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Well, not exactly...but I am moving my blog! First of all, I am so, so sorry about dropping the ball here at Hilltop Academy without one syllable of an explanation. I never called. I never wrote. How pathetic. I reached a point in caring for a new baby and trying to homeschool my other two that I just had no time for much else. Plus "American Idol" and "24" were in full swing, so I had to what TV three nights a week. Priorities, ya' know. Over the past few weeks I feel I have finally fell into some sort of routine and could perhaps think about blogging again, but when I logged into this site, it felt kinda stale and worn out, and I began researching some other options for me. And this.... is what it's all come down to. I still have plenty of work to do before it's a completely functional site (and the very scary thing is that I have little to no idea what I'm doing...thankfully my hosting site is fairly user-friendly), but feel free to stop by and have a look around. I hope over the next week or so to actually get some content posted, and I would love to have some visitors! So, make sure to change me on your RSS feeds (whatever those are) and your blog readers. I can't wait to touch base with all of you again! |
Posted in humor
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I am a mess. My last entry I go and tell you I want to create a bigger, better blog, and then I go more than a week without posting anything here. I'm sorry. Time just gets away from me nowadays between feedings and school and diaper changes and baseball tryouts and laundry and sleepless nights and ballet rehearsals and well, I think you see how it is. In the meantime, I thought I'd post this funny little thing that I saw over on Ginny's blog. You type your name and the word 'needs' and do a google search. Then post the first ten sentences that come up. I thought this might be fun, but actually it was scary how well Google knows me and what I need.... 1. Kellie needs more votes! Oh Google! You're too late! I lost in that Funniest Blog category for the Homeschool Blog Awards months ago. Oh well... 2. Kellie needs a cheeseburger. That's cruel, Google. You must know I just started Weight Watchers, and that cheeseburgers have about 523 points. I wouldn't be able to eat anything but cucumbers for days if I had a cheeseburger. 3. Kellie needs to stop doing stuff to her face. Now Google, just what exactly do you mean? I wash my face. I put toner on my face. And I refuse to give up my mineral foundation. Leave me alone, Google. 4. Kellie needs a clue. Oh, Google, you have NO idea! 5. Kellie needs to channel her inner Angelina. Why just the other day I was thinking how badly I needed to go break up someone's marriage and then proceed to have and adopt four children with the guy in three different countries! Google, how did you know??? 6. Kellie needs to sing country. Yes, I do!!! I mean here I am in Nashville and all. I just need to slip a little twang into my voice and head on down to Music Row and get signed. Excellent, google! Just excellent! 7. Kellie needs a family that is patient. Google, I tell them this everyday. I tell them I'm trying. I tell them that I'm trying to get back on my feet and scrub the toilets and scramble them eggs and things like that. Google, do you know what it's like having your third child who won't nap at age 36? Do they? *sob, sob,sob* 8. Kellie needs her own TV show. I don't know, Google. Really? That might be a little much, especially if I'm going to sing country and adopt international children and all. I think I'll just focus on the bigger, better blog thing. 9. Kellie needs to go back to school. Alright, Google, back off! I can't go back to school. I have no time! I have no resources! What?! Are you giving me a scholarship....and a nanny, Google? Are you? Huh? Huh?! 10. Kellie needs to get a grip and move on. You are sooooo right, Google. Things got really out of hand there. Sorry. Moving on.... ****Thanks to Kellie Pickler, former American Idol contestant, whose fame and noteriety provided all of my funny Google finds!***
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Resolve: 1. To make a firm decision about 2. To change or convert
People, I'm resolving. I'm sort of on the fence about New Year's resolutions. Some years I'm all over them, making my list and checking it twice. Other years I avoid them like the plague, knowing I'm just setting myself up for failure...again. This year New Year's came and went and I didn't bat my eye at one resolution. Of course, New Year's this year found me still trying to sleep whenever I had the chance and my house full of dusty furniture and dirty laundry. I was in survival mode...not resolution mode. So, this year I'm making my resolutions today, on March 2. I don't know why. I just woke up yesterday and thought, "Ya' know what? I need to make some changes!" And since yesterday was Sunday, and it happened to snow four inches here, I decided to wait until today. Because you can't change your life on a snowy Sunday. Everyone knows that. In the spirit of commraderie, I thought I'd share some of my resolutions with you so that you can pray for me and encourage me and laugh at me in a month and half when I've failed. Not really on that last one. I hope. Here we go... 1. Lose weight, be more healthy, exercise, drink more water, blah, blah, blah.... I know this one is cliche, but I have to add it. I do have to make these changes. I mean I just had my third child at age thirty-six, for Pete's sake! I'm a nursing mother, so I can't do anything extreme, but with Weight Watchers you can just give yourself 10 extra points a day (to be filled with extra milk and fruits and veggies....not a Krispy Kreme doughnut...darn). I also have to get in some exercise. Hopefully, with the weather warming up soon, I can start walking regularly, which is my favorite form of exercise. If not, then I figure that Jack will be walking in about ten months or so, and I'll just start my exercise then by chasing him everywhere. 2. Read more. Read better. I probably read a bit more than the average person, being an English major and all, but I've fallen into some bad habits with reading. You know how on "American Idol" the judges are always telling the contestants that they picked the wrong song? Well, I've been picking the wrong books. I'll be half-way through a book, and think, "I really don't like this book. I think I'm wasting my life trying to finish this book." So then I'll quit reading it. I either need to commit to finish what I start (unless it really is just garbage), or research my book picks a little more, so that I know it's compatible with me. I think I need to make a reading list, and just stick to it. I'm also including here that I need to be more in God's word. Period. 3. Be more organized. Get more accomplished. *Sigh* This is another regular on my list. This, by the way, is more for me personally. While I do want my house to be clean and organized, there's only so much you can do when you have children that own probably a million Lego pieces and have no problem with stuffing dirty underwear under their beds. For me, I need to use my time more wisely. Tonight, instead of just sitting in front of the TV and watching two hours of "24," I could also be working on my scrapbooking or thank-you notes or clipping coupons. Tomorrow night, instead of just sitting in front of the TV and watching two hours of "American Idol," I could also be working on my scrapbooking or thank you notes or clipping coupons. On Wednesday night, instead of....I think you get my drift. 4. Be more intentional with my relationships. I could almost be a hermit, I think. I like to be at home, and I'm most comfortable with my family. To connect with others, I often have to leave my comfort zone. But I need to do this. Jesus told me to. I told Big D that I want to start having a family over for dinner every other Friday night when it works with our schedule. This will be a great way to get to know our neighbors better, connect more deeply with our church family, and reach out to friends/acquaintances that are lost. Plus it will give me an excuse to make and eat a slice of cheesecake....as long as I have enough WW points for it, of course. 5. To create a bigger and better blog. I have had some ideas and plans for my blog for some time that I just have not implemented. One reason is that I haven't had time. Another reason is that I really don't know how. Big D is committed to help me, but I have to be responsible for tapping that resource. I think soon I should be once and for all rid myself of my smiling coffee cup. You know the one that's been in the upper left corner of this blog for the past two and half years? Yeah, that's the one. It needs to be shot. Well, that's about it folks. If I could get those things taken of, then I'd be just about perfect. Ummm, yeah right. Far from it, but I'd be on my way to being a better, more productive human being. I'd be a tad closer to the person that God created me to be. Pray for me, 'kay? |
Posted in humor
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Yes, it's sad and ridiculous...but very, very true. Sometimes I can't remember HIS name...
Isn't that awful? And tragic? And slightly retarded? I've been so disturbed by this fact that it has caused a bit of reflection on my part in search for a REASON I can't remember my baby child's name. Here's what I've come up with so far.... 1. I'm mildly retarded. 2. I'm sleep deprived. 3. He has too many nicknames. Baby Jack, Jack-Jack, Cap'n Jack, Black Jack, Cracker Jack, Pepper Jack, Jack-in-the-Box...you name it. And the funny thing is, even with all these nicknames, do you know what I call him about 50% of the time? Two "names" actually....Baby and Bubba. One generic and one just plain hick. I guess I'm just a generic hick. A confused, indecisive generic hick. 4. I inherited a name-confusion gene from my late grandma. My grandma, bless her heart, had a hard time with names...especially if she was agitated or frustrated. I was called, for most of my life by her, Linda-Debbie-Bonnie-Cindy-Jody-Kellie. If she couldn't remember your name, she just started going down the list until she came to the right one. That list, by the way, is half dog names....and one was a boy. I regularly call my baby some combination of Harrison-Damon-Jackson. I even have called him Annaleigh a couple of times, but I don't want to talk about that. Even when Grandma got the first name right, she would sometimes falter on the middle name. After Harrison was born, she told two of her sisters on the phone that I had named our baby Harrison Ford. Thankfully, I or Indiana Mimi was close by and corrected her to Harrison Paul. The other day I made up a whole song with three verses and a bridge, all about Jackson Paul. When I was finished singing it to him, I looked up at Harrison who was sitting nearby listening. I asked him what he thought of my clever tune. "Oh, it's fine," he said smiling sweetly, "except his name is Jackson Henry." Oops. Grandma, if you're allowed to read my blog from Heaven, please know that I totally understand now, and I'm sorry for teasing you about this. Forgive me. 5. It has not been decided exactly what we are officially going to call him. OK...here's the deal. Up until about 3 or 4 weeks before his birth, his name was going to be William, but one day I just sat the family down and told them we had to come up with a new boy name, that William just wasn't right. Well, that was tough. I love the name Jack and brought it up again. Big D wasn't loving it. He likes longer names. We rolled around in a few more suggestions, and then we finally came to rest on Jackson. It was a good compromise. Well, fast-forward to the day he was born. We christened him Jackson Henry, which I think is the cutest, sweetest boy name in the world, and what does Big D do? He immediately starts calling him Baby Jack. Now, every time I go to call him by name I have a moment's hesitation when I'm not sure if Jackson or Jack is going to leave my lips. Mostly it's Jack...except when it's Baby or Bubba. 6. I'm either consuming too much or too little caffeine, and it's doing something funky to my brain cells. I keep going back and forth and can't decide, so I think I'll go brew a pot of coffee and ponder it some more before I have to feed what's his name. |
Posted in humor
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...and I'm out once and for all to prove it. I'll use my own kids as specimens. Here is my 12 year-old daughter. She goes to great lengths not to be weird. She tries very hard to fit in. She....
...umm...well....never mind. Forget you ever saw that photo. I'll just use my 8 year-old son. He is certainly not weird. He prides himself on his practiced coolness. He always...
Uhh...oh my. Okay, two down, one to go. Moving on... Alright now, Baby Jack, while not exactly in the throes of his education is certainly not weird. He hasn't even been present on this earth long enough to be weird. He's just a tiny baby, for goodness sake. Why, he...
I give up. I guess home schooled kids CAN be weird. Obviously, it is an inherited trait that begins at birth. Tune in soon for my next exciting post on "Home Schooled Kids Are Always Nice, Well-Mannered and Love Their Siblings"!
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Posted in family
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Since Big D is sort of an amateur photographer with a growing collection of equipment, including backdrops and such, there was NO WAY I was going to lug Jack to some over-priced studio for a photo shoot. Nope....we just set up a little make-shift studio in our loft one Sunday afternoon when the lighting was decent, and Big D just shot away. There were a few things that we learned that day, however, about photographing infants. First of all, they cry a lot for no apparent reason other than the fact that you just lay them naked on a cold, white sheet....
They also will occasionally toss their cookies....
Then when their mother blindly throws the photographer daddy a burp cloth over the top of the white backdrop that's set up in their family room, this might happen...
Then there are some props that you'll try that just won't work and you hope will not be viewed by anyone who works for DSS...
After the crying fit and the bad prop, the mother then may spy a stray booger that needs removed...
But it's all worth it when you can finally get a shot that looks like this...
Whew...finally! |
Posted in humor
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I normally do not get very political here on my blog. In fact, I believe the one and only time I ever mentioned my political views was on election day when I made a last minute conservative plea. Since that revelation of my political preferences, and things ultimately didn't go the way I wanted, I've been fine. I have just committed to trust God and pray for our new President. I've also encouraged my children to do the same. But one of my children has a problem with this. This is that child....
For reasons that we don't entirely understand, Clara has fears and concerns about our new administration. What? Don't believe a dog can have these sorts of inclinations? Then watch this...
I tried to tell you. We own a very conservative dog. And no, we've never hit her with a newspaper....and we didn't teach her to do that. Here's what she was responding to...
I don't know what Clara knows about hope, but it's pretty obvious she's chosen fear. Her remediation is high on my to do list. |
Posted in family
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Some time in the month of December I received my scrapbooking magazine in the mail. One feature for this month was an article on something they called "Project 365." The idea is that you take a slice-of-life photo every day of the year and then scrapbook the whole shebang. They were even selling a kit for it. I thought I might try it....and then I laughed for a whole fifteen minutes about the scrapbooking part because I really hardly ever scrapbook anymore. Even though I have a whole corner of our family room dedicated to the hobby. Even though I still shop for and purchase the supplies for it. Even though I still receive and religiously read my magazine. I shared my thoughts, and ultimately my dilemma, with Big D, and he loved the idea. He loved it so much that he created a special gallery for me on his photography website. Even though I do not take great professional looking pictures like he does. He's kinda nice to me that way. So, since I'm going to all the trouble to take, edit and post a picture and brief commentary everyday, I thought I'd share it with you. Here's the link... http://www.193945.smugmug.com/gallery/7073797_XqWiR If you visit often, you will come to realize that my life is nothing but...
and a little bit of....
And, okay, a whole lotta...
I will probably get very redundant eventually with this project. Big D is doing it too. Here's his link... http://193945.smugmug.com/gallery/7144099_XFuA6 His pictures will make you oooohh and aaaahhh. Mine will not. Enjoy and come visit whenever you can. I wish there was some way that I could make you a tall glass of ice tea or something. |
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I've decided to do that thingy that I did last year. It's kind of a year-in-review for your blog. You post the first sentence from your first post for every month. Then you also post a random favorite photo from that month as well that may or may not have anything to do with the sentence you posted. And just for fun, I'm going to make the posted sentences linkable. That way when you read my random and ridiculous sentence you can actually click on it to get the post from which it came. Confused? Yeah, well, welcome to my life. JANUARY Can you endure one more Christmas tale?
FEBRUARY I've always had this secret desire to write movie reviews.
MARCH I am sorry to the rock band, Dire Straits, for borrowing and altering a line from one of your songs.
APRIL Just when you think you might run out of good blogging material some day...
MAY As summer approaches it finds me thinking more and more about movies.
JUNE
(I know that's a video and not a picture. I didn't have a lot of photos from June apparently.) JULY Every now and then I like to change things up around here.
AUGUST I have made no secret on this blog that our family struggles with household chores.
SEPTEMBER
OCTOBER Whoa....it's been a week since I've blogged anything new.
NOVEMBER This is my last Halloween post.
DECEMBER I Am Not Dead......although I feel like it about 50% of the time.
(I actually didn't post that pic in Dec, but you're going to have to give me a break, as I only posted twice that whole month, so there wasn't much to choose from.) Thanks all for bearing with me through all of last year...especially the latter part when I dropped off the face of the earth. I look forward to blogging through 2009 with you! |
Posted in humor
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Recently I posted some new pictures of Baby Jack on my Facebook account. One of the pictures was of Jack and one of his Christmas presents: a light-up, musical seahorse toy. A friend commented that my title for that picture sounded like it was a fairy tale, and after looking again at the same series of pictures, I've tried my hand at actually writing that fairy tale. You, my dear blogging friends, are about to have the pleasure...or otherwise...of reading it. Here we go.... Once upon a time, there was a little, tiny baby named Jack. He was pretty much friendless in the world, so his mommy bought him a seahorse.
"For me?" Jack asked.
"How exciting!" Jack exclaimed. "I've always wanted a seahorse!"
It was then, however, that Jack realized there was something very, very wrong with his seahorse friend. It was bigger than he was, and Jack was a little frightened.
Jack knew something had to be done. So Jack slowly crept up on the unsuspecting seahorse.
"Come here, little...er I mean gigantic...seahorse," Jack cooed. "Let's have a little chat."
"Just a little closer..." said Jack. And then he made his move to EAT the seahorse!
"No, no Jack!" cried his mommy. "You musn't eat the seahorse. The seahorse is your friend." Jack cried because
And so Jack said sorry to the seahorse and kissed him on the cheek.
Jack and his seahorse lived happily ever after.
The End And that my friends is why I just write a measly blog and am not a published author. |
Posted in family
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For Christmas this year, we got our kids a puppy...
...and before I go any further with this post, I need to tell you that, yes, I DO know that Big D and I are undeniably and certifiably insane. No one should get a puppy when they have an infant. No one....yet we did. We knew we had an infant. We knew we were being incredibly impulsive. We knew we shouldn't get a puppy. But we did. All I can say is that when your beloved old dog dies the week before Christmas, and your beloved old cat died two months ago, and your family just went through the wringer with the newborn in the NICU, and your two older kids were troopers through all of it, you have little choice but to get them a puppy for Christmas. Period. OK, now, moving on.... So we have this puppy now. Her name is Clara Noelle. She's a Boston Terrier bulldog. Why didn't we get another Boxer? Well, I love Boxers. They have great personalities. They are very loyal and protective and fun. But I also love Bostons. I had one growing up, and she was a great dog, and she was very loyal and protective and fun....and A LOT smaller. At this point in my life I need smaller....smaller poop, smaller pee puddles, smaller vet bills, smaller food dishes, smaller teeth marks....everything is smaller, and that's a good thing. I have always wanted to give a puppy on Christmas. There is something so traditional and cliche and surreal about it. Yet I never had an opportunity because as insane as I am, I knew better to get a puppy when we already had a full grown dog and two cats. And Big D would never have let me, and he's the boss of me. This is why I have always wanted to give my kids a puppy on Christmas......(this is short)....
Isn't that PRICELESS??? And yes, in case you aren't familiar with 12 year-old girls, they do all scream like that. It comes with the package. The boys were a lot more subdued...
You may have noticed in that picture that there are actually two puppies being exclaimed over. That's because my sister Debbles gave one of Clara's litter mates to her kids. She and her husband are insane too. Insanity runs in my family. This is Clara with her sister Sadie....
This is Sadie licking my face to pieces...
This is me sitting down with a portion of the litter, after having to, literally, rip several of them off of me and nearly sling them across the room....
A word to all lactating women: Do not....I repeat DO NOT....sit down on the floor with a litter of recently weaned puppies. What ensues is not cute or funny. It is something like what I imagine being attacked by pirhanas is like. Here is when I first met and chose Clara....
What choice did I have after she got all up in my personal space like that? The good news is that I will likely never run out of good blogging material with the "twins," which is what we've dubbed Jack and Clara...
See? Indiana Mimi has her hands full with the twins. The bad news is that I have absolutely no time to blog about any of it. The other good news is that Clara is turning out to be a really good dog...
Ummm...sorta. More good news is that she sleeps a lot...
The bad news is that it's really, really difficult to get anything done around here, being surrounded by all this cuteness. |
Posted in family
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Hello people! My name is Kellie Ann, and I used to post here quite a bit. That was back before I had this baby in my dotage and said baby spent a week in the NICU right before the holidays. Then the baby demanded every ounce of my energy and attention. And then I pretty much stopped posting here...or doing laundry....or dusting my furniture...or fixing my other kids' lunch...or regularly trimming my toenails. It has been an interesting seven weeks.... Baby Jack has decided to sleep six hours at a time for the past few nights though, and it has totally and completely changed my outlook on life. I woke up today and immediately started uploading and editing all 466 photos and videos that have been festering in my camera. Then I went and grabbed the feather duster. Then I put it back without using it. Baby steps, you know. I just put him down for the night, and I figure I have about an hour before my eyelids start to droop. It came down to either working on my thank-you notes for baby gifts or updating my blog. I flipped a coin and the thank-you's won. So I flipped it seven more times until blogging won, so here I am. (It's not that I'm not thankful for the gifts. I AM!!!! We were just so blessed that now I'm overwhelmed, and I always handle that emotion by procrastinating.) This was a super weird Christmas season for us. Christmas is usually filled with a lot of shopping, crafts, events, parties, baking, etc. Well, I found myself this season telling the older two kids to put on a Christmas movie while I fed the baby and then proceeding to pass out cold for the next two hours. Then I'd wake up and start all over again. In the evenings I would feed Jack, pass him to Big D, make a mad dash to the local Target and Kohl's and shop for about an hour and half until my....ahem...nursing parts let me know that I needed to get home to feed the baby again and pass out cold. I told you it was a weird season. I feel like I owe you something though here on my blog. Some token of Christmas, even though it is more than two weeks ago. So I present my fast-paced, energetic drive-through look at our Christmas...without the nursing parts.
We did have a tree. We just didn't drive to a tree farm to get it like we usually do. Considering that Jack had just arrived home from the hospital on Thanksgiving Day, we didn't think that wise. So our tree came from Lowe's....but we liked it.
I did put out our collection of Nutcrackers, but that and the tree were about the extent of my decorating. And speaking of Nutcrackers....
Despite all the craziness and chaos, Annaleigh still maintained her now seven year tradition of performing in "The Nutcracker". This year she actually played the role of the nutcracker prince, which she...well, ummm...she didn't really like all that much. I think it may have had to do with the huge, heavy hat and the weird mask and beard, but I'm just guessing. Above are some clips from her performance. The first one is kinda long, about five minutes, and the second one is only about a minute from the finale. I included it because she got to take off her dreaded mask for the bow. Although I didn't bake anything, I did get one of those pre-fab gingerbread houses for the kids to put together. I did manage to pull away from the suckling for a few moments in order to snap some festive shots, break up one fight, and eat three fingerfulls (is that a word?) of icing.
Here the older kids went to Build-a-Bear to make Jack his Christmas gift...
Speaking of Jack, he spent most of the season staring at the lights and wearing cute Christmas outfits....
So, is it a good or bad thing when the stocking is bigger than you? As we near the end of my Christmas drive-through, I have only one more thing to say....
That is NOT my house. I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful, Christ-centered holiday! I'll be by soon to say howdy on your blogs. And very soon I'll be blogging about the most insane, ludicrous gift we ever gave our kids. It was a doozy. |
Posted in family
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Ah yes, I'm afraid it's only to be the bearer of bad news that my blog site has drawn me back from the piles of laundry, dusty corners and my needy baby. I am very sad to say that we had to have our beloved and comical dog Bridget put to sleep last week. I had just blogged here several weeks ago about her strange leg injury, and things then took a sharp turn for the worse. The vet suspects that it was probably a soft tissue tumor and not an injury after all. There was nothing that could be done. She was in a lot of pain and was not going to get better. I can't even tell you how heartbreaking this was for our family. To lose Baxter a couple of months ago was very sad, but he was an eighteen year-old lazy cat that basically had spent the last ten years or so eating and sleeping and using the litter. To lose your dog that met you at the door every time you returned home with a toy in her mouth is infinitely harder. All week long I have looked for her sweet face at the top of our stairs. I have missed her barking at anyone that comes to our door, including Indiana Mimi and Big D. I miss the fact that she would lie down by me wherever I was sitting and let me put my cold feet under her warm body. I just miss her, and it hurts so, so badly.
  Goodbye Bridgie. You were one in a million. We love you.
Sorry to be so morose right here before we celebrate the "most wonderful time of the year." This has been kind of a rough season for us. However, I do wish each and every one of you a very merry CHRISTmas. I hope that each of you experience the love and peace that comes from our Savior.
 I truly look forward to reconnecting with you here on my blog in a few weeks. I think I'm nearly back to normal...although it's definitely a NEW normal. See you soon.... |
Posted in family
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...although I feel like it about 50% of the time. Well, maybe 60%. First of all, I have to say that I have been truly overwhelmed by the sincere outpouring of concern and prayers that so many of you have sent our way. I have heard the phrase "felt the prayers" before, but I don't think I truly understood it until the past couple of weeks. Even in the most confusing and helpless moments of this trying time, I have felt an indescribable peace, and I know it is because many, many of our brothers and sisters in Christ were praying for us and Baby Jack. So, from the very depths of my being I thank you. You definitely made a difference. Jackson is doing really well since we've been home. He's been to his regular pediatrician already and everything has chekced out fine. The only issue left to be resolved is the PDA they discovered in the NICU has yet to close (click the link if you're wondering what the heck I'm talking about). This is fairly normal, especially in smallish babies and most evnetually close on their own. We have to go to a pediatric cardiologist next week just to have it re-checked to make sure it's progressing. His doctor also wants to monitor his weight with frequent trips to her office, but I'm not concerned about this as I KNOW how much he's eating. He's going to be out of his preemie clothes in no time. I also have to keep him secluded as much as possible. Because he is so small, an infection could be particularly detrimental to him. So we keep our hands fairly doused with Germ-x, and I'm getting accustomed to my life as a hermit. Unfortunately, I am not going to be able to get back into my regular blogging habits for a while....maybe not until after the first of the year. I'm just hoping that I will still have readers by that point. And as much as I'd like to, I just can't visit your blogs yet on a regualr basis either. For one reason, the week we came home from the hospital our main computer crashed. Big D is in the process of trying to weed things out, and until he does I'm stuck using an old laptop of his. I can't upload and post any pictures and such because all of the programs that I know how to use are on my computer. Also, as you can well imagine, Baby Jack is consuming every scrap of free time I ever had. He is a really good, sweet, content baby, but he's utterly and completely helpless. Somehow I had forgotten that part. Also he's not really nursing well yet, so on top of all the other baby things he requires, I have to pump, which all in all probably takes another approximate two hours total. I'm looking forward to the day that he has the whole nursing thing down pat because I really, really hate pumping. I'm also unbelievably tired most of the time. I still can't figure out how a person can sleep and sleep and sleep and still be utterly exhausted, but it seems to be the case for both myself and the baby. Eventually I'd really like to write about our whole experience in more depth and detail, but for now I'm just going to have to wait until things get a little more normal around here....whatever that means. In the meantime, if you haven't already, please check out Big D's photography site. (Click on FAMILY, then on JACKSON). He chronicled our whole experience in photos, and I think it does a beautiful job of telling the story. Thanks again for your friendship and prayers. It has meant the world to me! |
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Hi, all! This is Kellie's sister, Debbie (debbles). Kellie asked me to post for her since it's been an eventful day for her! Jackson Henry (known affectionately as Baby Jack) was born this morning. He weighed in at 5 lbs, 1 oz and was 16 inches long. Kellie is recovering well and is in good spirits. Baby Jack is currently in the NICU. He had some trouble breathing and they have him on oxygen. He is stable. They plan on running a few tests tomorrow and I'm sure Kellie will update as soon as she can! She and the rest of the family covet your prayers for Jack's complete healing and comfort and rest for the family. Big D has posted a few pics at the link from Kellie's previous entry! Thank you for you concern for Kellie and Baby Jack. She has been reading your comments and feels very blessed by how much everyone cares for her and her family! |
Posted in family
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OK...so I didn't get to an update. My day has been kinda crazy, and I didn't get much sleep last night thanks to some powerful Braxton-Hicks contractions that woke me up on the hour. I finally just got out of bed around 5am and have been going ever since. First of all, I'd just like to say that I have been overwhelmed by your interest, concerns and prayers. It's amazing that I've never met most of my readers face-to-face, but still you are thinking of me and offering prayers to the Heavenly Father on my behalf. That is amazing, and I am so proud and thankful to be a part of this on-line community. I am really uncertain of when I will be able to blog again. The hospital has Internet, and Big D will have his laptop, but there are many more unknowns, so I can't promise anything. Yet I thought I'd give you the link to our family photo gallery that I know Big D will be able to upload to. Click here sometime tomorrow, probably in the afternoon, and you should be able to see Peanut in all of his or her glory. Speaking of our gallery, you'll never guess how Big D and I spent the last hour or so. Big D dabbles in photography, and he's been saying for the last three months or so that he'd like to do some studio-like pregnancy shots of me. Well, we never did it. Since tonight was absolutely the last opportunity, he turned our living room into a makeshift studio, and I had fun pretending that I was a short, round super-model. He's still working on the editing, but this was one of my favorites....
Somehow that angle (Big D was on a ladder!) makes me look a little bit tall....like maybe 5'5" or something. Thanks again for all of your kind words and well-wishes. If you think about us around 8am central time tomorrow, I'd appreciate even more of your prayers. I look forward to sharing my experiences...and my baby!...with all of you soon.... |
Posted in family
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This is going to be one long post. I am quickly running out of time to post the things that have been on my blogging back-burner, and so I have no choice but to do a double feature. Just think of the money you could save, if you actually paid to read my blog....not that anyone would do that, but I'm just sayin'. Just consider this the blogging version of the nesting instinct that I've been experiencing. First of all, the other day, I snapped some pictures of my fair land while I was driving to my weekly OB appointment. I had the idea the week before when I was driving there because our fall color was at its peak, and I was literally overwhelmed by the beauty of that autumn day. This week was not as breath-taking, but it was still pretty, so I drove and snapped away, and only ran off the road one time. Indiana Mimi will have a heart attack when she reads this post, but it will probably make all of you feel better to know that it was just Peanut and I in the car. Annaleigh and Harrison were occupied other places. I actually started my drive from Big D's office, where they were gracious enough to host a baby shower for us. See? My back seats were filled with all the loot....
Big D works in area called Cool Springs, which is basically just a large business/shopping area. It's really pretty....
It was a well-planned area, and they've always kept it really nicely maintained and landscaped, which is nice since if you come through there at the wrong time, you're going to be stuck in traffic for a while just staring at all of this pretty vegetation. After I make it through this area, I'm basically on a country road, heading for the neighboring town where my doctor's office is located. It's still fairly rural, very hilly and beautiful...
(Right after this shot is when I ran off the road, but don't worry....I didn't hit that telephone pole or that mailbox.)
Shortly after this, the scenery starts getting more residential. Here I snapped some shots of what Big D and I have always referred to as "Big, Ridiculous House Row"....
There are some that are even....if you can believe this...bigger than those, but they're set too far off the road for pictures from your car that's traveling...and swerving...at 45 mph. We like to always come drive around this area at Christmas because apparently people who spend that much money on their homes also like to spend ridiculous amounts on holiday decor. Here's a golf course...
"Hello, Golfers! Please tell us all what it is you do exactly that allows you to golf at 2:30 on a Thursday afternoon and afford 8,000 square feet homes?" And then here's my doctor's office...
Not very attractive, is it? When I was done there, I headed towards my small town, where I was picking up my kids from their TaeKwonDo studio. Come along with me. I'll take the scenic route. Here we have some shots from the town where we attend church. It is without a doubt the cutest town ever...
(OK...that's not a great shot, but it's the home of Toby Mac, of Christian music fame.)
I then have about a ten mile stretch of more rural highway before I reach my town. This is Winstead Hill, one of the sites of the last battles of the Civil War...
This is the Harrison House, a historic Civil War era home...
Unfortunately, this is what's happening to more and more of our countryside....
Now we're getting to the outskirts of my little town...
One of our newer and more important structures...
The main street...
And then here we are at the TKD studio...
Now, aren't you glad that's over? I thought maybe a few of you that live in Florida or someplace like that might enjoy that. Some of you that live in the New England are probably laughing. Now, for feature #2: Big D's birthday! Last week Big D turned 39, which almost got lost in the shuffle of all that's going on in our lives. Yet, that would be very sad, wouldn't it? Well, not on my blog! Here's' the birthday boy in one of his gifts, a Tennessee Titans 10th Anniversary hat...
I got him this...
He wanted a pot with a timer. He also ordered some things from LLBean. And then we went to our town's newest establishment, Gigi's Cupcakes, a gourmet cupcake bakery...
I am sad to report that they were actually rather gross after about the third bite. Too sweet. Too much icing. Here the kids are trying to make it through theirs...
Harrison made it. Annaleigh didn't. Big D didn't either. Neither did I. Those statements tell you a little bit about the make-up of our family. Tomorrow I may or may not post my very last pregnancy update, as it will be my last day of actually being pregnant. I may or may not post a sneak-peek of our nursery, which is actually coming along...finally. And I may or may not post a photo of me and my huge watermelon belly. You'll just have to come back tomorrow and find out..... |
Posted in family
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Last weekend Annaleigh's tutorial drama class performed the children's classic The Secret Garden, and Annaleigh, as I've mentioned here before, was cast in the lead role as Mary Lennox. They needed some extra children, so much to his chagrin, Annaleigh volunteered Harrison, so you'll also see him in his dramatic debut. First, before you ever arrive at the theater, it's necessary that you have a proper, period hairstyle, which unfortunately can't be achieved without the help of your pitifully pregnant mother.
One must wear these ridiculous rollers all day, leading up to the play, including to your brother's soccer game and McDonald's for lunch. It's one of the prices of fame. And when you've properly arranged your Victorian sausage roll curls and attached a bow that's the size of the state of Vermont, you're ready to go on...
Harrison, even though he didn't have a speaking role, also had to be in period dress. We went the understated route with khaki pants and nice little vest. He was only slightly disturbed that his cap came from Limited Too...
Together they look the part of a quaint couple of Victorian children. All they need are their tea cups and jump ropes...
Here's a partial cast shot....
See the kid in the dark suit to the left? He's also in Annaleigh's science class, and they e-mail each other some and chat on Facebook. We're watching him.... Here's a shot from the play, Mary with Dickon and Collin in the garden...
And then a shot of the finale...
For your viewing pleasure, I taped a couple of the scenes. This first one is Mary's introduction to the large Sowerby family, the peasants who serve at Mistlethwaite Manor. It's the one that Harrison's in.
And then this next one, is one of my favorites from the play. You'll see why if you watch it to the end...
Next up is The Music Man in the spring.... |
Posted in contests
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Yesterday my site meter nearly exploded. When I checked my stats yesterday I was shocked to see that I had about 3x more hits than I usually had. What in tarnation was going on?!? Was the Passport2Purity thing I posted yesterday really that interesting? Had word gotten out that I had a for-real picture of W. Bush on my blog? No, as it turns out, it's just that time of year again for this....
....and I have been nominated in the category of "Funniest Homeschool Blog"....again. Last year, you may remember was a painful process for me. I came in second place. I lost to the very worthy Fiddle Dee Dee by four votes. Four votes. FOUR votes!!!! I suddenly had new empathy and understanding for my fellow Tennessean, Al Gore. This year I will probably not come as close. You see I am having a baby next Wednesday. Next Wednesday. NEXT WEDNESDAY!!!!! I will not have time in the coming week to beg and plead for votes, to offer monetary bribes, to run negative ads, to contact ACORN, to accuse my opponents of being George W. Bush, or to share my plan for spreading the wealth....you know all those things that get people elected. So, it comes down to this post. This one and only post, where I explain who I am and what I'm doing here, and why you might consider voting for me. My name is Kellie Ann, although everyone in real life just calls me Kellie. Here's what I look like....
OK...OK...that's a lie. That's Catherine Zeta Jones. Here I am...
I am a homeschool mom, but I pirate on the side. Actually, these days I'm looking a bit more like this...
I'm ecstatically married to this guy, Big D...
This is why we call him Big D...
I just love that guy! We're the proud parents of Molly Ringwald....
and Indiana Jones...
and the Crystal Skull, who we've lovingly called "Peanut" for the past eight months...
Like I said, Peanut will be arriving VERY shortly and then we can do the proper introductions. We are a homeschooling family Molly (aka Annaleigh) is 12 and in the 7th grade, and Indiana (aka Harrison) is 8 and in 3rd grade. If you are trying to decide whether I'm funny or not, I'd recommend perusing my humor category here on my blog. Or not. You could just blindly cast your vote for me, a virtual unknown in the blogoshpere. Whatever you decide.... If you'd like to vote for me, you can click this link and then click on "Hilltop Academy" before you read any of the other nominations....because they are in all likelihood more funny and worthy than I am. Thank you to those who have nominated me and already voted for me. The gesture flatters me beyond words, and I am very grateful! Good luck to everyone! |
Posted in family
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Doesn't it feel great to be able to cross things off your to-do list? Well, two weeks ago I was able to cross a doozy off my life's to-do list, and that was spend a Passport2Purity weekend with my pre-teen daughter. Next up is get a tattoo, but I think I'll wait until the baby is born and I've recovered from my c-section until I work on that one. I'll let you decide whether I'm kidding or not....
When Annaleigh was about eight or so, Big D was ordering something from Family Life and at the last minute threw a Passport2Purity kit into his on-line shopping cart as well. He's impulsive like that. When I got the package in the mail, I opened the box and nearly fainted. I knew what Passport2Purity was because I had friends who had older daughters and had used this product and sung its praises. Was I now ready to take my only daughter and oldest child away to talk to her about all of this???? After perusing it a bit, I took a deep sigh of relief, as I realized it was recommended for kids from about the ages of 11-15. Sweet....I had at least three years. Whew. I stored the box on a shelf and forgot about it. Meanwhile I spent the next three years fielding questions and situations that would come up like the time we were visiting a friend in the hospital and CNN was on the TV of the cafeteria, and they were featuring the top story of California's lift on the gay marriage ban. There was also the time that an older girl in her girl scout troop told Annaleigh about her teenage sister's unplanned pregnancy. To top it all off, once I had to ward off an angry neighbor girl's mother because Annaleigh told her friend that Santa Claus was actually just a nice man, probably from Turkey, who put gold in unmarried girls' stockings so that people would marry them and that he died about 1800 years ago. A week later this same friend explained to Annaleigh where babies came from in fairly explicit detail for a nine year-old. Now, where is that Passport2Purity box....? Annaleigh turned twelve this past September, and one day while dusting my bookshelves, the title loomed out at me. I knew it was time. My little girl was blossoming into a young lady right before mine....and everyone else's...eyes. Plus, I was in my third trimester of pregnancy. If I didn't do it with her now, I'd have to take along a suckling, which I'm sure the authors wouldn't recommend. So, off we went to talk about modesty, dating, peer pressure, and....gulp!....the birds and the bees. The authors recommend you go somewhere away from home, overnight, and special. We decided to go into Nashville and stay near the Opry Mills Mall, which has lots of shopping and fun places to eat. On Friday night we ate at the Aquarium Restaurant, which actually has a huge tropical aquarium right in the middle of the dining area. Imagine that. I let Annaleigh order off the adult menu, since after all, she looks older than twelve, I was about to take her back to the hotel and discuss grown-up stuff, and she was wearing earrings that looked like chandeliers...
She got the chicken fried chicken, which was nice of her, considering we were eating right smack in front of the fish tank. She only was able to finish half of it, and I told her that I would never order that much food for her again. I ordered a shrimp salad, because I like to taunt fish...
...and I ate almost all of it because, like you well know, I'm eating for two these days. And then on our full stomachs, we dug in...
Basically, the Raineys couldn't make it any easier. All of the hard stuff is on a set of about four CDs that you listen to and then fill in answers and such into a pre-done journal. It is all biblically-based and well put together. There are five sessions, and at some point, you stop the CDs and do little hands-on projects. See? Here's our project table...
The construction paper project was demonstrating how once you've used glue (gotten yourself into a serious, one-on-one, dating relationship) that you can take the pieces apart, but that they are now messy and a bit damaged. Clever, huh? And then the puzzle exercise demonstrated....well, I can't remember exactly, but it was clever too...trust me. They were a lot of fun and invoked some really good discussion.
I can guarantee that your pre-teen will remember the lessons from these projects more vividly that just having you say, "I don't think you should be dating right now," or "Don't act inappropriately around people of the opposite sex." All in all, it was a great weekend. The number one priority was making sure and encouraging your child to be in a right relationship with Christ and to open up the communication lines for what's coming during the coming teen years. I just have one minor suggestion. If you can at all avoid being eight months pregnant for this weekend, please do so. You will have more energy and be more comfortable, and the birds and bees talk will be slightly less...well, ummm...awkward.
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