When there's love at home

During our beautiful picture shoot last week Jodi told my kids to walk towards her so that we could take a picture. This is what we got:



I then told my children that the one who looked like they loved their siblings the most would get a prize. Then we got this:




I think I'll frame them side by side.

Okay, I think I'm ready

I have swept and mopped and dusted and vacuumed and done all of the laundry (3 times!!!!) and grocery shopped and cleaned my car and gotten Sunday school lessons ready for an entire month. The dog has been groomed, the sheets have been washed, and my kids have a way to get to school on Thursday. The eggs have been stuffed and labeled for school parties, one of my best friends will be "me" as the room mom, and thank you gifts for teachers have been purchased.

So now, I can have my surgery knowing that I have done the best that I could to make sure that my family is taken care of.

But I'm still scared.

And really tired, but I know that I'll get to sleep plenty on Thursday! :-)

My plans for tomorrow

*Wake up, cry, get dressed and cry

*Wake up kids, get them dressed, make breakfast, start load of laundry

*Leave the house, cry quietly in the car where the kids can't see me and pretend to be happy and interested while listening to kids cheerful chatter

*Smile at my kids, tell them I love them and drop off Carlye and Nathanael at school; pick up Easter eggs from Nathanael's classroom to be filled for class party

*Wipe tears off face, smile, drop by Children's Day Out and get some records

*Smile, and bravely walk in to Register my youngest child, my baby, my last one at home, for kindergarten

*Then take him and drop him off at Children's Day Out

*Sob hysterically for at least 10 minutes and pray that no one finds out

*Wipe off face, roll windows down, breath deeply, listen to some Jon Schmidt, and decide to be a big girl and do all of the things that mommy's do during the day

Happy Birthday, Little Sis!

I am the only one that can say that. I love you so much, and I am so thankful that we have grown as close as we are. I wouldn't trade the time that we had together before you moved for anything - even if it did involve a trip to the emergency room! Happy Birthday, I miss you and the girls like crazy! Live it up!

Delicate Dance

Being a parent can be such hard work. It is such a delicate dance between discipline and love, understanding and teaching, explaining and listening. There is such a short time that we have to raise our children! They grow so quickly - and in this world, quite often, too quickly. I know that we are heading into more difficult years as our children approach the pre-teen years, but I am so proud of who they are. They are kind and think of others, they love their family, and above all, their Heavenly Father. Their first response to anything is to pray. Carlye reads the Bible out loud to all of us every morning on the way to school and we discuss it in the car. They bring their problems and concerns to Carl and I, and do their best to live their lives the way they have been taught. But how amazing is it when their relationship with the Lord changes from one that they've been taught, to one that is theirs?!? My children are growing up before my eyes, and I am so proud of what I see! Carlye is concerned about style, but also modesty - because of her own convictions. WIth Nathanael it is the same, and Noah is slowly following in their footsteps. My children have gone to public school for the last four years, and while I KNOW that they will not go past 5th grade, I am so proud at who they have become while they are there. Next Tuesday I enroll my last child in Kindergarten. He, too, will enter the halls of pubic education and experience the pros and cons of being a part of a whole. And I will continue to waltz. Step right, step left - correct here, listen there, hold a broken heart over here. And the whole time I will pray. I will pray that I raise my children in a way that is best for them each individually and our family as a whole. I will pray that I do the right things at the right time, and stay still at the right times as well. I will pray that they will live their lives in a way that is pleasing to the Lord, and that mine and Carl's choices will influence them the way they should. I will pray for the strength to be their mom and not their friend (that can wait until they are grown) and to "train them up in the way they should go." I've always thought that was an interesting scripture. Olympic athletes are trained. Their coaches find their strengths and make them stronger, and find their weaknesses and teach them to overcome them. That is our job as parents. But, all too often, our children's weaknesses are ones that we have as well, and have never overcome ourselves!!! We have the ability to impact our children's lives forever, but we are only given that gift for a short time. My prayer for all of you is that you enjoy your children to the fullest, and have that peace as your children are growing, that comes from having no regrets. Because while I may not be perfect, and have often made mistakes (more often than I care to admit!), I have also loved with all of my heart and to the best of my ability. And because of that I have no regrets.

1 John 3:18

Spurs game

Tonight we went to the Spurs Lakers game.

The first half was a lot of fun. We were winning.

The second half was awful.

We lost. And Lakers fans are poo-poo heads, mostly. And shouldn't be in San Antonio anyway.

So, I am very upset.

And tired.

And I DON'T want to wake up in 5 1/2 hours to take the kids to school. Maybe we'll go on strike.

Spring Photo shoot

Okay, I only have a few pics back from the Spring photo shoot that Jo did for us, but I HAD to share! Thank you Aunt JoJo!

Exhaustion

I am completely wiped out. There is so much going on right now, and I feel so tired!!!! Today I helped Carl and his sister Tiffany clean Carl's spec home and I have bleach pouring out of my hands! It is SUCH hard work, and I don't think I'll ever get enough lotion on my hands! On a fun note, we have been phoneless for quite a while. A fiber optics line was cut in Marble Falls, and it shut down ALL of the cell phones in the area, no matter what carrier you use. I'm not gonna lie, it's been fun because I don't really like my phone. I would much rather write, email or see you in person - I don't really know why. So, if I haven't returned your call, don't be hurt. I haven't returned anyones because I can't! But I love you!

Who Are You Really?

If you read my blog please feel free to do this, too - I'd love to see your answers!

Favorite Color - Carnation pink, because it feels so fresh and new and happy

Earliest Memory - Sitting on the fireplace at Grandma and Popi's holding Jocko (my gray stuffed monkey. Carlye still has him!)

Favorite Christmas - When I was a little girl and my Grandma, Mommy and Aunt Marianne made all of us children (there were only girls!) Cabbage Patch dolls. I remember running around the house with Aunt Marianne with our dolls tied to our backs with dish towels.

Favorite Book(s) - Girl of the Limberlost; Anne of Green Gables (all of them); Little Women. I feel as though I could relate to a character in each of the books as a little girl, and I still can as an adult! I reread them every year.

Favorite Movie of all time - While You Were Sleeping. I love other movies off and on, but I always come back to this one!

What do you collect? Why or why not? - Madame Alexander dolls, because my grandmother did and they remind me of her.

Guilty Pleasure - Playing Webkinz world (I know, totally goofy!)

The Way That You Would Spend The Day If You Could - I would lie in bed all day long playing games on Webkinz world, watching HGTV, eating fruit and cheese. Maybe with a few decorating magazines stacked by the bed

When (time period) You Would Have Lived If You Could - I always thought that I would have liked to live in the same time period as Little House on the Prairie (that doesn't mean that I could, just that I think I could and really wanted to)

Something People Would Be Surprised To Know About You - Hmmm, there are so many! I am a very mysterious person! I love sci-fi of almost any kind, and dream of being published some day (either with a curriculum for kids or non-fiction book). I also love hunting with my husband, and would one day like to take a bull elk with a bow. I want to run a marathon and complete it with a good time, and when my children are grown I would love to foster and then adopt a houseful of teenagers who would otherwise never have a family.

If You Could Travel Any Where In The World Where Would You Go? - Ireland, and I would make sure and see the Celtic Women in concert!!!

I feel like I can't just leave this as is. I have to add that I have an amazing husband and kiddos, and I am so happy with my life. It's not perfect, and neither am I, but it fits. I am doing what I love (being a mom! and working with kids), with a man that I love, and I am so thankful that I am me. Sure, I would probably change some things if I could, but then, I wouldn't be me, so maybe I wouldn't after all!

Day # Saturday

We love to eat Chinese Food. As it is not the healthiest type of food for us to eat we don't do it very often, but we do enjoy it. Last night we all went to eat at a Chinese food restaurant. As we were being seated Noah was eying the place mats and the different animals on them. Having been there before, he knew that the animals were for the years that you were born. "Mom, Dad, what am I?" he asked. "A Monkey," Carl said (without even looking). Without missing a beat my youngest one stated to us, our waitress and all of the world, "Cool - does that mean I get to throw poop at people?"

Our waitress was laughing so hard she couldn't take our drink orders.

I was so embarrassed I tried to sink under the table and disappear.

And, for the record, Noah really is a Monkey. Not even kidding.

Day #......

Today has been a great day - we have had such fun (and I'm not even being sarcastic!). There have been 8 kids at my house all day long:

2 Nine yr olds
1 Seven year old
2 Six year olds
1 Five year old
1 Three year old
1 Two year old

The older four went fishing while the younger four fought bad guys on the porch, blasted off in a rocket that looked amazingly like a hammock, and tied our poor helpless puppy to fancy pink leashes. We have wrangled and captured a snake (not kidding), photographed a pair of red cardinals, refilled and hung the hummingbird feeder, traced our bodies all over the drive way, hula hooped, done arts and crafts, eaten breakfast and lunch, and the day isn't even finished yet!

I could so have 8 kids!

Day #675 of Spring Break

On this bazillionth day of Spring Break we have collected:

A gazillion and one reasons to throw a complete and total fit - including the throwing of body parts onto the floor and other people - even if you are 7 years old:

1) Because someone touched you
2) Because someone looked at you
3) Because you are kicked in the head
4) Because you have been told to quit screaming so that your mother can see if blood is coming from your skull after you've been kicked in the head.
5) Because you were asked to play outside in the freezing 69 degree sunshine
6) Because you were asked to come inside
7) Because someone stands in front of you while you are watching TV
8) Because your mother asks you to speak more kindly to the person standing in front of you while you are watching TV
9) Because you are sent to your room for body slamming the person who was standing in front of you while you are watching TV
10) Because you were only allowed to eat 1 muffin
11) Because you were served Waldorf Salad at dinner
12) Because you were asked to set the table
13) Because you were asked to wipe off the table after dinner

And last, but definitely not least -
14) Because someone touched the giant blanket that you weren't using when they laid down to watch a movie and eat caramel popcorn and even if they get you another blanket it's not good enough because you wanted that blanket and nobody ever understands you and this is the worstest day ever.

The End

Day #5 - Or I Am Now Super Duper Scared of The Summer Time

Day Whatever of Spring Break was kinda crazy. Our super awesome parent plan was to surprise our kids and take them to Six Flags Fiesta Texas for the first time ever in their lives and let them ride roller coasters and drink $12 sodas and scream when grown people dressed up as cartoon characters approach them and try to give them hugs. Then the awesome, crazy, lazy parent side of us saw the 2 mile line (not kidding) before you even exit to go to Fiesta Texas, did the math in our heads, and realized that the lines inside would be horribly long, so we came up with a new plan.

We went to the movies.

Now, the only 'kid' movie out right now, and for obvious reasons (Tim Burton) we were scared to take our kids to see Alice in Wonderland. I will say that we were pleasantly surprised. There was one HORRIBLY inappropriate part at the beginning - which was thankfully over my children's heads - but it overall had a very Narnia-ish appeal, in an odd 'mad' sort of way. We liked the moral of the story, and the kids liked the action. I may not recommend this for every one to see in the theatre, but at home with editing abilities I would definitely let my kids watch this.

I also learned today that having my children together in close quarters for extended periods of time is not a sane thing for me or them. They are already fighting constantly, so we are disciplining constantly, and we still have four more days to go!!!!! Maybe I'm not as excited for summer to get here as I thought!

Oh! And we will be welcoming a new baby girl, Chloe, to our family on or around August 4th! Congratulations Greg and Tamara!!!

Day #4 - Rollerama

Today we went to the Rollerama. We had the whole rink to ourselves (ourselves being Jodi, April, Carl and I and all of the kids) for 2 hours, and it was fantastic. We played dice games, limbo and skated (and fell) to our hearts content! All while it rained outside. Today has probably been the best day of Spring Break yet!

Day #2 and #3

Spring Break is up and running! Yesterday all of the kiddos spent the night with their Aunt Jo so that I could go to the doctor. They had a lot of fun fishing, eating fish eggs and cooking bass on an open fire for dinner. Oh, and I do have to have knee surgery (blech!!!). It will hopefully be scheduled soon. Carl is thrilled that it will be fixed soon and says that it is no big deal (he's had the same surgery). It's arthroscopic (sp?) surgery and I'll get to come home the same day with a 6 to 8 week recovery time - if it's simple when they get in there. Worse case scenario will be a 3 month recovery time. But we won't have to deal with that, I'm sure. However, let me just say, one day or ten - I AM NOT EXCITED ABOUT THIS!!!! I have never had to have any type of surgery before (except for my wisdom teeth) and I think I am very justified in my dislike of the situation, no matter how 'simple' it will be.

This afternoon we spent our time as a family picking up and raking rocks, and planting wildflowers, strawberries, and giant pumpkins. (Yes, giant pumpkins) We learned a few very valuable things.
1) Rocks, apparently, reproduce at an amazing rate. The more you pick up, the more there are.
2) Everything is more fun with a rake or shovel.
And, of course....
3) You don't really need to water the plants if it's raining.

Daddy also hung our two hammock chairs on the porch. They are wondermous! All of us love sitting in them, and Carlye has informed me that she will be out sitting in one in the mornings - cuddled up with Emmaline - reading. I may join her. There is nothing better than a good book and a hammock on a cool spring morning.

Spring Break - Day #1

I am so excited! Today was Day #1 of our 9 day Spring Break. We have lots of really exciting things planned, like babysitting my niece and nephew and Dr's appointments. It's gonna be great! We are going to try to squeeze in some fun stuff, though. Today we took 5 kids (my niece and nephew came) to Incredible Pizza, along with Carl's mom. It was a lot of fun, even if we were out numbered. I'll post pictures tomorrow. For Day #2 of Spring Break our kids are going to spend the night at their Aunt Jo's house so Mommy and Daddy can go to the knee doctor and have super a lota fun on Day #3 of Spring Break. Woo-hoo!

I love Texas

Today as I was driving home from the dr's office with Nathanael (he has bronchitis) I started to get really frustrated. You see, I was driving about 20 miles below the speed limit, behind a truck with a flatbed trailer, which was carrying an unsecured load of rock, that kept spraying tiny little rocklets, which in turn were ricocheting off of my windshield. As I was beginning to get completely frustrated with the situation the smell of a brush fire wafted in through the open sun roof. As odd as it may sound, I LOVE the smell of a fire - campfire, brush fire, fire in the fireplace, you name it, I love it.

And then I realized something.

If I lived in New York City I wouldn't get to drive behind a crazy red neck trailer with rocks spraying my car. I probably wouldn't be driving an SUV. And for sure I wouldn't be smelling a rancher burning brush in his field. So, as crazy as it sounds, I started to feel very thankful.

Because I wouldn't trade living in Texas for anything in the world.

Maybe for living in Alaska. But that's it. Not for anything else.

Poor thing

My son, Nathanael, has been really sick, (and if he heard me call him a poor thing he would completely flip out!). Sunday night/Monday morning (3:30 am) I made a bed for him in the Papasan chair hoping that if he slept sitting up he wouldn't cough as much. The poor thing has taken allergy medication, cough syrup and motrin, not to mention sucked on cough drops, and he STILL couldn't stop coughing. As I was tucking him in and trying to get him back to sleep he started to panic about missing school. "Mom, tomorrow is art, and I am making my best work ever, and I won't get to finish it if I'm not there! And I won't get to turn in my leprechaun trap that's due tomorrow, and Tuesday is the very last day that I can get something that will be super fun for our whole family!" I think that this mild panic attack may have been exacerbated by the fact that he was running a fever and so sick at the time. Carl thinks that it's exacerbated by the fact that he's my son. :-b

He is on antibiotic now, but I'm thinking of taking him back in to the doctor. He still feels awful, can't stop coughing, has so much phlegm in his stomach he can't eat, and is now saying that his back and arms hurt. He's not complaining of his chest hurting (pneumonia), but I'm still concerned.

Oh, maybe that is where he get's it.

Oh well.

Pressure

Okay, so I am finally getting the house of my dreams (which we will sell), and now I'm supposed to get to decorate it (before we sell it) and I am really feeling the pressure! I know this sounds absolutely crazy, but I am seriously beginning to doubt my mad skills at decorating. I mean, I know what I want, I think, but I want to be absolutely positive that it's ME. And one of the crazy problems is that there are lots of things that are me, and they either don't go together or are crazy expensive. Such as these awesome bookshelves:












Or these really cool desk or computer paraphernalia keepers:





Sadly, these items do not always go so well with this:



Not to mention, once we're done, there is NO changing it for a really long time, so I had better LOVE it, love it, love it.

So I am scared. I can't commit. What if it isn't as wonderful once I've gotten it home as I thought that it would be? I would be devastated, and Carl will be broke. So, until I can resolve my issues we will live with either no or very little furniture. We've done it before, and we can do it again.

It's kind of like camping. But not.

Ahhhhhhhhhh!

Or, furniture shopping with Carl.

Carl and I have been married for 14 years. Like most young married couples our furniture shopping up until this point has consisted of great deals from garage sales and stealing really nice couches from our best friends. Now that we have remodeled, my husband thinks that it would behoove us (like that - big word, huh?) to buy new furniture. While most women would be completely thrilled about this, I am simply confused. Why? For two reasons.

1) Carl actually cares and has very strong opinions about the furniture that goes into our home
2) I am baffled by the order in which he thinks we should purchase things

For instance, to me it makes sense to purchase everything for one room at a time. All the furniture for the living room, carpet, lamps (if necessary), art work, etc. Carl just wants to get the furniture and says that he's not worried about the rest right now. Why not? Why aren't you worried about having a nice warm carpet to put your feet on after walking across the travertine floor? I am - and I WANT to buy the artwork and accessories - I think it's fun.

As for his style, we both have fairly similar tastes, it's the nuances that are different. We both love leather, and want all of our furniture to be leather. This is his style:



And I like that, but I love these!





See the problem? I do have a couple of tips for you, though, should you ever choose to attempt to furniture shop together.

1) Always go to Bassett furniture first - everything else will seem really affordable after shopping in there!
2) If you have knee problems allow the other spouse to be the one trying out the furniture to make sure that it's comfortable - sitting up and down can be a real work out!
3) Laugh a lot - it helps to relieve the stress
4) Don't buy anything until you've slept on it (and I don't mean on the actual furniture (they frown on that))- if you still love it later it's the piece of furniture for you!

Or, win a home makeover and let someone else do all the shopping. It may just save your marriage!

Weekend With the King

This past weekend we took 37 girls (6 yrs to 11 yrs) from Princess Academy on a camping trip to the HEB foundation. When I say we, let me just say that there were not enough 'we'! There were only 6 of us to cook and clean and supervise and entertain and take on hikes and do the craft with and......!!!! Carl and the boys did come and help with the loading, unloading and campfires, but didn't stay at the camp site (for obvious reasons). And all of us adults were very broken by the time we came back on Sunday - I messed up my knee, and between all the other adults we had a hurt back, another hurt knee, bronchitis, allergies, and one leader who passed some gall stones (kidney stones?) that got stuck in her liver - she is having surgery today!

But it was a good weekend. The girls learned about being filled up with the things of the Lord and not the things of the world. I illustrated it by holding a clear glass. The things of this world (envy, jealousy, selfishness, etc) were illustrated with dirt, that I poured into the cup by handfuls every time the girls would name different sins. Then, I poured water into the cup, representing the things of the Lord. It took ALOT of water to get rid of just a little bit of dirt. We talked about how to get rid of the dirt, and how to stay filled up with the RIGHT things. All of us learned a lot. We have so many girls that are going through so much 'stuff', and it was amazing what can happen when you have adults who are willing to pour into them and say "You are special, and we love you." I know that many girls lives were touched and changed this weekend.

Carlye has a friend who has a very difficult life, and whose mom is really not a mom at all. She told me, 'Mom, you know how her mom is so mean? Well, she thinks that you are just like her mom." Before I burst into tears at being thought of as the mean one (what can I say, I'm fragile), Carlye goes, "You know, like how you're my mom is how she thinks of you." Wow. Is there any better compliment than that?

Carl, Nathanael and Noah were amazing. They unloaded everything, built all the fires, carried luggage, retrieved lost balls, etc. I was SO proud of my boys. They never complained, and were the epitome of gentleman the entire time. Well, Noah did ask someone 'out', so apparently we need to review the no dating until you are 30 rule. On the first night when we were unloading everything I was carrying in some soda's for the leaders (I don't allow the girls to have soda, maybe that's why I'm nervous that I'm the mean one) and the girls started chanting "Soda, soda, soda, soda..." Noah and Carl were up at the vans carrying in other stuff when Noah turned to Carl with a big smile on his face. "Hear that, Dad? They're calling me. Noah, Noah,....."

Not much to say

Well, I haven't blogged in a few days, and there is a very good reason.

I have absolutely nothing to say.

Noah has been creating hilarious words, but I don't remember them at the end of the day. Nathanael has been doing great in school, and Carlye has been as well, but nothing that you would just say WOW about.

So I haven't blogged. But here is our update.

I am (finally) getting my knee looked at on the 15th. Carlye has the stomache bug and has been throwing up all day. Carl is feeling kinda puny as well. Nathanael is doing amazing in school, and received his first letter grades last week (all A's!). Noah is Noah, and there is really nothing more to be said about that.

So there you have it.

My memory is going, my kids are growing, and life is boring.

What more could I ask for?

Maybe a hammock.