Gram's Place

She was not hurt, thank God. The car was. She wasn't. Although she did go in to the doctor yesterday and the chiropractor today just to be sure the back pain she has is not associated with this. Both air bags deployed. The air bags cracked the windshield, and the front end has some damage. So, given the value of the car currently, it's totalled. We recently switched insurance companies, so we'll have to see how this one handles it. It's frightening when your 18 year old calls and says "mom, I went in the ditch". Pictures to follow. stay tuned.

I was going to participate in the Christmas Tour of Homes that Boomama had... but I am a day late. Wow...that's a surprise. So, here are some Christmas photos for ya anyway. This is the tree in our living room. This is the fireplace in the living room. Please notice the huge stockings we have to fill each year. Shawn's mom made those when the girls were born. They are quite big. A few years ago, we added the stockings for him and me. His is a camo one and mine is red with leopard cuff. I think they look like something you would see Peg and Al Bundy use. This year I changed the decor on the basement tree. I was in kind of a funky blue mood, so I did this tree all in blues. I had a little help from two of the kids and we added a fun silver freaky thing at the top! :)

I'm trying to make a very big decision this week. Christmas letter - yay or nay? It might be nay by default because I may think about it so much that I won't even get my cards out! But, it's fun to think on isn't it? I have a friend who gets a letter every. single. year. from a little old woman she used to rent a room from in college. I honestly don't think that the woman is that lonely and sad... she just only knows how to tell about the sad things in her life. Each year when she gets the letter, she calls me and reads the letter over the phone. I alway begin the conversation by saying "Please tell me it's good news this year!". I searched google to help me make my decision. It showed some pretty bad Christmas letters... check out these excerpts... My family actually received a Christmas letter about how they accidentally ran over their new puppy with the mini van and now the puppy has three legs. We receive a Christmas letter from a childless,...

Okay, I know it's not monday. But here's the joke. there's no menu plan either. aaaaaaaaaahhhhahhahahaha!

Saturday was one of those days. Emily was getting ready for a dance recital and it was busy here... but I was anxiously anticipating the arrival of the two older girls who are at college. They were both travelling home and on the road and planning to be here for weeks during the Christmas season. There is just something about those words "coming home". I could hear it in the girls' voices as they told me when they would be arriving. A longing to be with family... to just be home. I completely understood as well. There is nothing like having all your family close at Christmas time. This morning, at church, Jane sung a solo... "I'll be home for Christmas..." and my eyes stung with tears. Partly because my girls were all together, home for Christmas, and partly because the fact that they are away reminds me that God is moving and doing incredible miraculous things in their lives. I am thrilled that they are growing and learning from God the thing...

We've had every type of sickness known to man in this house the last month. So, it's no wonder I haven't been posting. If someone isn't sick, I'm sterilizing the house! So far, we have had the stomach flu, ear infections, sinus issues, headaches, and now pink eye! Yes, you heard it right. Now it's pink eye. Actually, it's pink eyeS. Two of them. Only one of us has pink eyes, and it's the youngest. So, that's good. That means that the 14 people we have coming over for dinner tonight won't be affected because she will be quarantined to her room or the basement. AND I have officially sprayed disinfectant all over the bathrooms and the door handles in the entire house, just to make myself feel better. I guess the good thing about this is that by the time January hits, we ought to have the resistance of a lab rat so we should be good and healthy, able to survive a long winter! A little pink eye information for you pink eye rookies: The last time we ha...

A lady from my Bible Study dropped off some popcorn-on-the-cob. Emily: Cool! What do you do? Stick the whole thing in a bag and put it in the microwave and cook it? Needless to say, we had to have a short lesson on how we had to pop corn in the "OLDEN" days!

For posterity's sake, let it be known that today is officially the first snow of the year. I don't know how long it will last. But, it is white. and it is here.

I realized today that I have peculiar taste in music. I was listening to my computer as I was working and put it on "random". Random is pretty much right. One minute I was listening to the Go-Go's, which I am sure Nate and Bill will LOVE to hear me say. They absolutely love that I like the Go-Go's and know all the words to the Beauty and the Beat CD. I was immediately transported into 1981 with my girlfriends listening to the album at my birthday party and beginning to memorize those songs...writing down all the words so we don't forget them. Did they not print the lyrics back then? The next minute, it was Lashell Griffin belting out "YOU MAKE ME FEEL SO FREE..." She. is. awesome. by the way. I begin to imagine I am in a meadow twirling around amazed at God's presence. Then, suddenly, it changes to Mozart's Serenade No. 13 in G major "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik", and swiftly I am a star in the movie Pride and Prejudice. Glancing at my...

I was encouraged by His Girl's blog yesterday. So, I thought I'd share a prayer that I pray for my man....it's printed on a 3x7 card and I got it when we went to a family life conference one time. Lord, I lift Shawn up to You today and pray, according to Your Word that: You give him strength to lead (Josh 1:7), time to know his family(John 10:14), and a passion to manage his home(1Tim. 3:4). You bless his work and show him daily how to honor You in his attitude and spirit; confirm the work of his hands unto Your purpose (Psalm 90:16-17; Daniel 6). He will be a wise steward of our finances and all we possess, remembering that all things are Yours and entrusted to us for Your purposes (Matt. 6:19-21) He will love You with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength and hate evil (Mark 12:30, Psalm 97:10) He will be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger (James 1:19) You protect him physically, mentally, and spiritually (Psalm 28:7-9; Psalm 41; John 17:15) You give him t...

It's funny how being sick as an adult always takes you by surprise. For the past couple of months I have had fluid in my right ear. I thought it was from water that got in there and didn't drain. I have been taking constant decongestants and antihistimines to try to get it to dry out. It never really bothered me much. About a week ago, that ear just started hurting. and hurting and hurting. I found myself feeling like a 18 month old child, pulling on it constantly. I always wondered why the doctor asked if your kids were pulling on their ears to determine if they had an infection. now I know. Lo and behold, I had the mother of all ear infections. inside outside updside down. It was nearly into my face... no wonder my jaw hurt. The doc ordered every kind of medicine you can imagine. ear drops, oral antibiotics, antihistimine, decongestant, nasal spray, tylenol.... I about fainted at the cost of some of those things... and because of the cost, opted out of one or two......

Last night, we did a bit of shopping for some hunting equipment for Shawn's upcoming trip. (a bed to be exact. Is that considered "equipment"?) We (me, Ab, and Em) coaxed Shawn into going to Cold Stone for a treat. Trust me, it didn't take much coaxing. It was a chilly night and we really should have been drinking cocoa. When we walked out with out with our ice cream - me with my chocolate and snickers by the way a fantastic combination - it was sleeting. Yes maam you heard me right. SLEET. You know what that means. Winter is here, a bit early I might add.

In keeping with my emealz plan, here is the menu for the week. Mon - Cajun Pork Chops, Dirty Rice, Carrot Apple Pecan Salad Tues - Classic Lasagna and Salad Wed - Low Country Boil and Cornbread Thurs - Company Chicken over Rice and Broccoli Fri - Microwave Greek Chicken and Potatoes, Greek Salad So far, we've liked everything we've had!!!

There is just something about having Lazy Saturdays... hanging around and reading and doing nothing and just putzing around... sleeping in until 10am (YES! I DID!) and then taking a 2 hour nap at 12:30 (I know... am I ill???) I honestly haven't done anything today. Not really anything of worth anyway. Well, I guess I did go buy groceries and spent 2 hours at Wal-Mart (good grief, that's a long time really). Now, it's 11:15 at night and I'm baking a cake for my sister's birthday tomorrow and getting ready to go to bed. The best part.... is realizing it is only really 10:15 because of the time change and I can sleep even more! I. am. seriously. so. lazy.

We have a downtown trick-or-treat night tomorrow night. It's a night that all the businesses downtown hand out candy to all the little kitty cats and jedi knights. loads of candy. I talked about it two years ago here . I made a huge mistake that year and opened the candy early. some mistakes, I have learned, you make over and over again. and you never really learn. I bought 30 pounds of candy for tomorrow night. I have 27 left.

Okay, so it isn't Monday. what. ev. er. Monday - Easy Does It Spaghetti, Salad, Garlic Bread Tuesday - Almond Rice Chicken, Peas Wednesday - Eat at Youth Building Thursday - Beef Cubed Steak, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, Broccoli Friday - Sliced Top Sirloin with Chili Beans, Apple Cole Slaw, Cornbread Saturday - Black Beans and Rice, Buttery Corn So, here's the deal. We have been trying to do some things to simplify our lives lately. So, we tried the "revolving menu" where we would have the same thing each week ... uh... bor. ing. This week, we decided to try this. For $5 a week (only $4 a week with Shawn's handy dandy coupon code) we get a weekly menu, and a complete, ready to shop grocery list with the prices and everything at one of our local grocery stores. I figured out the meals I shopped for - 5 of them in all - was $47 in groceries this week (plus a few staples I had on hand of course). Each meal serves 6 people... so it averages at about $1.56 per pl...

I'm home! I thought I'd have so much time to blog when I was visiting Mom, and I did have time..but no internet access. I guess I didn't realize how wireless home is! Anyway, I'm back. And mom is doing much better than before. She is recovering slowly, but steadily. She has a little time ahead of her to heal, but it's going well so far. She has one more month off work, so she should be in good shape by November! Yay! Shawn and I both went to the school and had lunch with Emily yesterday. It was super fun! Shawn charmed the 3rd grade girls and they called him a "show off", which he was by the way. ;) And I met the most captivating 1st grader. He was a very enthusiatic charmer with the most contagious smile I have ever seen. When he smiled, his entire face lit up. But the best part about him was his conversation. This boy spent the entire lunch hour bragging about the special girl in his life -- his mom. "My mom cooks the most amazing suppers...

Thought I'd post an update. I'm still here in AZ helping mom. She is doing better and better each day. My sister left and went back to Washington so now it's just me and mom and her husband. We went to the doctor today and he said she's doing better. We have two more appts this week and I'm anticipating she'll be good enough to say goodbye to me at the airport in a few days. Meanwhile, I'm cooking and freezing food so she doesn't have to do prepare meals for a while, and getting caught up on a few things they need to get done before winter here. *COUGH* as bad as winter gets in AZ. Nothing like the midwest let me tell you. Why, it might even get down to 40 here! And I don't mean below zero. I went to church here on Sunday. Lifechurch.tv to be exact. It was pretty good. A small church - the service I went to was about 70 people maybe. I was worried at first because at 9:30 exactly when the worship team began to worship, there were only abou...

S - The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Luke 2:2 O - There is much work to be done, and few to do the work of God A - This week in my Beth Moore study, she brought out this verse. It was a great week in that study - something that is very near and dear to my heart. The fact that God desires to use us ALL in His Kingdom work. She talked about how God directed Moses to have the Israelites give an offering to Him. They gave and gave, everyday until they had enough. Then, the Lord told them to stop giving. I thought about this a lot this week. I wonder what it would be like for our pastors and elders to have to say to the congregation "stop giving!" We have enough. We don't need your time, your talents, or your treasures. We are full of all we need. That is not usually the case. The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. P - Lord help me be an example to my fell...

Well, here I am in Sunny Arizona. More like so-hot-i-can't-breathe Arizona. They tell me that it's cooler now than it was before. Mom lives in a retirement trailer park here in Arizona. okay...there's like a zillion of those so I'm not giving away my location to some internet stalker at all. Things are going very well so far. I am happy to say that Mom is getting better every day. She got out of the hospital yesterday and we are taking very good care of her. Each day is an improvement and she has the best nurses in the world. My sister and me. It turns out mom had a second ulcer that began to bleed. They clamped it off and gave us some yummy internal pictures. okay, not so yummy. that's a lie. After four days in the hospital and a very nice doctor, they released her to my sister and my care. It has been nice to have two of us here to keep each other crazy sane. We have a new diet, new medications, and a home health nurse to do the really bad stuff on the w...

I am leaving... I know I haven't mopped my floor in three weeks. I realize my bags are still packed from the last time I was gone. I also am fully aware of the fact that there are dance lessons, and musical practices, and dinners to make. I also know that I have two jobs that I can't really afford to take time off from. But, my mom is in the hospital. She lives on the other side of the country and I am leaving tomorrow to be with her. She's been ill for some time now, recovering from an ulcer surgery three weeks ago. But, the recent turn of events has been that she is bleeding internally and they aren't sure why. I have decided it's just time to go to her. This morning as I was thinking about it all.. and praying for her... it struck me how important the family unit is to God. He designed it. He calls us his children, he is our father, family is important to God. As a matter of fact, He is the grand designer of the family unit. And even though I have small...

1. Black and White or Color; how do you prefer your movies? color... definately. Pictures are okay in BW but movies are just drab and boring. 2. What is the one single subject that bores you to near-death? Actually most things are interesting to me... it always depends on my mood. I could be bored by lots of things at certain times in life.... I could better list the things that absolutely never bore me like lipsticks, eyeshadows, eye liner, and the new MAC Line... oh and Shawn. He never bores me. unless it's late at night, and he's talkin a lot... and I'm tired...really really tired. sorry about that honey. 3. MP3s, CDs, Tapes or Records: what is your favorite medium for prerecorded music? CDs - I'm a bit on the 90s side of music technology at the moment. 4. You are handed one first class trip plane ticket to anywhere in the world and ten million dollars cash. All of this is yours provided that you leave and not tell anyone where you are going ever. This includes ...

As you know, I'm somewhat intrigued by the idea of turning 40 soon... so I've been doing some checking on the life expectancy in the USA. On September 1, I officially became age 39.25 Did you know... the average life expectancy in the USA today is 77.7? That means, when a person is 38.85 - they are halfway there... in today's words, they are at the top of the hill. So, me at age 39.25 am actually OVER THE HILL! That is a shocking realization because all along, I have been believing that I would not be over the hill until after I was 40. That is stupifying! Simply ghastly! The only good news is this: If a person actually lives to be 65 in the USA, they automatically get to add 18 more years to their life... because these special people are so healthy that they have an average life expectancy of 83, which is 5.3 years more than the overall average. So.... if I could see into the future and know that I would be healthy enough to hit the 65 mark, THEN... I wouldn't actu...

Em has been begging me for years to let her ride the bus. Well, this year she gets to. Okay, well, not entirely but KINDA... I have almost always been a working mom. Most of my life was as a part timer, and there was a period of time when I was a stay-at-home-mom when the girls were very small. It took my husband a while to get used to the idea that I wanted to be a working woman because he always wanted a wife who would be home. We worked on that for a few years, and finally came to a place where we are comfortable with what we have. I don't say that in a prideful way, really I don't. And I don't want to paint a picture that I have gone against my husband and worked either. I have always had a job that is flexible and my kids have always been first. But, some things in my personality just work better when I work and God has truly worked out my working envirnment perfectly. Right now, I actually work two jobs. It's hard to admit that at times to people, b...

We only waited for about a week to recieve the letter. And it came. Dear Lindsey, Congratulations! We didn't need to read any more really. That said it all. She applied in January. Well, I take that back. She began the application process in January. But, then she wasn't sure that it was the right thing for her. She wasn't completely sure that she was supposed to go. So, she set it aside and waited. I'm proud of her for that. Waiting is sometimes a hard thing to do. Psalms 25:1-5 To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul. O my God, I trust in You; Let me not be ashamed; Let not my enemies triumph over me. Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed; Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause. Show me Your ways, O LORD; Teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day. ... You have been accepted to .... accepted: v. to admit to a group, organization, or place. She only had two more steps to...

Okay, I shave my head and sit silently at my computer and nobody believes it's really me! What's up with that? I think it's the silent part you don't believe. Okay okay... I admit, I have plenty to say. I know this may come as a surprise to you, but there are SOME things in this world that I do NOT have an opinion on. really. there are. One, for example, is , well, whatever that's a dumb thing to write a whole blog on anyway. Forget that. Here's some other news... * You already know that school is in session. Many of you are living it. It's a strange mix... somewhere between glad you once again have a routine, and sad that you (once again) have a routine. * Lindsey has a new adventure! I'll post the pics and my next blog entry just for her! * Em is in 3rd Grade and super stoked because at church, they combine the grades like 1-2, 3-4, 5-6 - and she got to move UP a grade and be with PJ her 4th Grade friend! Whoo Hooo! * Abbie had a radical stay ...

I like catchy titles. Ones that say "hey... what's this blog about today?" Ones that say "Who? What? The cops came? I HAVE to read that"... So, that's why I titled this entry that way. But, really, the cops did come. Not to my house. My sisters. It's actually a quite amusing story. My nephew is somewhat of a fascinating 11 year old. My sister is a single mom, and she just really doesn't always know what to expect next. Living on a very limited income, there isn't always extra money to spend on impractical things. So, my nephew has gotten pretty clever about finding resourceful ways to create an income for himself. It isn't unusual for him to offer to pull weeds for $15 or scoop the deck of snow in the winter for $10 each. It gets a little expensive to hire him, and Shawn calls it robbery (although he still pays it) .. but we've had to negotiate quite a bit in order to afford to help him out. Especially since we have to usually...

I wish I had a scanner to scan in this picture of two very young and ready-to-take-on-the-world husband and wife. We had no idea life would be this rewarding and this challenging all at the same time did we? Happy 19th Anniversary Babe. It's been fun!

Just a few unusual things that grab my attention: 1. The man who grabbed forty winks outside our office building - on the grass, bare-chested, using his tshirt as a cushion on which to lay his head, on his lunch break in the middle of the day. 2. The IRS employee who had a pleasant voice and eager willingness to assist me with my questions. 3. The neighbor's blind, old, decrepit dog who strolls up to our driveway each morning, barks at the sky (or an invisible cat?) and then hobbles away to defecate in the surrounding yards. 4. Our fruity feline who chases flies and eats them - Hakuna Matata! 5. husbands

I have had a pretty relaxing and uneventful week thus far. My 3 older girls are gone to camp, and my husband is gone until Thursday out of town as well. So, it's just me and Em for a whole week. I realized life isn't as busy with all those people and schedules around. More people in my home seems to = more activity. And more activity = busyness. It's logical of course. Makes perfect sense. I read this article today. If you don't have time to read it, that's okay. I'll just tell you what it says. Out of 22,009 Christians surveyed aged 15-88 spanning 139 countries, more than 4 in 10 Christians say they "often" or "alway" rush from task-to-task in life. Busyness was the distraction from God found worldwide. "Professionals whose busyness interferes with developing their relationship with God include lawyers (72 per cent), managers (67 per cent), nurses (66 per cent), pastors (65 per cent), teachers (64 per cent), salespeople (61 per c...

This is what we do to Greek Casserole Recipes that we hate...

Okay, so last week I did a Menu Plan Monday that many people were thinking was a little out of the ordinary for our family. You're right... it was. But, they ate it like troopers. Here are the results: Chinese - EXCELLENTE! Indian Curry - pretty good. Many here thought it was their favorite all week Jambalaya - good. Again, a good recipe makes a great dish Greek Casserole - okay, those two words should not be in the same sentence. Three letters - YUK. Ratatouille - for a non-zuchini eating family, it was pretty darn good. I doubt it will be on the menu anytime soon, but it wasn't bad. This week, in honor of the troopers in my family, the girls each get to pick what they want one day each... so here's the menu. You try to guess who wanted them (some demographics on my girls - E=age 8 semi picky eater but not bad, A=age 15 most picky on the face of this family, L=age 18 and a budding cook, H=age 20 and likes most things. Mon - fried chicken and mashed potatoes Tues - na...

I know.. it isn’t the most interesting thing to blog about. But, sometimes, when your life is really really dull and you have nothing else to say, you just blog about everyday stuff. Like the thunderstorm and tornado last night. And actually, by the way, I LIKE my boring life. I’m content to be dull and boring. There was a storm last night and we heard the sirens go off in town and the announcer said “Severe Thunderstorm Warning. Please seek Shelter Immediately”. So, I went downstairs to read my book instead of laying on the bed. Lindsey was at work (where she spends most of her life) and Abb and Em were watching a dvd on Ab’s computer. But, Shawn and Haleigh… decided to go storm chasing. Crazy kooks! They didn’t see much. But, they brought back Strawberry Shakes from Dairy Queen! Fast Forward… I went to bed, and fell sound asleep. Nothing wakes me up except my husband getting out of bed or my daughters vomiting. So, apparently there was a really really really bad thunderstorm and Shaw...

I decided to actually PLAN this week. Whoooo Hooooo! It's gonna be an exciting ethnic week! Monday - Chicken Stir Fry Tuesday - Indian Curry Wednesday - Jambalaya Thursday - Ratatouille (yes, inspired by the MOVIE!) Friday - Greek Casserole Bon appetit!

I'm definately not happy about this. But, what's a girl to do? I knew it would happen someday... but it doesn't hardly seem possible. I am attending a 40th Birthday Party this week. This will be the first of many 40th Birthday parties I will undoubtably be privvy to over the course of the next year, leading up to and including my own. When I was in High School, I arroganly touted that I would be "happy" when I was "32". That just seemed like an amicable age to me. I would have a career, husband, 2 kids, home... you know, I'd be 32! For goodness sake, it would be perfect. Well, unbeknownst to me, 32 came and went when I was still looking for it. It wasn't until I was 38 with four kids and two cats that I realized I had been waiting for 32 and now 40 is creeping in to take me by surprise too! I decided that even though I am not happy about it (this old age thing) - I am going to join the crowd! My mother was well known for being 29 for her ...

I was just thinking about the 4th of July today... you know, since it's tomorrow and all. My memories as a kid of the 4th - we always went to the parade in the morning and then to the local fireworks show. It was so much fun. The whole city was pretty much dull except for those two events. The parade brought out rows and rows of people, and the fireworks was always packed and fun afterwards - we would walk home and there were tons of cars driving around. It felt like a big city for a few minutes. After we got married, and our kids were small, Shawn and I would take the kids to different places to see fireworks. Big cities in the mountains, lakeside fireworks displays,... Several years ago, our city stopped doing fireworks on the 4th and decided to not compete with an even smaller town 5 miles away. We started attending there regularly. And, truthfully, nothing compares to that small town display. It is fabulous and fun. Nothing beats hanging out at the school on the hill ...

1. Clean up Thursday nights supper mess. 2. Find the red arm thingy for the dance recital. 3. Attend the dance recital. 4. Find my dad's father's day gift. (I thought about it two weeks ago but just didn't do anything about it) 5. Finish my laundry that I started on Wednesday. 6. Make 8 pole thingys for VBS decorations 7. Take my brother Dairy Queen (I missed his birthday because he was out of town) 8. Go to Mary's garage sale. 9. ssssssssssllllllllllllllllllleep. Not bad huh?

Well, the time has come. It seems like it has been a lifetime, but it has only been ten months. Longer than it takes to have a baby. But less than it takes to finish a scrapbook. Julia leaves tomorrow. You heard about her here and then here and here you saw her. I realize now that there was quite a bit of silence on this blog about her. I guess I didn't write about her much. It has been a year of great experiences for all of us. We have absorbed Julia into our home and she has truly become part of our family. Letting her leave tomorrow will be hard. For the past ten months, we have shared our lives with her. The good, the bad, and the ugly. I believe it has been a great ten months for her too. We've tried to do everything we would normally do... and allow her to experience life in the US as it truly is. And in our family, it's craziness! :) This past week, the girls slept out in the tent in the backyard, we went jet skiing, tubing in the river, had a farewe...

A good sign that I am back in the world of the living is that I am blogging again! It is hard to blog when life is at it's utmost of craziness! So, here's a sample of where I've been: 1. The iPod drawing went great! I played musical chairs and went through a process of elimination using the leaders to represent the kids names. It was fun! And a really cool kid won the iPod...well, hey they are all really cool kids so I wish we had 50 iPods to give away. 2. my sweet Lindsey graduated from High School. That event alone took me to a place I have never been before. She is done with High School forever. It may seem cliche' but I know that it was just yesterday she was sucking her thumb with her blanket and not wanting to leave my side. I know it was just yesterday when she watched Cinderella a thousand times a day. I know it was just yesterday when she was in second grade and didn't want to go to school so badly that she was physically ill. My sweet darling separ...

Okay, I am not posting a long entry today because I only have two things to say... 1. Did you know that the median age of the people in the US, according to the United States Census, is 36.4? Not that I noticed I have ANOTHER birthday coming up and I am ALREADY above that.... and 2. If you have never posted a comment on my blog, PLEASE READ the iPod entry and COMMENT. I'm desperate here....

In two weeks, our youth group is giving away an iPod Nano. The kids have been bringing friends and getting their name in a drawing so they can win the Nano. My job, as of yesterday, thank you very much, is to find a creative way to pull off this drawing. I know I could always do the old "put your hand in a box and pull out a name" trick. But, that's just so lame and boring and old-fashioned. I need something new, creative, techno-geek, iPod worthy... oh, and it can't involve any $ because my budget for this is nill... you know, youth group style. So, any suggestions out there? Anything? We already mentioned one, which is pretty good. But, I don't want to settle for the first idea that comes my way.... it was this: Have the person drawing stand under a ladder while someone (not me of course) dumps the names on his head and he grabs one out of the air while they fall. I tried google... "creative drawings" gives me some list of well, you know,...

It's amazing the things you remember as a mom about your kids and their birth stories. The specific memories that are etched into your mind for one reason or another. Abbie's birth was the longest of all. I was in labor for 17 hours. Not really grueling labor, just long and boring. I remember finally deciding I was going to get a spinal. It was the messiest scene for some reason. I kept having contractions and they had to put the needle in my back a couple of times and take it back out. Finally, after the second try, I told them to forget it cuz it was time to have a baby. At first they didn't believe me. But, I gave them "that look" and then they listened. I remember looking back at the room as they were wheeling me away to the delivery room and wondering who was going to clean up that mess. There were blankets and monitors and cables all over the place. I was glad I didn't work there. Abbie, you came into this world with a bang. We were so excited about you...

Last week at Bible Study, I had the privelege of teaching about how God's love "corrects" me. I love teaching the Word of God, mostly because I get to learn way more than the people I talk with. I get to delve in and discover so much more about God than when I just observe. So, even after a week has gone by, I have been chewing on God's love correcting me. The book we are going through is called " Steadfast Love" by Debbie Alsdorf . This particular week on correcting, the author took us through Hebrews chapter 12 in such an incredible way. I find myself revisiting it often. But, one particular part has really worked on me all week. Two words really. They are found in Hebrews 12:3. Consider him. Consider Jesus. Consider the one who endured such adversity. Think about all that Jesus went through. Think about that. I can probably echo thoughts that many have had lately. Life is crazy. If it isn't one thing, it's another. How much more can I take?...

Dear Buck, It is hard for me to say good bye to you because I haven't seen you in so many years. The last time I saw you was 8 years ago. I remember exactly because I had just had Emily. You were here when I was pregnant, and you were pretty sure it was going to be a girl. You were right. But, then you got sick right after I had her. Your emphysema was bad, and you were struggling breathing. You had developed pneumonia and the doctor admitted you the the ICU. It killed me because I had a baby just a few days old and couldn't come to see you in the hospital. I only made it once. But, when they transferred you to the regular room, I couldn't stay away. I remember how optimistic you were. You weren't worried about your health. You were invincible. You got better and went back to your home, two states away. I wish I could have known if you had gotten my letters and cards. I never was able to talk with you on the phone because whenever I called, if the number hadn...

For Easter, we each got our own CHOCOLATE BUNNIES from Julia's parents in Germany. Have I mentioned how incredibly awesome it is that they are from Germany, a place where chocolate grows on trees??? :) So, mine is gone. And today I talked Emily into opening hers. :) I hope my family doesn't read this or they will start to hide their bunnies.... Each day I see that delicious chocolate bunny sitting there and I sing a little song... you know it, I know you do.... I don't want no health food when it's time to feed A big bag o' bunnies is all that I need! I don't want no buddies to come out and play I'll sit on my sofa, eat bunnies all day. I won't go to church! And I won't go to school! That stuff is for sissies, but bunnies are cool! I don't want no pickles, I don't want no honey I just want a plate and a fork and a bunny! I don't want to tell you a joke that is funny I just want a plate and a fork and a bunny! I don't want a tissue whe...

Blogging has been scarce lately and here's why: 1. I have discovered I get more done if I stay away from the computer. 2. INSTE FINALS in Two weeks and that's it forever. 3. company here at Easter. 4. company coming for Graduation = lots of work ahead 5. graduation = lots to do That's just the top five. The big kicker is graduation. The countdown is on. I have 6 weeks and lots to do. If you don't have anything going on, come on over and I'll give you a broom and a scoop shovel and you can help in the garage. If you want to stay home, email me and I'll give you a recipe for a dessert you can make. The menu for our graduation open house is coffee and dessert! Sugar addicts beware...

Every now and then, for some reason, my life becomes extremely busy for a season with whatever it is that is going on and I have to do for a while... I'm pretty sure this is normal. At least it is in my life. And sometimes, if my attitude is right, it can be really fun... The only downfall of that is that I neglect things like blogging and getting ready for our upcoming graduation and summer company, and the recycling that is piling up in the garage. Although the recycling really isn't my responsibility, it belongs to another member of my family, who at this point shall be unnamed, it still ends up being one of those things that I do ... mostly because I apparently "see" things that nobody else in my family sees...like the sock that has been lying by the stair for over a week now, and other odd sorts that are apparently invisible to the naked eye only to be seen by supermom. Ah, but I digress... Ahem! The recycling in the garage, as I said, has been piling up, oh...

OhmygoshIamsotired. Oh.my.gosh.I.am.so.tired. Ohmygosh....I am so. tired. If I say it enough different ways, maybe I won't feel that way anymore. It was one of "those" nights for me. Fell asleep at about 10ish and then woke up magically - wide awake! - at 1:30am. I tried to coax myself back to sleep, but it didn't work. wide. awake. ugh. So, I got up and came to the computer to write a thousand emails and do some of the million things I have to do this week. Then, at 5:30am, I dragged my tired body back to bed and laid down to catch some more winks. wide. awake. Have you ever experienced that? My body was so. tired. But, my brain was going a hundred miles per hour and not wanting to rest. So, I got back up. made a hot baked oatmeal breakfast. got the kids up and ready for school. and as they were eating their breakfast, 10 minutes before we had to leave, it hit me. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.......... mom? mom? MOM!? 8:10am. I felt like...

I can't say I have ever been this excited about SPRING! It hasn't been an excruciating long winter, it hasn't been horrible and bad and all that, it hasn't been really bad at all... But for some reason, this spring comes at a time when I am so in need of refreshing. It's 69 degrees today... and I am overly thrilled that Em can ride her bike in the driveway and the girls are walking home from school. We haven't planted grass yet in this yard, and so it's MUDDY... but it's beautiful MUD! :) have a blessed day!

I feel like I have been on vacation for a week... you know what it's like when you go on vacation... you're in the "vacation" bubble.... you spend a lot of time with your kids... nothing gets done at home... and when you get back, you just behind in a lot of stuff. We had the "storm of all storms" last week, there was no school for a week, so I spent A LOT of time with my kids. You would THINK a sane person would take this time and get ahead. You know, use your time wisely. I know this may come as a real shock to you, but we didn't. We spent hours and hours and hours really doing nothing. But, ah yes, we had birthday cake... boy did we ever! We've had a couple of those actually, and we still have some left over. But, don't bother coming over to share because with any luck at all, I will lick the plate clean by time school lets out today at 3pm! So, today, I have come out of the vacation storm bubble. The kids are at school, the laundry room i...