Spurs Game

This past Thursday my sweet hubby and I had the awesome opportunity of attending a public sporting event. WE ARE HUGE SPURS FANS!!!! We started early teaching our children who they were, what they do and how stupendously impressive they are. They have been trained well. I did, however come to the realization that moderation in this area may be a good thing.

As we arrived at the Spurs game on Tuesday our spirits were high. Fans were excited and ready for a comeback. We all knew they could do it, and that George Hill would make the difference. As we made ourselves comfortable in our totally awesome seats we slowly began to notice that we were seated in enemy territory. There were Mavericks fans in front of us, behind us and to the left of us. For the most part they were very classy, unless you count spilling your beer on a perfectly innocent bystander, and who counts that? They booed when we cheered and cheered when we booed, and were overall incredibly annoying. At one point I considered tripping on them so they could spill their beer on themselves, but I decided against it since I once got a migraine after a waiter dumped a glass of wine down my back (true story!). It was an emotional roller coaster ride as we would close the gap and come close to overtaking them, and then sit dumbfounded whil the Mavericks would destroy all of our hope. As a collective, we Spurs fans were very disappointed, although we remained supportive, standing and clapping and cheering when we should. I did notice, however, that the more 4 ft margarita's you drink the less this bothers you. It can also cause you to lapse in judgement and befriend the traitorous riffraff seated beside you. Poor, sad little people. I congratulated myself on our class as a team overall, and as Spurs fans collectively while the Maverick fans became more and more belligerent. Then it happened. A little seven year old boy seated at the back of our section stood to his feet and screamed at the top of his lungs that our competitors where all the children of unwed parents. Dumbfounded, I glanced back in horror just to hear his momma say, "Good job, baby!"

Gloom, Despair.

We lost.

Happy Birthday, Old Man!

Today is my hubby's 32nd Birthday. In honor of getting older his body has been attacking itself with knee problems, back problems and gray hair. He had a "surprise" birthday party on Sunday, and to torture everyone I forced them to go around the room saying nice things about Carl. He was thrilled. He loves it when I do that. I have to write a quick post because he and I are leaving to spend the day together and then go watch the Spurs game (and yes, we will win!). However, I plan on doing an extensive post this evening or later on today. Meanwhile, Happy Birthday, Baby! May it be filled with soft floors, cushy chairs, and lots of hair dye! I love you!

The big chick!

The big chick!
by Carlye

Once I saw somthing in the henhouse all the hens were going crazy! Then I saw it a giant egg growing and breaking the hen house open. Suddenly it stopped. It was crazy! So I went to look! Suddenly the egg began to move. Then came out a giant chick. So I ordered 40 chicken feeds. Then man came and his mouth fell open. Then he hand me the bag and drove off. So then I fed the chick and went inside for breakfast. After a while I went out to check on the chick and it was gone. Oh no! I said. The fence was broke and a couple of trees. So I started running after it. Then I saw it I got my rope and swung it around his head and pulled hard and then the giant creature followed me. I brought it to my dad and he said to bring it on an island in the ocean. So I got on my boat with the chick and went to an island at the sea and poured chicken feed everywere. Suddenly, the ground began to shake and two giant chickens came down and took the chick and left. I was really shocked. Now everyday after work I go to the island and feed my chickens.

Carlye's Saftey book

Safty tip 1# Never put too many books in your desk

Safty tip 2# Always rite with a pencil.

Saftey tip 3th Always stay with a friend.

Rain

I love rainy days! They are so peaceful and drowsy. I love cuddling up in my bed with Emmaline and a good book and listening to the rain on my tin roof, while I sleep and doze and sleep and doze. These are days of renewing, for the earth, and for me! I love to slow down, and just rest, and the rain is so good at helping me do this. I've always loved watching rain fall, and the lightening during thunder storms - I even enjoy listening to the thunder. I remember when I was a little girl sitting and watching the rain with others, I just don't remember who. I do know that I was always taught that rain was beautiful and fascinating, and never scary. It's been so long since we've had rain here, so I am enjoying this so much! Let it rain!

Camping

Today we went camping - sort of. One of our friends little girls was turning 8 years old, and they wanted to have a camping trip down at our creek for her birthday party. Carlye is sleeping down there with the girls while the rest of us lounge in our comfy beds. Here are some important things that I learned today.

1) When my oldest son head butts a cactus he will finish climbing up the hill, walk around, cross the creek and then start crying the second he sees you.
2) Cactus thorns look huge when they're stuck in a persons forehead and top of the back of their head
3) It will still hurt, even after you take them out
4) My daughter will fall down a hill if the wind blows too hard, and even if it doesn't
5) My daughter will repeatedly trip over tent lines, even if they are marked with rocks, and even if she's already done it once - yes, the same line.
6) Dogs can clothes-line themselves. And yes, it is really funny.
7) Metal hot dog skewers can really hurt a grown man when hot.
8) Noah loves to eat "S'nores".
9) To a 4 year old wading in the water means getting in up to your waist.
10) Glow stick hats are way cooler then glow stick necklaces or bracelets.

Very interesting

I learned something today that I thought was very interesting. Nathanael is doing really well in school. He reads amazingly well for his age, and excels in all he learns. His teacher is, however, concerned about his writing skills. Not because he flips letters, because she can't read it!! When I talked to her about this she said that it is because the muscles in his hands aren't strong enough, and that he needs to develop his fine motor skills. Huh. I never knew that you could have weak hand muscles that would affect your writing. My dad had a great fine motor suggestion, though - LEGO!!! How cool is that?!?! Don't all kids wish their parents required them to play with lego every day for at least 20 minutes? I think so. Once again, I am a totally cool parent.

Training Emmy

My husband is a total wimp. When our daughter cried hysterically after the wild bird - that she rescued after it flew into our window and the cats tried to eat it - died he bought her a dog. Well, technically he bought her a dog because she said that the reason that God sent her the bird was because she had been praying for two years for a dog, but God knew that her Daddy wouldn't let her have a dog so he sent her a bird instead. Needless to say that when the bird died Carl had some major guilt. Especially since he's the one who found the dead bird. One thing leads to another, blah, blah, blah, new puppy.

Fast Forward 7 months.

Fun little puppy has now turned into evil devil dog.

She eats shoes (two pair of mine, all of Carlye's and Noahs), and she chewed up the dollar Nathanael got from the tooth fairy. Plus, she eats Carl's ear plugs and chap stick. AND she even jumped up and took a cheese tortilla out of Carlye's hand the other day. SOOO not okay!!!! She runs out the door every time that it opens, jumps up and licks everyone who walks into the house and chews on everything (even Wii remotes - can we say grounded for a month?). And she loves to pee in the boys closet (very rare, but if we don't watch her she will do it!). All in all, she is a nightmare.

How did this happen, you say?

The chewing is just because she's a dog - we now have so many chew toys in our living room that it looks like a pet store threw up, but maybe it will be incentive for her to stop.

The jumping - our fault. We all, Carl included, thought that it was hilarious when she started jumping really high, and we'd hold her food up high and make her jump for it. Very bad idea. Seriously, do not do this, you will be sorry.

The running out the door? We allowed her to run out in front of us whenever we went anywhere when we first got her instead of teaching her to sit and wait until we had gone through. Again, because it was so cute to watch her sprint out the door and down the stairs. Not so funny anymore.

The licking? ALL of my kids let her lick them and think that it's fine. It's really not.

Peeing in the house? Pee pads. 'Nuff said.

So, we are now starting from ground one with a 11 month old puppy.

That is really too old to start.

And I'm tired.

Today has been exhausting. I've had to have her with me all day long, on her leash. I have to enforce commands, keep her calm and basically work a lot harder then if we'd done this right the first time. I can say that I can already see a difference. Problem? Well, because she's so old, it will take weeks to reinforce this behavior and see positive, trustworthy results. Is it too late to get a goldfish?

Update

Quick update - here they won't allow us to send Carlye to a school that isn't in our district . Even if you're willing to pay for it. As for what she wants to do, I've discussed it with her and she wants to go to Heritage. She also informed that there isn't even anything nice about any of the girls in her class unless I'm gonna count pretty hair as something nice. Sigh - I don't think I do.

Tough Decisions

My daughter has been struggling for the last couple of years in school. Not academically, socially. This year has been really hard because she is internalizing her stress and getting sick to her stomache. I have been told by her teacher that she really doesn't have any friends at school (it's not drama) and that there really aren't any little girls in the class for Carlye to play with because they all do things that she knows aren't okay (chasing boys and kissing them, talking about 'doing it' - I really hope that means something different in 2nd grade). She would basically have to relax her standards in order to fit in. Obviously, we don't want her to do that. Mercy - you bet, conformation? No. Dilemma - what do we do? Home schooling is not on the table, Carlye doesn't learn well from me, and Noah deserves the stay home mom that his siblings had. Private school, maybe. I did talk with her teacher (who is AMAZING!!!) and the principal at her current school, but I don't know if it's going to help or change anything. Amazingly, my Nathanael has just blossomed and grown and is doing phenomenally - and he was the anti-social one of the bunch!!!

Soo, my amazing hubby and I went for our family interview today at Heritage Christian school in Fredericksburg, Texas where we are thinking of sending our daughter, and eventually our boys. We love the school - every aspect of it. The education is phenomenal, the teachers truly love the kids, it's a Christian school, and it has athletics, drama, etc. It is really all that we could ask for. So, what's the problem? Well, there are many.

Obviously - and I don't care if you think I'm shallow - there's the money. I've heard people say, 'Well, you just make it work.' But what does that mean? Do you take out a loan to send your kids to elementary school? Because if you don't have the money you don't have the money. Maybe they don't have 3 kids. I mean, the cost is massive when you think of sending three children at a time. Think new car every year. Carl and I have always been very careful not to go into debt. Sure, I don't get to buy new clothes very often, but we own our vehicles and our house free and clear. We've been wise with our money, and we don't want to change that. However, that doesn't mean that we have money just lying around in drawers and cupboards. We don't.

Other hand - home school. Carlye does not learn well from me. There are many subjects that I struggled in and I wouldn't be able to help her learn them. And I don't know any languages, so she would be on her own with those. Can I give her the education that she deserves, and needs, when I don't know what she's learning? And if not, do I then have to pay someone to teach her those subjects? Where's the benefit? I see long days, lots of power struggles, and no graduation. I'm just saying is all. Maybe I'm underestimating myself, but........

Last choice - leave her where she is. Do I? Is that the best thing for her? Nathanael, yes - Noah, not in school yet, Carlye? I don't know. It's so hard. I observe behaviors at school that I don't see anywhere else. At school she is shy, reserved, very un-confident (I know, not a word - whatever), insecure, and even sad. At home, at church, at friends houses, at Nani's - VERY confident, bossy, joyful, pretty sassy, and incredibly secure in herself. In fact, we have to tone her down a little bit or she'll swallow everyone else up. What to do.

I know that my child is not perfect. Part of being a good parent is training your children to overcome their weaknesses (bossiness, being a tattle-tell, unforgiveness, selfishness, etc) and turning them into strengths. However, when you can't see the situation and have no idea how to teach your child to overcome it, it's frustrating. I know that some of this has to be her fault, but I don't know what portion of it is. It's easy to assume that ALL of the other girls in her class are mean, but surely that can't be true. Realistically some fault has to lie with Carlye - but if it's simply that she won't relax her standards to get along with the others, I can't say that is something that I want her to change. Quite contrarily, I'm proud of her for standing her ground.

All in all, I guess we just need to pray, pray and pray some more. There's really nothing else to do. And that's okay.

Survivor Camp

This weekend Carl and David (along with a couple of other guys) took their Survivor Camp boys camping at Lake Buchanan. Survivor Camp is like Boy Scouts on steroids, and David teaches it and writes all of the curriculum. It's awesome. Their verse for the weekend "I am strong in the Lord and in HIs mighty power." Ephesians 6:10 - at least, I think that's what it was. I just asked Nathanael to tell me, and that's what he said. We may all double check this and realize that this is totally wrong, but it's a risk I am willing to take. Anyway, they had an awesome time. I must confess, I was scared, but they all came back alive, so that's a good thing.


Setting up the campsite - my boys are the two in the yellow hats


Noah and one of his best friends, Keyshawn - (a miracle)


Nathanael with a couple of his friends and one little boy who is NOT his friend because he said that he's disgusting and talks too much.


Roasting apples and fish over the fire


Shooting the bows and arrows that they made themselves over the last few months








All in all, they said that it was an awesome weekend. Carl was attacked while in his tent by a flying canopy at 5:00 in the morning when the winds picked up to 40 mph. But other then that, it was a pretty good time. Or so I'm told. It was an amazing weekend of incredible men teaching boys that it's okay to be boys, it's okay to have fun, and most importantly, it's okay to serve the Lord, and be who He wants you to be.

Whadya Gonna Do About it?

Things have been really hard lately. For so many people. I'm watching my husband struggle every day to lead a normal life while in excruciating back pain, my best friends husband is having heart palpitations and high blood pressure (and he's only in his 30's!), their daughter was diagnosed with a kidney condition that no one understands completely yet, another friend is dealing with a son with an inoperable brain aneurysm and all that entails, friends involved in frivolous lawsuits because of power hungry people, a sister with a husband about to deploy, a friend whose husband has been in Iraq since last September leading convoys and doing missions she and her boys aren't even allowed to know about, miscarriages, infertility, hysterectomies without fulfilling the dream of giving your husband a child, unemployment, a person with rejection issues so severe that day to day living is a challenge. Every where I turn someone is hurting, struggling, falling down and not wanting to get back up. This made me think. I live in a small town, with a very small circle of friends and family. If there is so much sorrow and heart break here, it must be everywhere. And what do we do about it? We grow impatient with the checker at Target, we complain about our waitress at the restaurant, we gripe at our kids teachers and get mad at the people driving around us. What if they're hurt to? What if one of them is my friend who just had the doctor tell her that she would never be able to have anymore children, or my other friend who just lost his job and has a wife and two kids to support? Are you reaching out to them, loving them, making a difference? Can they see Christ in you? Or do they just see you? Everyone, everywhere has something. I mean it. Just ask. Are you being the hands and feet of Christ? Does your smile make that person feel just a little bit better even though they have no idea who you are? Or are you gonna be the one to stick another pin in their side? Everything that we do effects other people, wether we want it to or not. What are you doing?

I John 3:18 "Dear children, do not love in word and in tongue, but in actions and in truth."

Complexity

Pictures taken in our "yard."


I am, in a sense, a naturalist. I love being outside, camping, going for walks, swimming in the creek with my kids, hunting, boating, fishing, exploring, etc. I love big, wide open spaces where the highway seems (or is) miles away and where there is not a sign of civilization. I love to watch the sun rise and set, look for shooting stars, and feel the wind blow. There is nothing more precious to me then watching my kiddos climbing trees, chasing butterflies, or studiously watching ants carry bread back to their hill. Trees are, and always have been, my friends, and I love to curl up next to one and read a good book. And nothing can compare to a nap in a hammock, listening to the birds singing and children playing and the creek gurgling.

I am also a realist. I know that we live in the day and age of technology. I understand that there must be power lines and phone lines and many other type of lines to make our day to day lives easier. And even though it makes me sad, I know that there are times when these have to be run across beautiful ranches and hillsides, changing the skyline forever. I understand that imminent domain is a real thing, and I also understand that a persons need to provide for themselves and their families is more important than grassy rolling hills. Yet, when I see those huge power lines, running along Fredericksburg Hwy, or across the ranches in our area (including ours) it makes me want to cry. I feel as though I have lost something. And even though I know that in the eternal scheme of things this is such a tiny issue, my heart still hurts. I feel as though I have lost something very precious to me. Which is, of course, very silly. The ranch is still here, and more importantly the people that I love and hold dear are alive and well. But still, the sadness is there.

AAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!

Did you know that when your water is supplied by a well, and said well begins to have problems that your water will turn black???? Did you also know that if you do not know that your water is black, and go to take a bath and read a book you will not notice that your water is black until your husband comes and tells you so. This is not a fun thing to discover, and makes you feel very yucky and dirty and like you need a new bath all over again. The up side to this is that I am now, unfortunately, unable to wash the mounds of clothing that have attacked my laundry room. My children are down to the dregs of their clothing, and this morning I was just happy their clothes were clean - who cares if they match! My daughter has informed me that this is really not fun - she doesn't like not having anything to wear - and would I please wash her socks and then actually put them back in her drawer and not put them in a basket in the living room. I then informed her that she was more than welcome to do so herself. My audacity stunned her momentarily, and the laundry subject has been dropped for the time being. I will say, though, that I often have my dear young offspring sit down with me and fold, hang up and put away all of their own clothing. Granted, this is usually done on weeks when they have chosen to wear 15 or 30 outfits per day and run out of things to wear within a day or two of the laundry being done, but I have done it.

Yesterday was also report card day. My children did wonderful (straight A's for Carlye again, Nathanael is doing excellent in kinder) and I did not. You see, it turns out that just being at school is not enough. The authorities that be would actually like their young minds to be at school ON TIME to be molded and shaped. Therefore, my son's kindergarten teacher was less then thrilled with the 7 tardies my son had in the last six weeks. Oddly, Carlye only had 4. Poor Nathanael. It would be his teacher with the broken clock. Happily, though, I have come to the conclusion that ALL of their tardies are my poor husbands fault, and definitely not mine. It's so nice to be the responsible parent.

Also, I don't mean to brag, but I am like really, really good at Star Wars Lego Wii. Seriously, my boys are like SOO impressed. They think I'm awesome. It's great for me self esteem. Carlye, however, wants to give the Wii away because she thinks that we're all crazy. I'm sad for that poor girl. My only hope is that one day she, too, will experience the joy of conquering the bad guys and getting to be Princess Leia at the same time.

Oh, and if your kids decide to inform their teachers that evolution is wrong and that the earth is NOT millions of years old, and that we cannot accurately determine the age of the earth based on fossils, be prepared. It can be a little awkward.

Competition

So, there's a contest on the Meanest Mom's website that I was thinking of entering, but I'm not sure if I'm good enough and I don't want to embarrass myself. So, I'm asking those of you who love me very much to please go to the meanest mom's blog (link on right), look at the contest, and see if you think I should. Please be honest - that will mean more to me then anything else that you would say. Thanks for the advice!

Easter according to Noah

"Mom, did you know that Jesus dieded on the cross for me and dumpeded all my sins on His body and covered my sins with His tummy? And guess what! Then He comed back to life! Isn't that cool?"

Easter Sunday

Day before Easter

Dying Easter eggs (yes, all of Noah's are blue except for the ones Nani forced him to drop into other cups)



Making Easter "nests" - a German tradition (or so I'm told), you make a nest for the Easter Bunny to stop and rest in on his journey and he leaves you goodies. It's supposed to rain tonight, so we had to make them inside



Nathanael holding Victoria's chick (yes, it's real, and yes, it's green)



Gangs all here!



Our Easter house. Let's hope it lasts longer than our Christmas Gingerbread house. Noah slowly ate it into oblivion when he thought no one was looking - and sometimes when a lot of people were looking.

Where do I start?

So, yesterday I spent the entire day taking a defensive driving course on line. It was very NOT exciting. I've been dreading it, and while taking the course I began to understand why. Truthfully, I fell asleep during one of the sections. The nod your head, fall so asleep you slam your head on your laptop sleep. Taking this special class was also made slightly more difficult because my husband had a severe sinus headache and took a nap, which left Noah and Emmaline and I together in the living room. To fix the problem this created, I decided to let Noah play "legowii." This did not fix the problem. All Noah did was interrupt me and say "Mom, can you please help me get past this level? Mom, I don't know what to do. Where do I go now? Mom, did you see that? It was so cool! Maybe I can do it again. Mom, I pooped and it was diarrhea, do you wanna see? (yes, really - so gross)." All in all, I am VERY thankful that it is over. And I am now a driving genius. You should all feel so much safer knowing that I'm on the road with you.

In other news, I WON A SWIMSUIT. An uber cute little swimsuit that looks like this:


In sadder news, I look like this:


Because of these:


So, after trying diet flushes that nearly killed me, and taking diet pills that make me cry and pass out (yes, I did, yell at me later) I've decided that I have no choice but to work out and eat healthy. Sooooo blech. Anyway, it's going really well. I've worked out for a total of three days now, and I'm feeling really good about myself. I even went to the grocery store and bought healthy food for the house. And then I remembered, the reason that I don't eat healthy is because it's TOO EXPENSIVE!!!! Seriously, why? It's insane. We're on a budget people. Hello, recession. You know why Americans are fat? Because cheetos and cookies are cheaper than fresh fruit and vegetables. Granted, my family eats pretty healthy for the most part. But fresh fruit is better for you then canned, and real cheese is better then processed, etc., etc., and so forth. All of this to say, that when you buy fresh, non processed foods you will go broke. Take your choice people. Skinny and broke, or pleasantly plump with money in your pocket. I'm just saying is all.

Oh, and Noah recently informed me that he doesn't get goose bumps. He gets lion bumps.

And in the spirit of Easter, let me remind you of a special story.

A couple of Easters ago, after dying many, many easter eggs and leaving them to dry on the counter in the kitchen, a terrible thing happened. Upon returning to my kitchen some time later, I discovered that someone had murdered nearly all of our eggs. Colored shells, yolks and egg whites littered the floor with a proud little Noah (not fully clothed, of course) standing in the middle of the carnage. For a time, none of us knew the specifics, but we were quickly able to figure out what had happened. You see, Noah LOVED bouncy balls with a passion.

He also loved (loves?) messes. To the best of our understanding, he apparently mistook the colored eggs for bouncy balls and began to throw them onto the floor.

Of course, when it shattered and he realized his error he decided that smashing eggs was just as awesome (if not better) as bouncy balls and continued on with his destructive bliss. The end result was definitely a sight to behold. Sadly, there are no pictures. I do, however, wish that you may all have an Easter as wonderful as Noah's was.

Quick Note

Defensive Driving (excuse my language) sucks. Royally.

The End

There is a disturbance in the force.

It's over. Finished. Completed. The End. Kaput. All done.

What?

Our season. The Spurs are done. I see know way that we can survive this.

Obi Wan Ginobili is out for the season. Completely. Irreversibly. Done.

This is horrible.

Spurs Game

Wow! It has been such a long time since I posted! Sorry about that, life has been crazy! The Spurs game was awesome. The kids had so much fun. Carlye and Noah laughed and cheered and danced, and Nathanael was so stressed out he could hardly handle it! The Spurs lost by one point at the very end of the game, and it was really hard on Nathanael. He takes his Spurs very seriously, and was devastated when they lost. They still had a great time, though. Sadly, despite his valiant efforts, our Noah did not end up on T.V. You see, we were sitting directly behind the camera crews. So even though they laughed at him and thought he was hilarious they had no way of filming the spastic 4 year old who was dancing and cheering and waving and trying to roll down the bleachers on to the basketball court.