A new family tradition

Earlier this year Lisa and I went to a homeschool convention in our city. There was so much to see, do and buy. One of the many purchases I made at Lisa's suggestion was Jotham's Journey.

After running away from his father's tents in a moment of anger, ten-year-old Jotham has lost his way, and his family. As he journeys through Palestine in search of his nomadic home, Jotham is helped by a fool, a priest, a zealot and a wise man. Chased by a gang of thieves, thrown from one "foster parent" to another, Jotham slowly discovers the miracle of the first Christmas, and some miraculous things about his own life and his own family.

Written as a devotional for parents to read to their children during Advent, Jotham's Journey unfolds day by day until the exciting climax on Christmas Day. Each day's installment of the story is followed by a short devotional which will challenge your family to share in Jotham's discoveries.

Doesn't that sound exciting? I have not read the book ahead of time because I want to experience it with the kids. You start reading on the first day of Advent and continue until Christmas. Tomorrow is the first day of Advent 2009. I can not wait to snuggle on the couch with my kids and read this story. Lisa highly recommends it, as do her boys. I love starting new traditions with my kids. If you have read and enjoyed Jotham's Journey they do have 2 books that are being re-released: Bartholomew's Passage and in time for next Christmas: Tabitha's Travels.


I am looking forward starting a new tradition with our children.

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope everyone had a wonderful day with friends and loved ones.

My Thanksgiving started with a 6:30 AM phone call from my brother, Stephen. Stephen LOVES Thanksgiving. He is unmarried and enjoys a good home cooked meal anytime of the year, but the holidays are especially wonderful for him. He woke me up telling me he was dreaming of cheesecake and had already been to the grocery store to buy the needed ingredients. Cheesecake was not on the menu this year. Actually, he requested that I make a pineapple upside down cake instead. Apparently he could not live with the change. Stephen arrived about an hour later (he had to track me down a paper with Black Friday ad's since mine was not on my porch)and helped me cook the entire meal. We made and enjoyed:

Turkey
Cranberry sausage cornbread stuffing
Sweet potato casserole
Mashed potatoes
Green bean supreme
"Angeled" eggs
cranberry sauce with oranges and pineapples
homemade yeast rolls
colored greens (which my family thought I was nuts for making, but everyone excepth Katie loved! Thanks Gina N*eely)
Cheesecake
Pecan pie
pumpkin layered cheesecake
pineapple upside-down cake

I like to think our holidays are enriched with traditions passed down from my mom to us and from us to my children. As a single mom I think she was extra careful around the holidays to make sure we had the best experiences. Most of my fondest childhood memories revolve around Thanksgiving and Christmas. It is the most wonderful time of the year for me. Our traditions on Thanksgiving are simple. We eat the same food each year, tell the same stories, watch movies, watch the kids play, laugh, and just spend time together. It was a wonderful day.

For the last 7 years I have followed Thanksgiving dinner with Black Friday shopping. When I say fallow dinner I mean it almost literally. My friend Malissa and I leave around 11:30 PM and shop all night long. Last night we were at Toys R Us at midnight. It was so crazy we walked out at 12:05 with empty hands. I have never seen such a huge and angry crowed at a toys store on BF. Usually people are laughing and having a good time. Not. Last. Night. They were CRAZY!!!!!

Crazy for Zhu*Zhu pets. Something I have never head of.

Malissa and I ended up getting everything on our lists and them some. The lines were long, the crowds were large, and the people were a little rowdier than usually, but all in all it was a great night. We ended our day around 8:30 with breakfast. I love our tradition and can not wait to go out next year.

The mommy store......

This morning when I crawled out of bed my back was so stiff. I said to Katie: "Wow Kate! Momma is getting so old."

Katie said: "If you are that old Momma we need to take you back to the Mommy Store and trade you in for a new Mommy!"

I said: "Wouldn't you miss me?"

Katie: "For a little bit, but we would be OK!"

Me: "Well, since you are not being nice to me... I think I should take you back to The Baby Gap and trade you in for a new baby girl."

Katie: "Would you miss me?"

Me: "For a little bit, but I would be OK!"

Katie: "HEY!!!!" Then she ran over laughing, jumped in my arms and gave me a big squeeze.

I love this girl!

My kids are SO cute!

I know I may be a little biased. However, I am sure most everyone will agree after seeing our new portraits that my kids are so cute! They are unbelievably photogenic. There was hardly a shot I did not like. Below are a few of my favorites.

They made it very difficult to decided which ones I wanted so I bought them all. Shocking I know! I need to give credit to the photographer Angel of Captured by an Angel Photography. Angel did a wonderful job capturing my precious children. Thanks Angel!

I am adding more pictures as I can. They load very slowly.

A blog giveaway

I am not the one giving something away:) I have nothing great to give. However I have entered a blog giveaway for an Excalibur Dehydrator on the blog Keeper of the Home. I have been reading this blog for several months and have learned many wonderful things from Stephanie. I have vowed to learn to render lard since I saw her post on it. Once I figure out where to buy bones to make bone broth that is. I so would have made a wonderful pioneer. Well, had pioneers had diet coke, air conditioning and electric washers:)

Swine Flu and new pictures....

My poor little Justin has been so sick with H1N1. He is better now, but washing all of the laundry he may have infected just might put me over the edge! He is back to his 100% all boy self. He is to rotten to be sick for long!

Since no one else is sick we had portraits taken today. I LOVE them. Check them out at: http://cbaaphoto.zenfolio.com/p634327512 we are "The M kids".
I will post the actual pictures when I get the disk and copyright release. For now enjoy the proofs.

I want to add that Katie is in what I call "the year of fake smiles". All if my kids have done this. It makes me crazy. I also want to add that the Moore children obviously can not look serious without looking like serial killers or as my friend Julie said "The Moore Mafia!" LOL!

Katie's Prayer

Every Monday we attend our homeschool group. Before we break up for classes we come together for announcements, the Pledge of Allegiance and prayer. Before we pray our group leader asks if anyone has requests. As soon as Sarah said "does anyone have any prayer requests?" Katie's beautiful little brown hand shot up. Sarah asked Katie for her request and she said:

"Pray for Lily. My baby sister in China. That Jesus will keep her safe and healthy until we pick her up. She doesn't have a new mommy and daddy until we get there."

My baby girl wants a baby sister from China. She wants to pick her up and share her toys and clothes. She wants to feed her, rock her, play with her and pat her to sleep. She wants to teach her to dance and cheer. She wants to hold her and love her. She wants to hug her and kiss her. She wants to name her Lily because it is a very nice name. She wants her home now.

Chad and I are not in the process of adopting another baby. Although I think baby girl may be getting her daddy to crack a little. He told her to pray for Lily and if it is God's will he will bring her home. Never underestimate the power of a child's prayer!!!

Are you ready for some football?

Cameron has been playing football for years. He started out at the age of 5 playing in flag league. Last year he started in the minor league division wearing pads. He is getting better every year. I look forward to the day I can watch him play Friday night football in high school. Here are a few pictures of my boy in action (he is number 58). We are very proud of Cameron and the GCKA 2009 Raiders.




It all ends with a handshake...

Enjoy!

Here is a video of Katie's team. The 2009 Cheer Center Tiny Stars. They are a work in progress, but have to be the cutest team ever! They are working so hard. Katie is the one in the striped pants who does not match. She is also the one who appears very confused and is not in her "spots" at the right times. I think a weeks vacation to Disney World may have set her back just a little. What's a girl to do? She needed a vacation with mommy and the princesses.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Id5GmqH3RXI&feature=player_embedded

You will have to click the link. Trust me it will be worth it. They are SOOOOO Cute!

PS. I am working on Disney pictures.

Sick baby girls....

Wednesdays are busy for our family. Cameron had a make-up football game (they won!!!) and Leanne and Katie both had cheer practice. Chad took the boys to sub*way for dinner and I was going to get the girls something. Katie of course wanted apple dippers from Mc*Donalds. I asked her if she would rather have chicken strips from Raising Cain*s and she said:

"Mommy!!! Sick little girls can not eat chicken strips!"

I asked her if she was sick and she said yes. I then asked what is wrong with you? Where are you sick?

Katie said: "I have the issues."

I have not laughed so much all week. I love that girl:)

(I wanted to add that Leanne is taking a photography class and took the photo in this post. She is doing so well and having a great time in the class.)

Finally Pre-school....

I really should be cleaning or doing laundry or sewing for our Disney trip... but I am blogging! Some of my followers are complaining that I do not update nearly enough:) I think things should settle down once Katie and I are back from our trip. I will be attempting to get my blog up to date as I can. If things are out of order please forgive me. I am going to play the I have 4 kids card and use them as my excuse for having no time.

Katie started pre-school a few weeks ago. I was hoping she would do well, but deep down a little piece of me was also hoping she would cry and refuse to leave my side. I still want her to need me and as she gets older she needs me less and less.

As the first day of school approached I was getting nervous. Actually I cried every time I thought of her leaving me and heading off into the big bad world of pre-school. However, that sad part of me held it together and told Katie all of the great things about school to help her get excited about going. The Thursday before school started we went to "meet the teacher" where she met Ms. Marcy and Ms. Chrissy as well as a few kids in her class. She was also able to look play with the toys and see where she would be spending her time while as school.

Once the big day arrived Katie was so excited. She was ready to put on her new dress, new red shoes and her new back pack and get to school. My mom met us at the school and Katie was excited to show her around. She didnt seem a bit nervouse and she never shed a tear. I was also great while in the room with her. After about 15 minutes in the class room her teacher said it was time for the parents to leave. As my mom and I were leaving she was a few steps ahead of me and heard her sniffle. That is when I lost it. I cried all the way home. When I picked her up that afternoon she said she had a great time and that she wanted to go back again. Katie continues to love her school and her teachers. I am so thankful we found such a loving and happy place to send her. Katie has however learned about kindergarten while at preschool and says she wants to go with her friends. One step at a time baby. One step at a time!

Enjoy the pictures. Finally!

I made Katies first day of school dress. Her teacher loved it and askes me everyday if I made her outfit.

Katie on her way in...


Katie in the hallway leading to her class.


Katie in her adoprable little classroom.

These are some good apples....

On Wednesday of last week our homeschool group visited a local apple orchard. We took a tour of the farm, learned about how apples grow and then we picked apples to take home and enjoy. I forgot my camera, but my friend Theresa was there to save the day. She took some pictures of my kids for me. She sent me a few today that I just have to share.

Miss. Katie loves fruit. Any fruit! We have picked apples, strawberries and blackberries and she is notorious for eating more than she puts in her bucket. Apple picking was the same way. She picked her first sweet apple from the tree and immediately took a giant bite. She said "Momma these are some good apples". Here are a few pictures of my girl and her apple.



For some reason I can not load the cutest one. She has one eye open. It is adorable! I will try again tomorrow. Cold meds and blogging do not mix:)

It worked for her....

Last night when I picked Leanne up from her tumbling class my friend Sherry said I have to tell you the sweetest story about Leanne.

Leanne had spent the weekend with Sherry's daughter Lilly. While with them they went to a family cookout. Sherry and her sister were talking about her sisters daughter and her husband who have been trying to have a baby for over 8 years. They are a young couple who have had a terrible time becoming and staying pregnant. Because the couple had been trying so long and up until now had not been thought adoption was an option Sherry asked her sister if they were opening up to "other options". Sherry knew Leanne and Lilly were listening to the conversation and didn't know how sensitive Leanne was to conversations about adoption, she just said options. Sherry said Leanne perked up and said "what other option?" My dear friend said "well, Leanne I was talking about adoption." To which Leanne replied "Oh! Tell them adoption is not bad. It worked out great for me!".

Sherry said Leanne said it with such innocence and confidence. That is bought tears to all there eyes.

Leanne was right! Adoption is not bad. It is not second best. It has worked out well for me too.

My ordinary life...

On Monday the kids and I ran errands. It is a daunting task with 4 kids in tow, but this particular day was going really smooth. We were in and out of a lot of little places like the bank, post office and even went to follow up appointment for Leanne's knee. While we were in the car we were laughing and talking, singing to the radio and listening to Adventures in Odyssey (which I just learned about this year at the home school convention. Thanks Lis!). We were having such a great time as I was driving I started to tear up and think of how lucky I am. I was planning this great blog post on "loving the ordinary" or something like that. The title was a work in progress:)

Fast forward to Tuesday... I had a doctors appointment for Justin that I really wanted to go to alone. So I asked a friends to take my other kiddo's to the park with her and a few other ladies from our home school group and I would meet them there after our appointment. I will be repaying her by babysitting on Thursday. It was a win, win for both of us. I arrived at the park at just about the time I told her. We stayed several more hours. The kids had a great time playing and I had a great time chatting with my mommy friends.

I thought the day was going great until it was time to leave. Katie got into the car seat with no issues and we were on our way. That is when we noticed the smell. It was terrible to say the least. I asked Katie if she had an accident and she admitted she had.

At this point I feel like I need a little back story. Katie is terrified of public restrooms. I think it is something I taught her and I do not know what to do to change it. She is deathly afraid of automatic flushing toilets and will leave the restroom if she spots one. She also doesn't like portable potties, old restrooms, restrooms with toilets that flush "too loud" and she despises dirty restrooms. I am with her. I do not like them either, but she has to go somewhere. Most of the time it is outside in the grass. What's a desperate mom to do!? But she can not go #2 outside. No way! So she held it, but didn't tell me.

Now back to the story. She had an accident because "those restrooms were disgusting" and she could not use them. So here I am 40 minutes from home, no wipes, a child who will NOT go into a public restroom and no gas in the car. I found the nearest gas station and ended up cleaning her up in the car with the blue paper towels you use to wash the windshield. I threw her clothes in the trash because sometimes there is no other option. For the record she was not wearing gymboree:)

When we got home I hurried and gave her a bath and went to start dinner. Only to start dinner I needed to unload last nights dinner dishes and load up the dishes I left in the sink from breakfast. I also needed to dispose of the baked beans that never were from the night before. I didn't want to put them into the trash because well... my sweet dog is not so sweet. She counter surfs and tips the trash can all of the time. The only rational thing to do with the rock hard beans was to put them in the garbage disposal. Wrong thing to do! I ended up clogging the sink. Not a problem, Chad should be home from work any minute. Nope! Of course he was working late. I figured it would be fine, so I started the dishwasher (which filled the sink) and began to prepare dinner. I was browning the cube steak and already had the green beans boiling, when I noticed the suds. Suds from what you ask? Katie had filled my dishwasher cup a few minutes earlier with liquid dish soap. I thought I got most of it out. I was wrong. A little dish liquid makes a lot of suds in dishwasher. I just let the dishwasher run, since the suds were not covering the kitchen and finished getting dinner ready. I put the steaks in the oven after I sauteed mushrooms and onions and made a beef gravy. I was so excited to make such a nice dinner for Chad. We have been eating kid food for weeks. I knew the steaks needed a lot of cook time to get tender, but I was out of time. I decided to crank up the heat a little and let it go. I boiled some potatoes and when I went to mash them I discovered I was out of butter. Those who know me in real life know this was very upsetting for me. I always have a stockpile of the necessities. There was no way I was taking 4 kids to the grocery store at this point, so we would have to have green beans and mashed potatoes with no butter. Yum! Flavorless side dishes. What goes great with flavorless side dishes? You guesses it! Burned cube steak. Cranking the oven to 450 does not cut the cooking time, it burns your food. We ate our flavorless, burned dinner and no one said a word about it. What a day! Gotta love the ordinary!

A pictureless blog?

I have good news and bad news.

Bad news first:
I am still having camera issues.

Good news:
I know what is wrong with it. However it is very expensive to fix. Almost as much as a new camera. I am praying for the funds to replace or repair it.

I have been using Leanne's camera all summer so I do have pictures to post. She just has no clue where the cord to plug it into the computer is. It is probably with her I-pod, lost in her room. We will keep looking or put them on a disk. I hate to not have pictures of my cuties to post. I am working on it!

Many hands make light work

At this very moment I am up to my eye balls in green beans, zucchini, tomatoes, potatoes and one tantrum throwing 4 year old whom shall remain nameless. When my dear hubby came home from his parents yesterday with some of the yield from our family garden I was so overwhelmed. How was I going to preserve all of this in the next day or so while it is still fresh? I called the one woman I know who can work hard and be paid in vegetables. My grandma! Now grandma is in her 70's but she can seriously work circles around most people I know. She is so spunky and fun to be around.

Grandma arrived a few hours later ready to work. We had 15 gallons of green beans to snap, string, blanch and freeze. We also have potatoes to get put up for winter, zucchini to shred and freeze and tomatoes to stew and can. We got the potatoes put up and all of the beans done. Today we will tackle the tomatoes and the zucchini.

Stringing those beans took HOURS! It was such a daunting job. I can not imagine having to do it alone. Grandma and I were sitting across from one another at my kitchen table stringing the beans and talking. She was telling me stories of her childhood and retelling the stories I hear over and over about when my mom and her siblings were young and stories of when my cousins and I were young. Although these are stories I have heard hundreds of times I was glad to have the chance to hear them again. To see the sparkle in my grandmas eye when one of my kids would stop by the table and say "great grandma please tell us that story about mom again." and she would. Such a priceless memory for my children.

At one point I said "next year I am planting beans that don't need to be snapped!" To which my grandma replied "Lace, sitting here snapping these beans with you is the best part." By God's Grace next year I will be sitting across the table from my sweet grandmother snapping beans and listening to the same stories I have heard hundreds of time.

The man with a mustache

On Wednesday my friend Sarah and I went to Cosi (a children's hands on science museum). For added fun we took my 2 boys and their friend Seth and Sarah's 4 boys and their friend DJ. Princess Katie also tagged along to keep the boys in line the way only a bossy 4 year old girl can. That's right folks.... 8 boys and one 4 year old girl. Sounds great. Right!? With the exception of a few small bumps, bruises and hurt ego's (there was way to much testosterone) it was a really great day. We stayed much longer than I anticipated. I actually told Lisa when I picked Seth up that morning "we will only be there a few hours.". We were having such a great time we stayed 6 hours.

This intro brings me to the story of the man with the mustache:

Cosi is located downtown in our city. Like every downtown city I have been to, ours is surrounded by a not so great area. These areas are filled with many colorful personalities. One of which was up bright and early perusing the parking lot of the children's museum. This person was a middle aged fellow who wanted to see if he could scare a few bucks out of the suburban, mini van driving mom's who frequent such places on weekday mornings. As I got out of my car and was setting up the stroller (yes Katie still loves her stroller, but that's another post) I heard this gentleman shouting things at the mothers and asking for money. When my kids wanted to know what he was doing and why he was talking the way he was I must have muttered something along the lines of "I think he has been drinking or is on drugs" and we hurried along for our fun filled day.

When we left the museum a mere 6 hours later we thought little of the man in the parking lot. We were talking about the great time we had and where we were going to get a treat. As we settled on McDonald's sundaes Seth shouts "Ms. Lacy there is the man from this morning and he is sleeping on the sidewalk!". We were a few miles from the museum at this point and sure enough there was the man. He was in fact sound asleep on the sidewalk in front of a convenience store. Being the moment seizing type mom I am I quickly decided to use this as a teaching opportunity. I say to the kids "This is the kind of thing that happenes when you drink!" "You think you are having fun and then all of the sudden you are putting your life in danger." I then start rattling off some dangerous things that could happen to him.... he could be hit by a car that runs up on the sidewalk (I was stretching a bit), someone could run him over with a bike, a dog could attack him, he could be robbed, etc....

At this point Justin my sweet, innocent 8- year-old boy said:

"Or, someone with a permanent marker in his pocket may come along and draw a mustache on his face, tie some string to his arms, and pretend he is a puppet!"

He was completely serious! We all laughed and I think Seth said it best when he said "Justin, buddy, you are on of a kind!" And he is.

If only we could all think like an 8-year-old boy. The world would be a much safer place. We would likely all have sharpie mustaches, but safer we would be!

I am back

I am blogging from my brand spanking new LAPTOP!!!! Yeah. With all of the back to school sales we could not pass up the chance to replace the 10 year old PC I have been using. I am embarrassed to admit I was still running windows 95. Which I have been told by our Internet provider many times is "no longer a supported operating system". I do not have ton of bells and whistles but this thing does more than I need it to. It is fast and sometime today I should be surfing the net in my kitchen. As soon as I figure out how to work this wireless router. With 4 children I should have a good shot at at least one of them working on computers right? Momma needs help!

I have a ton of catching up to do. I will be going back and hitting on some fun parts of our summer. I am so excited I will be able to upload new pictures again. I know a blog is no fun without pictures.

I did it, I did it....

I signed my baby girl up for pre-school. Katie is somewhat excited about it... I think. I, on the other hand, am sick to my stomach just thinking about it. Actually, I am on the the verge of tears typing this, OK, so I'm crying! Where did my baby girl go? How did she grow up so fast? Can I do it? Can she do it? She will be fine. She will make new friends. She will learn new things. Stay tuned to see if I actually leave her there. We have a history of pre-school drop outs. Justin quit after just one day and Cameron made it less than a week. As Lisa would say I am a little soft:) Wish us luck and pray I am the only one leaving the school crying on the first day!

On Hiatus....

Just like all of the good television shows from fall I have been on Hiatus! I have been following along on all of the blogs I like to read, but commenting very little and not blogging myself. There really is no reason why. I do most of my internet shopping/blog reading/blog posting at night when the kids and Chad are in bed. I think I am just in a funk lately. There is no reason I should be in a funk, but I am.

I kind of feel like I am always being pulled in 100 different directions and I don't know which way I should go. It's a little like when I started driving. I did not know my way around the outer belt. Sure, it just goes in a huge circle around the city. But if you don't know which direction to take it is very confusing. I would take a guess and if I was wrong I would completely circle the entire outer belt before making it to my location. This is how I am feeling about my duties at home. Like I am just going around in a great big circle.

I want to homeschool. I feel like it is what the Lord would have me to do. I also feel like the kids are doing well. But am I doing the right thing? Are my kids missing the life experiences that I had and enjoyed? What about Friday night football games and prom? Are these rights of passages I am depriving them of?

My kids are to busy! On one hand I want them home with us 24/7 so we can spend time together as a family. I think this is where they will learn valuable life lessons. I also think it would bring us closer as a family if we did not spend the entire evening Monday-Friday in the car and at gymnastics gyms and football fields. On the other hand I think they are learning valuable life lessons at activities as well. My children are very athletically talented and love the sports they participate in. I also enjoy watching them succeed and we have made some great friends along the way. I would miss it. They would miss it. But would we be better off with that time spent at home?

I also struggle with what exactly I should be doing at home. I read far to many homeschooling, food storage, organizing and natural living blogs. I want to incorporate to many things into my already busy and over scheduled life. Will my kids really be worse off if they eat applesauce from a jar, I keep buying store bought cleaners, I don't can home grown vegetables or make our bread? I know they will probably survive. Our shrinking budget however may not. I have not only the stress of doing what is right for my family, but also making it fit into a budget that has decreased drastically over the last two years.

I want to have a spotless house with less clutter. I also want to be carefree and enjoy the short time I have with my kids. I feel like I am missing so much already and I do not know what to do to stop it. Lisa and I were just talking about how we know we are going to cry when they are gone that we didn't do enough. Did we talk to them enough, spend enough time with them, give them enough individual attention, play with them enough..... and the list goes on.

I know perfection is not an option. I just want to get this right. I want to be a blessing to my husband and my kids. I want to give my kids every opportunity I can in life. I want to give them great memories. I want to give them a Godly, loving and nurturing home. I want to give them unconditional love and support. I want to give them the best of everything including myself. Is this to much to put on one persons shoulders? Please tell me it is. I feel like I am failing at all of the above.

I honestly do not know what this post is for or about. I am not looking for a pity party:) I do not need anyone to tell me I am doing great. I just wanted to put it all out there so hopefully someone else who is feeling this way can think "I am glad I am not alone!" or "On the outside she looks like she has it all together. But she is struggling just like me." I do know if this will be a help to anyone. But it has been a help to me just writing it out.

If you made it this far... Thanks!

If it poops like a duck

I know I have been a bad blogger:) We have stayed pretty busy so far this summer. It seems to be going by so fast. I want to start school soon. I have not let the kids in on this decision yet! I guess I need to bite the bullet and order their school books. It's just trying to figuring out what to order is making me crazy. But, that is another post...

Here is a cute story from tonight...

I was putting away laundry and I came across a shirt in Cameron's pile that I have never seen. This is unusual since I do all of the shopping and the laundry. It is not unusual since the kids across the street always leave clothes and towels in my back yard. So I asked Cameron who the shirt belonged to. Cameron told me the shirt was his and that his grandma had given it to him. It was a hand me down of my nephew Austins. I am pretty picky about the clothes my kids wear and how they look. I know it may be a little shallow, but we constantly have people looking at us. I think people look at us because we do not look like a traditional family.

Anyway- I tell Cameron not to wear the shirt. He keeps asking me why he can not wear it and I finally say because "you will look like a dork". We all laughed and Cameron said "but I have seen pictures of dad in shirts like that". So I jokingly say "That's right buddy. Your dad did wear shirts like that. Grandma liked to dress him like a dork. And if it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it's a duck". We were all laughing and Katie looks over to Cameron and says "Yeah Cameron if it looks like a duck and poops like a duck it's a duck!" Then she started howling with laughter. So did the rest of us.

(I know the picture has nothing to do with the story. I am still having computer and camera issues. I just thought it was cute picture of Kate.)

To Infinity and Beyond...

When we first got the kids they used to watch the movie Toy Story all day long. Let me rephrase that: They used to have me keep it playing all day long and if I tried to turn it off they would say from the play room, kitchen, bedroom etc... "We are still watching that!". So it literally looped all day long and they would stop and watch two minutes and then be off playing again. When Chad would come home from a long day at work I would say something like "Oh.... You have to hear the funny thing the potato head said today!". I knew every phrase and word of that movie for a really long time. I could hear it while I was watching dishes and just chuckle at the jokes the kids obviously didn't get. I admit it was a rather lame time in my life:) I was trying to learn to be a mother, keep my sanity and I was alone with the kids A LOT! I have finally caught on to the mom thing and I have most of my sanity. I am still alone with the kids a lot, but I have got myself out there and made some really great mommy friends.

This week has brought me back to those memories. Katie has discovered the love of Toy Story. She has had it looping all day long for the past week. I don't even try to turn it off now. She will go outside to play come in and watch about two minutes of it. I am still chuckling about the one liners as I wash the dishes (by hand because my dishwasher broke). I think when Chad comes home I will have to tell him a few things the potato head said. He will think I have lost my mind!

I got my golden ticket

Actually I got 3! My golden tickets will not get us into Willy Wonka's candy factory. It will however fulfill our obligation to the school district for our year of homeschooling. In Ohio the two ways to notify the local school district that you are homeschooling is either a standardized test or have an assessment. We choose to have all of the kids work assessed by a licensed teacher. Basically the person doing the assessment looks over everything and makes sure they are working up to grade level. The person who does my assessment was referred to me by Lisa of course:) She is so nice and so helpful as well. She assessed the kids reading and gave me tons of tips on things to do for next year. I am always terrified to go. I can just picture her saying "Oh. My. Goodness! Put those kids in school!" Of course she said they are doing great. They are wonderful children, they are smart, funny and are doing wonderfully. What a relief... until next year.

Free summer fun and FREE milkshakes

I am always looking for free and fun things for my kids to do in the summer. We have all of the obligatory family memberships to places like the zoo, children's museum, history museum and pool. We always join the reading program at the library and utilize their free entertainment all summer as well. Those things get old after about twice. We need to mix things up a little.

This summer we joined Kids Bowl Free and plan to hit the lanes sometime this summer. We also like the free summer movie program at a local theater in town. The movies are typically older kids movies and some we have already seen. However, it is always fun to sit in a theater and munch popcorn with friends, so we go. We have also been hitting some of the local metro parks this summer with a very ambitious friend who plans a new park trip each week.

With all of these activities our favorite free thing by far is free food. It is expensive to feed 4 children out. Most of the time we pack a cooler for our outings. That however doesn't stop my kids from asking for treats. Yesterday my wise kitchen gadget loving, gymboree enabling, money saving friend Lisa called and told me it was time to stand in line for free Chick-Fil-A milkshakes for a year. That's right 52 free milks shakes! Did I do it? Of course! I got in line about 4 for the 6PM give away and was number 21. Lisa got in line at about 1 and was number 6:) I was happy I got my milkshakes. I will keep a few in my car for the kids and gave the rest to Chad. I do not like milkshakes because I don't like warm ice cream. I'm weird! Anyway- there are no cute pictures because I went alone. I didn't think the kids would do well in line for 2 hours. Little Sarah went with Lisa and did great until the news showed up. Yes the news! Apparently there was nothing else going on in Ohio at the time. They freaked poor Sarah out with the huge van and the cameras. There will be photos on the 16th of the kids dressed as cows for free lunch at chick-fil-a. It will either be fun or one of those things my kids sit around talking about as adults.... "remember the year mom went cheap and made us all dress as cows for a free lunch?" Just a little summer fun!

Happy Birthday Cameron

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAMERON

On Saturday June 27th my sweet sweet son Cameron turned 10. Finally double digits!

Cameron came to us at the age of 3. He was the most adorable, stocky, funny and loving little guy. Cameron loved "wobed" everything from broccoli to me:) He would say all day long "Ima wobing dat_____" what ever it may be at the time. My favorite thing was when he would climb into my lap and give me a big hug and say "Momma! I wuben you."

Cameron is growing into such a caring, gentle and handsome young man. He still tells his momma how much he loves me all day long. He loves to help his little sister and it is not uncommon to find him playing doll house or babies with Katie (I hope he doesn't find out I just put that out there for everyone to read. LOL) . Cameron is also a very talented athlete playing both football and baseball. He is a determined kid and never lets anyone tell him he can't do something. Cameron is a quiet leader. He is so laid back and go with the flow he is rarely in trouble. When he is in trouble you can see how deeply it hurts him that he has upset you. Watching Cameron grow up is such a blessing to me. I can not wait (well it could go a little slower they grow up way to fast) to see what the Lord has in store for Cameron. As of now Cameron plans to attend OSU to play football for his beloved Buckeyes and then become a soldier:) He will make a wonderful caring husband and father someday and I am so thankful the Lord gave him to us. We are so proud to be be his parents. We love you Cameron!

Introducing the newest member of our family...

Isabelle

We adopted Izzy a year old Great Pyrenees "puppy" from the pound on Friday evening. My mother in law had taken Cameron along with our nephew Austin to Kings Island on Wednesday. I having a momentary lapse of judgement decided to take the kids to "look" at puppies "just for fun". There was no way we were ready to add a dog to our family so soon after losing Chloe and Malloy. I think I actually told Chad and the kids I never wanted another dog. Leanne, Justin, Katie and I spent about 2 hours at the stinky pound looking at and playing with different breeds of dogs. The kids wanted a beagle and I wanted a cocker spaniel so we all left a little disappointed that we could not agree.

After leaving the pound on Wednesday I came home and started researching dogs. Chad immediately knew my temporary dog veto was wavering. We talked to the kids and explained to them that if we happened to get a new dog that it too, just like everything, will die. We asked them simply if the good of having a dog out weighed the pain of losing one. All three of the older kids answered "YES!!!". That settled it and we were on a mission to find a new family pet. I continued my research and quickly realized that neither a beagle or cocker spaniel was going to be the right fit for our family. Chad and I took the kids back to the pound on Friday evening to see Lucy a big white polar bear looking Great Pyr we all fell in love with. After playing with her on Thursday and researching the breed we decided she was exactly what we were looking for.

We adopted Lucy on Friday and brought her home to her forever family. Since shelter dogs are only given names to identify them and most do not know those names we decided to change her name. We had a long List of possibilities after a google search for "white dog names" turned up quite a few possibilities. We also added some family favorites as well as a few biblical names to round out our choices. Some of our favorites included Lilly (which Katie refused since that is her sister in China), Daisy, Isabelle, Josie, Norah, Phoebe, Snowball and Judah. I really wanted to name her Phoebe but was out numbered. Leanne wanted to name her Snowball and the boys wanted Josie. We all compromised and she is now called Izzy or IZZY-bell as Katie likes to say.

Izzy is a great dog. She was already house trained and knows basic commands such as sit, stay and shake. She is pretty well trained on a leash and loves to take walks. She also really loves the kids and cries at the window if they go outside without her. She however does not love her cage. She can not be left uncaged alone since she was returned to the pound after she destroyed a few things when left alone. When we put her in her cage she cries and tries her hardest to get out. In fact after we left her home for a few hours on Saturday night we pulled into the driveway to see Izzy staring at us from the front window. She had houdinied her way out of her cage the very first time we left her alone. Non the less we love her and are so happy to have a new dog to love.

Note: the dog in the photo is not Izzy, but that is exactly what she looks like.

I'm back....

Kind of! I hooked up my old dinosaur computer so I could feel like part of society again. It is really hard to be without internet. I have not checked my email in days or GASP... read a blog! It was rough, but this will do until we can afford a new computer. I hope we can get one by the time school starts in August. We are in the process of having a privacy fence installed as well as replacing our appliances. I remember my carefree youth days when my biggest concern was what to wear to the mall (it was the 80's give me a break). To be young again!

I hope my bloggy followers are still out there. I have missed you all and can't wait to share all of the exciting things we have been doing in our family.
Lacy

Computer Problems

I am having computer problems right now. I am buying a new computer but I have to find a really good deal first. If it takes to long I just may crack and pay full price. Nahhh!!! I will be back to blooger land soon.
Lacy

Mom My Ride...

I sent the kids out to clean out my van this morning. It was such a mess Chad will not even drive it. I have to admit it was getting really bad. Fruit loops on the floor, empty cups, full trash can and papers everywhere. While I was looking at it I remembered this video from a few years ago. It is SO accurate. They could have almost used my van to film it.

Here you go and oldie but goodie:

MOM MY RIDE

A Fundraiser

I know I am always talking about how Chad and I are fundraising for cheerleading. This fundraiser is for a much better cause than cheer. My sweet bloggy friend Lori and her family are adopting their second child from Ch*na. They already have a beautiful little girl named Lucy and are in the process of adopting a 13 year old girl named Shu Li. This adoption is happening very fast since children in Ch*na are no longer adoptable after they turn 14. They are turned onto the streets and are alone. Click on over to Joy Unspeakable and take a look at the great hand made bags and quilts Lori is offering. You can also see pictures of her adorable Ch*na girls. Hurry the drawing is June 17th.

Ice cream party...

On Friday Leanne and Katie went to a sundae party at Katie's friend Jennie's house. The girls enjoyed playing outside, doing sand art, playing dress up and creating their own sundaes. We all really enjoyed ourselves. Thanks Brandy and Jennie!

Katie really liked this motorcycle.

All of the girls playing with thier sand.

Katie shows off her sand art.

Sarah had fun!

Leanne making her sand art. She had fun playing with all of the little girls.

The girls playing dress up. Don't you love Leanne's pink hair?
Leanne, Sarah, Jennie, Katie and Gracie.

My pretty girls.