that, they clean up pretty well!

Sunday night, we went back to church. We love our church and love being there. Anyway, during our short choir practice, Eric watched our youth pastor's little boy. He found out a way to keep him happy....CHOCOLATE!! If you look closely, you can see the remnants of some m.&m.'s!!

"Need a lift?" :)

So, Tasha, there you go. An update on us. I appreciate that I still have 18 followers. I hope you all had a wonderful Easter!

Love,

Spring Cleaning

2009-03-24T18:46:00.000-07:00

These are not two of my favorite words. I really don't like to clean. I love the results, I just don't like getting to them!

I am about to confess to you something that I am SO embarrassed about. I didn't even know that I could tilt my top windows in and clean them! I have lived here for almost 9 years and never knew that! Nobody ever showed me how to work those things, so I just thought that only the bottom ones would tilt in. Needless to say, my windows will be much cleaner in the future!

I know, it's terrible.

Anyway, I decided to get some cleaning done today and I came to a wonderful conclusion...my children are FINALLY old enough to help me and I don't have to redo what they did because they can actually do good work. It's an amazing thing! We had a pretty good time doing it, too. They can last about one hour and that is what it took to get our front room done. We have the middle room and kitchen to go. After that, well, I will probably have to do it myself. sigh.

On a different note, I ran 2 1/2 miles outside for the first time this season, and I forgot how tough it is to run against the wind. I will feel it in the morning...I am already feeling it in my calves. Ouch.

Speaking of ouch, I was doing dishes yesterday and broke a glass that I was cleaning out. I cut my hand and do you know that it would not stop bleeding? It bled for a long time, but we decided that it didn't need stitches (thankfully) and I was NOT going to let my husband super- glue it, thank you very much!

We decided that we would feel better if someone else looked at it, but my mom and dad were out of town.

So, who do you call when you need your mom and she's gone?

The church secretary, of course! She's known me forever and can do just about anything. She was more than happy to come over and take a look. She fixed me up, bless her heart.

And you know what? She NEVER mentioned super-glue.

One to Remember

2009-03-23T13:47:00.000-07:00

This post is only so that in 10 years, when he is a teenager, Ben can be reminded of this:

At 4:45PM on March 23, 2009 - Ben asked if he could have a grilled cheese with his sausage, green beans, and potatoes. I replied "sure" and he responded with, "YOU'RE THE BEST MOM EVER!"

I'm sure that there WILL come a time when he won't feel so sure about that...in fact, it may come as soon as tomorrow! :) At least I will know that at some point in his life he felt that I was the best mom ever.

So Much to Say

2009-03-17T17:53:00.000-07:00

For those of you that know me well, my title comes as no surprise. I am usually not at a loss for words. :)

I had a wonderful weekend at the Ladies Retreat that I attended with several of the ladies from my church. These are the weekends that we ladies get to let our hair down a little and be crazy.
For instance, my good friend Michelle would have left me stranded in the middle of the road had the opportunity arose.

It almost did. Twice.

We played a couple of games, and stayed up WAY too late. I had awesome roommates, some of my favorite people in my life.

The speaker was so, ummm, me. Very scattered, but in the end she brought it all together. I would elaborate, but I feel very inadequate when it comes to explaining notes. I know what I came away with and that is what is important.

One of the questions that she gave us to ask ourselves was, "Are my actions reflective of Christ?" We were also reminded that apart from Christ, we are nothing. NOTHING.
My favorite quote from the weekend was this: If our thinking is consumed with the things of this world and the way things play out in this life, then WE ARE MISSING THE POINT!
We are here for a specific purpose, to plant seeds.
There was so much more, but I won't go into it here.

I am already looking forward to the retreat in the fall. I'm sure it will be just as fun.

Here I am with one of my good friends. We keep each other from going insane, or at the very least we have decided that if we do get there, we will get there together! :)
Here is most of our group eating before the first session. We have some fun ladies in our church. For the record, that chicken on my plate right there...yeah, that's NOT white meat! (I don't care for dark meat...too slimy!)

Today has been a beautiful day! God has given us a little taste of Spring, and we took full advantage of it. I work in the yard for awhile and then we took the kids on a walk. Just to be outside was such a blessing!
Checking out the water

Look, no shoes!!

We welcome you, warm and sunny days!!

Fun is Predicted

2009-03-08T19:01:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that I haven't updated in over a week! Here's my excuse: Are you ready for it?

My camera is broken...or sick. It makes a terrible noise and then goes "beep, beep, beep" and shuts off. I can't figure it out. It kinda stinks.

A new camera is definitely NOT in the budget right now, so I will have to dig around for my old one and pray that it still works...if I can find it in the sea of plastic tubs that is our storage shed. Well, actually it's my parents shed that they have so graciously let us overtake. :) Thanks mom and dad!

I hope to find a camera that I can use this weekend when I go on a Ladies Retreat with the ladies from our church.

Speaking of that, I am looking forward to what the Lord has in store for me. I am also looking forward to the time with the ladies in our church that I don't get much time to chat with. Our church seems to be blessed with women that genuinely love one another and want to see each other grow in Christ. I am looking forward to a fun time with great friends. :)

It won't be exactly this group of ladies, but many of them will be going this weekend. This group stayed in a cabin at a camp last fall. This retreat will be held at a church and we will be staying in a hotel.

There may or may not be craziness and occasional bed jumping going on.

It really is hard to say. ;)

I'm just sayin'

A Milestone

2009-02-27T17:42:00.000-08:00

Ben, our youngest, is doing something tonight for the very first time. He is spending the night with our friends....without Ethan or Sarah. I actually can't remember a time that he spent the night anywhere except Grandma's and Grandpa's house, and he has never stayed by himself.

I have to say that there were just a few huge, monstrous, alligator tears but he wiped them away and put on a smile before they left.

I know that he is having a ball, but when they look at you with those great big eyes and say, "But I want to go with you, mommy", it melts your heart just a little.

I have since talk to my friend and she said that he is just fine. I knew he would be because he loves it there and he loves them!

In the meantime, our house is exploding with 6th grade boy energy and we are having so much fun. We spent the last two hours at the Y and I got my run in (whew). Ethan has two friends over and they are ready for a night of pizza, chips and the wii!

Hope you all have a great weekend!!

Allow me to introduce you....

2009-02-25T19:11:00.000-08:00

...to the worst picture of 2009, thus far! I don't know that I have ever been involved in a worse picture.
Well, there was one of me sleeping with my head back, mouth hanging open, and my laptop on my lap, but it mysteriously disappeared. Hmmmm.... ;)

Anyway, our church held it's annual Friendship Banquet last weekend and we had a great time being with friends and family. My parents and two sisters and their husbands were all there, so it was a unique night for us.

HOWEVER... this picture will probably go down as one of the most memorable moments. As you can see, only two of the six of us were even remotely ready for this shot. What am I doing? Oh yeah, moving the flowers... for apparently no reason at all! My husband is thinking, "NOW what is she doing?" and then we have the classic closed eyes look going on in the front.

Oh.my.word. All I can do is laugh because it is SO bad!

Here is a much more "picture perfect" table. This is my mom and dad, my two sisters (both in black) and their husbands, and my sister's pastor and his wife. Isn't it a lovely picture?

I obviously didn't inherit the "readiness" skills that my sisters did. Oh well... you win some, you lose some.

A friend of ours snapped this one on the way out the door. I am so glad that she did because it turned out to be such a good picture. In case you can't tell in this shot my sister, Michelle, is due to have a little boy in June. #5 -Can't wait!!

AND I have redeemed my picture readiness skills--yipee!! :)

On Sunday, Ethan received the ribbons that he earned at FABA on Friday. FABA means something about Fine Arts, and yeah...that's all I know about that!

Anyway, the 4th and 6th graders from our school competed in several categories and did very well. We were proud of all of them. Ethan competed in 4 areas; Piano Solo, Bible Knowledge (NT), Tone Chimes, and Spelling Bee. He received First place overall in his piano solo and in Bible knowledge and received an excellent rating in piano and superior in Bible knowledge. The whole group received First place in Tone Chimes and he came in 16th in the Spelling Bee. His dad and I were very pleased with how he did. His hard work over the last few weeks showed. Great Job, Buddy!

So that's life around these parts, as of late. We're doing better than we deserve and are so very thankful for it. Our God is good...all the time!

To the Parents of....

2009-02-23T13:45:00.000-08:00

When I picked the two little ones up from school today, I noticed that Ben was not his happy self. I waited a few minutes and then asked him if something was wrong. The look on his face was that of deep concern...as deep as a six year old gets anyway!

After a few seconds, he pulled an envelope out of his backpack that was addressed:

"To the Parents of Benjamin"

He was SO nervous that he was in some kind of trouble. It was kind of funny because I knew as soon as I saw the envelope that it was probably from the nurse who does the hearing tests.

The look on his face was priceless though! The poor kid was a mess!! I probably could have played that up a little bit, but I couldn't handle doing that to him. He handed me the envelope and just stared at me, waiting....

It was, in fact, a note from his hearing test saying that he has an infection in his right ear. I guess that means antibiotics, which was good news to Ben! I guess he will take medicine over being in trouble any day!

Seriously, does this look like the face of a trouble-maker? ;)

Has Anyone Seen My Multi-Tasking Mind?

2009-02-10T13:20:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, I concern myself.

For example, in the last three weeks I have ran the washer through a whole cycle with only one pair of socks in it, opened up the dryer and found that I ran in for 70 minutes...empty, and today I was starting the washer and put a dryer sheet in instead of detergent.

The fact that these are all laundry-related incidents proves nothing except that I do LOTS of laundry!

I think the bigger issue is that I am getting older, and apparently am losing my mind.
I have to say that the one that got me the most was the empty dryer. I walked back to check the back door before I went to get the kids from school and saw that the dryer still said 70 minutes. I thought to myself, "Hmmm, I must have forgotten to turn it on." I then proceeded to do so and then left.

The thought to LOOK in it never even crossed my mind.

When I got home with the kids, I went back to the laundry room to fold "the clothes". I opened the door and...

...empty. Seriously? (sigh)

I think I'm losing my multi-tasking edge. Are there vitamins for that? I am a mom of three, I have to have my multi-tasking mind in peak condition so that I can stay one step ahead of 'em!

Hope you have a happy evening. I'm off to fold the dishes, clean supper and cook the clothes..;)

It's Confession Time....

2009-02-02T13:45:00.000-08:00

I have not been a good steward of this body of mine as of late....ok, fine....as of the last 6 months.
And the laziness is starting to show itself. Maybe not so much outwardly, but I feel like junk on the inside.

Good grief, I think I might have even pulled a muscle putting my hair in this ponytail! I know you think I'm kidding....well, maybe I am..;)

What I'm not kidding about is that I took the kids sledding on Friday and I still have sore arms and a sore back. I was winded just running up the hill a few times.... Not a good thing for me.

SO-- I'm headed back to the Y tonight to start in on the running and working out again. What I will have to be careful of is trying to pick up where I left off 6 months ago. I will pay dearly for that mistake, so I will have to keep that in mind! I know this because I've been there before.

See, I'm learning from my past mistakes!!

I'll have to let all 2 of you know how it went when I get back. Cheer me on from your prospective states, if you would! Thanks!!

The Beauty of God's Mercy

2009-01-29T12:51:00.000-08:00

I will begin this post by saying that I do not understand all that the Bible says and I will probably never will. I don't post about serious things very often because I am just sure that I am not understanding something the way that it is really meant to be understood. However, last night at church our pastor used an illustration that was so clear and so beautiful that I have to share it here. I really don't know that I will be able to do it justice.

The lesson was on guarding our hearts against guilt. I could say so much, but I will limit it to this illustration that he used in his closing.

The verse used was Matthew 12:20 - A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgement unto victory. (KJV)

He talked about how a shepherd would go to the river to find a reed that he could whittle into a flute so that he could call his sheep and they would come to him. In the process of finding the perfect reed, he would come across reeds that were bent, or broken, and he would rip them up from the ground and throw them out of the way until he found just the right reed that he could use.

Then he told of how the flax (or wick) in a lantern would smoke up a tent or room when lit, if it was bad. People would take the wick and toss it out and replace it with a new one that would give off the light that it was meant to give.

He then told us how God grants mercy to the bruised reed and will take and guide it and nurture it until it grows up past the bent and broken parts and becomes a healthy reed again. After that he will whittle away the broken parts so that it can be used. The wick, God will trim and trim some more until it is able to give off the light that it was meant to give. He does not toss them away, he works with them so that they can be used, just as He does with us. He guides us, trims us, whittles away the "bent and broken" parts and then uses us for His glory.

We have been bruised, bent and broken. I think it's probably safe to say that we have all "smoked up" a room or two! The good news is that God's mercy is greater than any sin. We must make the choice as to whether or not we want to accept that mercy in our failures so that we may be used for His glory.

I am thankful for God's mercy.

Vote For My Ugly Mug!!

2009-01-25T17:43:00.000-08:00

The day has arrived for you to head over to 2nd Cup of Coffee and vote for my ugly mug! You can see it on my sidebar OR if you want to read my post about it, you can click here.

Thanks for taking the time to vote.... and for supporting my habit of massive coffee

consumption. :)

Photo Tag!!

2009-01-20T10:35:00.001-08:00

This is our youth pastor, Pastor Brian, getting ready to show off his "mad putt-putt skillz" at our annual Putt-Putt PGA activity that we do at church. (2007)

Here are the rules:
1) Go to where you store pictures.
2) Open the 4th folder.
3) Open the 4th picture.
4) Post that picture with NO EDITING AND NO CHEATING NO MATTER WHAT!
5) Tag others.

How fun!! Let me know if you're going to do this so I can come by and see your photo!

That Is One Ugly Mug!

2009-01-14T21:43:00.000-08:00

Linda, over at 2nd Cup of Coffee, is having a little contest. I thought, "Why not join in on the fun?" I just knew that I would find a use for the white elephant gift that we got at a Christmas party this year.

I guess I should first explain what a white elephant gift is. It is something in your home that you don't use or need anymore. For example, one person got a shoe box full of mismatched socks with holes in them. Another good one was a pair of Santa boxers that had "ho, ho, ho" written across the rear. One of the best ones was the one we got (of course). It was a box with a baggie full of pieces of a broken mug and a bottle of superglue.

Nice.

ANYWAY....my husband felt the need to glue that stinkin' thing together.

He apparently needs more to do! ;)

As you will see from the pictures, a few pieces were, um, not there. I wanted him to pitch it, but he would have nothing of that. Now I am glad that he didn't because it makes the perfect entry for this wonderful contest!! See for yourself:

Don't think for a minute that this bad boy won't be revisiting the white elephant Christmas party next year---Someone else is going to have the pleasure of owning it for a whole year! I just thought that if it was going to be hanging around MY house this year, it was going to have to serve some purpose. I am hoping that purpose is winning this contest for me! As the next picture portrays, it's not good for much of anything else:

If you would be so kind as to do me a favor and on January 26th go over to 2nd Cup and vote for my ugly mug. I would very much appreciate it!!

Ben's Baptism

2009-01-13T12:49:00.000-08:00

I am finally getting this posted! I have been waiting for the pictures. I think the batteries were dead in my camera, so I had to use someone else's and I now have the pictures from Ben's baptism.

Ben was baptised on Sunday, December 14,2008. He is the last of our three children to do so. What a thrill for us to see all three of our children confess to know Christ and be baptised!

What an awesome responsibility we have to teach and direct our kids in their christian lives, all the while making sure that we are doing what is right in our own.
One of the best things that we as bloggy friends can do is pray for one another as we seek to honor God in our lives, especially in the area of parenting. It's one of the hardest jobs that we have. It is also one of the most rewarding!

I love being a mom. I love being a mom that strives to please the Lord, even though I fail more than I succeed. I love being a mom that is forgiven and, in turn, is forgiving. I love being a mom who is learning and growing daily. Thank you, Lord for entrusting these three beautiful children to us. We have been truly blessed.

I know you can't see him, but he's in there somewhere!

Our pastor and Ben after the service.

Yet Another Blessing

2009-01-06T11:18:00.006-08:00

As I was making coffee at work this morning, I was thinking about how fortunate I am to be working in a place that I love, surrounded by people that I love. Not everyone can say that.

I certainly don't deserve it. The Lord has been very gracious to me.

I have been officially working at the Academy at our church for 2 two days now. I volunteered there last semester and was there a lot, so I have been able to enjoy this blessing for a few months already. There is nothing better than to be able to work in a godly environment. We have so much fun; we laugh, we joke, we go through enough coffee in one day to fill a bathtub.:) We also listen to one another, share praises, and discuss issues that we face, finding the answers that we need through biblical counsel...no, actually I think that's just me! :)ha.

The kids are great. It is fun to watch them learn not only the academics, but also the character qualities that are so beneficial in their spiritual lives.

I am so thankful for this opportunity.

Happy New Year

2009-01-01T21:01:00.000-08:00

So yeah, I am the biggest loser in bloggyville right now! I have just not had the time to dedicate to this blog lately...and I hate that. Ugh! I feel so bad about it. I have missed it, and you! :)

I was busy yesterday getting ready for guest that we had over for New Year's Eve. We had a ball with friends we know very well and some that we would love to know a little better. I hope that you all had a great New Year's, too.

My goal for 2009 is to be more attentive in all aspects of my life. I know that I can improve in so many areas.

What about you? What do you want to work on in 2009? Leave a comment for me. I would love to hear from you ALL!! I haven't heard from anyone for awhile!

The slideshow is from last night's party. Enjoy!

Merry Christmas, my bloggy friends!

2008-12-24T21:31:00.000-08:00

Have you ever wondered...

2008-12-24T06:58:00.000-08:00

...what would happen if you had to get something out of your vehicle that was parked in the street and it had been snowing, sleeting and raining that day and then someone drives by, through the slush, just a little too close to you?

You would probably look something like this:

I could only laugh...because really, what else could I do? I think I am wiping the slush off of my face in this shot. :) Fun times.

Merry Christmas!

ee

It'll be here and gone before we know it

2008-12-22T20:48:00.000-08:00

*I'm not sure what's up with blogger, but the pictures didn't line up right at all.
Sorry... just pretend that everything looks like I knew what I was doing! *

I am going to write this post in reverse. I am going to start with today and work back to Friday.

Why?

Well, I'll tell you.

I don't want to rearrange my pictures, that's why. :)

Anyway, today has been a fun day. Tonight we had some friends over for pizza and games. I didn't take any pictures though. Which brings me to this: I FOUND MY CAMERA!! Yea!!
But still, no pictures from tonight...

This afternoon we gave O her Christmas gifts. She had fun trying to eat the wrapping paper and my kids had fun unwrapping her presents for her! We are going to miss that little booger.

Ethan still had school today and he was supposed to go tomorrow too, but due to a little plumbing issue at the church, he is officially done until January. The kids were terribly upset....yeah, right!

Yesterday was a big day at church. Last night we had Family Night and all three of the kids played the piano. Sarah and I sang a duet. I originally said I would sing with her so she wouldn't get scared. Um, she was SO not scared. Actually, I was probably more nervous than she was. No, I was definitely more nervous, especially when I figured out that we forgot our music. We made it through without it though. Whew!

I thought that I had all three kids' pictures on here, but I didn't get Ethan's. It looks just like the other two... but with Ethan at the piano. :)

In the morning service, the choir and a cast performed "The Richest Family in Town", a cantata by Garlock & Hamilton. Ethan played the part of Sammy in the play. We were very proud of him, as he had to memorize many lines. I sang in the choir, and Ben and Sarah sang in the children's choir. We have a very active church and we love being a part of it.

We also got to spend the afternoon and evening with some very dear friends. It was so fun to be able to just be together, go back to church, and then join together again for a few more hours. What a blessing to have such times to make fun memories.

Again.... no pictures from that. Sorry. I am giving my friends a break from the flash. It's tough to be friends with a Blogger/Facebooker!

On Saturday, we had a super long, wonderful practice at church for the cantata. We had a good time of singing, and fellowship with one another. I love my church family.

After practice, I went to some friends' house to help them paint. They have accepted a pastorate about 40 minutes from here and will be moving here for good in a few short weeks. Right now, they are driving 4 hours one way every weekend to be here on Sundays. I pray for their safety as they travel. We have grown to love them and are excited that they will be closer.

On Friday, we woke up to no power. That continued for about 6 hours and everything was covered in ice. We made it until about 9 without coffee and then we decided that we were going on a coffee hunt. Eric found one gas station with power, but it's coffee maker was broken...ouch.

He stopped by and picked us up and we head off to the other side of town in a desperate search for some caffeine. We found one more station with power...

...and COFFEE!! Score!!

We got four cups (large ones) of coffee and headed off to our pastor's house. We knew they would be needing the coffee! We ended up spending a good part of the day there. Eric, Pastor, and the two older boys spent most of that time cutting up a tree that fell on their garage roof. Michelle and I found that the best place to be was right next to the fireplace, amen?

No electricity equals no furnace...

How beautiful are those pictures?

The Lord's work IS amazing.

I hope you all have a merry Christmas!

Tis The Season

2008-12-17T03:46:00.000-08:00

Well, I've lost my camera once again and I can't post pictures of my ornament that I received from Brittany for the Siesta Ornament Exchange. I have been looking everywhere for it. Sigh.

I feel like I have failed terribly at this blogging thing lately. Honestly, I have been spending any extra time on Facebook and I have been updating things there.

I will be back as soon as I can find my camera, wrap presents....well, in some cases I actually still need to BUY the presents, help with a few class parties, make a few goodies, go to a couple of concerts, sing in a Cantata and help my oldest get his lines down for the play that is included in that. Somewhere in there I am taking care of children, cleaning my house, and doing laundry. :)

I have been blessed with much. I am busy, but I am thankful for it. Have a great Wednesday!

Have I ever mentioned...

2008-12-09T17:53:00.000-08:00

that I can play a mean E# and F on the tone chimes? (at least I think that's what I played!)

No?

I don't know how I let that slip by. ;)

Anyway, I have really enjoyed getting to play in the tone chime choir at church. I would try to explain it to you, but I think you might get more from just watching it. All of the red sweaters blend together, but I am the 4th one in from the left. :)

"Lead Me To Calvary"

Please Pray

2008-12-09T13:51:00.000-08:00

**Update**
Prayers have been answered! Please keep praying, as there is much to figure out for them.
God is good, all the time.

This is an urgent prayer request for a missionary family that our church supports. Please pray for the Judd family as they are facing a very, very difficult trial right now. I am not able to give any details, please just pray for them.

Thank you.

Sweetness Under The Tree...

2008-12-06T15:27:00.000-08:00

I came home the other day and found the cutest little baby girl under my tree, batting at Jiminy. She was just giggling and smiling, so I thought I would share the cuteness with you!

Friday was a hard day for me, as I had to tell baby girl's mommy that I would not be able to watch her after December.
I have been blessed with a new job at the school at our church that I am very excited about. I have been volunteering there all year and will be an official staff member starting in January. Although I feel that this is the right move for us, I will miss baby girl very much.

It's an award....and some other stuff

2008-12-01T19:21:00.000-08:00

One of my real-life friends gave me an award, but I didn't know it! She is fairly new to blogging, so hop on over and give her a "Hey, what's up?" :) Thank you, Michelle!

As part of this award, I guess I am supposed to answer a few questions:

Answer the following questions with single word responses. (or, if you're like me, answer them with as many words as you want!)

1. Where is your cell phone? pocket
2. Where is your significant other? recliner
3. Your hair color? blond
4. Your mother? -home
5. Your father? home
6. Your favorite thing? laptop (surprised? Didn't think so!)
7. Your dream last night? none
8. Your dream/goal? debtless (is that a word?)
9. The room you’re in? living room
10. Your hobby? blogging (hello??) Facebook is up there, too. (Please refrain from telling me how completely sad that is...)
11. Your fear? Hmmm.... writing my fear on the www?? :)
12. Where do you want to be in six years? You know what I just thought of? I will have a 17 year old in six years. SCARY.
13. Where were you last night? parents
14. What you’re not? confident (shocking, isn't it?)
15. One of your wish list items? Life Application Bible
16. Where you grew up? Indiana
17. The last thing you did? read to the kids (Boxcar Children)
18. What are you wearing? pj's
19. Your T.V.? football
20. Your pet? sleeping
21. Your computer? on (duh)
22. Your mood? good
23. Missing someone? yep
24. Your car? Villager
25. Something you’re not wearing? necklace
26. Favorite store? Cato
27. Your Summer? great
28. Love someone? yep
29. Your favorite color? purple (dark, not light)
30. When is the last time you laughed? today
31. Last time you cried? today (and no, not because hunting season is over! ;))

I love every single blog that I read...um, that's why I read it! I think I am going to pass this award along to my San Antonio roomies; Fran, Jenny, Steph and Teri. I miss you all. I think of every single one of you daily...and I finally got my "pray" ring! Can you believe it was discontinued? My friend that I ordered them from searched high and low to find one for me. Bless her heart, she's a great friend!

I got to see a friend of mine last night that I have not seen in (gulp) 20 YEARS! Did you hear that? 20 Y-E-A-R-S!! Seriously, am I old enough to not see somebody for 20 years?

Just in case you didn't catch that....20 years. sigh. double sigh.

Anyway, I will post about that after I snag the picture from my mom's camera. We took the picture around midnight, so I'm sure it's wonderful.

Have a beautiful Tuesday.

Christmas Photo Shoot 2008

2008-11-30T05:48:00.000-08:00

We, and by we I mean I, decided to take our Christmas card picture last night.

Can I tell you all something?

I live with a bunch of goofballs. For example, as we were walking into the store Friday, I noticed Ben's baseball hat was on crooked. I took it off of his head to fix it and his harmonica fell out....out from under his hat. He had on jeans...with pockets....but his hat seemed a much more logical location to store it.

Anyway, we did finally get a good picture, but it took several takes! I didn't include the good one because it will be on our card.

We're singing....we're reading a book and we're sssiiinnngggiiinnnggg!!

2008-11-29T20:04:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I'm posting this, so I am going to do this quick, before I change my mind!

Thanksgiving 2008 - Pass the Turkey, Please

2008-11-27T18:14:00.000-08:00

Gobble, Gobble

2008-11-26T13:05:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

I pray that you will all have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day with your family and friends this year. We are going to go to my parents house tomorrow and then to Eric's parents on Sunday for lunch. We always look forward to the day with family. In the busy-ness of our lives, we don't get to spend a whole lot of time together.

Ben had a feast at school today. His class dressed up as Indians. I thought he was a pretty cute one. :)

On Monday, I did make it through the trip to the deer processing plant. I actually had fun...and they let me use a knife...a sharp one! ha!

I was going to post some pictures, but decided against it.

Your Welcome.

Here is the group picture that we took at the end. These kids did a great job and never complained one time about the job that they were doing. I have really grown to love these kids.
Here we are sportin' our new hats that the plant gave us!

By the way, I will not be posting Turkey Trot pictures this year... I'M SLEEPING IN!!

Fun Times With Friends

2008-11-23T16:54:00.000-08:00

We love spending time with friends. The Lord has blessed us with some great ones. One of the things that brings us together is the fact that our kids are all around the same ages. They all seem to get along pretty well, too. Another bonus is that we all go to church together and because of that, we are pretty much family.

Last night, we were able to get together with some friends to play hand & foot. (Gretchen and I beat up on the guys pretty badly! heehee)
While we played cards, the kids played a game called "Bible Baseball" and Clay said something that was so cute. He's in 4th grade and is just one of the cutest kids. It was his turn to answer the question and he said, "Oh man, I just can't put my tongue on it!" It was so funny! He meant to say that it was right on the tip on his tongue and he got it mixed up with I can't put my finger on it! Cute, cute, cute!

Anyway, I decided that I have been a little lax on picture taking lately, so I took the camera along with me.

Here are a few snapshots from the night:

This is a silly one...a perfect fit for this crew. We were missing a couple of boys from another family that couldn't join us. We almost went over a kidnapped them for the evening! We missed having them all there with us.

Ethan and Clay, playing some football!!

Clint was begging me not to take his picture... I won though.

Wyatt and Ben are in the same class at school. They love their teacher and she thinks they are pretty okay. She is a Christian, but can't really teach anything to the kids about it in the public school, so she lets these two goofballs teach the kids a new song every week from church. There's nothing in the rulebook about that!

Well, that is pretty much how our Saturday went. I hope you all had a good one, too!

Ok, I'm finally gonna break out the Christmas music

2008-11-22T13:09:00.001-08:00

It's a cold day in Indiana. Actually, it has been a cold WEEK here. Have I mentioned that I don't much care for the cold?

Well, I don't.

Anyway, we have decided to break out the Christmas music and DVD's today. Our kids have been begging for awhile now, so we have finally given in to them. One of the things we did this year to save some money was to get rid of our big cable package and go to the very, very basic. I don't really watch it much, so it hasn't bothered me at all. So, I am sure that because of the lack of stuff to watch on TV, I will be hearing these Christmas DVD's over and over this season!

As far as Christmas music goes, I have been listening to our Cantata that the choir is doing for a month or so now. It never hurts to listen to that as much as possible! Ethan has a speaking part in it this year also, so he has been listening, too. I am anxious to listen to some of my favorites that I dug out today...

Up in the attic, down on my knees, lifetimes of boxes, timeless to me...
(sing along now)
Letters and photographs, yellowed with years....

Not to mention Sleigh Ride and The Chipmunk Song, Away in a Manger, Silent Night, What Child is This, there are so many that I love. What about you?

In other news, Ben did get his cast off on Wednesday. His foot is still not totally healed, so he has to wear his new boots all the time for the next three weeks.

Oh, and he can't run or jump for three weeks either....yeah, that won't be hard to handle! He's a six year old little boy! I almost wish that they would have put another cast on! That would have been easier. :)

On Monday, I get to go to the deer processing plant with the high school kids from Ethan's school.

This could be interesting.

I make it a point to not look at the meat in the grocery store a whole lot, so I think I am in for a interesting morning.

How do I get myself into these predicaments? Maybe I will post a video or some pictures next week.... :)Kidding.

Just because I'm going to be grossed out doesn't mean you all have to be, too...I guess.

I will leave you with this...

I'm singing, I'm in the store and I'm ssssiiinnngggiiinnggg.....:)

A Day In My Life

2008-11-17T15:11:00.000-08:00

I have seen several people do this on their blog, so I decided to bore you with the mundaneness (is that a word) of a day in my life...in this season.

Do enjoy. :)

I will start with saying that we typically start our day at 7am. Some days it's 7:20~ those would be considered the "others" days in my blog heading, "Some days are better than others." Sometimes I wake up before everyone else~ those days would be the "better" days in my heading. :) They are few and far between! Like I also say in my heading... every day is a blessing. I truly do believe that.

This morning I:
Feed the kids breakfast
Cassidy came in the door
Loaded my three kids in the van that had a light dusting of snow. Snow...I'll save that for another day.
Picked up 3 boys
Dropped off 2 of the boys and my 2 youngest at school
Took the other boy and my oldest to school at our church

GOT COFFEE :)

Eric brought the baby to me at the church
Worked 4 hours at the school in our church
Gleaned some bits of wisdom from our pastor for about thirty minutes
Came home so that Eric could get back to work after his lunch break.
Cassidy and Olivia were sleeping
Washed dishes
Did 2 loads of laundry
Got the kids up and went to pick up my kids from school.
Cassidy went home
Cleaned out the pantry
Did 2 more loads of laundry. Olivia spit up on Ethan ten minutes after the LAST load went in. Perfect.
Made brownies for Bible study tonight
Made supper (tacos)
Olivia went home
Did dishes
Apparently, we have installed new cabinets in the bathroom.
Actually, they have always been there, but you wouldn't know by the way that I smacked my head on them when I stood up from picking something up off of the floor.
Take Ibuprofen
Cut out Bo.x Top.s.
~~~Now I am writing on my blog and...
going to Bible study
Next I will ...
do my quiet time (I spent most of my day looking for my book! Found it!)
have some down time
Finally...

bedtime :)

So, there you go. That was my Monday. It is Monday, right? ;)

This Boot Was Made For Walkin'

2008-11-14T19:33:00.000-08:00

Whoever came up with the clever boot that fits over a cast so that someone can walk and not have to use crutches must not have had a six year old little boy in mind when developing the idea. I can safely say this after a month of watching Ben get around in this thing.

It took him approximately one half of a day to figure out that yes, you can indeed run in a cast and boot... and I don't mean a slow jog. I'm talking full-out, first grade, little boy running!

Here is Ben's cast now, almost four weeks after being put on...(notice the chunks of blue cast that are missing)
This was four weeks ago... look at those sweet, little, clean toes.

Oh and the boot. This poor thing has been through it! Can you see where my husband had to sew it together? One month of wear and tear.

One. month.

We go back to the doctor on Wednesday. I am really hoping that the cast will be gone after that. I have to go find a good pair of hard-soled hiking boots to take with us. Doctor's orders.

Any suggestions?

Do You See the Smoke? Yep, I've Been Thinkin'

2008-11-11T19:47:00.000-08:00

This was going to be a Wordless Wednesday post because I have been a little short on words lately. Those of you who are around me daily probably don't believe that, but it's true. Unfortunately, I don't even have a picture that is worthy of a Wordless Wednesday. I have allowed myself to be way too busy and now I am paying the price. My creativity is shot, my humor is shot.

I have done lots of thinking. I read a blog this afternoon and it really got me thinking about whether or not I am allowing God to use me to my fullest potential. Does the Holy Spirit have TOTAL control of me? Am I fulfilling my purpose in this life?

I have a small frame on a shelf above my kitchen sink. In it is this:

In case you can't read it, this is what it says: I am here, at this moment, by Divine design, on temporary assignment, to accomplish God's sovereign purpose, by God's redemptive/sustaining grace, for God's eternal glory.

(To Glorify God by Dr. Nell Collins)

It's just consumed my thoughts lately. What's your take on this statement? You can just think on it or you can leave me a comment about it, whatever you prefer! :)

I decided that since I had the camera out, I would show you what is on the other shelves above my sink.

So fun!

Here are two of my favorite pictures of my boys. Ben is in the Tig.ger frame and Ethan in the Po.oh frame. I think Ben was 6 weeks old and Ethan was 2 in these pictures. I love my boys!

On this shelf is a picture of us with some of our best friends. I have been blessed with some of the best "best friends" in my life that a girl could ask for. They all hold a very special place in my heart.

This one is Sarah at 6 weeks old. This girl would not wake up for these pictures! At the time, I was not too happy, but now I love it. It is one of the most precious pictures of her that I have. I love you, my girly-girl! (Actually, girly-girl is pushing it a little. She ripped a huge hole in a brand new pair of capri's this summer while climbing a tree!)
Finally, is the picture of me with Cassidy at her first birthday party. Even though this is about 65 lbs. ago, it will always be one of my favorite pictures with her. This shelf is actually not above my sink, but it's close. Don't mind the baggie behind the picture. Those are just our Box.Tops.

Oh yeah, we're one of those families that saves labels, box.tops and plastic bags for school. Every cent helps! :)
I am so thankful for all of you, my bloggy friends. This extension of my life means a lot to me, which is why it bothers me when I don't make the time to post. I will try to do better with it. Thanks for hanging in there with me!

(This is where my fancy little signature goes, but it's gone AWOL)

It's a couch day

2008-11-08T12:30:00.000-08:00

It is one of those Saturdays that I love to enjoy every once in awhile. Usually, I am a lady on the go.

Go, go, go.

Today I am not....and that's just the way I want it. It's cool, cloudy and misty. A day that usually makes me feel all blah. But today, I love it. Later, I may venture out to one of my favorite little stores that we have here in town. They are having a sale and I think I may try to do some Christmas shopping, but we'll see. It's just a good couch day.

Eric and I went to the airport last night to pick up my parents and our friends that went on the trip to Israel. I am looking forward to hearing all about their trip. From what I have heard already, it was something that they will remember for the rest of their lives. The pictures that I have already seen are amazing. I would love to go along next time. :)

My schedule should get back to normal, whatever that is! I am so thankful to have my friend, Michelle, back to take over the schoolroom. I have a much deeper respect for her after doing her job for two weeks. She makes it look so easy.
It's not that easy.
Actually, I really don't think I'm going to let her leave again....ever. Not even in the summer! :) Oh, I'm only kidding. I would do it all again in a heartbeat.

But... I.am.spent.

Which is why this gloomy, dreary day was so welcome. I needed a couch day today.

2008-11-04T18:30:00.000-08:00

As I was finally checking blogs that I l-o-v-e, I found this little challenge. Thanks Alana! She found it over at Leah's blog and I wanted to join in. I would encourage you to join in, too. I will have my list of what I am thankful for this November over on my sidebar. I will do the best I can to update it every day.

O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. Psalm 136:1

Randomness

2008-11-01T07:53:00.000-07:00

We have had a whirlwind week around here! I love what I'm doing and it's been fun!
Yesterday we had a program at Ben and Sarah's school for Honor Roll. They both were on the A Honor Roll this nine weeks.

Last night was our bowling night with the church league. I started off pretty bad, but by the third game, I had improved greatly. The highlight of the night though, was this little visitor---

That's my baby girl. Isn't she the cutest little elephant you have ever seen? I just love kissing on those cheeks!

Last, our two youngest got their school pictures back this week. I cannot believe how much Sarah has grown up. She has changed and lost her baby look. She is turning into a young lady---which makes me a little sad and nervous all at once! She's finally got long hair! Bless her heart, she's waited 8 long years for that hair!

Ben has changed some, too. He is looking older and not so much like my baby boy. He is still the cuddler though and I will keep it that way for as long as he will allow it! ;)

Our friends and family that are in Israel right now are having a great time. After chatting with my pastor, I am thinking that Eric and I need to start saving our pennies. This is a trip that we would love to make the next time they go. They have seen where Jesus was baptized, Pastor preached in the synagogue where Jesus healed the man with the withered hand, they saw the cliff where they tried to throw Jesus off and have taken a ride on The Sea of Galilee. The hotel that they are at right now is 23 seconds from the shore. Amazing! They have done much more and I can't wait to experience that for myself.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

The Chocolate Lovin' Winners!

2008-11-01T07:34:00.000-07:00

Thank you to everyone who participated in my Bloggy Carnival Giveaway. I have picked my winners using the Random Integer Generator. I love that thing!

Here are your random numbers:

102 - Jinxy & Me
72 - Just Another SAHM
38 - Reflections in the Window

Timestamp: 2008-11-01 14:33:21 UTC

Congratulations ladies!! I will be contacting you so that I can get some much needed info from you!

On The Move

2008-10-27T18:55:00.000-07:00

It has been one busy week, and it's not looking like I'm going to slow down any time soon.

I had the privilege of dropping 10 people from our church off at the airport this morning for a 12 day trip to Israel. Among those going are my parents and three of the people that I consider near and dear to my heart. I will miss them all while they are gone. If you think about it over the next couple of weeks, please pray for their safety.

Two of the people going are our pastor and his wife. She is the teacher at our academy at church and for the next two week, I am going to be filling in for her.

Can you say gray hair? I will have it by next Friday. :)

Seriously though, I am so happy to be able to help out in this way. I enjoy doing what I do there. I have a feeling that I will experience a happiness when she returns that I have never known before!

Ben is flying around here in a blue cast that he got last Wednesday. It has not slowed him down at all. We will be dealing with this for at least four weeks. The break was rather close to the growth plate, so the doctor is slightly concerned about that. He feels like it will all be fine though. Whew!

Have I mentioned that our church has a bowling league? Have I mentioned that Eric and I bowl on a team? Did I mention that we BEAT my pastor's team last weekend?

Well, we did.

That makes me very happy because we are now ahead of them in the overall standings. For now anyway. :) We are not really good bowlers, but the fellowship with other people from church is so much fun!

Well, except for when Ben broke his foot last time we were there. That wasn't too fun.

So, that's where I've been. I hope to get back to blogging on a regular basis again very soon. I am going to spend some time catching up on my blog reading now. :)

Chex Mix Basket of Indulgence Giveaway!

2008-10-25T16:56:00.001-07:00

Welcome to the newest Bloggy Giveaways Carnival! I am so happy to be participating once again in this bloggy event!

I have such a fun basket to give away this time, or maybe I should say "baskets" because I have 3 of them to give away. Yep, you read that right. Three of my readers will receive a fun gift basket.

Do you want to know what's included?

You do? Great!

A Chex Mix Bars Basket of Indulgence includes a box of tasty Turtle Chex Mix Bars, chocolate candles, caramel lotion and spa essentials like a loofah, hand massager, nail brush and spa towel.

New Chex Mix Bars combine crunchy Chex pieces, pretzels and peanuts with chewy and indulgent ingredients like caramel and chocolate. And if that’s not enough, they have less than 150 calories per bar and provide at least 8 grams of whole grain per serving (48 grams recommended daily)!

Who can pass up a chance to win something that involves chocolate? All you have to do is leave me a comment from Monday, Oct. 27th - Friday, Oct. 31st and you will be entered to win. (Sorry, this giveaway is for US residents only) One comment per reader please. :) I will draw 3 winners on Saturday, Nov 1st.

After you're done here, hop on over to Bloggy Giveaways and see what else is being offered for free! You can't beat free!

It's 12:40 A.M. Make this title whatever you want!

2008-10-18T20:48:00.000-07:00

A trip to the ER is never a great way to start a Saturday. Nonetheless, that is where I found myself this morning with Ben, my youngest.

Last night, during a game of Tag with his friends, he broke his little six year old foot. We decided to wait until this morning just to make sure it wasn't just a sprain...it wasn't.

So, we will be visiting the Orthopedic doctor sometime next week. In the meantime, he can't put any weight on it which means my back is going to be sore for a few days.

By the way, I am giving a shout-out to any parent out there that has tried to bathe their child while simultaneously holding the child's casted appendage up so that it doesn't get wet in the bathwater.

That. is. NOT. fun.

We got crutches for him, but seriously, it's so much faster to just carry him.

These are the smallest crutches I have ever seen.

My husband tried to get him to say, "God bless us, every one" in this picture.

He was basically not amused with his father.

This was right after THE bath. He wasn't too thrilled with that either. I'm telling you, it was work for both of us!

We did get to go to our church's big hayride tonight. We had so much fun. A couple at our church has a farm and every fall we gather there for a cookout, hayride, sing-a-long and fellowship. The following pictures are of some of the VIP's in my life. Enjoy!

My mom, being silly

My daddy, in the blue.

Two of my three young'uns. Ethan was floating around somewhere with his friends. I don't think I got one picture of him.
My hubs, in the red sweatshirt. The men played the teen boys in a game of football.
The men totally won.

Pastor Brian and Rebekah. He is the youth pastor at our church and his wife gives our kids piano lessons. Yep, they're pretty special to us. (He's a bit of a goofball, but he DOES work with teens!)

Mr. Anderson. I think he has known me my whole life.
Michelle, our pastor's wife (bless her heart), is one of my closest friends. She's not a hugger...I make her hug me, which may or may not help the friendship! :)
The one in the middle is our pastor...and well... my mom always said if I couldn't say anything nice, then I shouldn't say anything at all. :p Oh, I kid. He's the best.

And if he's reading this post then he is probably thinking, "Wow, she used simultaneously and appendage in the same sentence."

This is what I put up with people.

Have a happy Sunday!

Contentment

2008-10-14T19:16:00.000-07:00

I wanted to start off with this picture because, well, I like it and this is my blog! We had a beautiful afternoon here and we enjoyed playing outside. This was the first time for this little one to be on the trampoline and he loved it!

This is going to be a post full of all kinds of randomness... I'm just warning you now. :) Also, I have a little triangle thing staring me in the face, telling me that I basically have 35 minutes before there is a scheduled outage on Blogger.

I guess that means I better get to what I'm sayin' tonight!

Some of you that have been around this blog for awhile may remember... Seriously, who am I kidding, nobody is going to remember this.

Anyway, at the beginning of this year I wrote a post about what the year was like for me last year and where I would like to be heading in the future. (Don't try to find it now though, because I deleted it... sorry, I had reasons)

The verse that I had picked out to be my verse for 2008 was as follows:

Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. Philippians 4:11

I need to come clean right now. At the time that I posted this verse, it was probably not what was truly happening in my heart. In my mind, yes. In my heart, no. I know that now, because at this point I CAN say that this verse has come to life for me. I will not go into all the details of what has transpired, but I am content.

And I honestly feel that it is the first time in my life that I can say it and truly believe it. It's a great place to be. :) I am thankful for a loving God, who gives us ALL that we need, but not all the we THINK we want.

Now, I promised a picture of the apple pie that my wonderful cook of a husband made for me. I got to share it with a few friends and I think that the general thought was: YUM!

So, I think I just might be one of the luckiest ladies in.the.world to call this guy my hubby! (He will be celebrating a birthday next Tuesday. How am I going to top this pie?) This was taken in our pastor's office. Yes, those books are all labeled and shelved in a specific order and yes, I would LOVE to mix them up...just a little! ;) Remember, he deserves it! :)

Ok, I am running out of time, so I am going to make the rest of this short and sweet. Here are my most recent cakes. We had a baby shower at church with a specific theme. Hmmm, I wonder what it was?
And finally, I would like to give this child a break and show you that yes, there are times when I could just eat her up! She's a doll.
I hope that everyone has a happy Wednesday! Whew, I'm done...and with 10 minutes to spare!

Find contentment, Be happy!

Love,

Stop With All the Beeping!

2008-10-10T14:17:00.004-07:00

With the fallish weather that we have been having, I have had our windows open during the day.
I kid you not, there is a bush right outside the window where my computer is and there is something in there that keeps beeping.

And it's driving me nuts!

It's been there for two days. I am assuming it's some sort of bug or creepy crawler. It doesn't really sound like a cricket though.

If you turn your volume way up and put your ear against the speaker...you just might be able to hear it!

A-N-N-O-Y-I-N-G!

I say this in the video, but I'll write it anyway. Yesterday, Eric and I went out to investigate and when we walked up to the bush...the beeping stopped. I am not lying. We walked away...beeping.
We walked back up to it.... no beeping.

It sounds kind of like an alarm...or a bomb. :) Yeah, that's probably a long shot.

We are off to a cookout at our friend's house. Hope you have a happy weekend!

5 Reasons Why I Blog

2008-10-09T18:14:00.000-07:00

This has to be the worst blogging block that I have ever had and quite frankly... IT'S DRIVING ME CRAZY!

A few weeks ago, Heather tagged me to do this meme about how blogging has affected me. I am going to try to tackle it and see if it leads to any type of "bloggy breakthrough". I can't really say that these are five ways blogging has affected me, but they are five reasons why I blog... Close enough!

Here are the rules:
1. Write about 5 specific ways blogging has affected you, either positively or negatively
2. link back to the person who tagged you
3. link back to this parent post (UM. not sure about this rule..)
4. tag a few friends or five, or none at all
5. post these rules— or just have fun breaking them.

Ok, so here I go:

#1 - The first thing that comes to mind when I think about blogging is how many wonderful people I have come in contact with and how many friendships that have developed. Back in August, I was so blessed to be able to meet some of these friends face to face in San Antonio. To be able to actually see and talk to and hug the necks of these ladies was something that I will always remember. And of course I can't forget the one "miesta"!

#2 - I have really enjoyed being able to record some of the funny things that my kids have said or done. As my regular readers know, I LOVE to share pictures, too!

#3 - The hardest thing that has come from blogging is finding the words to write a post that others can learn something from. I don't do well writing serious posts, so most of mine are fun and family-centered. I love my bloggy friends that can write amazing posts that make me think. You all are so much more wise than I will EVER be!

#4 - I got into blogging after stumbling upon Beth Moore's blog. I started mine and then went about 6 months before I actually took the time to figure it all out. Now I can't imagine my life without this crazy bloggy world. It has become a part of who I am.

#5 - This is going to sound so strange, but my typing has improved tremendously over the last year and a half! That is one big positive!

I guess I am supposed to tag some friends to do this, but I have noticed that many of you have already done it. If you haven't and you want to than you have been officially tagged. :)

I guess I need to get my camera out and start snapping some pictures. Those everyday random shots are the ones that usually make for good posts! If I can nab the picture that my pastor took of Eric and me the other day, I will tell you all about the apple pie that my husband made.

YUM-MY!

I have some activities coming up in the next few weeks that will probably be bloggable. The most interesting will be when I go with the high school kids from the academy at our church to the meat processing plant.

Um, have I mentioned that I don't like to touch, smell or even look at raw chicken? How am I supposed to watch them process meat?

WHAT I've gotten myself into this time? :o

Could Life GET Any Better...

2008-10-07T17:26:00.000-07:00

...than a Banana Cream O.reo followed by a bottle of milk?

This child I watch

2008-10-03T12:51:00.000-07:00

If you are interested in how most of my days have been going lately, feel free to watch the following video. There is no rhyme or reason to the crying, it just happens. Full belly, empty belly.... clean diaper, dirty diaper.... burp or no burp. We just cry MOST of the time.

And when I say "we" that is just what I mean.

Oh, I'm kidding. Sometimes, just I cry. (hahaha)

Oh well, I love her anyway!

If any of you have a suggestion or two, I would love to hear them. My kids were not criers, so I am kind of at a loss with this one.

A Block

2008-10-01T20:06:00.000-07:00

Boy, have I ever hit a writing block. I have not had anything really exciting to write about lately. I have been keeping busy, very busy, but I am loving every minute of it. I have had a disconnected feeling when it comes to the blogging world, but I don't really know why because this is a part of my life that I love very much. I have always wanted it to be something that I enjoy and not something that I feel like I have to do. There are things in this life o' mine that have take priority and that's okay.

SOOOO... the short of it is that I am still here and I am still blogging. :) I hope to be doing a video blog soon. I need to make the time to do it! I just want you all to know that we are good, the best we've been in a long time, and I will be back to writing soon!

I know, you are all on the edge of your seats! :)

My nieces

2008-09-29T20:52:00.000-07:00

I just have to show off my twin nieces. My sister took their pictures today. They are so stinkin' cute... but I am a little partial. :)

http://beimfohr.blogspot.com/2008/09/picture-day.html

I wouldn't drink that if I were you

2008-09-24T11:03:00.000-07:00

This is a little boy that goes to our church. He is a cutie-pie! Anyway, we had a bike rodeo last Saturday and he isn't quite big enough to participate yet. His sister is 5, so she was competing. She and our youth pastor's daughter both had cups of kool-aid sitting on the ground...

...and he had a handful of rocks.

Now, the mature mother in me should have told him not to put them in his sister's cup, but the ornery in me came through and I let him do it.

I know, it's shocking.

Anyway, we all got a laugh out of it. The grasshopper, however, did not find a swim in the red kool-aid very refreshing!

Two year olds are SO MUCH FUN!!

Blessed Beyond Measure

2008-09-18T12:49:00.000-07:00

There are many, many, MANY things that I am thankful for in this world. I would list them all here, except I would get severe cramping in my fingers before I was done and you would all be 103 before you got to read it!

So instead, I will share with you what came in the mail today. After the gift of my salvation, it portrays exactly why I am

blessed beyond measure.

Thank You Lord, for blessing me with this beautiful family.

Just Some Stuff

2008-09-17T13:56:00.000-07:00

Thank you all so much for your comments about Sarah's cake. I had the hardest time deciding which verse to use. I called our church secretary and she helped me out~~ Thanks Ginger!

Anyway, if some of you that are newer to my blog want to see a few of my other cakes, there are some here, here, here & here.

Also, if you have a few minutes and you want to listen to a song that will absolutely give you goose bumps, click on the play button at the top of my sidebar. Our choir at church has learned this song and it has made it to the top of my favorites list. Just shut your eyes and listen to the words.

What a day that will be, when EVERY KNEE will bow.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Wednesday evening. :)

Sarah's Cake

2008-09-16T16:19:00.000-07:00

I just remembered that I never posted a picture of Sarah's birthday cake. She had said she wanted a Bible cake for a long time, so I did what I could. I thought it turned out alright.

I have to share this one too. I have never used this pan before and I was a little surprised when I opened the oven to find this....
Sooooo.... What do YOU think it looks like? :)

I know... sorry.

My. Lungs. Were. On. F-I-R-E!!

2008-09-15T18:43:00.000-07:00

I ran tonight for the first time in 543 months, or at least it felt like it. I did make it a whole 3/4 of a mile before I had to walk which is about a 1/2 mile more than I thought. :)

My lungs ,on the other hand ,were spent by the 1/4 mile mark! What's up with that! I was up to 4 miles this time last year.

4 MILES!

I may not be able to move tomorrow...seriously. Things are going to hurt, I just know it, and it's not going to be pretty.

The creativity, it's lacking...just a little

2008-09-14T19:02:00.000-07:00

I really like this new feature that is on my side bar. If you want to follow this blog you can do it easily by clicking on the "follow this blog" button.

After all, you all are why I love my computer! So come on and let me see who you are!

On another note, my youngest was obviously plagued with MY creative juices. He brought this story home on Friday. I think it's his first one ever. I will keep this one for a long time. :)
And there you have it.

I was inspired...

2008-09-11T05:37:00.000-07:00

...by Linda @ 2nd Cup of Coffee to put a picture of what I looked like about 8 years ago today. This was a picture that the paper took of Ethan and I walking home from my mom and dad's house. As you can read in the caption, Sarah was already a week overdue. She was actually 11 days overdue by the time I had her. Whew.. I remember those days!

Also, in the caption, you will notice that the people that work at the paper in this town thought they were SO FUNNY by making a reference to "the Roger's neighborhood". HAHa...ha.

Happy Birthday Sarah Anny-Banany

2008-09-11T04:45:00.001-07:00

What Life is Like When Married to a Smartallic

2008-09-10T20:01:00.000-07:00

My sister-in-law called me today on my cell phone. I know that seems like a normal thing, but it is what this little post is based on.

Ok, let me set the stage for you.

We were in the living room. I was talking on my cell phone and Eric was sitting on the couch holding the baby that I watch. She was getting fussy, so I got up to make her a bottle. As I did, I started patting my pockets with my phone-free hand and then I went over and looked in the chair, even down the sides, and patted my pockets again.

You know where this is going yet?

I looked over at Eric and mouthed to him, "Where's my cell phone, I can't find it?"

Oh yes I did.

He looked at me with this look of, "seriously?"

I realized what I had said right after I said it. I was TALKING on my cell phone!

So anyway, I made the baby's bottle and came back in and sat down in the chair again. I motioned for Eric to bring me the baby so I could feed her.

Here is what he did:

Stood up, with the baby in his arms, turned a circle and said, "Hey, where's the baby? Where did she go?" ~~ then he laughed.

And that's what it's like being married to a smartallic.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-09-09T22:00:00.000-07:00

At a stop light on the way home from the Ladies Retreat

Ewww... what's in my flip-flop?!

2008-09-08T10:26:00.000-07:00

Psalms 34:8 - O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.

I really don't even know where to begin when I think about this weekend. We had such a great time together at our ladies retreat. I learned so many things that I had either never thought about or that I had forgotten along this journey called life.

It was so fun to see everyone come together on Friday morning. There were many different seasons of life represented. We had empty nesters, loving grandmothers, singles, mothers of teens & elementary kids, and mothers of toddlers & babies (praising God for this break!). We all have our own stories with one commonality--Jesus Christ.

Our trip to the camp was full of fellowship and fun. The nice thing about these weekends is that there is time to get to know someone that you may not get a chance to speak to very often. Another fun thing is that we got to eat a meal without having to order for our kids or cut up someones food! ALSO~~ we could order a shake with our meal and, in my case, not have to order three more for the kids!
We got to the camp in plenty of time to get our beds picked out and made. They had a cabin that was the perfect size for our whole group. The camp had done a lot of work since we were here before and the cabin was pretty cute.
The afternoon was spent in different workshops. They had fun workshops and also some informative workshops. At 3:15 we had a choice of either practicing for the ladies choir or going to the zipline.

Hmmm.... Which one do you think I chose? :)

OF COURSE!!! (that's me zippin'!)

We had some fun times in our cabin. As night fell, some of the ladies got a little mischievous.

It is so much fun to just be a kid again for even one night. I love having a side that can still enjoy pranks and silliness. I hope to never lose that. Now, I won't name names, but the one on the far right of this picture is our youth pastor's wife. I'll just call her "The toilet paperin', toothpaste squeezin' ringleader". She was the one asking the question that is the title of this post. I also found out that this girl can RUN... FAST!!
Here she is again, hanging over the back seat of the van. I think she was looking for a seat belt or something. Who knows, but a picture had to be taken!
Like I said at the beginning of this post, we heard so much from God's Word. I hesitate to elaborate on here because I don't think I can fully relay it all. I have to go deeper into it so that I can understand it all myself.

The one thing that I can say is that I go to a church full of fun-loving, joyful and ornery ladies and I love them all!

Hey girls, don't forget your flashlights!

2008-09-04T09:50:00.000-07:00

In the morning, myself and 16 other ladies from church will be heading to Illinois for a weekend ladies retreat. We have been looking forward to it for a couple of months now. Did I mention that two of my closest friends in the whole world are going too?

Well they are, and that is just a BIG FAT BONUS for me!

We are all going to have a great time getting to know one another a little better. The majority of that bonding will likely take place to and from the bathhouse at all hours of the night!

If you remember us over the next couple of days, please pray for safety on the road, for the husbands staying behind with the kiddos, and for openness of hearts to the teaching. I am personally looking forward to what God has in store for me! :)

Oh, and pray for an absence of anything with four legs and a mean growl....and sharp teeth. Oh, and slithery....and stingy!! YIKES!!

I can't believe it turned out...

2008-09-02T19:58:00.000-07:00

...on the first try!

I know, I shouldn't be so proud that at the age of 33 I have never made a cobbler before.

But you know what? I AM!!

Our Pastor had a birthday today, his 39th to be exact, and we had him and his family over for supper tonight. We have the best time together! I knew from a dinner earlier in the year that he LOVES blueberry pie with vanilla ice cream. I figured that a cobbler would work out better for 11 people, so I went that route. It was actually pretty good. Thanks to my mom for helping me out with the recipe! ;) Love ya, mom!

So here it is, complete with a 39 in the middle in case he had forgotten already! ha! I told him he could still hang with us even though he's getting so close to 40. I told him we would just walk a little slower. :)

I just love giving him a hard time. And hey, don't feel sorry for him, he deserves it!

This would be one of many examples as to why I love to razz him. It is the score sheet from our game of 3-13. The guys beat us....again. We WILL get them...eventually! This is hanging on my fridge, just so I won't forget. You see what I'm dealing with here? Seriously!
Yep, they whooped us good.

Anyway, we love them so much and are so glad that we were able to share this evening with them.

I will leave you with another view of the kitchen....and the cobbler....that I cooked....and it was good!

My 300th Post... Wow! UPDATED

2008-08-31T14:28:00.001-07:00

*Update* ~~ I decided to go ahead and put the border up in the kitchen after church tonight. This room is becoming my favorite room in the house which really, really scares me! I might have to start cooking! ;)

I can't believe this is my 300th post. I really didn't realize that I had that much to say!

We are just chillin' out around here this weekend. Yesterday I decided to get my Uppercase Living things hung up. I really need to be careful because I could EASILY get sucked into this stuff. :)

Here is the frame that I did. This is the first thing you would see if you were walking into my house. I love it.
I couldn't believe how easy it was to get this one on the wall. It has added so much to our kitchen. Tomorrow I am going to hang the border up. I didn't hang it up when we painted because I had hoped to not be in this house much longer.

God had different plans... And that's okay.

Friday was a busy day for me. I had three kiddos to watch while mine were at school. This is Cassidy. Isn't she getting so big? She will be 4 very soon. I really don't know what I am going to do when she goes to Kindergarten. It will seem as if someone is missing from our family.

I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get there! :)

This is my new precious bundle that I am watching. Isn't she sweet? You can't tell here, but her hair is curly all over. She is going to be a beautiful little girl!
Here is precious Kylah. She is still amazing me. Her blindness hasn't slowed her down much at all! She really had fun with the baby. She loves to scratch my back, which is a bonus for me!So that is kinda what's up around here. What did you all do?

I am an heir of God, my life is not left to chance

2008-08-29T09:05:00.000-07:00

I believe with my whole heart that there is no such thing as luck. Yes, sometimes I will use the word luck or lucky but in my heart I know that everything in this world happens not by chance but as part of God's design.

It is hard for me to wrap my mind around that fact. God knows when and why everything has or will happen in my life.

That is huge!

I am so thankful to know that my life is directed by God. Sometimes... I decide that maybe I can handle things on my own and I am quickly reminded, as I stumble and fall, that I am not able ...and He would rather do it anyway! All we have to do is make the right choices... I know, it sound so easy, doesn't it?

Then why do we fight that sometimes?

That stinkin' sin nature!!

Okay, that was a rabbit trail...

Anyway, back to my post.

If you would have told me two years ago that someone was going to come into my life that would become so special and that it would all happen over the internet, I would have laughed and said, "yeah, okay!"
Little did I know what the Lord had in store for me! I think it was back in May or June of 2007 that I stumbled upon Beth Moore's blog. After I read the entry for that day I decided to take a look at some of the comments. I didn't have a blog of my own at that point, at least not one that I was updating. It took me awhile to figure it all out!

As I was "lurking" on the blog I noticed a comment that someone had left about how her husband and brother-in-law had been floating down the street in tubes after the flooding that took place in Texas and were both pulled under by a drain and spit out 100 yards away in a creek.

I know!

This story caught my attention so I clicked on her name, "Suzi", and found her blog.
I finished reading the story about how the Lord kept these two men safe through this experience. Praise God for that! I was looking at the pictures and I kept telling myself that I recognized one of those guys. It was the brother-in-law, I just knew that I knew him from somewhere. But where? Surely I was imagining it.

As I continued down Suzi's blog I noticed something else that confirmed my suspicions. I did know him! It was Jake! The Jake that traveled for two years with one of my best friends in the world in a singing group called Encounter. I was just in awe that I actually had a connection with this girl!

I e-mailed Suzi and told her who I was and how I knew Jake. She responded and we talked about how crazy it was that our paths crossed!

A few days later I was checking her blog again and she had posted some pictures from where she lives, which just happens to be a place that I would move to in a heartbeat. The things is, I wanted to move there before I knew she lived there. Once again, crazy! We knew that this was a friendship that was meant to be.

There was one more thing that happened that solidified in our minds that God was all over this relationship. Hold on to your hats, ladies! This one gives me chills every time I think about it.

I was doing my quiet time one morning and at the end of the devotional that day there was a challenge for me. The author said that if I didn't have an accountability partner, I really needed to pray about finding one. I had never really had one before, so I decided that I would pray.
Later that evening, as I was checking my Facebook page, I noticed that I had a message from Suzi in my inbox. Here is what she wrote:

Hey friend!I have an idea!You'll have to let me know what you think!We should become accountability partners. Do you have one already? If so then we could just be prayer partners. If not then we could be both! Let me know whatcha think "k"!Love Ya,Suzi

Chills. Instant chills.

All I can say is that it's a good thing we loved each other from the start because we didn't have a choice in this one. It was clear that this friendship is a blessing from God. I love Suzi and her family so much!

Well, last weekend was the first time that Suzi and I got to see each other face to face and it was amazing how comfortable it was and how I felt like I had known her my whole life. We had such fun at the Siesta Fiesta and then I spent a few days with her and her family. They are truly one of the sweetest, cutest, most loving families that I have ever been blessed to know. We've already made plans to get together next summer, this time with my hubs and kiddos.

Thank you so much Jeremiah and Suzi for your Texas hospitality! You all took such great care of me while I was visiting. Thanks, Dr. Fabry, for getting me all aligned again! You're the best!I hope that everyone is falling back into the routine and I hope you finally got all of your sheets washed...you poor girl! I love you both!!

I'll leave you with these pictures of their sweeties.

Noah took this one for us. I thought he did a pretty good job with it!

He's So Shy...

2008-08-28T09:49:00.000-07:00

I know that I said I was going to post about my time with Suzi and her kiddos (Jeremiah, too!), but I want to get this one written down before I forget.

The kids have been in school for a couple of weeks now and they all love their teachers so much! We have truly been blessed with good ones this year.

Anyway, Ben is in first grade and he is growing up so fast. He loves to be a helper and he has been helping his teacher out with different things in the classroom.

Apparently the other day his teacher was having trouble with a students name and he helped her with the pronunciation.

After she thanked him he said this to her, "Aren't you so lucky to have ME in YOUR classroom this year?"

Yep, he's a shy one... and so humble!

Siesta Fiesta, Baby!

2008-08-27T09:08:00.000-07:00

I just don't even know where to begin. All of my thoughts are jumbled up in my head and I can't seem to get them out. The last 5 days have been days that I will never, ever forget.

A year ago, Beth Moore decided that it would be fun to have us a little Siesta Fiesta in San Antonio, TX! How much fun would it be to gather as many of the ladies (and one miesta!) together for a big ol' meet and greet?

A year later, I can tell you that it would be F-U-N!! I have to say that hands down, this was the craziest thing that I have ever done in my life and I wouldn't change it for the world. I finally got to hug my Suzi-Q and meet all of these wonderful women that I now consider true life friends.

You know, I didn't go with the attitude that this was going to be a test to see if these girls were the people that their blogs portray, but they were that and more! An honest to goodness group of beautiful, loving, sweet ladies who love one another and the Lord Jesus! Sisters in Christ, and the love just flowed out between us.

I had to start my pictures with this one of Suzi and little Aliya. This is the most precious baby girl and so good. She hardly made a peep while Beth was teaching. I got to spend some time with them after the conference. I will write about that in the next post! :)

And what would a Fiesta be without Big and Boo? I had the opportunity to meet Melanie, aka Bigmama, and she is so sweet. We only had a couple minutes until the event started again, so we didn't get to talk much. Can I just say that she is absolutely beautiful? I would have loved to have met Sophie, but I could never find her. I am sure there will be another time!

On Saturday, we were able to have a little time with Beth, Amanda and Melissa. These three girls are such a huge blessing and so, so funny! Melissa and Jenny were totally cracking me up with the whole hair thing!
I'm kind of back-tracking here, but this was part of my group of bloggy friends. We were waiting to get in and it was very windy and a little rainy. We tried to bribe the VIP girls with cash so that we could get in early, but alas, they would have nothing of it! If you want to see a picture of that you can go here. I so enjoyed getting to know these beautiful ladies! Cheryl, thank you so much for carting us between the hotel and the dome~~ you and your hubs are the best! Jenny, what can I say about Jenny? I love this girl and she is a hoot and a half. I will never look at backscratchers and jumbo pencils in the same way again! I am looking forward to getting to know you better.
This is Teri and me. We were waiting once again to get into the Alamodome. I love Teri and I was so happy to finally get to meet her. She is just a sweetheart. Thanks for the chocolate, BTW!

Amanda was one of the people I was looking most forward to meeting. I love her blog and it has been so fun watching her son grow up over the last year. I didn't even know that she was Beth's daughter when I first started reading it. I so would have loved to see her friend Janelle and was sad that she couldn't make it. Amanda, you are a gem. Oh, and you are makin' me look SO short!
Ok. I'm not really diggin' this picture of me but I love me some Fran so I had to post it! I just wanted to squeeze this woman with everything that was in me! She has been such a blessing to my life. I know that I can count on her to pray for me. We haven't talked much about it yet, but we both have boys that just started middle school, so I know I will need her to talk to...soon! :)
Steph is such a sweetheart. I so enjoyed spending some time with her. I know that if we lived closer we would be great friends.

Then there is Travis. Travis is a great guy and I couldn't wait to meet him. He was so kind as to give us the name of a church to attend while my family was in TN this summer. Our kids are just about the same ages and in the same order, boy~girl~boy, so in other words... Travis, I'll be prayin' for you! By the way, it took three times to get this picture. The first two ended up as videos that will forever be locked up for none to see... because, well, we look kinda goofy and I promised that it wouldn't be on here, EVER! Did I mention that this guy can sing and lead worship like nobodies business? He's awesome!
Last, but certainly not least is Suzi. I love her so much. We met through Beth's blog. She was the first name that I clicked on the first time I visited the LPM blog. I found her blog, read her latest entry and figured out that I knew her brother-in-law, Jake. Can you believe that? I e-mailed her and the rest is history. We have become good friends and I spent a few days with her and her precious family. I will be writing about that in my next post.
I can't believe that it is over now. I will be watching for the next one...if there is a next one! Until then, I will enjoy the friendships that have been formed through the wonderful world of blogging!

To all of my roomies, Fran, Teri, Jenny, Steph and Suzi: I hope that you will look at your ring and remember this weekend and pray for one another. No matter how many miles there are between us, we know that we can always lift each other up to the One that brought us all together. Love you all!

San Antonio... Two Days and Counting

2008-08-19T11:01:00.000-07:00

So yeah, I haven't done much packing yet, as you can see. I don't' know what's up with that.

I am coming though and I am bringing a suitcase, hopefully with some type of clothing in it.

My MP3 is charged and my batteries for my camera are charged. That has to count for something, right?

I just noticed that I have an hour and a half layover in Charlotte. What on earth am I going to do for that long?

I am excited to meet all of my roomies and Suzi! I haven't told you all about how I found Suzi yet. It's pretty cool, NO it's VERY cool!

I must go now, obviously I have some things to get done!

Friday Fun~~What's In Your Cell Phone?

2008-08-15T05:15:00.000-07:00

You know that commercial that asks, "What's in your wallet?" I think it's Visa or something. That is where I got the title.

Anyway, I thought I would ask you what pics you have in your cellphone.

Here is my list, in pictures! And if you're lucky, I will even give you a little explanation with each one!

Was that a collective "Oh, boy!" that I just heard? ha!

This one has been in my phone since June. We took an ice cream cake over to our friends house and shared it with all of Ethan's buddies. It was pretty much G-O-N-E by the time we were done with it! Thank you DQ!

And here are the buddies!
This was at a local Mexican restaurant on Ethan's birthday. We met our BFF's Scott and Tasha for dinner. YUM!
This is my nephew, Blake, at his first birthday party.
This is our youth pastor's daughter. I kept her and her brother a day while their daddy was at teen camp. Her mommy got the flu on the third day that he was gone so I went over and got them so she could sleep. She was SICK! We took this to send to Pastor Brian.
Here is her brother! I love his little blond curlies on the back of his head.

Ahhhh yes, and here we have some shots of Eric, Michelle (our pastor's wife), and Megan trying to move a couch from the garage to the basement of our pastor's house. Conveniently, he was is Michigan and wasn't there to help so I was sending him pictures as we went. We laughed so hard that night!
Just so you know, it is my blessed calling to give my pastor a hard time and he feels the same way about me!

Seriously, this is NOT going to fit!

Notice the door that is off of the hinges. We also had to take the legs off of the couch. It was a treat, let me tell ya!
WE DID IT! We actually made it all the way down without any damage to anything. We took this to make pastor feel bad but I don't think it worked.
Next is Avery Grace, Tasha's little girl. This was her first attempt at a smile for me...

Check out this cuteness! This is my wallpaper on my phone right now. How could you look at that and not smile? Tasha said this is the first photo that was taken of her smiling.

She is my doll baby!
My sister and her family went to Gulf Shores with my cousin while in Alabama a few weeks ago. They sent me a picture of them on the beach.

Here is what I sent to them...

Yesterday I painted this verse,

But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;

II Timothy 3:14

in the school room at church. It took me SEVEN hours total to do. Here I am multi-tasking.
Hey, you do what you have to do to get things done!

So there you have it. My everyday life caught in pictures!

Have a great weekend! This time next week I will be between here and San Antonio!! Yippee!!

Wordless Wednesday

2008-08-12T20:21:00.001-07:00

Yep... that's a rock... in my fridge. (sigh)

Goodbye Summer Fun, It Was Nice Knowin' Ya

2008-08-12T12:20:00.000-07:00

Backpacks, lunchboxes, menus, papers, papers and more papers! Yes, school is in session and the activity in our home is in full swing! After-school snacks, going through backpacks, getting back on a schedule~ I'm not ready for it all yet! I didn't even take pictures this morning.

It's bad, I know.

I will be watching a new baby this year. She actually started coming today. She is five weeks old and cute as a button. I think it's going to be more of an adjustment than I thought! I haven't watched an infant for awhile now. I will also continue to watch Cassidy and I will have Kylah one day a week.

Yep, our easy summer is officially over. It's back to the old grind for me!

Let's Do That Again!

2008-08-11T10:06:00.000-07:00

Well, our first family camping trip was a blast! We had so much fun with our friends and all the kids. I have tons of pictures and I will post some more later. I am in the process of trying to scrapbook them before I forget some of the details.

I'm getting forgetful in my old age! :)

I can't believe that we actually got a good group picture. Too bad we all look like we've been camping for a few days!

This is a shot of me pitching my first tent. I think Michelle has done this before but we still had to get a little help. We needed a couple extra hands.

We opted to have french toast and bacon for breakfast on the first morning. I had never cooked over a campfire before this weekend. I only suffered one minor burn on my knee from the bacon grease!
One of the things we did a lot of is throw around the football. We even got a two-hand touch game in on Saturday. This is Pastor Tim during one of the many games of catch. I'm lovin' the backwards hat!
The highlight of the weekend for some of us was when we found these bike trails. This was another first for me. I actually rode my bike through a creek! And I didn't fall off! Sarah went with us and she did it, too. She almost made it all the way across. I was pretty proud of her.

This waterfall was so pretty. The kids had lots of fun here. I, on the other hand, almost had heart failure when I walk up and saw just how close to the edge they were!

This is at the top of the fall. It's a long way down from there! Andrew, in the front, is a goofball and doesn't like to have his picture taken. Can you tell?
One word: S'mores
Stephen gave us a good laugh around the campfire on Friday night. The campground that we were at had a raccoon issue and we were visited by more than one while we were camping. If you have ever seen "The Parent Trap" you will understand the next two pictures.

Although raccoons are not quite as dangerous as mountian lions!

We've already made plans for next year. One thing is for sure, we are adding a couple more days to our trip!

There's nothin' like the great outdoors...

2008-08-06T05:48:00.000-07:00

We're going camping this weekend with some friends. Let me tell ya, I have never camped before. I'm talking pitching a tent camping. There will be no RV or camper. There will be a fire, tents, sleeping bags and probably lots of bugs.

Oh, and a very hard ground and raccoons.

My husband has assured me that he WILL be taking the camera and the video camera. He wouldn't want to miss out on the opportunity to get some $10,000.00 footage.

It's going to be a great time.

No, actually I am excited about spending time with our friends. There will be fellowship, food, fun, games, food, biking, hiking, food, swimming, water balloons...
If you hear a scream in the night, it will probably be me walking in the bathhouse only to find a raccoon in a stall. It's going to be grand!

I'm sure I will be posting some pictures on here next week for all to see!

Say it isn't so..

2008-08-05T07:06:00.000-07:00

Summer is coming to a close for us here. School will be starting in exactly one week and I don't like it. Our summer has been full of fun with friends and family. We've swam, played ball, walked more miles than I can count, played games, climbed trees and well, I think you get the point!

I have been so behind on reading blogs and I haven't commented on too many at all.

I have been so blessed over the last few months and I have so many things to look forward to in the coming days. I will be flying to San Antonio in less than three weeks for the much anticipated Siesta Fiesta! I cannot wait to meet those of you that are going to be there! We are going to have a ball getting to know one another. I wish that ALL of my bloggy friends could be there.
All of you B-town girls: I'm going to make my way over there one of these days to hug all of you! You all are a BUSY group of girls! I wish it could have been this year, but it just wasn't to be...yet.

In September, I get to go to a Ladies Retreat with a group from my church and Tasha!! Yes!! I am so excited about that! My BFF gets to go with me!!

After all of that, I will be hanging out here watching my girl, Cassidy, and a new baby that I am going to start watching next week. Cassidy's mommy finally got a full-time job with the schools after the doctor that she worked for moved away last October. This was an answer to prayer for her and for me. If she's not getting paid, I'm not getting paid! The kids are also going to be taking piano from our youth pastor's wife and I am going to be watching their two young'uns on Tuesdays so that she can give all of her lessons. It's an awesome trade if you ask me!

Ethan will be attending the school at our church this year. We were not comfortable with sending him to our middle school here. He will have four other 6th graders in his class. We were not the only ones with concerns about our middle schools. Sarah and Ben will continue at the elementary school that is in our district. It is pretty good and the principal is a Christian. They both have very good teachers this year.

Eric and I have decided to step up and help out our youth pastor with the junior kids this year. (1st-6th grade) We were already kind of doing that, but we decided that we needed to be more pro-active in this area. We want to be able to lighten his load a little. He's a busy guy.

The kids took swimming lessons a couple of weeks ago and I just happen to have a few pictures here! :)
Ben is learning how to float on his back

Sarah, too!
Ethan's class worked on learning a few new strokes.
As I said, we have been able to spend lots of time with friends. Here is a couple of pics from Tasha's 30th birthday. She finally joined me on the old side of the tracks!
Maggie and Ben are going to make a cute couple some day! heehee! They already fight like they're related!

We've been able to spend many days with friends from church that have kids around the same ages as ours. The mommies walk laps around the cul-de-sac and up the road while the kids play together. We manage to get in about three miles a day, most days. It's been a fun time of getting to know one another a little bit better.
These kids hardly knew one another at the beginning of the summer. By the end of the summer we were trading kids for overnights and play dates. We have been blessed with a great group of kids at our church.
Lastly, if your still with me, are a few cakes that I have done this summer.

Sorry for the long post. It's obviously been awhile since I've posted much! Have a great day!

Winners, We Have Winners!

2008-08-04T06:24:00.000-07:00

Thank you to all of you that entered my giveaway! I have picked my four winners with this handy-dandy little integrated number thing. So, if you see your name here, please send me your info so that I can get your coupon for your free box of cereal to you! Congratulations!

Here are your random numbers:

32 - redfantum
115 - jenn
9 - Jennifer
29 - Betsy

Timestamp: 2008-08-04 13:23:41 UTC

And for those of you that didn't win this time, here is a link for a $.55 coupon for Cinnimon Toast Crunch!

Coupon link: http://bricks.coupons.com/bstart.asp?o=53431&ci=1&c=GM&p=8asJ7XWi

Back when I loved CHiPs, not the ones that go directly to your hips

2008-07-31T10:33:00.000-07:00

Linda over at 2nd Cup of Coffee brought back to mind the time that I wrote Jon from CHiPs a fan letter. He sent me an autographed picture, or at least his "people" did!

Remembering this made me want to hear this again...

Any other Ponch and Jon fans out there?

He's an Eating Machine

2008-07-29T17:50:00.001-07:00

Ben woke up about a week ago with a mysterious red welt on his face. At first I thought it was a scratch but the closer I looked I realized that it may be poison ivy.

I kept an eye on him for a few days and noticed that he was getting a new spot here and there on a daily basis. I started to treat the itching with hydrocortisone cream. It was starting to improve.
Until this morning. He woke up with a super swollen and red face. Poor kid. I called the doctor and he is now on a 14 day prescription of steroids. This is a first for us.

Can I tell you that this boy usually eats very little of anything. Since 6pm tonight he has asked for a pb&j sandwich, a six pack of cheese and peanut butter crackers, apples with caramel, cheerios with milk and Popsicles! He has eaten every single bite, too!

I can't believe it. He won't stop. It's actually kind of humorous because it is so out of character for him.

Anyway, we have been having loads of fun this summer and we are trying to make the best of our last few days. I can't believe that I registered the kids today and we start in less than two weeks. I'm really sad to be sending them back already.

How about you? When do your kids start back to school?

It's a Giveaway!!

2008-07-28T07:41:00.000-07:00

There is a carnival going on over at Bloggygiveaways and I'm giving away one full-value coupon($5.39) for NEW Cocoa Puffs Combos cereal to four of my readers! All you have to do is leave me a comment and you will be entered to win.

New Cocoa Puffs Combos combines great-tasting chocolaty puffs with vanilla puffs, a classic combination that kids love. Parents will also love them because Cocoa Puffs Combos is made with whole grain and is a good source of Calcium and Vitamin D.

This is the first new product from Cocoa Puffs since they were introduced in 1958.

This giveaway is open to bloggers and non-bloggers, alike. However, we can only ship to addresses within the US. I will be drawing four winners on Saturday, August 2nd.

Now I must get back to sorting through my daughters Barbie paraphernalia and Polly Pockets, which is just as much fun as going to the dentist....for a root canal!

Well, you don't say?

2008-07-25T14:23:00.000-07:00

I MUST start this post telling you that I found one stinkin' good deal at Sears today.

Are you all ready for this?

I got Ben a two piece black suit for $5.39!! I know!

Then I got him a white shirt to go with it for $1.79!

It has been a great shopping week for me. I got Sarah some outfits at Penny's for $2.97 for the shirts and $4.97 for the shorts. I got her some for this year and next year. I also found Ben some polo shirts for $2.97 each. Then I found my nieces shirts for $1.97 each and shorts for $2.97 each. Oh, and flip-flops for $1.97 each.

It was a grand day indeed!

I must tell you this little funny. I have been walking at a friend's house for a few weeks now. Well, today we were out there and Ben came running in saying, "Mom, come here!"

Of course I wanted to know what all the excitement was about, so I asked him, "What's up, Ben?"

He said, " Come here, there is a cat that laid some kittens under the deck! Hurry, come and see!"

I was cracking up! Oh, how I'm going to miss these days of small children!

You're Safe... No Wait, You're Out!

2008-07-24T20:08:00.000-07:00

I'm really trying not to harbor any bitterness tonight as I think about the game that the kids played. They really did a fantastic job against a tough team. The two teams were actually about even in their ability to play.

Our team won the first game 11-9. The second game was 3-5. We lost. Which is fine except that we had two outs in the top of the 6th with two runners on base and when the batter hit the ball it was thrown to second and our runner clearly made it there before the tag.

They called him safe.

The other team thought he was out and started running off the field and so they decided that he was now out. Our team was so robbed!! I do have to say that I controlled myself very well. I was trying to be a good example to the kiddos!

It was h.a.r.d.!

Okay, I feel better now that I got that off my chest. :) On to some pictures~

Sarah, lovin' the catcher position.

Ethan gave that ball a few good rips tonight. I was proud of him.
This is Clint. He goes to our church. I love this picture of him crossing home plate.
This little sweetie is Leigha. She provided some great entertainment between innings! She goes to our church.
This is her little brother. Does anyone else remember when they could touch their toes? ;)
Here is the church crowd. We had six kids from our church on this team. Yes, we planned it that way so that we could help each other out with games. I thought it was so great that our youth pastor showed up to support the kids. Our pastor and his wife have kids on the team, so they were there also. It meant so much to the kids that they came and watched.
I think he's happy!
Spider-man??
One more of Robbie. Just look at those eyes. What a cutie!
The whole team. They did alright keeping their chins up. It's tough when a bad call is made. It was a good learning time for all of them... and us!
Here are the church kids on the team. They have become pretty close over the summer. We have truly enjoyed getting to know them and their families.
The moms have become pretty close, too!

I'm resisting the urge to spray her down with Ly.sol

2008-07-22T06:16:00.001-07:00

We've had an early morning with this one. We don't get sick around here too often. Today is one of those rare days when we have one down. I feel bad for her because swimming lessons start today and she also has a baseball tourney game later on. We've gone almost an hour now with Sprite in the tummy, so maybe we're through the worst of it... I hope!

I hope you all have a good Tuesday!

Funday Monday

2008-07-21T19:48:00.000-07:00

The sale is over. There were 53 garage sales on Saturday and the auction at the county fair.

Needless to say, we didn't have a great turnout but we did okay.

Did I mention it rained?

It did.

Anyway, we packed everything back up, which I never do. We usually take everything that is left to Goodwill, but this time we decided to pack it up for another sale in the Fall. So not only will I do a garage sale this year, I'll do two.

I'm crazy like that.

Sooooo, today was an awesome day. It rained. We did manage to sneak in a baseball game, walking with my friends, and a bible study.

We also had a little of this....

And then there was a little of this....

Why is there a Capri - Sun box taped to my table you ask??
Because we would NEVER think of playing with the thousands of toys we have. Instead we will play table hockey with two cups, a water bottle lid and Capri-Sun boxes!
It makes me wonder why we spend the money on toys. If I would have known that this would entertain them this much a few years ago, I could have save so much money!

By the way, pay no attention the mess on my counter and the laundry in the background! I tried to take the picture at an angle that wouldn't show it, but I couldn't do it.

I'm one year closer to the top of that hill

2008-07-18T20:27:00.000-07:00

I am a year older today. I went to the doctor a couple of weeks ago and found out what they do when you start to get old...

...they measure you to make sure you're not shrinking.

By the way, I'm not. That's encouraging.

I also found out that when you get older you may try to unlock your house door with the remote that locks and unlocks your car doors.

It won't work. I tried.