RichFam

Moving On... (Again)

2011-06-07T20:22:00.000-04:00

Apparently, our family is destined to travel the country like Nomads or Gypsies... or, at least that's how it feels sometimes, since we seem to move every 2 years or so. I will say, though, that throughout all of these moves, we have seen the Hand of Almighty God at work in every single situation, always being faithful to answer our prayers as we seek to grow more spiritually mature and to act more like Him in all that we do. It has most definitely been painful at times, with many difficult lessons on patience, faithfulness, perseverance, etc. But, we fully trust in the Sovereignty of God and in His ability to bring us through any trials we may face in this life.

This latest move was especially exciting for me. I consider Tennessee my home state, spending the majority of my growing-up years there. So, when the Lord provided my husband with a JOB, a CHURCH, and a HOUSE during the course of ONE WEEKEND, and it "just-so-happened" to be in TN... I was ecstatic!

We only just moved into this house one week ago, so there is still a lot of "tweaking" to do to the house (painting, curtains, more pictures on the walls, etc), but I hope these pics will get the point across. And, we really love our new place. Many thanks to those of you who have been praying for our family during a(nother) difficult span of unemployment. Now, on to the house pics! :o)

The BEFORE and AFTER transformation (remember, it is still a work in progress):

The front of the house.

B's room BEFORE (excited that he has a view of the river from his window).

AFTER

The Master Bedroom.
BEFORE

AFTER

I wish I could get a good pic of the whole room. It is HUGE! That is a King Sized bed, and it is still big enough to have a couch/sitting area on the other side of the room (if we had the furniture to put in it). :o)

The Girls' Room

The Dining Area

BEFORE

AFTER

The Dining Room/Homeschool Area

BEFORE

AFTER (I haven't gotten it organized yet. Thankfully, it is summer break, so I have a while before I have to get it finished. Yay! More time to procrastinate!) :o)

The Kitchen

BEFORE

AFTER

Living Room/Kitchen area

The Living Room (half of it, anyway)

The other half of the Living Room/Music Room. The kids are very excited to restart their piano & violin lessons soon! :o)

Hope you enjoyed the "tour"! We really like it here so far. And, hopefully the Lord will let us live here for a little while before He moves us again! :o)

Resurrection Rolls

2011-04-25T22:17:00.000-04:00

The kids and I decided to honor Resurrection Day by making these delicious, yet educational snacks -- Resurrection Rolls.

Here is B, rolling his marshmallow (representing the body of Jesus) into butter (representing the oils used to prepare the body for burial), and cinnamon-sugar (representing the spices used in preserving the body), and wrapping it in the crescent roll (representing the linen cloth used to wrap Jesus' body).

After the rolls were baked in a 350 degree oven (representing the tomb) for 10-12 minutes, they were ready to be eaten -- much to the excitement of the children. :o)

Here, I broke one of the rolls open, where the marshmallow has "mysteriously" disappeared.

The "tomb" is empty! Jesus is alive! Praise be to God!

The children thoroughly enjoyed the fact that they were able to eat this craft project, too. :o)

Even little C got in on the action. Mmm... A tasty object lesson. :o)

Artists in the Making

2011-04-20T22:51:00.000-04:00

Today for Art class, I decided to give the kids the assignment of drawing a specific object. I told them to pretend that their hands were cameras, and they had to make a copy of the item in front of them. I have to admit, I was a little surprised by their artistic ability. All of them, in their own special way, made a very great picture.

Here was the "inspiration" that they were assigned to draw:

Here is what B (7 yrs) came up with:

Here is R's (10 yrs) interpretation:

H's (4 yrs) turned out to be more of an "abstract", but at least she tried... :o)

Overall, I was very impressed with my little up-and-coming artists. Now, to find a spot on the fridge to hang them... :o)

Curriculum Giveaway from Veritas Press!

2011-03-14T09:55:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite websites (http://www.raisinghomemakers.com/) announced a really incredible giveaway of some really incredible curriculum from Veritas Press!

The giveaway is for their Kindergarten/First Grade Phonics Museum Combo Kit.

What all comes with the Phonics Museum Kindergarten/First Grade Combo Kit?:

Two years worth of curriculum – four sturdy workbooks – two student workbooks and two teacher’s manuals (kindergarten and first grade)
The museum game board with game pieces
31 primers
Puzzle piece letters
Beautiful art covered flashcards
Step-by-step Lesson Plans
Deck of game cards
CD with original songs to help facilitate phonics concepts

And... who doesn't like FREE???

Head on over to the Raising Homemakers website and enter for your chance to win this wonderful homeschool resource! :o)

Baking Bread

2011-01-27T16:54:00.000-05:00

Making bread from scratch is something I have wanted to do for a very long time. I recently found a wonderful website that is dedicated to teaching young girls to become successful homemakers. One of the lessons on the site was bread making. And, since my littles are finally feeling better from their sicknesses, I thought this snowy day was as good as any for us to try it. :o)

H probably had the most fun. For a girl who loves being clean, she sure did love getting messy! :o)

Kneading their own dough balls. Notice little H with her face covered in flour. :o)

All done rolling and shaping. Now, for the baking! :o)

Both loaves cooling. We are so anxious to see how they taste!

The girls decided to baste their loaf with milk first. It gave it a very nice color. And very moist!

B chose to leave his loaf just the way the recipe called for. The crust didn't turn out as golden as the girls' did, but it was still very moist and delicious.

The best part was getting to eat our tasty creations! :o)

We had a really fun time together. Sure, it made a terrible mess in my freshly cleaned kitchen. But, the memories we made, and those flour-covered smiles are better than the cleanest kitchen in the world. We will definitely be experimenting with more bread recipes very soon! :o)

A Happy Sick Birthday

2011-01-20T14:47:00.000-05:00

My sweet little H is turning 4 years old today. She has been counting down the days for several weeks now. She has been so excited waiting for this day to come. And now, she is sick in bed with a terribly bad case of bronchitis. All she wants to do is sleep. She keeps asking if she is allowed to go to bed early! (This never happens, by the way). And, she is too sick to eat, so we aren't even going to make her birthday cake or have a party until she feels better.

We've tried to make the best of this terribly sad situation. She gets to stay in bed all day (her choice, not ours), and watch as many movies as she wants. :o)

Even as sick as she is, she tries to be a happy girl. :o)

You can see on her face that she doesn't feel very well, though. Poor little thing has no energy. :o(

She tried to join the rest of the family for a while, but after a few minutes, she ran out of energy and completely zonked out.

Sweet baby girl. We will celebrate your birthday when you are feeling much better!
We love you!

Her Favorite Birthday Gift

2010-12-28T20:25:00.010-05:00

My sweet R just turned 10 years old. And her grandma couldn't have gotten a more perfect gift for her. :o)

*NOTE* For those of you reading this on Facebook, you will need to click this link to see the video.

Happy 10th Birthday my sweet, beautiful daughter!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-24T08:09:00.000-05:00

My children are so creative. They wanted to do something special for everyone on Christmas, so they practiced this adorable little song. They wrote it all by themselves, and performed it for me. I thought it was so cute that I just HAD to record it and post it for everyone to see.

Merry Christmas from the RichFam! (well... most of us, anyway...) :o)

A "Bunny" for Christmas

2010-12-20T15:47:00.000-05:00

For months and months our kids have been pestering us to get them a pet. I would have agreed to a cat, but 2 people in our family have discovered they are allergic to them, so that idea is scrapped. And I am NOT inclined to get something scaly, slimy, or creepy-crawly, so reptiles, amphibians and any and all invertebrates are also completely out of the question.

The kids finally decided on a bunny. They are small, they are soft to pet, and fairly easy to maintain. So, Jay and I agreed... but with certain conditions. They had to prove to us that they were ready, willing, and able to take care of a pet.

So, we came up with the "Pet Points" system. 100 points = a bunny. Each day, the kids need to perform extra tasks (in addition to their regular chores), that will show us that they are mature enough to handle the responsibility of having a pet.

For example:

* If they see a stray sock sitting in the middle of the floor, even if it is not their own, they should pick it up and put it in the laundry hamper.

* If their little sister is struggling to put her shoes on, they are to help her (without being asked).

* Putting others ahead of themselves, etc.

You get the idea...

At first, the kids asked us how many points they had to earn to get a dog. Imagining the messes a dog can create in a house that I strive to keep clean and orderly, I cringed at the thought and told them they would have to earn 1,000 points to get a dog. So, the kids figured a bunny was a more attainable goal.

Week after week, they have diligently been earning points towards a bunny. But, week after week, they have also been diligently LOSING points for bad behavior. Yes, my children can have bad behavior, too. :o) At the end of each week, they seem to have just about the same amount of points as they started with. It has been a bit frustrating for them.

So Jay and I, seeing the roller coaster of earned and lost "pet points" day in and day out, decided that we would like to teach them a more important lesson through all of this. The lesson of God's grace and mercy.

We decided to give the children the gift that they wanted more than anything... a DOG!

We have been so impressed with their effort to earn the "pet points" that we just could not stand giving them a pet that they were just "settling" for. We wanted to give them the thing that they thought they could never attain with their points. Plus, since this dog happens to be completely housebroken... I consider it a win-win. :o)

And, as strange as it sounds, Jay and I really want to name this little dog "Bunny", since that was supposed to be the pet that they worked so hard to get in the first place. We plan on giving it to them for Christmas... IF we can wait that long!!! I REALLY want to give it to them early!!! :o)

Review of "Jesus Manifesto"

2010-10-09T14:23:00.002-04:00

I like the overall concept of “The Jesus Manifesto” by Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola. While not endorsing some of the other views of these authors (Sweet with his connection to the emerging church and Viola and his house church only emphasis), I agreed with the concept they were trying to get across. Their main emphasis is that enlarging our view of Christ motivates us to serve him with more conviction and authenticity. They seek to remind us exactly who Jesus is using His own words. One quote in particular stuck with me in regards to the wonder of being in a personal relationship with Christ. On page 34, the authors explain the incredible presence of Christ in us by comparing Jesus to the ocean and us to a bottle. They say, “The wonder of the gospel is that the bottle is in the ocean, and the ocean is in the bottle.” As a pastor, it is easy to try to “guilt” the congregation into acting more like a Christian should act instead of reminding them of the Christ they claim to follow. This serves as a welcome rebuke to me in this capacity. I also appreciate the authors warning to Christians to beware of cute. They remind us that Bethlehem wasn’t cute, Jesus’ geneaology wasn’t cute, nor was Golgotha. Too often, churches are more about appearances than the actual transmission of the truth. I know that I have a hard time preaching about martyrs while “leading with a joke”. Overall, if you need a reminder about the beauty and wonder of the gospel, this is a good book to lead you there.

Free Books!

2010-10-09T13:41:00.002-04:00

My husband LOVES to read. So, when he learned that there was a way to get FREE books, he jumped at the chance!

He discovered a website called Book Sneeze (www.booksneeze.com). It is a website dedicated to promoting Christian literature. Once you sign up and join, they will send you a free book, in exchange for an agreement from you to write a 200-word review on your blog after you've finished reading it. When you publish the review on your blog, they'll send you another book to read and review... FREE!

So, if you start seeing random book reviews on my blog, don't worry. It's just my husband... doing what he can to get another free book to read. :o)

Make sure you check out Book Sneeze and see if there's a book available on the website that you would be interested in reading... for FREE! :o)

High Tea at the RichFam House

2010-07-17T19:30:00.000-04:00

R decided that today was going to be the day that we celebrated High Tea at the RichFam house. For a 9 year old, I think she did relatively well. She had a linen tablecloth (even though it was a brown and orange one we use at Thanksgiving), linen napkins (purple and white with grapes), and china dishes (yellow, green, and plaid). So, it wasn't exactly color coordinated, but she did her best. The tea (which she made all by herself) was delicious, and she even thought to add small crackers and cookies for everyone (served on a Christmas platter). :o)

The Happy Hostess and her Guests.

The Food.

H loved every minute of our Tea Party, making sure to speak in the most ADORABLE English accent. :o)

Here's B, trying his best to be "proper" by holding his pinky finger out as he eats his "crumpet". :o)

All in all, R has the makings of a gracious, beautiful hostess. She'll make a sweet little homemaker one day. :o)

A Very Amish Day

2010-05-29T17:32:00.000-04:00

My husband has a slight obsession... with Amish/Mennonite people. Okay, maybe it isn't so slight. He LOVES them! So, when we learned that we lived near the largest Amish community in the world, I knew it was only a matter of time until we made our way over to see it. :o)

We started out eating lunch at one of the local Amish restaurants. Mmm... there's nothing quite like it. Very fresh and VERY tasty! Even the kids ate everything on their plates! (unfortunately, I have no pictures of this experience, because the Amish people do not like pictures to be taken of them).

Next, we made our way to an Amish Flea Market, where we saw a ton of wonderful Amish-made goods and crafts. One thing that got me cracking up on the way out, though, was this sight... See if you can guess what had me laughing so hard...

A car seat! Strapped into an Amish Buggy!!! HAHAHA! I had never seen such a sight! :o)

Then, we visited a local Amish Chocolatier. Mmmm... the wonderful smell of chocolate filled the air as we walked in. The last time the smell of so much chocolate entered my nostrils was when we took a trip to Hershey, Pennsylvania. We, of course, had to take a few "samples" home with us, too! And, the kids had a blast in the kiddie area. :o)

Finally, we went to tour a local Amish Farm. We got to see a house that was built and used by the Amish in the 1800s, as well as one that is used today.

Here are some pictures of their beautiful garden (and outhouse, to the left), as well as some canning jars, which they sterilize by sunning them...

Then, they took us to the barn, to learn about all the animals they raise. They allowed the kids to pet and play with them, too! :o)

Here is a 2 day old baby rabbit. Soooo sweet!

This is a foal named Thunder (whose mother is Lightning), born 2 weeks ago.

Baby Ducklings. (there were tons of adorable baby kittens, too, but they wouldn't stay still for pictures!) :o)

We also got to tour an Amish school house. They teach grades 1 through 8 in the same room (after 8th grade, the Amish children will leave school and learn a trade). It was especially cool to see samples of the curriculum used to teach the children, because a large protion of it is what I use to teach MY children in homeschool! :o)

This is a picture of the alphabet that the Amish children also must learn. It is in German, because their Bibles are all written in German, and they must learn to read the letters in this format, if they are to be able to read the Bible.

We ended our tour of the Yoder House with a Buggy ride. That was also a lot of fun! (and, it provided a nice, cool breeze and some relief from the heat of the day). :o)

We finished the day eating at another local Amish restaurant. I did manage to get a few pics of Baby C, eating a lemon. She was eager to try it...

Then, came the reaction we were hoping for...

But, what surprised us most of all, was that after she tasted the sourness of the lemon, she grabbed her daddy's hand and put that lemon in her mouth again! She wanted MORE! Silly baby... :o)

We will definitley be making another trip into Amish Country very soon! :o)

When Sisters are Friends

2010-05-03T10:13:00.000-04:00

Our girls love to play dress-up. They love to put on fancy dresses, plastic high heeled shoes, gobs of makeup, and pretend to be princesses in a wide variety of scenarios... locked in a tower, hosting a royal tea party, shipwrecked in the ocean and needing to be rescued by a daring prince (AKA - their brother who reluctantly agrees to play simply because he's bored and there are no other boys to play with), etc. The possibilities are endless! And their little imaginations never cease to amaze me. :o)

Last year for her birthday, we got R a large case of makeup to use when playing dress-up. She was very excited about this gift, and treasured this makeup case like no other. She valued it, and kept it hidden from little people who would seek to destroy it. Unfortunately for her, the little people are very good at finding things that have been hidden from them. And little H just loves to wear makeup, almost as much as big sister R. The problem is that little H has yet to learn the art of seeking permission first. This has caused many struggles between the sisters, to say the least. :o)

Because we are homeschoolers, our children get to spend much more time together than other families. Sometimes, this causes many stressful days, filled with arguing and hard lessons on being patient and putting others first. Other times, like this particular day, I was able to observe the fruit of our labor; the result of investing the time to teach our children the life-lessons of being kind to one another and putting others before ourselves. It doesn't always turn out this way, but when it does, it is worth blogging about. :o)

R discovered little H sneaking into her prized makeup case. Instead of screaming at her and starting a major argument, my sweet eldest daughter decided to bless little H with a special make-over. I just love watching as sisters become friends. :o)

The Wonderful World of Geo Caching!

2010-04-30T23:30:00.001-04:00

We've discovered a new love... Geo caching. (http://www.geocaching.com/)

Basically, here's the rundown:

You find a cache that sounds interesting to you in an area near you. You enter the coordinates for the cache into your GPS and follow it to the site. You then proceed to search for a hidden container, inside of which contains a log book to document that you found the cache, and a variety of small, inexpensive trinkets. You may choose to take one of the trinkets, but must replace it with one of equal or greater value. That's it, in a nutshell.

Today, our family went on our first geocaching expedition. And, I'm afraid we're officially hooked. It is soooo much fun!!! :o)

I tried to document our day with pictures...

Here, we are searching for a cache.

We've found our first cache!

B with the cache container (they come in all shapes & sizes. This one is considered a "micro")

Many of the geo cache sites have historical significance. This is particularly fun for homeschool history lessons!

Jay has become the professional detective of the family. He finds all the hidden caches.

This cache container was filled with all sorts of neat little trinkets. The kids each got to take something from it.

Now, the rules of geocaching are that if you remove an item from the container, you must also replace it with something of equal or greater value. The RichFam was more than happy to oblige...

Each time we find cache we fill it with either a silver coin with The Ten Commandments written on it, or a gospel tract in the form of a million dollar bill, most of which have the caricature of someone famous on them. Might as well spread the gospel while we are having fun, right? :o)

Grandparents Visit

2010-04-17T09:02:00.006-04:00

My mom has been missing her grandbabies lately. So much so, in fact, that she made the last-minute decision to fly out here for the weekend. And, of course, we didn't mind a bit! :o)

The kids waited (a bit impatiently) outside for their rental car to come into view.

They even wrote a message to their grandparents on the driveway...

This one says, "Welcome! Honk if you love us!" :o)

This one says, "Grandma and Grandpa! We love you! Nice to see you again!" :o)

So far, we've spent our time together going shopping, sightseeing, playing spades (until 1:00 in the morning, like we're teenagers or something!), watching movies, etc. It's been a LOT of fun!

But, I think all this running around and excitement is catching up to poor "old" grandma and grandpa... what do you think? :o)

Birthday Boy!

2010-04-14T22:51:00.004-04:00

For some odd reason, all of my children's birthdays have fallen on church nights this year. This does not make for a happy mom. I am pressed for time and often don't get to merely enjoy the (abbreviated) celebration. B's birthday was no exception. And this year, of all years, his birthday fell on one of the busiest weeks we've had in a very long time.

First, it was Easter week. In the life of a pastor's family, this is a big deal. Lots of preparation required. Second, we were planning an out-of-town trip, and I was busy packing and preparing for that. Somehow, in the middle of all of that, I had to find time (with 4 kids) to go shopping for the birthday boy... without him seeing anything that I was buying. Then, to top it all off, B ended up getting strep throat!!! So, while nursing him back to health (and keeping everything sanitized so the other kids didn't get it), I had to also find the time to bake and decorate the special birthday cake he requested.

In light of all of this, I was not able to decorate an elaborate cake for him this year. When I asked him what he wanted a few months ago, he told me he wanted a hockey cake. Why he wanted a hockey cake, I will never know. He has never even seen a hockey game! He knows nothing about hockey! And, for that matter, neither do I. Nevertheless, I made him a hockey cake. But, due to our crazy schedule for the week, I had no choice but to make it a very simple one. He didn't mind... it still tasted delish!!! :o)

The Cake.
Since I am so unfamiliar with hockey, I had to go online to find out what a hockey rink even looked like! I did the best I could to make it look the same. This is how it turned out...

I never thought to get hockey goals for the cake, so at the last minute, I had to try to get creative and make some myself. It's amazing what you can create with some hot glue and a few Q-Tips... :o)

The decorations...

Because B had strep throat and was very contagious, we were unable to have any friends over to help celebrate (although one dear soul risked her health and defied our warnings to wish B a Happy Birthday and have pizza and cake with us).

Overall, though, B said it was the best birthday he's ever had.

Poor guy... if a friend-less, strep throat-infected birthday is the best one he's ever had... he must have really hated his other birthdays! Ha ha. :o)

We love you, B!!! :o)

My Greatest Joy

2010-03-09T12:22:00.003-05:00

Each week in Sunday School, Jay assigns the class a verse of Scripture to memorize and recite the following week. Our children are no exception. Since we are a family integrated church, our children are with us in Sunday School class. And, yes, we fully expect them to learn the verses as well. They do amazingly well with this (ah, the blessings that come with having a young mind). :o)

Here are the kids reciting some of the verses they have learned in recent weeks...

B: Reciting Romans 12:1-2

H: Reciting Genesis 1:1 as well as Psalm 19:1 (She managed to remember these verses, even though she had been sick all weekend! Poor, sweet girl).

R: Reciting Philippian 4:8

I am so proud of my little Scripture memorizers! They bring me such joy.

Snow Day!

2010-02-09T17:16:00.001-05:00

As many of you know, we've gotten a lot of snow here lately. The most snow this place has gotten in many years, actually. So, we've had many chances to get out and enjoy it! However, we live at the top of a hill. Good for flood areas, since we will always stay nice and dry. But bad for snow and ice, because the minute we leave our driveway, we start to slide down the hill.

The other day was no exception. The roads were especially treacherous, and there was no way we were gonna venture out in it! Unfortunately, I neglected to do my grocery shopping the day before the storm hit, and we were out of basic necessities (milk, bread, etc). Jay did this sort of "blink, blink" look at me, then a "gulp, gulp", and he knew he was gonna have no choice but to make a grocery run for me. However, he decided he was gonna do it HIS way...

We live in such a small town that everything is on one main street. And the house we now live in is within walking distance of just about any place on that street (the bank, the pharmacy, the 3 fast food restaurants in town, and the grocery store). So, Jay bundled up the older 2 kids, and off they went... WALKING to the store to get my groceries. :o)

Of course, like I said before, Jay wanted to do things HIS way. So, he stopped by our snow-covered tree, saying, "Hey B. Come over here a sec. I think I see a nest in this tree," just before shaking the snow out all over my unsuspecting 5 year old son. (I can't believe I was fortunate enough to catch it on camera!)...

They all arrived back safe and sound (albeit a little cold and wet and exhausted from hiking gallons of milk up that big hill). Jay had bought all of the necessities I asked for, and had even added a few more "necessities" of his own (Doritos, chocolate milk, candy bars, etc). Oh well, I guess I can't complain too much about the junk food. They deserved to have a little reward for all that hard work! :o)

After they returned and I was able to make some food to feed the hungry beasts, we all decided to get bundled back up and go outside to PLAY! :o)

Snow angels are so much fun, Mom! :o)

We have a wonderful hill in our backyard (that matches the one that makes up our road), so the kids always enjoy sledding down it! Jay got in on the action, too (don't worry... he only fell once or twice). But this time, unfortunately, I was not fortunate enough to capture that on camera. Ha ha. :o)

And, since I always seem to be the one TAKING the pictures, I very rarely get the chance to be IN the pictures. So, I decided to try to take a self-portrait of baby C and I, all bundled up in the snow, too... :o)

All in all, we have had some really wonderful snow days!!! It seems like every morning we wake up to another inch or two on the ground. The tracks the kids make in the snow while they are sledding are gone by the next day, so each day they get to enjoy fresh snow!

We just love living here!!! :o)

Yippee! She's 3!!!

2010-01-31T12:22:00.002-05:00

Yep. My sweet H just turned 3 years old. I can't believe it! She seems to have grown faster than the rest of the kids for some reason. And she is just the cutest little character, too! She comes up with the craziest sayings, and can just melt your heart! She is something special, that's for sure. :o)

This year, H was VERY specific with her request for a birthday cake. I tried my hardest to convince her that she should get a Barbie Dress cake, like the one I made for her big sister (since I finally mastered that one!). But... she was very insistent. Over and over again, all she would ask for was a Princess Castle cake.

Unfortunately for me, I am hopelessly new at this cake decorating thing. And, with our crazy hectic schedule, alongside the fact that her birthday fell on a church day... I didn't have as much time to plan out the cake like I did with the one I made for R's birthday. In fact, I only had 2 hours in which to completely decorate the cake before church started!

So... I am a little embarrassed to show off this cake, because I am not especially proud of it. I know I could have done a MUCH better job if I had more time to prepare, etc. But, nevertheless... here is H's Princess Castle Birthday Cake...

And, H told me later on, as she was looking at pictures of her cake...

H: "I got my wished and it comed twue!"

Me: "You did? What did you wish for?"

H: "I got my pwincess castle cake, juss like I wanted!"

Happy 3rd Birthday, my sweet girl! You are growing up so fast and so big! We love you!!! :o)

Birthday Cake!

2009-12-28T21:59:00.001-05:00

It's hard to believe that I have a 9 year old! And yet, on a daily basis I am reminded that my beautiful daughter is, in fact, getting older and more responsible... and also opinionated. :o)

She requested that I make her a special birthday cake this year. Now, I do not in ANY way pretend to be a cake decorator. BUT, I make an effort to get my kids the cake they want for their birthday, but also one that won't break the bank. The only way to accomplish this is to make it myself (store-bought cakes are soooo expensive!).

R told me that she wanted a 3 dimensional Barbie Doll cake this year. Since I had never made one before, I researched online and got some ideas. Then, R and I got together and drew out a design on paper. And finally, I frosted and decorated those ideas onto the cake.

This is what we came up with (and remember, I am NOT a professional)...

It isn't the greatest job in the world, but it sure made a very happy 9 year old! :o)

And the others really enjoyed eating my creation. :o)

They did get a little sadistic about it, though. I think Jay and B enjoyed cutting it up a little too much. Ha ha. :o)

Poor, legless Barbie. :o)

R told us it was the best birthday EVER! Why? Well, not only did she get to keep the Barbie Doll that had been her cake...

She also got an ipod!!! She was so thrilled! What a fun birthday! :o)

A New Home - A New Beginning

2009-12-23T20:23:00.001-05:00

Due to the fact that baby C was in the hospital and Jay was with us instead of with the moving truck, Charles (Jay's dad) ended up driving to our new house in Ohio all by himself.

Did I mention that we had never seen the house before we moved here? So, we really had no way of telling Charles how to get here or what to do once he got here. What a strange situation we found ourselves in!

Thankfully, we have a truly wonderful new church family who understood the difficult circumstances, and were there to make everything run as smoothly as possible. They got the key to the house from the landlord, came in and did some cleaning, helped Charles get here (and even let him stay the night at one of their houses).

And most impressive of all, they unloaded the truck, got all of the beds set up in the bedrooms (complete with linens), and started unpacking various boxes for us, setting the kitchen up and even buying tons of food to stock the cupboards and refrigerator, so we would have things to eat for the first few days.

When we (FINALLY) arrived to our new home, we came in to find all of the furniture set up, all of the beds ready to sleep in, the kitchen completely unpacked and ready to use, and best of all...

The ladies of the church set up a beautiful Christmas tree for us!!! What a sweet sentiment! What's more, they also thought about the kids...

A brand new sled and candy for each of them! :o)

Best of all, the kids woke up the next morning to several inches of fluffy white snow! So, of course, they immediately set out to get some use out of their new gift!

Jay and I really began to feel truly loved and appreciated at this new church. A brand new beginning for the RichFam. :o)

A Snag in Our Plans

2009-12-20T16:38:00.001-05:00

We hit a very unexpected little snag as we were moving from Florida to Ohio.

We were stopped over at my parents' house in TN (letting the kids celebrate Christmas with the grandparents while Jay was busy driving the moving truck to Ohio). I noticed one morning that baby C had a vey "gunky" eye. Being a mother of 4 youngsters, I thought I knew what the problem was. I figured she had pink eye, and planned to take her to a local pediatrician to get some eye drops.

However, after calling several pediatricians in the area, I was told that they would not see us on a one-time-only basis. So, I took her to a walk-in clinic. However, they also informed me that they would not see her, this time stating that they would not see anyone under 1 year of age. My only other option was to take her to the ER at the local hospital.

Once there, the nurses took baby C's temperature and noticed that she had a slight fever. Due to the fact that she was only 2 weeks old, they informed me that the standard procedure was to transfer her to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital and admit her for a few days while they ran a battery of tests.

I was in complete shock! I mean, I only needed to get some eye drops for her goopy eye! And yet, there we were, en route to Vandy. I called Jay to let him know what was happening, and he immediately left his dad (who would be driving with the moving truck and all of our belongings to our new house in Ohio all by himself now), and changed his route from South Carolina to be with me and baby C at the hospital. He drove for 20 straight hours - from FL to SC to TN - before he finally met up with us at Vanderbilt.

Meanwhile, baby C and I got settled at the hospital, where doctors and nurses quickly hooked her up with an IV, and began drawing blood for the long battery of tests. The biggest shock of all was learning that they were going to do a spinal tap on my precious 2 week old baby to test her for bacterial meningitis. Hearing her screams as they did the spinal tap was the most heartbreaking sound in the world!

Thankfully, my wonderful friend, Tonya (who lives in Nashville), was able to be there to hold my hand and offer some wonderful words of encouragement, since Jay was not able to get there in time. It was really nice to see her after many years of living so far away from each other. And what a blessing she turned out to be, too! She and her husband, Brian, took our younger 3 children to their house to play with their 5 kids, and kept them all overnight, feeding them, buying them gifts, and completely spoiling them for us! It's just so amazing to me how your true friends are never far from your hearts, even when they are far from your house. :o)

We were told baby C must stay at the hospital for at least 48 hours, until the blood test results could come back. Then, as long as all of the tests were negative and everything looked good with her, we would then be permitted to leave, and continue on our way to Ohio. Which is exactly what happened. And, do you know what that goopy eye thing turned out to be? A clogged tear duct, perfectly harmless and completely normal. Something that will eventually clear up on its own. (sigh).

Oh well. God had His reasons for keeping us there longer than we anticipated. It is just so incredible to think about the whole situation and how God's hand was evident throughout it all.

It "just so happened" that baby C ended up going to Vanderbilt - one of the best children's hospitals in the world. We "just so happened" to be in Nashville where all of my friends and family live (and also so I knew my way around the area). My friend Tonya "just so happened" to have that entire week off of work, so that when I called her to help, her schedule was completely clear and she had nothing standing in the way. There are so many "just so happened" things that occurred with this situation, that it is unfathomable to think that it was anything but the hand of Almighty God, making the whole situation as easy as possible for us.

Praise the Lord! :o)

Moving Day!

2009-12-18T16:04:00.001-05:00

Two weeks (to the day) after baby C was born, we moved out of the Sunshine State.

FINALLY! We have told ourselves for TWO YEARS that living in Florida was merely temporary. A stopping point on our way to better things. Unfortunately, God had other plans.

We arrived in Florida under some severely tough circumstances and, although we never really felt at home there, we know we were placed there for a reason. We made some wonderful friends, grew stronger in our relationship with the Lord, and grew closer together as a family. Florida ended up being a place of healing for our hurting family. And getting the green light to move away told us that God thought we had done enough healing, and that it was time to start focusing on other things.

So, we packed up and headed north towards our new home in OHIO! My mom was with us, and she drove the kids and I to her house in TN (so we could celebrate Christmas), while Jay stayed behind and loaded the moving truck. Then, he and his dad took a different route, through South Carolina to go straight to the new house.

However, we ran into a little snag along the way... which I will write about in the next post. :o)

Playing Catch Up

2009-12-14T09:50:00.000-05:00

WOW! I just cannot seem to find time to update my blog lately!

Let's see... my last post was about the birth of baby C. Since then, things have been pretty hectic here in the RichFam! I will try to post all of these in the order they occurred in, but there's no telling, so... I hope you like reading! :o)

When baby C was 5 days old, my friend (and fellow homeschooling mama) Mandy, of Giggles to Grace Photography, did a newborn photoshoot of baby C, for FREE as a gift! And what an amazing gift it was! She is so very talented! Here is a sampling of the pics she did for us...

She's Finally Here!!!

2009-12-03T00:08:00.002-05:00

After months of seemingly endless waiting, we welcomed our newest daughter into the world. She was born on Friday, November 27th, 2009 at 6:12PM. She weighed 7 lbs, 11 oz and was 20 inches long.

I was scheduled to have an induction on Nov 30th, but shortly after dinner on Thanksgiving Day, I began experiencing contractions. They lasted all night long and didn't go away, so I started timing them. By 10:00 on Friday morning, they were 5 minutes apart, so we made the decision to go into the hospital.

I was checked and told that I was 3 1/2 cm dilated. Then, I was told to walk around for 2 hours to see if I was progressing. Afterwards, I was 4 1/2 cm dilated, so they decided to let me stay. YAY! :o)

(Here is R, crossing her fingers, hoping this is it!) :o)

I got settled into a room and immediately asked for an epidural (after the traumatic birth I had with H, I was not about to give birth again without one)! I got the most amazing anesthesiologist, who gave me the best epidural I've ever had. I went through the entire rest of my labor without any pain at all.

(Here's the proof... I am right in the middle of a contraction... happy as can be).
Jay and I even went on Facebook and gave updates during the labor process. And, we got to watch the Auburn/Alabama game, too! All without a single bit of pain! Woo Hoo! :o)

As soon as the football game ended, my midwife told me I was ready to start pushing. I pushed one time, and out came our daughter! It was the best, easiest birth EVER!!!

(Here I am, right after the delivery... still feeling really good!) :o)

Welcome to the world, Little One. :o)

Kids and Clutter

2009-11-09T08:00:00.004-05:00

I don't know whether it is the fact that I am at the end of my pregnancy and venturing into the "nesting" mode...

or the fact that we have been packing up the house in preparation for our move to Ohio and there are boxes all over the place.

Either way, though, it seems (to me) as though the kids have been purposely trying to make MORE clutter than ever before!

They are like little tornadoes... leaving massive amounts of MESS behind everywhere they go. It is quite honestly beginning to drive me completely bananas. Why, oh, why can't they just pick up after themselves???

I was thinking this very thing, and getting very overwhelmed and frustrated one day, when I saw a beautiful poem on a friend's blog, and knew providentially that I was meant to see it.

One of these days (and all-too-soon I'm sure), I will no longer hear the "pitter-patter" of little feet clomping through my house, wreaking havoc wherever they go. I will no longer have muddy, chubby little hands leaving dirty smudges on everything they touch. I will no longer scream out in the middle of the night because I have stepped on some small, annoying, and PAINFUL toy that was left in the middle of the floor. I will no longer have little people with big imaginations, pretending to be pirates and mermaids in the bathtub, while pouring water all over the bathroom floor. And I will no longer take my shower interrupted, with the presence of dozens of bath toys at my feet, while hearing tiny little voices gleefully telling me to draw pictures for them in the steam on the shower door.

I needed to be reminded to take a breath in the midst of all the clutter. To overlook it and instead, see it as a sign that there is the presence of beautiful life inside my home, innocently playing, without the fear and worry that comes with adulthood. I need to be reminded to love the wonderful chaos inside my home... clutter and all.

Hope you enjoy the poem as much as I did...

"The Toy-Strewn Home"
by Edgar Guest

Give me the house where the toys are strewn,
Where the dolls are asleep in the chairs,
Where the building blocks and the toy balloon
And the soldiers guard the stairs.
Let me step in a house where the tiny cart
With the horses rules the floor,
And rest comes into my weary heart,
For I am at home once more.
Give me the house with the toys about,
With the battered old train of cars,
The box of paints and the books left out,
And the ship with her broken spars.
Let me step in a house at the close of day
That is littered with children’s toys,
And dwell once more in the haunts of play,
With the echoes of by-gone noise.
Give me the house where the toys are seen,
The house where the children romp,
And I’ll happier be than man has been
‘Neath the gilded dome of pomp.
Let me see the litter of bright-eyed play
Strewn over the parlor floor,
And the joys I knew in a far-off day
Will gladden my heart once more.
Whoever has lived in a toy-strewn home,
Though feeble he be and gray,
Will yearn, no matter how far he roam,
For the glorious disarray
Of the little home with its littered floor
That was his in the by-gone days;
And his heart will throb as it throbbed before,
When he rests where a baby plays.

My Little Hymn Singers

2009-10-14T16:17:00.003-04:00

Jay and I decided several months ago that we were going to teach our children some of the old church hymns. It occurred to us that (sadly) today many churches are getting away from these beautiful songs, which are so rich in theology. So, during our Family Bible Times each night, Jay reads from the Scriptures, we say prayers, and then we sing a hymn.

We choose one hymn per month, and sing it every night. So far, the children have done really well with it! They are very fast learners, and have already mastered about 9 of the old hymns! I am just kicking myself that I only just now thought to record them singing all of these beautiful songs! :o)

Last month, we learned "A Mighty Fortress is Our God". This was a particularly difficult hymn to learn (even for us adults!!!). But, by the end of the month, all of us had learned it... including little H. :o)

This month, we chose a slightly easier hymn, "Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus". It is only mid-way through the month, but all of the kids (yep, even little H), have it mastered already.

I am so proud of my Little Hymn Singers! :o)

Is this October???

2009-10-11T14:36:00.009-04:00

What is wrong with these pictures?

I have no choice but to chalk it up to the fact that we are in Florida - the "sunshine" state. It seems so strange, though, when I hear from loved ones all across the country who are in sweaters, and coats, and drinking hot chocolate and making soup to keep themselves warm. I must admit, I am a bit jealous of them.

Nevertheless, as the saying goes, "when in Rome... er... Florida..."

Happy "Fall"!!! Ha ha. :o)

Kiki Strikes Again!

2009-10-07T20:40:00.001-04:00

I'm telling you... I'd sure like to know where in the world all these frogs are coming from!!! I mean, in my earlier posts, I sort of joked about it being akin to an Old Testament plague. But now, I'm not so sure I'm joking anymore. This is just too weird!!!

This poor little frog didn't stand a chance under the weight of our 20 pound feline. I know it is kinda hard to tell from the pics, but this little guy was only about the size of a quarter. I tried to put another object in the picture next to it, but the only thing I could find was an old, broken cell phone that the kids use as a toy.

Eventually, though, as I was cleaning up the flat, dry carcass, I realized you would be able to see it much better against the white paper towel than the dark wooden floor. And then, I stuck my thumb in the pic, so you could see just how small this little guy was.

Poor frogs. They just don't stand a chance in this house against Kiki, the Ginormous Fat Cat. I just wish I knew where they were coming from, and why they are choosing MY house!!!

The Plague of Frogs

2009-08-24T07:30:00.001-04:00

Okay, let me first begin this post by reminding you of our last encounter with this particular plague in our house. (click on the link to read about it).

So then, last night, as Jay and I sat in the living room watching TV... (okay, fine. we weren't really watching TV. Jay was in his chair snoring, and I was busy doing lesson plans for the kids' homeschool), I kept hearing the "thump. thump." again. I looked up in the light fixture, where the last critter had somehow trapped itself, but there was nothing there.

Eventually, I went to bed, thinking that it must be the refrigerator making some sort of dripping noise or something...

But... nay, nay!

This morning I awoke to the sight of Kiki the Cat, laying on a blanket the kids had left in the living room floor. This is not uncommon behavior for Kiki, since she is an extremely overweight, fat lazy cat. Her favorite pastime is sleeping... and eating, of course.

This time, however, Kiki did not look like her normal, comfortable, lazy self as she lay on the blanket. There was a gleam in her eye that I had not seen before. Nevertheless, I don't like her laying on the children's blankets, so I tried to make her get up.

She refused.

This is highly unusual behavior from my normally compliant kitty. But, I finally got her to get up... only to notice that something had been underneath her, and that she would not venture far from it.

Here she is, in her "conquering" pose...

I quickly realized that the "thump. thump." I had heard last night was not the refrigerator. It was another episode of The Plague of Frogs.

Yes, my sweet, docile, declawed kitty had become a predator in the night.

Here she is with her "kill"...

And here is a close-up of the carnage, all squished (yuck) - flattened under the weight of my 20 lb feline...
Definitely not something I wanted to wake up to this morning! And certainly not something I wanted to find on my daughter's blanket! Yuck!

Soon after Jay came to the rescue, and disposed of the "present" she had for us this morning, Kiki went back to doing what she does best...
I suppose I should be glad that my fat, lazy cat is finally trying to earn her keep around here. Good job, Kiki! But, no offense if I think twice before letting you lick the kids when they're loving on you! :o)

Mirror Messages

2009-08-12T11:20:00.002-04:00

Jay and I have a little thing that we do. We write silly love messages to each other on our bathroom mirror with a bar of soap. Sometimes, it is merely a message telling the other what time we will be back home from the store. Sometimes, it is a particular Scripture passage that relates to something we are dealing with. And sometimes (like when a pregnancy causes the body to get into weird, swollen, puffy shapes), it is a sweet message from a wonderful husband telling his self-conscious wife how beautiful he still thinks she is.

We have done this for several years. In fact, it has been going on for the entire 12 year duration of our marriage. It's just one of those kooky things we do that makes our marriage so unique... and fun. However, as our children are growing older, and beginning to learn to read and write on their own, they have discovered this "secret" message writing that their daddy and I do.

The other day, R came into the master bathroom to gather towels for the laundry. She saw a note on the mirror that Jay had written to me, telling me how beautiful I was. She was so impressed by it, that she talked nonstop about it the rest of the day, even writing in her journal about how she wants to marry someone who writes notes to her on the mirror like her daddy does.

The following day, I wrote a response to Jay's note on the mirror, thanking God for the wonderful man He gave me. R saw it, and decided that she needed to add a message on the mirror to her daddy as well. Then, Jay responded back to her. Then B wanted to get in on the action, and wrote a message of his own on the mirror. Pretty soon, there wasn't a spare inch of space on my bathroom mirror!

I suppose I should be happy that we have such a creative and artistic family. Of course, it sure makes for some extra scrubbing on the mirror. I guess it's a good thing we use soap instead of lipstick or something!

I guess there was just one thing left to do... scrub the mirror and start a new message! :o)

Vacation Pics!

2009-07-23T16:10:00.000-04:00

Wow, I am behind on my blogging!!! There are so many things I need to post on here, I am unsure where to begin... I suppose, though, for now I will simply put up some pics of our family vacation to Gatlinburg from the beginning of June (I told you I was behind!).

Because blogger gets bogged down when I try to post a bunch of pics on here, I will merely most the highlights of the trip, and the rest of the album, I will post to my Facebook. :o)

Wonderworks, a Science Museum. It was VERY fun!

Jay & R enjoying an earthquake simulator. :o)

Jay being his goofy self in the hurricane simulator. :o)

Jay being a dork again, making himself a giant cyclops on the split video screen. :o)

The kids, rock climbing. They did pretty good, considering they were wearing flip flops! :o)

Being goofy on the Gatlinburg shopping strip...

Believe it or not... this was H's first experience eating an Oreo cookie. I think she liked it! :o)

We tried to find the World's First Chick Fil 'A Restaurant (affectionately called "Dwarf House")... We ended up finding the World's SECOND Chick Fil 'A Restaurant. Oh well... It was still a fun experience! They had servers, and menus, etc. But it was so weird to order it that way! :o)

Here are some pics of the hotel room we were in... It was magnificent! :o)

The Living Room...

The Dining Room/Kitchen...

The kids in the jacuzzi... they LOVED it! (obviously) :o)...

There were 2 bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms, and even a laundry room, too! It was a very nice room... and a VERY nice vacation! We sure needed it! :o)

Allergies

2009-06-30T15:29:00.004-04:00

Poor little B has been suffering from some unknown allergen for a long time now. Our usual remedy would be to give him Benadryl just before bedtime. However, when he began getting terrible, itchy hives all over his body each and every night, we decided we had better get him checked out by an allergist. Afterall, I myself suffer from a vast array of allergies, most of which are so severe, I can suffer from anaphylaxis, and must carry an Epi-pen with me.

Here is a not-so-good picture of the hives poor B was experiencing...

While we were at the allergist, B did such a good job! He was so brave, and didn't fidget at all while the nurses were poking him all over the place.

The diagnosis was that B is allergic to cats (which we have), dust (which we also have), and mold. The mold was his most severe allergy, and it confused us, because we couldn't figure out where there would be any mold in the house.

We finally found the culprit, hiding at the top of our vaulted ceiling.

This small area started as a teeny damp spot. We thought it was from an old leak. However, since we are now in the rainy season, that teeny spot has been getting bigger and bigger, and it is now looking to be growing some mold in it as well. This does not bode well for B, whose bedroom is on the other side of the leak on this wall, and his bed is up against it.

Looks like we are going to have to look into getting this one fixed sooner than we had anticipated! Good thing we're just renting! :o)

A Momentous Occasion

2009-06-07T19:31:00.005-04:00

Jay and I have always asserted with our children that we do not follow after the patterns of this world, but rather, allow the Lord to be the ultimate authority for everything we do with our lives. This proved to be a rather difficult lesson for R... especially when it concerned getting her ears pierced like a lot of her friends had done.

We told her that when she could prove to us that she was mature enough, and to tell us why she really wanted to get her ears pierced, that if we felt that her reason was a well-thought-out one, we would consider allowing her. For several years, her response to this was to tell us that she wanted her ears pierced because all of her friends had them. Or because she really, really, really, really wanted them, etc. So, our answer has always been, "NO."

Until now...

R came to us and told us that she would like to get her ears pierced because she felt that it would make her look more feminine, like a beautiful young lady. She said that it is important for girls to look and act like girls, and for boys to look and act like boys. And that earrings would help her to look more like a girl.

We were proud of this answer. A big step towards the direction of true, biblical womanhood. But, we told her that we would consider her reason, and give her an answer soon.

We gave her that answer 3 weeks ago while we were at the mall. Jay asked her if she felt that she was ready to get her ears pierced. The look on her face as she heard this was absolutely priceless! She was so giddy with excitement! But, she also handled herself with grace and maturity as we walked up to the counter to pick out her new earrings.

Here are some pics we took to document this momentous occasion...

Waiting her turn, and really hoping it doesn't hurt too bad.

Her turn came up, and she was a tad bit nervous.

After it was done, the emotional strain got the better of her.

But, within seconds, she was giddy with excitement again. She just couldn't believe we actually let her get it done!

The finished product. She chose for her first earrings to get them with her birthstone. And she has been trying her best to color coordinate her outfits each day so they match her new earrings. She is so cute! :o)

A Close Call

2009-05-23T18:40:00.003-04:00

Friday morning began like any other day for my parents. My dad decided to go flying in his plane, which had lately become his favorite pastime. He picked up a passenger and headed to a small town just outside of Indianapolis, IN to look at a possible job situation.

As he was attempting to land in the small grass landing strip, he realized he was coming in too fast, and chose to go back up in the air and turn around to try again. This is not uncommon, but he was unfamiliar with this airstrip, and in the blink of an eye, the tail of his plane clipped some power lines nearby and sent his plane pummelling to the ground. He crashed, upside down, on top of 3 vehicles in a used car lot. He and his passenger, with adrenaline rushing through their bodies, ran from the wreckage as fast as they could, sure that the plane, which was leaking fuel, would soon burst into flames.

Two people at the used car lot barely escaped being hit by the plane, and were soon used to assist my dad and his fellow passenger, who by this time, were in the beginning stages of shock. Steve said that he couldn't see anything through the blood that was pouring out of his gashes into his eyes. He was rushed by ambulance to Methodist Memorial Hospital in Indianapolis soon afterwards.

His injuries, while quite painful, were minor, considering the accident he had just endured. He has some broken ribs, a broken collar bone, a punctured lung, and deep lacerations over most of his body. Part of his lip was missing, leaving an empty hole, which needed to be repaired. And his rotator cuff (which was torn earlier this year), is now worse than ever. But, for the most part, there were no major injuries reported. His fellow passenger fared even better. He only suffered some minor scratches and bruises, and was released from the local hospital he had been taken to, glad to have a new lease on life.

Dad is currently staying at the hospital for observation a few more days before he will be released to go back home. He does, however, have some recovery time ahead of him. He will not be able to work (he is a painting contractor), and may never fly again. There is still an investigation going on through the FAA, detailing the crash and trying to figure out what went wrong.

Overall, however, we are all so very grateful to have him alive and well (for the most part). God's merciful hand was in this situation the whole time. He crashed in Indiana, within driving distance of most of his family members, who were able to rush to his bedside while my mom was frantically trying to drive from TN to get to him. This accident brought back some pretty painful memories for the whole family... one of Steve's brothers died in a small plane crash several years ago. Needless to say, they were all very relieved that they did not have to relive that horrible situation again.

We are all very grateful to have Dad back with us after such a scary ordeal. We appreciate all of the prayers that went up on our behalf, and we know that the Lord heard those prayers and answered them by sparing the life of our beloved husband, father, and grandfather.

For those who are interested, here are some video stories of the crash from a couple of the local news stations in the area. Not all of the facts are accurate, but for the most part, they will give you an idea of just how blessed Dad is to be alive!!!

Funny Thing About The Dead Sea...

2009-05-14T18:37:00.000-04:00

R has been studying about Ancient Egypt, Israel, the Middle East, etc. during homeschool history lately. This morning, she asked me how the Dead Sea got it's name. I explained to her that the river flows into it, bringing with it all sorts of junk, but that there is not another way out so all the muck and junk just stays there, building up so much that nothing should be able to survive in it. So, it is called the "Dead Sea". She was very interested in this fact.

Later in the day, I was trying to clean the house, and kept finding junk that everyone had just thrown all over the house (like a dirty old shirt and stinky shoes under the dining room table, dog food pebbles on the living room floor, and cheese cracker crumbs in the bedroom carpet).

So, I started grumbling about it (okay, fine. I was on a pregnancy hormone rampage), upset by the fact that nobody seems to be capable of cleaning up after themselves. It almost felt as though they were trying to play a very annoying game of hide-and-seek, putting things in odd places, and guessing how long it will take me to locate it and "right" the "wrong". Ugh. I was a bit perturbed about it, to say the least.

But R, trying to apply the newly learned knowledge to a current situation, and completely unaware of the fact that I was ready to bite the head off of the next person to get in my way, pipes up.

She proudly announces, "Hey, mom! Our house is like the Dead Sea! Junk keeps piling up in here, and nobody bothers to clean it all out!"

Well, at least she is learning something in homeschool this year... :o)

"Cleaning" the Lanai

2009-05-06T15:26:00.003-04:00

With a large family, which includes wild, crazy & messy children, as well as filthy animals (I'm talking about the dog...not my husband -- this time), the lanai and pool area can tend to get a bit dirty. Okay... a LOT dirty. So, every so often, I make the children clean up the messes they make out there.

On this particular day, I decided to allow them to have a little fun while they were cleaning. It ended up making more of a mess, but the good thing about having a lanai and pool area, is that you can just hose it all down and make the messes disappear! :o)

Here are some pics of the kids' adventure at "cleaning" the lanai...

It started out innocently enough. I let the kids use shaving cream to wash the outside table and chairs.

Pretty soon, though, all three kids were covered, head to toe, in shaving cream...
This is no ordinary boy... he is a regular wild and crazy guy! Just look at him pose! Watch out, ladies! Ooh la la! :o)
Little Miss Copycat... She MUST be just like her big brother and sister... OR ELSE! :o)

My friend, Bronie, often tells her blog readers how she deserves the "Mother of the Year" award, due to the interesting things she does for her children when they find themselves in a pickle.

Well, Bronie, this is one of those moments for me.

I sat there and watched him do it. He didn't understand the rules of shaving cream and the delicate membranes of the eyes.

Did I know what was going to happen? Yep. Sure did.

Did I try to stop him? Nope.

Did I run immediately and get something to assist him? Nope.

What did I choose to do instead? Grab the camera and tell him to say "cheese!"
He had been really enjoying himself until this moment. Needless to say, however, soon after this picture was taken, B learned an important lesson about not putting anything in or near his eyes. Poor little guy. He'd been having so much fun...

But, it's like I said earlier... the good part about it all, is that we just had to get the hose, spray him down and the "ouchies" miraculously disappeared! :o)

Dinosaur World

2009-04-25T22:27:00.011-04:00

I have been so busy lately! I have barely had time to keep my house in order, let alone post to my blog! But, since I really need to start working on it... here is some pics from one of our recent family adventures.

We took a trip to Dinosaur World one Saturday. Jay and I are always a bit wary of allowing the children to see information about dinosaurs without us being present to provide them with correct information. As Young Earth creationists, it is very important to us that our children are always taught about dinosaurs from a biblical perspective.

This trip to Dinosaur World proved our point. Evolutionist theories surrounded every piece of information given about the statues we saw. Thankfully, however, the children are trained enough to catch on whenever they see the words "millions of years". Once we got over those obstacles, we were free to enjoy seeing the statues and the rest of the park.

Here is a picture of the kids (nervously) putting their hands into some holes to try to determine which dinosaur can be found inside.

Here, everyone seems to be terrified of the giant, hungry-looking T-Rex.

One of the fun things the children got to do was dig for their own fossils. Believe it or not, they got to take home three REAL fossils from whatever they found at the dig. Mostly, they found old sharks teeth and fossilized sea shells. But, there were also some sauropod bones as well!

Probably the favorite part for the kids was unearthing a dinosaur.
They all took their "jobs" very seriously... especially R.

At the end, when they were done looking at the statues, the kids decided to play on the playground inside the park. Jay told them that if they could climb all the way across the high net, he would buy them an ice cream.

As you can see from the picture, R was determined to get across the thing. B, on the other hand, was a little less enthusiastic... (and, yes, we did end up getting them both an ice cream).

It was scorchingly hot outside and we were sweating like crazy, but the kids really seemed to have a good time. All in all, it was a really good day. :o)

The Sweet Faith of a Child

2009-04-15T20:12:00.003-04:00

My sweet son, B. He is so precious. His sweet, child-like faith is so innocent and free. I love watching him as he learns new things about the Lord and our faith.

We had been discussing during our family Bible times that we, as Christians, are to strive to obey the Lord in all things, and to follow Him everywhere that He leads us, even if it is to a place we aren't sure we are going to like (we always want our children to understand this fact, since being in the ministry can - and has - taken us to many different places all across the country).

So B and I have this conversation while we are stopped at a traffic light in our van:

B: Hey, mom! Guess what?

Me: What?

B: God is right here.

Me: He is? How do you know?

B: Because we just stopped at the red light.

Me: ???

B: Well, we follow God everywhere, right? So He has to be at this light. And since He stopped here, then we stopped.

Okay, yes, we have a way to go before B has a real understanding of spiritual things. But, wow. What a sweet expression of his innocent, child-like faith.

My Big Birthday Boy

2009-04-07T19:28:00.005-04:00

My dearest B.J.R.,

Today is your birthday. You are now five years old! I can hardly believe it! You are growing up so fast!

I remember the day you were born. Daddy and I decided not to find out if you were a boy or a girl, so we were waiting with anticipation for you to come out and see for ourselves. We didn't have to wait long. You came faster than any of the other kids. You were born within 20 minutes!!! That is really fast! You came so quickly that I didn't have time to get any pain medication. But, you also came so fast that I almost didn't need any pain medication! ha ha. :o)

When you came out of my tummy, you started crying and crying! You did not like all those doctors and nurses wiping you and messing with you. But, then they said, "It's a boy!", and laid you on my chest. I started to talk to you, telling you how happy I was to finally see you. And immediately, you stopped crying and looked straight into my eyes and just stared at me for the longest time. I fell instantly in love with you, and we bonded right away.

And you were the easiest baby in the whole world! You hardly ever fussed, and when you did, it didn't take much for you to stop. All I had to do was lay you down in your bed and you would go to sleep for the whole night! You do the same thing today. You sure do love your sleep! You are my early bird, and you are always so happy in the morning.

And you are such a joy to raise. You are a very sweet boy. You are kind to everyone you meet. You make lots of friends and everyone likes you. Anyone who has spent any time with you always comes up to me to tell me how much they love you. You are a very good boy! And so funny! You really take after your daddy in the humor department. I get such a kick out of you when you get in your "Preacher Man B" mode. You love to entertain, and you sure do love a captive audience! :o)

You are very smart, too. You are already learning to read, and you are very good at it! You love to do school work, and ask me if you can do more when you get done with the assignments I give you. I think you are going to do really great in Kindergarten next year.

My prayer for you as you turn a year older is that you will continue to have a kind heart and love for others. I pray that you will grow in your faith, knowledge and love of the Word of God. You have such a sweet and gentle spirit, and I pray that as you grow older you do not grow out of that. That is a very good quality to have! I hope that your prayers to the Lord will stay just as sweet and personal as they are now, and that your relationship with the Lord will continue to grow and mature as you do.

I love you so very, very much, my wonderfully sweet little boy. I hope you had a very happy birthday. And I pray the Lord allows us to have many more to celebrate with you in the years to come.

God's blessings be upon you, my son.

Love you always,
Mommy <><

A Seamstress in the Making...maybe.

2009-03-31T14:54:00.005-04:00

I have been wanting to learn to sew for the past several months, but with not a single clue as to where to start, I was beginning to get a little flustered. However, my parents came down to visit (and spoil) the kids, so I took the opportunity to ~~ask~~ BEG my mom to help me learn how to sew.

When I say I had no clue where to start, I am being completely serious. I had never used a sewing machine in my life! I didn't know what a straight stitch was, let alone what a basting stitch was. What is selvage? And, what in the world is biase tape, and why does it matter if it is single-fold or double-fold??? All of these questions swirled through my mind as I was beginning the quest to learn the wonderful art of sewing.

My mom was surprisingly understanding of my plight, noting that she had felt the same way at my age, and had begged her aunt to help her learn. She took me to a fabric store, and we searched for a pattern that she thought would be a good starting point. I wanted something very simple. Nothing fancy. No fringe, no ruffles, no sleeves, no zippers, etc. Just a plain and simple dress so I could learn the basic skills needed to sew. I thought a little dress for Hannah would be perfect for my initial voyage into sewing.

Once we found a suitable pattern, we began the search for a good fabric. I had no idea that there was different fabric that was used for different things! For example, I found a lot of really cute fabric designs that I thought would make a nice little dress. But, I learned that those were used with quilting, etc., and were not really intended for use in clothing. Wow. I had a LOT to learn!

We finally settled on a design on the correct type of fabric. Then came the time to read the pattern package to find out what notions would be needed. WHAT?! What were notions??? I was beginning to get overwhelmed, but my mom stayed pretty calm and patiently explained each item that was going to be needed to put the dress together. We picked out the different types of thread (which is another thing I didn't know... that there are different types of thread), we found the biase tape and the buttons, etc. And when everything was purchased, I went home to venture into the world of sewing!

I will admit that there were several times I wanted to give up. The directions on the pattern were so confusing, they may as well have been written in Chinese! Sewing has its own little language, and I was not fluent in it! But, my mom did her best to explain what everything meant, and ever-so-slowly I began making progress. The pattern pieces were all cut out finally, and then it was time to put them all together.

But, that was the point when I was going to have to use the sewing maching for the first time. I had no clue what to do with it. But, I learned what the bobbin was and how to thread the machine properly (after several failed attempts). I learned how to lock the stitch in by going backwards. And I even learned how to clean the machine out if there is a jam (which was a learn-by-doing process because I jammed it up several times).

There were a LOT of mistakes that led to me being forced to take a seam ripper to the stitch I had just finished and undo the entire lenth of the stitch because I did not have it lined up properly and, therefore, did not sew the two pieces together at all. That was a long, tiresome lesson to learn. And I made several of those. :o)

BUT... after what seemed like an eternity, I put the finishing touches on the pattern, sewed the button onto the back, and stared at my newly completed masterpiece! I was actually surprised when I looked at it. I kept saying over and over, "Wow. I can't believe it! I actually looks like a dress! A REAL dress!" Ha ha ha.

The ultimate test, though, was to try it on Hannah to see if it would fit her properly. It actually fit her great! It was a little bit big on her, but I had purposely made the dress a size 4, instead of the 3 she is in now, so that she could wear it longer. But, the bodice was in the right place, the skirt was gathered in all the right places, the sleeve holes were even, the skirt length was appropriate, etc. Everything looked great!

I am sooooo proud of myself! I keep staring at Hannah with the dress on in amazement that I actually made something that she could wear in public! Ha ha ha.

Now I just need to think of what my next sewing project will be... :o)

Chaplain at Florida Hospice Resigns Over 'God' Restriction

2009-03-19T14:18:00.002-04:00

Oh, wow! Jay sure does relate well to this!!!
************************

A chaplain at a Florida hospice says she has resigned due to a ban on use of the words "God" or "Lord" in certain public settings.

The Rev. Mirta Signorelli said that Hospice by the Sea in Boca Raton told her and other chaplains on Feb. 23 to "cease and desist from using God in prayers," the Florida Sun-Sentinel reported.
That ban on religious references, she said, rendered her incapable of doing her job.

"I can't do chaplain's work if I can't say 'God' — if I'm scripted," Signorelli told the Sentinel.
Hospice by the Sea CEO Paula Alderson said the restriction applies only to staff meetings. Ministers, priests and rabbis still are free to speak about God when counseling patients or families in private.

"I was sensitive to the fact that we don't impose religion on our staff, and that it is not appropriate in the context of a staff meeting to use certain phrases or 'God' or 'Holy Father,' because some of our staff don't believe at all," she told the Sentinel.

But Signorelli said the policy also forced her to watch her language when leading prayer in the hospice chapel, and when meeting patients in public settings like nursing homes or weekly patient conferences with doctors, nurses and social workers, the Sentinel reported.

"If you take God away from me, it's like taking a medical tool away from a nurse,” she told the paper.

None of the six other chaplains have objected to the new policy, she said.

Click here to read more on this story at Sun-Sentinel.com.

It's About Time!!!

2009-03-10T08:31:00.002-04:00

An article I found in USA Today...
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Retailers widen options, including more modest clothes

Modesty in young women's clothing is getting a boost from the dismal economy.
When consumer spending was in overdrive, retailers could sell to the masses and ignore the more muted voices asking for, say, a decent supply of sleeved shirts or prom dresses that show more fabric than skin.

*******************************
Read the rest of this wonderful article here.
I say, it's about time!!!

Siblings

2009-02-26T21:42:00.005-05:00

R & B can sometimes get into quite a number of tiffs and spats. R is the typical oldest child - very responsible, but erring on the side of bossy sometimes. And B is the typical pesky little brother. Jay and I have had our share of times where we are forced to act as mediator between the two.

And then, there are other days that, when push comes to shove, they are fiercely loyal to one another, and will care for each other like no other.

I came into the room after doing a load of laundry the other day to find this scene. B had apparently fallen down while riding his bike, and scraped his arm. R, being the sweet, responsible older sister that she is, made sure to dress the wound, cover it with his favorite bandages, wrap him in a blanket, give him his favorite toy to hold, and hold his hand as he "endured" the pain. (After further inspection, there wasn't even any blood... it never broke the skin) ha ha.

Still, it was a sweet expression of a sister's love and care... :o)

FREE Sub Sandwich Coupon!!!

2009-02-24T09:42:00.002-05:00

Quiznos is offering a free small sub to the first million people who sign up at this link. You should be able to get a coupon for every adult in your household. I had no trouble going through the quick and easy process in order to get two free sub coupons for Jay and I.
I hope you all can enjoy it, too!
:o)

Pest Control

2009-02-14T21:59:00.002-05:00

As we were driving down the road the other day, we passed a van with a pest control company logo on the side of it. R was quick to point it out to us. She asked us what the sign meant. We explained that it is a company that comes to your house and gets rid of pests.

A light bulb suddenly went off in her head. With her Daddy's quick and witty sense of humor, she added, "Well, maybe we can call them to come and take care of Ben!" :o)

The Last Straw...

2009-02-06T22:52:00.000-05:00

We had the "ingenious" idea to get a family dog a few months ago. Being the compassionate bunch that we are, we thought we should do the "right" thing and adopt an older, unwanted dog.

What were we thinking???

We adopted "Rambo", a 5 year old cocker spaniel, who had been rescued from a puppy mill. He spent his entire life trapped in a tiny cage, only to emerge when it was time for him to "breed". He had been mistreated, and was very skittish around people. Still, he was a very gentle dog, and absolutely gorgeous, so we decided that he should be the next member of our family.

For the first couple of months, Rambo would not come near us at all. He would hide in the backyard, and the only sign that he was alive is that his food was eaten each day. Recently, he has taken quite a liking to R, and the feeling is very mutual. She LOVES this dog. He won't come to her, so she drags him by the collar, claws scraping, across the wood floor to a comfy cuddling spot. And once he is there, he will stay there with her, laying in her lap. It is the only "normal" thing this dog does.

The past few weeks in Florida have been very unusual. We have had several consecutive nights where the temperature has dropped below freezing. This means that plants get covered, pools get turned on, and animals come in for the night.

But, what to do with a stinky, unlovable, scared-to-death dog that pees from fright when you come near him?

We have been shutting him up in the bathroom overnight. He sleeps on the rug in there, and he stays warm. But, there is one problem...

He poops. A LOT.

We have tried everything. We will leave him outside until nearly 11PM to give him plenty of time to do his "business" before bringing him inside. He only eats ONCE a day... in the morning. So there should be no reason for him to poop in the bathroom, where he SLEEPS, each and every night.

Those of you who know me, know that I am VERY picky about smells, and making sure that my house smells GOOD at all times. This new arrangement with the pooping dog does not make someone like me very happy. Not when I have a putrid smell waiting for me each and every morning.

Jay and I decided to try one more thing to keep him from pooping at night. We are going to block him into a tiny corner, much like a small cage or kennel, and give him only enough space to lay down in.

No space to move = no space to poop. Right?

But, how do we make this happen? Well, my friends, we had to get pretty creative because, let's face it, we are desperate to escape this stinky conundrum. We went into our storage area and got out a bunch of boxes, trash cans, chairs, etc. and stacked them up all over the bathroom in a way that he cannot possibly get around them to poop. Yes, it made a huge mess in the bathroom, and it looks terrible. But, desperate times call for desperate measures... and we are very desperate.

Will it work?

We shall see.

If it doesn't, this stinky dog might just have to find himself another home.

:o)

Fun(ny) Adventure

2009-02-03T22:45:00.003-05:00

This past Sunday, we got to do a special treat. We went out to eat after church at a Chinese Restaurant. We went to a new place that just opened up in our town recently. We were a little nervous at first, not knowing the cost, but Jay sent me in to check out the prices, and I determined that they were within our limits.

We were so amazed when we walked inside! It was immaculate. Everything was pristinely cleaned and shiny, and there were (no kidding) 12 different buffet tables, full of delicious-looking food for any and all tastes. They had Chinese, Japanese, Thai, sushi, American, etc. It was incredible.

The funny part is, the kids were just as impressed as we were. Once we were all seated, with our full plates in front of us, the kids inquired about getting some chopsticks to eat with. Since neither Jay nor I saw any near us, we told the kids that they probably didn't have any. But we were wrong.

Once the waitress came to check on us, they were more than happy to get the kids some chopsticks. They even, very very eagerly, tried to teach them how to hold and use the strange utensils. They were surprisingly patient as they attempted to teach my completely Americanized children. But, alas, they soon realized that there was no hope in teaching them to hold the things properly. Still, they had a solution. They spent the next few minutes doing some sort of intricate weaving and wrapping of a rubber band around each of the chopsticks, to get them to stay together, making it easier for children to use. It was impressive, and they were very very kind to us, and to the kids throughout the entire meal.

This conversation was heard a few minutes later, as we were in the middle of eating our meal...

Rebekah (to Ben): Hey, Ben. Isn't this so cool? We get to eat with chopsticks!

Ben (to Rebekah): Yeah, can you believe it? We get to put WOOD in our MOUTHS!

LoMein noodles almost went through my nose at that point. :o)

Quote-worthy

2009-01-27T22:26:00.001-05:00

Our nightly Scripture reading on this particular evening was the 2nd chapter of John.

The wedding at Cana.
Jesus turning the water into wine.

After the chapter was finished, we were talking with the children about what we were just reading. Jay and I mention to them that this was Jesus' first miracle in the Bible.

Rebekah pipes up.

"Uh... you mean other than when He created the world. You know... cuz He's God?"

I just LOVE that my kids get it! They get it! Wow. :o)

Woo Hoo! She's 2!

2009-01-20T12:21:00.002-05:00

My precious little daughter,

Today is a big day for you. Today you have been with us for 2 whole years. I can hardly believe it!

You are so big now. But I remember when you came out of Mommy's tummy and you were not-so-big (although I thought you were much bigger!). You were a little stubborn thing. You got stuck and it was very difficult to get you out. But once you were here, that stubborness really paid off for you.

You were so sick, and needed a lot of medical attention. You ended up needing all of that extra birth weight, because you lost a whole lot of it in the first few weeks you were with us. Even the doctors were worried about you for a while. You were so small and frail, and you were hooked up to all of those machines, so we couldn't hold you like we wanted. It was very hard on Mommy, because I wanted to hold you and cuddle you and sing to you in my arms to help you get better.

We had to feed you with a tube in your mouth, and I cried a lot, wondering if you would ever get well again. But that is when your stubborness came into play. You fought like a trooper, and began getting your color back a little, day by day. Then, slowly, you wanted more and more food through the tube. You got hungry a lot more often, which made Mommy and Daddy so happy! And soon afterwards, you were able to get off of the machine, and we were able to hold you! And eventually, you didn't want to be fed with a tube anymore, and you learned how to nurse on Mommy like a pro! That made everyone so very happy, because we knew then that you were going to grow into a healthy little girl. And so you did!

You became a rosey-cheeked, FAT little baby. You learned to sit up, and crawl, and walk earlier than most babies do. It was as though that stubborness in you wanted to be done with baby-hood, and you were ready to be BIG like the rest of your siblings.

And I can hardly believe how big you are today. You may be turning two years old today, but you are much smarter than any two year old I have ever seen. You truly amaze us! You have been talking in complete sentences since you were barely 1 year old. You can sing several songs all the way through, including: Jesus Loves Me, The Barney Song, The ABCs, Elmo's World, Clap Your Hands All Ye People, Give Me Oil in My Lamp, All the Children Ought to Know, O Come All Ye Faithful, Great is Thy Faithfulness, and many others. Sometimes Daddy and I just look at you in amazement at all that you are able to do at such a young age. Your brothers and sister were also very smart at your age, but you have surpassed them all... by a lot!

You have turned into such an adorable child, too! You are getting so tall, and you are (finally) slimming out, making you look even taller. You have the most beautiful red hair I have ever seen. And it has really begun to grow long the past few months. You love to sit at Mommy's dressing table and let me fix your hair. You always tell me you want to look "like a princess". And you do, my beautiful child. You also have beautiful eyes of the deepest color blue. They stand out even more with the contrast of your red hair.

I cannot take you anywhere in public without someone stopping me to tell me how strikingly beautiful you are. Everyone (even complete strangers) want to touch your soft, beautiful hair and stare into the deep blue pools of your eyes. And so far, you don't mind it too much. You are very patient and always tell people, "thank you" when they give you such wonderful compliments. My prayer for you is that as you grow older, the compliments of others will not go to your head. I pray that you will continue to be polite as people pass compliments on to you, but that you will accept them with humility and grace, never allowing vanity to enter your heart.

I love watching you interact with your big sister, too. It is so sweet to watch you studying her, attempting to imitate everything she does. You want to dress like her, and fix your hair like her, and smell like her, etc. You are always getting into her closet and putting her shoes on your feet. You take her purse and put it on your shoulder, and walk around the house pretending to be "Sissy". You climb up on the couch and sit right next to her, in exactly the same position. It is adorable.

I pray that you will always have a godly example to look up to, teaching you the way to become pure and godly in girlhood. I pray that your heart will always be tender towards the Holy Spirit, always willing to let it guide you in all of your ways. My biggest prayer for you is that you will grow up healthy and strong, so that you will be able to grow into a beautiful, virtuous maiden, and eventually become a godly wife and mother. I pray you will cling to the Lord with all of your might, and follow Him in all that you think, say, and do.

And I pray that God will grant us many, many more birthdays to celebrate with you.

I love you, my beautiful little daughter. My precious H. E. R.

Love always,
Mommy <><

Milestones

2009-01-11T19:59:00.000-05:00

They've done it! The kids have done it. Another milestone has been reached.
They have learned how to ride two-wheel bicycles.

And it proved to be a lot less stressful than we thought it would be. It only took one day, actually just the afternoon. They are some smart cookies, our kids. (But of course I am not biased a bit! ha ha)

R needed no help at all. She took off and never looked back. She was a pro! She did so well, in fact, that we bought her a brand new bike for her birthday, which she LOVES.

B had a little more trouble with it. But, he IS only 4 years old. I didn't even know how to ride a bike without training wheels at 4.

Jay started him off, and there were a few bumps and bruises at first.

B was beginning to get a little frustrated. Okay, fine. He was getting more than a little frustrated. Can we say... John McEnroe?

But, since R was firguring it out so well, she decided to take B on a step-by-step bike-riding lesson. B was a good student, and concentrated on what she was trying to teach him.

And, after a boost of encouragement, an even a few more failed attempts, B was off again. And this time... HE DID IT!

We are so proud of him. Proud of BOTH of them. And they are proud of themselves. What a great day.

I love watching my children reach new milestones. :o)

The End of an Era

2009-01-08T02:48:00.005-05:00

I sit here today as one proud mama.

Not, that I haven't always been proud of all of my children and their accomplishments, but this particular instance really got me beaming.

For the past couple of years, R has been pretty much infatuated with a certain "teen pop sensation". One who has her own television show with her famous father. I am sure you get my drift.

And up until recently, Jay and I were not bothered by it too much. I mean, for all intents and purposes, the show seemed fairly harmless (at first) and the little actress herself seemed to be, for the most part, a generally "good" kid.

However, as most of us are aware, that "good" kid's behavior lately has become somewhat less desirable. She has begun to display a bad attitude, more promiscuity, etc. And I am aware that her personal life doesn't necessarily mean that she will bring those traits into her show. But, as we were watching the show together the other day, I was shocked to find that the episode was all about how she was "old enough" to make her own decisions about her life, and deliberately disobeyed her father's command that she stay home. Instead, she lied and sneaked out of the house and jumped on an airplane in defiance of her father's wishes. Several other episodes of the show since that time have contained the same rebellious behavior.

I waited to see what my sweet daughter would do about such blatant disregard for the 5th and 9th Commandments, and to decide when I was going to have a conversation with her about it. Thankfully, I didn't have to wait long. R told me immediately after watching the episode that she couldn't believe that HM would do such a terrible thing! Without me saying a word, she told me that HM was breaking God's Commandments and that she couldn't believe it. We talked about it a little more, until I was sure she understood that she was always to behave in a godly way, regardless of the way people she likes on TV are behaving.

Several days later, I was folding laundry when R came up to me and told me that she had something important to talk to me about. Having forgotten the events from a few days before, I was completely surprised to learn that she had been thinking long and hard about our conversation about HM. She told me that she was very upset about the way HM had been behaving on the show, as well as with the behavior of the actress that played her in real life. R told me that she no longer thought MC was a Christian, but someone who was heading in the opposite direction from God. I sat and listened with awe as R told me that she had been thinking a lot about it, and that she had finally decided that she no longer liked HM, and didn't want to watch the show anymore.

And now, whenever we go to the store and we see HM merchandise, R just shakes her head and says, "No. I don't want that. I don't like her anymore." This is BIG, people. I mean, R LOVED HM and MC. She at one time wanted everything in her bedroom to be labelled with HM. She got the wig, the microphone, the makeup, the clothes, the posters, the school folders, pencils, pens, umbrella, cds, itunes songs, etc. with the HM logo on it. She LOVED it.

But, she has also gotten over it, almost overnight. She has done a complete 180. She has decided, all on her own, to have as her role models, young ladies who more closely follow the Lord and His Commandments. She has traded in the worldly ways of HM with more god-fearing characters like Laura and Mary Ingalls, and Elsie Dinsmore.

While my daughter is far from perfect, this new decision of hers has really impressed me. The fact that she would have the maturity in her young spiritual life to see something that violates God's law, that most of the world would think is "no big deal", and go against the flow and completely change her life to "flee from all unrighteousness" is truly astounding to me.

It gives me a glimmer of hope that whenever Jay and I are teaching our children about the Lord, R really is listening. And that gives me so much peace, that we might just be doing something right with this parenting thing.

Like I said before, I am one proud mama. :o)

Out With the Old, In With the New

2009-01-01T22:53:00.002-05:00

Well, it's here. The new year has finally begun, and that means that 2008 is officially gone.

And I say, "Good riddance!"

2008 turned out to be THE most difficult year of our lives, bar none. We had an enormous amount of devastating events that occurred back, to back, to back... all in one single, solitary year.

Our faith was tested more in 2008 than in any other year since becoming Christians. But we also grew stronger in our relationship to the Lord than ever before. We learned to trust Him with our very lives. We learned to rely on Him for absolutely everything. We relied on him for food, shelter, clothes, everything. We lost "fake" friends, moved far away from "dear" friends, rekindled relationships with old friends, and made new friends.

Our marriage became stronger in 2008 than it had since 1997 when we got married, and in all of the rest of the years combined. Jay's prolonged unemployment, in essence, "forced" us to spend A LOT of time together. So, obviously, there was also a lot of "forced" communication between us. We overcame many, many obstacles during those stressful months. And, we have come out of it all in much better shape as a result.

2009 definitely brings with it the hope of better things yet to come. At the very least, it has to be better than 2008... for our family anyway.

We don't normally put too much stock into all of the "hype" that accompanies New Year's. To us, it has always been "just another day". We are much too old and too tired to ever really stay awake until midnight and "watch the ball drop". This year, however, we decided that we wanted to usher out the burdensome 2008 year, and say "HELLO!" to this new year -- this "fresh start" and "new beginning".

So, we did something that we hardly ever do. We let the kids stay up past their bedtimes. We told them they were allowed to stay up as long as they possibly could. Which, of course, got them so excited, one would have thought they had just witnessed the ball dropping to ring in the new year.

We played board games. We ate lots of snacks and junk food (another thing that doesn't normally happen in our family). We played video games. We chased them through the house, and let them jump on their beds. (Okay... we did a LOT of things we don't normally let them do. But this was no ordinary day for our family, and we wanted them to know it).

Eventually, though, the late hour began to take it's toll on the children. They got slower, and slower until, they all got very still (which also doesn't happen often). I put a bunch of pillows on the living room floor and they all got their blankets and cuddled up while we watched videos until the time came for the ball to drop.

They didn't last that long.

The First to Go...

The Next to Go...

Third is going....

Going....

GONE!

After we put the littler ones to bed, we did go ahead and wake R up for the ball dropping. She woke up for the last 5 minutes of it, but was very groggy, so I made her stand up to try to help her stay awake (she had told us earlier in the day that she really, really wanted to see it).

When the countdown finally came, and the ball dropped, she looked at me and said, "That was it??????? I thought the ball was going to drop." After I explained that it had been dropping, slowly going farther and farther towards the bottom of the pole, she said, "Oh. Well, that's boring. I'm going to bed now."

She told me this morning that she thought the ball was going to fall really fast when the clock got to zero. She said that she enjoyed all of the silly stuff we did as a family (video games, jumping on the beds, etc), but that she probably wont stay up that late anymore.

Ahhh... That's my good girl. :o)

A Letter to My Birthday Girl

2008-12-28T00:00:00.008-05:00

My Dearest R,

Today is your birthday. I can't believe you are 8 years old already! You are growing up so fast. That makes me sad sometimes, (like today) when I remember the day you came into this world. You were so small and helpless, and you needed me to do everything for you. Things are very different now. You can dress yourself, you take showers all by yourself, read by yourself, braid your hair, and ride a bike. You can even get yourself something to eat, and can help me feed your little sister sometimes, too.

But, I also get the privilege to see what a beautiful young woman you are becoming. And you really are very beautiful. You are so tall, thin and stylish. And with your blonde hair, I feel like I have my very own life-sized Barbie doll. I love that you prefer to wear nice dresses instead of jeans. It is such a blessing to me and your daddy to see you preferring modest clothing to the more popular kind. I pray that will never change.

It is also a blessing to have the opportunity to watch you blossoming into a young woman of godly character. I like to catch you in your room sometimes with your dolls and stuffed animals, as you attempt to teach them stories from the Bible. And whenever we go to a playground, you always seem to make a friend, and you always ask them if they are Christians, and make sure to tell them about Jesus before we leave.

And it pleases your Daddy and me to catch you with your light on late at night. I know that sounds silly, because normally, we would discipline you for staying up past your bedtime. But we have learned that you use that time to read your Bible. Most girls your age would choose to read much different things, and it shows us that your little heart has a yearning and a desire to know more about our Lord. And that is a good thing to yearn for, because as you seek to become more like Christ, it will be evident in the way you relate to others.

You are already displaying a heart full of love and patience. You let your brother and baby sister play with your toys, and you are very patient with them as you try to teach them some of the things you have learned in these 8 years of life. And I adore the fact that you get excited to read books from Elsie Dinsmore and Little House on the Prairie. I beam with pride every time I see you trying to act like Elsie Dinsmore or Mary Ingalls (you prefer to be like Mary instead of Laura because Mary is the oldest and has blonde hair, just like you). It is so much better to see you imitating these young women of godly character, instead of the ones that are much less godly from the popular TV shows that other children your age are imitating.

You are also very adaptable, and have accepted changes easily. You really are showing us that you have a heart that is willing to sacrifice. Our family has been through a lot of hard times in this past year. And you have very willingly and humbly sacrificed so much as a result, and yet, you don't complain. And I know it has been hard on you to adjust to living without as many things as we used to have. It breaks my heart to see you worrying about our finances. You aren't supposed to have to worry about such things, but you have done so well at trying to live on less lately. You have gone from having your own room, with your own bed, filled with your own toys, and clothes, and books, to sharing not only a room with your baby sister, but you share a bed with her now, too! And you didn't complain about it at all. You actually said you thought it would be fun, because you could be like Mary and Laura Ingalls. What a wonderful big sister you are! You have become a wonderful role model for your brother and sister to look up to.

And I know that you are looking up to me as a role model, too. I will have to work extra hard to be a good one for you to follow. I love it when you ask to help me cook dinner, and that you are so willing to do your chores with a good attitude. You have a very teachable spirit, and accept correction very humbly and meekly. You bless me so much and bring tears to my eyes when you are asked what you want to be when you grow up. You always tell people the same thing. You just want to be a mom. Not a doctor, or a lawyer. A mom. That might not be something most people would choose, but believe me when I tell you that it is a very high calling, and one that the Lord will bless in countless ways.

I know that you will be a wonderful mom someday. You can sing to your children with that beautiful voice of yours. And I know that you will teach your children from the Bible, just like me and Daddy teach you, because I know that you truly love the Lord and His Word.

I pray that one day your children will make you as happy and as proud as you have made me and your Daddy these past 8 years.

Have a Happy Birthday, my sweet, beautiful, 8 year old daughter!

We love you always,
Mom

Thanksgiving #2

2008-12-16T08:53:00.000-05:00

The first Thanksgiving celebration we had was with all of the homeschool families in our homeschool group. The second one was celebrated with just the family.

We were supposed to host it at our house this year. But with our "Month of a Million Travels", it was going to be much too stressful for us. So, we decided to have the meal at Jay's sister, Melissa's, house instead. However, Melissa was right in the middle of an extremely ugly divorce, and her ex-husband TOOK the stove out of her house! Yes, I know. I have never heard such a horrible thing (but honestly, that was just one of the many terrible things he did).

So anyway, we were going to have to cook the Thanksgiving meal, and my house was the only one with a stove. I was a bit nervous about it, I have never cooked an entire Thanksgiving meal at my house before, so this was a new experience for me. But, I started the night before, and by 12:30PM on Thursday, everything was finished baking, and ready to be eaten. Now, the tough part was getting all of these freshly baked yummies all the way to Melissa's house! But, they all made it just fine! :o)

We had ham, mashed potatoes, scalloped potatoes, corn casserole, dressing, deviled eggs, green bean casserole, rolls, sweet potato casserole, pumpkin pie, and pumpkin cake.

Everything tasted really really good, and we all had a wonderful time visiting with each other. It was especially nice because Jay was supposed to work on Thanksgiving this year (people are still dying, whether it is a holiday or not), but at the last minute, the other chaplain told Jay that he would work in his place. What a blessing! :o)

Besides all the wonderful food, though, I have to say that the highlight of the day was when we brought out our Wii, and convinced Jay's dad that he would love playing it. He was hard to convince, because he insisted that he couldn't understand video games enough to play them well. But when we showed him how to play bowling and baseball (the easiest games to play, in my opinion), he decided to give it a try.

It was soooo fun to watch! You could see the look on Charles' face change from completely confused, to totally enthralled and excited as he began to understand how the game was played. Eventually, he got brave enough to play boxing with Jay, too! Now, THAT was hilarious to watch! I had to get some pictures to show as proof! Ha ha.

The really funny part is, Charles came by the house yesterday afternoon, and could not stop talking about how much fun he had playing that Wii! ha ha ha. :o)

Month of a Million Travels...part 2

2008-12-09T23:50:00.000-05:00

I mentioned before that November was the "Month of a Million Travels" for our family. Part 1 was when we went to KY during Jay's mom's illness. Part 2 took place the next weekend after we got back.

We had scheduled a mini-vacation to Orlando soon after Jay got his job, as a way to celebrate finally ending the long, hard 8 months without a job or any income. It was supposed to be a very relaxing time for all of us. Supposed to be.

Three days before we were scheduled to leave, Jay came home from work early. He stepped through the door and stumbled to his bed. He was burning up with fever, had chills, and a terribly sore throat. He had even completely lost his appetite, which should tell any of you who really know him that he was most definitely sick!

Jay promised that he would be better in time for our trip, which was 100% non-refundable. However, after three days in bed with no change, I thought we were going to have to bite the bullet and cancel the trip. But, Jay insisted that we were still going to be able to make it, even though he could barely speak. We took him to the doctor, who told him he had a nasty case of strep throat. He could barely drive, but he told me to get us all packed and ready to go.

So, it was then my job to nurse my very sick hubby, homeschool the kids, care for the little ones, clean the house, shop for the trip, and pack everyone. All in less than a day. I was more than a little stressed. But, we crammed all of the suitcases and children into the van, and headed for Orlando. For our nice, relaxing vacation.

We got to our hotel in one piece, and were pleasantly surprised at how extremely nice it was. Jay's dad had a timeshare there and we were able to use it for the trip. We had 2 bedrooms, a living room, a den, a dining room, a large fully stocked kitchen, a laundry room, and 2 large bathrooms... both of which had jacuzzi tubs in them!

Here is a link to see a virtual tour of the hotel room we stayed in. It was by far the nicest hotel we have ever stayed in! When you click on the link, you can click on both of the 1 bedroom buttons and you will get some idea of the room we had (Both bedrooms are attached to each other).

I was very disappointed, however, because with all of the hustle and bustle of packing and everything, I completely forgot to bring our camera. I had NO way to take any pictures of our hotel room or the trip. I was so upset! But we went to the gift shop and bought a cheap disposable camera. I took several pictures, but when I got them all developed, very few of them turned out at all. I have included some of the few that did (found below)...

We went to "The Holy Land Experience" in Orlando. It was surprisingly very educational! TBN recently bought it, and when you are walking through it, you can definitely see the influence they have put into it (with many things seeming to be a bit "cheesy", and sometimes we would cringe as we saw the way they were portraying things). But, overall, I have to say it was a fairly positive experience.

Like I said, a bit "cheesy"... and you might cringe at this...

This is in the children's area, which is full of very vivid colors. They also have a giant whale that you can walk into and listen to the story of Jonah. And a giant ark where they have story time. It's all a bit too commercial for our taste. But the kids enjoyed the rides. :o)

This picture is very dark and hard to see, but it was taken in a room that was filled with tons of these sports chairs that swiveled and had matching ottomans. The kids liked to sit in this room and watch the TBN children's shows they had up on a big movie screen.

Above everything else we did on our trip, though, the best time the kids had was when we were in the hotel room, and they all got to go "swimming" in the hot tub! ha ha.

Jay was still very sick throughout the entire trip. But he was a trooper. We did some shopping in Downtown Disney and "oo'd and awe'd" at all of the statues in Lego Land.

It wasn't our usual, fun-loving, go-all-out kind of vacation. It was a LOT more toned down than usual. But, we still tried to make the best of things.

And, you know... the kids still talk about that beautiful huge hotel room and how they got to go swimming in the giant tub every day. So, in that respect, our little mini-vacation turned out to be a winner after all. :o)

The Best Things in Life are FREE!

2008-12-05T08:32:00.001-05:00

Saturdays in our family are considered to be priceless and sacred, for quality together-time.
This is non-negotiable in our household.
We do not volunteer our time for various church or community events which are held on Saturdays, and Jay does not accept invitations to perform funeral services through the Hospice Center on those days either. Saturdays are strictly for Family Time.

Now let me explain that there are times when we do participate in various ministry projects together as a family on Saturdays. Sometimes, we like to go to nursing homes and visit with some of the patients there (elderly people get so lonely in those places, and seeing the children brings such a sparkle in their eyes, and joy to their hearts). And, if Jay was asked to perform the funeral ceremony for one of his patients that was especially dear to him, we would all go with him to provide comfort to the grieving family members.

But these events are always done together. Not separated into different areas. Not forced to have one child in the nursery, the others in the children's area, and both adults split up doing this, that, or the other thing. There is a certain time and place for that. We all-too-often find ourselves caught up during the week, over-exerting ourselves and being pulled in a million directions; caught between work, or church, or homeschool stuff, etc. But no, no. Not on Saturdays. Saturdays are reserved for us.

So, two Saturdays ago, we got in the van and headed down the road. We needed this particular Family Day, because Jay and I had just come home from a long and exhausting trip across the country without the kids, and had spent the entire week agonizing over a major decision. We had finally made up our minds about it and, feeling relieved and confident about our decision, decided to spend the day doing something fun with the kids.

We went to a restaurant for lunch we had never eaten at before -- one of those "Mom and Pop" places. We had just taken our seats and began eating, when a woman came over to our table. She had noticed that we had small children, and told us that she had tickets for an event in Tampa that evening, and wondered if we wanted them. For FREE. Now, perhaps we have been burned a few too many times in the past. We tend to be suspicious of things that appear to be "free". But, this woman asked us to wait where we were for a few minutes (which was not a problem, since we had just begun to eat), and she called her friend on the telephone to get the tickets from her home, and bring them to the restaurant.

Just as we were finishing up with our meal, the woman came back to our table, with her friend and the tickets in tow. She gave them to us, and told us very sweetly that she hoped we would be able to enjoy them. And then she left. No tricks. No hassles. Just, four tickets. The tickets were for "The Wiggles - Live on Stage". Something we probably wouldn't have bought tickets to see any other time (mostly because they are so expensive). But for FREE... we are willing to endure just about anything. :o)

So we accepted the woman's FREE tickets (which would have cost $40 each). But since there were only 4 of them, and 5 of us, we were going to have to purchase one more ticket. No problem. Seeing a show for only $40, that would have cost us $200, was something we were more than willing to do. So, we drove d0wn to Tampa early to see if we could buy one more ticket that would be next to the seats of our other tickets.

Jay dropped me off at the front, so I could run over to the ticket counter. When I got there, I was the only person in line, which surprised me. I began to wonder if the tickets were indeed legitimate. Once I showed them to the person at the counter, who by the way, was extremely nice, told me they were, in fact, real tickets, and happily obliged our request for five seats together, and even found some that were a little closer than the ones our tickets had been for.... at no extra charge. And I was able to get another ticket for little H as well. For FREE. So, another person blessed us with a free ticket to the show! 5 tickets to see "The Wiggles"... for FREE! Wow!

Yes, it was The Wiggles. Yes, it was loud. Yes, it was cheesey. Yes, it was repetitive. Yes, it was a little annoying. But seeing the look on our children's faces as they clapped, and squealed, and sang, and danced, and "wiggled", and had the best time of their young lives... was absolutely priceless, and worth any annoyance. We would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

What a blessing to be able to experience it all for FREE! What an amazing experience!

And what an amazing way to spend our precious Family Day. :o)

A Happy Homeschool Thanksgiving

2008-11-30T23:23:00.001-05:00

This week has, of course, been a crazy one. I am sure it is the same with every family at this time of the year.

A few days before Thanksgiving, we celebrated this festive holiday with all of our friends in our homeschool group (there were probably 60 of us all together!). We had so much fun!

It was hosted by one of the many members in the group who run a working farm. They have ducks, chickens, roosters, turkeys, baby chicks, horses, ponies, cows, etc.

Poor R... she is such a girly girl. She overdressed herself for being on a farm.

But she tried to make the best of it and (after applying some facepaint) was soon running with the others. :o)

And, yes, that is my daughter rubbing her tummy and saying, "YUM! Turkeys." The poor turkeys you see in the background are going to be Thanksgiving Dinner this year.

Sandy, who was the hostess, dressed herself and her 7 children as either pilgrims or indians, and gave all of us a wonderful history lesson.
Sandy is a 9th generation direct ancestor of William Bradford, who was one of the original pilgrims. She also has his personal journals that he wrote in from his journey overseas to the "New World", and of his trials after his arrival. It was fascinating.

One of the entries in his journal was that in the beginning, the settlers did not have much food at all, and many of them were starving to death. That first year after they arrived, the rations of food had dwindled down to merely 5 kernels of corn per person, per day!

So, Sandy had prepared some corn and gave each of the children 5 solitary kernels of corn... and then told them, "Happy Thanksgiving! Didn't you like this wonderful feast?" Ha ha. Some of the littler ones got a little worried that they were not getting anything else to eat! :o)

Another interesting entry in the journals was that there were no utensils for the settlers to use, so they had to use sea shells as spoons. Sandy encouraged those who wanted to, to try to eat their meals with a shell instead of the utensils that we take for granted.

R decided to give it a try... which, if you know R, you know she is very prissy. It was soooo out of character for her, but she did it! The look on her face is priceless, but she did it! I was so proud of her!

The kids ended the eventful day by going on horseback rides!

Well, all except little H. She didn't mind so much. She had too much fun playing in the giant sand pit they had in the backyard.

At the end of the day, she was completely filthy from head to toe, and was asleep in the car shortly after this picture was taken. (as you can see from the picture, she is already staring off into space and I couldn't get her attention for a picture, so this is what we ended up with) :o)

Homeschool Field Trip! Woo Hoo!

2008-11-23T19:41:00.009-05:00

Our homeschool group took a field trip to Pizza Hut the other day. The kids had so much fun!

First, they got a tour of the restaurant. Including the kids getting to walk through the giant freezer in the back (which they thought was tons of fun). Then, they learned about sanitation and saw the really cool dishwasher they used (I wish I had one of those... it scalds everything and cleans it all in about one minute!).

The manager had the kids so scared of the scalding hot temperature inside the thing that when he opened it and the kids saw all the steam pouring out, a lot of the kids ran quickly away to their moms! My kids were just stunned and wouldn't move an inch. ha ha.

Then all the kids got to make their own personal pan pizza... any way they wanted it.

I wish there was a better picture of H (and one that didn't have ME in it!), but she was soooo funny shoveling fistfuls of cheese into her mouth! :o)

Of course, their favorite part was the very end... when they all got to EAT their delicious creations.

All in all, it was a wonderfully delicious... er... uh.... educational field trip. :o)

ORANGES!

2008-11-19T16:20:00.001-05:00

Peek-a-boo! I see you!

We have an orange tree in our backyard. The kids just love to climb it, because the branches are fairly low to the ground.

Within the past few weeks, the tree has been showing signs of producing oranges. For the most part, they have been small and green. But, just recently, it has begun bursting with sweet, juicy oranges!

There are so many that the branches hang down low from the heavy weight... some branches dangling just inches off the ground. The children have taken it upon themselves to be the "Official Orange Pickers". They must pick a dozen every day or two... and still there are so many more on that tree that we don't know what to do with!!!

There is no way for us to eat them all before they go bad, so the kids have started getting very creative and using their imaginations.

R usually likes to pretend she is selling them at a market, and gets B and H to "buy" some from her.

B, on the other hand, tends to get a little more physical with them (as a true boy would). He likes to use them as baseballs and play target practice. (we, of course, make him clean up the mess afterwards). :o)

All in all, we have our very own, built-in entertainment center in the backyard! It provides hours of citrus-smelling fun!
Fresh squeezed orange juice, anyone? :o)

Surviving the Month of a "Million" Travels

2008-11-18T14:05:00.005-05:00

Whew!!! I know we haven't posted in a while, but for good reason. We have been BUSY! Like the title of this post says, this month has been renamed in our family to the Month of a Million Travels.

First, we spent several days in Kentucky, unexpectedly, during Jay's mom's illness.

Then, a couple of days after we got back, my dad came to visit for a few more days.

Then, a day or two after Steve went home, Jay got a terrible sickness that we thought was the flu (but actually turned out to be a really bad case of strep throat), and I spent the next several days nursing him back to health (and keeping it from spreading to everyone else).

By the end of the week, Jay was still not entirely well, but we had a scheduled, non-refundable trip to Orlando to go on vacation, so I was responsible for packing everything (and everyone) and getting us to our resort in Orlando (to attempt to have a fun time, even though Jay was dreadfully sick).

We had 3 days after we got back from our trip to Orlando to wash all the laundry, RE-pack everything, set R & B up to stay at Jay's sister's house, and get me, Jay and H to the airport for an 8 hour long flight and then 3 hour long drive to the beautiful state of Oregon, where we stayed until late last night, when we again made that exhausting 11 hour trip to come back home.

Then, I got a call that my friend Tonya is in town from TN and would like to come for a quick visit today before she has to drive to Gainesville on a business trip.

So, needless to say, I am TIRED! (and after reading all of that again, it made me even more tired!) ha ha.

I have plenty of pictures from all of our travels, but at the moment, I have GOT to get my house under control, and all this laundry done first!!! (or at least make it somewhat presentable for when Tonya comes over!) ha ha.

As soon as I have a moment to sit here, edit pictures, etc., I will write another post. I will probably make a Blog Series, where I spend a couple of weeks highlighting some of the events during this Month of a Million Travels.

But for now.... the dryer bell is buzzing.... duty calls! (again) :o)

A Surprise Guest

2008-11-05T19:50:00.003-05:00

I received a phone call that my dad had a job in Ft. Lauderdale and wanted to stop by to see me. Since he had flown his own plane down, it was going to be very quick and easy to fly on over to where we live for a short lunch date with me and the kids (Jay, of course, was at work).

We had a wonderful lunch, catching up and talking about how much the kids have grown (and they have!). Then he took us shopping (Grandpa's are really good at spoiling their precious grandbabies), and showed him around our home.

It was only supposed to be a quick "Hi and Bye", but the weather here changed unexpectedly, causing thick clouds to cover the area and leaving him unable to fly back home. So, he was "forced" to stay with us overnight. :o)

We, of course, didn't mind a bit! We got to spend a lot more time together and the kids just loved it! They have missed seeing their Grandpa Steve! Even better still, the weather delayed him the next night, too! (tee hee).

It was finally clear enough for him to fly out this afternoon. So, as a fun "farewell" treat, Grandpa Steve took me and the kids flying in his airplane!

I was very nervous! Especially since little H had to sit in my lap in the cockpit near all of those neat buttons and knobs she thought would be fun to play with!
But she thankfully behaved like a sweet little angel, and fell asleep soon after we got in the air.

R and B both loved wearing the headsets because they could hear themselves talking in the microphones. They liked pretending to talk to the tower and giving the call numbers of the plane. It was very cute.

Then Grandpa let them take turns pretending to fly the plane (while we were on the ground, of course!). It made them feel very special. :o)

We had a wonderful time. What a nice surprise visit. And now, B keeps insisting that he is going to grow up to fly planes just like his Grandpa Steve. :o)

Miracles and Musings

2008-10-31T10:23:00.001-04:00

We're baaaaaack!

This has been one crazy, chaotic, incredibly stressful, insanely wild week!

First things first. Pat is going to be okay. Thank you all for your earnest prayers. The Lord heard them and answered them in the best possible way. Pat is still in the hospital and will likely be there for several more days, but she is going to survive. Praise God!

She was rushed to the Critical Care Unit in the Murray hospital when she arrived at the ER on Saturday night, and the nurses and doctors who cared for her there told us that they did not think she was going to make it. She was close to death on the way to the hospital in Paducah and it was touch-and-go for the next day or two. When she arrived in Paducah, she was suffering from severe respiratory distress, kidney failure, and sepsis something something...??? (I don't know how to spell it or what the correct terminology is, but her body had an extremely high level of toxins in it, and with her kidneys shutting down, her body was poisoning itself. One of her lungs also completely shut down and would not work at all, so she was in a big mess. Poor thing.

The doctors in Paducah worked tirelessly to keep her alive and breathing. They scheduled for her to go on dialysis treatment to flush her body of the toxins that were poisoning her and to be put on a ventilator to help her breathe. But before they were able to do any of those things, her kidneys all of a sudden started working again (praise God!) and, even though they had her on oxygen and was struggling as she took each breath, she was improving just enough to keep from going on the ventilator (praise God!). They moved her to the ICU, where she stayed Monday and Tuesday. When Jay and I went in to see her in that room, we were so scared. She was so pale and hooked up to so many tubes, and her eyes were rolled back in her head and she couldn't speak, and every single breath she took required every ounce of her strength. She very nearly died.

But, with all of her children surrounding her, it is like she had a renewed ambition and had a little fight left in her to struggle to stay alive. You have to know Pat to understand her spunky personality. But it was almost like, even as sick as she was, she was trying to defy all of us who were thinking she was going to die, and thought, "I'll show YOU!" And, boy did she! She surprised all of her doctors and nurses with her rapid improvement. By Wednesday afternoon, she was taken out of the ICU and placed in a regular room. It was completely astonishing.

There was one little catch, though. They ran some tests on the fluid that had taken residence in her lungs and discovered that it was caused by some extremely aggressive and dangerous bacteria that can kill people rather quickly. It is also highly contagious. So they had to put her in an isolation room. It had it's plus sides. She got the room all to herself, and we were all still allowed to visit with her. But it also had a catch. Each person who entered her room had to take safety precautions first.

Even the kids were allowed to go see Grandma Pat, as long as they wore the protective coverings. I sooooo wish I had brought my camera with me so you could have seen all of us. But we had to put on a protective gown, rubber gloves (they even had latex-free ones for me!), shoe covers, and masks to cover our faces. Boy, were we all a sight to see! Ha ha. The kids were super excited to get decked out in their "costumes". All the nurses were laughing at how much the kids enjoyed getting dressed up (because to everyone else it was quite frustrating and time consuming).

We all looked like we belonged in the movie E.T. when everyone is wearing all those radiation suits. It was quite funny. Ben went around to everyone and "performed surgery" on them as though he was a surgeon, and little Hannah followed his lead by running around the room to each person and proudly announcing, "Look uh me! I a doctor!" She was so cute.

Rebekah had a little different reaction. She is my "grown up" girl. She takes things very seriously, and was busy being "mother hen" to all of us, making sure we all kept the masks on, stayed 3 feet away from Grandma, etc. She was genuinely concerned about Grandma's welfare and wanted to keep everyone else safe. It was her idea to go to the gift shop and buy Grandma Pat some flowers, and even addressed the card all by herself. She was very sweet and behaved very responsibly and maturely. I was proud of her. She even performed for Grandma Pat. She had been learning sign language at our homeschool co-op, so she did The Pledge of Allegiance in sign language. Pat was able to speak a little bit (very weakly), but was able to tell Rebekah how it made Grandma very happy and proud of her. She did a great job.

With Pat doing so much better, and the doctors saying that she would make a miraculously full recovery, Jay and I decided to travel back home on Thursday. We had Jay's sister, Melissa, with us, since she lives only 5 miles from our house. I am so glad we have a minivan with plenty of room for everyone! And, by God's providence, we had just gotten new brakes put on the van on Saturday, so we were ready to tackle those mountains in Chattanooga! Plus, we were extremely pleasantly surprised to find gas for sale at $2.08. Yes, that is a zero. And no, it is not in the wrong place. It was two dollars and eight cents a gallon. What a blessing to fill our tank for significantly less than the usual $65.00!

The kids did amazingly well, considering we got on the road at 5AM (CST) and were stuck in the car for over 14 long hours! But we arrived safe and sound at home, with our cat and our two dogs overjoyed to see us, and our warm cozy beds waiting to give us some much-needed rest.

Thank you all so much for your kind thoughts, phone calls, and prayers during this time that could have been so much worse than it turned out to be. It is a miracle that Pat is alive today, and I know I can thank our Father in Heaven, who heard the prayers of our wonderful friends and loved ones.

In Christ Alone,

Update on Pat

2008-10-28T08:20:00.001-04:00

This is Tuesday. On Monday morning, we were told that they were going to intebate her, so she would be on a ventilator to help her breathe. They were also planning to do dialysis in an attempt to clean out the toxins from her body. Things were looking pretty bleak.

Jay and I decided rather quickly to pack everyone up and make the 13 hour drive to KY to see her. We arrived around 10:30PM KY time, which is 11:30PM FL time! We were pretty exhausted, but we made it in one piece! And the kids did amazingly well, being stuck in the car for so long!

Realization struck about how serious Pat's situation was when the doctors were suggesting that all of her family come to see her. So, all of Jay's sisters decided to come, too. It has been several years since all 5 of the siblings have been together in one place! So, in that respect, it will be nice to see everyone.

We got word when we arrived late last night that Pat's blood pressure has begun to climb back towards a healthy level. It is still very low right now, though. And, one of her lungs is now working at all, so that is not good news. But, the doctors are a tiny bit more optimistic about her condition than they were yesterday morning. And they have postponed the intebation for now.

We will continue to keep everyone updated via this blog whenever we have a chance to post to it.

Thank you for your continued prayers and petitions on her behalf.

In Christ,

Prayers Needed

2008-10-26T21:36:00.003-04:00

We received a phone call early this morning that Jay's mom was in the hospital after having a hard time breathing with a virus she had gotten. The updates we have received throughout the day tell us that things have gotten drastically worse.

She was transferred to the Critical Care Unit, with a severe case of pneumonia. She is having to be on oxygen and is having a very difficult time breathing. Her blood pressure has dropped to a ridiculously low 70/30.

The doctors suspect that due to her low blood pressure level and her elevated white blood cell count, she is likely suffering from more than just pneumonia, but they have yet to figure out what else it is that is ailing her.

The doctors were unable to get an IV line in her, so they had to get a surgeon to surgically put a line into an artery in her neck.

Just a few minutes ago we got word that she is being transferred to another hospital, where she can hopefully get care more specific to her needs.

Jay and I are playing the "waiting game" while we try to decide what course of action we need to take. I will try to keep you all updated as we get word of any changes in her condition.

But right now we would really appreciate and covet your earnest prayers on her behalf.

In Christ,

Our Day at the Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-22T17:31:00.004-04:00

My Little "Punkins"

We took a homeschool field trip to the Pumpkin Patch the other day. The kids had so much fun! There were classes offered there to teach the children various facts about pumpkins. How they are planted, how they grow, the different sizes, shapes, and colors, and even how they are harvested and shipped across the country. Very educational and very enjoyable.

Here are some great pics I got of the kids there:

And then, once we got home, the kids wanted to decorate their pumpkins, so we repeated our fun activity from the other day, and I let them paint their pumpkins out on the lanai.

Their decorations made a lovely addition to our entryway. Of course, I have to admit that little H smearing her piggy nose on the screen definitely adds to the cuteness... don't you think? :o)

A New Favorite Routine

2008-10-18T19:17:00.000-04:00

R and I have adopted a new routine into our daily schedule. And it has quickly become our favorite part of the day.

___
Click here for a link to the Elsie Dinsmore series and other wholesome books and activities for girls that promotes godly character.

Each night, after we all do our family Bible and prayer time, R and I will go into her room, curl up in the covers of her bed, and read a chapter of Elsie Dinsmore. It is such a wonderful series! It is so wholesome, sweet and innocent.

Little Elsie Dinsmore is a sweet little girl, who tries very hard to follow the Lord in everything she does. She has many trials in her life, and many temptations from others who scoff at her faith and call her weird. But through all her struggles, she perseveres in her faith and obedience to God, whom she loves dearly.

Since beginning to read about Elsie and her faith, I have had the wonderful opportunity to witness my own sweet daughter attempting to model herself after the godly character we read about in Elsie Dinsmore. These books have made her tender to the Holy Spirit, and it is so sweet to see.

I love our new special time together. It is so amazing how strongly our bond has grown after only a few nights of reading about wholesome, godly characters, and discussing how we can apply the Biblical principles we read about into our daily lives.

Speaking of which, I had better hurry up and publish this post... it's almost time for us to read the next chapter! :o)

Obama and the Abortion Question by Albert Mohler

2008-10-16T15:53:00.001-04:00

Here is a very interesting article I read this afternoon. It's long... but well worth reading all the way through.

*********************************

The purpose of this letter is to make you aware of the depth of belief that Senator Obama has expressed in words and actions about life. Put simply, he does not value life in the womb and has voted four times to kill babies that were born after botched abortions. How far will his perspective go? I guess my question is, will any stage of life be safe?

The shadow of abortion looms large over the American conscience. Over thirty years after Roe v. Wade, the abortion controversy has not gone away. If the U.S. Supreme Court majority really thought that their decision to create a new "right" to abortion would resolve the issue, history has rejected that assumption. The nation is even more divided on this question in 2008 than it was in 1973.

Each new presidential election is greeted by some with hopes that the abortion issue will go away. The controversy resists disappearance. It cannot merely go away, because both sides in the controversy see the issue in ultimate terms.

The worldview clash is never more clearly revealed than on this grave question. One side defines the issue in terms of a woman's right to control her own destiny. Then, as now, abortion advocates argue that access to abortion is necessary in order to level the playing field between men and women. Feminists argued that abortion rights were and are absolutely necessary to a woman's autonomy and privacy. Abortion rights advocates have argued amongst themselves over the question of whether to admit that the killing of an unborn child is even a tragedy. Whatever the admission, the unborn child's intrinsic right to life is denied. In the classic form of this argument, a woman must have the right to an abortion at anywhere, any time, for any reason, whether or not she can pay for it.

The other side of the argument looks to the unborn child as the most significant moral question. This side bases its assumptions on the claim that a human being, at any stage of development, has an intrinsic right to life that must be respected by all humanity. Thus, any pregnancy that ends in the death of the child is a tragedy. The only distinction between the death of that unborn child and the death of a child after its birth is that the unborn child is not yet known by others to the extent the child born alive soon comes to be known. A miscarriage, like any other natural death, is a tragedy marked by loss and grief. An abortion, like any other taking of innocent human life, is an act of moral treachery.

For the better part of four decades, some have attempted to find a middle ground between these two positions, but to no avail. The reason quickly becomes clear. If abortion is to be understood as a fundamental right, no woman can be denied the exercise of that right. If abortion is the taking of innocent human life, no justification can be offered for abortion as a means of ending an unwanted pregnancy -- none at all. Middle ground would be possible only if we can assume that the right to abortion is not fundamental, but merely provisional, and that the unborn child does not have an intrinsic right to life, but only a provisional right. Efforts to frame the issue in this way fail because neither of these assumptions can be qualified in this way and remain coherent.

Abortion is back front and center in the 2008 presidential race. Sen. John McCain and the Republican Party Platform call for a reversal of Roe v. Wade and are against any notion of abortion as a fundamental right. Both the candidate and the platform call for specific measures to curtail access to abortion and to lead, eventually, to the end of abortion on demand.

Sen. Barack Obama and the Democratic Party Platform call for a stalwart and enthusiastic defense of Roe v. Wade and for expanded access to abortion. In the case of Sen. Obama, his advocacy of abortion rights goes considerably beyond where any major candidate has ever gone before.

In a recent essay, Professor Robert P. George of Princeton University makes the case that Sen. Obama is "the most extreme pro-abortion candidate ever to seek the office of President of the United States." Further: "He is the most extreme pro-abortion member of the United States Senate. Indeed, he is the most extreme pro-abortion legislator ever to serve in either house of the United States Congress"

This is quite a claim, but Professor George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton, argues his case convincingly.

First:

For starters, he supports legislation that would repeal the Hyde Amendment, which protects pro-life citizens from having to pay for abortions that are not necessary to save the life of the mother and are not the result of rape or incest. The abortion industry laments that this longstanding federal law, according to the pro-abortion group NARAL, ''forces about half the women who would otherwise have abortions to carry unintended pregnancies to term and bear children against their wishes instead.'' In other words, a whole lot of people who are alive today would have been exterminated in utero were it not for the Hyde Amendment. Obama has promised to reverse the situation so that abortions that the industry complains are not happening (because the federal government is not subsidizing them) would happen.

Second:

He has promised that ''the first thing I'd do as President is sign the Freedom of Choice Act'' (known as FOCA). This proposed legislation would create a federally guaranteed ''fundamental right'' to abortion through all nine months of pregnancy, including, as Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia has noted in a statement condemning the proposed Act, ''a right to abort a fully developed child in the final weeks for undefined 'health' reasons.'' In essence, FOCA would abolish virtually every existing state and federal limitation on abortion, including parental consent and notification laws for minors, state and federal funding restrictions on abortion, and conscience protections for pro-life citizens working in the health-care industry-protections against being forced to participate in the practice of abortion or else lose their jobs. The pro-abortion National Organization for Women has proclaimed with approval that FOCA would ''sweep away hundreds of anti-abortion laws [and] policies.''

Third:

Obama, unlike even many ''pro-choice'' legislators, opposed the ban on partial-birth abortions when he served in the Illinois legislature and condemned the Supreme Court decision that upheld legislation banning this heinous practice. He has referred to a baby conceived inadvertently by a young woman as a ''punishment'' that she should not endure. He has stated that women's equality requires access to abortion on demand. Appallingly, he wishes to strip federal funding from pro-life crisis pregnancy centers that provide alternatives to abortion for pregnant women in need. There is certainly nothing ''pro-choice'' about that.

In addition:

In an act of breathtaking injustice which the Obama campaign lied about until critics produced documentary proof of what he had done, as an Illinois state senator Obama opposed legislation to protect children who are born alive, either as a result of an abortionist's unsuccessful effort to kill them in the womb, or by the deliberate delivery of the baby prior to viability. This legislation would not have banned any abortions. Indeed, it included a specific provision ensuring that it did not affect abortion laws. (This is one of the points Obama and his campaign lied about until they were caught.) The federal version of the bill passed unanimously in the United States Senate, winning the support of such ardent advocates of legal abortion as John Kerry and Barbara Boxer. But Barack Obama opposed it and worked to defeat it. For him, a child marked for abortion gets no protection-even ordinary medical or comfort care-even if she is born alive and entirely separated from her mother. So Obama has favored protecting what is literally a form of infanticide.

Anyone who takes the issue of abortion with moral seriousness should look closely at Professor George's essay, for it makes his case convincingly, adding many points of argument and evidence to those cited above. Beyond Professor George's essay, take a look for yourself at the Freedom of Choice Act [FOCA] Sen. Obama has pledged to sign -- even as a first act in office as President.

The FOCA establishes the right to an abortion as a fundamental right, ensuring that abortion rights would remain in force even if Roe v. Wade were to be overturned. The act would also repeal provisions that limit federal funding of abortion, strip doctors of "conscience clauses" that allow them not to perform abortions, and nullify state provisions that allow for waiting periods, counseling, and parental notification when a minor is involved. Support for this provision would alone suffice to characterize Sen. Obama's position as radical and to sustain Professor George's argument.

The fact is that Sen. Barack Obama has never voted to support any measure that would, in itself, lead to any reduction in the number of abortions performed. He also appears never to have failed to support any provision -- however radical -- that would expand access to abortion. He even opposes a ban on partial birth abortions.

Some now argue that pro-life voters can nevertheless vote for Sen. Obama. As Professor George argues, this is delusional.

There are signs of fatigue among Christians on this issue. Some argue that the sanctity of life issue is simply one among many important issues. Without doubt, we are faced with many urgent and important issues. Nevertheless, every voter must come to terms with what issues matter most in the electoral decision. At some point, every voter is a potential "single issue" voter. Some issues simply eclipse others.

This is the case with the sanctity of human life. I can understand the fatigue. So little progress seems to have been made. So much ground has been lost. So many unborn babies have been aborted. The culture has turned increasingly hostile to this commitment, especially among the young. There is a sense that many want to get on with other issues.

There is fatigue and frustration with the Republican Party and with limited progress. There is frustration with mixed signals and missed opportunities. There is the acknowledgment that we have too often been told what we want to hear and then been ignored.

There is the sense that the battle has grown old -- along with those who are fighting it. There are signs that the culture is closing its ears. We all have other concerns as well. Can we make any progress on those if we remain tenaciously committed to opposing abortion?

Yet, there is the reality that we face a choice. This is a limited choice. And we cannot evade responsibility for the question of abortion. Our vote will determine whether millions of unborn babies live or die. The Freedom of Choice Act, if passed, would lead directly to a radical increase in the numbers of abortions. The abortion industry has told us that themselves.

The question comes down to this: How many lives are we willing to forfeit -- to write off as expendable -- in order to "move on" to other issues of concern? There is no way to avoid that question and remain morally serious. The voting booth is no place to hide.

_____________________

We discussed this question on Tuesday's edition of The Albert Mohler Program, with Professor Robert P. George of Princeton University as my guest [listen here]. Also, check out the new Web site of the Witherspoon Institute, http://www.publicdiscourse.com/.

R. Albert Mohler, Jr.

Sunsets and Sweetie Pies

2008-10-13T18:07:00.001-04:00

A few evenings ago, I was welcoming Jay home from work and we were busy filling each other in on the happenings of our days, when all of a sudden, the house seemed unusually quiet. Considering the kind of children we have (explanation here), this is not normal and, therefore, not necessarily a good thing.

After searching all the rooms in the house and the backyard, we were beginning to worry, when at last we found them, sitting together all in a row, on top of the trunk of their daddy's car. R had even helped little H up onto the trunk, so she could be just like the big kids. :o)

When we asked them what they were doing, their response was a very matter-of-fact, "We're going to watch the beautiful sunset God makes tonight." Jay and I were a little taken aback. This is not normal behavior for them, even though we thought it was a very sweet idea.

So, of course, I got my camera to capture this beautiful moment... the moment when they saw first-hand, and were able to appreciate, the beauty of God's creation.

Here is the "interview" :

Fun in the "Sun"

2008-10-09T15:57:00.001-04:00

The other day, I needed to get some much-needed work done around the house. You know, the kinds of things that need to get done periodically, but don't get done as often as regular chores, such as: scrubbing all around the sink and faucet, mopping and scrubbing all of the floors, cleaning up the walkway to the front door, etc.

I knew I was not going to get much done with all of the kids in the house, so I had to think of a plan that would keep them occupied and entertained for long enough for me to get my work done. For some odd reason, I chose finger painting. Yep.

But this time, I planned for it a little better. I set up their paints outside on the lanai, and I had the kids change into their swim suits, to salvage the few outfits they can still fit into.

I must say, I think it worked out rather perfectly. The kids had a blast out there! And, so did the dogs! Poor Miley got too close and got splattered with paint on her paw and above each of her eyes. Rambo kept a safe distance, though, just like he always does. :o)

When the kids were done with their "masterpieces" and hung them up to dry, I got the hose out, and put them to work. Sine the table is smooth plastic, the paint came up very easily! And the kids enjoyed the task of cleaning up so much, that it didn't seem like chores to them!

And, of course, after all that hard work of cleaning up the messes on the table, chairs and themselves with the hose.... it proved to be too great a temptation for the kids. They just couldn't help but to spray each other down with the hose, too. And they loved it!

And what better way to finish off this fun day than to eat pizza on their newly cleaned table and chairs?

Of course, when all those little wet feet came inside and walked across my freshly mopped floor... I was a little flustered.

But, they had so much fun... and I still had my mop water out.... so I just mopped it all up again.

All in all, it was still one fun, fun, sunny day! :o)

My First "Meme"

2008-10-05T20:48:00.006-04:00

My friend Bronie over at Team Victory was tagged for a "meme", and offered it to anyone else who would like to give it a try. Now I must admit, I had never heard of a "meme" before, but I think I am going to try to tackle this mystery. (Mostly because I have been so busy lately that I don't have anything else to use for a blog post right now) :o)

So here goes...
***************
1. What were you doing 10 years ago?

Jay and I had just entered our 2nd wonderful year of marriage. We were living in Married Housing at APSU in Clarksville, and had just returned from a college trip to England and Scotland. I was trying to recuperate after a nasty and unfortunate tumble down the side of a mountain in Edinburgh, Scotland. While there, I got the interesting experience of riding in a Scottish ambulance, and participating in the socialized medicine they have there. The hospital was as crazy as they come! I messed up the ligaments in my right knee... and it has never been the same.

Jay and I were also members of our wonderful church at the time - Riverside Baptist Church in Nashville. We had some of our best experiences there - more than we've ever had in any other church - before or since.

2. Things on my "To Do" list for today (I will say this week, and I may or may not get to them all):

* Laundry, laundry and MORE laundry. Ugh. (I may try not to get to this one. ha ha)
* Homeschool Field Trip to the Nature Center for the Reptile and Amphibian Festival.
* Homeschool Field Trip to the Pumpkin Patch. (there will be actual classes all about pumpkins and what it takes to keep a pumpkin farm running properly).
* Homeschool Physical Fitness Fun Day (a bunch of homeschoolers get together and have a structured P.E. class for the kids at a community park, then stay for a picnic lunch.) Lots of fun!
* Classes with the Homeschool Co-op we are involved in this year. (R takes Spanish, Music and Sign Language. B takes Music, Reading and Creation). We love it!
* SLEEP! (unfortunately, I may not get to this one, either) Sigh

3. What is your favorite snack?

Oh, what's not to love? Really, my favorite snack varies by whatever mood I am in. Sometimes, it is Ritz crackers with peanut butter. Sometimes it is carrot sticks with ranch dressing. Sometimes it is a delicious slice of New York style cheesecake. And sometimes it is a good ol' fashioned Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. (the last two are my thankfully rare guilty pleasures.)

4. If you were a millionaire, you would...

Tithe BIG.
Pay of all debt.
Pay cash for a house.... somewhere.
Travel the world with my husband and kids.
Fund our own missionary journey through the world.

5. List 5 places you have lived.

* Spring Hill, Florida
* Easton, Maryland
* Fort Worth, Texas
* Nashville, Tennessee
* Aurora, Colorado
(and Jay is from San Diego, CA, so all we have to do now is live in the Northwest and we will have all of our bases covered! Hmmmm...)

6. List 5 people you are tagging for this Meme.

* My bloggy friend, Jessica, from Our Family Highlights - because with uprooting her family and moving twice in two months, I figured she just didn't have enough to do right now!
* My seminary friend, Lydia, from Pastor's Wife - because she called me Super Mom (when she knows full well it is really the other way around).
* My church friend, Susan, from Run, Susan, Run! - because I think she could use some new inspiration to write about in her blog, and I miss reading her wonderful posts.
* My sister-in-law, Deanna, from The Adventures of BranDanna - because 9 months with no new blog post?! Come on already!!!
* My cousin, Juliette, from Juliette's Blog - because she is so adventurous and fun, and I look forward to the interesting things she will come up with in her Meme.
* I will leave another opening blank for anyone else who wants to tackle the mystery that is a "Meme". Just let me know when you join in!

Have fun! :o)

Good "Clean" Fun

2008-09-28T23:35:00.001-04:00

Below is a picture of my beautiful 20 month old, H. She is a girly-girl who likes to be clean, wear dresses, paint her nails, and get her hair fixed. You will need to know this as you read on...

The horribly oppressive heat here in the Sunshine State has lately been replaced with slightly less oppressive, less humid weather.

This is a good thing.

Jay and I decided to celebrate our new found ability to breathe by taking the kids to one of the parks in the area, and let them play on the playground... outside. Something we very rarely attempted to do before then, since the heat index never left the 100s.

The playground was very nice.

It had SWINGS...

It had 3 SLIDES...

It had a ROCK CLIMBING WALL...

It had a CLUBHOUSE high in a TOWER...

I was a nice playground. With nice playground equipment.

So what did my children do?

They swung on the swings, slid down the slides, climbed the wall, and looked down from the clubhouse high in a tower.

But were they satisfied?

Nope.

Then, what did they have the most fun doing?

Digging in the DIRT. Not just any dirt. Oh no, of course not. It had to be the dirtiest dirt. The kind that is found around barbecue grills that is a pleasant mixture of sand, dirt, and ash.

Jay and I just sat there and watched. We couldn't spoil it for them. They were having entirely too much fun!

But this is the end result...

This picture does not even do it justice. She was the filthiest little ragamuffin I'd ever seen! The other kids got messy, too. But they limited it to their hands, legs and feet.

Little H apparently thought she needed to bathe in the fun dirt! And that was proven after I got her out of the bath later that night when we got home. The water was pitch black. So gross!

And even worse... she was sneezing out dirty little black boogies for a couple of days after that!

How fun! :o)

IT'S HERE! IT'S HERE!

2008-09-25T00:01:00.003-04:00

It opens tomorrow! Woo Hoo!

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE make a point to go and see this movie with your spouses tomorrow!

I assure you, you won't be disappointed!

Making Memories

2008-09-20T21:50:00.004-04:00

As I have mentioned in previous posts, we've had to get pretty creative in our attempt to keep everyone entertained while staying within the bounds of our very tight budget.

We cut our own hair. Well, at least the boys do. Me and the girls have to just deal with long hair for a while. Jay is pretty easy to please. He simply shaves his head bald. B's hair is a little more difficult for me. The last time he got his hair cut, he told us he wanted to look just like his daddy. I wrote about how that went, too. Poor guy. :o)

While he is waiting for his hair to grow back, he insists on wearing hats everywhere he goes. Even if we tell him he looks silly in them. He prefers to look silly in his hats than with his bald head. Go figure.

Well, we figured we would entertain the kids while doing a necessary task. B got to shave his daddy's head.

He took his job very seriously at first, not wanting to mess up.

But eventually, we convinced him that there really wasn't any way to mess up "bald". So he started having fun. He even tried to shave designs in his daddy's head. He had a great time and the girls enjoyed watching all the fun, too. :o)

Afterwards, we decided to have a "game" night. The kids helped me bake chocolate chip cookies, and we got out some of those annoying children's games (you know... the ones that are so annoying to you that you promise yourself that you won't play them again for at least a year).

But... at least the kids had a lot of fun. :o)

I just had to put this next picture into the mix, too. I couldn't resist. Little H was so upset that she had eaten all of her cookies and couldn't have any more. She gave me this look shortly afterwards, when I told her I wanted to take her pretty picture.

She can be so sassy at times. But I love my sweet girl and the fact that she is beginning to show the signs of a growing into a little girl, and she is not as much of a baby anymore.

... Making memories with homemade haircuts, warm chocolate chip cookies and Hungry Hungry Hippo. What could be more fun than that? :o)

My Boys

2008-09-15T21:12:00.001-04:00

We signed B up for Tee ball this year. He is finally old enough. His first opportunity to play a team sport.

Isn't he cute with his way-too-big hat pushing his ears down?

In the weeks and months leading up to his first day, he battered us with endless questions about what it was going to be like, and how much longer would he have to wait, etc. He was so excited. And we expected him to be excited. It is a normal part of a boy's childhood.

What I did not expect, however, was to see how excited Jay got. He was like a little boy in a candy store! He talked about it almost more than B did! He told me one morning as we were traveling to B's first game, "I am so excited about this. I have waited for it my whole life!"

I guess it has been his lifelong wish to help coach his son's little league team. His dreams were soon fulfilled when the head coach asked him to help the little guys figure out what they were supposed to be doing.

It is actually quite entertaining to watch these 3 and 4 year olds on the field. Not because they are very talented athletes. Nay, on the contrary. They are so young that they get distracted very easily. Many times, they can be found in the extreme outfield either chasing a butterfly, or drawing pictures in the dirt, or throwing and catching their gloves, or just deciding that they want their Mommy and running off the field in the middle of the game to get a little cuddle time. Ha ha. It is very cute!

And, it is a non-competitive league, so there is no unnecessary pressure on these little guys. They get to focus on learning how to play the game, and just have fun!

R & H are always ready to cheer their brother on. They are his biggest fans. :o)

Here is a short video of B getting up to bat. He is quite the slugger! Not that anyone can really hit a home run in tee ball... but he still does a good job nevertheless! Especially considering that he's never played before!

We're proud of you, big boy!

Precious Little Ones

2008-09-08T21:13:00.007-04:00

My not-such-a-baby-anymore H singing sweetly to her mama...

My Cutie Pie B and his "magic trick"...

Homeschool Spoof

2008-09-03T14:03:00.004-04:00

Tim Hawkins is by far one of our favorite Christian comedians. I don't think there is a single routine he has done that Jay and I did not absolutely love (and buy). :o)

I thought maybe some of my fellow homeschooling families might enjoy watching this... and even some who chose not to homeschool will get a big kick out of the video!

Tim Hawkins - "A Homeschool Family"

Hope you liked it as much as we do! :o)

Quotable Kids...

2008-08-25T14:44:00.006-04:00

There are times when our children have done something warranting discipline. Strange, I know. But it is true. I can admit it... my children are not perfect. There! Ha ha.

So, either Jay or I will have to issue their consequence. And often times, after we have given them correction (namely, applying the hand of wisdom to the seat of knowledge), we will sit down with them and explain why it was necessary for them to experience the consequences of their actions.

At the end we will say, "Mommy and Daddy do not like it when you make bad choices, but we always love you."

My adorable son, B. He brightens my day with just the glimmer of his crystal blue eyes! He is always so happy and jovial. Even when he is being disciplined, he takes his correction bravely, and is back to smiling as soon as it is over. He loves to laugh, and tell jokes, and he is just a joy to be around.

The other day, as we all sat down to dinner, B asked me if I had made broccoli (one of the few foods that can erase his smile). When I replied that I had not made broccoli for this meal, he gave a sign of relief and said:

"Even though I don't like it when you make broccoli, I always love you, Mommy."

Jay and I exploded with laughter and gave him a big kiss for being so darn cute. Just for that, I may never force him to eat his broccoli again! :o)

Here is Ben's new haircut.
He told us he wanted to look like his daddy.
I guess no one told him his daddy didn't choose to look like that :o)
When all was said and done, he cried for a couple of hours.
He hated his new haircut because he missed having hair. Who knew? Ha ha.
He now has a goal to grow his hair out to look like Zach and Cody (from the Disney show).

The Kids Who Cry Wolf... Loudly

2008-08-21T11:00:00.004-04:00

I was busy collecting, sorting, washing, drying, folding and putting away the immense mounds of laundry my family goes through on a daily basis, when I heard a familiar sound.

HELP! HELP!

Now, many of you might think it mean of me, but I do not always run to find the source of that scream, because most of the time, it turns out to be a false alarm.

I have been trying to explain to my children (for as long as I can remember) the danger of crying for help when they are just playing around. I have told them the story of the Little Boy Who Cried Wolf. Several times. To no avail.

The kids are very animated and imaginative children (they kinda had no choice, having Jay for a dad). They would rather play pretend on any given day than play any video game in the world. They even put on shows for us on a regular basis... costumes, props and everything (It's more entertaining than TV most of the time!). And they take their acting roles very seriously.

One example is a fun activity we seem to have adopted into our nightly routines. We will read the Scriptures together (in which the kids usually take on the roles of the characters in the Bible story we are reading), then we will pray, sing a song (to or about) the Lord, and then we will play "Jonah". I am not really sure how this particular game got started, but it has become a favorite, and something they all (even little H) insist on doing before going to bed.

The children will pretend that they are Jonah, running away from the Lord. They hop aboard the ship bound for Tarshish (they will often even purchase a pretend ticket). We (as the shipmates) will ask them all sorts of questions about themselves (as the character Jonah), and they answer them the best they can (what's your name, where are you going, why are you here, etc). Then, the whole ship begins to rock, and we all pretend to be in the ship being tossed by the waves.

The kids will say (in turn, and very dramatically), that they are to blame and that they are running away from God and the only way to save their lives is to throw them into the sea. Jay and I will then grab them by the hands and feet, carry them to their rooms, swing them a few times and throw them into their beds, where the giant fish (Jay) awaits to gobble them up (or at least nibble on their bellies). The kids just love it and even little H will run around the house saying, "Jonah, Jonah, peez!"

But I digress...

All that to say that the children tend to get extremely excited about their various roles, so that at times they are much louder than they should be. So loud, in fact, that one day, while we were moving into this house, we received a knock on the door from a police officer. Yes, sadly, it's true. I had never been so embarrassed in all my life! Apparently, our new neighbor lady next door (an old, cranky woman we have discovered), hadn't had the opportunity to get to know my children (or any children for that matter) and, upon hearing all the noise, thought we were beating them or some such nonsense, and called the police on us. Mortifying.

So, no, when I heard this most recent cry for help, I did not jump to the aide of the crier. I waited to see if it was serious, or if they were just play acting again.

Then I heard R say, "Mommy! I really do need help this time. For real. I'm stuck in a bucket and I can't get out."

Perhaps you would not approve of my reaction to this news, but I immediately started laughing and ran to get my camera. This is what I saw....

To be completely honest, I was more concerned with the overflowing trash can in her room, than getting her out of the bucket! Ha ha.

And, would you believe it, but now that the kids know that all they have to do is tip themselves over to get out of it, they will take turns getting "stuck" in the bucket (which is actually R's laundry basket), and see how fast they can get themselves to tip over. They call it "Aunt Fannie" (from the movie Robots).

Whatever. At least they are entertaining themselves! Ha ha.

11 Years and Counting

2008-08-15T13:05:00.011-04:00

Saturday, August 16th, 2008 will mark our 11th wedding anniversary.

11 years! Can you believe it? It's so hard to believe it has been that long already. It has been one long whirlwind of LOVE... (and blood, sweat and tears)! Ha ha.

Sooooo many changes have taken place in our lives since we first vowed to love each other unconditionally (in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, til death do we part!) on that Saturday afternoon, 11 years ago.

Since then, we have....

added - 4 children. lived in - 4 States. changed jobs - 10 times (or so). visited - 5 countries. made - countless friends. prayed - countless times. grown stronger in our relationship with the Lord - continuously.

We have been through the ringer more times in these 11 years than most people have been in a lifetime. Life at times has been such a struggle for us. But our faith in the Lord in the face of such adversity has only been strengthened with each new obstacle.

One of the sayings Jay has used with people over the years when counseling and discipling is, "The Lord's refining process can be quite painful at times, but it is always worth it in the end."

The Lord must sometimes put us through the fire, in order to burn away that chaff. He must do this to get us to surrender more and more of ourselves to Him, so that more and more, we can begin to resemble Him.

Following that advice, and "practicing what we preach" has been a difficult pill to swallow at times, but following it has always worked out for the better.

We give all the praise and glory to God our Father, who has been the ROCK that this marriage is rooted in!

And it will be only by His unfailing Love and Grace that we will have the honor of having another 11 years (and more!) to spend in complete wedded bliss, learning to love each other unselfishly, the way Christ loves us all.

Thank you guys, also, for the part you all have played in supporting, discipling, sharing, praying, and loving us through the tough times.

We love you all.

Michelle & Jay <><

An Addition to Our Family...

2008-08-12T17:27:00.002-04:00

For as long as I can remember, the kids have bugged the pieces out of us about getting a dog. But we knew better. Oh, yes we did. We knew how much work dogs require. Having a dog is a lot more work than, say, having a cat.

Cats are easy. They require very little effort to sustain their life. A little food, a little water, the occasional scooping of the litter box, etc. Other than that, a cat will pretty much live its own life and leave you alone. Not so with a dog.

Dogs, unlike cats, are not born already knowing where to go to the bathroom. Dogs think everything is their bathroom. You have to train them to go outside to potty, train them not to chew on your belongings, take them for walks, etc. Dogs are a big responsibility.

So, it is for this reason that we have been continuously denying the children's request to get a puppy... until now.

A couple of months ago, Jay made them a promise that if they showed great maturity and behaved responsibly when doing their daily chores, we would get them a dog as soon as he got a job to afford one.

You better believe that the very day we found out that Jay got a job, the children were jumping up and down squealing with delight because they could "finally" get a dog.

We did a lot of research first, to make sure we would get the type of dog that would fit our family the best. After discovering that the "perfect" dog for our family (according to the online dog-analysis), would cost us $600, we tried to find a used, but cute and lovable "close second" at the local SPCA.

But, instead of finding cute and lovable, we found loud, angry, mean, and not-so-lovable. (we even saw a 3-legged one, which really creeped the kids out). It didn't take much longer for us to realize that we were not going to find our new furry friend there!

After searching high and low in newspapers, pet stores, etc., we finally found a website with lots of free and inexpensive dogs for sale. (http://www.craigslist.com/). We went to visit several puppies, but we just weren't able to find any that we absolutely fell in love with... until now.

Meet "Miley"...

"Miley" is a 7 week old Beagle puppy, and she is the sweetest little thing. She has already made herself quite at home here with us.

R acts like the puppy is her own child, carrying her around everywhere, and Miley just lets her. She likes to curl up in a little ball in her lap.

Now, I know most of you are assuming that we named her Miley because of R's love for a certain TV personality with the same name, but you would be wrong. We named her Miley because she has a marking on her back that looks like a smiley face. I've included a pic, so hopefully you are able to see it...
We thought it was cute, and the name seems to fit her well.

The kids love her very much and so far have done exceptionally well in dealing with the challenges of raising a puppy. They help with potty training, cleaning up the messes, etc. Last night, Miley was up all night yelping and howling because she was in her crate and was lonely. I had no idea, but R got out of bed and stayed next to Miley and calmed her down all night long, eventually crashing on the couch in between Miley's wake times. The poor girl was so exhausted the next morning, she could barely walk in a straight line! But she never complained about it one bit. She said she enjoyed helping Miley feel better.

The other kids love the puppy too...

Even Kiki the Cat seems to have bonded with little Miley.

All in all, we think this might be the beginning of a beautiful friendship! :o)

****CORRECTION****CORRECTION****CORRECTION****

Okay, so when I wrote the above post, I didn't realize I would have to be making this correction, but... there's more to the story of how we got Miley that I failed to mention earlier. Let me backtrack a little...

After searching for a dog, we found a woman an hour away who was giving a dog away "free to a good home". We immediately called her about it (dogs are very seldom "free" anymore). She informed us that the dog was a 5 year old cocker spaniel.

OK, so far so good. Cocker Spaniels tend to be good dogs, and Jay used to have one as a child and has many fond memories of her. Sounds great. A nice, sweet, normal, already house-trained, lovable older dog to join our family, right? Nay, Nay!

He is not a normal 5 year old cocker spaniel. He is a very special 5 yr old cocker spaniel. He is THE "Plains Sly Rambo", THE double registered AKC/CKC, 5th generation pedigree, purebred, championship bloodline, very rare American Cocker Spaniel. (if you have a squinty, confused look on your face and all you can do is blink, you pretty much know how we reacted, too).

We are not crazy dog loving people. We like dogs, like most people do. But we understand the difference between a dog and a human. The only experience we have with people who go over the top with their dogs is on TV. I mean, we watch the Dog Show every year (well, at least part of it). But we have never experienced craziness like this first hand.

The woman who was giving him away told us very soberly how serious this poor dog's situation was when she got him. Apparently, poor "Rambo" has such a desirable bloodline, that he was used as purely a "stud" dog his entire life. Now, when Jay heard this, he had to laugh. I mean, it sounded like a pretty sweet deal, right? Sit around all day and be presented to very eager and willing ladies to.... um... ya know. Doesn't sound all that bad, right?

But, unfortunately, the first couple of people who owned Rambo let greed get in the way of their proper treatment of animals. Rambo was kept in a 4x4 cage most of his life, never being allowed to get out and exercise, or just run around and play. He was beaten into submission by his owners. The woman who was giving him away told us that she rescued him a little over a year ago from a puppy mill, and that he had made a lot of progress into becoming more of a "normal" dog. But he still had a long way to go and needed a family who would love him and be patient with him as he tried to learn how to trust again.

Well, the moment we laid eyes on this dog, we fell in love with him. He was beautiful. He was chocolate brown all over his whole body, curly hair on his ears, short hair everywhere else, and smaller than most cocker spaniels (hence, the emphasis on American cocker spaniel). We thought he would be the perfect addition to our family.

He was very skittish and shy from so many years of being mistreated, but he was exceptionally well behaved with the children, and we never heard a noise out of him. We allowed him to "hide" in the house until he could grow accustomed to our noises and smells, etc. A day and a half later, we sent him outside to go potty, not knowing that the lawn guys had just arrived to mow the lawn. They left the gate open, and out went Rambo. He disappeared completely. It reminded me of that movie where Chevy Chase first gets a dog and the minute he takes the dog off its leash, it starts to run... and then keeps running and never comes back.

We drove all over the neighborhood looking for Rambo, and called all of the animal shelters in the area to see if anyone had spotted our pooch. There was no sign of him anywhere.

After another couple of days, the kids were very sad that their dog had disappeared, so we went back online to search for more dogs to love. That is when we found Miley and adopted her. And you know the rest of the story. And so did we....

UNTIL LAST NIGHT..........

We went to Tampa yesterday because MOSI (Museum of Science and Industry) was free for homeschoolers (one of the wonderful perks of homeschooling!). It has got to be one of the best museums I have ever seen. We could not get it all done in one day! But we still had a lot of fun. Anyway, we got home and went to check on Miley, who spent the day out on our screened in lanai.

Once we got out there, who do we see? Rambo! Sitting on the other side of the screen door staring at us like, "well, are you gonna let me in or what?" We opened the door, he came in, went to the food dish, scarfed it up like he had never eaten in his life, and then let himself back into the house, and laid down behind my recliner and fell asleep (for several hours!).

I don't know what to do now. Jay and I did not want TWO dogs. We were kind of unsure about having ONE dog. This is going to be bad, I just know it!

Jay and I don't know if we can handle more than one dog. You will have to just stay tuned to see what will happen next!

FIREPROOF - In Theaters September 26th

2008-08-07T19:17:00.004-04:00

A few weeks ago, Jay and I were able to go out on our first date in over a year. While that news is momentous enough to use as the post for this blog, I am choosing to post about what we did on the date instead... (get your heads out of the gutter, people!)

Jay and I are on some sort of wonderful list in which we are asked to preview and critique movies before they come out in theaters. I don't know how we wound up on this fabulous list, but we love it! The last movie we previewed was Evan Almighty, and we were able to take the kids to see it with us (which they enjoyed very much). This time, however, we chose to enjoy the movie by ourselves, and leave the children in the care of Jay's wonderful sister, Melissa (and, Missy, if we have failed to tell you how much we love you for doing that, we do, we do, we do!!!) We went to see the movie, Fireproof, which is from the creators of Facing the Giants, and Flywheel. Both of those were great movies, so we knew we would be in for a treat.

We were right!

This movie is excellent! I cannot say that enough. It is great, great, great!!! If any of you out there know someone who is struggling in their marriage, tell them to go see this movie!!! And, when the movie comes out in theaters on September 26th, TAKE YOUR SPOUSE AND WATCH IT TOGETHER!!! This has the potential to drastically change your marriage, your view of what "true" love is, and your relationship with the Lord, for the better!

And it is a great conversation starter. Jay and I had a wonderfully long conversation about all sorts of things relating to our marriage during our drive home. There are really so few movies (fewer and fewer as time goes by) that put forth an honest effort to portray Christianity and God's Truth in a way that lines up with His Scripture. This movie does that... and does it very well!

We should all do our best to support this movie by going to see it during Opening Weekend. Here is the movie trailer that will begin to play in theaters soon:

Hallelujah!

2008-08-01T21:55:00.005-04:00

Sorry I haven't posted in a few days.

I have just been so busy lately...

...busy singing the Hallelujah chorus!

Woo Hoo!!!!!!

Jay has a job! Jay has a job!!! Jay.has.a.JOB!

Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!

Only a couple of hours after his interview, he received a call and was offered the job.
He is now the proud owner of a genuine, authentic, bona fide occupation.

Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!

So, on August 12th, Jay will begin his new career as Hospice Chaplain.

We are very excited (as if you couldn't tell already). This job is more in line with his education and experience, and with him wanting to become a pastor of his own church one day. It is to the North of us, too, which is good, because he won't have to battle the traffic in Tampa. And it pays a lot more than the other job (which is nice).

Co-incidentally, or rather (the way I like to say), "God-incidentally", the new job is located just a few blocks from our church! How cool is that? We have about 8 more months to live here for free (so we can finally start paying off all of the debt that has accumulated during this awful time), and then we will likely move up there to be closer to work, church, and friends, etc. It really seems perfect.

God has provided exactly what we needed... in His perfect way, and in His perfect timing.

Thank you to all of our wonderful friends who have supported us through prayer, finances, and friendship during this most difficult trial in our lives. We don't know why the Lord allowed this to happen in our lives, but if nothing else, our faith and trust in Him has never been stronger!

We feel so completely humbled and blessed that He would have used complete strangers (like the folks at our new church), as well as some old and distant friendships, to show us what true Christian love looks like to hurting brothers and sisters in need.

Thank you for letting Him use you to bless us, as well.

Just Some Updates

2008-07-28T21:56:00.007-04:00

Ben is feeling much better now that he has been on the antibiotics for a few days. (For those of you just tuning in, he had strep throat, due most likely to eating "a bunch of food" under the table at a local restaurant. Yep, that's my boy).

Jay actually has TWO job interviews this week! Woo Hoo! The first one is tomorrow (Tuesday) morning, to be a chaplain at a local hospice. This will actually be his second interview with this company, so we are very excited that they might really want to hire him.

The other interview is on Wednesday with a company that he has been trying to get involved with for a long time. The company is Family First (www.familyfirst.net) and is linked with an organization called All-Pro Dad, in which NFL players get involved to try to encourage Dads to get more involved in their children's lives. It really is a wonderful company. One of their main supporters is Indianapolis Colts Coach and big-time Christian, Tony Dungy (he even said that when he retires as a coach, he will go to work for Family First).

Believe it or not, Coach Dungy was in town a couple of weeks ago doing a book signing for his new children's book, and Jay went to see him! He wrote the coach a letter and handed it to him. The letter asked the coach if there was anything he could do to get Jay a foot in the door at Family First. (Jay's response to me when I told him he was completely out of his mind was, "Hey, it's worth a shot. And at this point, I have no pride left. I need a job and I will take help from any place I can get it!"). Funny thing is, soon afterwards, Jay got a call from Family First for this interview! The woman who called him did sort of an impromptu phone interview and mentioned to Jay that it has been her dream to hire a male administrative professional. Hmm... let's just hope we can make that dream come true! Ha ha

Both jobs are about equal distance from our house. One is to the North of us, and the other is to the South. While, frankly, our expectations have been dramatically reducing as time goes by, the salaries of both jobs are more than we were expecting to get, albeit the Family First job pays between $9,000 and $12,000 less per year than the hospice job. We will just have to pray that at least ONE of these places offers Jay a job this week!!!

Now that I got all of that off my chest, here are some cute videos of the kids:

We were practicing tee ball with B in the front yard (he will start his first little league team in two weeks, since he is finally old enough), and he got a little frustrated with his baby sister, who also wanted to play ball. I just thought his little fit was kinda cute and "blog-worthy"...

This next video shows the girls playing tee ball... or at least trying to. I just want to munch on Sweet Baby H... all the time. She is such a pistol, and she wants so badly to be just like the big kids. She is so adorable. And R is such a great big sis, too!

Boys Will Be Boys

2008-07-23T23:04:00.004-04:00

As a self-proclaimed "germophobe", I am finding it increasingly difficult to be the mother of boys. Disgusting creatures, they are. They're all the same. Even the little ones. It might even start at birth. It's like they purposefully seek out all things revolting and vile, just to prove that they belong to some sort of All-Men's, Macho club. (More like the He-Man Woman Hater's Club, if you ask me).

Yesterday, we got the rare opportunity to eat dinner out at a local fast food restaurant. We decided to go to Chick Fil 'A, because they were having their weekly Family Night, and all kids ate free. (Free is good. Free speaks our language. Free means we could eat there cheaper than I could make a meal at home).

So, we are all seated at the booth, eating our meals. There was not much talking going on, because the food is just so stinkin' good! Eventually, Jay and I start discussing a book he is currently reading, the kids were reading their kid's meal bags and toys (Chick Fil 'A kids meal toys - unlike the other fast food restaurants - are always very eduational and entertaining), and Jay and I were taking turns eating our own food and feeding the baby her meal (she can now eat an entire 4 piece nugget meal complete with fruit cup all on her own!).

All of a sudden, I turn my head to where B had been sitting next to me, and noticed that he was gone! My immediate motherly instinct is to panic and frantically search until I find him. I don't have to search for long. After only a couple of times hearing his name called, he pops out from under the table, smiling his little "I've done something bad, but I am gonna show you how cute I am" smile. So, Jay and I start questioning him.

Me: Where did you go, buddy?

B: Nowhere.

Me: But you weren't in your seat. Where were you?

B: Just under the table.

Jay: Why were you under the table?

B: I don't know. (and here is when that smile returns, so we know something's up)

Me: What were you doing?

B: Nothing.

Jay: Tell us what you did.

B: Nothing! (smiles increase)

With a sigh, Jay goes back to feeding the baby, motioning that he doesn't even want to know anymore. Then I hear B mumble something interesting under his breath.

I am shocked. Did I just hear what I think I heard?

Me: What did you just say?

B (very matter-of-factly): Um, I just said that I saw a bunch of food down there, so I crawled under the table and I ate it.

I think the horrified look on my face said it all. He proceeded to explode into giggly laughter, finding some sick pleasure and delight by informing me of how delicious it was. Ugh!

Boys. Disgusting creatures. They really are.

*******************

UPDATE: After a few days with a high fever, we finally took B in to see the doctor. A mere $200 later, we learn that he has strep throat!
I wonder.... Where, oh where, could he have gotten that??? Hmm....
Score 1 for the germophobes! :o)

Rainy Day Craze

2008-07-19T22:42:00.003-04:00

Have I mentioned that it rains a lot in Florida?

It rains so much, in fact, that the kids decided to spend the money they have been saving on new umbrellas. We had barely gotten back from the store when it (of course) started raining again.

The kids were quick to start begging us to let them go outside and break in their new umbrellas. Jay and I finally agreed to let them (it wasn't thundering or lightning yet).

For a while, they just walked around in the rain with the umbrellas, skipping around and giggling about how much fun they were having.

But, eventually, those umbrellas ended up on the porch with me (so did their shoes), while they ran back outside to sing, dance and squeal in the rain.

Eventually, Sweet Baby H decided that she would venture out into the wet world and see what her brother and sissy were so excited about. She never quite got into it like they did. So Sissy tried to convince her of how fun it was.

It didn't work. A few seconds after this picture was taken, she came running and crying back to the safety of her mama. She quickly began "tattling" on her big brother and sister, pointing and shaking her finger towards them, and telling me all sorts of interesting things in her adorably jumbled toddler-talk. The only things I could understand from all of her ramblings were:

rainin'... don't like it!... sissy no no!... all wet... inside... go! (it was incredibly cute!)

By that time, though, the other kids were having such a blast that I wasn't about to stop their fun... (baby scolding or no baby scolding)

I know this next picture makes it seem that R is not enjoying herself, but it is actually the complete opposite. Right when I snapped the picture, she was in the middle of screaming at the top of her lungs (for all the neighbors to hear)...

"THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY ENTIRE LIFE!" Ha ha.

Yes, my kids are definitely hard-up for entertainment. ha ha ha.

All in all, the kids had nothing but positive things to say about this eventful day. After they came in, got a bath, and put some warm, dry clothes on, they sat down together to talk about how much fun they had and how they couldn't wait until the next time it rained so they could run around and splash in the puddles again.

Hey, what can I say? It's free entertainment! Just like when we take R out in her pretty wedding dress to see who can get the better pictures of her in it, we have to try to come up with all sorts of interesting ways to keep busy on an extremely limited budget.

Speaking of which, since no one commented on the last post with Jay's pics of R in the wedding dress, I am going to assume that MY pics were much better than his! Ha ha! Yay! I win, I win! Ha ha ha!

'Til next time :o)

From the Weird Mind of My "Baby Daddy"

2008-07-16T22:31:00.026-04:00

Here are Jay's pics of R wearing her pretty wedding dress in public. I have to admit that some of these are so hilarious that I am having trouble typing this post because I am laughing so hard.

I just love my sweet little princess. She has this incredible ability for someone at such a young age to be able to perform and to really communicate with just her facial expressions. She did such a great job!

Here are the pics (with Jay's comments):

"One down, 26 to go"

"And I will dance with Cinderella"

"I will never be a tree hugger!"

"Don't count on a dowry, boys."

"Well, someone has to pay for this dress!"

"Someday my prince will come."

"A bride's gotta do, what a bride's gotta do"

"And not a spot on my dress. Eat your heart out."

"What? Have you seen the price of groceries?"

Well, what did you think? Of course, either way, I think we can all agree that we have a very adorable daughter! Ha ha :o)