OUR FAMIILY TREASURE

Little Lincoln

2011-11-30T13:20:00.000-06:00

Please help my sweet friend Shandra bring their beautiful son Lincoln Quan home from China! Their family is raffling off an Ipad 2 to cover the orphanage fee of $5000. Tickets are 1 for $5 or 5/$20. Drawing will be held Dec. 10th. Every single dollar brings them closer to their son. Reminds me of this quote: I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something I can do.♥ Together we can make a difference :) Just let me know through comment or click on her name and comment her for the link to paypal! Thank you guys so much!!

It's Been A Long Time...

2011-09-18T09:52:00.007-05:00

First let me say that I am sorry for not keeping up with our blog. I have not only missed sharing with you guys but also miss having a place to come to and reflect back on life not only in photos but in words as well. I miss hearing what I had to say...ha! As conceited as that may sound I do mean it. But not in that way. You know how you share something on your heart and it pours out in words so much easier than if you told the same story 10 times to 10 different people? Well, that is how our story has been told lately...in person. So much is lost when it isn't fresh on your mind and when you have other people there to ask questions or call on the phone or a kid who needs to go potty. Anyone know what I mean? I also miss keeping up with all of the blogs I read. I feel like I have moved away and have no idea what is going on with some of my best friends. I have missed you guys so much!!

So, without going back into all that I've neglected to tell you...I will start with life now.

We are in a busy season. A season that I feel overwhelmed. Not with heartache but with time management. We have 4 busy kids. Hunter will be 17 in two months, Faith is 15 1/2, Hope turned 7 in July and Love turned 5 a few days after her. I think it is kind of cool how there are 10 years between Hunter and Hope and 10 years between Faith and Love. The little girls are the biggest playmates...they remind me of Hunter of Faith when they were little. Hands down they are the best of friends. I hope that with them being both girls that their relationship will stay close. Faith and Hope are the next set of buddies, they are a lot alike. They both have witty humor and they both love sports...especially soccer. Hunter and Love are pretty close as well. Hunter has a soft spot for his littlest sister and she still thinks he is great...which works for him. :)
Hunter is our laid back, no hurry to get things done kind of guy. He loves spending time with family and friends and is probably the most affectionate 16 year old boy I know. He is a hugger. I love it! Hunter has been driving for almost a year. He has been working off and on. He had a fairly steady job at the beginning of summer. It was physical labor. Believe it or not, he would rather be working with his hands and doing the more laborious jobs than sitting in the air conditioning and working behind a grill or a cash register. Whatever suits him, I suppose. He moved on to lawn mowing later in summer and the drought we have had here has pretty much killed that job. He is a junior this year. He has a lot of work ahead of him and he is searching to find what it is he really wants to do with his life. He is exploring options of trade school, military, working for a large company, or college. I would say college is probably his least favorite option at this point. I heard some really good advice from a wise man once. He said, "College is for people who either love to learn or have to go to get the degree to do what they love to do. It is not for everybody and it is not a place to go after high school just because you don't know what else to do." Up until I heard that and let it sink in did I ever even consider this as an option. I want him to do something he loves...and not think about how much it pays. In an ideal world, I would like that option to be able to support a family-in the future. If we could find a career that could include: outdoors, hunting, fishing & camping...well, we would have a winner. So, I am thinking maybe the agriculture route for a career. But, who knows? Oh, and he has been "working out" with Big Daddy. I am told to look out for him by December...he has already built a lot of muscle and his shoulders are broadening. He is looking less like a boy and more like a man. Makes my heart conflicted in feelings...happy to see him growing up and sad to know his years here with us are numbered.
Faith is my focused and goal driven child. She has more self motivation than a lot of adults. She has had her permit for about 6 months. She is a sophomore this year and is doing her best to move ahead to her junior year. She is taking quite a load of classes this year. She really wants to graduate early. She also has her very first part time job. She works for a neat little yogurt shop here in town. She is loving the financial aspects but not the "working" so much. She thought it was fun the first week but as she comes to her one month mark of being employed, it has lost its luster. She is saving for a car. She is also playing select soccer again this season. She is playing indoor and outdoor soccer right now and practices twice a week. It is pretty time consuming but she loves it and it keeps her in shape. She has a new coach this season. He gives her very little slack. He sees so much potential in her and isn't really willing to accept less than what he knows she is capable of. Which works in her favor, but she isn't really enjoying the work it takes to get to that last little bit of effort. Her game has improved even more than I could have imagined and she is so much more productive on the field. She has her eyes set on her future. She wants to be a pediatric nurse. She sees herself in an oncology department. She does well with children and has always been a huge help to us with the little girls...especially when they are sick. She wanted to be a lawyer last year. She thought because she was good at arguing her point that it just might be her forte'. Once she realized the schooling behind it, she wasn't that excited about it anymore. She thinks that would be too far into life before she would start a family. In her plan, she sees herself married after college and kids before thirty. She sounds so much like me it kills me.
Well, that will have to do for now...more later.

Happy Forever Family Day!

2011-03-17T23:13:00.008-05:00

Three years ago today....
This was the last picture we received before meeting our precious little Love in person. She was adorable! I could not wait to see her, hold her and love on her! This photo made me wonder...is she taken care of, is she happy, is she ready for what is about to happen, is she ready for her little life to be shaken up again?

Here is the first time I held her...she was all smiles, reluctant but willing.

Is she not the most precious little thing?

Daddy was instantly smitten with her...she had him even before hello :)

I love this photo, she is liking the loving but still you can see the curiosity in her eyes. I think she wanted to trust it but then when our eyes would meet even for just a second...a big 'ole head butt would follow. I know, there may be no correlation. But I wonder...maybe her little self was protecting her tender heart. It was hard for her to make eye contact for a little while. And she was just dealing the best she could with the circumstances she had endured.

And this one...3 years later. She is living proof that God heals hearts. That He has the power to bring a peace that surpasses all understanding. It can't be a good feeling to know that before age 2 you have been in 3 different families, it can't feel like "forever" when forever has not been before. Even little hearts are tender and needy and rightly so - deserving of that full blown affection and unconditional love and...Forever. Which is what we have been blessed with. Our beautiful baby girl, while we do not share the same blood we share the same heart. When she hurts we hurt, when she is sad we are sad, when she rejoices we rejoice and when she smiles....everyone smiles. She has a smile that will not only capture a room but will steal your heart. No.Joke.

Have you ever loved someone so much that it hurt in the best possible way?? Does that make sense at all? Well, that is how I would describe our love for her. If it is even a inkling of how the Lord loves us at all, which, I honestly believe it is...I get it. I am undone just thinking about it. My God...how in the world were we ever enough to be entrusted with Love's precious little self ? It is just too much, too rich, too wonderful, too good to be true. Oh, but it is...True. Thank You God!

We are beyond blessed to call you OURS!!

Do you ever just need a Word...

2011-02-20T10:03:00.005-06:00

Disclaimer: It is going to be long.

Do you ever just need a word? Like a word from the Lord? I know I do. I have been in a funk lately. Not feeling far from God or anything just feeling overwhelmed with life. Nothing hard or taxing or difficult just everyday ordinary life. Is it just me or does it happen with anyone else? I feel guilty sometimes for thinking I have so much to do that I just don't want to do it. I would love to just sit and read my Bible and have the arms of my everlasting love wrapped snugly around me for days upon days.

But, you see I have a husband to love and submit to, children to train, day in and day out - and seriously it can be hard. I feel like a large amount of the training is on my shoulders as I am home all day with them. I have two teenagers...a future husband/daddy and a future wife/mommy to lead into life guiding them and letting go of them all at the same time. Knowing that I not only hold molding their future in my hands but the very future of their spouses and children. It is pressure. I also have laundry to do, dishes that need washing, dusting, vacuuming, mopping, bathrooms to clean, shopping for all the things no one notices until they are gone like food and toilet paper, bills to pay with a budget that fails often, meals to prepare, homework to supervise, homeschooling the teens, finding time to spend with each of my children daily and my husband (which may only be a quick trip to CVS). And that is only inside my own home. That does not take into account any extended family or church.

It is a lot. And sometimes it gets to me. I can make myself a pretty good helping of woe is me...so much to do so little time. And it is funny, if I pour myself into my family the way I know the Lord wants me to all the other "outward" appearances fall behind. If I keep up all the cleaning and such all the relationships fall apart. I can not do both...at least not both of them even to my standard at the same time. I admit it. And that is when the house falls apart and we have company who comes over at the last minute. Which I do love. I love me some company. But, for the first 15 minutes all I can think about is they are going to see me failing. I mean my only job is to be a wife and mother - a homemaker I wrestle with myself..they are probably thinking..."what does she do all day"..."how is her house this messy if she stays home"...and just for the record...the reason my house is messier is because I am home all day, which means so are my children...so I can not clean and leave the house to sit alone...it is used...every inch of it- all day, everyday by a minimum of 4 children. And then I remember...they may not be thinking that at all. In fact, that is me letting those thoughts keep people out of my home and therefore away from my heart. Because, if they can see my home this cluttered how in the world are they going to miss how dirty my heart feels sometimes. Disturbing, huh?

But, the Lord has a fabulous set up just for me...well, you too :) He brought this verse to me:

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. ~ Philippians 4:8

And so I begin...

I think...I know it is true that God loves me, cherishes me, wants what is best for me, wants me to bring glory to Him and has given me unique talents and gifts in which to do that. I know that the Holy Spirit is inside me -guiding me. I know He will never leave me or forsake me...ever. And that God's truth is the only truth which I should live my life by.

I think about how noble this whole life thing is actually meant to be. I mean seriously God has me here for a purpose. A purpose to carry out. He could have easily entrusted my work with someone else but He chose me for an appointed time and place to do His work. This blows my mind...all the time. And if my only job is to serve my family then I will do it...gladly with love and awe knowing it is what He wants for me.

I think about what is right...how to live...how to live and lean into righteousness. To know that I do have a model in which my behavior should line up with...Jesus. Him and Him alone.

I think about what is pure. How to respect the fact that little eyes are on my actions as much as my words...well, even more than my words. I must strive to live a pure life. Pure from things in which will not bring glory to the Lord. Whether it be a TV show, a type of music, a book or a conversation that can lead thoughts, then minds, then hearts down a path not intended for bringing Him glory.

I think about what is lovely. You know there is nothing more lovely in this entire life of mine than knowing I have a Savior. A Savior who not only loves me with all that he has but gave his very life for mine.

I think about what is admirable. Instead of sitting there thinking that my guests or friends or family are thinking..."what does she do all day" "why is she not achieving more with all the time she has". I think about how wonderful it is to have them. How cool it is that our paths are crossed. And then I think about what is good and honorable and admirable about them. It lifts my spirits to know that the Lord has allowed me to do life or cross life with some of the most wonderfully loving and compassionate people.

I know my life is excellent and praiseworthy. Not because of me but because of Him.

I praise Him and thank Him for my husband...all that that includes, a partner in life, a co-parent, a strong to my weak, a spiritual leader to our home, a provider.

I praise Him and thank Him for my children...all 4 of them and the laundry that I get to do and the dishes I get to wash and the crumbs I get to sweep and the teeny tiny pieces of cut up paper that I get to vacuum, the homework I get to hear, the schooling I get to be apart of, the meals that I am able to prepare for them, the molding of character I am entrusted to do, the love I am overwhelmed to be able to give.

I thank Him for allowing me to be a full time wife and mother. A teacher to our children. Who while I tend to get caught up on all the details of homeschooling and the knowledge they need for college -He has allowed me to pull back and pour His word and truths back into their lives...daily, and without interruption from friends, teachers or administrators. And that is huge. Really huge. I am truly thankful for not only the opportunity but for the confirmation.

I am not saying that I do this all the time. In fact, I may have had one of my weaker nights last night. It was a weight. I was choosing to bear it and the moment I let go and the thoughts of all that was on mind trickled away. The things on which I think not only affect me physically but emotionally and most of all spiritually.

Is my house any less cluttered this morning than last night. One word....no. I am not going to lie, a clean house brings just about as much joy to me as any one thing possibly could, other than people. But, I am going to focus my thoughts on those things that matter and not let myself be sucked under into this raging battle in my mind of so many things to do and not near enough time in the day to do any of them well -to the point that my mind and body want to go on strike. Because when that does happen...where is my heart? I mean, really...where is it? Not focusing on why I was created or who I am to be serving or who I am to be loving. Who actually wins this battle? Not me. The darkness that would like to bind me up with thoughts and things and keep my mind off of Jesus. Darkness wins. And well...I think it has won long enough around here. You can have my house but you'll have to have fight for my heart. Isn't that what this is all really about? Well, for me...yes. I think so. Oh, and enemy...the King of Kings and Lord of Lords has my back...just so ya know :)

I know for some of you, you may think I have gone and lost it. But the thoughts were pouring out and I couldn't stop or edit them. So, if you think I may need to be medicated...you may be right. But I am going to tell you there is nothing more spiritually freeing than to have the Word of God bring you back around from what felt like a heavy burden. It is a shot in my heart of the best medicine.

And finally, to my guests last night, you know who you are. I love y'all and am sorry you had to see me like that. I knew immediately I was due for some unloading and could hardly hold it in. So thankful the Lord gave me you two in such special way :)

There's No Business Like SNOW Business...

2011-02-04T11:28:00.006-06:00

Our day in pictures...at least for now. I am sure there will be more :)
First one out this morning...not surprised...love her expression!

Beauty

Still smiling after "eatin' it" several times

Love's attempt at the snoball

Which, unfortunately came back to get 'er :)

My littles

Cuteness

My middle chicks..these two are something else

Hope taking her best shot at Faith

And again

Our big dog Tucker loves the snow

Our snow covered home...all nice and warm and toasty :)

My "friend" Joanne

2011-01-24T12:13:00.003-06:00

I am not sure you can actually call her my friend. And it sounds so creepy to be the one to admit I lurk on her blog from time to time. But, I guess if the shoe fits I better put the stinkin' thing on. Well, back on Jan. 11 of this year....a very fit, together, God loving, Greek learning, homeschooling 38 year old beautiful mom of two precious girls and a well...Simple Wife to a good man had a life changing experience. She is known in the blog world as The Simple Wife she is not what you would typically picture for a woman would have a major stroke. But....she did.

We have been praying for her and her family since we heard. I am not going to lie. The 38 year old thing...well, it hit awful close to home. I'm 38...at least for another couple of months. And folks, she is in far better shape than myself. I have wondered and "watched" and "heard" as her husband and friend keep us update of her condition. Her story is here....The Simple Wife (just click on title). I would start around the 11th to truly witness all of God's healing power. And y'all He has been doing some amazing, miraculous works through her mind and body and family and friends. Encouraged to say the least!! God is so good...I mean, really good.

Today, I woke to a twitter announcement from her husband that she squeezed his hand! She is on her road to recovery, whatever that may look like. Her right brain was significantly affected and her left brain looks wonderful. She is a voracious reader...guess which side of your brain you need to read?? So, who really knows what her journey will look like this way forward....well, I know who knows...and He has his hand on her. :)

There is a particular post that about broke me....read this from her husband on the 17th. It just makes me want to reiterate that God is good....all the time.

If you'd like to check on Joanne quickly there is a button on my side bar on the right just click and it will send you to her blog.

A blog to share...

2011-01-15T08:51:00.003-06:00

My dear friend Shaley just started up her blog. She leads the youth girls at LTC. Her blog shares her passion and excitement for the Lord and the girls she loves so much. I am not sure there is a better woman for the job of closing the gap between girls and God. She is the real deal. I love her so much and I know you will too. So, without further ado...please go and check her out at:

(just click on the banner above)

You'll be blessed by the discipling she is doing for the Lord.

She is such a treasure!

Had to share...

2011-01-13T18:23:00.003-06:00

I know I need to update with Christmas photos and info...I will, promise :)

But I had to share this with you just real quick.

Today, I went to a dental conference. I keep my dental hygiene license in check just in case we may need me to work, or that I might want to work a day or so a week...for fun.

Anyhow, these conferences always freak me out. I have to drive where I don't want to. Park where I don't want to and then to top it off I don't know a single person going. Sounds like fun, huh?

But, I'll be if the Lord didn't sit me right down next to the most wonderful little resource ever. I have been homeschooling the big kids now for a bit. And I have been searching and researching on exactly how to do all this high school thing without hurting them and their chances of getting into a college...well, any college in Texas...I have my limits :) Anyway, back to my new friend...we were making small talk and I told her I dn not work. She told me she used to not work either when she homeschooled her boys...who graduated from homeschool and went to A&M. Ummm...yeah. So, I grabbed her number and email and my new bff will be hearing from me soon. She said she had sooo much to tell me that we couldn't squeeze into our 5 minute breaks. I am excited! And she told me that A&M is a very, very receptive college for homeschoolers. That they love them. Well, you can imagine...I was expecting a day of listening to boring lectures over stuff I already knew and lo and behold the information I have been scouring for sat down beside me. Thanks Lord :)

My Guys :)

2011-01-10T07:51:00.006-06:00

The bond these two have is pretty special to say the least. I think they are possibly the closest father and son relationship that I have ever witnessed. Which makes me happy :) But, what makes me overflow with happiness is that the Lord gave me these two. And I am certain I could not have hand picked any two guys in the whole world I could love even an smidgen more :)

Me: Could I get a picture of you two (knowing that Hunter detests photos....)?
Well, it is a photo...not that you look like you liked getting it made.

Big Daddy: Come 'ere boy! Show your Daddy some love!

Me: Was that so bad?? Now, can I get one with both of you looking at the camera? It's not like Daddy is gonna hold your hand or something.Oh...wait! :)

My final photo...love it! These guys of mine both changed my life in such a big way. Big Daddy made me a wife and Hunter made me a mom. These are two of my finest treasures :)

I still can not believe that Hunter is driving. I see it everyday and still can not believe it! But, here they are off to the deer lease with the little girls :)

I bribed Hunter with the car keys to take these photos. I know...it was wrong but hey, a mother's gotta do what a mother's gotta do! He does not like these and specifically asked I not post these. So let's keep it on the down low, k?

Who knew I'd have two big guys in my life so soon. It seems like just yesterday this son of mine was talking about being "Daddy's deer hunter" and "Travis" off of Old Yeller and rockin' a bowl haircut. He was the most precious adorable boy ever made...well, he still is...but that teenager thang...it sometimes dims the cute factor a tad. But, seriously, there is not a son that is loved more.

Well...

2010-12-07T15:36:00.002-06:00

(it reads - Kylie Jo is sad)

At least she expresses her feelings :)
Nevermind that it was because she was playing monkey in the middle with her sister and her two friends. One who happened to be over 6 feet. Needless to say, she pretty much stayed the monkey...and it made her sad :(

Two of My Treasures

2010-12-06T07:55:00.001-06:00

I forgot to post this with the others...and I loved it too much not to share :)

Christmas Parade

2010-12-05T00:56:00.003-06:00

Yesterday was our annual Christmas parade for our city. This is one of our traditions...we always go :)

My sweet girls waiting for it to begin

With Daddy <3

With Mommy <3

Faith and her friend
These two giggled like little girls when the miniature ponies came barreling through. And when a little boy on a float with his family came by. He had on a Santa hat...that completely covered his face and his parents were none the wiser. He was still smiling but he had no clue what was going on.

And for the finale, Santa...they were sure waving :)

Hope's Card

2010-12-02T08:24:00.005-06:00

Hope has "down time" in first grade. Her teacher tells her she can draw. Sometimes they are very detailed and other times are like she didn't have much time. She usually comes home with cards to each of our family members. This particular card she brought home the day after Hunter passed his driving test and got his license :)

In case you need any help...."I hope you have fun with your drivers license"

Here is a close up of her quick drawing of Hunter holding his license. Notice the little drawing of his license. Her cards always make us smile :)

The Tooth, The Whole Tooth, & Nothing but the Tooth...erh, I MeanTeeth :)

2010-12-01T08:21:00.004-06:00

After decorating our tree, Hope wanted me to wiggle her tooth...it was sooo loose! So, we pulled that little sucker out in no time. No tears, just smiles...here she is showing off her newest "empty hole". She already has two "empty holes" on the bottom. So, now there are three, how is she ever going to eat?

Yesterday, while we were walking home from school, she said nonchalantly, "Will you pull my other loose tooth?" So, I said sure if it was ready. Which I already knew it was. And in a minute or so after being home...the other tooth was outta there! Here she is with her new NO front teeth smile :)
I guess she can really sing that song, "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth" and she would be telling the tooth...I mean, truth :) As much as I would like to say this molting, if you will, is over, I can't. She has a very loose tooth on the bottom and it will be any day and that baby will be out too. I am not pushing her on that one...it will not be replaced until around age 9 or 10...in 2 or 3 Years!! I think the reasoning behind all the tooth loss is her permanent teeth are going to be some big ole doosies! They get in the way of the roots of their baby neighbors and the babies get confused and their roots begin shrinking from the pressure. Which makes them loose and fall out. Does that make a lick of sense? At least that is my hypothesis. And being a registered dental hygienist, I think I might know what I am talking about. But, I could be wrong, so don't quote me, ok? :)

O Christmas Tree

2010-12-01T07:55:00.006-06:00

Big Daddy and Hunter returned from their hunting trip on Sunday. We had already been shopped out at this point. So, what is next on our list? The tree, of course! We went to our usual (actually very unusual) Christmas tree spot and made our purchase within a few minutes of arriving. IT is gorgeous...and I'm not just saying that. It smells like Christmas in our house because of it and a little help of a lovely B&BW "Fresh Balsam" candle. We had first laid eyes on our tree when we were searching the 3 trees that fit what we were looking for. I had Big Daddy drag the tree to his truck, and it was heavy. Then I noticed it had a huge dead spot in the back...will not do. Then I had him drag the other very nice option to our tree...ummmm, nope, not that one either. And, yes, you guessed it, he drug the third option to his truck....which I had him bring back option 2 to compare side to side and out in the open. When it hit me...they are all beautiful!! But, it was option 2! A 9 foot noble fir that smelled so good and had a big fat trunk. I knew we would need a sturdy one with all of our decor and such :) By the way, Big Daddy was such a sport, I think it helped he was right there in the midst of people coming and going from the store. It helped him not to lose his patience with me...which, really, how could he not? I was pushing it, I know. It also helped that the little girls were with us, jumping up and down and cheering and laughing and people were stopping by and telling us how "now that is what it is all about". Our girls spread Christmas cheer just by being their fun little selves. In fact, I believe our Christmas tree search encouraged others to buy their tree. We had people watching us drag the trees to and fro...who wouldn't be inspired? Ha!!

The girls beginning to place their ornaments, even Faith has to tippy-toe :)

Pretty proud of their decorating and pretty proud of each other...love these girls!

Just so you can see that full height of the tree...our ceiling is 9 foot and we could not have bought one inch taller :)

These two would pose for hours if I wanted them to.

And then there is Faith and Taco. I love how she has taken to him like her very own baby. Of course, I'd have preferred a pic with the little girls. I'll take what I can get though. Love this girl too!

And in typical Hunter fashion...no photos...he needs a haircut, so he says. Whatever!

I vow to get at least a photo of all 4 kiddos between now and Christmas day. I also vow to attempt a family photo...although I am going on record that it might not be that spectacular. It is the memory after all, right? :)

Thanksgiving

2010-11-30T20:27:00.004-06:00

Just in case your wondering....the above photo is not of our meal. Although ours was every bit as tasty as this one looks :)

We hosted Thanksgiving dinner here for our family and had about 25 people stop by at one time or another. We had a wonderful day full of food and family. I'll share our menu with you:

Thanksgiving Dinner 2010
Roasted Turkey
Mashed Potatoes & Gravy
Sweet Potato Souffle
Poynor Dressing
Broccoli, Cheese & Rice Casserole
Green Bean Casserole
Baby Carrots
Corn
Baby Green Salad with Cranberries and Almonds
Crescent Rolls & Dinner Rolls

and for dessert:

Cherry Pie
Pumpkin Pie
Chocolate Lush
Pecan Pie
Pumpkin Cheesecake with Caramel Sauce
Sugar Cookies
Brownies

To answer your next question...No, I can no longer fit into any of my clothes :)

The roar of the children over the adult conversation brought back memories of our childhood. There was chatter, laughter and fun with all the little people running around. The kids took the big blanket and used it to "sled" down the stairs, sometimes tandem...cool, huh? The adults hung around for coffee and desserts and seconds and our conversation was interesting to say the least :)

Then we began our plotting and planning for our attack on Black Friday, which actually began late Thursday. My mom, sister, Faith and I all left here around 11:30 to go to Wal Mart which was nuts!! Deals were had my friend :) Then we made our way to Ihop for a very early breakfast. Then we dropped Faith off and hit Kohls, Target, Game Stop, Walgreens and JC Penney. Y'all I did fabulous...and was quite simpled out by the end of our shopping. We had all been up over 24 hours at this point. We took a few hours to get cleaned up a quick nap and hit the mall with all the kids. And, it was NOT miserable. It was lovely really. And we topped off the night with the yearly Olive Garden visit. Yummy! The next day we did all again....it is every bit about the bonding as it is the bargains. It is such a blast being with my girls and my adorable little nephew!!

And the boys were off hunting - their tradition since Hunter was only 3. From what I hear they had a wonderful weekend of male bonding...even our nephew got in on it. He shot his first buck.

So our Thanksgiving traditions continue, we are just growing up and the memories are becoming more and more precious. I wish I had pictures to show you but I just simply got caught up in the day and how much I have to be thankful for. Which, I think is exactly the point.

The Youngest, the Eldest and the Dog

2010-11-21T13:59:00.003-06:00

These two have a pretty beautiful relationship. MaMa always has time for Love. And Love always has time for MaMa. MaMa is good about reading her books on the stairs if everyone is busy talking in the living room or telling her stories while snuggling under a blanket - the blanket that Love covered her up with to make sure MaMa was warm :)
It's hard to believe these two are 85 years apart in age. If you can see what I see - they have quite a connection :) And if Taco (the dog) could talk I am sure he'd tell you MaMa never moves if he is laying in her lap. She doesn't want to disturb him.

MaMa has recently expressed that she doesn't feel like she makes a difference. Like she doesn't do much that matters, she doesn't really get to help out or be useful. I can tell you this - when I was growing up about the age of Hope and began reading she was the one who sat there patiently with me as I sounded out words and read first sentences. She was the one who would play Old Maid and Slap Jack with me until I was tired of playing...which would take a while. The one to take me school shopping all day or let me write these awful poems and tell me how wonderful they were. That is what I remember more than anything...the time, her being there. Her being present in our conversations and our time spent together. She never made me feel like she had something better or more important to do. And now she does that for my children. Such a sweet time. She did it with me and now with my youngest...and to think she questions her importance of being here...the difference she makes. Now if that isn't something I don't know what is.

These Two...

2010-11-19T18:19:00.000-06:00

are a couple of my favorite people :)

Oh Yes Folks...He's Legal

2010-11-15T22:09:00.008-06:00

To DRIVE that is :)

Getting the car out of the parking lot

Pulling up to pick up the lady who may or may not pass him

And he parallel parks "on a dime" according to previously mentioned lady :)

And begins the test out and about the neighborhood

Signing his (insert drum roll here) DRIVERS LICENSE

Appreciating a good test when he sees one :)

"I KNEW you could do it Son!"

We arrived at the DPS and had quite a wait this morning. It was filled with my humor (which to be honest - is pretty stinkin funny). I'm good like that. Hunter really did not care for it. He was stressed to say the least. He even listed his address three doors down from us. Did I mention he was nervous? He took about 8 minutes to fill out a paper that should have taken about 1 - if that. He is so afraid to make a mistake. First born through and through. He was gone for around 10 or 15 minutes. He walked up with the instructor, no smiles as they near us. Finally she blurts out "He Passed!" And cue the smiles. I think I may have done a jump up and down thingy. I am not sure if he could have said anything or not...he looked a little shocked and maybe just in disbelief. He did it folks. He is legal. My baby boy who just turned 16 passed his drivers test. She told us he was an exceptional driver. That from parent taught drivers ed. is quite a compliment. But, as for our auto insurance, well...she's seen better days. But seriously we are so proud of you Hunter!!
Now, if you could just run a couple of errands for me...No, I'm not kidding :) I think I could used to this :)

A Plea for Help from Homeschool Moms!!

2010-11-14T12:00:00.003-06:00

Hello! We have a bit of a situation here. Our extremely small private Christian school (which was basically a certified teacher homeschooling my two oldest plus two other students) has had to end her career. Her husband was recently diagnosed with cancer, and it is everywhere. While performing exploratory surgery they took out half of his colon and his appendix. They had to close him up and hope that chemo will take care of or at least slow down the rest. While I wish things did not have to end the way they are...I understand. If that were my husband...I'd retire too - immediately. There is no replacing that time with your husband, especially when given such a bleak diagnosis. So, if you feel led would you mind sending up a prayer for Martin and Margaret Liemer? They are a super sweet couple married 49 years and she was great with my kids.

Anyhow, I am needing advice for online homeschooling, the kind that does the lesson plans and grading if possible. Or if you have a great system or what specifics you have used and liked. We have Hunter who is a sophomore (contemplating returning to public school) and Faith who is a freshman (who under no circumstance will return). We could do private school but it is already almost 3 months in the year and it expensive. We could do traditional homeschool but to be honest I have tried that and it didn't work so well before. And to be honest, I am intimidated by the prospect of having to teach Geometry and Calculus to my kids. I made fairly good grades in high school and college but folks...its been a while and I learned to get through the test not to carry the knowledge if you know what I mean.

So, I know you for sure could be helpful. I am not opposed to any option but I am counting on you guys to help me....begging really. Angie??? :)

Their teacher had them on Accelerated Christian Education Paces...anyone used these before? I do have the curriculum to finish them on these through the end of this year.

So now that you have heard my plea...help! Please? :)

A Couple of Funny Girls :)

2010-11-10T08:59:00.003-06:00

We received I.E.P. from school yesterday. It is an "evaluation" of sorts that fills us in how she is doing in her speech class. There was a special notation under the section of understanding "where, who, and what" questions. It said...Love understands 100% of "wh" questions. When asked "Where does milk come from?" Her initial response is always "Wal-Mart" :) Hahaha!

This morning while getting ready for school Hope has this conversation with me from another room:
Her: "Why are you under there?"
Me: "Under where?"
Her: "Underwear, underwear....you said UNDERWEAR! Hahahahhah!"
She was still chuckling and claiming she "got" me when I dropped her off at school.
In this picture..."Hey mom, take a picture of me. I look like those boys who wear skirts." I think she meant a kilt because of the plaid?? Ha!

Halloween

2010-11-05T00:00:00.006-05:00

Pirate Hope

Raggedy Ann and a Pirate

The family minus Hunter...again refused to take a photo. He wore an old man mask though.

Faith dressed as an 80's girl...I have such a hard time accepting that I looked like this.

Love went as Dora...she loved this costume. The wig, not so much. But she was absolutely adorable.

Hope had wanted to be a boy pirate for years. I let her choose it this year and she was the most adorable boy pirate I have ever seen. She rocked this costume!

We visited family and then trick or treated in our neighborhood with my sister and nephews. The girls had so much fun :)

Look Who Got Glasses :)

2010-11-04T23:56:00.002-05:00

We have been going to the pediatric opthomologist every six months since we brought her home. He has been warning us the time was coming and this appointment he decided it was time. She is near sighted. He said she should be able to see expressions across the room and not have to sit 2ft. in front of the TV to watch it. I think she could not look more adorable. The only thing is she has little rub marks on the sides of the bridge of her nose...anything I can do? But seriously...how cute is she?!

How 'Bout a Taco?

2010-11-04T23:47:00.003-05:00

Faith has been wanting a lap dog that she could love on and would sleep in her room. We looked at some shelters and found....Taco :) He has been the best dog ever. He is perfectly content with laying in your lap or on your chest all day long. She loves this dog so much :)

Tucker is having some "issues" but is only at fault for wanting to play. It doesn't work when you have 75# of dog playing with 6# of dog. But they are working out their issues and are getting better.

Love Lost a Tooth

2010-11-04T23:33:00.004-05:00

Love lost her first tooth. She unfortunately had a root canal that failed and the tooth cracked. But she was such a trooper. They really spoil her at the dentist :)

They put the three pieces of tooth into a little treasure box for her.
She put it under her pillow and waited. She was so excited! She will be without a tooth for quite a while but to me she looks even cuter, if that was even possible :)
September 2010

Hope's Soccer

2010-11-04T23:18:00.005-05:00

Faith has really grown close to her teammates. It is so nice to have a group of girls that get along and she moved positions too. She plays forward again :)

Faith switched club teams this year and she is so much happier. She also happens to love her new number #00. She thinks she is tough.

And playing like this...she is!

Hugging one of her best friends after her first goal of the season :)

Her team after winning their first game

Faith in action. She loves the game of soccer. She is in her zone when she on the pitch :)

First Day of School

2010-11-04T23:03:00.003-05:00

Faith Freshman Year
Hunter would not let me take his picture...I guess he is just too cool. But, he is now attending the same small private Christian school with Faith. Hunter is a Sophomore.

Hope First Grade

Love PreK

Both girls wear uniforms this year. Love this! Not only do they look cute it makes mornings so much more enjoyable :)

Meet the Teacher

2010-11-04T22:53:00.003-05:00

From August

A huge perk of having the school in your backyard...we walked to Meet the Teacher :) We generally drive to drop Hope off in the morning because we have other stops and are having to rush. But everyday I walk to pick her up.

Hope was told to choose her spot and she chose the tables with all girls in the front...now that was new. Last year she preferred sitting with the boys.

Hope and Mrs. Christian First Grade 2010

Mrs. Grace and Love PAC class 2010
Love returned to the PreK speech class that she attended last year. She loves Mrs. Grace so much. Her vocabulary has really picked up and her pronunciation has improved a lot too. This class has been the biggest blessing :)

FYI.....Facebook Kills Blogs

2010-11-04T18:46:00.010-05:00

Love- by far our easiest going child...she loves life :)

Hey all!

I know it has been ages. I have missed not only blogging but keeping up with my blogs. I haven't caught up with a lot of you guys in a while. How are you??

I reactivated my facebook months ago and little by little I went from a visit every so often to often many times a day. Even if just for a moment to "check" things. Because it is very important information to know that so and so is at the grocery store and woo hoo is at Starbucks and that whoever has added to his farm or someone did some weird quiz. It is all very need to know. I have followed many friends who dropped completely out of blogland. I was rejoined with them through facebook. But, I did and do miss hearing their heart through their words and really getting the story behind the photos. As easy as facebook is to keep people updated, it is really hard to feel an honest connection with anyone. I guess facebook didn't kill our blog but it did get awfully sick and nearly starved to death. The longer I was a way from it the harder it was to come back.

So, when I was approached by a lot of you asking me what my deal was....well, I don't know why I didn't identify with your "missing" us Harris'. Even though to me it isn't all the need to know information either, but if you love us, which I am hoping most of you do....well, it is almost like talking to us or being with us through our day to day journey. So, I am going forward and will be back tracking too. Much has happened in the last 4-5 months. Life has been crazy, hard, easy, wonderful, challenging, lovely, stinky, boring, busy, stressful, exciting and well....anything but perfect. Through God's grace alone do we get through it...cause the Harris life is a mess, but it is a beautiful chaotic mess:)

Love found a rock at a soccer game and decided it would make a good nose :)

How Bout Some Sister Shots???

2010-06-22T21:27:00.003-05:00

Some Soccer

2010-05-28T22:48:00.004-05:00

This first series is of Hope "sitting the bench" with her friend. I am not sure that anyone appreciates her body language as much as me but I really got a kick out of these ;)

These were after her final game from the tournament. She was so proud of herself.

Her season is finished for now. We need a break. Oh how she loves her some soccer :)

Refreshing New Make Up

2010-05-13T07:35:00.002-05:00

Hope isn't one who has to be directed in her play. She comes up with plenty of things to do. The other day she was applying "make up". Which was in the form of an ice cube of all things. She had a ball with nothing more than frozen water...go figure.

Carefully applied eye shadow
Her blush is literally dripping off her face

The lip gloss tastes good too

It's super easy to remove, no harsh chemicals ;)

It gives you that fresh straight from the pool appearance we all so desire. Well, not so much. But, at least her mascara doesn't run. Silly girl.

It's All About the Boots!

2010-05-12T10:39:00.003-05:00

When Love wants to go in the backyard and play she will usually throw on flip flops if any shoes at all. This particular day she chose her rain boots....which just struck me as odd...I guess it was the dress. Anyway, she was proud. Who knows, she could be way ahead of the fashion curve. Sundresses and rain boots - weirder things have happened in fashion :)

Mother's Day

2010-05-11T09:58:00.004-05:00

Gifted not only in doing life with these 4 blessings but in some nice little surprises too!

The poem from Love's gift from school
Love's hand print from school
Hope planted and nurtured a small baby "Mary-Old" (marigold) for me. I am not sure this plant is going to make it. It gets watered by her several times a day. Because feeding, watering, and loving something can make it grow...like mom's do. Bravo to her teacher...such a cool teaching tool :)
Hope's drawing of me....I am just going to leave it at that but she did tell me I was tan because she couldn't find the peach crayon...funny.

Hope's side card...I love a few things especially about this. 1. Her mom's name is - Mom! :)
2. She originally wrote my age was 22. 22!! And then I told her the real age and she wrote over it. But, you can still see the 22 ;) The sad part is that 22 is actually old to her. 3. My favorite foods are blackberries and green olives. Healthy, huh? and 4. She loves me because "when I am sick she gives me medicine"...is that all it takes?? :)
Love's gift from church

Faith made me a cake with homemade icing. Which was very interesting. You really couldn't cut it but you would have to scoop it out because of the way the icing sunk into the cake. The icing was her idea....melted butter and sugar. To say the least it was sweet both in meaning and in flavor. Such a great surprise!

Hunter gave me a big ole bear hug and wished me Happy Mother's Day.

Love. Love. Love these kids of mine :)

Soccer...Faith and Hope Style

2010-05-10T12:18:00.008-05:00

We had another weekend of soccer...two games on Sat and one Sun afternoon. These are the pics that I liked. Needless to say we are starting off with the girls number one fan - MiMi! Hardly ever misses a game :)

He's Permitted!

2010-05-02T08:48:00.004-05:00

See that white SUV in this photo? Looks pretty normal, huh?

But, when it pulls into your driveway...
And this fella happens to be the driver...
things can get kinda crazy!

Hunter has his PERMIT!!! I can not believe Hunter has his permit! He took his test on Friday. He is a really great driver too. He has driven my suburban, Big Daddy's big tuck and now MiMi's SUV. Gosh...is he really old enough to drive?? Let me rephrase that...am I really old enough to have a son that can drive? Now, when did that happen?

So proud of you Hunter!
I am also so thankful that it is Big Daddy that is his driving instructor. :)
Crazy, huh? Oh, I already said that :)

Here's Tucker!

2010-04-30T20:42:00.004-05:00

70 pounds of pure love

Love is our most hesitant...of course they meet eye to eye and that can be intimidating

Faith loves her Tucker

I think he kinda likes it here

Hope and Big Daddy lovin on our newest addition

Umm...I think we'll keep him ;)

That look on Hunter's face says it all

He had a big day. A new home, a new family, a new routine...he did fabulous! The kids have been playing with him nonstop. We went on a nice long walk with him. He is so well mannered on a leash. He seems like he kinda likes it here.

It is strange to think about how we managed to meet Tucker. The reason is sad. His "mom" is going through a divorce after 30 years of marriage...can you even imagine? Bless her heart. I've been praying for the right dog since we lost our last two. It has only been 3 weeks and the story of our getting Tucker is just proof that God even cares about the small stuff. The stuff that to most people doesn't seem big enough to bother Him with. I am so thankful that He led us to Linda and her dog. I think not only did we get a great new family member but we also just may have a pretty special relationship with a woman we may have never met otherwise. You know something as traumatic as having to rehome your favorite pet can have the goodness of God in it. As upset as she was she was about losing him she knew she was blessing us with a dog. So in her pain of...let's face it, losing what feels like a child to her, she was ministering to our family by allowing us to have him. I am hoping the ministry works both ways. We have already shared his first day with her. She said she was balling but happy tears. I can't wait to see what He has planned for us through this neat little situation :)

Quick Check In

2010-04-28T21:36:00.005-05:00

Wanted to drop in for a quick hello and a small update.

Faith is loving her new schooling arrangement. It is Fab-U-lous!! She is doing so well and has had more smiles than frowns...gotta love that! Soccer is back in season...although the last two games have been cancelled because of weather. She also had her very first fender bender, even though she was driving a golf cart.

Don't think I mentioned that those super sweethearts of a dog have passed on. They both came down with distemper their 3rd day home which was horrible to watch...we tried to nurse them back into health, dumped way too much money in trying to fight it, in the end they were vomiting pretty much nonstop, running fevers that were at the level of heat stroke that were no longer breaking and seizing. In the end Bear wouldn't even open his eyes and Gracie would hardly move and if she did she was getting sick. Like I said...it was AWFUL! We had to put them to sleep. Did I mention how hard it was? We are currently the poster family for vaccinating your dogs. It was all completely preventable. Here are a few pics of the girls loving on 'em in the last days.

But...there is a new dog coming. We pick him up on Friday. He is a golden retriever. He is 8 months and already 70 pounds. He is a real cutie. It is a huge blessing out of a not so great circumstance for the current owner. He is her baby. So, we are going to have an open adoption - you think I'm kidding don't you? I'm not. Oh, and he has had ALL of his shots! :)

Here is the only photo we have seen of him

Hunter is ready for school to end. He has had his limit. Tomorrow is the math TAKS and he is not even a tad bit excited. He is looking forward to joining Faith next year. He is excited about getting our new dog and is already searching for him a friend. His idea of a good playmate isn't exactly my idea. He likes the rowdy breeds. Me...not so much.

Hope is full swing in soccer. She is either on or off and to be truthful...we don't really care. If she is having fun - we are too :) She is ready for summer. She doesn't like waking up early and wants to sleep in. She is digging reading though and really doing well.

Love is struggling with allergies. She had to have a pulpotomy (basically a root canal) on her front tooth. Apparently she fell and hit it within the last couple of months and it was dying. She did so well...she is such a trooper. She doesn't really like going but she is brave and gets through it and she gets so spoiled there too! Unfortunately it is necessary even though it is not so fun. I will be glad when she gets through all these issues so that she can just be for a while without doctors or dentists except once or twice a year. Oh, and she is still just as cute as ever ;)

Well, that is all I've got for now...until next time.

It's Gonna Be Long...

2010-04-22T10:01:00.002-05:00

Where has April gone? It feels like we just started off this year and here we are nearing the end of April. We have been really busy. I would say personally I have been more emotionally exhausted than physically. Wrapping my mind around situations - dwelling on them - praying about them. Finally what feels like a solid resolution has come. I don't want to get all in depth but I will talk a bit on the biggest issue.

Our daughter Faith has had some "issues" with some girls at school. These "issues" flared up to the point that it included boys. Then the "issues" flared up to engulf her where she had enemies in people that she didn't even know. We fought it through the administration for about 2 months. We stood behind her and encouraged her that it would pass. I was hearing things that were happening on a daily basis. My daughter was unraveling, and we could see it. But, she was not going to let them push her out of the school...she was determined to stay.

One of her teachers told me "I am very aware of the problems she is having with her former friends. I addressed this issue with administration last week. I hate to see that she is having such a hard time. It is very unfortunate that any student has to go through this with their peers." The principal and my husband became quick friends through all their contact over the "issues". In fact, the principal knew it was huge. He knew it had grown into something that was out of control.

The "issues" became more intense and extremely hateful and our Faith was to her breaking point. I am not sure if her mind or heart could have handled much more. We finally decided to pull her from the school, after speaking with the ring leader's father (who was very sympathetic, in fact his daughter had told him they were still good friends), her teachers, the principals, etc. The principal was in agreement that removing her would be in the best interest of Faith. In fact, he allowed her to complete the remainder of her six weeks at home because it was so bad and we wanted a clean break grade wise. Is that sad or what?

How do kids possess so much power? Why are girls especially so mean? You know all this was going on while the suicides from bullying were peppering the news from many directions...two near our own town. Not that I would think that for Faith but she was the most emotionally unstable I have ever seen her...it was awful.

You know I was reading today's daily thought/scripture we have near our coffee pot. Here is what it says:

The greatest anxiety for an adolescent, far exceeding the fear of death, is the possibility of rejection or humiliation in the eyes of his/her peers.

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear. 1John 4:18

And honestly, if she did not know the Lord, I am not sure how she would have gotten through it. Well, to add to that, I am not sure how Big Daddy or I would have gotten through it either. There is something about someone hurting your child that makes the flesh want to take over and put the Spirit in the backseat.

Since all this went down has the problem gone away? In one word...NO. But, it is only through Internet, cell phones, and the occasional path crossing. Most of these can be avoided. Faith has deleted a lot of things and ignored others, her friends still tell her what is coming through the community sites - but she doesn't have to co-exist with them on a minute by minute basis anymore.

She began her first day with a private tutor who will be teaching her through high school, which she has high hopes to graduate early. It is Christian curriculum, a Christian teacher and the teacher is experienced. She is certified and taught in both public and private school and now runs her own private school. In fact, Hunter approached us about attending and he will be joining Faith next year. He also hopes to graduate early. Big Daddy and I have such confirmation in knowing that this is the right move. So, in a nutshell...they will be avoiding the current atmosphere where attitudes, language and actions are all influencing them to some degree. We are excited about the totally controlled environment. They will be in a home with a teacher, receiving a very small teacher to student ratio....Faith's is currently 1 teacher, 2 students. The school also has an 80% college attendance rate after graduation. If that is what they decide to pursue...and of course, it was Faith's first concern..."How will this affect me going to law school?"

I do know that kids can do well in public school. I was one of them. I enjoyed high school about as much as you can. I'd even say it was great. But, I wasn't in the same place as my children are. I think about the struggles they face and they weren't even there for me. I for one did not have the conviction that my children have at this age...not that they are near perfect. But, they do for the most part know right from wrong and generally attempt to follow the right path.

For those of you who are thinking...what in the world are y'all doing? Well, I get it. I understand. Not exactly mainstream, is it? And, to be honest, I guess that is exactly the point.

Just A Swinging...

2010-04-14T16:53:00.004-05:00

Guess who can totally swing - All By Herself!

She is over the top excited not to have to ask for someone to push her.

And sweet girl can go high, high high! :)

LOVE IT!

Catching Up is Hard To Do!

2010-03-31T11:16:00.004-05:00

Let's See....

Love had her 8th laser treatment on the 17th. No fun! She is at the age that she totally understood where we were and why we were there. She didn't much care for it. Which totally makes it more difficult to endure these visits. Once we get to a place where we see no improvement...we are done. To be completely honest, I feel sure this is our last year for a while anyway. She is just such a sport. She dislikes all of it but does it anyway and tries to smile through it. She is much better after than before and she had her very first sick free visit. They gave her zofran on top of phenegran and she was good to go...took forever to wake up but she still did so good.

Right out of surgery
About 3 hours later :)

2 1/2 weeks post op....

If only she were a happy child ;)

Which brings us to an unhappy moment. Remember when we added our puppy Blue to the family? Well, let's just say we ended up being foster parents instead of her forever family. I still feel our time devoted to her was beneficial to both sides but....well, the girl was biting. Especially Hunter - and when she punctured his cheek about an inch or two below his eye with a bite - for no reason. Well, we decided it was really more a forced relationship on our part. We couldn't change her, it was more of her nature. Afterall she was bred to work. She needed more than we could give her and I wanted her to live. It was very hard on Hunter. And Hunter's Momma who totally balled like a baby - and I didn't like her much at all. I loved that little pest of a dog but really did not like her. Even Big Daddy teared up. It is just, well, so final.

Which, brings me to my next announcement:

MEET BEAR

and HIS SISTER GRACIE

Two of the sweetest natured dogs we have ever had. They love to be loved on and are learning their manners so well. We are making sure we teach them so that they will be true joys and not burdens. They both arrived home yesterday after an intense pound visit on Friday. There were so many great dogs there that we had a hard time choosing. But Faith spotted Gracie and she would not let up about her. Then when we went through the boy dogs and we spotted Bear. They did not even realize they were siblings. You should have seen her when they brought him out. She perked up and did the equivalent of hugs and kisses. She was ecstatic. Both were "fixed" on Monday and doing great. They just love each other so much.

They are a shepherd mix. We lean toward English Shepherd mix after all we have searched and googled but truth be told they are just a couple mutts. And we couldn't be happier. They were aged at 2-3 years old. So they are done growing and quick learners. So smart. Hunter is on cloud nine and I am not sure if that smile ever did leave his face. And guess who got up at 4 to check on them when the electricity went off? Hunter. And guess who got up at 6:30 to make sure there was plenty of time to play with them...ummm, both Hunter and Faith. They are two pretty good additions to the ole Harris abode.

And don't they just smile so purty?

We have a wonderful weekend coming up with loads of family time....can't wait! :)

Happy Love Day!

2010-03-17T00:01:00.003-05:00

Love at first sight

Two years ago today we became a family of 6. Our sweet little one, Love; was officially our daughter. And our world will never be the same because of her. Our world is an infinitely better place with her in our heart and home and forever in our family.

Love home 1 year

She changed our lives...forever. And we thank God for the honor of calling her our baby girl. There has never been nor will there ever be another like her...to say we love her just doesn't seem to tranfer our feelings into words.

Love home 2 years

She is our sunshine.

Not to mention 'bout the cutest thang ever.

She is that living breathing joy day in and day out that makes us so incredibly blessed to not only know her but to be chosen as the ones who hold her hand as she makes her mark on this world. And she will, make her mark-that you can be sure of. :)

If you happen...

2010-03-16T10:45:00.003-05:00

If you happen to think about us tomorrow morning would you please say a quick prayer for our little Love? She will be receiving her 8th laser treatment bright and early tomorrow morning. And, of all days...tomorrow happens to be a very special one :) Just for the record, I am so not talking about St. Patrick's Day.

There is only one thing...

2010-03-11T14:18:00.003-06:00

There is only one thing worse than registering our son for his SOPHOMORE year of high school.
It is registering our daughter for her FRESHMAN year. Where oh where did the time go? Seriously? Two kids in high school...didn't I just graduate?

Truly none of it is horrible, it is actually quite exciting. It just brings the realization that one day all too soon they will be flying from our safe little coop and entering that great big world. And that could honestly put me under if I sat around and thought about it. The fact that in 3 years my son will graduate high school and my daughter will be on his coat tails the following year. Thank God for this nugget...

"Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own" Matthew 6:34

And when I meditate on that I remember where we are today in our little journey through life with two teenagers and I think...."3 or 4 more years - how in the world are we ever going to last that long?!" Oh, I kid.

But seriously, training up teenagers is not for the faint of heart. I think I have called on the Lord so often this past month that He must hear me call for Him and think..."what did they do now?" :) I know I am being silly. It is truly beyond comforting to know He is with us through all the struggles we encounter while parenting. We are learning everyday that parenting has to be intentional. It just doesn't happen. It takes learning, lots of love and forgiveness...on both ends.

Why Watercolors Were Intended For Children...

2010-03-01T09:28:00.003-06:00

Last night MiMi brought over the girls new watercolors. We go through them so fast! Anywhoo...we were sitting there watching the girls create their masterpieces and Big Daddy must have been inspired. Because he grabbed a brush and carefully painted...

Here is his first painting

Same inspiration...new subject

Another incredible creation - which inspired me to do...

this!

Oui, Oui, Monsieur :)

Which led to much more of the girls painting their own faces. Followed by very intense baths :)

First Soccer Tournament

2010-02-20T21:03:00.004-06:00

On her way to the goal

Her medal...she was so proud of it..."I've never gotten a medal before...ever"

Love rolling down the grassy hill

See...it was on purpose...several times

Faith and her friend from soccer "A"

Her guys...does this look like a CD cover or is just me? :0)

Oh, and our miss thang - working her game

Today was Hope's very first soccer tournament. She had a ball. Well, we all did. Love totally dug being outside all day. She also found out that she is very good at rolling down hills -on purpose none the less. She also had a doting sweetie "B" (my cousin's cute daughter) to spoil her for hours at a time :) Faith had her friend from her soccer team there (who also has a little sister on the team) to hang with. And Hunter had his Grumpy. Hope had plenty of fans...MiMi, Grumpy, Ninnie, Baby J and MaMa. We recently moved Hope up an age division. We were a little worried about her hanging on the bigger field. She did perfectly fine :) In her first game she scored twice. She wasn't quite herself but I think it will come. She is on a pretty good little team too. Today at lunch with the team I kept glancing over at the girls and was so pleased we had made the choice. Hope and all the girls sat at a table all together laughing, cracking jokes and sharing food. It was just so sweet to see budding new friendships. Hope has found a team full of girls that all really like each other and the parents are friendly too. For those of you who are soccer moms also you may appreciate the sweetness ;) Our girls did so well and more than anything they had so much fun! Which is the most important part of the game...because if isn't fun anymore...why bother?

Happy 14th Birthday Faith!!

2010-02-14T22:24:00.002-06:00

Wow! Another year already? I am just getting used to the idea of her being 13 and now here we go again.

We already celebrated her birthday with family by going out to dinner at one of her favorite restaurants. The big slumber (or lack there of) party is this weekend.

Faith,

You are a gift. Truly there is not a single child on the face of this Earth like you. You have such big dreams. You want to adopt 4 kids, 2 from China and 2 from Africa. I love that adoption means so much to you. You want to grow up to be a lawyer. I have to tell you the way you argue you may just be barking up the right tree. I love how you don't put anything out of reach for yourself. Nothing is impossible to you. I know you are all about friends these days. You love hanging out, chatting, texting and im-ing. You stand up for people who need it. While I sometimes cringe when you tell me about stepping in front of someone to shield them or speaking up on the behalf. I am really proud of you for wanting to protect others. I know that sometimes you mean well and things don't go as you had expected. I love that you continue to try and not let past failures stop you. I love that you have a heart for Jesus. I am impressed with your way of thinking and you making your relationship with the Lord a top priority. I see your heart and know that you struggle sometimes to stay true to your convictions. I love that you don't give up and walk away but move forward knowing each day is new. I am so incredibly blessed to have you as a big sister to my little girls. They have no idea what a cool gig they have as being your little sister. You love them big time. You are so important to them both. I love that you want to set a good example for them. I am thankful to you for being such a great babysitter too. You have helped not only the girls but Daddy and I by allowing us date time. You have made a difference in our marriage. You can play soccer like a mad woman. You have some mad soccer skills. You truly rock on the field. I love watching you play a game you love so much. You are funny. You like to crack jokes and make people smile and let loose. Your whole face lights up when you smile. I love seeing you in your silly zone. But, sometimes you drive me crazy. You keep me on my toes and have definitely paid me back several times over for the way I acted when I was a kid. However, I truly think you are some kind of wonderful. A daughter that I not only love but really like. A daughter I am proud of and love with my whole heart. You are a gift. A gift that keeps giving. A gift that I will never quite understand how in the world I was chosen to be your mom. But I am so very thankful that I was. Happy 14th Birthday baby girl.

I love you more than all the stars in the sky,
Mom

Oh, one more thing...can we slow this next year down a little?

Celebrating....

2010-02-14T17:37:00.006-06:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

and....

Xin Nian Kuai Le!

or translated - Happy New Year!!

Not only is today Valentine's Day but it is also Chinese New Year.

We started off the day with church, then lunch, then a big ole trip to Wal M*rt for the kids to pick out their valentine. Both Hope and Love chose the biggest balloons ever for their gift, Faith went with flat out cash, and Hunter chose Turtles...I heart those things :)

We had grandparents visit bearing gifts for Valentines as well. Needless to say my kids are in no shortage of sugar - Lord help me....and their teeth.

For dinner we are going out or having take out...not quite sure...because it is COLD! And of course, it will be Chinese food.

Tomorrow. Now that is a big day in my book - more to come.

White as Snow...

2010-02-12T09:54:00.013-06:00

This is one of the most beautiful mornings I have ever seen. Breathtaking, really. Have you ever noticed with a blanket of snow even dirt piles and weeds look pretty? Well, they do. White is pure, it is clean. I can't help but think about the scripture in Isaiah.

"Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow, though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool... Isaiah 1:18

While our lives may be a mess and resemble a dirt pile or weeds through His blood our hearts became white as snow. White and pure and clean. And that is how the Lord see us. Isn't that incredible? That He sees us as spotless. I've often wondered how that works. How can our hearts be stained with sin and yet He sees us as beautiful. I had the connection today. As I looked out in our neighborhood - where weeds grew was beauty, where filth lie below the surface - pure white. I truly am in awe of a God that by giving His son for our sins we became white as snow. I know I don't "feel" white, pure, clean or spotless. But that is because I have been allowing the world to have its hold on me. Those are my choices. I have the snow as a clear visual of what He sees. And what He deserves from me, my heart, my choices. To live to glorify Him, to bring honor to Him, to love Him more than any immediate gratification or pleasure that the world has to offer me.

Ok, I am going to go somewhere with this. Hopefully it makes sense. Just as the snow from the sky covers the ground and all it touches turns into pure white beauty so does the blood of Jesus with the hearts of those who believe. So, snow from the sky has the same effect with the earth as the power of Jesus' blood does with believers. The biggest difference I can see is that while the snow from the sky melts away and the filth re-emerges for all to see. The blood of Jesus Christ is an eternal covering. You don't have to wait for another season of snow for us to become pure once again. God gave us his son once and he died once for us to accept Him once for us to be covered always.

So, while we drown in sin or surface from it, while we become backsliders or begin to move forward again, while we have been wounded and are beginning to push through the pain...He has us in his hands. No matter how dirty we are - all the while - He has us. And through his blood He has washed us as white as snow. Beautiful. :)

Ok, I could go on but I am changing subjects.

Finally, the snow man has been built. Love is thrilled. Or she is " 'Appy (happy)..eva, eva, eva eva" :)Which I have to tell you something quick about that statement. Love walks around asking...." 'Appy or Sad?" to everyone in our family. She takes almost hourly inventory of our feelings. It's cute. Anyway, here is the snowman. We lacked the basic decor for the snowman. He would not retain the choices we had so we resorted to a more beachy approach. It worked. And we are 'appy with him :)

Snow Much Fun 1.5

2010-02-11T19:10:00.002-06:00

So after school didn't exactly go the way I had envisioned. Faith had a history project to finish up after school with a couple of friends. Hunter had enough of the snow playing all day today between classes. Hope lasted less than 5 minutes. Love would stay out 24/7...along with Faith - little snow women. Big Daddy stayed out with Faith...snowball fights, he buried her in the snow like she was in sand, they made snow angels - some real good Daddy/daughter bonding ;) I have no pics. boo.hoo. We still have no snowman. However we have some of the most delici-oh-so snow ice cream. We just didn't have the man power for the snowman tonight. Big Daddy is off tomorrow and hopefully the kids school will be cancelled. Bright and early or cloudy and early - whichever it may be - we all have a date with some snow...man. Get it? Snow...man. Snow man. Make a snow man. Hee hee! Officially a dork, I know. Not that you all needed written proof. :) Pics tomorrow of the big kids - promise. (Happy MiMi?) :)

Faith making snowballs

Umm...that is Big Daddy making that snow angel

The snow ice cream...I doubled the gallon recipe and it is going fast!

Snow Much Fun!!!

2010-02-11T15:22:00.003-06:00

Love only had a half of day of school today so she was the first one to get to take advantage of this crazy wonderful weather. We have SNOW!! And not the usual dusting :) So here is part one...needless to say she absolutely had a ball. She is ready to make a no-man with the big kids too. She just kept yelling...No-ball fight!!! And then with the sweetest grin ever she would peg me with a wet snowball. Sweet kid ;) Anywhoo - part two will be when the big kids get home :)

Crazy...

2010-02-09T13:28:00.002-06:00

Sometimes, for no good reason, girls get together and dress up weird, act crazy, and laugh A LOT. Oh, and stay up real late, eat pigs in a blanket and popcorn - and watch TV while playing Imaginif. To be young again ;)

This is my dry run at a slumber party for Faith's upcoming 14th Birthday...a breaking in if you will. I always think odd numbers are a bit more complicated with girls. It seems someone always feels left out. This night went much better than I had imagined. Now I have to begin to mentally prepare for quadruple the amount of craziness, noise, and well, weirdness that usually goes down with a bunch of sleep deprived teenage girls. I know I've been one of those girls. Although it was long, long, LONG ago :) Seriously though, I can't wait. :)

Just Breathe...

2010-02-04T09:09:00.003-06:00

Hope is sick...again. Poor thing. I don't know what it is but I can not keep 4 children well...ever - or at least it seems. I feel like I need one of those big tents for termites put on our house and for them to pump in as much professional strength Lysol as they can...and let it sit - for days. I remember the sick days with my two oldest. You know, when they go anywhere and catch everything...and school seemed/seems to be the biggest playground for all those neat little bugs, viruses, and the like.

Hope is back on her breathing treatments and antibiotics. She seems to be doing better this morning. She is on her 2nd round of this mess. The first time just didn't kill it. Its not fair. But she is the biggest trooper. She deals with it really well. Last time the antibiotic jumped up and slapped it down pretty quick. And she is praying for that again. Tomorrow is her 100 days of school party and she does not want to miss it. And if the day continues as is - she won't.

She is an old pro at this thing.
She has a LOT of support from her little sister. Love will tell her, "jus breed"(just breathe), while patting her on the back or rubbing her cheek. It really is sweet.

Oh, and speaking of sweet... :)

This Morning...

2010-02-02T09:06:00.003-06:00

This morning Love totally marched right into the house after dropping off all the big kids. She seemed to be on a mission. And, she was. I asked if she wanted me to turn on a Hi-5 for her. This is ritual as I check up on emails/blogs. She told me no. She went right to my bed, under it actually. And she retrieved Hope's DS. Hope did make the comment last night that she wishes that Love would play her game while she was at school so that she did not have to take so many turns while she was in the middle of doing something on her game. I had some sympathy...not much, but some. I guess Love totally took our conversation to heart. She came out and told me..." pay game -Hope at kool". That little stinker has taken out and put in all 3 of Hope's games - perfectly. And, she knows how to play them. Although her fun is about to end. I am not letting her stay on it more than 20 minutes. I just thought it was funny how she decided she would follow Hope's suggestion.

She was supposed to go back to school this morning but she just couldn't do it. She just isn't back to 100%. She will return Thursday. Her little nose is still running like a faucet. And having been a substitute I know how much teachers enjoy this. She said in the sweetest voice ever..."tay home now with mommy". You betcha I let her. But, now that I think about it...it may have been less about me and more about the game ;)

Oh, a few other things she has been saying that just get me......

When she is wanting to tell me something that means a lot she will use the words..."eva, eva, eva, eva, eva..." behind it. Like "I wuv yoo eva, eva, eva, eva, eva" :) or the other day she was really upset with Hope and she said, "no way, eva, eva, eva, eva, eva" and then put her head down with her hands covering her face. She was oh so distraught.

" 'Meer " is another. She means come here. She says it in the sweetest little voice.

She says "sah-ee" all the time. She means sorry. She knows how to use it. She is sorry for an awful lot too. If you get hurt, if she makes a poor choice, if she spills something, if you say excuse me to get by her, well, a whole lot of things.

It is so much fun watching her little brain stretch and her words to finally meet up with her thoughts. I can only imagine how much more enjoyable her life has been to not be so frustrated with us not understanding what she has been trying to tell us. Although her gestures and eyes can tell quite a story all by themselves :) Have I told you all lately how much I LOVE being home with her? Well, I do :)

Growing Up...

2010-02-01T14:09:00.005-06:00

Everyone has been telling me lately how much Love has changed. To be honest, I don't really see it. Until I look back at her a year ago. I don't have many photos from a year ago on this computer...'member it crashed? But this one in particular reminds me of just how much of a baby she was.

February 2009
February 2010...how 'bout that hat?

Speaking of growing up...there is my little guy - Hunter. Well, technically he isn't so little, he towers over me nowadays. He was going fishing with Grumpy yesterday and while he was headed to the shower he said this to me:

"Mom, will you put on a pot of coffee for me?"

I don't know if it is just me but it cracked me up. I would have expected hot chocolate or even tea but not coffee. He drinks it off and on when we have our nightly pot but it just struck me as odd. Not that I didn't like it. It just made me think he really is growing up and he isn't always going to be here. Even though he will always be my little man he is making more grown up choices...even in his hot beverages. Today a pot of coffee tomorrow the car keys...seriously, he could start anytime now driving. He just has to go take his test for his permit. Can't even go there...too hormonal, I'm not too proud to admit it.

Does anyone else wonder why Hope may have wanted her jeans packed into her cowboy boots now? I think I have more insight after this ;)

I may have gotten the corniest mom award yesterday for taking these photos. I was hoping to have fish pictures to back these up. Alas, fish were not in the cards for them yesterday. Maybe next time big guy.

*ps Thanks for dealing with the continual blog changes. Hopefully I will find one that fits soon. It is like a new shade of lipstick...you have to wear it a few days to know if it is a keeper.

A Western Kind of Day

2010-01-29T09:04:00.005-06:00

Today was Kindergarten 'Round Up' at Hope's school. She loves, loves, loves boots - of any kind. She has wanted her own cowboy boots for a while now. And since she had some money from Christmas she decided she might like to buy her own real cowboy boots. Which the girl did, last night. And they look just precious on her :) She is something else too - wore her Daddy's hat, a bandanna, her boots and she had to have her jeans packed in to her boots so everyone could really see 'em. And they are mighty fancy.

Our little cowgirl...although she corrected me several times. She is NOT a cowgirl - she is a CowBOY ;)
Is she too much or what? !

Here's the close up. Big Daddy even mink oiled 'em with the rain and all.

Well, there you have it. Hope doing "western" up right ;) She and I were talking this morning about being a cowboy when she grows up. First, she wants to be a doctor, then after that a police man -maybe one in the army, and then she wants to really be a cowboy. But, not a mom...that's boring. Ha!

A Couple of Recipes...

2010-01-27T07:26:00.003-06:00

7 Layer Mexican Dip and Easy Chicken Parmesan

I have had success with a dip that I generally bring to parties. I have seen it several different ways but these are my favorite ingredients. A few have asked for it since the New Year's Eve party so I thought I would just share it here.

*photo courtesy of johnstonevinblanc...mine is actually a prettier presentation :)

7 Layer Mexican Dip

I will tell you my portions but if you like your layers thinner you can adjust the amounts.

can of refried beans (lg can or two regular)

container of guacamole or avocado dip(around 12 oz.)

container of sour cream (around 12 oz.)

packet of taco seasoning(whole packet)

shredded cheese(about a standard package)

chopped tomatoes(about 3 medium)

black olives(a small can sliced or chopped)

You spread the refried beans in a 13X9 dish as the bottom layer.
Then you layer your guacamole/avocado dip.
Then your sour cream layer.
Next sprinkle your taco seasoning.
Then generously use your shredded cheese.
Followed by tomatoes
And then top with black olives.

Add some tortilla chips or Frito's...delicious! You can delete or add any number of ingredients here. I have seen lettuce, green onions, cheese sauce, and hot sauce all used in this recipe. It is all up to what your family or friends enjoy.

Now for this chicken Parmesan recipe. It was so good my entire family ate it all and said yes to a remake. For all 6 of us to be in agreement...well, that is a pretty big deal. This is super simple and so much cheaper than an Italian restaurant.

*photo courtesy of foodnetwork

Chicken Parmesan
Again, I will use my amounts but you can adjust any of these.

4 large bl/sl chicken breast (butterfly-cut into two fillets-pound)
1 2lb + spaghetti sauce (we prefer Ragu chunky tomato, garlic & onion)
milk
2 cups Italian bread crumbs
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup Parmesan
1/4 cup olive oil (takes me more when I change the oil in between)
shredded mozzarella (a standard package)

Combine the flour, bread crumbs, and Parmesan.
Dip the chicken breast into the dry mixture, then drag through milk quickly and redip into the dry mixture.
Fry the breast in olive oil for 2.5 minutes per side. I used a cookie cooling trey to let them drain over paper towels to remain crispy.
In a 9X13 pan spread a little bit of the spaghetti sauce.
Place chicken breast on top of layer, then pour the remainder of sauce over the top of breast.
I then took the shredded mozzarella and placed generously over each breast but didn't waste it in the empty spaces.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until bubbly.

I used 4 huge breast which made 8 nice sized pounded breast. It took me two 13X9 pans but after lunch the next day none was left :) If you like a less sweet spaghetti sauce use your favorite. I also changed my olive oil if the left over dry mixture started turning dark. I don't like that burnt taste that happens when the dry mixture left in the olive oil sticks to the fresh pieces.

Angie, any chances on you sharing your schnitzel recipe?

Better yet, if you have an easy recipe that doesn't cost a fortune how bout you share it, either in a comment here or leave a comment telling me you have posted it on your blog...Jan, Julie, Mom, Bambi...anyone???

Work...

2010-01-27T06:30:00.005-06:00

With Love overcoming an illness we had to find interesting alternatives to exploring the outdoors for fun. So I asked her if she would like to go to "work". She of course thought it sounded like a big deal. I got her a desk (coffee table), a chair, her apple juice in a coffee cup, a pair of scissors and all my unwanted coupon sheets.

She was going to be my most official coupon cutter outer...fancy title, huh? :) She stayed pretty well occupied for almost 45 minutes. Working hard and brushing up on her scissor skills all the while. Her best benefit was her relaxed dress code...does anyone else have trouble keeping clothes on their kid?

Her shoes and socks generally come off with in seconds of getting in the car or house and she sheds the rest the minute she walks in the house. Thank goodness she likes wearing her big girl panties or we might have some issues.

How do you like that fancy application of make up? She was writing on her eraser board and decided it would be fun use it as make up. Thankfully I was sitting right there or we might have had a full blown green eyelid - ick! Now instead she has a lovely green "beauty mark". How 'bout that concentration?

Let's Talk About Ba-sket-ball!

2010-01-25T14:04:00.005-06:00

Hope started her very first season of basketball recently. She has had such a blast playing. We figured basketball, like soccer; is right up her alley. You can still run up and down the court/field even if you are not actually in possession of the ball. Which works really well for our hyped up kiddo.

She had a bit of a slow start her first game, trying to figure it out. She missed her second one due to illness. Her third game...well, folks, things clicked :) She stole that ball, guarded her girls, and dribbled like a mad woman...she even scored her first basket in a game :) So proud! She gets just excited if she scores or her teammates with a big jump and both fists up in the air. Too cute ;)
This is the first team where everyone has an height advantage over her. She and one other girl are in Kindergarten, the rest of her team is in first grade. She still will try and rebound with the tallest of them. Unfortunately, most of the time, the tallest gets the ball first.

This here is some serious guarding, on both teams...and only in Kindergarten.

Uh-hum...yep, she totally just stole that ball :)

Not afraid to rebound...even if it is directly under the basket.

And, nope, this chick did not get that ball from her. This was Hope steal right before she....

totally drove it down and SCORED!!

Another steal for Hope...the referee had to inform her not to touch the opponents hand while stealing. This gave the poor little girl on the other team a chance too.

This league is unlike a lot of them. There is no score. Hope was totally checking that scoreboard each time to look for the points to change. At this age they just play for fun and to learn. With Upwards it is Christ centered...so she also has a devotional each practice and a scripture to memorize each week. It is a pretty awesome ministry that reaches all types of people who may or may not know about Jesus.

Cool story about the director. He was in college for sports medicine. He wanted to be a coach. Then the Lord called him into the ministry. Instead of dumping his two years invested in this direction...the Lord opened up a door for him to become a recreational pastor...really, how cool is that? God is just that good folks :)

Sick and Tired and Sick Some More...

2010-01-23T15:00:00.005-06:00

What a week!

We sent Hope back to school Monday and she is still hacking today. Little Love has been just about the sickest I have ever seen her. Hope must have passed the torch because almost instantaneously Love took over - plus 200%. Bless her heart. I think we have begun to turn the corner but still it just stinks. Her eyes are just the saddest little things ever. Poor Baby. We have been through so many medicines that she will never look at the medicine cup or dropper the same. Why do they all have to taste so insanely foul? I mean like once they are available in generic they turn from extremely palatable to incredibly disgusting...

On the up side of things Love appears to be fully potty trained...yea! We thought we had this mastered about a year ago and after a big regression after moving here the pedi. told me to back off for a while. She has been in panties 24/7 ever since Sunday...and no accidents since then either :) Such a big girl...even sick as a dog.

Speaking of dogs...Blue had her "female" surgery on Friday and they fixed her umbilical hernia at the same time. She is plum miserable but she is the dog I always wanted. Calm, sweet, and loving...even though she has been high as a kite. I know it will all wear off soon enough but for now can I go on the record saying she'd be perfect if she were an addict? Is that wrong? Oh, it is isn't it?

Here is my Love day by day...poor sweet child.

Poor thing would ask for her bowl and fell asleep with it tightly gripped on several occasions :(

See the eyes...I told you
She could not breathe at all so she would walk around with her little dry mouth hanging open.
She was comforted by big sister...I love how Faith is holding her sweet little hand.

Sad little face.

Still the sweetest thing...as much as I have hated her being so sick and feeling so miserable I have truly loved having her snuggled up with me all most non stop for the past week. Last night was her first full night of sleep since Saturday. She and I were both due a good sleep. If only she'd eat she may regain her usual pep.

My computer has been jacked up. I don't what I did or didn't do but I couldn't access anything. So soon I will have pics of Hope's basketball games. So much fun!!

Saving Money...Coupons/Sales/Matching

2010-01-18T09:34:00.007-06:00

Ok, in an effort to save some dough on our new and unimproved income I have resolved to make a good attempt at couponing...again.

I am going to let you know how we do it and am interested in any helpful hints you have or how you manage to save money when it comes to meal planning or cleaning supplies.

Sales

I watch pretty closely for meat sales. For instance, this week at C!ty Market lean ground beef was on sale for .98/per pound. I bought 22 # and split it up into 1# portions and have it frozen in freezer baggies. I am set for at least 20 meals of ground beef. Which is totally a staple in our low budget. They also happen to have pork chops on sale for the same .98/pp. They are a tad thinner than our usual center cut but my family actually likes them thin, so I bought 10# of them. Then this weekend only A!bertsons had boneless/skinless chicken breast on for $1.69/pp. That is unusually low around here. So, I bought 20# of that as well. While I spent quite a bit of money on meat about $65, I have enough meat for at least 44 meals. So, I won't run out and spend the $3.69 for lean ground beef or the $3.19 for bl/sl ck breast or the $2.99 for pork chops. We don't use huge amounts of meat per meal. The littles and I do not require as much protein as the bigs but we still get our daily requirements. It really does save me a lot.

Coupons

I am making every effort to really use these in the most efficient ways possible. I understand that you can use a store generated coupon stacked on top of a manufacturers coupon. Here is a deal that is going to save me this week: T*rget has a store coupon for pull-ups $2.00 off and then the paper had $2.00 from the manufacturer and so that will be $4.00 off and if they were on sale (which they are not) then you get even more savings on them.

Another thing I didn't know that maybe you don't either. Did you know if you do a buy one get one (BOGO) or a $ off 2 items you can use a coupon for both items even though the second one is free or covered in the first coupon? Well, you can. So if you get a coupon for Gogurt -$1 off 2 boxes Gogurt and and .80 coupon you can use both of them for the two items? Essentially you are allowed a coupon per item and you can use two coupons per item if you do the manufacturers and store generated ones. Cool, huh?

Now, where I think most people, including myself get sucked into this coupon mess is when we make choices that we would not regularly buy in order to save the .75. For example there is/was a good deal at CVS for oust air spray. Well, I don't use it or buy it or need it. So by saving the big amount of savings and getting the extra care bucks (an entirely different way to save) it still would not serve my family well to put out the front money to purchase it. The extra care bucks are cool if you really shop for things at CVS and don't end up paying for things you don't love to save money on the things you do love but could still purchase cheaper at W*lMart. Or at least for me personally. Some people have this mastered and do really well at it...I am just not there - at least for now.

There are sites that will do all the work for you though. Search your favorite store name and "coupon match ups" and the start date of the circular. Like, "CVS Coupon Matchups" 1/17/10 and you can go to many sites and read how they have matched coupons to sales and if you buy it already or have wanted to try it - great! The leg work, er, mind work is done!

And one last thing on couponing. I find that most of the time the generic brand is still cheaper than using the coupon on the brand name item. And if this is the case I will buy generic. I will at least try the generic. There are somethings we just do not like in generic but in most things we like generic just fine. I generally save the most money with the cheaper/generic brand.

Matching

Did you know that W*lMart will match competitors ads? If you bring in the ad and show it to them it can be sodas, diapers, meat, produce, televisions - whatever it is they will override their price and enter in the price of the competitor. I once was fairly good at it, or so I thought. And I could easily knock off $30-$40 off by price matching at W*l Mart. That is until we realized we really did not like the taste of their meat. They do not have an in house butcher, I am not sure if having it sent in changes it but after tasting other meats from sales at local grocery stores - well, we don't care for it. This used to save me a lot until I stopped shopping for meat there and I don't put as much effort into now. I probably should.

Other things we are trying to save money

We have gone to one meatless meal per week.
We have eliminated all sodas. We are drinking quite a bit of tea, sweet tea, and water.
We have drastically reduced the processed snacks around our house. It really doesn't save a ton of money here. I have found these snacks are very affordable and although completely nutrition deficient most teenagers appreciate the ease of grab and go junk food. On the up side our kids are now eating much better at our meal times. Plates are being cleaned again.
Always search Slickdeals.net first before a purchase online. I was buying Big Daddy some new jeans online and searched here first and found an online coupon code for 15% plus another one for free shipping...yea! You just search the store or the item and all the deals are shared. They also have a daily deal page where they list what is on sale where and what code to use to get it.
Have not done it yet but I heard you can get cleaning supplies/personal hygiene products really cheap at places like D*llar Tree and D*llar General. Hey, a toothbrush does not expire, nor does toilet cleaner. They are supposed to carry name brands so as long as we are comparing apples to apples it sounds promising :)
Big Daddy and I totally went dumpster diving (well, not quite that extreme) in the recycle bins in our areas for coupons. We hit the jack pot. Most were in never read condition. And if they are going to be recycled no harm in using them first, right?

For your coupon 411 this seems to be a good place to start:

Money Saving Mom She even has a "start here" area in the right margin. She generally links up to the matchups and has her handle on coupons and much more. You will also find she will allow a link up for others to share their deals too and you might find another site you would like as well.

One more thing, I am very interested in freezer cooking. Essentially cooking a lot of meals ahead and having them mostly prepared and then popping them into the oven, crock pot or such and minimizing the work when we all come back together for the day. Or I have read where some will make a double batch and eat one/freeze one for later. Anyone into this?

So, there is my scoop. Any ideas, suggestions or planning that works well for your family? I'd love to hear them :)

Control...or lack there of...

2010-01-14T12:05:00.005-06:00

First of all, I am going to go ahead and tell you this is therapy in motion, thinking out loud if you will...

To set the stage, let's explore what the actual definition is of control:

Control (verb)- a : to exercise restraining or directing influence over : regulate b : to have power over : rule

Ok, now that is established we can move forward. I have heard it a million times...control your laundry, control your eating, control your temper, control your spending, control yourself...control your children. I am sure you have heard these and much more.

See the trick is all things I listed above - there is one BIG one that I can not actually control. Children. I can try to "exercise restraint or have power over them" all day but I can not force them do something. I can make it mighty enticing for them to do as I ask or pretty ugly if they don't (bye bye phone and friends). But as to having control...well, I don't. I can not control Faith or Hunter to choose like minded friends to hang out with at school anymore than I can control Love choosing to use the potty. If you do have control of your children...would you leave me a comment with your tips and telephone number...we need to talk :)

What I have learned is that our relationship with our children is much like our relationship with God. He can want me to do something, tell me to do something, write it all down for me to do, make it really enticing to do it and pretty ugly if I don't and still I can choose not to do it. Ya know what I'm saying? He gave me a free will...as well as my children. So control actually lies in the individual's court as to what they are going to do or not to do...are you following?

I think the biggest A-Ha moment I have gotten this morning amid the beauty of toddlers and teenagers applying their free will is this:

It isn't controlling my children that is my job. No where does it say "Control a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it"

Nope...it says:

Train up a child in the way he should go;even when he is old he will not depart from it.
—Proverbs 22:6

Now, let's look at the word train:

Train (verb) -2 : to direct the growth of (a plant) usually by bending, pruning, and tying3 a : to form by instruction, discipline, or drill b : to teach so as to make fit, qualified, or proficient4 : to make prepared (as by exercise) for a test of skill5 : to aim at an object or objective : direct

Now that sounds like something I can do. I can give instruction in order to teach so as to make fit or qualified, or proficient. I can direct the growth of a child by bending and pruning and tying...oh I am kidding about the tying :) I can teach them what things can bend - their interest, their friends, their decor, their taste in general. And I can teach them that which can not be bent - loving God and loving people, being respectful toward others and themselves, making choices and having attitudes that are loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle and self-controlled. And when things that do not produce fruit are born that is where the pruning comes in, right? The ending of a friendship, the redirection of an interest, a removal of certain music and such. Not by forcing their hand at home and have them want to pursue the choice anyway elsewhere. But, by discipling and disciplining...oh, now that is interesting - ever noticed how closely those two were spelled? Or, you could call it pruning. When the branch does not produce fruit or produces bad fruit...you prune it. Speaking as one who continually needs pruning...it works. It doesn't feel great at the time but it is effective. And you grow - a fresh new growth.

I have a clear instruction from the Lord:
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." Galatians 5:22-23

Not only is it an instruction from Him to me but from Him to me to teach my children and them to teach their children, etc... Not to control my children into acting out these things, but teaching them to want to do them, to strive to give the Lord our best by living in the Spirit. I am not saying we are hard, firm handed parents that rule with a golden mallet. I think there is just as much lack of training by trying not to rock the boat. By letting the little battles go...more and more often as not to stir the pot. I have been deceived into thinking I am picking my battles but truth be told - I am losing the energy to fight the battles some nights at 10 o'clock with a sink full of dirty dishes and laundry that should have been done yesterday and noticing we have no milk for in the morning. That is when I have to remember my strength comes from the Lord. He never once says that I have the strength to do it all - or even a small part of it. He tells me to lean on Him for my strength...especially when I am weary.

"The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song." Psalm 28:7

And just for the record...my song would be a joyful noise. Y'all know I can't carry a tune in a bucket.

I don't know if this is a big flashing light to you but I think I just may have been more of a controlling type parent...ruling over and forcing them to try and see what is good and want to do it. I should have been teaching and preparing them instead. Mark down another big failure in the parenting department for me. The good news is this...it isn't over. I still have the opportunity even beginning today to start a new and fresh. My past mistakes are just that- in the past and I can't change 'em. But I can turn around and go a new direction. All this time I have thought I was failing at raising these kiddos of mine by not having them completely under control when all I really needed was to understand I never will...but I can teach them.

"These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." Deut. 6:6-7

Did you know that the word impress is actually teach in KJV and NKJV of the Bible?

One last definition:

Teach (verb) -1 a : to cause to know something b : to cause to know how c : to accustom to some action or attitude d : to cause to know the disagreeable consequences of some action 2 : to guide the studies of3 : to impart the knowledge of 4 a : to instruct by precept, example, or experience b : to make known and accepted 5 : to conduct instruction regularly in

However, with the strength of the Lord and the proper new perspective...we may just have a new teacher in town...and her name is Momma ;)

One more thing...if this relationship with our kids is supposed to reflect the relationship we have with our Heavenly Father...I get it...or maybe just a glimpse into it. How He continues to love me even though I am a mess of a woman...how much I love my own kids through the good choices, the bad choices, the what-in-the-world were you thinking choices. And to know that He loves them and me even more that :) How great is our God?

A Morning of Dress Up...

2010-01-11T11:26:00.004-06:00

Love's very most favorite thing to do is play dress up. She totally got the hook up from her MiMi this Christmas and she has on different outfits, jewelry or shoes everyday. We usually use her pretend Mermaid camera but today I thought I had better capture her little self before those clothes are destroyed...because you know how high quality dress up clothes can be. So, for your viewing pleasure...Love! *to truly appreciate them you can click on them to see them better :)

Where to begin...(I have a very similar photo of Faith at age 4 in this type of photo)

Serious thought goes into putting on a necklace Pretty proud of herself

This is totally her

One of her random poses

Trying to go sunlight...why do they always seem much lighter on blogger?

I love these sweet hands

Silly

I am not sure where her inspiration came from for this pose...Jeanie in a Bottle perhaps?

She is a shy one, huh?

I think one of my favorites of the morning :)

Love you are just too stinkin' much... :0)

2 Things...

2010-01-09T20:42:00.002-06:00

Blue drives me NUTS!!!

I seriously think I am being punished by parenting this dog. Everyone keeps telling me she will grow out of it. I don't know if I have enough hair or nerves to last that long. She is only just under 5 months.
But this sweet Love here...keeps me sane.
I will take all kinds of punishment if I get her sweet little heart as a reward :)

Just Thinkin'...

2010-01-08T10:04:00.004-06:00

Do you ever read a scripture or quote and it just strikes you? Like the kind of strike that you can't get it out of your head? I do...a lot. Here are some of my favorites:

~Spread love everywhere you go: First of all in your own house...let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness. ~ Mother Teresa

~We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty. ~ Mother Teresa

~I'm only one. But still, I am one. I cannot do everything, but still, I can do something. And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.~ Edward Everett Hale

~Here is the test to find whether your mission on earth is finished: If you're alive, it isn't.~Richard Bach

~Anyway - The Paradoxical Commandments

*People are unreasonable, illogical and self-centered. Love them anyway.
*If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Do good anyway.
*If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway.
*The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
*Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway.
*The biggest person with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest person with the smallest mind. Think big anyway.
*People favor underdogs, but follow only top dogs. Fight for a few underdogs anyway.
*What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway.
*People really need help but may attack if you help them. Help people anyway.
*Give the world the best you have and you might get kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best you have anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God; It was never between you and them anyway.

~Kent M. Keith

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. ~James 1:27 NIV

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. ~Phil 4:7-9

For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.~Psalm 100:5

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.~1John3:1

What's Up?!

2010-01-04T13:03:00.004-06:00

I have a bit to say so I am going bullet style. Get ready :)

Well, we were able to go to our 'home' church yesterday. And they totally did the unimaginable...a prayer meeting...for church...all Sunday service...gasp! Can you imagine? I haven't been to church there in probably 6 months. And I can tell you more about the men, women and children in that church that we were with for a few hours than I can tell you about the people of my last two churches. Is that their fault, nope. There is just something about asking for prayer and praying for someone that, well...leaves one quite translucent. No fog or smoked mirrors...just real, hurting, struggling, growing, praising, yearning for more people. Just like the rest of us. I can tell you that the hand of God is on that church. In fact, I think it just may be held tightly in His bosom. That community of believers ~ it will bring tears to your eyes and joy to heart to be a witness. Because they do stand believing that all asked according to His will, will be. Now, that my friends is faith. LTC how I love thee :0)
Speaking of prayer, our family could use some. Our son to be specific. He is in a really uncomfortable place. I won't disclose the details because they aren't mine to give but if you will just lift him up. I can tell you not a single prayer will be wasted.
I will be doing some of this. (click for details), and yes, I know it isn't Spring. But it is a New Year...
I am also participating in this. (click for details). I haven't gotten my specific goals but I am really close. I'll post more then.
And lastly, on the public record, purely for accountability. We are back in the debt boat. And we want out. Last time we 'met' with Dave we were doing really well. Somewhere we lost our oars, and our boat sprang a leak...So we will be spending a lot of time talking to and about this fellow.
Because of the above mentioned statement, these are some of my new favorite blogs:
MoneySavingMom
Being Frugal.net
Gather Little by Little
Simple Mom

New Year's Eve Par-Tay

2010-01-01T09:25:00.008-06:00

Hope and I decided we should host a New Year's Eve Party at the last minute. Hope had already declared the day as pj day for her and Love. She then suggested we ALL wear our pjs to the party. And, well, this family is just cool like that...to pull off a pj party on New Year's Eve. Ha! I was really surprised how many of 'em showed up in their jammies.

We had quite the spread, there wasn't enough room for all of the snacks, sweets, and savories. We went through 8 pounds of deer chili. Nobody accused us of being lightweights when it comes to food.

We played a game called Things...it was pretty interesting. I think we may know each other on a entirely different level. We also did a few reflection questions at the beginning and read them at the New Year. Our questions were:

1. Use 3 words to describe your 2009.

2. Your biggest unexpected obstacle in 2009.

3. Your best thing that happened in 2009.

The answers varied some really sweet, some really silly and some just plain will break your heart.

I could not imagine a better way to ring in the New Year than being surrounded by family. Family. We stand together, one dysfunctional arm in another... for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, in joys and in sorrows, in surgery and in seizures, in studio and in strike...we have been perfectly placed together into this crazy wonderful family.

My little hostess and me
The little ones in their super cozy pjs...just too much cuteness at one party

Mi Mi in her crown ...who totally sold Faith and I out during the game

Little Love

These two...well, that is a post all its own...let's just say Matt spoke to Faith in

a way only he is capable of doing on the love seat.

3 of my sweet monkeys

How sweet is this? Matt and our little girls

MaMa "showing her teeth"...for the record totally made it til midnight.

At least her eyes were open...

Hope and Baby J
Big Daddy sharing the most delicious non alcoholic pina coloda ever

~props to Matt the secret is in the Blue Bell

Uncle Greg looking mighty festive :)

Uncle Kevin and Grumpy...apparently a lot was going on at Eb*y last night
Just fyi...Grumpy had not been drinking...this is his happy face :0)

Bambi and Aunt Julie

Another sweet pic

Hunter and the Backyardigan Austin (according to Bella)

Group Photo take one...an after thought is to move the paper towels

Another shot where Dad and I switched

Matt and Heather working it

Aunt Jan and Uncle Greg

Ninnie and Baby J
Paw Paw and Bambi...nice TCU pjs
Grumpy and MiMi

First photo of 2010...love this little family of mine

Happy New Year!

So, for the year 2010 my vision is gonna be:

He must become greater; I must become less.

John 3:30

Oh, and..."Act your wage."

~Dave Ramsey

Good Read...

2009-12-27T09:08:00.004-06:00

My sweet friend Angie is speaking to something so many of us can't fully comprehend. The 163 MILLION orphans in OUR world. She has put it in a very nice visual that just may catch you off guard. Go here to read all about it.

Christmas at MiMi and Grumpy's

2009-12-26T23:44:00.004-06:00

We were supposed to start off around 2 but we were running late...surprise! We thought it was going to be cancelled until further notice due to mom and dad coming down with a virus on Christmas Eve. But, they decided to pull it off. The kids opened gifts and it went really fast. We used to do it one kid opens one gift and then we go around and around until all the gifts are gone. But that really only works if you have the same number of gifts. We had a fabulous dinner of ham, baked beans, the best potatoes, corn and coleslaw. Yummm! Then we let the kiddos play for a while and were going to enjoy dessert. Which we all ran out of room for. The appetites were not what they usually are with the virus starting in my sister's family and lingering into my parents...it struck here early Christmas morning. Oh the joys of sharing :)

Hope's favorite is her Crayola erasable marker board

Love's favorite was by far her dress up trunk...she had on every single outfit and item in one night. She tried to wear only dress up clothes today for her "morning clothes"

There is now a new bond between these two DSers.

I can always get this shot...he won't let MiMi down with running from the camera.

One of the kids tables...with 8 grand kids...it takes two!

Well, look who's all smiles. See what happens when you play cute with the photographer~with a blog...Ha!!

Another one of Love's AND Hope's favorite ~ a very noisy guitar.

My Mom and her Mom

3 of my nephews ~ just plain cute!

My sister and her man

The jolly hosts of the party...can you tell they all feel under the weather?

We went back to my parents for re-run dinner and dessert last night. It was just as good. They still aren't themselves though.

*For the record, the virus has now taken 2 of my children. The good news is -no fever and the worst is over in 24 hrs or less. The bad news is I don't think anyone has escaped it which means it is coming our way 4 more times. If you want to add this Harris clan to your prayers we might be able to avoid it. As for the worldly precautions....Let the Lysol-ing begin!!! I am pretty sure we are past that point because of exposure but I am willing to try!

And that is it for our Christmas parties~enough to wear a woman out :)

Would not trade it for anything though.

Christmas Times

2009-12-26T22:10:00.016-06:00

So, we had a few very eventful days with baking, wrapping, fishing, movie watching, eating, gift exchanging and just living, laughing and loving.

We did Christmas morning a little different. We did not wake up one kid. We let each of them wake up and "do" Christmas as early or as late as they wished. It was fun when Faith was up at 4:30 and waited patiently *cough*. She tried to enlist Hunter and Hope to no avail. So she emptied her stocking and painted her nails while she waited. She eventually made enough noise and light to wake up Hope and Hunter came behind soon. Then about an hour after they opened their gifts Love woke up to hers.

This year we made a definite point to not push the Santa thing...even less than last year. Do you know the only time Hope ever even brought up Santa is after watching a few Christmasy movies? She didn't want to go and get her picture taken with him or write him a letter...which suits me just fine. Sure she gets caught up in the excitement but if you ask her about Christmas she doesn't associate it with Santa...always Jesus - which I love. Santa is our condiment to our meal of Jesus...I don't even know if I would call him that...maybe a seasoning...like pepper. Santa only brought one gift and it wasn't the "big" gift that they really, really wanted. I wanted that to be from us. I love Angie's idea of Santa only filling the stockings too. My Dad took my two nephews and Hunter on an all day fishing trip on the eve of Christmas eve...this is just a small part of what they caught. They had a ball!

Big Daddy and I took Hope and Love to see the Chipmunks. Big Daddy got the biggest kick out of Love belly laughing and pointing out what was funny!
Member that Chil!s gift card? Well, Christmas Eve we took full advantage of the card and went out for Christmas Eve dinner. It was good family time. It was quite enjoyable and we watched the snow fall as we ate.

It was snowing so hard...we had a blizzard like wind and we were provided with a white Christmas...it was beautiful - but oh so cold.

The tree Christmas morning

A super happy camper - all over an umbrella
Who enjoyed the magic of Christmas...her expressions were almost too much to handle...ya know when you have such an overflowing joy for your child and your heart can hardly bear it? I felt myself tearing up so many times just watching her.
See what I mean? Precious. Absolutely precious.

Hope too! Her most favorite gift was her DS. I got the best deal on it...wink, wink. My sister had one she no longer needed and we did some cheap dealin'. My Hope doesn't have a clue nor would she care if she did. Which not only works in her favor but in our pocket as well.

The little girls both got matching aprons, I have the Mommy version...which I LOVE.

Faith wasted no time to get out there and build her snowman, er, woman :)
In her daddy's rattlesnake boots no less.

Hope had such a great time outside in the snow.

As did Blue...

Who we named Blue because of her blue eyes...which turned brown. Except her right eye is over half crystal blue and the left is about 1/8 crystal blue. Go figure.

The fruit of Faith's labor...the cute hat was totally Hope's idea.

*For the record, yes, Hunter actually shared in this day. He detests his photo being taken. He is on the video with no choice...I am much quicker with that ;)

Merry Christmas

2009-12-24T11:30:00.005-06:00

...and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

Luke 2:7-14

Merry Christmas to You and Yours from the Harris Family

A Christmas Skit...

2009-12-23T10:20:00.003-06:00

Ok, it is going to start out kind of silly...if you can stick out the almost 5 minutes, it just might get you when you least expect it :)

So true. God's love is an indescribable love. A love I don't think I will ever be able to get my mind all the way around. A love that I am extremely thankful for. A gift that I will never be able to give enough gratitude for. A God who loves me so much that He gave me Jesus...and you too :)

And the...

2009-12-23T08:33:00.002-06:00

Baking Has Begun!

That plate of flour covered gingerbread men were actually decorated quite well...before the snow storm ;0)
She had flour in her hair, hands, nose and even eyelashes and eyebrows...now that is talent!

A few nights ago we had baked and decorated about 36 little gingerbread men. They were mostly still there when we went to bed. By morning...they had disappeared. I am certain Hunter, Faith and her friend were in need of ginger flavored snacks. Funny though, those gingerbread that had survived the snow storm were still safe and sound :)

Today is the day of baking and decorating all of our Christmas cookies. Big Daddy will be home all day tomorrow and we will make sure his sweet tooth (and ours) is taken care of.

Bambi and Paw Paw's Christmas...

2009-12-21T10:00:00.006-06:00

Good times.

The kids opened their gifts and then we ate. Then all of us older ones played the Gift Exchange Game where you can swap and steal. Poor Uncle Greg couldn't keep a gift to save his life. And there was a new side of Paw Paw that I don't think I have ever seen ;) I ended up with a cute little snowman mug and gift card to Chili$! Big Daddy ended up with an Ac*demy gift card. I love that game! Although I am still not entirely sure that Julie didn't set her self up real good with her selfless volunteering of making the numbers and then she just happened to pick the last number of the lot. She caught Matt trying to cheat and don't they say it takes one to know one ;0)

Matt and Heather
It's Spidey! A favorite gift of Hope's, surprised? Didn't think so.

One of Love's favorite gifts...she loves dress up :)

I know this is blurry but this is Love opening up her potato head set...which she had wanted. Hope had a potato head but it took a long time to share that one...now they both have one! I love her expression!

Love in her dress...the little girls both asked to wear their dresses. I was going to go for comfort but if Hope asks to dress up you better believe we are going to accommodate ;)

Hope and her horse

Uncle Greg and Aunt Jan

Faith finally got her phone back after a 6 week sabbatical...she was chatting it up with her chicks.

If I squat down to take a picture....this is what happens. Love is a fabulous mocker. To get her back up would require me to stand up, and, well, that didn't happen.

Big Daddy, our kiddos and his parents, Bambi and Paw Paw

The 3 Musketeers

Aunt Jan and Faith...why we love her so much...she is a hoot!!

The big boys
My family: Faith, Me, Love, Big Daddy, Hope and Hunter

Daddy and Love
Michael, Uncle Greg, Aunt Jan, Matt and Heather
Austin, Aunt Julie, Bella, Krislyn, and Uncle Kevin

Me and My Man :)

Christmas at Totsie's :)

2009-12-20T12:47:00.003-06:00

Faith, Totsie (who is looking very merry) and my nephew T
My cousin and her sweet chillins
Could this be where Love caught her habit of playing with her ponytail?

The FOOD!!

My younger cousins...fabulous

At the end of the night...Totsie was about done (where did her merry little self go?)...the Cowboys were on, and if you look at Hope...well isn't that the universal signal for I am in dire need of peace and quiet? I wonder if it matters if she was the main culprit spreading the boisterous "joyful" noise :)

Happy Birthday Honey!

2009-12-18T06:20:00.003-06:00

Happy 39th Birthday Big Daddy!

Words could not express how much you are loved.

And you are...

Loved.

In fact, I know of a lady and her 4 kids who love you so much they can hardly stand it.

And I think you just might know these people ;)

Have a wonderful day sweetheart!

This Video...

2009-12-17T19:55:00.004-06:00

Gets me every.single.time.

Jesus loves me and keeps loving me through it all. Even after seeing the ugly stuff. He takes me back after everything. Well, actually, He never leaves - I do. Which is why this video gets me...why would I ever wanna wander away from Him?

Baby J Turned One...

2009-12-16T10:27:00.005-06:00

My youngest nephew had his 1st Birthday this past Sat. He was such a cutie! I played my sister's photographer for the day...here are just a few of what I loved :)

You should never invite "big kids" to your party...they have way too much fun!!

Hunter, Totsie & Grumpy 3 Generations at its finest :0)
My Sister and Her Baby Boy
Baby J and his Daddy
Ma Ma and Hunter...imagine her giving the "pucker" photo so many of the kids do now, so gangster. Ha!

MiMi and Love, who couldn't take her eyes off of the cake :)

Hunter and Totsie ~ I am not sure which one is more proud of the other.

Baby J did it up real well

Isn't he just the yummiest?

Big Hugs...

2009-12-15T19:05:00.002-06:00

From a Little Sister :)

Her big sister is the BEST!

And her little sister is the SWEETEST!!

And their Momma...is blessed :)

The Best Way to Spread Christmas Cheer...

2009-12-14T09:24:00.002-06:00

...Is Singing Loud For All to Hear ~ Buddy the Elf

My grandmother and mom were over for dinner and to check out our tree a week or so ago. They ended up singing Christmas karaoke with my little girls. Here are Ma Ma and Love singing and clapping to the songs. They had a ball.

Ma Ma is pretty crazy about our little Love and Love is pretty crazy about her MaMa.

This is how Christmas cheer is done at age 3 and age 88. Really kinda special :)

Hope Says...

2009-12-12T20:59:00.003-06:00

A few days ago we were(uh-hum, I mean, are) having a very bad run with our puppy "Blue". After discussing the need to possibly have her re-homed Hope said with much passion, "I just wish I could go to school and when I come home she isn't here anymore."

***In Hope's defense, the dog has been biting quite a bit and seems to hold "it" while she is outside and comes in to use the toilet.
After waking up this morning this is what our conversation was like:
Hope: "Where is Daddy?"

Me: "At work"

H: "Why does Daddy work so much?" (which for 90% of the time is only 40 hours)

M: "Because he makes money to pay for our house and food"

H: "I wish he would stay home so I can spend some time with him"

M: "Oh, OK, I will be sure and let him know"

H: "I like spending time with you but I would like to spend some time with him in my life"

***The funny thing about this is she is his shadow...he is her life. Maybe that is why she misses him so much when he isn't here. Sweet but oh so dramatic.

Today while asking me the billionth time how to spell something, her new favorite hobby. Writing words...any words...for a long, long, period of time. Anyway, she had asked to spell Santa Clause, I had told her slowly three times. When she asked again for me to repeat another letter she said this: "I can't help it. Sometimes you tell me things and my head just poops it out."

***Oh. My. Word.

Tonight after dinner she was running to beat Faith to the suburban. Faith yelled "I won!!" and Hope replied with a smile, "That's OK...I'm good with being second!"

***This kid is on a roll.

And finally on our way home she took off her rain boots which smell to the highest degree of stink because she has worn them a couple of time without socks (big mistake!). Big Daddy and Hunter were making smelly feet jokes. Not that they are immune to it. She kept saying, "I have my socks on." Well, I guess enough was enough. After a few more wise cracks about something dying she said in the most pitiful voice, "You are really hurting my feelings"

***It was just too much. I think they both felt about as big as an ant. Sometimes you just need a woman to share how she feels to get it. It was so sad that Faith quickly piped in "Hope, our whole family has stinky feet." Awww...Faith that was so sweet but so not necessary to sell out your mom!

Christmas Parade

2009-12-05T22:00:00.005-06:00

Well, to say it was cold would be accurate but not quite as powerful as it was super stinkin' cold! Faith about had a fit that I wore my coveralls. Y'all I am not too proud to be seen in my camo. In fact, tonight I was not only thankful that Big Daddy bought me those coveralls for our 3 night camping trip for Y2K but that he had purchased sets that after being handed down fit both of our little girls too! We may have looked a tad out of place but we were warm. And I think we rocked it all pretty well :) And I am not going to say I told you so to Faith who had to quit the parade half way through because of the aforementioned cold. But, in her defense she was way cuter in her outfit. However it was not designed to hold out the wind. Which mine did...not that I would rub it in or anything. I think I almost perspired a bit, I was warm. Which Faith was too...once she was in the car! Ha! Oh, I love you Faith but soon you will learn looks come after function :)

My sweet little girls and me...Love's camo was covered with a coat they both look absolutely precious in camo and safety orange :)
See?

Hunter and Faith didn't plan as well. Sometimes looking cool actually equals being cool - literally! I am cracking myself up...somebody stop me.
Big Daddy and his girls
Hunter and his buddy...they were so impressed with the insurance agent who handed out hot chocolate with peppermint sticks vs. the typical parade fare of candy canes and peppermints.
Cuteness at its best

My cool kid - Faith - who almost became a Popsicle.She is just too much precious in this.

I know what your thinking...she must have seen Santa. Nope, she was more impressed with the firetrucks. Which suits me perfectly fine, in fact, it makes it easier on me. We're not big Santa folks. This look came just after a lady threw an entire regular size bag of M&Ms and she had just dumped every other piece of candy from her hand in order to pick it up. Now, she is a girl after my own heart :)

Christmas Tree Trimming

2009-12-05T20:30:00.005-06:00

Yep, did you hear that? Christmas Tree...not winter tree or holiday tree or celebration tree a real live CHRISTmas tree. The nerve of me, huh? What will T*rget, Old N*vy, or Best B*y think? Gag me with a spoon...seriously makes me ill. So, back to the reason for my post - our Christmas tree is now donning all of its ornaments and lights and she's purty :)

My sole volunteer, Love who would like to show you our tree. Her ornaments had to be rearranged several times as the branches she could reach were bearing as much weight as possible.

Oh, and girlfriend is proud of her tree :)All lit up with the lights off. I really, really like this tree :)

But I LOVE this sweetie :)

Oh My, Now That's A Christmas Tree!

2009-12-03T11:28:00.003-06:00

Big Daddy had part of the day off yesterday due to Love's treatment. So, we took full advantage of him being home and went and picked up a tree. But, not just any tree....THE tree :) I've had my eye on it for a bit and mentioned how much I loved it. When Big Daddy said we could get it I think I was just as excited as I knew the kids would be. I think it is beautiful and am waiting until we have plenty of time as a family to decorate. We have a tradition...hot chocolate, apple cider, Christmas music on the radio and up go the decorations inside and out. Then we usually watch a Christmas movie. It is a night I love.

Back to the tree...when we brought it in Love's eyes were big and she said, "Wow! Tah Bi Tee!" translates as Wow! Tall Big Tree! She said it :) Then Hunter who was home from school sick kept saying, "Is it real? That tree is huge. Man, that is a big one." Then when Hope walked in Big Daddy walked her in with eyes closed and she loved it! Then Faith who had already mentioned earlier how much she would enjoy a real tree said, "Is it real? It is pretty." Then she went to smell it and said, "It doesn't smell real." Ha! She thought the scent would pour out of the tree. Don't think that I didn't purchase B&BW plug ins to enhance the ambiance. I did. Three of them suckers :)

Well, hopefully my next post will be this big beauty decorated. I think I may have to up my lights. Our tree has been the 7.5 ft slim the last few years (thanks Mom). This one started at over 9ft and is wide as my arms outstretched. Details below. Did I mention that I love this tree? It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas ;)

I seriously contemplated leaving it right here in the entry as not to have alter its height. The entry has 18' ceilings and they drop to 9' in the living room. It could have totally worked. We could have rerouted through the formal into the kitchen. Big Daddy didn't seem sold on the idea though. Oh, and please excuse the mess in the background.
Big Daddy performing the dreaded branchectomy.

He was careful to only take enough to make it just under the ceiling. I'll figure out the tree topper later, it may be a really short angel :)

And here they are, my man and my tree. Good job honey :)

Exactly the reaction I was hoping for :0)

7th Laser Treatment

2009-12-02T20:56:00.002-06:00

So Love had her 7th laser treatment today. She did absolutely fabulous! She was a trooper going in and coming out and stayed that way all through the day. The doctor was able to not only up the joules but he had to switch the hand piece so that there was less surface area affected with each pulse. She blistered some and then there was the cheek and under the eye. He said he went over them a couple of times and could not get them to turn purple (which is a good sign that there will be successful result). At first I just figured we'll get it next time. But, as the day has worn on she has become more bruised looking in those areas so maybe they were effective already but not as close to the surface. Who knows. She was able to eliminate the nose spray that gags her poor little self every time. She did the liquid giggle juice. She did amazing. They did not even give her an IV or have to use a breathing tube this treatment. She woke up quickly and drank nearly a sip cup of diluted juice. She ended up getting sick but took a Zofran and was fine from there on. Can I just tell you how much I love me some Zofran?! That is the rockingest drug for vomiting ever. We have used it on many occasions but this was the first time there at the hospital. She is getting to the age where she is much more compliant with her treatment. She has another big day on Monday though. The dentist for two areas of interproximal decay on her upper centrals. Oh, that will not be fun. Luckily our pediatric dentist is every bit as good as our pediatric dermatologist. And he has a new product he thinks he can work with. I am not sure if you all remember but when we first met Love her teeth were in pretty poor condition. I guess twinkies, ding dongs, sodas and juice will do that to you...along with a hard plastic pacifier. And from what our guide told us oral hygiene doesn't really begin in China until you have your permanent teeth and even then is not up to par. Does someone hear the hygienist in me? Anyway, I'll keep you posted :)

Love got the hook up with the Dora dvd, watching here with Big Daddy
And the big, beautiful purple diamond ring and the magic princess wand...these people know how to get to my daughter :)

Waking up...see her new puppy Cookie? She usually gets the little version but they were so proud of how she handled her treatment they gave her the Mommy version today...she was pleased :)

My drowsy little angel

Have You Elfed Yourself Yet?

2009-11-30T17:09:00.003-06:00

This has been another one of our traditions the past few years. I get to make the elves and then the family gets to laugh at just how silly it is. The kids get such a kick out of it. I tried to paste this on here directly but the people at Office M*x have gotten pretty smart. In order to load in on a blog or youtube you have to purchase the download. So...just click here : MY 5 ELVES :)
*a little hint, if you run your mouse over the bottom right hand part of the screen after you press play you can enlarge to full screen :)

It's Tradition!

2009-11-29T10:09:00.012-06:00

After pouring for hours over these ads my mom, sister and I comprised a plan. A very ingenious plan of attack. Which store first, for what items, and who stood in line for the entering or exiting. We were brilliant...well, not really but it sounds good, right?

I know what your thinking...why in the world would three otherwise bright women do this to themselves? Well, the answer is easy. It is tradition. Mom and I have been out early on Black Friday since my big kids were little. Back then the deals were really good and the crowds weren't quite what they are today and most stores only opened at 7am. This year we started on Thanksgiving while the men were watching the Cowboys we cut out to go to OldN*vy. My sister cleaned up. Y'all for the record I did ask about the college kid working. He said he had to stay in town anyway so he volunteered to work and it made him feel good to see people so happy. Well, I believe I may have ministered to that dear boy right there in the check out line. See...there was spiritual purposes for my visit ;) Oh, you know I am exaggerating.

So, as I was saying...we left our warm little houses at the stroke of 3:15...AM!! To go and get in the midst of it...and boy did we. At the store only one entrance was opened and it was roped off. The crowd was 6-7 people wide and went on down and around the entire strip mall. It was busy. Mom had made her way up to some friends and scootched (can you belive spell check says there is no such word as scootched???) in with them, when she flew by my sister jumped in as well. Y'all - I just can't do it. I stood out there about another 10 minutes before I finally made it in. I had a keen sense of accomplishment waiting for my turn and not making the people behind me wish I had slept in. We were at Koh}s first and we made out like bandits, except for the fact that we actually paid. My sister grabbed the hot ticket items we were wanting and stepped in the check out line and held our spot until we made it up there with the rest of the goods. It worked perfectly. We walked right up to the check out and were just in time to head over to Tarjay. Again, we did fabulous! Our checkout wasn't as timely but it did keep us from heading over to Wally world anytime too soon. But we did hit W*lgreens for some good decor and candles and B*th & Body Works. From then we went and unloaded our finds. People please understand, we were in my sister's SUV and there was no room to spare. Seriously, boxes were turning her hazard lights on, bags were held in place by arms, heads and other appendages. It was a sight. If I could have managed, which I couldn't I'd have taken a photo for proof.

Anyhow, we dropped off things, picked up my baby nephew, my youngest and eldest daughters and headed of to the big town to shop! We stayed out until 7:30 and were plum wore out. We all hit the hay and had sweet dreams of deals and smiling little faces. And as morning broke we all stayed in bed extra long and enjoyed the day at home...NOT!! We hit it again! And, guess what? Yep, we are going again today! I love the sense of accomplishment as we cross each person off the list. Then I will have the time to bake, listen to Christmas music, watch Christmas movies, make crafts, host parties, wrap, decorate, spend time family and all the other traditions that we enjoy.

And for those of you worried I have completely fallen off my rocker. I have not lost sight of the true meaning of Christmas. I have just managed to get what I would get anyway at a really good deal and enjoyed some really good female bonding with my momma, my sister, my grandma and my two girls.

For the record, my hubby, Hunter and Hope are not all alone sitting at the house waiting on us to return with empty bellies and other needs from me. They are all at the dear lease...which is also tradition!! See, Big Daddy and his crew are happy and having a ball camping, fishing, and hunting - Momma and her crew are happy and having a ball gabbing, shopping and eating food we didn't even cook! It is our family tradition :) Gosh I love this time of year!!

And just for grins...my baby girl - a shopping momma's dream :)

Thanksgiving

2009-11-25T20:30:00.008-06:00

Outside gathering...

leaves...for

our centerpieces

complete with pumpkin patch pumpkins.
Grumpy and Hunter carving the turkey

Ninnie and her man The tired chef

Precious Baby J

Grumpy enjoying his job way too much

The three amigos

Both of my grandmothers, how many kids do you know with two great grandmas?

Two of our girls

Well, it is that time of year again...it seems to get here faster as each year passes. It is what most of us describe as the beginning of the holiday season.

Thanksgiving...what do you think of when you think of it? I think of all the blessings that have been bestowed upon us, all the struggles we have been through, all the things that we take for granted day in and out...and of course the food. When I asked Hope what she was thankful for the first thing out of her mouth was family. Family. There is so much meaning in that one word...and at this point in her life she really has no idea the magnitude of the word.

A little off topic here...but I will get to the point, promise :) We took Faith and Hunter to see Blind Side (the movie) this week while they were out of school. It is a fantastic movie about a true story. A story about family. I won't go into all the details but if you haven't seen it...you should. It was one of those really soul rocking movies. There is one line in the movie that totally got me...so if you don't want to know it...click off now or move to the next paragraph. Sandra Bullock's character is talking to one of her well to do friends over lunch. Her friend says, "You are changing that boy's life." And with a smile she replies, "No, he's changing mine." I love it!! I not only love it...I am blessed to live it :) Truly there is not a day that goes by that I am not thankful for the two beautiful girls that we are fortunate enough to call our daughters. It is one of those things that you can describe as a blessing all day but until you have lived it...I am just not sure you will ever completely understand. But, I hope for each of you that it will be an experience you can realize - through your own family or friends. I am thankful for family. And I don't want to forget our two older kiddos...the ones that the Lord gave us in the beginning of our marriage. The exact two he knew we needed to shape and the ones that would shape us as well...even though sometimes I am not sure which shape I end up exactly ;) I am not only thankful for our immediate family but that of extended family as well. We are blessed.

We hosted our family here for dinner. My mom cooked most of the food, well all but a couple of things. Oh, I almost forgot...I am thankful that mom knows how to cook :)

A Season Come and Gone...

2009-11-23T11:11:00.003-06:00

Faith had an awesome season this fall. She was on a team that truly challenged her and grew her as a player. She formed new friendships and at the end of the season you could tell they were all starting to gel as a team. She loves soccer and her moving to Sparta FC upped her game and her passion. We had a blast watching her and cheering her on. All of us, even Hunter went to a lot of her games. We had the ankle injury that caused her to completely miss 4 games. She is still healing. The break really couldn't have come soon enough for her to just go to once a week practices. Faith plays up an age bracket and therefore most of her teammates will be on JV or Varsity teams during our time off. She already looking forward to going and watching them. And she is excited about the upcoming Spring season...which doesn't start up again until late March. So, until then....here are some of the pics from the season. I am terrible about action shots. When Faith has the ball I am so caught up in watching her that I forget to snap the photos. She really is more active than these...ha! Oh, I also get a tad distracted by two of her die hard fans....they love watching their big sister!

See ya back late March!

Happy 15th Birthday Hunter!!

2009-11-13T09:03:00.004-06:00

Fifteen years ago today I woke up at about 6:30am. Because my water had broken. I also took my first ambulance ride. I was transported from one hospital to another. A hospital equipped to take care of a 31 week preemie. Because my darling little boy had begun making himself known and was not going to hang out and wait the way the doctors had hoped he would. Officially you were born at 11:19am by emergency c-section. Your heart rate dropped and they couldn't get it to stabilize so off we went. You were born weighing 3lb 8oz. You had a hard time. You endured some major surgeries, in fact at one point the surgeon told your dad and I not to expect you to pull through the surgery. But, thank God...you did :) You spent your first 9 weeks in the NICU and about a good year of hard work to recover completely. But ever since then you have been growing strong and to look at you today one would never even know the difficult start you had.

You have been such an amazing gift to us. You are probably one of the most loving boys I know. You aren't too cool to tell your mom and dad you love us in front of your friends, or over the phone or in general public. You always have big hugs for us and the company we are in doesn't stop you. You are very affectionate and we like it. You still like to be tucked into bed and like to talk for a while with your daddy before you drift off to sleep. You are a great kid. You are kind. I get to witness you holding doors open for the elderly, rushing to the aid of a woman who had fallen and seriously could not get up without your help, mentoring younger boys in the neighborhood through skateboarding and just randomly mowing our lawn or a neighbor's lawn. You love your family...all of your family. And you enjoy telling them.

Your passion lies in the outdoors. You live to camp out, hunt, and fish. You know more about rifles, shotguns, pistols and 4 wheelers than any kid I know. You have always been your dad's shadow. You have been hunting with him since before you turned 3 and have developed such a love for it. It is your time with your dad and you eat it up. You still like skateboarding and golf too. The skateboarding ties you to your friends and the golf links you to Grumpy :)

I can not believe it has been 15 years. You have been a true joy in our lives. Sure, you are a typical teenager and there is some sibling rivalry that exists - nobody is perfect. But, I can tell you this...you are the most wonderful son a mother could ask for. You were perfectly placed in this crazy family of ours and I can not imagine a day of life without you. You have made us so proud to be your parents. There is not a boy in this world loved more.

I guess it is only fair to tell you since it all started with you and your first trip to the deer lease....

I love you more than all the stars in the sky!

Mom

OUCH!

2009-11-09T20:02:00.005-06:00

Faith played one pretty great game on Saturday. She went to block a goal and intercepted a real powerful kick in the side of her foot. She also took a hard fall and rolled her ankle. She looked like she stopped, dropped and rolled. She had to be carried off the field by her coach and was crying...which is pretty unusual. She's tough, really, she is. She swelled a good bit that night, we iced it and bought a compression sock for her. She had another game Sunday morning. Which I advised against. Her coach made her prove that she could run on it...she made it through...with watering eyes. She is determined that way. She played about 5 minutes and he pulled her out. He knew she was hurting. He asked her about going back in during the second half and she wanted to. She played about 10 minutes and even had a 50/50 with a girl and ran a bit better after the impact. I was floored. I think she was on a Motrin high. Her poor ankle knew not what it was enduring. By this morning, her foot was so swollen it looked foreign and her bruising made its way to the surface. She is still bruising. It looks like it is going to turn out real pretty.

We took her to the doctor, she ordered xrays. No fractures thank God. But she did diagnose her with a grade 3 sprain. She is on crutches through Thursday, has an air cast that she has to wear from now on and gets to be re-evaluated on the 19th to see if her season is completely over. Truth be told, she has been walking on it. Grimacing a bit while doing it but she has managed. Her doctor wasn't impressed. She basically said in order for her to heal she needs to get off of it. She will miss at least 4 games, which she feels like is the end of the world. There is a slight possibility she may return for the last two games. Here are the pics I forced her to let me take. One day when she is sharing her injury story with her kids, she'll thank me for the photographic evidence. Ha!

I can not begin to explain this. It is just not the same as the 3D version we see. It is much more puffy and bruised. There are shades of red, purple and yellow...pretty, huh?
There is little form to her ankle, it goes from her calf to a big ole swollen mass.

It looks bigger than a tennis ball...her foot is swollen everywhere, even on the sole and the top.

She is not looking forward to the next few days at school on crutches...in fact, you could say she is dreading it.

The worst part is she has such a strong desire to play soccer. To sit there and just watch will probably hurt worse than her ankle. She sure will look pretty doing it though.

Pumpkin Patch...

2009-11-06T22:07:00.002-06:00

So we finally made it to the pumpkin patch for Hope's field trip. It was this past Wednesday. Remember my disappointment last time? Well, I won't even mention that our Kindergartners waited an hour outside for our buses to arrive. Apparently no one thought to book drivers...go figure. Oh, I guess I did mention...

We took a hayride, played in a tree house, went through several mazes, roasted marshmallows (only two per kid - which turned out to be one too many), played in the hay and even watched a film on growing pumpkins. Hope had a pretty good time. Although if you asked if she wanted to go back she'd tell you no. The place was packed full of schools. The place reminded me of Roloff Farms from Little People Big World...not quite as cool but they are on the right track. Even so, they charged $7 per person...a tad steep if you ask me.

I guess the bonus was instead of the kids getting one pumpkin to take home they all got to choose two. So she chose another one for her "baby sister" Love. Too sweet :)

It was nice just being there with Hope...no siblings were allowed to go. Which in retrospect, it benefited Hope, I was able to be solely focused on her.

Here are the pics...

I love her posture in this pic...reminds me of her dad.

Climbing the ropes

Choosing her pumpkinsMy sweet girl :)
Her pretty pumpkins

Halloween

2009-11-01T08:35:00.004-06:00

This year all 4 kiddos were with us for the trick or treating. Well, we really only go to family and their surrounding neighbors that they know. We have a lot of family here in town, which we love. The kiddos enjoy trying to psych out family to see if they can figure out who they are. This year only Totsie bought Hunter's costume...he was totally caught by Grumpy. The little girls loved getting dressed up. Love was asking to wear her little costume for weeks and she was just as precious as I had imagined she would be. I love having a girly girl :) Hope was in Spidey fashion. She was a bit emotional from a big and early day but did well. We had a costume issue with her eye mask hence the reason for the hand drawn eyemask with webs. We improvised, she loved it, it worked. Faith enjoys dressing up. She really wanted an old lady mask to match Hunter or even a wig. I bought an adult witch costume that looked like it would fit...it was a one size fits all...to be honest, I don't know of an adult woman that could have fit all her body into it. And if she could, I don't believe she could breathe. When did one size fits all become women's size 0? World, when will you get it? Sizes 8-12 would be much closer to fitting "all". Enough of that...she ended up picking things out of her closet to "make" a costume. She came up with the "hick" girl. Which to be honest, she totally has researched. She was one of the hickest kids I knew. She went from dresses and sandals to boots, jeans, tennis shoes and shooting at turkeys in our own backyard. She is funny. I love how she took the little girls under her wing and took them trick or treating. So sweet with her sisters :) Hunter digs dressing up. He did a mask and Big Daddy's suit coat. He doesn't feel too cool to do it and the little girls love it when the bigger kids are dressed up. We enjoyed him, his humor and his silly personality.

I guess the best part of the night for me was watching Love. She just cracks me up. We would get to a house and she would start saying..."Me, me, me, k?" Which meant she wanted to knock on the door. She would march up there, knock on the door, and then when it opened she would run back to us as fast as she could laughing the whole way. She was so tickled. Then she would go back and say "tick teet" and then "naynk oo" She was pleased with her cute little self. And really to think about it - it is pretty cool. You knock on a door, say a few words, and get a treat. How cool is that? I personally want to send a shout out to all those people who let us come and trick or treat...it not only made my kiddos night - there are some memories that Big Daddy and I have of our kids that we could not have had without you. :0)

Our sweeties
Love as Dorothy...dontcha love the shoes?

Spidey Girl

Cutest superhero ever

Our country bumpkin...the boots were later exchanged for her cousin's cowboy boots.

Such a pretty thang

Hunter...crazy kid

Our 4 kiddos

Aunt Jan and Uncle Greg...great costumes - Aunt Jan, you can totally rock the short, black hair!

Uncle Kevin and Aunt Julie...someone could use a teeth cleanin'...just saying.

The group before Aunt Jan and Uncle Greg got there. Now you can see Bambi (the witch) and Paw Paw (hillbilly mechanic?) and Bella (BJ)

My oldest and youngest girls

My chicks in the middle

All 3 girls

Hope took over passing out candy at Totsie's. She liked this every bit as much as trick or treating.

Within 5 minutes of our last stop...about 9:15. There's no place like home :)

Not Exactly...

2009-10-26T21:48:00.002-05:00

...what we had in mind when we bought a crate to train Blue.

These two can't get enough of the crate. I guess if you don't have to be in there it is pretty cool. They will crawl in and lock themselves in even when the dog is already occupying the space. Blue has gotten much better at this crate thing. She is even retreating to her crate when things get hairy around the house...which is often. Gosh, I wish I had a crate ;)