• May. 3, 2006
Heavy Heart

Jim and I had a little tiff on the way to church Sunday.  Nothing big, but he made an innocent remark and my old sarcastic self fired back a not so nice comment.  As I was walking into church with my "I love Jesus" smile and "everything is great look" I saw some friends of ours. 

 

The wife quickly hurried off.  It looked as if she had been crying.  The husband came over and asked us if we could come to dinner Wednesday night for a little impromtu birthday party for one of their children.  They have five. 

There was a look in his eyes that made an alarm go off in my head that something is very wrong here.  It is hard to describe, but seemed like a look of, well I guess desperation. 

 

The kids went into worship and Jim came to me so we could work things out.  It's funny how in that very short interaction with our friend the thought in my mind was our issue on the way to church was nothing and to get over it. 

I have sinced learned that my lovely friend has been diagnosed with terminal cancer.  I am not sure of all the details, but my heart aches for her family.  I look at her young children and pray, "Lord shelter them, protect them, give them peace." 

 

So if you think about it pray for me.  Pray that I would have the right words to say and also know when not to speak.  Pray that tonight will be a lovely celebration of her sweet son's life and not a mourning of what's to come. 

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• May. 3, 2006
Contest from Spunky!

I ususally don't do the contests, but these prizes are really great!  Click below for details.

 

Spunky is giving away a Benz Microscope and Apologia Biology Set this week. Click Here to get the details.

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• May. 2, 2006
Funny Stories

The post over at Eleven Oreos got me to thinking about some funnies around here.  I don't know how to link to her site.  I tried but no such luck.

 

The first happened when I was in college and Wayne Watson came through town.  A group of us went to see him and in the middle of his performance he was relating some stories about his family.  One of which was about his dog.  He really had strong feelings about her and how she moves around and is provacative.  He spoke of all the emphasis she puts on herself and how her example is detrimental to young people. 

I started thinking o.k. this guy is totally off his rocker.  The strangest part was when I looked around and there were people around me nodding their heads in agreement.  Hindsight - that should have been a big indicator that I wasn't on the same page as everyone else.

Well I didn't enjoy the rest of the conference as much as the first half because I was so wondering how a dog can be provocative.  Later that night my roommate and I were getting ready for bed and talking about the concert.  I proceeded to tell her that the whole dog thing had really thrown me off. 

Blank look from her.  She said, "what are you talking about?"  So I said you know the whole thing about his dog being provocative and the way she is dressed, etc....  Needless to say my roommate came very close to wetting her pants.  It probably took a whole 15 minutes for her to utter the words, "not dog - Madonna".  Ohhhhh!!!!!!!!!  Well then it all made perfect sense. 

 

So I went back to liking Wayne Watson's music and happy that he didn't have issues with his dog.

 

---

 

When Jim and I were dating I flew from Texas to San Diego for a visit.  This was the first time I had met his friends. 

 

Everyone was at Jim's college house watching the movie YOUNG GUNS.  Jim and I were getting ready to go to dinner and to a movie when he had to take a phone call.  So I am in the room with a bunch of people I had never met before, so I didn't know their voices.  So someone asks, "where are you going?"  I say to the group as a whole (and a little too bubbly I might add), "Oh, we are going to dinner and maybe a movie.  If the weather stays  nice we might even go over to Point Loma." 

Everyone in the room turns and looks at me like "WHAT".  Hindsight - when answering the question I should have noticed not a single person in the room was looking at me. 

As this realization is dawning on me one of the characters IN THE MOVIE says, "I am going off to die."  One of the characters asked another character where are you going and I answered the question. 

Lovely first impression.

 

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I have a ton of them, unfortunately, so I will leave you with just those two.  But, if you ever want to feel better about yourself, just let me know and I will dig some more funnies out! 

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• Apr. 30, 2006
If You Give Us a Project...

Have you ever read the book, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie?  If not, it is about a little mouse that becomes very distracted on his way to munching a cookie.  Eventually he gets back around to his original goal, but takes some bunny trails along the way.

Well, we are getting new carpet.  The goal today was to come home from church and get everything on the floor packed up so when the carpet comes on Thursday there won't be much to do.  While starting to pack up the "stuff" we think wouldn't it be great to be able to use the corner where the fireplace is?  So, the rest of the day was spent taking the fireplace out.  And just in case you are sleepy while reading this, I said THE FIREPLACE. 

With the fireplace now out of the way it really made me want to cover some hideous cutouts the previous owners had in the wall.  While mentioning this bane of my existence to Jim we decided to dry wall those puppies in too.  Hey why not, we took an entire fireplace out. 

So now the project of getting new carpet has exploded into redoing everything that bugs me.  Thank goodness I am married to someone that likes a good project and has every tool known to man.  Kevin had a great day.  He got to make a trip to Home Depot and Lowes.  It was a red letter day for him!

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• Apr. 28, 2006
I'm Animal

You Are Animal

A complete lunatic, you're operating on 100% animal instincts. You thrive on uncontrolled energy, and you're downright scary. But you sure can beat a good drum. "Kill! Kill!"

 

 

I rarely every do these personality tests, but was strongly prompted to in this case.  And I must say, I was somewhat curious as to what muppet I would be.  Interesting.....

 

I wonder what type of homeschooling category Animal falls under.  Any thoughts??

 

 

Oh.... I am married to....

 

Something to ponder the rest of the day....

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• Apr. 27, 2006
27 Children - 18 and Under

That is how many children the three of us have altogether.  I am still amazed that when people come through our fair city that they are fascinated with the fact we have fruit trees.  I guess I have never really lived anywhere that is devoid of various fruit trees.  I digress... 

I became interested in the Duggar family after watching their special "14 Children and Pregnant Again" on Discovery Health.  Hey look, anyone who has more children than I do interests me.  One day in conversation my sweet friend, Dawn, mentioned to me that she and Michelle Duggar are friends.  We would always tease about flying to Arkansas to pay the Duggars a visit. 

Well, not too long ago, Dawn called me and asked the thought-filled question, "are you sitting down?"  It turned out the Duggars were driving through town back to Arkansas and did I want to come over and meet them? 

It turned out to be a great afternoon.  You would have never known there were that many children in Dawn's house.  Michelle is just as sweet in person as she is on TV.  I now have a picture of ME making Tater Tot Casserole with Michelle Duggar.  For those of you who are fans of their specials, the next one (about their vacation) will be airing sometime mid-June. 

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• Apr. 26, 2006
I am a GREAT Mother!

Last week I had the privilege of speaking at my friend Andra's baby shower.  Annie has blessed and served so many people while desiring a baby of her own.  Many, many times she has either hosted or helped at a shower for someone else with such a spirit of giving.  So last week it was her turn.  So I decided to take the opportunity to tell her what a great mother I am.  Here is a bit of what I said:

I am a great mother.  When I had Kyla, aside from nursing issues, everything went great.  We were by the book schedulers and we loved the results.  She rarely cried, since she was so well loved and cared for, she slept wherever we put her down, because we were great at child training.  And I know at night she went to sleep so comforted by the fact that I was her mother. 

            Then one day we were getting ready for her six week wellness visit.  I had started dinner, bathed the dog, straightened the house and was going to give Kyla a quick bath so she would smell wonderful (because good smelling babies have great mothers).  Because I was running low on time, I skipped the baby bathtub and just put her in the sink.  After all I was the modern day June Cleaver.  Things were going well when suddenly she looked up at me, turned bright red and started screaming.  I double checked the water temperature – that wasn't it.  I double checked the soap – it was a no tears formula.  I didn't know what to do so I lifted her out and put her over my shoulder to comfort her.  She was such a tiny baby, that her little bitty bottom had ended up over the stopper.  While I am patting her back, and the water is draining out of the sink, I notice she has the stopper sticking out between her buns.  I was devastated.  How could I have done that to my sweet little baby?  What was even worse, was my whole “perfect mom” image was destroyed.  It was better it happened sooner rather than later. 

Now I have friends with one child and I have a friend with 16 children and the theme that remains the same with them all is the fact that as a mother you will never “arrive”.  The key is to not set yourself up for failure, but rather to set yourself up for growth. 

And it went on from there.  I have never forgotten what we refer to as the stopper-butt incident.  Kyla was with me at Annie's shower and I hadn't mentioned that I would be telling this story to 50+ ladies.  After I finished I looked at her and she was almost crying from laughing so hard.  What a girl. 

There are times when I fall back into the "perfect mom" mode.  Especially when everything is going according to plan and the way I want it to go.  But, the Lord is faithful in molding me into who He wants me to become, not who I think I should be. 

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• Apr. 25, 2006
My Pretzel

 

You are so sweet.  You are the calmest, most patient baby we have had.  You are cautious and wring your hands when you are unsure of a new situation or person.  We often think of you as delicate.

 

What a difference 14 months make!

You are still a sweetheart.  Unfortunately calm and cautious have gone out the window!

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• Apr. 25, 2006
The Great Clothing Switch

Yesterday we didn't get any schooling done, but we did manage to accomplish a major feat (at least major at our house).  We made the big switch from "winter" clothes to "summer".  Now for those of you who live in a part of the country that has seasons, I am sure it is a much bigger job for you, but here it is just darn annoying. 

 

I don't know why it is such a dreaded task for me and why every year I ask myself the same questions, ie: should I leave a pair of jeans or pants out for Kevin?  Of course I always do.  One just never knows when it might dip below 100 degrees.  And why I leave their sweatshirts out I will never know.  It's not that I don't just pack them, I actually leave them out in the open.  Whoever walks into their rooms can see the Howeys are prepared for a blizzard in the middle of the desert. 

 

Never having lived in a cold climate I think I have an unnatural fear of cold weather. 

 

Whenever I have a project to do, watch out.  Not a lot stands in my way.  So yesterday I didn't let the fact that I needed a shower stand in my way.  I didn't let the fact that I was still in my jammies stand in my way.  I was ready to get started.  After finishing in Rylie and Reagan's room, we moved on to Kevin and Jordyn's room. 

 

For those of you with seven year old boys, you know how they just LOVE to try on last season's clothes!  Between every piece of clothing tried on this is what I got to watch and at times participate in. Do you know how hard  it is to go through things while having a sword in my hand to deflect possible attacks.  It's enough to make me start twitching. 

 

But my oh so very favorite part was while knee deep in room #2, looking oh so beautiful and smelling oh so good one of my girls looked down the hall and spoke the dreaded word, "Hi Daddy!"  What, was this a joke???  Does she know she is so not funny??  Oh it was no joke.  In walked Jim with lunch in one hand and flowers in the other.  And me feeling like a kid with their hand caught in the cookie jar. 

 

Needless to say, he was home for the day.  All the clothes have been switched out.  No longer will my children roast in long sleeves while playing outside.  And as for me I did switch out of my jammies long enough to bathe and put new ones on to go to bed. 

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• Apr. 20, 2006
And she will run, run,run, Til' her husband takes her 15 passenger van away!

It seems like we have been going full throttle lately.  Every time we see our schedules clear, we blink and they are filled up again. It's not that I dislike being on the go, but it is hard to get everything at home accomplished at the same time.  I have quite the pile of laundry calling my name.  So, my solution to this problem???  Invite guests over for dinner, so that I will be motivated to get it all done!!  (Someone feel free to give me a swift kick)

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It is always fun when my ELDEST brother and his family visit.  He has a 12 year old boy and an 8 year old girl.  So after running down the list of things to do in our area we settled for the Pioneer Living History Museum.  Now, from where we live to where the museum is, it's a good hour to hour and a half drive.  When we got there they were re-enacting a gun fight and gave a great gun safety lesson.  After that we wandered, and wandered and wandered.  Not that that in and of itself is a bad thing, but it was quite warm here yesterday. 

My nephew, who was with us, works at a similiar type museum in Colorado.  We learned so much when we visited there and were very impressed by everyone who worked there and how much information they knew about their area.  So, needless to say, we were somewhat disappointed with the "wander and read signs to discover information" set-up.

After lunch my sister-in-law and I were trying the "haven't you seen enough?  aren't you ready to go home?" approach to child manipulation, but they would have none of it.  So back we went for round two.  All in all, I think there favorite part was playing outside while waiting for lunch.  Well, except for one seven year old boy completely fascinated with the gallows. 

 

And just in case you were wondering if Jim felt left out since he had to work yesterday, don't you worry!!  He is going for his own little visit to the museum out in the middle of nowhere-ville first thing this morning - to retrieve my purse.  What a guy!!

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• Apr. 17, 2006
A Delightful Easter

Over the past few days, Jim and the kids have been studying Christ's betrayal, crucifixion and resurrection.  They have really gotten into it and took a bunny trail looking at diagrams and the set up of the temple.  They have really learned a lot. 

Kyla asked Jim the other night if there are any Easter songs.  So I started humming to myself, "Here comes Peter Cottontail - Hopping down the bunny trail".  Jim on the other hand, took it as a perfect opportunity to bring out the Keith Green cd's.  Before I knew it the Easter Song was blasting through the house.  A much better choice than my Peter Cottontail nonsense.

The night time listening has turned from Little Bear Wheeler to Keith Green.  It is funny to walk down the hall and hear three different Keith Green songs playing at the same time.  Last night Kevin was singing out "Holy, Holy, Holy" along with Keith.  My goal over the last few weeks as well as next few months, is for the kids to learn a hymn a week and the first one we learned was "Holy, Holy, Holy".  It was so sweet to hear.  And for those of you familiar with Keith Green's music Kevin cannot stop laughing about "manna-burgers".

I think yesterday is one of the first, if not the first, Easter I didn't go to church.  After a trip to Urgent Care on Saturday, I am feeling much better.  We had a wonderful family over for Easter dinner.  To quote Jim, "Mike sets the bar for dads very high".  You see, I saw Mike when we ate and that is about it.  The rest of the time he was either, chasing kids, swinging kids, playing with kids, etc....  He planned a great egg hunt for the kids and then the dads took them on numerous quad rides.  It was such a relaxing afternoon.  Thanks Degans for sharing your Easter with us!!

Well back to some sense of normalcy - oh wait - my brother and his family just arrived from Colorado so the normalcy (whatever that is) will have to wait another week.  On to play with cousins!!

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• Apr. 15, 2006
Mommy's Helper

Reagan, who is four, has her own dialect.  Now there are very few people fluent in "Reaganese" and since her best friend moved to Colorado, the number of people fluent has dwindled down to two.  On Friday, I was sicker than a dog, so I reverted back to my philosophy of whatever the children wanted to do was fine with me.  So Reagan and Jordyn, our two year old, were sitting at the table eating peanut butter and crackers.  Reagan reminded Jordyn it was her day to pray and asked her if she wanted help.  Here is how the conversation unfolded:

R:  Dordy, you want me to help you pay?

J:  Yip

R:  Dordy, you havta say what I say.

J:  Yip

R:  Dear Desus

J:  Dear Jesus (Jordyn speaks more clearly than Rea)

R:  Welcome for todaaaayyy

J:  Welcome for today

R:  Welcome for our food

J:  Welcome for our food..........

I just wish I had it on video

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• Apr. 14, 2006
Catching Up

It has been a very "off" few days.  I started not feeling well on Tuesday.  When I talked to Jim I told him I had a very strong sense that he really wanted to take me to dinner.  I was willing to cook, mind you, but I wanted to be sensitive to his leadership!  So off to dinner at a REAL restaurant.  Now, Jim and I are the self-dubbed King and Queen of the drive through.  We have an entire, quite elaborate system, in place to maximize happiness and minimize spillage.  Anyway, I digress.  So off we go to a real, sit down restaurant.  Once there, it occurs to us that Jordyn has rarely experienced a real restaurant and Presley never has.  Let's just say we have some training to do.

Speaking of my sweet little Jordyn, after weeks of trying to convince her the "big potty" was so much fun, she woke up on Tuesday ready to wear panties, and so far hasn't looked back.  She is really enjoying checking out the bathrooms everywhere we go. 

Wednesday I was fully out of commission.  We schooled in the morning, I slept for an hour, we had lunch and I went back to bed for a few more hours.  This is very, very rare for me.  I just looked at my little darlings and decided sleep for me was the only thing that might keep this boat rockin'.  So, while I rested, every craft known to man came out of the supply cabinet.  Let's just say, we are stocked up on home made Christmas ornaments for this year. 

So now for the long awaited announcement:  On Sunday we welcomed Trixie, Dixie and ......... LADY (I know it doesn't rhyme) to our little farm.  It is ridiculous how much we love these goats.  The kids can see them out our window while supposedly getting their school work done.  At any given time if they cannot see all three goats someone had to to out back and make sure they are all there.  And you know, if one child gets up to check on the goats, the rest will follow.  We are learning their personalities and they are learning how to live with six kids (and one adult) loving on them. 

I know I promised I would post about our new conflict-solving technique, but I am still not 100% and I promised I would read Winter with the Moodys to the kids. 

For anyone out there without plans for  Sunday let me know.  We are having a little shin-dig out on the homestead!!

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• Apr. 11, 2006
Filthy Glasses

When Jordyn was about five days old, her arms and legs would turn blue for no apparent reason.  Over the course of two days, three people (a friend, an acquaintance and my midwife) suggested I take her to see a chiropractor.  Now in my mind I thought, very judgmentally so, that all chiropractors are quacky and into the new age movement.  However, what got my attention was that all three ladies recommended the same chiropractor.  I love how the Lord gets my attention.  I am so stubborn that he gives me multiple signs in hopes that I will catch the message.  (This happens a lot - darn that stubbornness).

When it comes to my children I will do anything to help them so off my newborn and I went to the chiropractor's office.  Now I was not overly familiar with chiropractors, so to say I was a duck out of water in the waiting room is an understatement.  Then I noticed the Christian music playing over the office speakers.  As I examined every book and magazine in the waiting room, there was no new age material to be seen.  As soon as I walked into the exam room and met Dr. Ross I knew he was a Christian.  Thank you, Lord.

When he examined Jordyn he thought she looked great until her came to her neck.  When he turned her head to the left - no problem she just followed.  When he turned her head to the right she was stiff as a board and couldn't move at all.  So he adjusted my tiny little girl.  O.K.  I am doing fine at this point, I could see she couldn't move her neck. The thing that freaked me out was he then put his finger in her mouth to feel her pallet.  He proceeds to tell me her pallet is way too high and he is going to manipulate her head the next few visits until it comes down to normal. 

See, I told you ... quacks.  He must have noticed the sheer look of panic on my face so he had me put my finger in her mouth.  Hmmm.... I am not an expert at pallets, but it didn't feel "normal" to me.  So we continued to go back for two weeks.  By the end of the second week she could not only turn her head both directions, her pallet had come down and was back to normal.  The best part is after our second visit she never turned blue again. 

Over the last two plus years, I have learned so much from our wonderful chiropractor.  He has walked with me through learning about treating the kids naturally, he takes my late night and early morning calls, and he has met us at his office over a holiday weekend to check sick kids.  Last night was no exception.  Jordyn and I were at his home at 8:30 at night so he could calm my fears about her persistent cough. 

Since I tend to ponder and analyze everything, I wonder where I would be if I hadn't taken the advice to go to the chiropractor.  I am sure we would be functioning just fine, but I would have missed out on numerous blessings.  This leads me to wonder why on some issues the Lord has to work in triplicate to get my attention?? 

I know I was blind before I was saved.  Sometimes it feels like I have on thick glasses that constantly need to be cleaned.  I think I will meditate on this verse today :

"I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.  And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you.  And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules."  Ezekiel 36:25-27

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• Apr. 9, 2006
As the Homestead Turns...

Recap:

On the last episode of the Homestead:

The family was diligently working on a pen for their new goats - will they get it finished in time for the big arrival?

Friends were in town for a visit - will school work get done, will non-stop playing and merriment abound?

There were schedules to be kept:  GEMS (Kyla's girls group), Quilting (Robbin's girls group)

There were people to see: sweet baby Annika

and there were events to prepare for:  The Ironman Triathlon, church

 

The pen is finished!!  Jim and the three big kids went to the feed store and we have everything we need.  The goats will be arriving sometime this afternoon and we are all excited and a little nervous.  This is our first farm animal raising experience.  The children are worried that they (Trixie, Dixie and ____) are going to miss their mommies. 

 

After dealing with many little arguments about nothing, I was at a loss Thursday night.  Jim and I talked about it and it just seems there are times the kids go through stages of really getting on each other's nerves.  Friday morning I was reading a blog and somehow through the power of the mouse got to a blog I hadn't read before.  On there was an entry entitled:  "Help!  There's a bully in my house" .  So Friday I canceled school, we implemented this new technique for problem solving, and cleaned out closets  that desperately needed our attention.  I will blog more later on the results from our new crisis management plan.

Since Friday night we have had three extra little people and it has been wonderful.  You know its been a good day when after baths and showers there is a thick ring of dirt around the tub.  My philosphy - dirty kids = happy kids.  When I put them to bed last night everyone was asleep within five minutes.

 

Kyla goes to a great bible study two Saturdays a month called GEMS.  It is led by my friend Dawn and her darling daughter Rebekah.  Rebekah, who soon will be graduating from high school, has written all the studies they go through and it is just precious.  Kyla looks forward to going and makes sure her GEMS shirt is ready the night before.  She is a together girl.  I am in a quilting group that meets once a month.  It is a privilege to be with such a great group of ladies.  For some of us it is the only time we really have a chance to talk and catch up.  We are at all different stages of life, so it a joy to share our lives with each other. 

 

I finally had the chance to visit my sweet friend Andra and her new baby Annika.  Now, I have seen many new mommies and a lot of them positively glow, but Andra was just beaming.  Every time I looked at her, Jeremy and Annika I just wanted to cry - thank you, Lord, for the blessing of new life!!  Andra has waited a long time to become a mommy and the gift of Annika is a blessing beyond measure.   Annika is beautiful and was positively matching from her little purple bow all the way down to her little purple socks!  I love new mommies!!!

 

Jim was up early this morning.  The Ironman Triathlon is today and he is a volunteer.  I am still baffled by people exercising for upwards of 18 hours, but I have seen it done.  Our friends Dave and Roman are running the race this year.  Dave did it last year and now Roman is trying it. Could that mean Jim could be next?  The wheels are already turning.  After hauling nine kids around yesterday, I am glad the race was today.  Jim is a people person and a triathlon person.  He will enjoy everything about day.  The kids and I will go for the end of the race.  This year we all have matching shirts.  I will be sure to post a picture.  For those of you who have never been to a triathlon it is a fun atmosphere.  I just love it when the moms and dads stop right before the finish line so their families can run with them as they cross over.  Training is really a team effort!!

I am now down to seven kids.  They are slowly trickling in as I feverishly type to finish this way to long entry.  I am so excited to be going to church.  We have had runny noses the past two weeks and it feels like forever since I have been there.  So for me it looks like church, lunch, goats, race - and maybe a nap or two squeezed in!

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• Apr. 6, 2006
Nice Surprise!

Yesterday was one of those typical days out here on the homestead.  School went fine, Jordyn was a total stinker and Rylie and Kevin were separated from each other for the afternoon in order to maintain some peace and quiet.  (I know, I am a meanie.)  Jim was on his way home (my favorite time of day) and dinner was in the oven.  Then the phone rang...

Some of our very favorite people were on their way into town and wanted to know if we could have dinner together.  Ummm...let me see..... YEAH!!!!  So I quickly called Jim, switched gears and had the children do a quick pick up of the house.  To keep the house clean, I broke down and let them watch an episode of "Little House on the Prairie".  They only watch TV once a week  and that is usually on Sundays (can you guess what their show is??), so this was a treat.  I was officially the "best mom ever" again.  All the while every two to three minutes one of them ran to the stove to check the time. 

If you have ever been here you know that once you turn at the red for sale sign by the three mailboxes (no joke, that is how we tell people where to turn - it will be a sad day when the for sale sign is taken down), then it is a straight shot to our property.  So it is now close to arrival time.  All five "big kids" are at the French doors looking for headlights and then I hear a slow chant starting.  "Don't turn, don't turn, don't turn".  There is a house on the lot in front of us - they were willing the car to be our friends and not turn.  It reminded me of the Mervyn's "open, open, open" commercial.  Well, screaming and yelling, hooting and hollering abounded and you guessed it - our guests were here. 

It amazes me how there are just some people where the minute they walk in the door, you pick up where you left off.  Macy immediately tracked down Elliot (who has had no attention since she left).  Jake, Dylan and Kevin got out every weapon they could think of, and Kyla gave  Max a play-by-play of everything that has happened since he left.  Lucky guy! 

For me, I just took it all in once again realizing how blessed I am.  Life is good.

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• Apr. 2, 2006
The Power of ... THREE

Well, it was a fun, albeit whirlwind weekend.  Two of my sister-in-laws were in town this weekend.  Jim's sister Cheryl, and his brother Doug's wife, Stephanie, flew into town Thursday afternoon for a JuicePlus conference.  We had a great time!  It was the first time ever we have been together without any children (there are 12 between the three of us).  We almost didn't know what to do with ourselves! 

Since Cheryl and Stephanie are from Colorado, they enjoyed our great weather.  It was a weekend full of lots of amazing information.  There is SO much you can be doing to boost your family's health.  I'm excited to share with you about some EASY ways you can add more fruits and vegetables into your daily diet.  Here is our website:  www.juiceplusforyou.net check it out and let me know what you think.  The research results are indisputable!

Cheryl and Stephanie, it was GREAT to spend time with both of you.  I look forward to you both salsa dancing on stage next year.  I will be your photographer.  And most importantly - "I LIKE YOU!"

Look, we're smiling WITH TEETH! 

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• Mar. 31, 2006
Being Rescued...Again!

When I was little, for sheer entertainment, my brothers would make me raise my arms over my head in a circle and chant, "Duh! I'm a beanhead".  They especially thought it was fun to have me do that standing in the front yard with their friends around.  For some of you this might explain a lot about me.
Now I've been known to do a few "beanhead" things in my time, but sometimes I just amaze myself at how dumb I can actually be.  One of those times came Wednesday night.  I had all the kids at church and was waiting for Jim to come from work when I realized I had a crisis (a beanhead crisis) on my hands.  I always love when I call Jim in a sheer panic and all I hear is laughter at the other end.  To make matters worse I am trying to talk in "code" so that the 12 listening ears don't catch on to what is happening. 
Once again Jim came to my rescue.  It made him late for the start of Glynn's talk, but the fact he has something new to add to his "I can't believe this person is raising my children" journal was worth it for him.
Thanks for helping me out honey!  I owe you big time!  And in case I haven't made it official ... "DUH!  I'M A BEANHEAD!!!"

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• Mar. 28, 2006
The Homestead Grows

Hi All - I thought this would be an easy way for you to catch up on what is happening out on the homestead!  We are seriously delving into homesteading life! 

For those of you who don't know, we are surrounded by acre properties, on dirt roads, with plenty of horses and cattle all around.  When we moved here a year and a half ago, somehow our spoiled yorkie-poo didn't quite fit in as a "big" dog.

Well over the next week or so, we are going to add to our little farm.  Elliot will no longer be the main attraction.  (I know, how much of an attraction is a dog who's daily goals are roaming and sleeping?)  We are adding Trixie, Dixie, and ????? (the third name is still being debated by the children).  They are 8 week old Nigerian Dwarf Goats and are so cute.  A darling family from church got the mamas a year ago for a 4-H project and have since had three baby does. 

For those who know us, or should I say Jim, please don't worry.  I haven't brainwashed him or implemented  torture tactics to get him to agree with this.  As they say, "you've come a long way baby!"

We are spending the next week or so, getting their pen ready.  I will post pictures as soon as we bring them home.  Oh, and if you would like to have input on the third name anything that rhymes with Dixie and Trixie will be considered.

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