RFamilyMatters

And end of an era

2006-11-29T21:20:00.000-06:00

This will be my last post in the blogging world. I will wait until I get my last "paycheck" from payperpost and then I will delete this blog.

Day off and no time to spare

2006-11-09T09:13:00.000-06:00

Steve took the day off today, but you know where he's at. Anyone want to guess?

Well, you'd be right if you said Fort Leonard Wood, but he's not working.

You see, when he was medically discharged from the Army 2 years ago, he was made a 20 point vet. We thought "yeah, this is great". Well, he met with a VA counselor and the guy told him that he should be at least a 30 point (should get 10 for each surgery and he had 3). So, he appealed last year and just a couple weeks ago, we got a letter from the VA saying that the appeal was denied. We were going to fight it, but it could be years, so we said forget it.

Then a week or so later, we were eating at MickDs and discussing what we would do with $5 million. After we got home that evening, we checked the mail and in it was a letter from the VA saying that he had been granted the 30% and in turn would get all the back pay from the time he got out until now, plus a little extra money every month.

We couldn't help but think about God's timing. Once again, He came through, which is no surprise. He always does. He's always been faithful to us, as long as we remain faithful to him. And we've decided that since we've been living without the extra money, it's been very difficult, but we've managed, we're going to give it all back to him. And we know that God will get us through.

So, that brings me back to Steve. He's at the VA office (I'll explain what for if we manage to get what we're going for). When he gets home, the kids and I have to leave for our last day of co-op. Christian is having a party and he's really looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to seeing his folder of everything he's done this year. My last day in the nursery and I'm actually thinking about doing it again next semester. It's easier for me to go in there then it is for me to go to a class with Eliana. I'm not leaving her in the nursery without me, so the only solution would be to volunteer to work the nursery.

Before we get out of school, Steve has to leave for his classes which mean I won't see him until 10pm or so.

After school, I have to hurry up and come home, feed the kiddos and then turn around and leave for my ball games at 6:30 and 8. Then I have to get home and hurry the boys to bed because it's Thursday and my show is on! More than likely, it'll start taping so I'll have to wait until 10 to watch it, by then Steve will be home and will want to visit. I guess I'll just have to wait until he goes to sleep to watch my show, unless he wants to watch it too.

Good thing Steve is off tomorrow (veteran's day observed).

I'm sleeping in!

My Disclosure

2006-11-08T22:22:00.000-06:00

As you are aware, I do write some posts and get paid for them. There's been some "heat" about payperpost and how people are blogging and getting paid, but aren't mentioning that small little detail.

Personally, I don't really care if it says it or not. Most of the time I think it's blatantly obvious that's it's a paid post and if I don't want to read it, I don't have to. But, there are people out there who are having major problems with it.

So, if they happen to come across my page, I have a disclosure statement. And because I didn't have the faintest idea how to write one, Disclosure Policies helped me.

If you want to view my disclosure policy, click on the icon at the bottom of the page.

School, Politics and Religion

2006-11-08T21:57:00.000-06:00

We started school at 8:27am and were done by 10! We don't normally start until around 10-10:30. But, it was SOOO nice. I was able to accomplish a lot today, which was a great feeling. I tackled the garage, which was desperately needed. I had planned on waiting for Steve to help me, but since I couldn't mow the lawn because we were completely out of gas and Eliana was sleeping, and therefore couldn't go to the gas station, I worked in the garage. It was a nice surprise for Steve when he pulled into the garage. But don't worry, there is more to do on his honey do list. And I'm thinking of ways to increase it since he informed me last night that he will be gone ALL day (starting at 4am) on Saturday to go hunting.

I also got a phone call, totally out of the blue. A friend of mine gave my phone number to someone with a 6 day old baby girl who was haivng problems with nursing. Since I helped her out when her baby was born, she wanted me to help this girl. Even with all the training I've had as a breastfeeding counselor, plus my own personal years of experience breastfeeding, sometimes I think that I may not be able to help someone out. After talking to my friend tonight and learning more about this girl and her personality, it helped me realize why I may have not gotten through to her. We'll see. I told her to call me anytime if she has any problems.

I took the kiddos with me to the voting booth yesterday. Christian watched me darken in all the circles and asked questions about what I was doing. He did ask me why I wasn't voting for President Bush. So, had to explain all that to him. I'm glad he knows who our President is and that we get to choose who is our President. I know at 6 years old I was never taken to the polls. As a matter of fact, 2 years ago, when I was 28, Christian was only 4 and Zachary was only 2, it was all of our first times to the polls!

I met our new pastor tonight. He seemed very nice. Also my friend Tracie who is now the children's pastor gave me a part of every Sunday service to prepare. I feel important back there again. I'm her right hand woman and I'm going to be doing a lot of the same things that I did when Rob was here. I'm excited and looking forward to it again, but it makes me miss Rob too! But, we'll be seeing them at Christmas and I CAN'T WAIT!!!

Want Free Music?

2006-11-08T07:40:00.000-06:00

Our pediatrician recently moved her practice to Springfield so that she could be with her family. While I completely understand and support her decision, we sure do miss her! She’s the best pediatrician and we were blessed to have her for a short time. That left us with a decision that we weren’t planning on having to make…find a new pediatrician.

We have a new pediatrician, but I need a doctor. The only time I’ve seen a doctor since we’ve been out of the military has been the OB. So, I need a “regular” doctor, for check ups and stuff like that.

At vimo, I can check out the doctors in my area and see how they’re rated. And, if I rate any of our doctors, I get 5 FREE songs!

And you can too.

Vimo

Politics

2006-11-08T07:29:00.000-06:00

For the record, I don't like debates and don't like talking politics.

But, I need to say this...

I'm not thrilled with the outcome of our elections!

GOD HELP THE USA!

I Got Paid!

2006-11-06T15:13:00.000-06:00

By now, you know that I occasionally write post for money. I started with payperpost.com in late September. So far, I’ve written 10 posts, been paid $26 and I will be getting paid $42 more within the next month. I started doing this as my way of contributing to my family’s income. I know this is not a lot of money, but I like the idea that I can write about something and a month later, I’m receiving money for it! Right now, the money is going towards bills to help pay off my husband’s school debt, but eventually I’d like to take that money and put it towards my business.

If you’re interested, head over to payperpost.com and when you sign up, use my email address (blessedby3qtz@gmail.com) as your referral. The best part of all this, besides the money you make, is that you don’t even have to know me to use me! So come one over and become a postie!

Weather and mood

2006-11-06T15:02:00.000-06:00

I think the weather plays a big part of my mood. I sure feel the way it looks outside! Of course it doesn't help that Eliana is feeling a bit "under the weather" and has been very clingy and cranky. I haven't done school yet and Zachary is taking a nap!

I really need to lay her down for another nap and let her little body fight this crap! Once she's down, it'll just be Christian and I and we can zip through school with no problems. We'r already going to have to do school on Friday (we normally take the day off) because this Thursday is our last home school co-op until January.

One thing I did manage to accomplish today was that I finally got my business cards, bow cards and notebook ordered. I LOVE IT!!!! The best part of all this was that the bow cards and notebook were free and I only had to pay $10 to customize my business cards. WOO HOO!! I love a great deal like that!

Tomorrow is voting day and I can't wait until it's over! I'm sick and tired of all the campaigning ads on the tv and most of them are attacks against the opponent.

I'll eventually get some new pictures uploaded on to flickr. For now, I need to do school.

Lose the Race, Lose your Ride

2006-11-06T14:37:00.001-06:00

Christian has mentioned to us that he wants us to take him to the tracks to see some car races.

And although we haven't made it to the tracks yet, we did get to see some drag racing during the fair.

Well, there's an all day marathon of PINKS followed by premiere of PINKS All Out on Speedtv on Nov 23rd.

Go there and check out the drag racing clips.

Now, I don't have to leave my house for them to watch a race!

This is a paid opp. This post sponsored by speedtv.com

Childhood crush

2006-11-06T14:11:00.000-06:00

My son has his first official "crush". It's his girlfriend, if you ask him. She's a few months older than him and just a doll.

Well, he decided to make her something, which turned into quite a few pages, aka a book! Last night at church, while I was talking to her mom, he gave his "girlfriend" the book. Both of us turned our heads so they couldn't see us laughing. She was very sweet, sat down and read it over and over again. She thanked him for it and then her mom said that she'll have to make something for him.

Her dad said to Christian, "let's go outside and talk about this. It's going to take a lot more than paper and crayon to win my daughter". We all got a great laugh out of it. Christian is typically a very shy and bashful child, but he stood there with her dad and held his ground! I was so proud of him.

Her mom asked Christian if he wanted a picture of her and he said yes. So, he got her school picture and carried it around like it was a prize!

This morning found him sitting at the table, writing more to her. I hope he doesn't scare her off!

I still remember my first "boyfriend". He brought me a box of chocolates with a card for valentines day. He put it on my front porch, rang the doorbell and ran around the corner. I loved it!

I just hope that no matter what happens between Christian and his girlfriend, they'll be friends, just like me and my first "boyfriend".

Christmas List

2006-11-06T13:55:00.000-06:00

Every year I am asked what I want for Christmas and every year, the answer is the same. Just take the money that you would spend on me and do something for my children. I'm not a materialistic person and I don't have a lot of wants.

My mother-in-law normally sends us money for our anniversary, birthdays and christmas. I have strict instructions when I get my check that I am to spend it for myslf and not the kiddos!

Well, this year is going to be different. We're going home for Christmas and since we're going to be there, my MIL wants to actually buy the presents for us so that she can wrap them, put them under the tree, and watch us open them. Well, here's the problem. The only thing I can think to put on my list is coupon codes'>Kohls coupon codes.

Have any ideas?

All about my children

2006-11-03T18:56:00.000-06:00

This just happened at 6:50pm...11 minutes ago. Christian's first one! I noticed last Saturday morning that it was sore, tonight he was eating dinner and said "I bit my tooth" went in the bathroom and came out with this in his hand.

Oh, and Christian knows who he wants to marry. Paul, I think I might have told him a little too much about you (think elementary). LOL

Zachary did this for the first time last Friday. All by himself, no help! And now, he's writing ALL the time!

And Eliana has decided that her food is not good enough. She has to have what her bubba's are having. So, last night when Christian was eating an apple, she did too, just like him!

On halloween, we went to the skating rink and skated for 2 1/2 hours. They had a blast, although I think Zachary enjoyed it more than Christian did. Zachary had a permanent smile, all night long. And Mr. Independent wouldn't allow me to help him, so most of the time, I skated off without him. Eliana enjoyed skating too.

I'm playing volleyball again this year. I started playing again 2 years ago and I only played 2 times last year. Once when I was 6 weeks pregnant and then when I was a few weeks from my due date. They were afraid I'd get hurt and cause the baby to come too soon. Volleyball is not a contact sport, but I do spend too much time on the floor diving for balls. Maybe that's what they were afraid of. Anyway, I didn't wear knee pads last night cause I really didn't think I'd dive for any balls. Wrong! My knees are SORE!!! Note to self: next week, bring knee pads! Oh, and we won both games.

The Succulent Wife

2006-11-03T09:35:00.000-06:00

It’s that time of year again where we find ourselves roaming through store after store trying to find the perfect gifts for our loved ones. Personally, I love the holiday season, but I dread the stores and the commotion of all the shoppers trying to buy gifts.

I would much rather get something that my children have made for me than for them to spend their money on something from a store. I love when my children make me something at church, all from their precious little hands.

I also enjoy making things. I’d like to think that I’m a crafty person, after all I do make all Eliana’s bows, scrapbook, photography, etc. So, I’m always looking at craft websites to get ideas of new things that I can tackle.

I was looking at a website, The Succulent Wife's Holiday Gift Guide, today and it has given me some great ideas. I may not have the time to get stuff made for Christmas this year, but I will have time next year. But, in the meantime, this website offers many different items, ranging from home-made looking items to jewelry, to luxurious items, for the children in your family to the chocolate lover. Everyone is covered!

Here’s a couple examples for you:

And although this site doesn’t help me with my new endeavor, it has given me some ideas for the future!

It was bound to happen!

2006-10-23T13:39:00.000-05:00

Just for the record, I'm skipping the month of October from now on! Just like the movie "Click", I'm fast-forwarding through October. I'll go to bed September 30th and wake-up Nov. 1st. Just in time for the holidays.

And here is why I'm skipping October...

October 2. 2002, Christian fell and busted his chin which landed us in the E.R. Thank God they just glued him up and sent us home.

October 29, 2005 we ended up in the E.R. because a 9 year old boy tripped and fell on Christian and broke his radius and ulna (both bones from his elbow to his wrist). With that visit, he was given some I.V. medicine which knocked him out and allowed the doctor to set his arm and cast it.

October 22, 2006 saw us in the E.R. again with Christian, this time we were thinking it was his appendix. You want to know what the diagnosis was...drum roll please...RESTRICTED AIRWAY DISEASE. A fancy word for asthma. Which Steve and I both believe is a bunch of crap! I asked the respitory therapsit if it was possible for him to be wheezing because he had a cold and she said yes. I'm not going to go into the entire ordeal (about 6 hours worth), but after a bunch of test they said his appendix was fine.

Christian runs all the time and he's never had a problem with his breathing. Therefore, we are not going to take him to his doctor unless he starts showing signs that he's having a hard time breathing. And because he's with me 24/7, I'll notice.

And pretty much everyone knows that I do not want my daughter growing up on me. Well, she's gone and done it. She's officially a "bi-ped". She's been walking around our house for quite some time, but she now has the confidence to venture out on her own when we're out of her comfort zone.

And we have Aunt Tracie to blame. My friend Tracie and one of her daughters watched my children so Steve and I could go out on a date. She had all kinds of things planned for them so I knew they would have a great time. I didn't "worry" about them, but after 2 hours, I was ready to go get them.

And although I'm not ready for her to grow-up, she looks so stinkin' cute walking around. And, what makes her different from the boys when they started walking (besides her being my oldest to start walking), she loves carrying things around when she's walking. It doesn't matter what it is, but she always has something.

But, whatever you say, the "T" word is off limits!

And I can finally announce that Tracie is the one who is taking over the children's department. Aside from Rob, who has a remarkable calling for children's ministry, I can't think of a better person to take over. Tracie will do a great job and I look forward to working with her and doing a lot more with the kids than I have this past year.

Little Diva

2006-10-19T08:54:00.000-05:00

I know I'm a week late, but here's Eliana's 10 month pictures. For those of you who really know me, this outfit and bow come as no surprise. For those who don't, I love leopard print...so much that my bedroom is done in it!

This is the beginning of her wearing size 12 month clothes and there are more leopard print outfits to come! She wore this outfit to church last night and her jacket that went over this...a leaopard print "fur" coat. A jacket that normally cost $60 for $12...yah, couldn't pass that one up! My mom would wonder if she raised her daughter correctly! LOL

She just blew me a kiss in this picture.

In this picture, bunch of her blowing kisses and of course, extreme close ups of a beautiful face!

In Honor...

2006-10-19T08:08:00.000-05:00

In honor of my parents on their 32nd anniversary!

October 19, 1974

Happy Anniversary

Thank you for teaching me how to love and showing me what a marriage is about.

I love you!

Save Money!

2006-10-19T07:37:00.000-05:00

I love coupons!

My mom really loves coupons!

That's probably why I like them. While growing up, we had a huge bag of coupons for groceries and before my mom would go shopping, she would bring out all the coupons and have them spread all over the floor, putting them in piles and picking out the ones that she would need. I'm sure she saved thousands of dollars doing that. And now, when she gets her newspapers, she takes them apart and all the coupons that she wants, goes in one pile, the comics in another and the rest of the paper in a separate pile.

Well, in today's world we have this wonderful thing called the internet. And you know what that means, "e-coupons". No more having to cut coupons and find a place to keep them and hope you don't forget about them.

So, I'll be heading over to Target and JoAnn and using their coupon codes!

So, hurry over and check them out! Take advantage of getting what you need/want and saving some money in the process!

Picture Update

2006-10-17T10:27:00.000-05:00

I'm still having problems posting pictures, so I just uploaded the ones into flickr.

This is the first picture and then you can view the rest from there. http://www.flickr.com/photos/rfamily/272255441/

A Survivor's Story

2006-10-17T09:45:00.000-05:00

Since it’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to talk about a remarkable woman and her story about breast cancer. We’ll call her Dee, for privacy sake.

This woman is “grandma” to my kids. She had 7 boys, but always longed for a girl. She adopted us when we started attending our church, 3 years ago. She has been very dear to us ever since. Last summer, we took a trip out to Pennsylvania to visit family and friends and when we returned, she pulled me aside to tell me that she had found a lump. I felt like I had been kicked in the gut. It was devastating news. But, instead of getting down about it, I joined her in prayer for her healing. We know God is the ultimate physician and could heal her, if that was His will.

About a month after she found the lump, she was finally able to get in to see the doctor. She went through a battery of test and the results said cancer. That was easy to take because the rest of the news was that it had spread into her lymph nodes and once it does that, it’s in the rest of the body.

They scheduled her for surgery on Friday morning (2 months after first finding the lump) and we went to visit her on Saturday morning. She was sitting on a chair, waiting for her discharge papers! She looked great and was feeling great. I could not believe that this older woman, just had a mastectomy 24 hours ago and was getting ready to leave the hospital!

A couple days later, we went to her house to check on her and take her dinner and she looked remarkable! She took me into one of the bedrooms and showed me the after affects of the surgery. It’s one site that is forever burned into my memory.

She still had to go through testing to see if the cancer had spread. The power of prayer beat this terrible, life threatening disease. Not only did the cancer not spread, but she has been marked as cancer free! No chemo, no radiation therapy. She has to take some medicine for 5 years, but that beats what one would “typically” have to go through with cancer.

She will tell you how very important it is to do your self checks every month and at the first sign of something being different, go to the doctor! If you find something yourself, the chances of you beating the disease are much greater than if you were to wait until you went to the doctor for a check up.

God has a very special plan for our Dee and I’m so thankful that I’m around to be a part of her life!

For a story of a woman who is actually going through breast cancer treatment right now, go check out her journal and she lets you know what's happening, when it's happening. Let Sylvie know you're thinking about her.

It's about time!

2006-10-16T08:22:00.000-05:00

**Lots of problems uploading pictures. I've published this and have come back to try to upload more pictures, but the ones I'm trying to upload are not letting me. So, I'll keep trying and when I finally get them in, I'll delete this part of the post.**

It's about time I posted an update. A lot has happened, a lot has been going on and when I've had a free minute here or there, I haven't really had an interest in sitting here and typing.

So for a recap...

I turned 30 at the end of September. It was a very nice weekend! My boys treated me to dinner and my husband surprised me with a mint chocolate chip ice-cream cake with a koala and pink bow in her hair. My favorite cake, with my favorite icing, with my favorite animal with my new passion...making bows for my little princess. He wanted to get a camera on there too, but there wasn't enough room. We did some other stuff and I had some special phone calls and now begins a new decade in my life.

I chopped my hair off and I LOVE it!!!

School is going great! We are having such a wonderful time and I absolutely love the time I get to spend with them. We've had quite a few "WOW" moments in the past couple weeks and it just reassures me that we're doing the best thing for our family by home schooling our children. We've also increased our family size by 1 (female) cricket, 2 bugs, we think might be tomoto bugs and a catepillar that is now in a cocoon.

Christian is reading very well now. I was worried because he wasn't very intersted in reading, but now he wants to read all the time and he's actually picking out books that are very challenging to him, but he works through it and gets it!!

Zachary has become very interested in writing and keeps asking me to start him in kindergarten. Without me teaching me, he's writing a bunch of letters. So, now that the interest is there, we're going to act on it since he'll learn so much because he WANTS to!

Eliana is a walking, talking machine! She is letting go of things on her own and taking steps, but we're not quite ready to make the transition from crawling to walking completely yet. If it was up to me, she wouldn't be walking at all for quite a while. I'm not ready to say toddler! And just like her brothers, we're seeing a surge in her language abilities and I firmly believe it's because of her signing.

We got to spend some extra time off with Steve last week. The boys were sick last Wednesday and then I started getting sick, so Steve took 1/2 the day off. On Thursday, he stayed home to help me out because I was feeling miserable, although the boys were doing better. Friday he had already taken the day off to go hunting with our pastor, but plans changed, so we had him to ourself. Monday was a holiday, so he was home. We sure did get spoiled!

Our associate pastor and his wife who is our children's director are moving, so we have 2 new positions to fill. They're both filled, but he's only announced who the new associate pastor is. The person who will be taking over for the children has one more step to go, but I know without a doubt that this person won't have any problems! Also, we unveiled the plans for our church last night. It's absoultely beautiful! I can't wait to see it finished. There was info that was not mentioned last night, so I don't know if I can talk about it or not, but I will say this. It won't be long before we get started and it won't be long before it's completed! I'm supposed to be getting a copy of the video and when I do, I'll upload it to the church webpage and then I'll link it so you can see it.

And I took 257 pictures of my family last week and almost all of them turned out great! I put a few on here and the rest I'll upload to flickr, when I get a chance. I had a lot of problems with the pictures on here, so hopefully you'll be able to see them no problem.

Sleepless Weekend

2006-09-24T21:06:00.000-05:00

My baby boy turned 4 on Thursday. We did cupcakes and sang to him on Wednesday night in his Rainbow class. When we got home, we let him open presents since daddy was going to be gone at work and school. On Thursday, I asked him what he wanted for his birthday breakfast and he said "pancakes with candles in them". He asked if I could color them for him, so he ended up with "candy apple" pancakes. Green...his faovrite color! The above picture was when Christian and I were singing Happy Birthday to him before he got to eat his cupcake and ice-cream. The picture below is his birthday breakfast.

Everyone in my family has had their sleep routines messed up all weekend. Although I survived my missionettes sleepover, I did not get much sleep. And although I had a migraine and felt sick yesterday morning, I survived it. I'm in no hurry to do it again next year though! But, I did learn some valuable lessons which I will use to plan next years sleepover. Zachary went to sleep about midnight and Eliana went to sleep about 11:30 (was not for a lack of trying). It was a girl party and she wanted to be a part of it. The girls had a lot of fun and that's who I did it for!

Steve didn't get much sleep because I was gone.

Christian spent the night with his good friends, Charlie, Chris & Cody. They stayed up until about 11pm. They had so much fun that yesterday morning when I talked to them, they begged to keep him again and they would bring him to church with them this morning. We went out to pick him up and they begged some more to keep him, but this time, Zachary started in. So, after a lot of talking, a lot of history stuff, show & tell, football game (should have seen me dive for the first down...ruined a pair of good jeans), joking around and a lot of fun, we gave in and let both boys stay the night. They stayed up until 11 or so last night, so I know they are exhausted! Also, we had planned on doing something with Zachary for his birthday yesterday, but because he wanted to play with the boys, Waunita (the boys' mom) made Zachary a birthday cake and sang happy birthday to him. It was so sweet of her to do that for my boy! But, that is how this family is. They are very special people. And it's also nice to know that they are a strong Christian family (not only the parents who walk the walk and talk the talk, but all 3 boys do to...very rare!!) who doesn't allow junk into their homes. So, I know that when my boys are over there, they won't be getting junk that is not allowed in our home as well!

I hope they sleep in tomorrow morning!

So, what did we do with no boys for the night? Went to bed early! Some partyers we are. LOL. We were so tired, we just went to bed and got to sleep in this morning!

Today at church our children's director (she's not a pastor) was talking about servants and before she got into her message, she had me and my friend Tracie come up to the front. She said that we don't have to help in the back, but we're faithful every week to help out with kidz church. We're doing what God has called us to do. And then she presented both of us with a beautiful frame that says "Serving the Lord" with a picture of all my kids in kidz church. It had us teary eyed. It was so sweet and so unexpected! It's definitely something I'll treasure forever!

So, I think that's all for what has been going on for the last few days.

But before I go, I want to leave you with one important announcement...

I'll be the big 3-0 on Friday! Woo-hoo!!!

Building Our Dream Home

2006-09-24T20:58:00.000-05:00

My dream some day is to build my own home out in the country. I love the look and feel of a log home. Something about it just screams “country” to me.

When we get to the point where we’re ready to seriously start building, I’ll be checking out this website to help guide us on this adventure. It will answer any question I have about building a log home/cabin and tell me how the planning and financing of a log home differes from buying a traditional stick-built home. It will even help me save money.

After all, when Steve comes home with a deer head, he’s going to need a wall to put it on.

I forgot to mention

2006-09-20T07:46:00.000-05:00

I'm experiencing something brand new with Eliana!

Both the boys went through "separation anxiety", even refusing to go to people they knew, but never at bed time with them.

Well, when I put Eliana to bed last night, she grabbed my neck and used her feet to climb back up. I felt so bad putting her down. She was crying and obviously didn't want to be in there without me. I laid her down, covered her up and she only cried for a mintue, but still, I hate when she cries!

With the boys, they nursed to sleep every night. With her, she nurses and then I lay her down (awake) and normally she does not cry.

I hope this part of the "separation anxiety" doesn't last long.

Payperpost.com

2006-09-20T07:38:00.000-05:00

As you can probably tell from the massive amount of posts that I did last night, that I am trying something new.

I'm wanting to start up a business, eventually (we're talking very primitive stages here). Of course, there's a lot of money that goes into getting one started and I figured this could only help me get started. After all, who couldn't use more money?

You too can join in and make some money. It's very simple and if you're already blogging, why not give it a try?! First step is to go to payperpost.com. It will want some info from you, wait for your blog to get approved and then start picking what you want to write about. It's really that simple!

And if you sign up, use me as a reference (blessedby3qtz@gmail.com)!

Talker!

2006-09-20T07:04:00.000-05:00

My daughter constantly makes us laugh. Last night was no exception. We skipped bedtime last night and stayed up playing Skip-Bo while waiting for daddy to get home. We got done right as Steve pulled in--good timing! The boys got to show daddy what they got during the day and then he was able to put them to bed.

After the boys were successfully in bed, Eliana found a balloon and was crawling around the floor "talking" into the balloon. Steve has done that to her one time, a couple months ago. But, here she was, crawling around, chasing after the balloon and talking into it. She was in her own little world.

And then, she came to me, was standing holding onto my leg and then just let go and took 2 steps! I have yet to get her taking steps on film, but as soon as I do, I'll share.

She also was sitting on the floor, looking at Steve and "talking". They held a conversation, not really understandable, except on Steve's end. The boys babbled and made all kinds of sounds and stuff, but she is actually trying to talk. She is already saying a couple things that I didn't think I'd hear out of my 9 month old's mouth.

So, for my friends with girls, is this normal?

I guess I should have expected this since my boys talk to her constantly, even when I want quiet. I have asked them to be quiet, they keep talking so I ask what part of be quiet do you not understand and Steve will say "the q, u, i, e, and t". One day, Chrsitian will be saying that to me!

(Meghan, I can't wait to see Avery & Ellie together! I know Avery has to be talking like her momma (LOL), so it will be interesting to see how 2, one and half year olds talk!)

Shoes for the Whole Family

2006-09-19T19:04:00.000-05:00

With the cooling of the weather comes the time when we must set aside our flip-flops, sandals or desire to go bare-footed and put on the shoes.

We have many different shoe needs in my family. My husband has to have special types of shoes with inserts because of the problems he has with his feet.

I just don’t like to wear them. If I had a choice, I’d go bare footed all the time.

The boys are rough on their shoes, so I need to buy good pairs that aren’t ridiculously expensive; after all, they are young boys and they’re still growing quite a bit.

And there’s my daughter, who doesn’t have a need for shoes just yet. She’s taking her first steps, so soon, I’ll be in the market for a good pair of supportive shoes for her.

What better place to shop for all our shoe needs than at a one stop store with a huge inventory that promotes the most reputable stores. With free shipping and free returns, no sales tax to most states, plus many other great advantages, this store is definitely worth checking out!

I know we will be!

Sad

2006-09-19T18:51:00.000-05:00

My friend told me about a little girl dying from neurblastoma. Ever since, I've been hooked on her page. My heart just breaks for this family. Check her out and even if you don't post anything to Angela and Shayne, I know they would covet your prayers!

Picture This For Fun

2006-09-19T18:31:00.000-05:00

As my friends and family know, I love taking pictures. But I don’t like settling for just taking pictures, I like doing fun and different things to them. Not everyone can you use Photoshop, but now there’s no need.

Would you like to do something different with your pictures? Why not try out Pixifun? Pixifun Photo Kits, With this site, you can choose from many different items. You can make a photo key ring , photo magnets , photo sticker album , photo ID badge, or a CD label.

These kits are as easy as 1, 2, 3. You just import your favorite picture, print them out, and place the printed pieces into whichever project you’re working on. The software, pre-cut photo inlays, and an alignment guide with test sheets for easy printing are all included. These kits are so easy and fun to do that it would make a perfect rainy day project to do with the kids.

And what is even more remarkable about all this…it only cost $4.99 with FREE shipping! You can’t go wrong!

And right now, there is a limited time buy any 4 kits, get 1 free offer that also includes FREE shipping.

With the holidays fast approaching, you can complete these kits and give them as gifts, or you can give the whole kit as a stocking stuffer.

We like to make our own gifts for family, so this just might be something that the boys will enjoy doing!

Phone

2006-09-19T18:25:00.000-05:00

I got my new phone today! And although it's not that much different than the other one I had, I have to learn a new phone all over again. I really don't like getting new phones. I wanted to spend some time making bows, but I haven't had a chance.

I know Steve will want to play with it when he gets home from school.

Boys and their toys, even when the "toys" aren't theirs. Maybe I should just let him learn all about it and then tell me what I need to know.

Trick or Treat

2006-09-19T18:16:00.000-05:00

We were at Wal-mart today getting a few things for Zachary's birthday "party" for Rainbows tomorrow and everywhere I turned, there were halloween decorations. Now, halloween is not my favorite time, however it happens to be during my favorite season.

I love decorating my house with the different seasons, unfortunately I don't have a lot of fall/autumn decorations anymore. But, searching the web, there's an online store called onlinediscountmart.com that can meet all our needs this season.

Although I won't be rushing to buy the halloween decorations, I do plan on spending some time in the fall "aisle".

Family Update

2006-09-18T17:11:00.000-05:00

Christian is doing great in school. His reading is improving every day. It's still a battle to get him to read because he'd rather be doing math and history. So, I do the stuff he doesn't want to do first, so that it's out of the way. His attitude is changing about it too, so I'm sure that helps. His hand writing is wonderful. Steve tells me that Christian has nicer handwriting (cursive) than a lot of the boys in Steve's ranger class (3rd-5th grade). Makes me proud! He's spending the night with some friends on Friday night. This is the first time he'll actually be spending the night at one of his friends house. He's looking forward to it. He'll also get to go to a football game as well.

And because of the football game, Zachary now does not want to spend the night with me on Friday. But, he's staying with me. He'll get to have a good time and I hope he'll forget the fact that he's not watching football. Zachary is going to be 4 on Thursday, but because Steve is in class on Thursday nights, we're going to celebrate it probably on Saturday. I'll do something special just us during the day, but we're going to do something as a family when we can all be together. He's going back and forth between 2 different ideas, so at this time, I don't know for sure what he wants to do. I'm also going to make him something to share with his Rainbow class on Wednesday night. Knowing him, he'll be very embarassed. He's starting to show a lot more interest in writing and being a part of school. Yesterday afternoon he was playing with alphabet cards/puzzle and he brought some of them to me and I asked him what the letters were, he was able to tell me some of them! I was so excited. I love seeing stuff "click" with them.

Eliana continues to grow, despite my protests and my talks with her. She's becoming more confident on her feet and now when she's cruising, she's letting go of whatever it is she's cruising along and taking a step or two by herself. Her vocabulary now consists of mama, dada, bubba, cat, dog, meow (her version), uh-oh (one of her personal favorites) and the many "signs" that she has mastered. I'm so glad the boys love signing with her; makes it much easier for her to pick up on them. She has 4 teeth now (the 4th one came in this morning) and is handling it very well! The close up of her is one of her favorite faces to make and one that invokes a great deal of laughter from all of us, no matter how often she does it.

As for me, well to say that I have a lot going on is an understatement. Some things I'm not going to share, but others well, not that you'll care, but here it is. This Friday is the Missionettes sleepover and it's a nation wide (big deal) thing. So, I've got decorating to do, goody bags, crafts, games, devotions, dinner, breakfast and snacks, awards, advertising. Add that to bow making, homeschooling, homeschooling co-ops, paying attention to my children, cleaning the house...oh sheesh, the list goes on. No need for all of us to have a headache! I do however need to get as much done as I can by Thursday night because come 9pm, the children WILL be in bed and I will be laying back on my bed for the season opener of my show. I survived the summer without it, but I'm ready for my Thursday "date" night with my tv!!

Steve figured out how much time he spends on the road (Monday through Friday)..12 hours. It's even more depressing how many hours I see and even more depressing than that is how many hours the children see him. No need to share the depressing number, but I can tell you that when he puts the boys to bed on Sunday night, if I didn't take them out to meet him at our rendezvous point, they wouldn't see him until Wednesday evening, for a short few minutes before we're walking out the door to go to church. It's the sacrifices we have to make to do what God has told us to do and He never promised us that it would be easy, but it sure does SUCK!!! He went hunting with our pastor on Friday and although he saw a couple doe, heard a deer under his tree stand (sounded like a big one) and almost got attacked by a squirrel (like 8 inches away...Jen, you're the squirrel expert, do they "protect" their trees?) he did not catch a deer. They are making plans to go out again, when it's actually cooler and the deer move a bit more.

That's all folks.

Tune in next time when you get to find out if I survived the night with 30-40 girls!

9-11

2006-09-11T22:08:00.000-05:00

All about the Princess

2006-09-08T18:17:00.000-05:00

So, the day got better. After lunch, everything seemed to mellow out. I'm sure a lot of my problem is the fact I'm still so tired from my weekend in Oklahoma and the major lack of sleep that has been going on for the last week!

After lunch, the boys and I took apart their bunk bed. It was much easier to take down then it was for Steve, Josh and I to make it a few years ago. Tomorrow, the new bed will takes its place in its new room. Also, this is the beginning of "Operation Camouflage". No details now, but pictures will be uploaded during the process.

And today, Eliana took another step to me, but this time with much more confidence then the first time she did (or the few other times she's taken them with Steve). I must admit that I still would love to keep my baby a baby, but I was excited to see this change in her. This picture is of her standing in the middle of the living room floor. She loves being on her feet! A few other pictures have been uploaded on flickr. One of them has a really good shot of her first tooth and the 2nd one that has just broken through! Hopefully this time it will stay out instead of the gums swelling back over it like last time.

Also, her word of the day...UH-OH. SOOOOOO stinking cute!

One of those days

2006-09-08T11:45:00.000-05:00

Have you ever had "one of those days"? The kind where you either want to strangle everyone that talks you or you have to get away from civilization for your the sake of your sanity.

Well, I am and both of those apply to me.

Maybe the hummingbird sitting outside my window will help me.

Nope it didn't work. But if I was by myself, sitting outside, it would.

Flickr

2006-09-07T08:21:00.000-05:00

Alright, I opened a flickr account and until I can figure out how to add flickr to my page, I'll just have to add the link and you can mosy on over to flickr and check out the rest of the pics.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rfamily/236801960/

Birthday's galore

2006-09-06T07:54:00.000-05:00

We spent the weekend at my parents house. My nephew turned 1 on Saturday so we went to celebrate with him. I took (literally) hundreds of pictures. I'm working on making him a book. While I was there, my sister asked me to scan and make copies of her pictures and now I get to photoshop her wedding pictures!!

Steve's birthday was yesterday and since he had to work and go to school, I threw him a surprise party on Monday. What I would do without Sheila, I hate to think of that!!! The party was over at Chris and Sheila's and they were awesome! I really should say that she threw the party. I just bought the food and picked up the all chocolate ice-cream cake (YUMMY!). She did everything else. Steve had no clue about any of it. He just thought he was going to hang out with Chris for a while since he was getting ready to be consumed with school and won't have much time for socializing.

Zachary's birthday is up next and he'll be 4. 2 days later is my brother's birthday and then 6 days later I'll be the big 3-oh!!! It'll be a nice quiet evening at home since Steve will not have school that night. Hopefully he wont' have much homework either.

I have pictures to share, but not the time to upload them. I might just have to jump on the bandwagon and get a flickr account.

1st day out of the way!

2006-08-24T16:43:00.001-05:00

It was a bit crazy this afternoon! I suddenly felt like "the new kid on the block". I really don't like that feeling. I had no clue where I was going, what I was supposed to do. All I knew was what classes the boys had and where I was supposed to be. So, I had to ask. A lady pointed me in the right direction and off we went.

Christian did just fine going into his classes. I didn't worry about him too much. I made sure he got a seat and then we headed down to the preschool class. That was a NIGHTMARE!!! There were 5-6 ladies at any given time and I had no clue who was the teacher or the assistant. Come to find out, there were only 11 kids who were signed up and supposed to be in the class and there ended up being around 20, if not more. What made it worse is that the teacher brought 6 of her grandchildren in the class and they were not signed up and on the list. That made it even more chaotic! I heard one of the panel members talking and she's not happy about it and is planning on saying something. So, we'll see. I had to stay in the class with Zachary. He would not leave me, except towards the end when he got to be part of "tea party" and got apple juice and teddy grahams. Of course, it was food, so no surprise there. But, when I had to do my time in the nursery, he came with me.

One thing that really got me was the fact that when I came out of the nursery and went to get Christian, he was not in his class. No one was in there. I was not happy. I eventually found him, sitting BY HIMSELF at a table. Hello...where's the teacher?!??! I understand that they may have to get to another class to teach, but under no circumstances should a child be left alone! I'm going to have to talk to my friend who takes over the nursery for the 3rd hour and let her know that as soon as she gets in there, I have to leave. And to top it off, the lady who works with me during 2nd hour was 15-20 minutes late and did not do much at all! A little frustrating!

There are some things that I'd change and other things seem to work well, but being that I'm not in a position to say anything, I'll just keep my mouth shut.

So, we'll see how this semester plays out.

It's over and I survived!

2006-08-23T21:32:00.000-05:00

Our Missionettes/Royal Rangers awards ceremony is over. I survived being on stage. It actually wasn't bad, but I've been practicing all year getting out of my comfort zone. It paid off!

I started working on the stuff at 7 this morning and it took ALL day to get every little detail taken care of. We didn't even get to do school. But that's ok, we can make it up tomorrow or Friday.

But, I'm a horrible, horrible mother! The worst...

I FORGOT MY CAMERA!!! This coming from the woman who takes her camera EVERYWHERE and is always looking for a picture moment. AGGHHHHHHH

And what really sucks about the fact that I forgot my camera is that Zachary was the only boy in his class to earn every badge this year and Christian (the youngest in his class which is made up of kindergardners through 2nd graders) earned 9--the most in his class! I'm a proud mama!

Tomorrow is our first day of our homeschool coop meeting. Christian is very excited. Zachary is a little more nervous, but he says he's looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to meeting other homeschooling moms. So, we'll see what tomorrow holds.

Conversations

2006-08-21T07:31:00.000-05:00

I got great news yesterday! I was talking to a friend at church yesterday and she informed me that her daughter is coming home. MY FRIEND IS COMING HOME!!! I told her that if I wasn't in heals and a skirt I would have skipped down the hall. You know, I may have done it just in the skirt. Anyway, she'll be back at the beginning of September and I can't wait. Unfortunately, her first Sunday back and I'll be gone. That's ok, cause she's moving home!!! I tried calling her yesterday but we ended up playing phone tag and she' now it. LOL

A conversation between the boys and me.

Z: She (Eliana) smiled at me
Me: she always smiles.
Z: did she smile when she was born?
Me: she did
Z: she was naked when she was born
Me: all babye's are born naked. there aren't any clothes in mommy's tummy. You were born naked too. And Christian. And Mommy. And Daddy.
C: even strangers.
Z: even strangers?
Me: yes, everybody.
C: even zebras.
Me: that's different. They don't wear clothes. They just have hair.
C: You can tell it's a boy; their penis hangs down.

Cue the mouth open, jaw hit the floor look. What in the world make them think of things like that?

Me: Yes, you are correct. Eat your dinner.

Busy week ahead for me. Wednesday night is our annual Missionettes/Royal Rangers promotion service and I as the Miss. coordinator have to take to the stage. I'm not as nervous as I normally am though. This past year has given me many opportunities to be on stage to help combat my MAJOR scare of an audience looking at me. I can get on stage with the kids and bounce around and sing, no problem. Put me out their in front of hundreds of adults and you might as well forget about me making any sense. But this time, I'm not going to be doing most of the talking. That's up to the teachers.

On Thursday is our first day of the homeschooling coop for this semester. Looking forward to getting together with other homeschooling moms and children and hopefully mine will make some friends their ages. It helps that I already have a friend that goes and I've talked to a few people who head up some of the departments, so in a way I feel like I already have been there.

And then on Friday, we're getting together with a friend so the boys can play. This will be a nice and welcome break. I did get a break last Friday when Steve took both the boys to work with him for the day. They had a great time and it allowed me to get some things done. I didn't get as much done as I wanted to (darn internet), but I did accomplish some things without them underfoot.

And since it's Monday, I need to get ready before the kiddos start waking up cause we have school today.

Changes

2006-08-17T14:07:00.000-05:00

We've seen quite a few changes this month.

We have a 1st grader. We're doing more work this year than we did last year and he's handling it very well. He asks to do school everyday. Today I decided to do school this afternoon and Christian didn't like that. He wanted to do it this morning. The way we're doing it is allowing us to get through the subjects that we need to cover and have lots of free time to do whatever we want. The best part is that we'll still get all the hours that we're required to get in. So far we're really enjoying the new companies that we chose instead of everything through one company.

Zachary has been sitting with us and wanting to be a part of school. I'm not doing a full blown curriculum with him. He looks forward to the math part of the day. He's grabbed on to this new curriculum very fast, almost better than Christian. Christian is good at math, but he loves history (and is better than me when it comes the different wars!). Zachary is doing well with it and really likes it! It will be interesting to see what they consider their favorite subjects.

Eliana is 8 months now and growing way to fast! She got her first tooth the day before she was 8 months and her 2nd tooth is about to break through, any day now. She loves clapping and when we feed her, after every bite she expects someone to say "yeah" and clap with her. Soooo cute!!

As for me, I finally have a picture of me that I like, so I thought I'd share. Don't get used to this, it doesn't happen very often. A friend saw this picture and commented on how short my hair is. My hair is still long, not like it normally is, but in this picture it looks shorter because of the layers.

I also need to add this in. On Sunday, apparently the outfit I was wearing did wonders for me. I had quite a few people tell me how good I looked and how much weight I've lost. But, last night, I had a friend tell me that she saw me walking on Sunday and said to herself "who's the new teenager?". She said I looked so cute and 10 years younger. Music to my ears. Don't get me wrong, I'm looking forward to turning 30 in 6 weeks and 1 day, but to be told that I don't look my age, yah, I'll take it!

I now have a new favorite outfit.

Too bad I couldn't get away with wearing it more often!

Homesick

2006-08-17T08:03:00.000-05:00

I've been reading friends posts, one in paticular, who has added to my feelings of longing to be back where I grew up. But, in order to really understand, you first must have a little background.

I'm a brat.

More importantly (and I wear this "title" proudly!), I'm an AIR FORCE brat.

I'm almost 30 years old and I will always be a brat.

But, I don't come from a typical military family. Yes, I had a mom and dad, brother and sister, cats and dogs. But, the typical military family moves around every so often. Depending on the member's job, some move more frequently than others.

I was born in Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland. Both my parents grew up close enough to here that when I came along, both sides of the family got to enjoy me. Then my sister came along (14 months 6 days to be exact). Shortly after she came along, we moved to Hill AFB, Utah. At this time, my dad was still flying helicopters. We were at Hill for about 2 years and then had orders for California. But, before we made the trek to Cali, my dad had school (Alabama I think), so we lived in Arizona with my mom's parents who had left the east coast. We moved to California in 1979 and that's where we stayed. And stayed. And stayed. My dad wanted to be stationed in Germany and me, being the wonderful "daddy's girl" took up that desire. Only, that desire is as strong today, if not stronger, than it ever was. While in California, my dad quit flying helicopters and took on the C-131; big, noisy cargo planes. That could be why I love planes today!

While in California, we added a baby brother, found a church we loved, friends that became family to us, and a school system that allowed me to have the same friends from elementary school through my first year of high school. We settled into life, like all military families do, and expected that my dad would retire there. Well, that all changed one winter day in early 1991.

I had been on a ski trip with friends and when I came home, my dad was waiting for me at the front door. He told me that he and my mom needed to talk to me in their room. My first response was "I haven't been here all week, I didn't do anything!" My dad just said come with him. So, I sat down on my parents bed and he handed me a book about Germany. He asked if I'd be interested in going there. I yelled yes, after all, this is what my dad and I wanted! I'm thinking, this will be a great vacation. Then my dad says, "for 3 years". My mouth dropped. Was he serious? Yep, he was. Remember, this was early January. He had to be in Germany by April. Not much time when you've got 3 kids in school and 11 years of friendships and memories. I was on cloud 9! Then they hit me with the bad news. I could not take my cat. Then I crawled under their bed and cried, "I'm not going without Frisky". They managed to get me to calm down and sit down and tell me that my grandfather had agreed to take mine and my sister's cat for us and when we moved back to the states, we could have them back. That settled, I was ready to go.

It seemed like I was the only one ready to go. My dad left in April and we stayed behind to pack up and finish the school year. It was very difficult time for my family and our friends who had to say good-bye. I didn't even go to the surprise going away party that my best friend threw for me. For me, it was easier to start distancing myself from everyone, so that when I was actually gone, it would seem like I had been gone for awhile and hopefully it would be easier. It wasn't, but with the idea of moving to Germany before me, I didn't dwell on the fact that I was leaving the only home that I had known. We had a family reunion, minus my dad, in early July and then we were on our way.

On July 9th, I stepped into the Brussels airport, forever leaving me with a very deep love and desire to be in Europe! Of course, at that moment, the only thing I cared about was seeing my dad again! We saw him standing up behind some glass waiting for us, but we had to go through customs and all that jazz before we could get to him.

Our family reunited once again, we began our journey to our new home in Niederheid, Germany. My dad found us a house before we got there, so we were able to move in right away. We had some stuff already there, but we had to wait (I think it was a couple months) before we got all our furniture and our remaining household goods. My mom and sister had a very hard time adjusting, but I was LOVING it!!!

We had a new home in a new country, a new school in a different country and my dad had a new job now on a NATO airbase flying the NATO E-3A. We lived in Germany, but my school was in the Netherlands. I went to school with Americans, Canadians, Greek, Turks, Brits, Portuguese, and the list goes on. There were Germans in our school, but they had their own section. The school was k-12th grade, but of course, everyone had their own sections. The high school was very small. We only had 57 or something like that in our graduating class. And apparently my reputation preceeded me when it came to softball. My coach couldn't wait until I got there. We started softball in January and that's when I really began to fall in love with Europe. I got to travel to many different countries doing what I loved most, playing ball. I got to experience many different things. Things that you wouldn't experience if you were to just sit around and wait for your tour to be over. We know families like this. They are miserable in their assignment because they're not in America.

Europe is where I grew up. I graduated, learned to drive, met my "first love", met the one who is now my best friend (playing ball), got married (in Denmark), honeymooned (in Australia). I went from being more than an AF brat, I became an Army wife. I have many memories, but I still have a longing to be back there.

While in Europe, I made more friends and had to say good-bye to more friends than I ever did while living in California. Some of those friends I still keep in touch with today others are just a memory. If Steve came home and told me that there's a job opening for him overseas, I'd tell him that I'll be on the next plane out and I'll be waiting for him over there!

So, if you ask me where I'm from or where I grew up, now you know your answer.

I didn't leave my heart in San Francisco, it's in Europe!

Reflections

2006-08-11T06:57:00.000-05:00

Getting up at 6am is KICKING MY BUTT. I'm a night person, so I can't get myself to go to bed at a decent time so that by 6am, I've had the amount of sleep my body needs. I'm the type of person that NEEDS her sleep. But, I did manage to get up 3 out of the 5 days and make hubby breakfast. Hopefully I can sleep-in tomorrow morning, especially since Steve has a lot of homework that needs to be done by Tuesday!

Tuesday is his last night of school until the end of August. I'm looking forward to this break. When school starts back up, it's going to be even worse then his summer session. He'll be taking 4 classes and the kiddos will get to see him Sunday and then not again until Wednesday night and then not again until Friday night and Saturday is going to be our family time. We are going to NEED that time.

On Monday, I finally found a left handed golf set cheaper than anywhere else. So, I bought them. They charged me for it and then I get an email saying that the order was cancelled. I'm thinking, "you know what is going to hit the fan now!" I emailed them and called them but they weren't open yet. I sent the info to Steve who called them from work and he was able to get through. Well, they had run out of the set I ordered and instead of backordering it (and telling us about it), it was cancelled. So, for the trouble, they upgraded the set to a better set (the putter and the bag are better) and said it would be here Tuesday or Wednesday, next week. Well, last night I got an email saying that it was shipped, get this...NEXT DAY AIR!!! That's right, it'll be here sometime today. With shipping and the upgrade, this would have cost us over $200 and we're getting it all for only $54!!! Oh, and Christian has no clue that I found him a set!

Also, Monday was Christian's first day of 1st grade. He's doing very well, except he hates when I tell him to write something! After we were done with the "formal" part of school, the boys were sitting at the table drawing and coloring and Christian brings me his drawing and a blank piece of paper and asked me to write what he says. So, he starts out by saying "the title is 'The Castle'". I immediately realize, I'm writing his story down for him. So, I wrote it down and it wasn't until the next morning when I realized, hey, this counts for composition. Alright Christian. He works so much better when it's something he wants to do. That's what is called as "unschooling" and I may have to incorporate that more into my style of homeschooling.

On the 24th, we start with our area homeschool group. Christian will be fine, but I'm not sure how Zachary will do. Good thing is he can stay with me wherever I go. We're supposed to work 2 hours of the 3 in some type of capacity. For some reason, I only have to work the nursery 2nd hour, even though my daughter will not be in there unless I'm in there. I'll probably stay in the nursery for 3rd hour with my friend. After all, she has Eliana's boyfriend. :)

I also got to talk to (aside from my husband) my very best friend in the whole world. He just got back from Iraq a few weeks ago and right now his dad and (dad's) wife are over visiting so I didn't get to talk to him too long. But he's home and he's safe! He's home at his base in England, but he won't be home home until 2009 :(. Unfortunately, he has to go back in January. I can't stand that! So, SKV, welcome home!! Give dad a kiss for me before he goes home tomorrow! hehehe. Love ya!

For some recent pics...

Yesterday the boys were playing music from their leap pad and this is Christian and Eliana dancing. She LOVES music and if someone isn't holding her and dancing, she'll stand at the couch (or where ever she happens to be at the time) and dance. So cute!

During school, Buttons (the cat) wanted to be all over the books. Christian picked her up and she curled up on his chest and went to sleep, purring so loud! That is her boy and she is absolutely crazy about him. I've never seen a cat act the way she does with him!

And also during school, I looked behind me and Eliana was lying on the floor with her head on Bear, but by the time I got the camera she had moved slightly.

A lady from church gave me a couple tupperware sippy cups that she won, but doesn't have any use for and she told Zachary that because she was giving sissy something, she had to give him something too. This is that "something". A frisbee. As you can see, he wasn't allowed to throw it in my house (I know, I'm mean like that), so he found other uses for it. This was one of them. Oh, and it did get thrown once. Had to see how it worked!

This pic is from Tuesday night. The boys were riding in the cul de sac and decided it was too hot for a shirt, so off it came. EXTREMELY uncharacterstic for my boys, especially Zachary!

So, all in all, a great week. I'm very blessed!

Life's happenings

2006-08-07T18:26:00.000-05:00

I have a lot that has been going on and no time to post it all, so this is going to be a quick post.

We had to take a trip to the hospital Friday afternoon. Steve took a golf club to the face. Thank God his glasses were on (and that's what cut him) because it saved his eye!
My baby boy is now a 1st grader. I asked him to stop growin up on me and he said he couldn't. *tears* At least he's home with me everyday so I get to cherish it all. I was going to put a pic of him by himself, but these are too sweet not to share.

Said first grader LOVES golf and is very good at it. I bought him a set of left handed golf clubs on ebay today for 40 bucks. Cheaper and better than what wal-mart sells. And they retail for $130. WOO-HOO!!! Watch out Tiger Woods! White boy can golf!

Yes, I know the clubs are for a righty, but that's all we had at the time.

Zachary just may turn out to be my mathaholic. I'm not going to call him a math nerd because he's my other baby boy and I don't like the vision that I get in my head when I think of the stereotypical "nerd". I'm blessed with highly intelligent children! He blew my mind away answering questions I was asking Christian. And he's only 3!
Eliana is as cute as ever, especially with her repetoire of funny faces that she makes. She had me crackin' up in church (during worship) last night. Now, if I could only get her to learn that the dog toy is for the DOG. They even fight over the toy. Too cute!

Police came to our house and told us that we have to have a fence around our pool. Since we weren't here to ask questions, we called the station. They called us back today. But, we had already talked to a friend at church who works for the city and he told us that it's a city ordnance. But, since it's the end of the season, don't worry about it. So, we'll get something for next year. Blah...
Someone/something cut our electric fence in 5 different pieces! That's means it had to be dug up first. GRRRRRRR....
My nephew is turning one in a few weeks. I CANNOT believe it. So, we're heading to OKC for his birthday.
Happy birthday maw-maw, great-grandpa and happy belated birthday grandma!

Until next time...

Eliana, then Christian & Zachary and now me

2006-07-29T10:23:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Heather, I have to do another one of these.

*Alone or with people?
I've always been a very private person, preferring my space. Except for my family, I love being alone, but there are times when I like to be around other people. Depends on my mood I guess.

*Summer or Winter?
I can't stand to be too hot, but I can't stand it too cold either. Why couldn't this have been Sprint or Fall? I love the green grass and trees and flowers. But, I like freshly fallen snow until someone drives in it. Oh heck, I'm moving on to the next question!

*Black or White?
Both, just depends on what it is.

*Observe, or get along from the very first moment?
I can get along with just about anyone, but I have some major trust issues. Depending on the body language, I may not be very trusting when we meet.

*Clown, or Drama (Queen/King)?
I would probably be more clown than drama queen. I'm definetly not a drama king.

*A Hummer, or A BMW convertible car?
Neither one of them really impress me. But, since my fream car is a 1964/66 convertable Mustang, I'd have to go with the beamer.

*Loyal or………
loyal (would someone really admit that they weren't loyal?)

**3 people I tag
whoever hasn't done it that would want to.

Our adventures

2006-07-28T23:00:00.000-05:00

It has either been raining or extremely hot, to the point where you don't even want to go swimming. Well, today, we got a break, so we ventured outside for a while. Zachary got some new bubbles on Wednesday night for memorizing his memory verse, so he took them out to share with Christian. Eliana woke up from her nap and then I took her out. I sat her in the grass and got some really cute pictures!

We also went over to my friends house who has 2 new foster boys (ages 9 and 11, with her 10 year old son in the middle). All 5 boys (my 2 included) were outside playing, a couple loser kids in the neighborhood came by, made a few very crude gestures and remarks, bringing our boys in. This is not the first time they've come over and been rude and crude and just pains in the you know whats. So, she called the cops. My boys could care less about what was happening, they were very interested in the cop and the fact that he had a tazer (sp?) gun. I got an ear full on the way home.

Have I ever mentioned that I really like Steve's boss. I liked his old boss too, but his new one we knew when Steve worked with him in the Army. So, there's a little history with him. Well, he came to Steve an hour early and told him to go home. Scratch that first sentence...I love his boss!! After he got home, I fed Eliana and then we headed up to Lake of the Ozarks. I LOVE shopping when there's a good sale and today was no exception. Hit carters, spent $50 (and they let me use 2 coupons-not supposed to!!!) and I got 6 outfits. I went to Osh Kosh B'Gosh and even though they were having a sale, I was not impressed with the clothes, so I left there empty handed. We went to a new store (only been there a week), checked it out, left there empty handed and then headed over to The Children's Place. LOVE LOVE LOVE shopping there. There was so many things there I could have bought, but I restrained myself. I did buy 3 or 4 things there and only spent $11. They had all kinds of racks that were 50% off the lowest reduced price. Clothes for $2 and $3...I'm all over that! And to top it off, I used my coupon and THEY GAVE IT BACK TO ME! They said use it as much as I want through September 4th. Ok, don't have to tell me twice! So, great day shopping. Didn't find anything for the boys that I really liked.

Tomorrow we plan on taking them to play putt-putt. Christian LOVES golfing. He actually want to get out on the green and drive the ball. Steve is going to take him at FLW cause he can golf for free. Maybe he's the next Tiger Woods. I'm all for it if he's going to be able to support his momma! LOL

My side is worse today. I've been sleeping with a heating pad on it for the last couple nights, which I really need to turn off before I fall asleep because I don't have to get up at night for Eliana, I sleep all night long. An earthquake can't pull me out of bed. I know, because I've slept through one. If this continues, I may give in before the 4 weeks and go to a doctor. Today I couldn't even function normal, it hurt so bad. We shall see...

For my friend...you know who you are!

2006-07-28T12:49:00.000-05:00

This is just a quick post so that I can get you thinking about my friend. I'm not going to mention her name, but she needs some prayers. Although she's going to be going through some changes with her job situation, we're confident that God will place her where she needs to be. But, she really needs prayers for tomorrow. Because tomorrow morning, she's heading to Conway to try and impress a producer. She's trying out for the show "Deal or No Deal". Now, she'll definitely impress them, that's just the way she is. So, tomorrow morning say a prayer for her that she'll have favor, that she'll say the right thing and will leave a lasting impression with them!

Boys Tag

2006-07-27T14:32:00.000-05:00

Christian's tag

3 Nicknames
bubba c
bean burrito

3 People That Make Me Laugh
Eliana
daddy
Zachary

3 Things I Love
parents
siblings
pets, especially Buttons

3 Things I Hate
veggies, except for carrots
wasps/bees
not being allowed to swim

3 Things I Don't Understand
french
sign language
algebra

3 Things On My Floor
cars
gun
books, used for "car town"

3 Things I'm Doing Right Now
playing a golf game
whining about wanting a snack

3 Things I Can Do
write in cursive
help cook/bake
help with Eliana

3 Ways to Describe My Personality
sensitive
playful
caring

3 Things I Cannot Do
swim unsupervised
cook my own meals without help
algebra

3 Absolute Favorite Foods
fruit, especially pineapples and grapes
pizza
carrots

3 Foods I do NOT like
zucchini
squash
jalepenos

3 Beverages I Drink Regularly
Milk
Water
juice

3 Shows I Watch
none

3 Boys & girls I tag
whoever hasn't done it

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zachary's tag

3 Nicknames
bubba z
booger
cuddle bug

3 People That Make Me Laugh
Eliana
daddy
Christian

3 Things I Love
parents
siblings
pets, especially Buttons

3 Things I Hate
not getting my way
wasps/bees
being told to go to my room

3 Things I Don't Understand
french
sign language
algebra

3 Things On My Floor
cars
gun
books, used for "car town"

3 Things I'm Doing Right Now
sleeping

3 Things I Can Do
count
help cook/bake
recognize some letters

3 Ways to Describe My Personality
sensitive
playful
loveable

3 Things I Cannot Do
swim unsupervised
cook my own meals without help
write my name, yet

3 Absolute Favorite Foods
peanut butter
pizza
chocolate

3 Foods I do NOT like
jalepenos
potatoes
some veggies

3 Beverages I Drink Regularly
Milk
Water
juice

3 Shows I Watch
none

3 Boys & girls I tag
whoever hasn't done it

Eliana's Tag

2006-07-27T13:30:00.000-05:00

3 Nicknames-
Elli/Elli-el
Princess
Ladybug

3 People That Make Me Laugh
bubbas
Mommy & Daddy
animals

3 Things I Love
WATER--swimming, bath, any water!
playing "where's Elli?"
mommy's camera

3 Things I Hate
not being allowed to continue doing something when I want to!
being confined/restrained
not getting to eat when I want to

3 Things I Don't Understand
"No, you can't eat the dog hair"
"time to go to bed"--goes along with that confined thing
why i have to get out of the water when it's cold

3 Things On My Floor
toys
bag of clothes
basket

3 Things I'm Doing Right Now
sleeping

3 Things I Can Do
climb stairs
walk along furniture
crawl, get to a standing position and now let go and fall down and go boom if there's isn't someone to catch me

3 Ways to Describe My Personality
HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY
sweet
lovable

3 Things I Cannot Do
chew my food
climb out of my crib
use the toilet

3 Absolute Favorite Foods
MOMMY'S MILK (Breast is best!)
zucchini
squash

3 Foods I do NOT like
wasn't crazy about carrots when I first started them, but now I do.

3 Beverages I Drink Regularly
(breast) Milk
Water
diluted juice

3 Shows I Watch
none

3 Boys I tag
Christian
Zachary
Uncle David

3 girls I tag
Lauren
Lindsey
Sara

What a week!

2006-07-27T07:29:00.000-05:00

Steve calls me every afternoon before he leaves work to let me know he's on his way home. Once he does, I know I have about 45 mins before he gets there. Well, he called me about 15 mins before he was due to be home. He called to tell me he had been hit and was taking the backroads home. I'm thinking "oh dear God, not again!" There was a truck 2 up from him and something fell out of it, skipped the car in front of him and did this to his windshield.
Whatever it was did not go all the way through, but it almost did. He called the insurance company when he got home and we were informed that the glass guy wouldn't be able to come until Wednesday between 8 and 12. So, he took my van to work Tuesday. They called him during the day to see if they could change it to between 2 and 4. Ok, fine. Then he calls to see if he could come at 5. Nope, we have church, make it between 2 and 4. He showed up at 2:08 yesterday. Steve had to take the day off which was nice having him around but he's wanting to save as much leave as he can so we can take a vacation at Christmas time. The guy was talking about the accident with us and he said "you're lucky to be alive". I'm telling you, luck had nothing to do with it! There is a reason God is sparing my husbands life! Thank God for that!

Eliana is into making lots of faces and lots of different noises. They are so cute. She has us all crackin' up! I got a couple of her faces but they just don't give you the full effect of it. Her ears are doing very well. She doesn't bother them, they're not red and they're not infected. Let's hope it stays that way! She's walking along furniture now and is even letting go and turning around. So not ready for this!

Ok, I can't get any more pics in, so this will have to do.

Christian is wanting to start school so badly! Zachary is too, but he's not going to do a full blown curriculum. I've got different things to do with him, but when we do history, science and math, he'll probably do it with us. I went through his books yesterday to get an idea of what we're going to be doing and see if there is anything I need to do ahead of time. These are definitely going to be advanced for him. But, he's a smart boy and I don't want him slackin. I've seen how some of the older boys are (some intelligent and some you're like "you don't know that?") and I don't want mine to be the "you don't know that" type. So, next week is our last week of "vacation" and then we're starting school. But things are going to be different this year! I'm excited and can't wait to start.

The boys went and saw the momma and the foal yesterday. First time in a while. The foal was very interested in watching the boys, but always is when the boys are running around in the yard.

I'm still having a lot of pain on my right side. I can't lie on my side without extreme pain. Stretching a certain way is very painful, but for the most part, I can go throughout the day without too many problems. It's when I go to bed at night that I have severe pain. Steve thinks I might have a cracked rib, but I have no idea how that would happen. I told him I'd go to the doc if it's not better in a month. It's been a week an a half, so I have time!

Well, it's off to get ready for the library today. Today is our last library day and then on Monday is the party and the drawings for prizes.

Oh and before I forget, I have a very good friend who is trying out for Deal or No Deal on Saturday night. She gets 30 seconds with the producer. She would be so awesome at this game. Say a prayer for her. With everything that is going on in her life, she needs this! (Love ya girl and you know my prayers go with you!)

Our weekend

2006-07-23T13:37:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, we spent the day in Springfield. I bought some some ribbon and clippies. I have enough ribbon to make 4 head bands and and 12 bows. I made it so that the bows clip to the headband or it could clip in her hair. Very versatile! And much cheaper than if I had bought them off line. Maybe not exactly the same quality as a "professional", but I made it for my baby and that's what matters. And, people at church today couldn't tell and were shocked to find out I made them.

Also, my little girl now has her ears pierced and as Christian said "she looks beautiful". She always have, but these just look so cute on her! Before we could get her ears pierced, we had to clean her up. When I say we needed to clean her up, we really needed to have a bath around . But, since we were in the middle of the mall in Claires and there was no bath around, we just had to use a bunch of wipes! I had been waiting for the explosive diaper, it had been a few days. I knew it was coming, I was just hoping that it wouldn't be while we were out. But, she did. She had poop that went all the way up her back. My little girl was naked in Claire's. I apologized to the girl who was piercing her ears (and was nice enough to give us a couple plastic bags for the clean up and when we were leaving, 2 lollipops for the boys). She said that it was ok, Eliana couldn't control when she went and where she was at the time. She cried and stopped breathing (not long), but after about a minute (it really seemed much longer when it was going on) she stopped and has since forgotton all about it. And no, she has not messed with them either.

After getting her ears pierced we went to Pythian Castle. They say it's haunted and that you can see "orbs" in the pics. Steve and I don't believe in ghosts, familiar spirits, yes, but not ghosts. It used to be an orphange, was turned over to the military during WWII and then was vacant for 40 years or so. Went through a couple owners who are the ones who gave us the tour. I much prefer to explore things on my own, but it was nice to get the history of it, especially since it was owned by the army during a war. We got to see where POWs were held, how things were during the orphange time period, etc. Was very neat. Of course, it doesn't compare to the gorgeous castles that I've been to in Europe, but for a stateside one, it was nice. The boys enjoyed being able to explore and even got to go in a tunnel with Daddy. They didn't like it when we had to stop and listen to the lady talk about things. But, for as hot as it was and "bored" as they were, they did excellent! Except, they didn't want to cooperate with me so that I could get some good pictures. The ones that they are in were mostly because I had to either sneak or they walked in by accident not thinking they were going to be in it :)

Hey mom, look what I found in the bathroom at the castle. I had to take a picture for you. This would be a great idea for you!

So, there you have it.

Water Fum

2006-07-21T22:35:00.000-05:00

Last night during bathtime, the boys were being extremely silly, so I had to take some pictures. Most people don't get to see this side of them because they tend to be very bashful when other people are around, except for the few people they are extremely comfortable with.

Today the boys and I went out and had water gun fights. I won. The boys actually thought they could beat me. And, I did some of the battle with the baby in my arms!

Tomorrow Steve has to work in the morning and when he gets home we're heading to Springfield. We're going to go to a castle and do some other things. I'll tell you about that at another time, plus their WILL be pictures. (I'm purposely not saying anything cause I want you to see it in the pics).

If it's been as hot where you're at as it has been around here, I hope your weekend is much cooler. And if it hasn't been that hot, count yourself blessed (and I secrelty hope you get to feel this heat soon!) LOL

Homeschooling

2006-07-21T10:38:00.000-05:00

I received this article in email and figured I'd share. I get asked a lot of questions on "why", "how", and a host of other points people have brought up to me about our decision to homeschool our 3 children all the way through high school. This lady covers a lot of these and since she puts it perfectly (and it saves me the typing), here it is. We've already seen some of the things that this lady mentions in Christian, mostly at home and he's only going into 1st grade. Steve and I talked about home schooling before we ever had Christian, but once we had him, we knew for sure that's what we wanted to do. I quit working so that I (Steve's part of it too, but he's our bread winner) could raise our children and yes, money was extremely tight, and even more so now, but God always provides for us and we never go without. So, here's the article and if anyone has any questions, you can email me. I love talking homeschool!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(AgapePress) - When people ask me, "How long have you been home schooling?" my usual reply is, "13 years." If I were to be completely accurate, I would probably answer, "Since the birth of my first child." After all, home schooling is more than one on a list of educational options; it's a lifestyle that goes far beyond teaching the three R's -- Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic. It is a way of life that is invigorating and rewarding, yet draining and frustrating.

Without a doubt, it involves sacrifice and impacts every area of life, including, but not limited to, the physical, emotional, social, leisure, relational, financial, and domestic aspects.

I like the way Clay and Sally Clarkson put it in their wonderful book, Educating the Wholehearted Child: "Home education is not something you fit into your calendar, or make room for in your schedule. It is a commitment you make to God and to your family that will require perseverance, energy and patience. You cannot buy a home-schooling kit that will make you instantly and easily successful. It is a long-term, learning process, both for you and for your children."

In other words, it requires a prayerful contemplation and deliberate commitment before God.

A Scriptural Basis
Realizing the seriousness of such a decision, you may ask, "So why home educate?" I suppose there are as many reasons as there are home-schooling families. But for Christian parents, the foundational motivation is the belief that this is the best way for us to fulfill the stewardship God has entrusted to us -- raising our children in the training and instruction of the Lord. It allows us to ensure that that training is consistent and continuous (as directed in Deuteronomy 6:4-10), to protect them from character-corrupting influences of "bad company" (1 Corinthians 15:33), and to prevent them from becoming spiritually, emotionally, and socially "yoked to unbelievers" (2 Corinthians 6:14). It allows us to make sure that our children are not under the influence of false teaching but instead, under teaching that fills their minds with God's truth and enables them to learn to use that truth in everyday situations.

These fundamental reasons can be expanded into more areas, such as relationships and academics. The practicality of spending every day in each other's company is a way of knitting our family's hearts together. This can be seen on each relational level within the home.

You may feel, "I could never spend all day with my kids; we would drive each other crazy!" Be encouraged! Jesus taught us that where our treasure is, there our hearts will be also (Matthew 6:21). My testimony is that the investment of the "treasure" of my time and energy into my children causes my affection for them to grow. (OK, I admit to sometimes being wearied by my brood and even being known to say, "My name is not Mom today." But that is not the general rule.) The gift of self that I give my children in turn draws them to me. It is my joy to be their #1 confidante.

When our children give most of their time and energy to others, we lose a part of their affections. There will be a time when those affections and loyalties will expand, but a child's heart best belongs to the family in which God has placed him so that he is most open to the teaching we have to give.

A Qualified Parent
But is familial love enough to qualify parents as teachers? Some people question their qualifications to home educate. They feel the necessity to have a degree or some experience behind them. But the fact is, there is no other teacher who can know my child like I do; no one who can care more about him/her; no one is willing to invest as deeply in his/her success.

These are the important factors involved in determining whether or not parents are capable of teaching their own children. Academic background is secondary. Anyone able to read can direct a child through a scholastic curriculum. It is love and commitment that make the home environment unique. Besides, home schooling provides the opportunity for utilizing the most effective teaching method -- a one-to-one teacher/student ratio.

A Beneficial Endeavor
Individuality is one of the greatest blessings of home learning. Children can progress at their own pace (or at that of Mom and Dad if a little prodding is needed) in each area, and curriculum can be tailored to the interests and learning style of each child.

For example, I have a daughter who calls herself a "balletomane" (take a guess at the definition) whose high school program includes French, classical music appreciation, ballet pedagogy, and ballet physical education (P.E.) credits.

Such individual styling can happen in the lower grades, as well. Does your family love gardening? Horses? Computers? The Civil War? Delve into your subject as deeply as you desire. Read the literature surrounding it. Study its science. Take field trips. Draw it. Write about it. Fall in love with learning. Home schooling allows for it all.

I offer one more reason, one more benefit, to keep children home -- socialization. Yes, you read that correctly. I alluded to this earlier when I mentioned protecting them from negative influences. I quote again from Educating the Wholehearted Child: "In the home school, the primary models for effective relationships are adults -- father, mother, grandparents, family friends. This kind of age-integrated socialization simply does not take place in [an institutional] school where the models are primarily other ... immature children .... In the home, in contrast, social skills are constantly and consistently modeled, trained, and corrected. Poor social skills are not allowed to become habituated, and good ones are regularly reinforced."

May I boast a little in what the grace of God has allowed in our lives? I have had many years to observe the relational skills of home schoolers, my own as well as countless others. I have heard many people outside home-school circles marvel at the ability of my children and their friends to enjoy and relate to people of all ages: to carry on a meaningful conversation with adults, to understand the needs of little ones and their parents, and to be willing to help meet those needs when possible, to become involved in projects with people outside their own age group and to handle leadership opportunities. That is not to say that every home-schooled child is an extrovert. Their personalities are varied, but overall, they possess the confidence produced by a developmental environment that is loving and non-competitive and where acceptance is based on unconditional love (not clothes, possessions, appearance or athletic ability).

There are plenty of opportunities for our children to be involved in beneficial outside activities. There are church and ministry programs, Scouts, athletic teams, various lessons, educational co-ops, support groups, library and museum programs, and scores more than I have room to mention. Most families participate in at least one of these. In fact, in our culture today, the struggle is sometimes more to stay focused on what we are striving to achieve at home than lack of social opportunity.

So, can you be a home educator? Research the Scriptural principles involved, count the cost to your entire family, weigh the benefits and be in agreement with your spouse. Then if this is God's will for you, I answer, "You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you." You will not be alone!

By Tina Miller

A LITTLE PERSPECTIVE

2006-07-20T22:53:00.000-05:00

This is dedicated to all our military men and women, but especially to Stephen, Brian, Johnny, Buddy and their families! Thanks for everything you do. You're in my prayers!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A LITTLE PERSPECTIVE

Your alarm goes off, you hit the snooze and sleep for another 10 minutes.

He stays up for days on end.

You take a warm shower to help you wake up.

He goes days or weeks without running water.

You complain of a headache, and call in sick.

He gets shot at, as others are hit, and keeps moving forward.

You put on your anti war/don't support the troops shirt, and go meet up with your friends.

He still fights for your right to wear that shirt.

You make sure you?re cell phone is in your pocket.

He clutches the cross hanging on his chain next to his dog tags.

You talk trash on your buddies that aren't with you.

He knows he may not see some of his buddies again.

You walk down the beach, staring at all the pretty girls.

He walks the streets, searching for insurgents and terrorists.

You complain about how hot it is.

He wears his heavy gear, not daring to take off his helmet to wipe his brow.

You go out to lunch, and complain because the restaurant got your order wrong.

He does not get to eat today.

Your maid makes your bed and washes your clothes.

He wears the same things for months, but makes sure his weapons are clean.

You go to the mall and get your hair redone.

He doesn't have time to brush his teeth today

You are angry because your class ran 5 minutes over.

He is told he will be held an extra 2 months.

You call your girlfriend and set a date for that night.

He waits for the mail to see if there is a letter from home.

You hug and kiss your girlfriend, like you do everyday.

He holds his letter close and smells his love?s perfume.

You roll your eyes as a baby cries.

He gets a letter with pictures of his new child, and wonders if they'll ever meet.

You criticize your government, and say that war never solves anything.

He sees the innocent tortured and killed by their own government andremembers why he is fighting.

You hear the jokes about the war, and make fun of the men like him.

He hears the gun fire and bombs.

You see only what the media wants you to see.

He sees the bodies lying around him.

You are asked to go to the store by your parents. You don't.

He does what he is told.

You stay at home and watch TV.

He takes whatever time he is given to call and write home, sleep, and eat.

You crawl into your bed, with down pillows, and try to get comfortable.

He crawls under a tank for shade and a 5 minute nap, only to be woken by gun fire.

You sit there and judge him, saying the world is a worse placebecause of men like him.

If only there were more men like him

Freedom Is Not Free, Someone Pays for it with Blood, Sweat, Tears and Lives.

IF YOU DON'T STAND BEHIND OUR TROOPS, PLEASE, FEEL FREE TO STAND IN FRONT OF THEM !!!

Keely

2006-07-19T22:02:00.000-05:00

This little girl is Keely and she's a foster daughter of my best friend. She's been with them for 1 1/2 years (she's now 3 this past March) and to make a really loooooooooooong story short, the process that starts them on the way to going home has started and this little gem DOES NOT need to be going back home. But, according to DFS, the best thing for a child is to be with their natural family, even if they are totally screwed up (and we're talking the E-N-T-I-R-E family is reeeeeeeeeally screwed up). Who cares that this little girl will be taken from everybody who loves her and who she loves. I'm telling you, this system of it's best for the child to be with their natural family is a bunch of B.S. if you ask me. And, if I swore, there would be a whole lot of that right now. This just makes me so mad and nothing anyone says or does can change the fact. And what's really sad, this little girl will end up back in the system before too long. I could go on and on but it's causing my head to hurt. But, I will tell you that she's crazy about my boys and they're just as crazy about her. These are Keely's "boyfwens". So cute!

But it's sad here. We're praying for a miracle and that God will intervene for this sweet soul and she'll be places where it's best for her.

Migraines, games and the right size!

2006-07-18T16:21:00.000-05:00

Since I last posted, I suffered a bad migraine (not that any of them are ever good), but this lasted 2 days! The worst part about it is that I still have to function as a mom and a housewife. I have to thank McDonalds for providing my family with such a healthy lunch and screwing up the order. By last night, I was able to make Schenken Flenken for dinner and even went out on the riding lawn mower while Steve did other things in the yard.

Then last night I enjoyed a bubble bath thanks to Calgon and "The Diary of A Young Girl: The Anne Frank Story". Thank God that box was given to me cause I would not be happy about wasting my money on it. The box says that it has "longer lasting bubbles". What a load of hog wash!!! I remember when I was younger and my mom would take bubble baths the tub would be covered with bubbles and you could barely see her! Wonder if those bubbles were from Avon since Joyce across the street was a Avon selling guru.

After I got out of the bath, I got to enjoy some ice-cream while Steve enjoyed some Oreo pie that we won at a dessert auction at church on Sunday night. I tried it but wasn't overly fond of it. And then we stayed up talking until midnight. I had to fill him on my phone conversations and some other stuff and since I was pretty much out of it Sunday night, I had to do it last night or I would have forgotten everything! As I laid down to go to sleep, my right side shot pain through my body. I have no idea what I did, but it feels like I've been kicked by a horse. Now, since I haven't been around any horses lately, I know that's not the case. So, my pain remains a mystery. Throughout the day today, when bending or stretching a certain way, my right side reminds me that it doesn't want to move like that and I have to stop. And since I'm very stubborn, I keep on going. I bet I'll pay for it tonight when I stop moving around.

Today, the boys and I had a picnic on the living room floor. It's hotter than h-e-double hockey sticks (as Steve's grandmother would say) and they've been wanting to do a picnic. So, I asked them if that was okay and they loved the idea.

After Eliana woke up from her nap (which she did while I was cleaning the boys' bathroom...and was in her crib standing and talking/singing), the boys wanted her to play in their room. I told them to wait 'cause she just woke up and was probably going to want to eat. While I was feeding her, the boys brought out their bean bag chair and when she was done, Christian put her in it and started pulling her around. At first I told them to stop (I was afraid they were going to dump her out), but when I saw how much fun she was having, I let them continue and of course, grabbed the camera. Then, they both picked up the chair and started swinging it. Christian wanted me to sing "Rock a bye baby", but since I've never really liked that song, I made up my own. Sorry, it's not copyright protected, so I won't be putting the words out here. LOL

I do want to share one interesting fact with you. Yesterday I had to lay down and I made the boys come in my room with me and I put on a movie. Well, Eliana woke up from her nap about an hour into the movie and the boys decided they didn't want to watch any more. That's nothing new. Well, as I was turning everything off, Oprah was on T.V. and she said something about women and bras. I admit this peaked my curiosity when I normally don't watch that garbage. She said that 85% of ALL women are wearing the wrong size bra! Well, I ended up recording the show cause I won't keep it on while the boys are awake. When I tried watching it later, the DVD was all scratched up, so I didn't get to watch everything. But there was one lady who was wearing a 36B and when she got fitted to the right size, she was a 34DD. B to DD...HUGE difference!!! So, make sure your girls are in the right size so they don't start taking a vacation...at your knees!

Not ready...

2006-07-15T22:16:00.000-05:00

I'm so not ready for this. My daughter crawled to her diaper bag, stood up, and pushed it along the floor while she was standing behind it! Here's a picture to prove it. What you can't see, the fact that she was smiling and/or laughing the whole time. And FINALLY, Steve has agreed with me, she's growing up WAY to fast.

Changes

2006-07-15T18:49:00.000-05:00

As you can see, I finally completed the overhaul on my blog. It was in desperate need and I love the new look! It only took all afternoon, but that's ok, it was worth it. I also managed to gut out my room. My poor room normally has everything just thrown in it. Everything got put in its rightful place and I vacuumed our room, Eliana's room and the boys' room. Of course, I had to stop when I got to the boys' room. They needed a little extra help getting it clean. But, that's done too. Now, we need to go get the pool cover out of the pool. With all the heavy rains we had this week, the weight of all that rain caused the pool cover to fall in. So, once we get that out, we'll probably take a dip. Or, they may all go swimming while I sit on the riding lawn mower and cut the grass!

Technically, in 9 mins we're supposed to be in Conway for Rachel and Mark's reception. She's our church secretary who got married last month. The didn't have a wedding, but wanted to have a reception with all their friends and family. We were planning on going, but since we haven't had dinner, I didn't get my shower until 6pm and I'm worn out, I'm just not really up for going out and socializing. I'm sure she'll understand. She'll have plenty of friends (and family) there to visit with. I'll see her tomorrow.

Last night we went to the fair. The boys went on their first "big boy" rides. The first one is of Steve and the boys on the tornado. It spun around and went up and down and then each individual "pod" could be turned around by the disk in the center. The boys loved the ride! Zachary liked it so much he went on twice! Christian and I went on the sizzler. This ride was FAST but fun!!! Not for weak stomachs! This ride spins around in circles and makes it look like you're going to hit something. Christian laughed so much on the ride and the force of it had him practically in my lap. They had the opportunity to go on the cars and motorcycles that go around in circles, but they weren't interested.

Eliana pulled herself up in her crib for the first time yesterday. She loves her new independence of crawling and pulling herself up on all my furniture! Me, I'm not liking it so much. And something really cute that all 3 of them do. The boys will kind of scream at her and then she'll scream back, then they'll do it, then she'll do it...etc, etc. They were doing this at lunch (we were done but still sitting at the table) and Steve and I were cracking up. He went and got the video camera and caught some of it on tape. We've decided that she's definitely louder than her brothers. Inside voice, what's that?
And here is the pic of the day from yesterday...he's crazy about his little sister! Thank God for big brothers!!!

Muchadoaboutnothing

2006-07-14T08:36:00.000-05:00

Eliana is now 7 months. I can't believe in just 5 months my baby is going to be 1 and right after that is Christmas. Time is going by so fast. I took a bunch of pictures on her 7 month "b-day" and I wanted to do something a little different. So, here it is.

Also, right before I put her down for a nap yesterday, she was sitting on the floor playing with our puppy (although he doesn't look like a little puppy, he's only 1 1/2 yrs.) These pictures couldn't have turned out better, even if I posed them myself!

We're planning on taking the kids to the fair, maybe tonight, maybe tomorrow. Not sure exactly when. We need to do something tomorrow as a family because Steve has to work next Saturday. We went driving the other night to a couple Department of Conservation areas and we saw 3 deer and 2 fawns. They were little and oh so cute! All 3 of my guys are eagerly waiting for hunting season. His goal this year...fill my freezers with deer meat. My car also got "attacked" by a couple very protective dogs. At least the dog was smart enough to back away and realize that my car would win!

Also, some city guys came out and chopped down some trees for us, not by request either. Apparently some of the trees were getting so bad they were burning the power lines. Never heard that before, but I'm no expert either. So, the guy who was doing the cutting asked if there was anything else I wanted taken out (or left) since he was already going to be in there. So, I showed him everything I wanted done and when I found a maple with a next in it, I wanted that left alone. What a big difference it has made! While in there, he found tons of poison oak and ivy (great thing too since Steve is allergic to them). The poor guy who was loading the trees into the mulcher is highly allergic to them and was a mess when he left my yard. I felt really bad for him. Here's the before pictures...

and the after...

And I'll leave you with that...things to do today!

So cute!

2006-07-11T23:30:00.000-05:00

After I got Eliana ready for bed tonight, she wanted to crawl around on her bed, so I set her in with the stuffed animals (I'm going to have to take a picture of this tomorrow). She grabbed her bear that I made for her at build-a-bear and she took the tiara off. I put it on her head and she did not try and take it off. Now, anything else that goes on her head tries to come off. So, I figured, she really knows she's a princess and is adjusting to her role quite nicely. And she's such an adorable princess! She was hard to get to sit still, but I did manage to get her!

Also, I made this for Steve:

And this...

And now, I'm done for the night...

I've been workin' on the railroad...

2006-07-11T08:01:00.000-05:00

Actually, I feel more like I've been standing on one and been hit by a train! I'm sooooo tired and it's not because Eliana is up at all hours of the night. Once I figured out what it took for her to sleep at night, she's been sleeping great. I may have to get up with her at around 5 or so and then she's up before 7. She's my morning child and I DON'T LIKE IT!!! I guess I better start getting to bed earlier, but night time is my time SANS CHILDREN and I rather enjoy that time. And, I'm still losing weight, so my thyroid isn't acting up again. (Brief history...after Christian was born, I had post-partum hypothyroidism...was extreeeeeeeeeemely tired and gaining weight, while still nursing and barely eating....not the case this time!!!)

I've been working on stuff for my blog to make some major changes. I hope to have them posted soon. The problem is, I work on things for my blog and then I start making other things. I LOVE my picture program.

My children are great. I really need to find a dentist around here. One of Christian's front teeth is dead and I don't know how that plays into the getting permanent teeth factor and all that jazz. Hopefully I'm worried for nothing. Zachary is going to cause me to take stock in a soap company. Can we say att-i-tude? Oh, and he's a door slammer...yep, he's me through and through. I can see that boy losing his door, again, just like me. And I turned out just fine. Eliana is very curious and into everything or should I say, everything goes into her (mouth). So not like the boys. The boys were and still are (and ask the millions of questions to prove it) very curious...a sign of intelligence?!? But, they did not put everything into their mouths like she does. And when I say everything, I mean EVERYTHING!!! I'm constantly watching her to make sure that she doesn't find something she shouldn't.

We went to a birthday party on Saturday. One of the girls that I've had the privilege of getting to know in Kids Church and in Missionettes turned 12. She had a party (Japanese theme) and invited us. I told her parents she invited us just because of the baby, she laughed, but we know it's true. I don't know how many people say to me: "where's my girl?", "how's my baby?" etc...Now, don't get me wrong, there's a few people who I don't mind that from, but come one...teenagers??? What part in the conception, pregnancy and birth of Eliana did they play??? None! Now, if they want to have some claim, if that's what you want to call it, they can say "where's my favorite baby?", "how's my favorite baby?". That'll work. I know people can't help falling in love with her, but....

K, off the rant and back to the party...the boys used chopsticks for the first time. Christian stabbed and Zachary used to hands, but hey, what do you expect from a 6yr old and a 3 yr old who are used to forks? Here's the pics from that...

And one of Eliana from her first time in the pool...

Well, it's library day. Only 3 more library days left of the summer reading program (the 3rd being the party) and then it's just a couple weeks before school starts, for the public school system. I can't wait. I love it when they're in school!!! Sorry, Jen, I know you're dreading it.

Tag, I'm it..

2006-07-09T13:03:00.000-05:00

I've been tagged...thanks Tif.

5 things in my fridge:
1. Milk
2. cheese
3. carrots
4. juice
5. tea

5 things in my closet:
1. her clothes
2. his clothes
3. safe
4. gun (in a case and locked)
5. shoes

5 things in my purse: (I'm not using a purse right now since I have a diaper bag
1. wallet
2. cell phone
3. diapers
4. change of clothes
5. wipes

5 things in my car:
1. car seats/booster seats
2. Toys
3. stroller
4. cds
5. hand sanitizing stuff

5 people I tag:
1. Steve
2. Sara
3. Jen
4. Meghan
5. David

Sara, Sara, Sara EDITED

2006-07-06T22:06:00.000-05:00

First I need to tell you about someone. Her name is Sara and she is a gem! She has got to be the sweetest person on the planet. Anyone would be lucky to know her but I'm blessed because I call her friend. I love her and I MISS her and even though she is where God wants her to be right now, I still wish she was here!

But, she did come home to spend her weeks vacation here, so she planned days with her friends and today was my day. One thing that makes this woman so sweet and awesome to be with, is that she's single but loves kids and my boys are crazy about her! I have found that it can be difficult to be friends with people who don't have kids, especially since I have 3, but not Sara. She had a good time, with all 4 of us. What did we do today...

we went to the lake! The boys went swimming and had a good time. Eliana loved the sand and of course, the water, but that didn't surprise me since she LOOOOOOOOOVES bath time and our pool.

We got home and after awhile, Eliana was crawling. :-( My baby is growing up too fast! This has been a pretty big week for her! Also, she fell asleep in her highchair at dinner tonight. So cute. That's oatmeal cereal and sweet potato all over her face. I let her play in it since I was planning on throwing all 3 of them in the bath tub. She was sleeping and as soon as she heard the water start, she woke up and tried to get out of my hands and jump into the tub. For a baby who woke up early, had 2 very short naps and then that little episode in the highchair, she was very happy. This is the way she is all the time!

And since the last post was a quick update, I didn't tell you about our accidents. Yes, I typed that correctly, there was not 1, but 2 accidents! First one was in the morning. It involved Christian and Steve. We let the boys shoot off some fireworks before we went to our friends for the BBQ. Steve was holding the punk, looking in the bag of fireworks and Christian bent over and the punk got him on the inside of his nose, extremely close to his eye. And then, when we were over at our friends house, I was sitting on the couch, in the middle of Steve and Sheila, Zachary was in front of me and threw his head into my left cheek bone. Steve and Sheila could feel and hear it. Let me tell ya, I'd rather go through labor than go through that again! I had a headache the rest of the night, which isn't anything new since I've been getting headaches pretty consistantly, about everyday.

There was more things I wanted to mention, but I forget now and since it's later than I planned on being up (thanks to this stupid blog), I'm going to bed.

Friends, Fireworks and Ma-ma

2006-07-05T11:26:00.000-05:00

A super quick update...

Vacation Bible School is over. When I have more time to go through the hundreds (literally) of pictures from VBS, I'll post a couple. Until then, I'm glad it's over. It was fun and it was worth the well over 100 hours I put in on decorating. It looked great, the kids loved it and that's who it was for!

For the 4th, we spent with our good friends and their kids. We went over there for a BBQ and then went to Fort Leonard Wood for the Army Show and fireworks, the biggest (and best) in the area. The Army show SUCKED!!!!! Glad it was free cause I would've wanted my money back. But the fireworks were awesome and more than made up for the fact that we were there early, waiting. The music that accompanied the fireworks wasn't as good as last year, but I'll still go back next year to see what they can do!
**

And, my daughter mastered how to get my attention; just call "ma-ma" and she'll come! Now, all three of my babies first word was "ma-ma". Steve was hoping that his little girl would be different, but as I like to tell him, I'm her favorite. LOL

**the blonde girl in the pic is their neighbor

Now, since the UPS man just delivered 3 huge boxes, I need to go check them out! Thanks TLB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You're the best!

**P.S. For those who were stationed with us in the Netherlands, I ran into Wahlers, who is stationed here as a Drill Sergeant.

Who knew?

2006-06-10T13:32:00.000-05:00

Who knew that when I open my door at night to let the dogs out before bed that those pesky moths and other flying critters that like to try and get in my house would actually serve a purpose? Normally I would say that their sole purpose, besides just trying to survive in the game of life, even if it us just a bug's life, is to annoy me and tease my cats, but alas I have found a great purpose for them!

They are now mantis food!

That's right, I caught a little moth and fed it to our mantis. I stood outside with the lights on and held a jar up to the lights and watched all kinds of flying bugs enter into their doom. Well, not all of them. By the time I finally was able to get one that was substantial enough to take inside, a lot of others flew back out. But that's ok, there's always tonight, and tomorrow, and the next night...you get the idea. And yes, standing there with all those bugs flying at me was enough to make my mom crawl out of her skin!

But, it was so worth it when I got to watch the moth fly by Mr. Mantis and bite him, rip his head off and eat his body (he actually dropped the wings to the ground!) like it was corn on the cob. It was so cool that I'm gonna do it again. This time I'm going to try and video-tape it. Hey, this is science!

It's also an addiction.

At least it's better than my addiction to e-bay!

********UPDATE********
I did manage to get it on video! So cool!!!

********UPDATE #2********
I tried getting some more bugs tonight, but I wasn't enjoying the fact that they seemed to like me more than the light. So, I hope Mr. Mantis doesn't starve before I send Steve out to get some crickets. BTW, Zachary told me not to feed the mantis crickets "cause I like them". But it would have been ok if we fed him lightning bugs. WHAT???? They're cool bugs!

I can't help myself!

2006-06-09T16:16:00.000-05:00

A couple pics from today. I thought they were too cute not too share. Most of my pictures I think are too cute not to share, I just don't have the room to share them all.

Also, I thought maybe if I put these pics of a certain someone's favorites, she may decide to come home, sooner rather than later. I hope it works...we miss you!

Just a few pics that I promised

2006-06-09T08:27:00.000-05:00

Here's just a few of the many pictures I've taken over the last couple weeks. The one of Zachary is at the baseball game the other night. He said to me, in this position. take a picture of me. So here it is.

The ones of Eliana are at practice last week. She sat in the grass for the longest time.

And now for my little baseball player...He's so fast around the bases! He's missing the game tonight cause he chose to go to Pow-wow. So, his next game is next Friday. Here's a picture of him leaving 2nd base, one of him playing around short stop and the other is of him before his first game in is uniform. And yes, he is a south paw!

This is the newest addition to our family. My friend says we're going to have a zoo here. I hope she's right...I love having animals. But, as a homeschooling family, this is science! This little guy (or gal, have no idea what its gender is) is Mr. Mantis. I caught this baby praying mantis on Saturday when I was burying our electric fence. What a find this was! We've seen them grown up, but never as a baby. So, I bought a jar, added some sticks, ants, a little spider and made him a new home on my kitchen counter. I've since added a bunch more ants, another little spider and last night, a moth. The moth is still there. I had visions of him eating Mr. Mantis last night and if I woke up to a dead mantis, I was feeding the moth to one of the cats! How's that for revenge? LOL

What are we going to do???

2006-06-09T08:17:00.000-05:00

I'm left with just 2 kids this weekend. Oh what to do??? Steve and Christian are going to Pow-wow, a 2 night camping trip with Royal Rangers. For dinner we're eating at the land of the golden arches and we'll get a free kiddie cone for Zachary. We'll snuggle in my bed and watch a movie while eating twizzlers and I just let him stay there when he falls asleep instead putting him up in the top bunk already asleep. During the day, I have no idea what we're doing. I'll leave that up to him. Tomorrow...well, I'll worry about that when it gets here. Of course, all this will depend on Her Royal Highness!

Mommy's Diary

2006-06-06T08:30:00.000-05:00

Where do I start? I have a lot on my mind and I don't think I want it all out here.

First I ask you, am I wrong for not wanting my baby girl to crawl until she's 10 and walk when she's 20 and move out of my home when she's 50? She's my last, my only girl, I want this "season" to last a while longer, but NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Someone has a mind of her own! I can no longer put her on a blanket and know that when I leave the room for a minute she'll be there when I get back. This is just so upsetting! Why does she have to grow up????? For a month now she has been doing what we call the low crawl. While on her stomach, she'll stretch her arms out and pull her body. She does this all over the place. Well, she's now trying to master the art of crawling on all 4s. She gets on all 4s, can move her legs forward and her arms are almost there. In no time will she be even more mobile! One thing she's never done that the boys did was go backwards. The boys on the other hand never did the low crawl. And she is not satisfied to sit still either, she HAS to be moving! Why can't she be like the 2 babies that are 2 weeks younger than her. Neither one of them are in a hurry to get moving. They are super content to just lay there. Both of them have only turned over once. What am I doing wrong that mine doesn't want to lay there? And I can assure you, I've had many talks with her telling her to wait 9 1/2 more years before she crawls. WAIT...THAT'S IT!!! I figured out what I'm doing wrong. I'm telling her to WAIT. Everyone with kids knows that they don't do what you tell them. So, maybe I should try the reverse psychology. "Hurry up and crawl" and then she won't want to do anything. But then again, if she does listen to me about that, I'll have the horrible guilt of knowing that I was encouraging her. I can't win!

The boys are doing great. Christian is still in t-ball and doing AWESOME!!! Last night he played 1st base and he actually went and got the ball 3 times and tagged the base and got the runner out. He even got the ball and threw it home and got the runner out. He even got a homerun and passed 2 of the 3 runners on base. I know, normally he would have been out, but you know, I just don't have the heart to tell him to not do that. I think it's cute that he's so fast and passing everyone and LAUGHING as he's doing it! When he goes to coach pitch next year I'll make sure he knows that he can't pass the runner in front of him or he'll be out, but for now, they're playing for fun. I see so much of me in him when he's playing, some is great and some kind of scares me (like the "I have to win" attitude). To be honest though, it's hard for me to watch; one because when the coach isn't telling him something right, I want to jump in and fix it (I want him to learn correctly) and two, cause ball was my first love and I really miss playing! Steve has even had to tell me to calm down and be quiet and let the coach handle things. Not easy for this momma!

Zachary is just so sweet! When I think back to my pregnancy with him and remember that I said "he was supposed to be a girl" I have tremendous guilt. He's so loving and so affectionate and all around joy to be with! I feel bad for him though. I wants to play ball and do all the things that his big brother is doing, but he can't. I'm tired of everyone telling him he's "too young". Steve and Christian will be at Pow-Wow (camping with Royal Rangers) Friday through Sunday. I'm going to do something special with Zachary since he wants to go camping with daddy, but he's too young.

Also, this time 2 years ago I was preparing Vacation Bible School with Rob and Tami. Last year, they had just moved and we didn't do one. This year, I'm in charge of all the decorating, taking us to the arctic. I have mixed emotions about this. It's a challenge and I love being challenged but then I think about the last time I did this, I had Rob next to me all the way. We worked great together and right now, I'm just thinking about how I'm going to get through all this without Rob and Tami (and the kids!) Someday I hope to be living near them again and be working with them! In the meantime, I have to settle for being able to visit them when we go home to PA. Speaking of which, we're talking about going there for Christmas this year. Steve and I have been married 10 years and we've never spent Christmas with his family. By going out there, we'll get to see his entire family, my grandparents, aunt and uncle and Rob, Tami and kids! Plus, we can take a trip to DC and that could be a historical field trip! With our grandparents getting older, we want them to be able to meet Eliana and see the boys. So Rob and Tami, I'm hoping that we can get out there for Christmas and see you guys! Oh, and Rachel got engaged on May 26th and they plan on being married within a month!

Ok, so that's all for this edition of the craziness inside my head.

I have pictures but not the time to upload them, so that'll come at another time!

Because...

2006-05-22T18:24:00.000-05:00

...I love taking pictures of the three most beautiful children in the world!
...I love my updated computer program!
...I love making great pictures look awesome!
...I did this (proving that you don't have to be a professional to have awesome pictures)!
...I want to share with you. So, enjoy...

All 3 of them smelling the same rose...

for some reason, I can't get the one of Eliana on here. I'll keep trying and when it finally goes through, you'll get to see it. For now, these will have to do.

I love pictures with mirrors, so this was made...

This dress was worn by me when I was a baby. My mom gave it to me, I put it on Eliana and it will be passed on to my granddaughter (provided we haven't been raptured by then)

So far in the month of May...

2006-05-16T12:03:00.000-05:00

We've had Christian's birthday. Here's a couple pics of him and his friend that we took to Incredible Pizza with us...

This same boy had a birthday party on Saturday and the theme was CAMOUFLAGE. This is not a typical birthday party and it was SOOOO much fun. We played all kinds of war games and I was the "team leader" for the north, a.k.a. General Stephanie *LOL* After the games, we had a barbecue (instead of bringing presents, we were to bring a side dish, coke, or chips) and then everyone started leaving. Not us, we were there until 11:15. Steve and the dad started talking computers, so his mom and I played with the kids, talked pictures (she's the one who takes Eliana's pictures) and school stuff (she also homeschools). I learned a lot that night!

Eliana also turned 5 months...I can't believe it. Time is going by so fast. My last baby and she's not supposed to grow up that fast! I've already posted pictures from that day, so I'm not going to add any more for those. She's doing very well at sitting by herself and when you put her on the floor, she'll scoot (on her stomach) all over the place. She also started cereal on Saturday. Steve and the boys fed her and the boys were cleaner than Steve! Steve put the bowl too close to her hands and she grabbed it and spilled 95% of the cereal and then he put it above her feet and she got all excited, kicked the bowl and spilled more (this time on himself). He had to get a crash course on how to feed a baby. LOL

Steve started his master's degree last Monday and yesterday he started his new job.

Last night the kids and I headed up to Fort Leonard Wood for the Tops in Blue show. It's a traveling Air Force show that I normally love to watch. But, this year they were quite disappointing. The best part of the show was the end when they sang "Love in Any Language" and "God Bless the U.S.A."

I've also decided on a new way to go with school, which is a huge load off my mind, although I'm not 100% what we're going to do, I'm 100% sure of what we're not going to do! This may sound confusing, but I'm headed in the right direction.

I've also done something, but I won't mention it just yet. But, if you look closely you'll be able to see in one of the pictures. Tif, I expect you to get it! Sheila, you know, so don't say anything!

Some pictures for your viewing pleasure

2006-05-12T22:05:00.000-05:00

My biggest desire in my life was to have a baby girl and 5 months ago, God blessed my family with this sweet baby girl.
And everyday since, she has been such a blessing to everyone around her. I thank God for my wonderful, loving husband and the sweetest and most treasured children in the world! I truly have the best job in the world and it's all because of them...

I'll write more another time, but right now I just wanted to get a couple pictures of Christian at his first baseball practice and Eliana who is 5 months today. Steve has been officially accepted into the Master's program at Evangel University. He started on Monday, so 2 days out of the week, the kids won't get to see daddy the entire day. He's gone before the boys get up and doesn't get home until the boys are asleep. I see a lot of "make-up" days in our future.

Tomorrow we're going to a party and I know Steve will be taking some pictures of me...you'll see why when I post them.

I'm back...

2006-04-21T18:00:00.000-05:00

You know you missed me or I should say the pictures of my precious babies! I've got tons of pictures, but I won't share them all. This has been a crazy, I mean CRAZY month! Let's see, where do I start...

- You know about the new dog

- Steve took his GRE on the 1st so that he can commence his master's program on May 8th. 2 more years of school and I pray that will be the end!

- play practice...many, many hours of play practice for Easter play. We performed Friday and Saturday night and then Sunday morning. Steve was the high priest and the boys and I were crowd members. Lots of fun, lots of hours and lots of memories!

- in between play practice and plays, we managed to tear up the carpet in the living room and hall and put down hardwood floor. chris came over bright and early to help us and then his family showed up late morning. I love the way the new floor looks!

- Eliana turned 4 months old and with that came a doctor's appointment. She weighed in at 14 lbs. 7 oz and is 24" long. She had to get 3 shots and she was amazing with those! The first time she screamed and screamed and the only thing that got her to stop is when I put my boob in her mouth. LOL This time I didn't even know she got the first 2 shots until the nurse told me. FYI, I don't like needles, can't even look at them! So, I have to bury my face or hide it with my hair, but since she's got a super death grip, I leave my hair up so that she can't get it. Anyway, back to the shots. She cried on the 3rd one and as soon as I picked her up, she was done. What a trooper!

- Eliana can sit up by herself, although her favorite position is standing. I took a picture of her so that everyone would believe me. She sat there for 5 minutes!

- Eliana had her first Easter and the boys had their first Easter Egg hunt (with a bunch of other kids). And this was the first year we didn't do one at home. The got to look for their basket, enjoy some goodies and then got to hunt thousands of eggs at Nelson Park. Zachary, in typical fashion, was slow and bashful. I had to walk with him (while trying to take pictures) and tell him what to do and I even picked up a couple. Of course, it didn't help that some parents were a little pushy and actually doing it for their kids. But Christian, when told to go get eggs, did not hesitate. He filled it to the top! Eliana got her first egg too, but I'm a mean mom and did not let her enjoy what was in it.

- Christian's coach FINALLY called us. We start practicing on Monday. Almost 2 months since I signed him up, it's about time! Unfortunately, I think Steve is going to miss a bunch of games since his classes will be at night and they are not online anymore.

- My parents came by for a 2 hour visit on Wednesday, on their way to St. Louis. Brought Christian his birthday presents. Can't believe he's almost 6!

- and out biggest time eater has been the website for our chruch. Steve is designing it, but I've been doing all the pictures and the banners (except the homepage). So, when you're bored with nothing else to do, check it out. The link is on the right.

Now, since my hubby is gone until late tonight, I have baths to give, stories to read and children to put to bed!

I'm in LOVE....

2006-04-04T15:01:00.000-05:00

with a computer program. Yep, a computer program.

Why you ask? Good question.

Because it can do awesome things with my pictures...like this:

Here we go again...

2006-03-31T17:09:00.000-06:00

Lots of excitement at our house. Wednesday I took the cats to our vet, they got declawed and I picked them up yesterday afternoon. They haven't eaten anything since they've been home and have been quite standoffish. Don't think they liked the idea of having their paws messed with. Also, Wednesday was the first day that I was able to fit into my own jeans since having the baby! What a great feeling that was. And I've lost all my pregnancy weight, plus 3 pounds. Now, I just need to tighten up. WOOO HOOO!!!

It was a gorgeous day outside, so we played outside ALL day. Here are a couple of super cute pictures! I promise I did not set them up like this, but it did end up working out perfectly for me.

Yesterday morning I took the kids out to the studio where we had their Easter pictures taken. Initially I wasn't going to get all 3 done and was going to wait until next month but Susan, my photographer friend, said that she won't have the bunnies after Easter. So, I got the boys their suits, Eliana her dress, piled in the car and headed out to the studio. All of them were great, but that's no surprise. My kids are used to cameras in their face, whether it be mine or a professionals. She took some of the 3 of them and 2 different poses of Eliana by herself while the boys played with the bunnies. Good times! Here is a picture of the 3 of them together and one of Eliana. The third pose I'm not going to put on here because there's well... some sick people out there and I don't want my baby to show up on a certain search. I will tell you that it's so freakin' cute!!! Bunny ears, tail and some cute baby cheeks!

Last night we had a dinner to go to and Susan was so quick in getting the proofs done that she handed them to me when I walked in the door last night. Everyone loved the pictures. Let me rephrase that...the women loved the pictures, the men thought I was raising, well, let's just say that's why you're not going to get to see the bunny picture. Dinner was pretty good, the speaking was rather, ummmm, uninteresting and the best part (besides getting my pictures already) was the free baked potatoes I got to bring home. Lunch for me for a couple days.

Oh yah, while I was at the studio, I got free wallets for helping with the church directory last week. This is the picture that is going in our church directory.

This morning we were out the door before 9:30 to pick up our new family member. He's such a sweet dog. He's been very hesitant and been kinda spookin' easily, but I figured that he's been through so many changes in the last week 1/2 or so he doesn't know what's going on. He'll need a couple weeks to really adjust and get used to us. Peaches has loved the idea of having someone to play with. Bear has taken a liking to Buttons, who right now cause her paws are sore, could care less about the dog. Bear also LOVES chasing the boys around the yard. He's been very good his first day in his new home. He's going to make a wonderful addition to the family...now, if he'll just leave the baby toys alone!

Tomorrow Steve heads to Springfield without us. He will taking his GRE (basically like a SAT) so that he can start his Masters program in May. And the rest of us, we'll be doing what we do everyday when he's not here....whatever comes along and we feel like doing. More than likely, there will be a lot of playing with our dogs and enjoying the beautiful weather!

Another expansion

2006-03-27T16:14:00.000-06:00

**If you've already read this, I've finally been able to get the pictures added in.

Well, our family has expanded again. On Saturday we adopted a baby boy. He's actually 1 1/2 years old, but that's still a baby to me. He won't actually get to come to our home until Friday morning. He's having surgery on Thursday and we'll be able to pick him up from the doctor on Friday. His name is "Bear" and he's a BEAUTIFUL Golden Retriever.

And speaking of surgeries, my indoor cats are FINALLY going to be declawed on Wednesday!!! No more scratching the furniture.

Eliana is getting her pictures taken will real bunnies on Thursday. I can't wait to see them. I know the boys aren't going to want to leave. This was her in her dress yesterday.

We signed Christian up for baseball a few weeks ago and I still have not received a phone call from his coach to let us know when and where practices are at. I have not been happy with the way this whole thing has been run. I'm going to be making a phone call.

Zachary doesn't seem too disappointed anymore that he can't play baseball this year. Now he's wanting me to sign him up for basketball. Basketball??? No one in our families play basketball. Baseball is highly encouraged (it was after all my "first love"). The way he's built, I'd let him play football, but I'll be on the sidelines praying the whole time that he doesn't get hurt! Soccer, I'd stomach, but please NO basketball! But, if that's what he REALLY wants to play, then I'll support it.

This week we start our full practices for our Easter play, "Bow the Knee". Steve is the high priest and the kids (yep, all 3 of them) and I are going to be crowd members. I'll be glad when it's over. After that, I have the Mother-Daughter Tea that I'm planning. Once that is over, in June we have Vacation Bible School. I've been put in charge of coming up with how things are going to be decorated, the entire thing! Rob and Tami, I NEED YOU!!! Then I have a short break until our annual missionettes sleepover in September. Will there ever be an end to my madness???

THE DUCK AND THE DEVIL

2006-03-20T08:59:00.000-06:00

There was a little boy visiting his grandparents on their farm. He was given a slingshot to play with out in the woods. He practiced in the woods, but he could never hit the target. Getting a little discouraged, he headed back for dinner

As he was walking back he saw Grandma's pet duck. Just out of impulse, he let the slingshot fly, hit the duck square in the head, and killed it. He was shocked and grieved. In a panic, he hid the dead duck in the wood pile, only to see his sister watching! Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing

After lunch the next day Grandma said, "Sally, let's wash the dishes." But Sally said , "Grandma, Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen." Then she whispered to him, "Remember the duck?" So Johnny did the dishes. Later that day, Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing and Grandma said, "I'm sorry but I need Sally to help make supper." Sally just smiled and said," Well that's all right because Johnny told me he wanted to help." She whispered again, "Remember the duck?" So Sally went fishing and Johnny stayed to help. After several days of
Johnny doing both his chores and Sally's ... he finally couldn't stand it any longer.

He came to Grandma and confessed that he had killed the duck. Grandma knelt down, gave him a hug, and said, "Sweetheart, I know. You see, I was standing at the window and I saw the whole thing. But because I love you, I forgave you. I was just wondering how long you would let Sally
make a slave of you"

Thought for the day ... and every day thereafter :

Whatever is in your past, whatever you have done...and the devil keeps throwing it up in your face (lying, debt, fear, hatred, anger, unforgiveness, bitterness, resentments, etc.)... whatever it is.... You need to know that God was standing at the window and He saw the whole thing.....

He has seen your whole life. He wants you to know that He loves you and that you are forgiven. He's just wondering how long you will let the devil make a slave of you. The great thing about God is that when you ask for forgiveness, He not only forgives you, but He forgets.....It is by God's grace and mercy that we are saved.

Busy weekend

2006-03-20T08:45:00.000-06:00

Well, as I posted a week or so ago, we went to St. Louis and saw Disney on Ice with the Incredibles. It was a really good show and the boys enjoed themselves, which was what it was all about. We had awesome seats! Dead center about 10 rows up. We saw EVERYTHING, even when people weren't moving their lips although they were "talking". I got a couple pictures, but bonehead me forgot the card that goes in my camera. This was Eliana's first long car trip and she did great! I'm not surprised, but it sure did make for nice traveling.

Eliana slept in her crib for the first time last night. She's been their for naps, but was the first night. I put her down aroudn 10, went to bed and got up and checked on her around 10:30. And although she's been sleeping through the night, she woke up at 3 something and then I put her in the bassinet cause I was too tired and cold to walk back to her room. We'll eventually get her there for good.

Friday we got our very first bedroom set. Been married 10 years and never had a bedroom set. Now we do and I LOVE it! We also got 2 new couches. Soon we'll be pulling up the carpet and laying down the flooring we have picked out. When everything is said and done I'll take pictures. We still have the old couches. We're donating them to tornado victims, so we'll be getting rid of them some time this week with the help of our Pastor's truck.

We're getting our pictures taken for the church directory tonight and then tomorrow and Wednesday, I'm working with her (our photographer).

As for the first day of spring, it feels like winter here. YUK! It's not even supposed to get out of the 30's here. We've had a very mild winter, can't complain at all about the cold. Wasn't very cold. I think we wore heavy jackets 2 times. Last night, I watched the weather and they're calling for snow. Yes, you read that correctly...S-N-O-W!!!! It's late MARCH, why NOW???? Why not back in December or January when I was willing to let the boys go out and play. Now, I want to plant my garden and see my hummingbirds...I DON'T WANT SNOW!!!

Hopefully you'll be enjoying your first day of spring more than I will.

A conversation

2006-03-17T11:27:00.000-06:00

Here's a conversation that I had with my 5 1/2 year old...

C: Can I play my tonka (computer) game?

Me: Not right now.

C: What if God calls me to be a construction worker? I need to practice.

Me: ROTFLMBO

I love the innocence of a child!

Thought...

2006-03-13T08:47:00.000-06:00

To help you get through whatever you're going through...

Today...

2006-03-12T15:53:00.000-06:00

Eliana is 3 months old today. Guess she was a little hungry...LOL

Christian and Zachary actually had me do their hair this morning. Whenever they go to the barber, they get it cut in a flat top. Normally, they don't want it to stand up, especially if they're going to be around people, like church. So, they let me do it and they look soooooooooooooooooo cute! Unfortunately, you'll have to take my word for it cause they won't let me take a picture. Someday, I'll sneak it on them.

My husband is on the phone talking to his mom and he had the nerve to tell her that if it came down to the vet putting my dog to sleep (if it ever had to happen) or him doing it, he'd do it. Just to let ya'll know, it's going to be a lonely night on the couch for my husband tonight.

New Link

2006-03-11T20:15:00.000-06:00

I've added a new link under "my links". Chris and Sheila are down in Mississippi right now on a missions trip and the couple that writes this page update it everyday to keep you updated on everything that's going on down there. Worth the read!

And just in case, here's the address: http://www.msmission.blogspot.com/

General Updating

2006-03-09T13:14:00.000-06:00

Not much has happened since I last posted. We've been staying really busy. I'm preparing for a Mother-Daughter Tea in May and I'm on the committee for Vacation Bible School which we're heavily planning for now. So, I don't have much free time now, not that there really was before. My parents came up over the weekend for Eliana's dedication at church. My sister and brother-in-law came up with my nephew as well. I hadn't seen him since he was one month old. He's now 6 months old and 20 pounds! He's a BIG boy. I'm now dog sitting for our friends Yorkshire Terrier. She reminds me of Tia Debbie and Tia Donna's Yorky "Sunshine" in Arizona. I have a very busy weekend ahead...Fort Leonard Wood tomorrow, plus the furniture stores up there; Saturday flooring stores, plus furniture stores; Sunday we're going to a Baptist church to present our Royal Rangers and Missionettes program to them and then next Saturday we'll be in St. Louis! We're going to see Disney on ice. Can't wait!

Here's the pictures I know you were wanting to see...

Here's Eliana looking at Grandpa at church.

Eliana looking at Nana (I love the grin!)

Eliana in the dress that Nana made for her, and the headband, and the blanket she's on. The blanket is some ribbons and lace that my mom bought in London and used in my wedding, 10 years ago! Part of the dress is made from material that my mom used when she made my sister's wedding dress, last year. Poor thing couldn't stay up because of the material. She kept sliding.

Eliana and her awesome big brother.

Eliana and both of her big brothers.

Such a beautiful baby!

Eliana sitting in the bean bag chair.

The 3 boys, Christian, Zachary & Brayden. On the right is my dog Peaches and on the left is her niece, my parents dog, Rosie.

One of the outfits that I couldn't wait for her to fit in. It's a pink jean jacket and jeans outfit with white tennis shoes with pink gems on the sides.

10 years

2006-02-27T09:43:00.000-06:00

Today is our 10th anniversary and there is no one I'd rather spend my life with! Steve is the most wonderful man in the world!

And if you read Tif's site, then you would know that it's her 10th anniversary as well. Some of you may have read that Tif and I have a history together (believe me, there is much, much more) and part of that history includes us getting married on the same day. Except, Tif & RJ stayed in the Netherlands and got married and Steve and I drove up to Denmark and got married.

So, happy anniversary hon...I love you more today than yesterday. I look forward to our future together. It will only get better.

Happy anniversary to Tif & RJ. Thanks for the memories! I love ya!

My Girls

2006-02-24T19:14:00.000-06:00

Here's a couple pictures of my girls. Peaches is my 10 years old golden retriever and of course you know who the beautiful baby is. And in the picture with the white cat in the background, that's Buttons. She's an American Bobtail and the best cat to have with children!

Just because it's been too long

2006-02-23T09:08:00.000-06:00

These were taken this morning. This is how she is all the time. A very happy baby. The last picture looks a little different. I was experimenting with natural light and I wanted one without the smile. I love the way it turned out.

For you Tif

2006-02-23T08:34:00.000-06:00

Since Tif wanted a new post from me, I thought it proper of me to post about Shadow, who once was Tif's kitten. But first a very quick history lesson...

Tif and I graduated together in Holland in 1994 and after all our classmates left back to the states, we were left. We were inseparable. Every where we went, we passed as sisters, some even believed we were twins. Didn't know I had a twin 6 weeks older than me did ya? We even worked at the PX (well, she was at the PXtra, but still the same company). While I was working one day, she got a little tiny black kitten. Boy was she cute! Tif couldn't think of a name for her and told me to think of one. The last time I named an animal, I was around 6 years old! So, I dropped Tif off at work, took her car back to her parents house. I have no idea where mom and dad were, but I was home by myself with this little kitten. Everywhere I went, she went. I took her back to pick up Tif and we waited out in the grass for Tif to close. I walked back and forth, with kitten in on my heels. It was then I decided that she was my little shadow and what better name than Shadow. Long story short, Tif left for the states for a short time, I kept cat, Tif came back, cat stayed with me. So here we are, 10 1/2 years later.

Now Tif, this is for you...
Steve feeds the animals every night after the boys go to bed. Last night, he opened the front door where Shadow's little house and dishes are and we not only had Shadow, but there was also another black cat. Looks just like Shadow except his eyes are a golden yellow and his hair isn't shiny like Shadow. He was sitting in Shadow's house. I'm not sure if they were in there together or not, but neither one of them were meowing at each other or even looking like they were going to fight. We brought Shadow's dish in for her to eat and then she went back out. The cat was still there. I would love to get a picture of them together. I think I'll have my camera ready, just in case.

Here she is 2 weeks ago. She just got done rolling in the some dirt, so she looks a little "dusty".

Joke of the day

2006-02-16T11:52:00.001-06:00

America's Deteriorating Military

I sat, as did millions of other Americans, and watched as our government underwent a peaceful transition of power as I watched George W.Bush take his oath of office. However, all that pride quickly vanished as I later watched William Jefferson Clinton board Air Force One for the last time. I saw 21 Marines, in full dress uniform with rifles, fire a 21-gun salute to the outgoing president. It was then that I realized how far America's military had deteriorated under Clinton. Every last one of them missed all 21 times.

A little of this and a lot of that

2006-02-14T10:03:00.000-06:00

Steve finally saved enough money to buy this. And Christian had to try and pull the string back. I couldn't do it without help!

The good news about my daughter is that she still fits in most of her 0-3 month clothes! There are some really cute 3-6 month clothes I'm looking forward to getting her in, but I'm not in a hurry for her to get bigger. Speaking of bigger, she was 2 months old on Sunday.

Yesterday I took her for her 2 month check-up and 3 shots! I always dread them, but it's for their own good. She weighed 11 lbs. 8 oz. and was 22 1/2" long. Going on the principle that newborns (the first 2 months) should gain an oz a day, she's 5 oz. shy of where she should be, but the doc is not concerned. She's healthy and perfect!

Here's the first 3-6 month outfit she wore. It's not my favorite, but I needed something warm since it was below freezing and we were going out.

And this one is Monday night before her and I went to a meeting. She got some new bows and this was the first one she wore. So, daddy took a picture.

That's all the pictures for today. But don't worry, there will be more and you'll be back.

Sad, sad day

2006-02-10T17:19:00.000-06:00

This is such a sad day for me. Grandma Sheila and I are going into seclusion. You see, my sweet baby girl is growing and I can't stop it. In my washer right now, as I type this, is all her 3-6 month clothes. I put her in her adorable princess outfit today and it's too short. Even when I pull it down, it barely gets to her socks. She's a long, skinny girl.

So, this outfit will be retired.

I hope there's still some 0-3 month clothes she can wear.

So, until I come to grips with the fact that my baby girl, my one and only girl I'll ever have, my last child, is growing up and there's not a darn thing I can do about it...

I bid you adieu.

To start your weekend right...

2006-02-10T12:01:00.000-06:00

There's nothing that I want to share with the internet world today, so I found this joke in my inbox and decided to share it. It's a cute joke with a very important message at the end!

Computer argument

Jesus and Satan were having an on-going argument about who was better on the computer. They had been going at it for days, and frankly God was tired of hearing all the bickering. Finally fed up, God said, "THAT'S IT! I have had enough. I am going to set up a test that will run for two hours, and from those results, I will judge who does the better job."

So Satan and Jesus sat down at the keyboards and typed away.
They moused.
They faxed.
They e-mailed.
They e-mailed with attachments.
They downloaded.
They did spreadsheets!
They wrote reports.
They created labels and cards.
They created charts and graphs.
They did some genealogy reports.
They did every job known to man.
Jesus worked with heavenly efficiency and Satan was faster than hell.

Then, ten minutes before their time was up, lightning suddenly flashed across the sky, thunder rolled, rain poured, and, of course, the power went off. Satan stared at his blank screen and screamed every curse word known in the underworld. Jesus just sighed. Finally the electricity came back on, and each of them restarted their computers.

Satan started searching frantically, screaming: "It's gone! It's all GONE! I lost everything when the power went out!"

Meanwhile, Jesus quietly started printing out all of his files from the past
two hours of work.

Satan observed this and became irate. "Wait!" he screamed. "That's not fair! He cheated! How come he has all his work and I don't have any?" God just shrugged and said,

JESUS SAVES!

SUPERbowl!

2006-02-06T12:00:00.000-06:00

Before we left for church, we watched the first 10 minutes of the game. After church was over, we weren't going to come home in case the game was still on. We were getting ready to leave when we got invited over to the Associate Pastor's house with a bunch of our friends. Pretty much everyone there was cheering for Pittsburgh, but that was just because they're all Chief fans and of course, they weren't in the game. Steve was the only die hard Steelers fan, with terrible towel and all, at the house. I of course, was cheering for Pittsburgh or I wouldn't have been allowed in the house last night (his words). And all of use (minus Eliana) were all wearing Pittsburgh stuff. Should have taken a picture...

The game didn't start out to good for Pgh. I was starting to lose hope for them, but I kept telling myself that Pgh is a second half team. There was still hope for them. After watching the Rolling Stones and laughing at them and fast forwarding through quite a bit, the game picked up and we started seeing more of what we were expecting to see out of the Steelers.

The Steelers pulled it off winning the game giving Bill Cowher a superbowl win and giving Jerome Bettis, a.k.a "The Bus" a win in his hometown and probably his last year of ball. What a great way to end the night.

Good friends, good company, good food (which I couldn't eat), good 2nd half and a win for my husband's favorite football team.

My husband is happy. I'm happy.

Now, time for BASEBALL!!!!!

GO SAN FRANSISCO GIANTS!!!

The Middle Wife By an Anonymous 2nd grade teacher

2006-02-06T11:28:00.000-06:00

This is for all parents and those who deal with young children...

The Middle Wife By an Anonymous 2nd grade teacher

I've been teaching now for about fifteen years. I have two kids myself, but the best birth story I know is the one I saw in my own second-grade classroom a few years back.

When I was a kid, I loved show-and-tell. So I always have a few sessions with my students. It helps them get over shyness and usually, show-and-tell is pretty tame. Kids bring in pet turtles, model airplanes, pictures of fish they catch, stuff like that. And I never, ever place any boundaries or limitations on them. If they want to lug it in to school and talk about it, they're welcome.

Well, one day this little girl, Erica, a very bright, very outgoing kid, takes her turn and waddles up to the front of the class with a pillow stuffed under her sweater. She holds up a snapshot of an infant. "This is Luke, my baby brother, and I'm going to tell you about his birthday.

"First, Mom and Dad made him as a symbol of their love, and then Dad put a seed in my Mom's stomach, and Luke grew in there. He ate for nine months through an umbrella cord." She's standing there with her hands on the pillow, and I'm trying not to laugh and wishing I had my camcorder with me. The kids are watching her in amazement.

"Then, about two Saturdays ago, my Mom starts saying and going, 'Oh, oh, oh, oh!' " Erica puts a hand behind her back and groans. "She walked around the house for, like an hour, 'Oh, oh, oh!'" Now this kid is doing a hysterical duck walk and groaning.

"My Dad called the middle wife. She delivers babies, but she doesn't have a sign on the car like the Domino's man. They got my Mom to lie down in bed like this." Then Erica lies down with her back against the wall.

"And then, pop! My Mom had this bag of water she kept in there in case he got thirsty, and it just blew up and spilled all over the bed, like psshhheew!" This kid has her legs spread and with her little hands are miming water flowing away. It was too much!

"Then the middle wife starts saying 'push, push,' and 'breathe, breathe.' They started counting, but never even got past ten. Then, all of a sudden, out comes my brother. He was covered in yucky stuff, they all said it was from Mom's play-center!, so there must be a lot of stuff inside there."

Then Erica stood up, took a big theatrical bow and returned to her seat.

I'm sure I applauded the loudest. Ever since then, if it's show-and-tell day, I bring my camcorder, just in case another Erica comes along.

Pinewood Derby Race

2006-02-04T15:15:00.000-06:00

Last night we had the annual Pinewood Derby Race for Royal Rangers. The kids (and many parents) worked hard to create the best car! The boys had a lot of fun, which was what it was all about. I'm just glad that they don't think like I do cause there are somethings that I think (and some other parents as well) should have been done differently. Each car raced 3 times on 3 different tracks, just in case one track was faster, or slower, than others. At the end of the 3 races, the computer would average the times to see who was the fastest. Ribbons were given out for the first heat, but not the 2nd or 3rd.

Christian got first place in the first heat and 11th over all. Zachary (raceing his daddy's car) got 3rd in his heat and 8th over all. Steve raced his car in the commander's race and his first heat he got 3rd place.

Neither of them won for best in show. Christian's car is a cantaloupe and Zachary's (a.k.a. Daddy's) is a nail with blood on the end. There were some that got trophies that were not very creative at all. How they won is beyond me. There was one car that looked like a sword (very cool!) and he got 2nd. I think he should have got first place. They wouldn't have liked me as a judge if they're picking cars with no originality to them.

There's a race in Springfield on the 11th against a bunch of churches in our district. We're planning on going so that Christian can race again.

The first picture is of Eliana before the race. You can tell she was real excited to be there. The second picture is of Christian holding his car and his awards. The third picture is of both cars and the awards (Zachary didn't want to get his picture taken). And the last picture is the side view of Christian's car so that you can see that it's a cantaloupe.

Maybe I should write on Christian's car...

"Eat my seeds"

Photo shoot

2006-02-03T13:07:00.000-06:00

Here's a couple of my favorite pictures from the photo shoot last weekend. When I get the ones I'm gonna order back, I'll scan them in and share them.

The best big brother...

2006-02-01T13:10:00.000-06:00

that would be Christian.

On Saturday, the boys took a few dollars of their Christmas money from Grandma and bought themselves a bow and arrow set. Well, Zachary at 3 isn't quite ready for that yet, but had to do what his big brother was doing. Except Zachary has broken the 3 arrows. So, Steve told him he wasn't going to get anymore. Christian said that he would share his arrows. Steve told him no. What did Christian start doing? He cried. Steve felt really bad, after all, we're always telling him that God likes it when we share (which he throws back at us, all the time!) Steve told him that the reason we don't want him to share the arrows is because we don't want Zachary to break his. That seemed to calm him down, but he still wants to share. Can't fault him for doing the right thing!

What a great big brother (and son for listening to what he's been told!)

Today during my shower, Eliana was sitting in her bouncy chair. Christian wanted to be with her. I look out the curtain and Christian is sitting next to her, reading a book. So cute! Where's the camera??? A few minutes later Christian asks where the burp wrag is. He retrieved it and cleaned up a tiny bit of spit up. Anything that comes out of her mouth must be cleaned up. And if she cries, she MUST be attended to. I tell the boys all the time that it won't hurt her if she's crying.

What a great big brother Zachary and Eliana have in Christian!

Here's the picture

2006-01-30T11:22:00.000-06:00

Here's a picture of our cat Buttons sitting on my chest while I'm feeding Eliana and talking to my grandmother. She used to do this ALL the time when I was nursing Zachary, but back then, she was half this size!

And since it didn't work this morning, I had the opportunity to take more pictures and I think this one is too cute not to share!

Our Weekend

2006-01-30T10:26:00.000-06:00

Friday night Sheila (a.k.a. Grandma Sheila) and Chris and their kids came over for dinner. We had yummy Chicken Tetrazini, except this time I used sweet Italian sausage in place of chicken. It's a good thing I made 2 9x13 pans of it! It was a hit. While the kids watched a Veggie Tales movie and played in the boys' room, us adults and the 13 year old gathered around the table to play Bible Trivia. The guys won, but we held our own! After the kids went to sleep, we played Worst Case Scenario (which none of us liked). The women won that game and then it was another game of Bible Trivia (guys won, but this time, we were 1 question away from beating them) and eating Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip cookies and peanut M&Ms.

After getting to sleep about 1:30 am, we were up and out of the house for our 11 am appointment at a friends house for a photo shoot. She has her own studio at her house and as a baby shower gift, she gave me a free shoot with a free 8x10, plus a $50 gift certficate towards pictures. So, we spent a little over an hour there and then we headed back up to Lake of the Ozarks outlet malls to do some more shopping. This time at Osh Kosh B'Gosh, I saved $245 and some change! We got a few things for the boys, but mostly some stuff for Eliana. I love these sales!!! We went to a few other stores, but there's no need to bore you with those details.

Sunday of course was church day, but this day was a little different. We had our annual business meeting last night and I had to get up in front of the congregation and talk about Missionettes since I'm the coordinator. I'm also NOT a public speaker and I can't stand to be the center of attention. The worst of it, I was first!!! Steve said I didn't stutter, I sounded great and I even manage to make them laugh. Still, this is not something I plan on taking up! Also, I managed to lose my daughter twice, well actually 3 times. Once before the service, once during the morning service and again during the evening service. I got her back before the morning service, but Debbie (a.ka. adopted Nana--her grandaughter was born the same day as Eliana, but she lives in Minnesota) held her during the morning and evening service until Eliana was ready to eat and then we had to meet in the hall because we were sitting on different sides of the church. Yesterday morning, I about had a fight in the hall. I was talking to someone and this super sweet older man came up to me and pulled out his knife and was about to cut off Eliana's headband 'cause he think it squeezes her head to tight. Of course, we were just having fun, but I'm sure the visitors thought we were serious until we started laughing.

Sara, your mom was so cute last night. As soon as Steve put Eliana's car seat down on the seat, your mom and Debbie were right there and Debbie was ready to take off with her. Your mom got this sad look on her face and Debbie told her it was ok for your mom to hold her first. She held her for a while and told me "I can't wait until Sara has a baby."

I've been trying to add a picture, but for some reason, there's a problem, so that will have to wait.

My babies

2006-01-26T16:30:00.000-06:00

Here's the most beautiful baby girl in the world accompanied by the most handsome boys in the world!

Tag

2006-01-26T15:16:00.000-06:00

Four Jobs I Have Had:
tax preparer
The PX
babysitting
billeting (for non-military, that's like a motel)

Four Movies I Could Watch Over and Over Again:
Sound of Music
Anne of Green Gables/Avonlea
Cinderella
Thoroughly Modern Millie

Four Books I Could Read Over and Over:
Left Behind series (there's 12 of them)

Four Places I Have Lived:
Travis AFB, CA
Fort Huachuca, AZ
Fort Leonard Wood, MO
Germany/The Netherlands

Four TV Shows I Watch:
E.R.
Extreme Home Makeover

Four Places I Have Been On Vacation:
Australia
Italy
Scotland
Switzerland

Four Websites I visit Daily:
my friend's blogs

Four Favorite Foods:
Pasta
Pizza
cheese
quesadillas

Four Places I'd Like To Be Now:
with my family in Heaven

Four Bloggers I'm Tagging:
Meghan
Steve
Jen
Sara

Math

2006-01-25T09:20:00.000-06:00

I got this in email this morning and thought it was too good to pass up...

Little David, who was Jewish, was failing math. His parents
Tried everything. Tutors, mentors, flash cards, special learning
centers, and nothing helped.

As a last resort, someone told them to try a Catholic school.
"Those nuns are tough" they said. David was soon enrolled at St.
Mary's. After school on the very first day David ran through the door
And straight to his room, without even kissing his mother hello. He
Started studying furiously, books and papers spread out all over his room.
Right after dinner he ran upstairs without mentioning TV, and hit the books
harder than before.

His parents were amazed. This behavior continued for weeks, until report
card day arrived. David quietly laid the envelope on the table, and went to
his room. With great trepidation, his mother opened the report. David had
gotten an A in math!

She ran up to his room, threw her arms around him and asked, "David honey,
how did this happen? Was it the nuns? "No!", said David. "On the first day
of school when I saw that guy nailed to the plus sign, I knew they weren't
fooling around!"

RFamilyMatters

And end of an era

Day off and no time to spare

My Disclosure

School, Politics and Religion

Want Free Music?

Politics

I Got Paid!

Weather and mood

Lose the Race, Lose your Ride

Childhood crush

Christmas List

All about my children

The Succulent Wife

It was bound to happen!

Little Diva

In Honor...

Save Money!

Picture Update

A Survivor's Story

It's about time!

Sleepless Weekend

Building Our Dream Home

I forgot to mention

Payperpost.com

Talker!

Shoes for the Whole Family

Sad

Picture This For Fun

Phone

Trick or Treat

Family Update

9-11

All about the Princess

One of those days

Flickr

Birthday's galore

1st day out of the way!

It's over and I survived!

Conversations

Changes

Homesick

Reflections

Life's happenings

Eliana, then Christian & Zachary and now me

Our adventures

For my friend...you know who you are!

Boys Tag

Eliana's Tag

What a week!

Our weekend

Water Fum

Homeschooling

A LITTLE PERSPECTIVE

Keely

Migraines, games and the right size!

Not ready...

Changes

Muchadoaboutnothing

So cute!

I've been workin' on the railroad...

Tag, I'm it..

Sara, Sara, Sara **EDITED**

Friends, Fireworks and Ma-ma

Who knew?

I can't help myself!

Just a few pics that I promised

What are we going to do???

Mommy's Diary

Because...

So far in the month of May...

Some pictures for your viewing pleasure

I'm back...

I'm in LOVE....

Here we go again...

Another expansion

THE DUCK AND THE DEVIL

Busy weekend

A conversation

Thought...

Sara, Sara, Sara EDITED