Lifes Abiding Joy

The wheels on the bus.....

2010-07-05T19:49:00.000-07:00

One day last week we were in the car driving and we were singing songs with Katie. She was singing The Wheels on the Bus. She started adding cute little verses when she got to the end of the song. Of course the big kids wanted in on the fun too. So we all started singing a new song. I thought I would share it:

The Katie on the Bus. To tune of The Wheels on the Bus.

The Katie on the bus says I go first, I go First, I go first.
The Katie on the bus says I go first, all through the town...

The Katie on the bus says that's my always seat, that's my always seat, that's my always seat.
The Katie on the bus says that's my always seat, all through the town...

The Katie on the bus says you can't sit there, you can't sit there, you can't sit there.
The Katie on the bus says you can't sit there, all through the town...

The Katie on the bus says I don't want to watch that, I don't want to watch that, I don't want to watch that.
The Katie on the bus say I don't want to watch that, all through the town...

The Katie on the bus says It's not fair, It's not fair, It's not fair.
The Katie on the bus says It's not fair, all through the town...

The Katie on the bus screams "You're hurting my feelings and I'm about to cry!!!!"

Poor Katie. She thought it was so funny at first. The longer we sang the more upset she got. We had to stop, but I must admit it was pretty funny and it was all true.

The tale of a lose tooth....

2010-06-07T15:18:00.001-07:00

Lisa and I had a yard sale last weekend. Truth be told it was really Lisa's yard sale and I threw some of my junk in. I had one in the fall and had forgotten that I donated all the left overs to the Salvation Army. Anyway-

While I was driving Leanne to cheer after a long day of selling our junk Katie said to me:

"Momma, my tooth is loose!?"

Which in Katie talk sounded more like: "Momma my toofh is woose!?"

That girls is adorable!

Back to the story-

I told her not to wiggle it and I would check it when we got to the gym. By that time she had wiggled it and there was a little blood. Katie was starting to get frantic and kept saying "It's all my fault, my tooth is loose..." while sobbing. She could not remember what had happened to her mouth to make her tooth loose. I called the dentist and of course they said just bring her in on Monday. I googled loose teeth and discovered that as long as there was not nerve damage a tooth can tighten back up in the gums. I instructed her to leave it alone and not wiggle it and that just maybe it would tighten back up and be fine. I assured her I would take her to the dentist on Monday and it would all be better. We were both very upset.

I called Lisa to see how puppy hunting was going as well as to tell her of the mysterious mouth injury that produced a loose tooth in baby girls mouth. Lisa my kind friend who overlooks my fear raw milk, my hatred for the word chub and many other things the average person would possibly think makes me crazy, very kindly laughed at me. "Friend" she said "Her tooth is not going to tighten back up there is a big tooth under there pushing it out to make room for her adult teeth to come in." I gasped! Then teared up. There is no way my baby girl is big enough for her teeth to fall out. I now admit I think Lisa was right. After she stopped laughing at the fact that A.) I did really call the dentist and B.) No, it never crossed my mind that it could just be falling out, gave me some sound advise. This is normal. She is growing up and it's going to be okay.

I of course had to tell my princess that it was okay to wiggle her tooth. It is okay if it falls out. I also had to tell her that the Tooth Fairy will bring her a treat for losing her tooth. There may have been a warning about wiggling teeth before it's time and how it results in no Tooth Fairy gifts. Yet another shameful parenting moment for me. I can't help it. I love those tiny teeth and wanted to keep them in as long as possible. As of Monday the tooth is still in it's spot. It wiggles a little which makes Katie happy. I am still holding onto the sliver of hope that it will tighten back up and she will have those tiny baby teeth just a little while longer. Sad, I know!

Kindergarten

2010-03-16T11:30:00.000-07:00

It seems like just yesterday I was picking up a beautiful tiny bundle of joy from the hospital. I was wrapping her in pink blankets and clipping tiny pink bows in her soft curls. I was rocking her to sleep and wearing her in a baby wrap. Today however I took that beautiful baby girl of mine and *gulp* signed her up for kindergarten. It was so hard. I had to choke back tears more than once. As we sat in tiny chairs in the school library I imagined my baby in kindergarten playing and having a great time without me. Then I took it a step further and imagined for the first time in her life (I repressed those thoughts) Katie all grown up. Not. My. Baby. Girl. Then the tears were really ready to fall. All the while Katie talked with other kids and looked at books. She asked questions about her class, lunch and riding the bus. She is not riding the bus! Let's not take crazy here. So while I was mourning the loss of my baby she was thrilled about her future. I can not hold her back. I can not keep her from growing up. Maybe if I write it I will accept it!?

So that's it. She is enrolled in school. This doesn't mean she will be going. I am on the fence about homeschooling her. The older kids are going to school and she really wants to go too. Silly pre-school brain washed her. LOL! I am keeping my options open at this point. She may change her mind too. This is the child who only likes pre-school once a week. If that. Those who know me best (Chad, mom, Lisa) think she will be staying home. We shall see. There are several months to figure it out. In the mean time we will get ready for the next chapter in our lives.

7 years together

2010-02-26T12:16:00.000-08:00

I can not believe that today is our 7th Gotcha Day with Leanne, Cameron and Justin. It seems like just yesterday I got the phone call that changed my life forever. It seems like just yesterday we walked into that dirty office building and looked into the tear stained faces of the three most beautiful children I had ever seen. It seems like just yesterday we were sitting across from a judge vowing to be the best parents possible. Promising to love and care for them for the rest of their lives. It really does seem like it was "just yesterday". Where has the time gone?

My precious little boys are growing bigger everyday. They are eating me out of house and home. They are playing sports and climbing trees. They are building snow forts in the front yard. They are telling me silly jokes and laughing at mine. Cameron is looking me in the eye now when he kisses me good night or gives me a hug. Justin keeps me hopping and I never know what he is going to say next.

My precious little girl is almost a teenager. She no longer lets me put her hair in piggy tails or braid it everyday. She wants Hollist*er instead of Gymbor*ee. She wants to go to the skating rink with friends instead of holding my hand while she skates around the rink. She like her younger brother is looking me eye to eye when we are standing together.

I do not understand how it can feel like yesterday yet at the same time I can not remember my life without them? I can not imagine a life without goodnight kisses, silly laughing, practical jokes, sibling fights, mountains on laundry, hearing them call me mommy, watching the succeed and drying their tears when they don't.

I do remember a time when I cried myself to sleep longing for a baby to hold, a toddler to dress and a preschooler to sing with and read books too. I mourned the thought of not having children to take on trips to the zoo, to see children's movies, to take on vacations to Disney World... I cried thinking I would never have a baby to rock to sleep or a someone to tuck in and kiss goodnight. It was a sad time in my life. I wish I knew then that the Lord was perfectly orchestrating our lives and weaving our paths to become a family. We had to experience the pain and sadness to become the family we are today. Hanging over my couch is a collage of pictures of the kids and the words "Family: A journey to forever". It completely sums up how I feel. My journey lead me to these 4 precious children. I can not wait to spend 7 more year with them on our journey to forever, as a family.

Happy Birthday Princess

2010-02-26T11:56:00.001-08:00

My sweet baby girl is 5. Oh, my baby girl is 5. I can not believe she is 5! Is it obvious this is a bit difficult for me? You may remember from her 4th birthday how well I do when one of my kids get a year older. I take it hard. Like 2 cookies and a cupcake hard! Yep! I ate all three. I am happy to report I dried the tears and I'm back on the wagon today.

Back to Princess.... Katie turned 5 and boy was she excited. Since July I have been teasing her and asking her to please turn 4 one more time. To which she always replied "But that is bad for the law.". I don't know where she comes up with half the things she says. Chad and I went in a kissed her good night right after midnight. I whispered Happy Birthday to her and quietly sang her the song I made up for her when I used to rock her as a baby. It goes like this:

Katie, you are my baby. Your daddy's love and mommies heart.

Kind of goofy and makes no sense especially without knowing the tune. But, she loves it when I sing her "my song" and I love singing it to her.

Our day started out with a trip to the pediatrician for her check up. She needed to have her preschool form filled out, so she could go back on Monday and it was the only day they could get her in. She is now 33 lbs and 39 inches tall. She is finally on the charts and is hanging out near the bottom in the 10 percentile. We followed the very traumatic doctor visit (she got 2 shots and I delayed 2 more) with a happy meal at McDonald's with a play land. Katie played for a while and then it was off to preschool. At preschool they were learning about transportation this week and yesterday was train day. Katie got to be the engineer and she loved it. We brought cookies in for her treat since we took cupcakes in for her cheer team the night before. The class sang to her and she loved that as well. At home she had a Dora cake and opened presents from our family. It was a very low key night. The kids even ate left over pizza for dinner since it is what Katie wanted. We will be having a birthday party in a few weeks. Cheerleading is in full swing and the girls compete the next two weekends. She is so excited to celebrate again.

Happy birthday Katie! I love you sweet princess.

M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E

2010-02-22T19:22:00.000-08:00

Mickey Mouse, Mickey Mouse....

In October Katie and I went to see Mickey, Minnie and all their friends. We left Daddy and the big kids home and took on "The World" together. We were not totally alone. We traveled with my friend Sarah and her son Adam, who is Katie's buddy. We had THE BEST TIME!!!!

Katie and I missed our family at home, but we really enjoyed the time we spent together. It was all about Katie. She was treated like (and called) Princess from the moment we arrived. Let me tell you that is just the way she likes to be treated. Like the princess she is!

We stayed at the Port Orleans Riverside resort. It was beautiful and the rooms were so nice. The resort had a great pool and many wonderful amenities. We were able to go during the free dining promotion, and enjoyed many wonderful Disney restaurants like the Coral Reef at Epcot and Tusker House at the Animal Kingdom. We also had breakfast with the princesses at Cinderella's Castle and lunched with them at Epcot. We ate with the cast of play house Disney at Hollywood and Vine at Hollywood Studios , which was definitely the most fun character meal we had. We were able to get hopper passes and enjoyed all of the parks at least once. We spent most of our time at the Magic Kingdom of course! We had a ball at Mickeys not so scary Halloween party where Katie arrived as Tinkerbelle and changed into a Princess Tiana gown. She had so much fun dancing with Donald and Daisy at the dance party. She was showing them all of her best moves. Her moves were so great that Cinderella's wicked step sisters came from across the park to watch her and have their pictures taken with Katie in her "horseless carriage" aka her stroller. Katie's favorite thing to do was to see the characters and get their autographs. She loved it!

The car ride was long, the temperature was hot and we missed daddy and "the kids".... But, it was a magical trip. I loved spending that time with my girl. I feel so blessed that we were able to afford such a wonderful trip for the two of us. These are memories that will last a life time for me. I can not wait to take her back. Next time we will all go as a family. Katie never wants to go back without her Daddy, Leanne, her boys and her Grandma Tina. We will make her wish come true.....

Here are some of my favorite pictures from our trip. I made Katie an outfit to wear each day. She had a Snow White, Cinderella and Aurora dress, an Animal Kingdom animal print set and a Minnie Dot set to wear. She also had matching bows for each outfit of course! She got so much attention in her Disney customs. She loved the Snow White dress and wore it twice. We had to save Aurora for our next trip. Get ready for too many Katie's:

We litterally dropped our car and bags off at the resort and hit the Magic Kingdom.

We stood in line to see Minnie twice. The fist night we waited in line for 30 minutes and when we got to Minnie... Katie ~~lost her mind, threw a fit and refused to get close to her~~ decided she wanted to see something else.

Katie loved Donald Duck. She even sang him a song about how much she loved ducks. He was so sweet and spent a lot of time with her. Most of the characters did. She loved interacting with them.

Katie loved the Pooh at Animal Kingdom. She ran to him and gave him the biggest hug. It was so sweet.

We both loved Eyore.

Snow White loved Katie's dress. She asked Katie if her "woodland friends" made her dress too. Katie said "No, my mommy made my dress." It was so sweet.

Katie loved Buzz and Woody the most of all of the characters. I must admit... I love them too! They hold a special place in my heart because my boys loved them so much when they were little. Katie dragged her big Woody doll all over the place while we were there. When Woody saw Katie with his doll he immediately took it from her and showed it to everyone. He then put it in his holster which made Katie laugh and laugh. Buzz got in on the action and the two of them were "fighting" over Katie and who she like the best. She loved every second of it! She kissed Woody on the cheek and then Buzz needed a kiss too. It was sweet. They spent about 10 minutes playing with Katie and having a good time with her. I am sure the people in line behind us were not too happy about the wait. But, they made some precious memories for my sweet girl.

Well, I think that is enough pictures for tonight. I will add some more later. There are so many cute ones I just can't stop.

Three months with no blogging....

2010-02-21T11:25:00.000-08:00

I have been a BAD blogger. I am sure I have no readers left. I know I drop blogs I love when they do not update. Sorry!!! I have started a few posts and vow to get them up tonight. The kids are keeping me so busy.

Since blogs are no fun without pictures I will leave you with one from Leanne and Katie's photo shot a month ago. They are some of my favorite pictures of the girls.

A new family tradition

2009-11-28T20:08:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-27T10:38:00.000-08:00

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......

2009-11-12T07:20:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-11-10T12:49:00.000-08:00

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

2009-10-31T17:28:00.000-07:00

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....

2009-10-27T20:35:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-21T19:00:00.000-07:00

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?

2009-10-17T15:14:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-10-14T20:57:00.000-07:00

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....

2009-09-23T16:59:00.000-07:00

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....

2009-09-23T11:00:00.000-07:00

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....

2009-09-15T13:32:00.000-07:00

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....

2009-09-15T13:21:00.001-07:00

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...

2009-08-26T07:23:00.000-07:00

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?

2009-08-21T07:59:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-21T07:32:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-21T06:24:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-17T08:29:00.000-07:00

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....

2009-08-17T08:12:00.000-07:00

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....

2009-07-31T06:34:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-16T20:27:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-07-08T11:07:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-02T18:05:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-02T05:29:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-30T11:29:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-06-30T07:32:00.000-07:00

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....

2009-06-30T07:25:00.001-07:00

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

2009-06-15T07:43:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-06-08T07:11:00.001-07:00

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

2009-06-08T04:41:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-06-06T19:47:00.000-07:00

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.

A sad day....

2009-05-29T19:49:00.000-07:00

On Saturday morning we will be putting our family dogs to sleep. Chloe has suddenly gotten really sick and is just getting worse. She can not longer control her back legs. She is getting hurt trying to walk around the house and as of today is in pain. Chloe was our first baby. Chad and I got Chloe the July after we got married. She has been a sweet, loving and wonderful dog. She will be sadly missed by all of us.

Malloy was my dog when I lived at home. He is 16 years old and blind in one eye. He is losing his sight in his other eye and has begun snapping at the kids. Who could blame him? They startle him because he can not see them coming. He is the cutest mutt ever. We are not sure how he will do without Chloe. I am afraid he will just get worse. That is why we are taking them both together. Malloy has been such a loving companion and truly a wonderful dog.

Both of our dogs are like members of our family. They have both lived wonderful and full lives. Chad, the kids and I will miss them terribly. I would appreciate your prayers tomorrow as I am sure this will be hard for the kids. Grandma is going to pick up Katie and we are taking the older kids with us. I was (and still am) not sure if it is a good idea to take them with us. They all want to come and I don't want to upset them anymore than they already are. I am hoping they all can handle it. I am not even sure I can.

Black, White, Tan

2009-05-27T18:29:00.000-07:00

I was talking to a friend a few weeks ago about Princess Katie and her big question. It is still hurting me that my sweet baby is sad that she does not look like us. She is so young and I really do not think she understands a lot of the things I tell her. My friend Charity was telling me about going to the Women of Faith convention and how she saw a women there who sings a song called Black, White, Tan. Just tonight I remembered the name of the song and looked it up. It doesn't fit our situation perfectly because she is an African American women singing a song to her biracial children. However the message in the song is beautiful. I ordered the CD because Katie loves music and I think singing it over and over to her may help her understand. Grab a tissue and listen for yourself. It is a very beautiful song about our Fathers love for us.

Black, White, Tan - Nicole C. Mullen

Here are the lyrics:
Mama looks like coffee,daddy looks like cream
Baby is a mocha drop,American dream
All the colors in the rainbow is in her family tree
Woven altogether in a paisley tapestry

She holds real tightly to her parents' hands
Baby loves that woman,baby loves that man
And her soul gives a smile 'Cause she understands
That love is black,white,tan
Yeah black,white,tan

Everyone is precious in the Father's sight
It don't matter red,or yellow,black or white
He just loves you 'cause he loves you
And I tell you this is true
You are not a color and the color is not you

Hold real tightly to your Daddy's hand
Cause He loves that woman,He loves that man
And let your soul give a smile
Every once in a while
Let your soul give a smile
Every once in a while
Let your soul give a smile
Every once in a while

'Cause love is black,white tan
Yeah I know that love is black,white,tan
Yes I know GOD's love black,white,tan
A little girl will tell you Black, White, Tan

The Cannery!?

2009-05-27T10:40:00.000-07:00

What is a Cannery? It is a "store" operated by the Church of Jesus Christ and Later day Saint*s aka the LDS or Mormons.

Lisa and I (are you surprised) have been doing a lot of research of food storage. The LDS have wonderful beliefs in food storage and being debt free. From what we gather from websites and blogs they try to have a 3 months supply and a 1 year supply of food for their household. In theory a 1 year supply looks good to me. If Chad were to lose his job or someone was sick or injured it would be very useful. We could live off our food supply and it would be one less thing to worry about. In reality getting and storing a years supply of food for a family of 6 takes a lot of time and space. I have the space, I just need to get it organized. It is the time where I am lacking. I am really trying to get better at time management. Maybe if I stopped blogging I would have more time. Honestly if I stopped reading blogs I would have more time:)

Back to the Cannery. In the many months Lisa and I have been researching food storage the Cannery kept popping up. We kept seeing the writers of the blogs we like mention saving money (our other hobby) and buying in bulk at the cannery. We knew we HAD to get in to this place. We were thrilled to find out that there was a Cannery located less than 20 minutes from our house. We just had to figure out how to get in. You can not just drive there and go in like it is Kroger. First we were not sure if you could even shop there if you were not LDS. We were getting conflicting stories from the websites we were reading. The most recent information we could find said non- LDS were once able to shop at the cannery. However after Y2K it was closed to the public. We needed to find someone who could get us in.

Months earlier I was talking to the cashier at Kroger about grinding wheat and making bread (I am way to friendly). As the bagger was taking my groceries to the car he mentioned that she was Mormon. Since I needed someone to get us into the cannery I asked the cashier if she would take us. She did some research and found out we could go alone. Yeah!!!! After months of research we were able to go. We just needed and appointment. It took a while to get an appointment because they are only open a few hours a week and we could not get in contact with a live person. Finally someone answered and we were in!

Lisa and I packed the kids up about a week later and headed to the cannery. We were so excited! It took us less than 20 minutes to get there. We went in filled out our order form, they loaded the stuff on carts, we paid, they took it to our car and we were done. Months of research and it took us less than 10 minutes. That's OK. We can not wait to go back. I am sure it will take us some time to get through all of this wheat, oats, powdered milk and re fried beans. Dinner anyone?

Big weekend plans

2009-05-26T05:54:00.000-07:00

I had BIG plans this weekend. I was going to get my flowers planted, get my storage room organized and clean the carpets. Not to mention clean Katie's room and my sewing room. How much did I get done you wonder? NONE!!! We played all weekend:) Chad and I worked a fundraiser on Saturday. It was supposed to last until about 11:00pm so we had the kids stay all night with grandma. Much to our surprise we were able to leave at 8:00. We decided to not pick up the kids and had an evening to ourselves. We went out to dinner and watched a movie. It was really REALLY nice.
Sunday we afternoon we were invited to a cook-out at Lisa's. Chad was working at a baseball game and I was home alone. I had not made a dish to take and I really thought I just wanted to stay home. While I was talking to Lisa on the phone I changed my mind. I made a macaroni salad and a few "angeled" eggs and headed out the door. We ended up being about 20 minutes late because Princess Katie had fallen asleep on the couch and then woke up on the wrong side of it. She threw a monster of a tantrum which had me rethinking even leaving the house. She finally calmed down and we were on our way. When we arrived she sat in a baby swing and refused to move or let anyone touch her for about 30 minutes. She even ate her dinner in that crazy swing. After that she was out, running, playing and having a great time with her "best friend" Sarah.
All of the kids had a blast. They played kickball, some mixed up game of football, climbed trees, rode bikes and so much more. We had such a great time. We always have fun with Lisa's family, but this was really a nice evening. We ended the evening just as it started to sprinkle. But not before we made smores. YUMMY!!! To bad Chad missed it all. Not to worry Lisa's husband Oscar had a great idea. We are planning a camping weekend. Lisa is so excited! (please read this with the sarcasm it was intended)
This picture of the girls is from when I was in Florida and Katie had a play day with her friend. I thought it was to cute no to post.

Thanks for the pictures Lis. They are so cute and much more fitting than the pictures from New Years Eve!

Memorial Day

2009-05-25T20:02:00.000-07:00

On this Memorial Day I am thankful to be an American. I am thankful that our country with all of it's faults is still the best nation in the world. It is a nation worth fighting for. It is a nation that men and women, fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, sisters and brothers are willing to risk their lives to protect. These men and women serve everyday. Even if you are against the war please support our troops. This Memorial Day I thank the service men and women and their families for all of the sacrifices they make to keep us safe and free. I remember the men and women who have paid the ultimate sacrifice. On this Memorial Day I thank GOD for his blessings on our country.

A Memorial Day Poem
by C W Johnson

We walked among the crosses

Where our fallen soldiers lay.

And listened to the bugle

As TAPS began to play.

The Chaplin led a prayer

We stood with heads bowed low.

And I thought of fallen comrades

I had known so long ago.

They came from every city

Across this fertile land.

That we might live in freedom.

They lie here 'neath the sand.

I felt a little guilty

My sacrifice was small.

I only lost a little time

But these men lost their all.

Now the services are over

For this Memorial Day.

To the names upon these crosses

I just want to say,

Thanks for what you've given

No one could ask for more.

May you rest with God in Heaven

From now through evermore

$160,140.00

2009-05-25T19:33:00.001-07:00

I found this on another adoption blog I ran across today. I am not sure if $160,140.00 is really what they government thinks it costs to raise a child. I just thought the rest was very touching. Even if I missed some of my kids first steps, words or first smile.... I still get to be the first one they hug each morning and be the first one they ask for when they are sick. I was the first to see them ride a bike, swim in a pool, catch a football, hit a baseball, walk into a school and hear them read their first words. I get to kiss them good night at bed time and wake them up with kisses in the morning. There will be many more firsts in our lives and I can not wait to experience them with each of my children. $160,140.00 doesn't seem like a lot of money over 18 years. However, I think all of the blessings these children are to me is priceless.

The Price of a Child

We have repeatedly seen the breakdown of the cost of raising a child, but this is the first time I have seen the rewards listed this way.

The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140 for a middle income family. Talk about sticker shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition. But $160,140 isn't so bad if you break it down.

It translates into:

$8,896.66 per year,

$741.38 per month, or

$171.08 per week.

That's a mere $24.24 a day!

Just over a dollar an hour.

Still, you might think the best financial advice is don't have children if you want to be "rich." Actually, it is just the opposite.

What do you get for your $160,140?

Naming rights. First, middle, and last!
Glimpses of God every day.
Giggles under the covers every night.
More love than your heart can hold.
Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.
Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.
A hand to hold, usually covered with jelly or chocolate.
A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites.

Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.

For $160,140, you never have to grow up.

You get to:

finger-paint,
carve pumpkins,
play hide-and-seek,
catch lightning bugs

You have an excuse to:

keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh
watching Saturday morning cartoons
go to Disney movies
wish on stars

You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters for Father's Day.

For $160,140, there is no greater bang for your buck. You get to be a hero just for:

retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof
taking the training wheels off a bike
removing a splinter
filling a wading pool
coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs
coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.

You get a front row seat to history to witness the:

first step
first word
first bra
first date
first time behind the wheel.

You get to be immortal. You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren and great grandchildren.

You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality that no college can match. In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under God. You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits. So, one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost. That is quite a deal for the price!!!!!!!

Love and enjoy your children and grandchildren.

Little House and Thankful Thursday

2009-05-22T18:12:00.000-07:00

Some of the fondest memories I have of growing up are with my Grandma. She baked delicious breads and pies, soft cookies, homemade candy and sewed beautiful quilts. I spent countless hours with Grandma watching her do these things. While she was busy cooking and sewing we would watch her "stories" which consisted of The Little House series and The Young and the Restless. Each day after lunch we would cuddle on her bed and watch one. To this day I can not watch a Little House episode without hearing my grandma's voice saying "Lace... Shhhh! Let grandma watch her stories". I gave up the Young and the Restless years ago:)

Today the kids and I watched the Little House on the Prairie movie. We also began reading the book. Leanne wanted all of the kids to put their heads down on the table with their eyes closed as I read it to them. It was warm here today and I had the windows open. As the warm wind blew in and I read to the kids I was taken back to 3rd grade when my teacher did the same thing each day after lunch. I guess you could say today was a nostalgic kind of day for me.

As a treat for the kids as we read the Little House series this summer we will cook our way through it. I have been reading and enjoying the Little House cookbook. I have always enjoyed reading cookbooks so this is nothing new. However, this cookbook is filled with quotes from the book and interesting historical facts from the time period so I am enjoying it even more. We will not be able to duplicate many of the recipes because we do not have access to many of the main ingredients such as lard, salt pork (which seemed to be a daily staple, so I may look at a butcher shop for it)wild berries and wild game. We will do our best and just enjoy the time together in the kitchen after reading a few chapters each day. Today for dinner we roasted a whole chicken and made green beans and corn bread. For dessert we made peach crisp with homemade vanilla ice cream. It was a really nice dinner and the kids were proud they helped me.

My brother often stops by to say "HI" on his lunch break. I know he is really stopping by for a hot lunch and last nights dinner leftovers to take home. When he comes he often jokes that I am the modern day Laura Ingalls. Since the kids are normally at the table doing school work and I'm in the kitchen getting bread started for dinner and making lunch. However, Laura Ingalls I am not! It would take all day to do the things it takes me just a few hours to do with modern appliances. Which leads me to what I am Thankful for this Thankful Thursday:

My new Bosch Mixer that can make 6 loaves of bread in under 20 minutes.

Air Conditioning even if we don't have it on yet.

A stove that doesn't make my entire house hot when I bake

Running water

Electricity at the flip of a switch

and last but not least... I am thankful for time spent reading with my kids and the memories we are creating.

What are you thankful for today?

Since I am still unable to load new pictures I am adding pictures I already have on my computer. These are from two of the historical field trips we took with Lisa H. and her kids Jake, Seth and Sarah. As you can see the kids had a blast!

Sleep issues

2009-05-19T05:54:00.000-07:00

I am so sleepy this morning and I didn't even stay up all night watching mindless television or shopping online! I am sleepy because it is impossible to sleep in my bed anymore. With 2 adults and Katie it is bad. To make things worse Justin has been coming in sometime in the middle of the night again. That child is scared of everything. When I say everything I mean the dark, spiders, Dr. Phil, clowns, balls, really you name it and he is probably afraid of it. His fear of spiders is what has him in our bed the last few nights. We had a ~~large black blood sucking~~ tiny spider in in the kitchen on Monday. It took me to long to find something to spray it with and he scurried away to freedom. Justin is convinced it is a wolf spider which would obviously suck blood since it would have to be related to a werewolf. Justin is also sure he saw it in the kids bathroom later in the day which is right beside his bedroom. He will NOT go in either room alone. All of this boils down to I CAN NOT SLEEP! It is so hard. When Justin is in bed Katie moves closer to me. I think I am moving to Katie's bed tonight. I hope they don't follow me:)

A spring makeover and Thanks

2009-05-16T18:09:00.000-07:00

I thought my blog could use a little spring cleaning. I think it looks pretty cute, but I am not totally happy with it. I am trying to figure out how to make a nice header. You may see some changes as I try to get it all figured out.

Thanks to Lori, Sherry and my sister in law Kathy for the sweet comments, support and suggestions to help us help Katie. Katie is doing just fine. She and I have talked about it in a way I hope she understands. We do own and read books about being adopted, she is around a pretty diverse group of kids and she has many African American baby dolls. On her new cheer team there are 3 other little girls who are bi-racial. I am so excited she will have these girls around her. She will also be able to see that they don't look like their mommies either. My mom had a great suggestion to make Katie feel better... Adopt another baby. Grandmas! They are always looking for a way to get another grand baby:) Last week I would have considered it. However, on Monday I babysat for a friends 5 month old and remembered how much work babies really are. We will stick to the books and dolls!

Since my camera is still not working I am using Leanne's. I can not load the pics on the computer with her camera. Since blogs are boring without cute pictures I thought I would add some cute pictures of Katie I already have on my computer.

A new cheerleader...

2009-05-15T06:28:00.000-07:00

Cheerleading tryouts were last weekend. Leanne is on a Junior Level 5 team and is also helping out the youth 3 team by double teaming. We are very proud of Leanne and all of her hard work. Leanne started cheerleading at age 7 and has progressed at least 1 level each year she has cheered. She started as mini-pee wee level 2 and is now on a level 5 team. Level 6 is as high as all-star cheer goes and that is for college age kids. Leanne is so talented. I love watching her as much as she loves cheering.

We have a new cheerleader in out house this year. Miss. Katie "tried out" and is on the Tiny level 1 cheer team. She is so excited! Katie tried to cheer last year, but was a little to young. She cried the entire time she was at the gym. This year is the total opposite. She is so excited every time we get to the gym. She walks right in like she owns the place:) I can not wait to get her little uniform and see her on the competition floor. We do not compete until November, so I have a long wait. It will be so worth it!

Just for fun- here is a video of our Senior 5 all girls team this year at worlds. This is what all of the girls in our gym strive for. They all want to be on the senior 5 team and go to worlds. Leanne will be old enough next year.

Katie's BIG question....

2009-05-15T05:49:00.000-07:00

I had to work another ball game today. I was gone about 7 hours, so dad had a long day of kids and laundry (I am so thankful he did that for me).

When I got home in the late afternoon Chad said he needed to talk to me. He was a little sad, so we sent the kids upstairs to talk in private. He began to tell me his story:

Katie was sitting on Daddy's lap and looked at him and said "Daddy, why am I like this?"

Chad- "like what Katie?"

Katie- "Brown"

Chad told her she was brown because that is the way God made her. She then wanted to know why Chad was not brown. He explained to her that everyone was different colors because God made us all this way.

This is where is gets really sad. Katie continued:

Katie- "I hate being brown"

Chad- "Katie you are beautiful. I love you brown!"

Katie- "I want to look like you Daddy"

I could see the hurt in Chad's eyes. I can feel the same pain right now. I knew that one day Katie would know she did not look like us. I really thought it would be much later. With the kids home with me and not in school (and uninfluenced by many kids)they are really color blind. We do not put and emphasis on peoples skin color EVER! It is just a non issue in this house. I can not figure out where she heard something like this. Maybe she is just becoming aware of it on her own?

I think it is so painful for us because it seemed to make Katie so sad. We have never wanted to do anything to hurt her. She is so precious to us. We never want her to feel the pain of racism or be tormented for being adopted by a white family. These are things we were aware could happen when we adopted her. Honestly we thought our love alone would be enough to protect her from heartache. We tell Katie daily that she is so beautiful, so smart, so funny, so cute, so adorable... as we do all of our children. We smoother them in hugs and kisses and tell them how much we love them all day. We never intended for her to feel badly because she was not "like" us. I am at a loss of what to do. Do I not make a bug deal over it? Do I talk to her about it? Do I wait until she brings it up again? I just want to make her feel better and protect her from all of the bad feelings she will have in the future. I know it is impossible to keep kids from being hurt as they grow up. It is a part of life, I get it. However, she should never have to feel bad because of the color of her skin. I thought things got easier as kids got older. I think it just gets harder in a much different way.

Happy Belated Mothers Day

2009-05-11T12:36:00.000-07:00

I hope all of the mothers who read my blog had a wonderful Mothers Day. I had a really nice day. The kids got me a very sweet card, a locket and a bracelet. My husband gave me a BOSCH mixer:) I am thrilled!!! It should be here one day this week and I can not wait. Lisa said she is going to come over and take my picture with me new mixer to post on my blog, since I talk about it so much.

I did not get to see my mother yesterday. She spent the day at the hospital with her sister who is now battling lung cancer. Her other sister, son, brothers and mother were there as well. As for my mother in law... I gave her the best gift a daughter in law could give. The day alone with her boy and her grandchildren sans daughter in law. I know she was thrilled. She got to sneak them twinkies and chocolate cake for dinner and not have the looks from me:) I love my mother in law but we differ on a lot of things.

I spent my mothers day doing what any loving cheer mom would do. I fund raised by working at a baseball game. I was exhausted when I got home. Chad had the house cleaned up and ordered chinese food for dinner. It was a great day.

I regret that I do not have any new pics to post on my blog. I have been using Leannes camera since mine is broken. I have to figure hers out or get mine fixed soon. Blogs are no fun without cute pictures.

Before the recession...

2009-05-04T20:16:00.000-07:00

we were really really in love. This is what I heard on television today.

After all of the kids were in bed tonight I started watching Dr. P*hil. I want to preface this by saying I do not normally watch daytime talk shows. I have been TIVO'ing Dr. Phi*l for quite sometime and usually just erase it. Today's show caught my eye so I watched. The things I heard these people say amazed me.

I am not sure what the topic was called exactly, but it had to do with Detroit and the terrible situation that city, like many cities, is in due to the economy. They highlighted two young couples who both have beautiful new baby boys around 7 months old. These were college educated and previously employed people. They apparently were living pretty well before the bottom fell out of the automotive industry. One couple stated they were making around $120,000 prior to job losses and now are making less than $40,000 and can not find jobs.

I am not discrediting this as a sad situation. Anytime a families income is reduced like that it is difficult and the situation should not be taken lightly. However it was everything else they said that caught my attention. Both couples major concerns (other than losing their homes) were the cuts they had to make. The first couple says (as they are eating pizza Hu*t for dinner) that they can no longer go out with friends, go to the movies, take a nice vacation or buy the baby new brand name clothes. Please do not get me wrong, I love to go out to a nice dinner, taking my family on vacation and I have an affinity for boutique clothing and European shoes that makes my husband want to hide when I say the kids outgrew everything. That being said, I can also stretch a dollar to make it a twenty if I need to.

I think that in general we are such a materialistic society. I am guilty of it myself. I love to see my precious children dressed in GAP and Gymboree. However we must realize that these material things do not make us who we are. Of course it is easier to grab a pizza than to mix up a dough and make it from scratch. It is also more fun to sit in a theater with yummy movie popcorn and raisinettes than to grab a movie from the library and pop the popcorn yourself. But are having to make these changes a reason to not love your spouse as much as you did when you could afford the small luxuries?

There are days that I think this recession is a blessing. I know it sounds crazy. People are losing their jobs, homes and cars etc. We have been affected, though thankfully not to these extremes. As for being a blessing... people are spending more time with their families, changing spending habits and praying more. This is not how I would want people to come to do these things, but this is what I see happening.

As for my family we will continue to live a slower life. We will still get our movies from the library or borrow them from friends, we will eat homemade pizza and I will pop the popcorn. We will shop second hand and get out the old toys instead of buy new ones. I will also continue to love my husband as much as the day we got married even if we can't go to Disney World this year!

Hats off to Mrs. Dugger

2009-05-04T15:12:00.000-07:00

Today I had 7 kids. It was only for about 7 hours, but I am exhausted. Lisa called me this morning to let me know her dear brother in law had went home to be with the Lord after a long battle with cancer. She asked if she could bring the kids by for a few hours so she and her hubby could be with his family. Of course I wanted to help my friend anyway I could and told her to bring them over for as long as she needed.

To get ready for the kids I decided to do down and make some icing for the the cinnamon rolls I made yesterday so the kids could have a treat for breakfast. I also needed to start some laundry so my hubby would have clean towels when he got home from work. Since we would be having company I scoured my downstairs restroom as well. Katie was the only one up, so she mopped the floor for me. It was very helpful;) Non of this was necessary, but I needed to get the cleaning done today and I was pretty sure with 7 kids I would not get it done with them all here.

I must say the kids were as good as gold. The played a little Wii, watched about 3 seconds of television (since we nixed scooby-doo) and played outside the rest of the day. We gave them all the day off school work and the enjoyed it to the fullest. At one point they had every bike, scooter, pair of skates, skate board and any outdoor toy they could find in my front yard. It looked like a toy store exploded. While the big kids were outside Katie and Sarah were playing dress up and turning me into a frog, a princess, a puppy and a baby. They were so cute! I made them 3 pizzas for lunch and chocolate chip cookies for snack and the gobbled it all up. They were starving again just a few hours later. The kids got along great, cleaned up nicely and had a lot of fun.

That being said.... this momma is exhausted. I do not know how Mrs. Dugger raises 18 children with such a sweet spirit, a smile on her face and never raises her voice. Seven has me ready for bed at 6:00. I still have to fix dinner, pick Leanne up from tumbling and dry those towels. It counts as clean towels if they are in the washer right!?

And since blog posts are no fun with out pictures:

Here is what I found my princess up to after her friend went home. You can not take your eye off of her for 1 minute!

I hear pastel eye shadow is making a comeback.

And the award goes to....

2009-05-03T19:19:00.000-07:00

This evening Leanne and I attended the awards banquet for the cheer season. They hold the event at the beautiful Pinnacle Country Club just down the road from our house. The evening is filled with good food, good friends, laughs and tears. It is so nice for the coaches and the gym owner to get up and recognize all of the hard work and dedication the girls give to the team or teams they are on. There were over 250 people there today representing all of our teams from the special needs Shining Stars all the way to the senior level 5. Each girl goes in front of the crowd and the coaches say something special about them and give them a trophy. They also award scholarships to all of the graduation seniors. As you can imagine it is a long evening, so Chad opted to stay home with the other kids. Actually, he said "please do not make me go!". It did last just about 4 hours, but it was worth it.

Some of the nice things they said about Leanne where...

"She is a an amazing flier, amazing tumbler, has a great attitude and a hard worker."

At the end of the night they give two girls from each team a special award. This award is usually funny, but goes to a few special girls who work hard and always give 100%. When they started to announce the awards Leanne leaned over and said "I hope I get one this year" (since she has not in the past). When they started to announce the awards for her senior team the coach said "This award goes to a girl who is an amazing flier and tumbler. She is the best flier on our team. This girls in not only an amazing flier, but was a great base on a younger team as well." By this time Leanne is thinking it could be her or one other little girl from her team. Then her coach says "We are calling this award the Head in the Clouds Award. Because this girl not only flies so high, she is a little ditsy sometimes and keeps us all laughing." Leanne leans over to me with the biggest smile on her face and said "that's me!" It was so funny! She was right. She was awarded the Head in the Clouds award for her hard work, dedication and her innocence. She could not have been happier. And I could not have been more proud.

Here is a picture of Leanne with her favorite coach Justin. Justin will sadly be leaving us this year. He will be greatly missed by both of us. He has taught Leanne all of the skill she knows and many life lessons as well.

Getting prepared

2009-04-28T11:30:00.001-07:00

A certain friend and I have been researching emergency preparedness for quite sometime. I am sure you can guess that is it Lisa:) Emergency preparedness is something she and both very passionate about it. However we usually put getting started at the end of our long list of things to do. We have needed something to get us motivated to actually start making the purchases. I think the swine flu is it. Am I really scared of the swine flu? Not so much! But I think there could be many reasons to be prepared in the future. If not a swine flu pandemic perhaps something... I was going to say something negative about the choices of our Commander in Chief, but decided against it:)

The researching of emergency preparedness has been very interesting. There are people on every inch of a very long spectrum. You have your "normal" preparer, who just wants an extra case of water and some canned food to the people who are learning to live off the grid and become totally self sufficient. My goal is to fall somewhere in the middle of this spectrum. I think I need more than water to keep my family safe and healthy in the event of an emergency. I also am not dedicated enough to give up electricity, air conditioning or indoor pluming. Although for a short time last summer I wanted to sell my house in suburbia and buy a farm to grow a large garden and raise animals. One field trip to a farm with pigs and I changed my mind really fast:) Anyway- I would like to have a nice supply of food and water on hand in case we are unable to leave the house for an extended period of time or the grocery store shelves are bare. I want to make sure that my children are fed and have a water supply to keep them healthy for an extended period of time. I would also like to have a small stock pile of medications, cleaners like bleach and lots of soap and purell.

Here is where I plan to start:
Food storage: I want to have at least a 3 month supply of food my family will actually eat. I have been learning a lot about food storage from the LDS (Mormon) ladies. These ladies have got it together. Although I do not share many of the religious beliefs they have, I do think they are the go to girls for food storage. They are so knowledgeable and seem so willing to share tips and recipes on their blogs.

To assist in becoming prepared as well as become more healthy eaters Lisa and I learned many new things last year. We learned to grow and can vegetable and fruit. We also made pasta sauce, apple sauce, jams and grape juice. We learned to grind wheat and make homemade bread and yummy pizza dough. In the next month or so our favorite blogger will be teaching us the ins and outs of sour dough starters and we are so excited!

Water storage: I am buying cases of bottled water to store for drinking water. I am also looking onto 55 gallon barrels to store water for cleaning and washing. I also plan to invest in a rain barrel this spring to water my garden with.

Medications: Lisa and I talked about having medications on hand this afternoon. I had really never though about it. I guess I just assumed that over the counter medications would be available. I have really been thinking about it for the last few hours and I sure having a supply of OTC meds on hand will not be a bad idea. I am thinking fever reducers and pain medications for head aches and such are going to be necessary. I am going to look for a list of meds to stock up on.

Books: I am waiting on a preparedness book to come in at the library. The fact that there was a waiting list for such a book was surprising to me. I guess we are not the only ones with this on our minds. I think I may go ahead and buy a few good solid homemaking books as well. Books on how women did things in the past. Before you could go the store and buy a box of anything you needed. If anyone has any suggestions I am all ears. I will keep you posted if I find some good ones as well.

Please do not think I am a doom and gloom crazy fanatical. I have honestly been concerned since the election last year. Who knows if I will ever need any of these things for survival. However we will use them on a daily basis so nothing goes to waste. I am also just using this as a way to live a more simple life. I know Lisa and I are not the only ones who feel this way. Feel free to leave a comment on how you are preparing.

Thankful on Friday

2009-04-24T09:56:00.001-07:00

I have had a very rough week this week with things breaking down and tons of errands. I know it could be much worse. I could have sick children, or ailing parents, no house or food.... you get the idea. Non the less this week has just seemed to drag on and on with no end in site.

So far this week (and the end of last week) my kitchen aid mixer broke and they have been less than helpful in assisting me with having it repaired, my slicer/shredder is broke, my camera will not recognize it's very expensive memory card, my computer got a virus and I had to take the kids to the eye doctor, Leanne to the pediatrician and Cameron to the orthodontist. We have then had all of our normal happenings such as school, homeschool group, the grocery store (twice) and fundraising for cheerleading. We did manage to squeeze in 2 tumbling classes for Leanne, a skating party on Monday night, 4-H on Tuesday and a trip the skate park on Thursday. It is never a dull moment around here!

Before I get to my Thankful Thursday on Friday ramblings I must share the story of our trip to the pedi on Tuesday:

On Monday night went to a skating party for our homeschool group. We got home kind of late and the kids bathed and went straight to bed. When Leanne woke up in the morning she was covered in a red sand paper looking rash. I thought she had strep throat, although she had no other symptoms and was feeling fine. I felt terrible since on Monday she had been to homeschool group, tumbling class and a skating party. I thought she may have exposed all of those kids to strep or some other mysterious illness. I gave her benedryl and watched her for a few hours and the rash continued to spread (from scratching I now know), so I called the pedi and got her in that afternoon. Of course when you homeschool every outing is a family event so all the kids and I filed in to the office to see what the mystery rash was. The doctor agreed that it looked just like the strep rash so he tested her and it of course came back negative. He said it was an allergic reaction and began to try to help us find the source. Here is the conversation that helped us figure out what Leanne is allergic to:

Dr.: "Have you changed detergent, shampoo or anything like that lately?"

Me: "No everything is the same as it always is."

Dr.: "Has she eaten anything she doesn't normally have?"

Me: "we were at a pot-luck last night, but all she ate was a few sun chips and a sugar cookie..."

Dr.: "Leanne have you done anything new you do not normally do?"

Leanne: "Hey?! Do you think it could be from my Oil of Olay ANTI-AGING cream?"

That's right. My 11 year old is using anti-aging cream. The doctor about busted a gut he was laughing so hard. He asked her "are you trying not to look 12?" It was the funniest thing ever! I am sure we were the talk of the office after we left. He was still laughing as we were leaving the room. For the record, Leanne got her anti-aging cream from my mother. Grandmas!!!! You gotta love them:)

Now onto Thankful Thursday on Friday...

I am thankful for so many things that it is even hard for me to pin point a few of them every week. I always want to post that I am thankful for very profound type things and I am. However, I am also thankful for all of the little things too.

I am thankful for a refrigerator full of good food for my kids to eat whenever they are hungry.

I am thankful that when I flip a switch on my wall the lights come on.

I am thankful I have running water and it is hot when I need it to be.

I am thankful I have a washing machine and a dryer and I do not have to drag countless loads of clothes to the laundry mat.

I am thankful I have heat in the winter and a/c in the summer.

There are so many small things in life that we take for granted each and everyday. My plan this weekend it so slow down and enjoy myself. There will be no worrying about how clean my house is or how much work needs to be done. I will be spending time with my friend Lisa G. and our girls. We plan to enjoying the simple things in life like garage sales with a friend, strolling the outlet mall and lunch with the girls. What fun!

Since Blog posts are no fun without pictures and my camera is not working I thought I would take little stroll down memory lane and post some cute photos from the past.

This is one of my favorite pictures of Chad and Justin. Isn't it funny how the Lord can make adopted children look so much like their parents?

Baby Katie at just a few weeks old. She was so sweet. I really miss those days!

Leanne at our old house ready to go to the father/daughter dance for Brownies. She is looking as youthful as ever:) Notice the corsage from her daddy. They went to three dances over the years and loved everyone of them. These are such cherished memories.

I am looking for some pictures of poor Cameron. My picture disks are such a mess. getting them organized is on my summer to do list. Pictures of Cameron are to come. I promise I have them. However most of the older pictured of the kids are on film. Remember the days of film? Life was so simple then!

I NEED Chickens!

2009-04-17T19:41:00.001-07:00

Really... I need a minimum of 3 chickens. The kids joined 4-H and wanted to do a poultry project. So being the over achieving mother that I am I obliged and signed them up. Knowing absolutely nothing about chickens I made a few calls first:) I called a chicken man I found close to our town who has chicks for sale. I asked him if we bought chicks if they would be ready to show before the fair in July. He assured me that they would. However, he was assuming I was talking broilers. I being a chicken novice had no idea that there were so many different breeds of chickens. So I didn't know the right questions to ask. Here is where my problems get started...

I need fancy chickens. Specifically, fancy hens which are grown, that my kids can train and get ready to show by July. You see, if we got the broilers the fate of the chicken was not so good. It would have ended up being sold at the end of the fair and turned into dinner. Don't get me wrong, we enjoy a nice chicken dinner. However, our chicken dinners usually do not have names. Nor are they birds we raised from chicks that my kids bathed, handled and came to love. So we need fancy chickens that get to come home with us from the fair, ALIVE! As of now we have no chickens, baby chicks ready for us to pick up who will not be ready to show by summer and we can not change our 4-H projects at this point.

I really do not know what to do. I have joined chicken message boards (there is a secret world of chicken loving people we suburbanites don't know about). Posted ad's on Craig*s list and asked everyone I know who may know someone who knows someone with chickens. I have received a couple of emails from people on CL. So far we were offered 4 silky roosters who are hostile and 2 peacocks. That's right, I asked for fancy chickens and someone offered me peacocks. I emailed back and said "this may be a silly questions, but are you talking about the peacocks like the ones at the zoo with the pretty tail feathers or is there a special breed of peacock chicken?" I know he thought I was nuts, but who offer peacocks to someone needing chickens, seriously!?

So if any of my Ohio bloggy friends have any connections to the chicken industry... Please help a mother out. I really need these crazy chickens. I am desperate!!!

Thankful Thursday

2009-04-16T19:31:00.000-07:00

Does it seem like the weeks are passing by so fast? I can not believe we are midway through April already. Before we know it the holidays will be here again. I know I am rushing things but this is how my years go:

January- back to normal from hustle and bustle of the holiday season. Justin's birthday. Cheer comps in full swing with two day nationals.

February- Cabin fever sets in. Katie's birthday. More cheer.

March- More cheerleading. Annual mother/daughter Florida trip.

April- Start thinking about finishing the school year and planning for next year. Finish cheer season. Baseball starts.

May- Spring fever hits. Try to keep plugging ahead with the school year. Plan assessment. Start worrying about said assessment. Try outs for new Cheer season. New cheer season practices start. Baseball.

June- Finish school. Baseball in full swing. Cheer. Cheer camp. Cameron's birthday. Baseball. Baseball camp.

July- Homeschool assessment. Football practice starts. Football camp. Summer activities. Cheer.

August- Busy summer continues. Football. Cheer.

September- Start new school year. New competition season begins. Football games start. Leanne's birthday.

October- Football. Cheer. Halloween. Chad's birthday.

November- Thanksgiving. Cheer. Run, run, run.

December- Christmas. My birthday.

My year just runs together from one event to the next.

There are days I wish we lived out in the middle of nowhere on a farm. Where time seemed to stand still. We would spend lazy summer days together and snuggle in front of the fire in the winter.

In the mean time I am thankful for all of the things we are able to do together as a family. The Lord has blessed us beyond anything we deserve. We are able to do so many wonderful things with and for our children and I am thankful for that every day. I am thankful they are able to try anything they want. I am thankful they have the opportunity to follow their dreams.

I am so thankful that I am the one who gets to see them smile when the bat hits the ball. That I am the one who sees them run into the end zone or tumble across a spring floor. I am thankful I am the one who hears their laughter when their team wins. I am also thankful I get to wipe their tears when they don't. I am thankful I'm the one they call for when they are hurt. I am thankful to be the one who tucks them in at night and gets the that last sweet good night kiss. I also thankful I get the first hug in the morning. It really can't get much better than this. I am just thankful!

A sad day in the kichen

2009-04-16T19:06:00.000-07:00

Today was a sad day in my kitchen. My mixer has mixed it's last loaf of bread. I know it sounds crazy to be upset over a kitchen appliance, but I am so sad. Chad and the kids went and picked this out for me for our first Christmas as a family. They were all so excited to give it to me. I was really excited to get is as well. I had mentioned a few times over the years that I wanted one, but didn't think anyone remembered. When I opened that box I was as happy as if I received a beautiful piece of fine jewelry. Over the years I have used this mixer to make my kids birthday cakes, taught Leanne to make cheese cake, let Katie dump hundreds of ingredients, helped the boys make play dough and much, much more.

As sad as it is one must move on...

And move on I did:) I am going to order a Bosch. It is not nearly as pretty as my kitchen aid, but it is a work horse. This thing could mix a kitchen aid under the table! Lisa and I have spent many days ohhing and ahhing over the Bosch. We will look at the specs of the machine while talking on the phone. One of us will say "it has an 800 watt motor" or "it has a transmission and a drive shaft..." It is almost like two guys looking at a brand new corvette. So, I am going to have to take the plunge and buy one. It is really expensive and not really in the budget right now, but it would be so hard to live without a mixer. I think I convinced Chad by explaining to him that I would not expect him to pour concrete without the proper tools. Homemaking is my job, how can I do it without the proper tools? I hope it is here sometime next week. In the mean time I did email kitchen aid and hopefully I can have my little mixer fixed. After all it looks so pretty on my counter!

Easter Cookies and coloring eggs

2009-04-11T19:18:00.000-07:00

Lisa told me about these really cool cookies to make the night before Easter. We did this tonight with our kids after we colored eggs. Chad read the Bible verses, I told the kids the meaning and they added the ingredients and followed the instructions. It was a really great Easter tradition we plan to continue each year. I pray as they get older they can see more of the symbolism. I hope that this is a tradition they will carry on with our grandchildren.

Our cookies are in the oven (tomb) for the night. Here are the kids watching them as Chad tells them about putting Jesus body in the tomb and rolling the stone in front of it. They can not wait to see what happens to the cookies in the morning.

Here are the kids watching the cookies after we put them in the oven and taped it closed:

You can find a link to the Easter Cookies with Bible lesson here.

Lisa- Ok, ok, ok... you were right!!! There was no way I could look into my babies eyes and tell them what The Lord did for us without crying. You know me so well!

We also colored eggs this evening. This is not my favorite Easter activity, but I did it as a kid and do not want to rob my kids of the same joy I had. We colored a little over 3 dozen eggs. We will take these to my in-laws tomorrow to hunt after we enjoy a delicious meal.

Leanne and Justin cutie pies:

Katie stained her favorite color pink. Pink hands should look cute with her beautiful Easter dress:

Brothers:

Katie was so excited to color eggs. This is the first time she really understood what she was doing. We could not keep her off the table.

Easter Egg hunt

2009-04-11T19:02:00.000-07:00

On Friday we were invited to a Easter Egg hunt by Katie's friend Jennie. Jennie's mom Brandy and I have been friend since were were teenagers so it is always fun to get our kids together. Katie was really excited to go even though I don't think she really understood what we were going to do. We looked for a few eggs in the yard last year, but have never taken her to an egg hunt. She had been asking a lot of questions and needless to say she was ready to go on Thursday when she went to bed. When we woke up on Friday morning a normal spring day in the buckeye state it was of course raining. Our local weather guy was calling for cold rain all day. I called Brandy and she said they were still on and were just hoping for a pocket of about an hour to play a few games, hunt eggs and have lunch. I decided to go ahead and go. I packed a lunch threw my kids and the van and picked up Katie's friend Sarah (Sarah and Jennie are cousins). We got to the park a few minutes late as usual.

When we arrived they were playing with a parachute. Then we had an egg race. The kids raced with eggs (don't worry they were boiled) on spoons across the basketball court and back. Brandy wanted them to crawl and push them with their noses, but it was really wet. While the kids were playing a few people hid eggs. Cameron decided he was to old to hunt eggs and helped hide them instead. After the games we let the kids loose to hunt the eggs. Katie was freezing and refused to hunt for even one egg. Cameron was so sweet, he found her 4 eggs with candy in them. They were probably easy to find since he knew where they were. It is always nice to have an insider:)
Justin found a lot of eggs:

This is how Katie hunted eggs:

Cameron helping sweet Sarah find eggs:

Sweet Sarah hunting eggs in a winter coat! Is she not the cutest???

After the hunt the kids were ready to go. It was so cold they didn't even want to eat outside. All in all they had a great day. Katie can't stop talking baout hunting eggs on Sunday afternoon at grandma's. I wonder if she will cry then too?
A very sleepy girl:

Where have I been?

2009-04-08T19:05:00.000-07:00

I have had several complaints that I have not been blogging enough. Lisa hinted to me today that she does not like reading blogs that are not updated daily. I will take that with a grain of salt Lis, since you are a non-blogger:)

I have been so busy, yet I feel like I have not done anything this week. Monday we have our home school group. So Mondays are usually filled with that in the morning and running around in the afternoon. Tuesday we had school all day and I ran to the store etc. I was also down with a sinus headache all evening. This thing is kicking my behind. I am way to old for this stuff! Today I had a long day of cooking. I am sure I mentioned before that our home school group has a group called the care committee. I am in charge of this group. The care committee is in charge of organizing food donations for new mommies, sick mommies or families and in the unfortunate event someone passes on. So far we have only had 1 mommy who had surgery and the rest of the recipients of our food have have been new mommies. We have had a lot of babies in this group this year. On Monday two ladies from our group gave birth to little girls. We delivered food tonight. So here is most of my day in pictures.

I woke up and made blender pancakes for the kids out of wheat berries, oat groats, bran, flax seeds, yogurt and some other healthy stuff. They were actually very good and the kids didn't even know they were good for them. I made a double batch and the rest are in freezer to be reheated as needed. In the background you will see the keffir I am pretty sure I killed and the flower Katie is growing. Yes, it is a fake flower. Silly girl! You can find the recipe and a step by step guide to making these yummy pancakes here
.

After breakfast I started my breads so they all had time to rise. The first bread I made was a cinnamon bread. I made 1 recipe which ended up making 3 small loaves and 2 large loaves of bread. It looked wonderful! Unfortunately I can not smell or taste right now, but Chad, the kids and Lisa all said it was very good. I followed the recipe exactly and then added 1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon to the dough in the cake batterish stage. Of course I forgot to take a picture of the bread, so you will just have to believe me when I say it was pretty:) You can find a picture and the recipe for this delicious bread here.

After the cinnamon bread was rising I made pumpkin bread, but instead of loaves I made muffins and frosted them with caramel icing. The kids went nuts over these! I am making them again Friday afternoon because they are all gone and I need more for someone else.

After the pumpkin muffins I started a chicken and rice soup for our dinner. I made a triple batch so I could freeze some for the new mommies. I also made a double batch of my pot pie to freeze for them as well. To go with the soup I made french bread for the very first time. I think it turned out pretty well. It was sooo good. I hope the new mommies liked it as much as we did. You will notice in the back ground a new flower for my counter. Justin assures me he did not pick the tulip out of the neighbors garden. It was merely blowing by his feet in our yard and he didn't want it to go to waste. I totally believe him:)

My kids of course refused to even try the soup because it looked "gross" and had "chunks" in it. So I made them pizza out of a loaf of my french bread.

After my post on sewing my friend Julie emailed me and said "You are super mom! You probably sewed your own cape." I wanted to set the record straight. I am not super mom. In fact I am the total opposite:) While I was cooking up a storm this is what was going on in the back ground.

The kids picked out there own clothes: Yes, one of the kids taped Katies stroller together to make a double stroller. I think that was a hint that she needs a double stroller.

Katie changed her clothes no less than 5,000 times. While Justin chose the rather confusing ensemble of mismatched clothes, a coon skin cap and soccer cleats!

Katie played in flour:

She also cut up every piece of scrap paper she could find to make me "presents" and then when I wasn't looking she glued one to the refrigerator door.

And finally this is what my kitchen looked like when I was done.

Do you still think I am super mom? I think I am a wanna be super mom who still has a lot to learn.

Now the food is delivered. My family is fed. The kitchen is clean and the dishes are done. The kids are bathed and in bed! I am ready to get some sleep and start all over tomorrow.

Sisters

2009-04-08T18:29:00.000-07:00

My two girls are the best of sisters. Despite the age difference they get along very well. Katie really looks up to Leanne and tries to be just like her. I am glad Katie has such a great role model. Leanne is a kind and sweet young lady. I pray the two of them grow up to be very close as adults. I always wanted a sister but was not that lucky. I am thankful the Lord gave me two girls so I can see just how special having a sister is.

Here are a few pictures from our weekend. The girls have so much fun together.

This is on the way to Leanne's last competition of the year. Katie is doing her "cheer face" and the new picture face with the scrunched up face and closed eyes???

When Chad saw Katie's outfit he told her "Mommy has been watching to many 80's videos." (Thanks again Steph for the adorable petty skirt!)

After a long day of cheering every girls needs a pedi. Anyone else need one?

I now have a nice teal stain on my carpet from nail polish. Yes, Leanne has teal nail polish. Thanks Grandma!!!

Sisterly Love!

Sewing

2009-04-03T18:58:00.000-07:00

I spent today sewing with my dear friend Lisa G. She is not to be confused with my kitchen gadget loving, wheat grinding, gymboree enabling friend Lisa H. whom I mention so often in my blog. Anyway- The girls and I drove the 45 minutes to Lisa G's to make cloth diapers. No. I do not need cloth diapers. Lisa needs cloth diapers and I am making some for my friend Sarah who recently became the mommy to sweet little Noah. We started our day at 10:30 AM and finished at 5:30 PM and we made a grand total of 1 diaper. Yes that says one, uno, only 1 diaper in 7 hours. It was not for lack of trying. We did have 4 little girls trying to help us, we had to stop for a quick lunch and then there was the brownie break... Honestly we spent the bulk of our day doing prep work. There are about 8 layers to a diaper that have to be cut individually, some have to be pre-sewn and some can not be pinned. It was very slow going, but once the prep work was finished the diaper itself went together quickly. And ladies this 'aint your mommas cloth diaper. These things are super cute and very absorbent. I am very proud of my one diaper and can not wait to get the rest of them finished. I plan to have little Noah's diapers finished before he is potty trained!
(pictures tomorrow)

I really enjoy sewing. It is just not something I get to do often enough. I am a bit of a perfectionist so the things I sew seem to take me a long time. I think I spend most of my time with the seam ripper taking things apart to do them again the right way. I have a ton of projects in different stages of completion. I have the best of intentions. I just don't have as much time for my hobby as I wish I did. Here are a few of the things I have made miss Katie. She loves a new mommy made dress and often requests one when we are at the fabric store. It is so cute. You will notice Katie's binky in a lot of these photos. I am happy to report that Katie has been Binky free for almost a year. She did have a brief relapse while I was in Florida (thanks mother in law), but has been off the Binky since I returned home:)

For our trip to Disney last year. A girl can not be expected to dress "off the rack" when she meets the Mickey Mouse!

For Dinner with Cinderella. Which my little princess cried through!

Baby Parade at the Pumpkin Show

First day of Home School Group Preschool

Christmas '07 this was her Christmas Eve dinner with the in-laws dress. Yes, my tree is only decorated 2.5 ft and up. Katie is about 2.5 ft tall. Coincidence?

This one is a cute dress I made her just because. I am posting the picture so you can see her CRAZY hair! I love it like this.

I think I got carried away with the pictures of Katie. I just love that girl and can't get enough of her.

As much as I have enjoyed sewing for my princess as I said above I do not always have the time. When I need something special and I can not make it I look for talented WAHM's who sew custom clothing. One of my favorites is Leslie. I love her designs but have yet to own any. Maybe for our upcoming Disney trip??? Maybe sooner! I entered to win a custom lounge set on her blog. You can enter to win here by leaving a comment on today's post. Let Leslie know you saw the link here.

Thankful Thursday

2009-04-02T10:26:00.000-07:00

I know my Thankful Thursday post have been MIA for a few weeks, but I am ready to get back on track.

Today the kids and I are working on a science lap book on the human body. We took a trip to the library this morning and got some interesting books about the subject as well as some magic school bus movies for fun. We have never done a lap book, so this should be interesting. In addition to the human body lap book we are also starting our science fair projects for the science showcase at our homeschool group. I picked up a book called ~~science fair projects for slacker moms~~ Last minute science fair projects: When your Bunsen's burner is not burning but the clock is to get a few ideas for the older kids. I volunteered to organize this science fair so I am pretty sure it will look bad if my kids do not have projects. We still have 3 weeks, so there is time. Cameron will be getting his rocket tonight at scouts so we will also have that to work on. I have googled "how to make a winning rocket" because the Moore boys will not be going down as loser's like we did with the derby cars:)

Our trip to the library was pretty typical. We planned the impromptu trip because Chad had Katie with him. She must have sensed that we were going somewhere without her because Chad called and said he had to bring her home to go potty. Katie has issues with public restrooms after and unfortunate event involving and automatic toilet. I thought we were over that, but lately she refuses to go potty anywhere but at home. Anyway- We waited for her to get home and them started our trip. I gave the kids the library rules run down on the way there. Just your normal- use quite voices, don't take every book off of the shelf, no running, no fighting and we are not checking out 50 movies speech. I am pretty sure the librarians want to lock the doors and put the closed sign out when they see us coming, but we always manage to get in:) The kids did a pretty good job today until it was time to check out. I of course can not check out in the self check out because I have to ~~make my donation to the library rebuilding fund~~ pay my fines. So we have to stand in line. There were several people in line ahead of us so the wait was several minutes long. This is where the fun began. Miss. Katie wanted Justin to sit in a certain chair. He of course refused and sat in the chair she was saving for herself. She started screaming "MOVE Justin that is my seat!!!" Being the loving brother he is he just sat there and smiled. I came over and thought I fixed the situation, however Katie now had to have a new chair because Justin already sat in her chair. Leanne was in her new chair. Fun, fun, fun! All the while people are staring at us, some smiling and some not. I was so embarrassed. We got our books checked out and even bought a few from the library sale. We listed to a book on tape on the way home. All in all it was a productive day.

Now for Thankful Thursday:

I am thankful for our garden. We live in subdivision with a small yard. We are blessed to have my in-laws only a few miles away and they have about 7-8 acres of land. Every year we plant a nice size garden. This year we are doubling the size of our garden as well as planting a large area of sweet corn. Our potatoes went in today. I can not wait to start eating those wonderful fruits and vegetables.

I am also thankful for the nice spring weather we are having here. Even though it is very hard to stay in and do school work when the sun is shinning we are still thrilled that winter seems to be on it's way out.

I am thankful for the skills I am learning to help my family eat healthier. It is so much fun learning all of theses new things. I think I would have made a great pioneer wife:) Well except for the fact that there was no air conditioning, or running water and the fact that I hate the smell of animals. Other than that I would have been great at it.

I am thankful for our troops. My good friend Shelly just got news that her son is being deployed to Afghanistan in January. I pray all of our troops are home safely very soon.

Well, I need to get back upstairs. I heard a funny noise and asked the kids what they are doing and Cameron said "It's okay mom, I'm just doing an experiment". That is always scary! Sorry for such a rambling post about nothing. There is just not a lot of fun stuff going on right now.

Momma's Boy

2009-04-01T18:06:00.001-07:00

There is something so precious about the love a little boy has for his momma. Don't get me wrong, I know my girls love me. There is just something different about the love of a little boy. It is not better or worse it is just different. There is little I could ask my boys to do that they would not willingly complete. Boy's just love their mothers unconditionally. Today Justin called me into the living room and said "Mom, tell Cameron I am to a Momma's boy!". It was so cute and so sweet, it almost made me forget he was in trouble, again!

Tonight for dinner I made taco's. I know we just had them for lunch but these were different, I promise. Not to mention I am determined to get the hang of the crazy tortilla maker. Anyway- Cameron had no less than 3 soft tacos plus the rice. He kept saying "Mom, this is so good, I love it". I asked him what he would do when he grows up if his wife is not a great cook like me:) He said "That's not a problem, I will just come home".

I think I have two of the sweetest boys in the world and they are super cute to boot. How lucky can one Mom get?

You're such a good cooker momma!

2009-03-31T11:27:00.000-07:00

That is what Katie said to me this afternoon. I made the kids some really healthy granola bars and they LOVED them. The recipe is so easy to follow and includes oats, wheat germ, natural peanut butter, honey and peanuts as the main ingredients. I happened to have all of those things hanging around in my kitchen so I thought I would give it a shot! I also added some shredded unsweetened coconut and flax seeds and the kids were eating them before they firmed up. Lisa pointed me to the recipe on the food Ne*twork blog. I believe the recipe is called oatmeal peanut butter bars, give it a try the kids will love it.

I woke up not feeling well this morning. Things are starting to bloom here in the buckeye state and as much as I love spring it is terrible for my allergies. I told Chad this morning I feel like a truck just ran over my head, that is how bad I felt. Thank heaven for good allergy medication! After the meds kicked in I started to feel adventurous. I have been trying to slowly cut out sugar and white flour and while it is hard, finding good nutritious recipes is really fun. Back to the adventure.... Lisa and I ground wheat yesterday while the kids ~~trampled through her flowers~~ played quietly outside. I want to use the wheat before it goes bad, so I thought today was a good day to break out my new tortilla press. I mixed up the dough in the mixer and let it rest for the required 30 minutes. While my dough was resting I started the taco meat and had it simmering on the stove, threw some chicken in the crock pot for dinner, heated up my tortilla maker and started my granola bars. This is where all the fun began. We use natural peanut butter. You know the kind with the oil that you have to mix. I hate mixing the oil in by hand so I usually use my small hand mixer. I had only been mixing for a few minutes when I started to feel my hand get oily. I had the jar (which was plastic) close to the tortilla press and the side melted, so I had peanut oil everywhere. Not to mention I now had plastic melted to my brand new tortilla press. I got all of the oil cleaned up, mixed the peanut butter, found a new jar for it and made my granola bars. Once my bars were cooling I started on my tortillas. They are SOOOO hard to make! I will never complain about the price of whole wheat tortillas again. I had dough hissing at me and literally shooting out of the sides of the press. The first 6 or so where a nightmare. I managed to get it somewhat figured out and they tasted great.

There is just something so wonderful about watching your children eat wholesome natural foods that you made them from scratch. I felt like Laura Ingalls Wilder with my kids sitting at the kitchen table doing school work as I made tortillas with flour I ground from wheat berries. I could imagine a pioneer mother in her bonnet and apron with a baby on her hip kneading bread while the older children completed school assignments happily while she worked. They would lovingly look up at her with smiles on their faces and appreciation in there hearts for all of the things their mother did just for them. This is where I had to stop daydreaming. My children were fighting over a pencil sharpener, disappearing every time I turned my head, trying to sneak the TV on, touching one another, someone was sitting to close, someone called someone else a name, so and so was in their spot..... and so on. It was back to reality for me. At lease for the few minutes there mouths were full, they were quiet and I could pretend they were appreciating all of my hard work.

As a treat for myself I am making homemade chocolate ice cream. The kids are in bed and it is the machine as I blog. I can not wait to sit down, watch ~~mindless television~~ the news and enjoy my ice cream in the peace and quiet.

A Cheer Video

2009-03-27T12:48:00.000-07:00

I found a video on Youtube of the girls on the first day in Florida. It is not the best quality video (I don't know who posted it) but it gives you an idea of what the girls do. We went level 3 in Florida so they are only throwing handsprings and tucks. The looked a ton better on Sunday but you get the idea! Leanne is to the right of the little girl in the center in the first stunt (she is in the air). She is also right next to her again when they tumble toward the back. She is the one who bailed on her tumbling coming across from the back corner (she threw it on Sunday). She is in the third group during the tosses. If you look really closely you can see her head almost hit the ground during the basket toss. Thank the Lord her back base got to where she needed to be and caught her before she actually hit. She would have been seriously injured! In the pyramid she is to the right of the little girl in the center. Other than that it is really hard to figure out who she is. You can try following her from the beginning stunt, but even I lost her a few times.

4 Girls, 5 days and 11 bags!

2009-03-24T19:11:00.001-07:00

We had such a wonderful time in Florida. I am so blessed to be able to take Leanne on this trip each spring. I hope as Katie gets older she and I will also be able to take solo trips to share special mother/daughter time together. I said I was taking her along next year, but as I settle in to being home again I realize she really was fine while I was away and this is really special for Leanne and I. I really enjoy Leanne's company and am so proud of the wonderful, sweet, caring and funny young lady she is growing into. She has such a kind and gentle spirit. I can not wait to see what the Lord has in store for her.

We roomed with my friend Shelly who happens to be the mother of Leanne's BFF Emily. We stayed at a really nice hotel with most of the families from out gym as well as the coaches. We got to sit around the pool in the evenings talking and watching the girls play. We also had breakfast together most mornings and set up dinner dates and fun activities with each other. Our girls even hosted a Twilight viewing party in our hotel room and we popped popcorn for them and about 7 of their friends. It was a really fun trip filled with many good memories for Leanne and I.

On our trip we drove to Orlando to have lunch at the Rain forest Cafe and shop at Downtown Disney.

We had a team dinner at Buca. Leanne tried calamari for the first time. She said she had to take a picture because the boys would never believe her.

The girls cheered on Saturday and on Sunday. They preformed beautifully. They looked great, had a ton of energy and hit their routine both days. They didn't finish as high in the standings as we had hoped, but there were a lot of great teams and the scores were very close. Leanne's youth team finished 3rd and her senior team finished 5th. We were very proud of how hard they worked and are now looking forward to this weekend in Columbus.

We finished our fun on Sunday. We took the monorail system in downtown Jacksonville around town. We stopped at the Landings and had lunch with about 10 other families. We had a great time getting to know people outside of cheer. We had a wonderful trip and can not wait to do it again next season. Of course I forgot my camera on this day so there are no pictures. A few of the other moms are supposed to email me some. I will add them when they do.

Home Sweet Home

2009-03-24T18:15:00.000-07:00

We are home! Leanne and I had a wonderful time, but I was ready to get home. I am really a home body and I missed the rest of my family terribly. I was getting daily calls from Katie pleading with me to "call the hairplane man and tell him to bring you home!" It was so sweet, yet so sad at the same time.

My dear friend Shelly dropped Leanne and I off last night. We missed our connecting flight in Atlanta because there were mechanical problems on the first plane in Jacksonville. We were stuck at the Atlanta airport for an extra 4 hours. We got off of the first flight and ran to try to make our connecting flight. We got there with a few minutes to spare and the gate was already closed. We were standing there looking at our plane and they would not let us on it. It was not only Leanne and I who missed the flight. There were around 25 people who missed that plane. It was so upsetting. We finally made it home around 1am and I just had to wake my babies up to hold them and shower them in hugs and kisses. I was pleasantly surprised that Chad had the house sparkling clean and even bought me a new sweeper. He is a keeper!

Leaving was really hard! Katie did not want me to leave her and I did not want to leave her either. I tried to get her a plane ticket two days before we left. There were seats left on the plane, but they had increased from the $160 I paid for them in January to over $1,100. I was so upset that even the customer service representative from D*elta was reassuring me that Katie would be fine and that my older daughter deserves this time and how special it was for her..... She must have been customer service rep by day and a therapist by night. She was very sweet and helpful. While I was packing Katie climbed up on my lap and said "Momma please call the hairplane man and tell him you need a ticket for your baby girl so she can go to the competition." I cried almost the entire time I was packing. As I was finishing up this is what I saw:

Katie had packed her suitcase, put her coat on over her pajamas and was sitting on top of her luggage waiting to go with us. It was so sad I was ready to pack her up and drive to Florida. By morning she was better and I was able to leave without and tears from Katie. However there may have been a few from her old momma. It was very hard leaving Chad, the boys and my baby girl. Next year Katie will join Leanne and I and I will be planning a getaway for Chad and the boys as well. We are all going to Disney World in September, so they will get to go to Florida this year too.

The big trip

2009-03-17T09:47:00.000-07:00

Leanne and I are leaving Thursday afternoon for our big trip. We will be flying to Jacksonville, Florida for 5 fun filled sunny days. This is becoming a tradition for the two us and we look forward to it each year. We started going to Florida Leanne's first year of cheerleading. She was 8 years old and it was so cute to see her little team out there cheering and flipping. She has come a long way in those three years. She was once a shy, soft spoken little girl who didn't like too much attention. Now she is a flier and enjoys being the girl in the center of the routine. She is often challenged for her spot and I am proud to say she has not lost it yet. As we begin to wind down yet another cheer season it is nice to look back and see all that she has accomplished in such a short amount of time. I am also looking forward to the exciting new things next year will bring. I am also looking forward to a short break. Our last competition is April 3-5 and then she will only have tumbling twice a week until tryouts in May. Then it all starts over again.

Here are some pictures of Leanne when we were in Indy. There were not a ton of great shots, but there were a few cute ones. Notice the cheer faces. Even Katie opens her mouth like this when you ask her for a cheer face. They are too cute!
High Flier:

I love this face:

The home of the Stars only champions can enter. The world famous (clap, clap, clap) Cheer Center:

Getting ready to stunt:

Prima Ballerina.... Maybe not!

2009-03-16T19:39:00.000-07:00

I must admit that I have been rather surprised at how well Katie is doing in her ballet class. Not with the actual dancing, but going into the class alone. As I have been told many times "all good things must come to an end". And they ended today! Katie did well initially. She walked into class and participated for a about 10 minutes. The teacher let her come and get me to use the potty and that was the end of it. She kept saying "I don't want to do it any again!". I think she meant ever again, but she was getting her point across. To get her to go back in the class I sat her in a chair in the room and gave her a small bag of toys. I figured if I took her home when she was demanding it, I would never get her back in the class again. In my mind it was better for her just to be in the room not participating than to just pack up and go home. The teacher on the other hand did not agree...

I do not know if I have mentioned anything about her dance school. This is a dance school ran by world champion dancers. They are almost all Eastern European and they can all dance. They are really beautiful dancers. However beautiful dancing comes with a price. They are very strict. They are nice to the kids don't get me wrong. But communication skills with the parents are totally lacking. They actually have a sign in the lobby that reads PARENTS: NO FRATERNIZING WITH THE TEACHERS. Since when it is it inappropriate to talk to your childs teacher? I don't mean corner her after class and demand a report on your childs dance skills. But I do not think a "hi how is my daughter doing?" is out of line. They are also very particular on dress code and attendence. While I think all of these things are great for older kids who really want to pursue dance for a future, it may be to much for a 4 year old.

Back to the story... Katie never rejoined the class today. She did end up staying the last 30 minutes and she just sat in the chair and played with the little bag of toys. When class was over the teacher came out and wanted to talk to me. I was shocked since I had read the sign! The teacher waited until I gathered all of Katie's things and then says to me (while pointing at the toys) "I let this happen this week, but it will NOT happen again!" I was a bit taken aback, but gave her the benefit of the doubt. I explained my reason for allowing the toys, and she seemed to understand. Katie was tiered, she is having a hard time with me leaving this week and she is spoiled. We will finish out the session, since grandma paid for it, but we may just stick to cheer.

Pinewood Derby

2009-03-16T19:26:00.000-07:00

This year was my boys first year in Boy S*couts. They were so excited about joining. I will admit Chad and I really are not that into it, but we will stick it out for the boys. We didn't do as many activities as we should have, but thankfully this is a pack only for our homeschool group and they are very understanding. We have vowed to try much harder next year! Anyway- Saturday was the BIG Boy S*cout Pinewood Derby. The boys have been working on their derby cars for a few weeks. Aside from using the band saw to cut them out they did everything themselves. It was very obvious which boys made their own car and ~~who's dad made their car~~ who had a little help.

My boys were so proud of their cars and could not wait for the race. Cameron's car didn't do to bad. He almost made it to the finals. Poor little Justin's car just did not run fast as all. He actually made it into the "snail race" and his car was the second slowest of the day. He got a second place plaque (with a turtle on it) and was THRILLED! I tried to explain to the little guy that he was not in fact in 2nd place. I just didn't want him going to scouts talking about coming in second and one of the boys telling him he lost. Honestly I just let it go, because he was so excited. I don't think he would believe someone if they told him he lost. When we walked in the house he said "where should I hang this trophy"? I am going to mention to the scout master that I think the snail race was a little much and only added insult to injury. I don't think rubbing it in that you had to slowest car of the day was necessary for a group of small boys. Unless of course you are my child who can turn second to last into second to first. To be 8 again...
This is what Katie was doing while I was getting the boys ready and taking their pictures.

She kept saying "momma look at me", "momma take my picture". I think she may have a problem with sharing the spot light. I will also mention that while I was taking this picture Justin was behind her freaking out and begging me for a lock for his bedroom. Little sisters are so much fun.

Birthdays

2009-03-16T05:59:00.000-07:00

Sherry asked about Leanne's face painting in my last post. That photograph is just one of my favorite pictures of my beautiful girl. It was taken at Kings Island on Halloween 2008. We were there with Leanne's best friend and her mother celebrating the girls 11Th birthdays. Since the girls both cheer (on the same team) and we have to work around practices, competitions and fundraising this was the only day we could go. The girls loved it and had a wonderful birthday together.

With 4 kids celebrating birthdays each year (as much as I don't like them getting older) it is so much work. It seems like every time I turn around it is time to plan another party. Because of the expense and time involved in each party I had to come up with a new system. Our new system is easy. Every other year the kids have a birthday party with friends and family. On the opposite year they will have a family dinner and and activity with one friend. It seems to be working well and it is much less stress. I also implemented the party rule that all parties take place outside of the house. The kids are fine with this and it is really fun to try to find a fun place every other year. This year is party year. Katie and Justin had a joint party at the World of bounce. Cameron's Birthday is next and his party is being planned for a local YMCA park with climbing walls, zip lines and obstacle courses. That's a dream party for boys! Here are a few more pictures from Leanne's birthday activity at Kings Island in Cincinnati Ohio. They had SO much fun!

Missing in action....

2009-03-15T16:26:00.000-07:00

I have been busily getting ready for the big mother daughter trip Leanne and I will be taking this week. Leanne decided to grow a lot this winter and none of her summer clothes fit. As difficult as it was I have been replacing her summer wardrobe. Which means a lot of shopping. I know it sounds so hard dosent it;-) Anyone else tried to buy a new swim suit for an 11 year old girl? It is sooooo hard! We are leaving on Thursday and can not wait.

I have about 4 posts I am working on right now. I hope to have them all posted tonight.

Thankful Thursday

2009-03-12T19:22:00.000-07:00

Does it count as on time if you start the post on the right day???

Thursday Lisa and I took the kids on a little field trip. This field trip was different than usual, because it was for the moms. Lisa goes to a really nice little church with some of the nicest families. They have kind of taken Lisa under their homemaking wings and I have been invited to tag along. So Lisa and I were invited to bring the kids over for a day of learning. There were 14 kids there ranging in age from 3 months to 11 years old. Except for a few brief moments (Katie) you would have not even known there were children there. They all occupied themselves without television, music, computers or video games! This family lives on a small farm with a few cows, sheep and chickens. The kids played in the hay barn for about 3 hours and never once complained they were bored.

While the big kids played in the hay barn and the little girls played inside the moms had a wonderful time of fellowship. The Lord even opened the door for me to talk about foster care adoption to someone who has a heart for the parent less. Even though this family has 7 children they still want to open their hearts and home to a sibling group in need of a loving family. What a blessing that would be! While we were chatting we were also learning some very interesting things. We watched her grind wheat and she explained the soaking thing and I think I can do it. She showed us how she stores her grain and her canned goods. She also showed us how to make Keifer and re-sparked my interest in making yogurt. I also got to see and smell raw milk. I have issues with raw milk. I have always pictured it with grass and hay in it, but to my surprise it looked like milk. Very thick milk, but there was no grass, hay or dirt:) Lisa was brave enough to taste it, I on the other hand decided against it. While she was so open to sharing all of the thing she does in her home, she also reinforced to Lisa and I the fact that this was all years of progress. She did not just pick up and change everything overnight. We will get there one day as well.

My diet is going rather well. Would you believe I did not weigh myself the first day? I have decided to weigh in on Monday and use that as my starting weight. I will NOT be sharing that on my blog. I will keep that number safely in my head, for only me to know! I have done a pretty good job of sticking to my menu. We changed a few things up because we did not have the left overs I thought we would have. For the most part we all ate much healthier this week.

Now onto Thankful Thursday:

I am thankful for my upcoming mother daughter trip with Leanne. We leave one week from today for sunny Florida. We will be visiting St. Augustine that evening, going to the beach on Friday and then it is all business. Cheer business that is! They will compete on both Saturday and Sunday. Because Leanne is on a youth and senior level team, we will likely be there all day long. The girls look like they are ready and I know they will do great. However, please pray for my little Katie. She has not wanted me be away from her even to go to the store. This is going to be very hard for both of us. I am sure we will both be fine, but a little extra prayer could not hurt.

I am thankful for my sweet grandmother. She is in her 70's now, but is still as spunky as ever. She is coming to stay with me for a few weeks when we get home from our trip and we are all looking forward to it. We are planning to get a lot of sewing done. I have bought some beautiful fabric that I can not wait to turn into something fabulous.

I am also thankful again for good friends. I am so glad the Lord has blessed me with friends who are so wise and care enough about me to share their wisdom. I have also been making new friends this year. For many years my high school best friends and I lived within minutes of each other. We were always together. Two years ago her husband was transferred to Charlotte North Carolina. While I miss her dearly, this separation has forced us both to branch out and meet new people. We have both done that and are thankful for the wonderful women we have met in the process. However, I wouldn't mind if they moved back soon!

I will miss Thankful Thursday this week. I will be Thankful for a safe flight and warm sunny weather. Leanne told me before bed only 3 more days! I still have a million things to do...

Just for fun I am adding pictures of my sweet boys. There are never enough pictures of them.

What's cooking?

2009-03-08T10:09:00.000-07:00

What are we eating this week? Definitely not cupcakes! Mamma's on a diet so there will be no junk in this house. It is out with the girl scout cookies and in with whole grains, fresh produce and lean meats. Yum!!!

After two entire days I have decided to put the "diet" behind me and move forward with a more healthy way of living and eating. I think there is a lot to say for the way our past generations prepared and ate their meals. Lisa has introduced me to a few blogs, good books and the notion of getting back to the "old ways" and it really seems to make sense. Our wheat should be coming by the end of the week, along with our sucanat (evaporated cane juice) and 50 lbs of oats. Once one of us finally pushes the buy button on the Pleasant Hill Grain site and actually purchases a grain mill we will be in business. Only homemade nutritious breads and bake goods made with soaked whole grains (I still have to figure out the soaking thing) for our families. My goal is for my family to eat only whole, organic and as locally grown and raised food as possible. We will eat as little processed food as I can get away with. For what it worth, I just ordered an ice cream maker for sweet summer treats and I made homemade granola last week. The kids loved it!

We kind of started out slow on this journey. Last year we both planted huge gardens and canned vegetables and made sauce from our tomatoes. We also picked berries and made jam. We were given 5 gallon buckets of homegrown grapes and apples to make apple sauce and grape juice and jelly. Lisa even made some really delicious homemade ketchup, which I plan to try this year. Both of our families have been enjoying our labor of love all year. I will tell you it is so nice to pull zucchini out of the freezer in the dead of winter to make a zucchini bread or open a jar of summer peaches for a cobbler when there is snow on the ground.

So, here is my new plan. For breakfast I will have a protein and a vegetable or fruit. Snack will be a dairy such as low fat yogurt (I want to make my own yogurt, after I master the soaked wheat). Lunch will always be a salad with plenty of vegetables and protein. Dinner will be a smaller potion of whatever I cook for my family. I am also planning to dust of the elliptical machine and get moving. I will also be posting my menu on Sundays to help keep me accountable. I will update later in the week, to make sure I am sticking to it and to see if I am actually losing any weight. If this doesn't work, I guess it is back to the drawing board. I will it more than a day or two:) I know this will not be the most interesting post. However, it is really for my benefit. I need some accountability and seeing it every time I log onto my blog will hopefully help. So please bare with me:)

Our Menu:
*I am only doing lunch and dinner because breakfast will always be the same. We will have either oatmeal, eggs with vegetables or kashi cereal. I will always have salad for lunch. The following is for Chad and the kids.

Sunday: Lunch- turkey brats with mac & cheese and green beans
Dinner- I have a roast and fresh green beans in the crock pot with baked sweet potatoes

Monday: Lunch- turkey sandwiches, veggie slices with dip and fruit (it is open gym
at our home school group we are packing)Dinner-enchiladas, re-fried beans and rice

Tuesday: Lunch- nachos with left over enchilada stuff
Dinner- vegetable beef soup (with left over roast) with salad and corn bread.

Wednesday: Lunch- Soup and grilled cheese
Dinner- Scalloped red potatoes with ham and salad

Thursday: Lunch- Turkey dog's with mac & cheese and fruit
Dinner- sausage and lintel soup with salad and homemade bread

Friday: Lunch- Left over soup and bread
Friday- homemade pizza (with homemade crust) and salad

Saturday: Lunch- any left overs they want or tuna salad sandwiches
Dinner- Chili with corn bread and salad

For snacks this week I already hard boiled eggs, made granola and we have a ton of fruits, vegetables, yogurt and cheese sticks. Thank goodness my kids love all of that stuff. They should not go hungry even though mom is dieting.

Sabotaged by the one I love

2009-03-07T20:21:00.000-08:00

I have a really good friend named Lisa. She and I rarely see each other (even though we live 2 blocks away), but we talk on the phone several times a day. A typical conversation can change topics at least 20 times in one call. It is no surprise when she calls me with an new idea such as "let's grind our own wheat", "do you want to split 50lbs of oats", "how many coupons do you need for free cheese" and so on. These are the many reasons we get along so well. Who else can just assume you need 25lbs of oats, or will not think you are crazy if you now have 90 bags of shredded cheese in your freezer? Our Thursday conversation was not much different. After discussing many important topics such as our children's behavior and Jon and Kate, Lisa asked if I wanted to start the belly fat diet. I still don't know exactly what it is, though I do know it involves mofas, sassy water and starvation. Being the supportive friend I am, I said SURE! I went to the store the next day and purchased all of the sassy water ingredients as well as most of the other stuff I needed.

I started our new diet very well. I didn't even eat one of the cookies Lisa sent to my family. For breakfast it was cereal and milk with applesauce and sesame seeds (the mofas). Lunch was a salad, cheese stick and turkey lunch meat. There was a berry smoothie with flax oil, but since I forgot the flax oil, I skipped it. While my family was enjoying tortilla soup and cheese quesadillas for dinner, I was having bland chicken breast with mushrooms and brown rice. By 8PM I was starving and decided I was going to go to bed very early. Before bed I checked my email and to my surprise there was an email from Lisa. In the email she said let's start south beach tomorrow "we can have dessert". I can only assume my friend was starving as much as I was.

My south beach diet started with a bang this morning. By evening it was all downhill. I was sabotaged by my sweet husband. He ran to the grocery for something and walked in with about 5 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies. In the bag he had not 1 but 2boxes of Thin Mints. It is so hard to avoid the temptation of a Thin Mint. I managed the temptation for a few minutes. However, I was overcome with the thought of their minty chocolateie goodness. I caved and ate a few. Then I ate a few more and a few more... You get the picture. I guess tomorrow is back to south beach at least until I check my email.

Another Gottcha Day???

2009-02-27T16:35:00.000-08:00

We are celebrating another adoption day. Two Years and one day after we brought home Leanne, Cameron and Justin we got another call. This time it was for little Miss. Katie. The way Katie came into our lives is a true testament to God. She was an answer to my prayers and it is unbelievable (and a little funny) how this precious little girl came home.

I must start by saying that in Ohio when you are first licensed to Foster or adopt you can not have anymore than 3 children in your home for 2 years, unless they are siblings. After having the kids for about a year I was really starting to feel like or family was not complete and I really needed a baby. I knew we had to wait 2 years, but I did begin praying for our baby. I didn't know if she was already born or not, but I prayed anyway. I asked the Lord to protect her and to bring her to us at just the right time. I was also praying for Chad since he thought our family was complete. He also didn't think a baby "was a good idea". He thought I would get attached and be very hurt if the baby was reunited with her birth family. Which I am sure would have been true.

Because we had not finalized our adoption of our older children we were still having weekly visits from our caseworkers. Since Chad worked during the day it was just the kids and I home when the caseworkers visited. Early in February I casually mentioned to them that we really wanted a baby. We wanted a healthy baby girl, with no addictions, no medical issues, no siblings, straight from the hospital and going straight for adoption. They laughed and said good luck and that we may have to wait forever. I told them that was OK, I was prepared to wait and had plenty of time. Since my husband was still on the fence about adopting again I thought I had time to sway him to my side. Exactly 17 days later, the day after our second Gottcha day, I received "the call".

This is exactly how the conversation went:

Caseworker: "Lacy, I have a 2 day old baby girl..."

Me: "I will take her!"

Caseworker: "Calm down, I have to read you the entire referral first. Two day old baby girl born... blah, blah, blah, blah........

Me: only hearing newborn baby girl I again blurted out "I'll take her!!!"

The caseworker said she would put our name in and to expect a call from the county agency sometime that day. I was on pins and needles the entire 5 minutes it took for the county worker to call. She asked me a series of questions including how I felt about helping to reunify the baby with her biological mother. I am not sure exactly what I told her, but I was thinking I will do anything to get that baby into my home. She told me they were considering 4 other families and that they would call my agency soon and let them know if we were chosen. About 45 minutes went by before they called again and I was FREAKING out waiting for them to call. I prayed and cried and prayers some more. Finally the phone rang and it was the county worker again, she said she had a few more questions for me. Finally she said "we have chosen you and your husband to foster the baby. Can you be here in an hour?" Of course I could be there in an hour. I just needed to find someone to watch the kids, get a car seat and call Chad and tell him we were getting a baby. Now, please don't think I bambozzled my husband into taking this baby. It was not that he didn't want a baby, he just didn't want his wife hurting if they reunited her with her birth family. I lined up a sitter, borrowed a car seat and called Chad. We had the following conversation:

Me: "Chad, I need you to come home and pick the kids up from Malissa's."

Chad: "Where are you going?"

Me: "To pick up a baby" laughing

Chad: "Sure you are. Where are you really going?"

Me: "To get a baby!" still laughing

He thought I was joking. He said he would get the kids, but he honestly thought I was kidding.

Chad called me while I was on my way to get her. He asked me where I was really going. I again said, I am going to get a baby. He said "Lacy, I told you it is not a good idea. You will get attached and it could end badly." I assured him that I was in fact not going to get attached. I was only going to like this baby a lot and take the best care of her I possible could. He said OK and I continued on my way to the hospital.

I was so excited walking into that hospital carrying that empty baby seat. I walked up to the information desk and said "I am here to pick up a baby!" The old man behind the desk looked at me like I was crazy and said "excuse me?". I repeated, "I am here to pick up a baby". looking like he should really be calling security he he directed me to the maternity floor. When I walked off the elevator a nurse at the desk said "are you the foster mom?". It must have been the cheesy grin on my face along with the empty car seat that gave me away. I quickly told her "yes" and she escorted me into the nursery. I walked in and looked into the little bassinet and asked "is this her?" when they told me yes, I burst into tears and exclaimed "she is the most beautiful baby I have even seen in my life!" They handed her to me and asked if I wanted to dress her in the outfit I brought. I asked the nurses a few questions, signed some papers and we were on our way to the car. The nurses strapped her in while I talked a little more with the caseworkers. I felt so euphoric, yet at the same time I felt like I was stealing her. It was so emotional for me. Once I had her in the car I pulled around to the back of the hospital, parked my car and got out to look at her again. I just wanted to touch her and look at her. I called Chad from my cell phone and said "She is the most beautiful baby ever. Chad, I love her already!". Chad being the optimist said "I knew it wasn't going to be a good idea." I assured him it would be fine because she is OUR baby I could just feel it.

On the way home I had to meet our caseworker. It was a rule of the agency that they see each child the first day they were placed in your home. I met him at Babies R Us since I also had to get bottles and a few other baby essentials. My youngest was 4 years old, I didn't have anything for a baby. The caseworker held the baby and talked to me as I shopped. I was only there a few minutes and we were on our way home to meet the family. When I arrived home I took Katie out of her car seat and carried her wrapped in a blanket into the house. When Chad came over I pulled back the blanket for him to see her and he said "I love her too!" It was at that moment I knew for sure this baby was meant to be ours. I knew that children's services wanted to reunify her with her bio mother, but they were wrong. This baby belonged here in our family.

For the next 18 months children's services tried everything they could to reunite Katie with someone, anyone, in her biological family. We, along with our family, our friends and our church prayed for God's will. We prayed that Katie would be placed where the Lord wanted her. I will admit though I was guilty of praying that she was supposed to be with me. During those 18 months she visited with her biological mother weekly. Katie never bonded with her and spent most of the visit screaming and crying. She wanted me and I wanted her. During the last few months of her visits, there was a court case going on. The paternal rights were terminated and we were able to apply to adopt her. The adoption worker wanted us to finalize Katie's adoption on National Adoption Day. However, that was less than 3 months away so we had to work fast. We completed our paper work in record time, as did our adoption caseworker. Our court time was set for 3:00pm on November 15, 2006 National Adoption Day. When we arrived at the court house there were so many families finalizing at the same time. The court house was decorated with balloons and they had refreshments and gifts for all of the families. There was media there interviewing families for newspaper articles and taking pictures. It was such a blessing to see all of these children being excitedly adopted into families that day. We were joined by family and friends. There was not a dry eye in the court room as the judge announced Kathryn Dawn was now a part of our family.

Four years later I can still feel the emotion of that day. We are so blessed to be Katie's family. We love this little girl so much. Even when I thought I would never have a baby to love, the Lord was preparing Katie for me. When I thought he was ignoring my prayers he was orchestrating each step in the adoption process and opening every door at exactly the right time. I thank the Lord for bringing this precious little girl into our life.

Gottcha Day

2009-02-26T14:57:00.000-08:00

Today is our 6th Gotcha Day with Leanne, Cameron and Justin. I remember the day so well....

It was cold and rainy much like today. I was getting ready for work when the phone rang and I thought to myself "I wish they were calling with a placement, I would never have to work again". When I answered the phone I heard "Lacy, we have your kids. When can you pick them up?" I was in shock to say the least. I guess I should share how our caseworker knew they were "our" kids.

Chad and I had struggled with infertility for years. We (well I) went through many treatments including pills, shots, surgeries and a lot of tests. Nothing was working and I was getting depressed. I decided while we were "trying" I would volunteer with our local Children's Services agency and become a big sister. I took all of the classes had my back ground check and was able to be matched with a little girl about a month later. The volunteer coordinator called me with several little girls profiles to choose from. I do not know how or why I choose the child I did, without hesitation I choose a 4 year old girl named Leanne. Leanne was so sweet and quiet. In fact the coordinator told me on the first visit to see Leanne that I should not even expect her to talk to me. When we pulled up and she found out who I was she leaped into my arms and gave me the biggest hug she could. We were both in shock, but thrilled at the same time. I met all of Leanne's family including her two younger brothers.

After Leanne and I had been matched for a month or so the kids were all moved to foster care. They were moved to a really nice home in our town and I was still able to see Leanne as much as I wanted. I continued to visit with Leanne often and after talking with the foster mother, Chad and I decided to become licensed to adopt just in case Leanne needed a home. We started the classes in November just after Leanne and her siblings were reunited with their birth family. Chad and I continued our classes during the holidays and were licensed foster to adopt in February 2003. While we were taking the classes we told the agency we would only take temporary placements so we would not be full, just in case Leanne needed a placement. The agency had not called us for anything and we were beginning to think they never would. Seventeen days after we were licensed we got "the call". The lady from the agency called and asked us to take Leanne as well as her 3 siblings. Oh, and they wanted us to pick them up in 3 hours! I called Chad at work and had him come home. We scrambled to get a crib, more beds, dressers and mattresses. We had to get diapers, clothes and food all the things people have months to prepare for and we had 3 hours.

Walking in to pick the kids up was the most surreal feeling ever. We were so excited to be getting them, yet they were so sad to be leaving their family. They were so sad, yet looking into those dirty tear stained faces I knew they were meant to be ours. We piled our new family into the car and headed to tar*get to finish getting the things we needed. We were on our way home at almost 10:00 when I looked at Chad in horror and said "we need to feed them dinner!". I promised them that would be the last time I fed them at 10 o'clock ever again. We took them home and got everyone settled. We dropped into bed around midnight exhausted from the emotions of the day.

My life has not been the same sense. I went from being a lonely and depressed young women who was longing for a baby to hold. To a mother of 4 getting hugs and kisses, volunteering at school and snuggling on the bed reading bedtime stories. I can not imagine building my family any other way. The Lord created these children to be our children. For us to love and cherish like no one else could. I thank him for his gift each and everyday. I love these kids more than life itself. They are my REAL children, they are REAL siblings and we are a REAL family.

Not flesh of my flesh
Nor bone of my bone,
But still miraculously my own.
Never forget for a single minute,
You didn't grow under my heart,
But in it.
~Author Unknown

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATIE

2009-02-25T17:33:00.000-08:00

Today my sweet little Katie turned 4. Her birthday has been a very difficult thing for her momma. All of my friends and family know I do not want this baby to grow up! I hate the thought of her not being little anymore, it makes me so sad. I am handling the actual day very well. However, I have had a few moments when I hear her say something or do something that makes me realize she is really not a baby anymore and I catch myself tearing up.

Katie brings a smile to our faces and joy to our hearts each and every day. I can not imagine life without her. She is a precious gift from the Lord and I thank him each and everyday for hand picking her for our family. I think of Katie's birth mother today and know how sad she must feel. I know she longs to hear her sweet giggles and see her dance. I know she loves her and misses her terribly. I pray that God would allow her to feel how much Katie is loved and cherished. There is no way for me to tell her this, but I know the Lord can comfort her broken heart.

Katie was still awake last night at midnight so Chad and I sang Happy Birthday to her before she fell asleep. She has asked me to sing it several times today. She is so cute:) We celebrated her birthday as a family this evening. We had a nice dinner and Katie requested a strawberry shortcake for her her special cake. It was sooo good! We also took her to Tar*get and let he pick out a gift. She choose a Fancy Nancy dress up outfit, a pair of sunglasses and a pack of sidewalk chalk. She was so cute walking through the store with her sunglasses on carrying her basket of birthday goodies. She is so adorable that everyone we walk passed couldn't help but look at her and smile. We will continue the celebration tomorrow with dinner out with family. She will love having the waiters and waitresses sing to her. After tomorrow the celebrations end until next year when she is 5. Oh my that is scary!!!

I am one of "those" moms...

2009-02-23T18:27:00.000-08:00

My mom has been after me to put Katie in dance classes for a while now. I have been dragging my feet because...well, she is only 3 and it is just one other place for me to go during the week. Finally grandma said, "please put her in a class and I will pay for it". Katie started ballet class this evening. I was not sure how it was going to go. This is the child who would not cheer because I could not go into practice with her. She is also the same child who has been going to our home school group for almost 2 years and has been to her pre-school class a total of 3 times. She does not leave my side by choice.

Today started out totally different than most Mondays. Katie got up and let me pick out her clothes and fix her hair with out crying. Usually she is crying because it hurts when her hair gets brushed and her mean mommy will not let her wear a swim suit everywhere she goes. When we got to our home school group she willingly went to her class ALONE! She walked in and said "you will pick me up in 40 minutes right mommy?" I assured her I would be back and she was fine. I was sure dance class would be terrible because she had went to her class and she didn't take a nap. I could see her starting to doze off in the back seat on the way to her class so she and I started singing songs. We sang, the ABC's, 10 little monkeys, every nursery rhyme and bible song I could think of and then I resorted to the hand games we played as little girls like Miss Mary Mac and Miss. Lucy had baby. I was desperate to keep her awake. All of my hard work payed off and she stayed awake for the 20 minute drive. When we walked in she would not talk to anyone and hid behind me. Her teacher asked me a few questions about Katie and then she said "how does she do with separation?" When I told her not well she turned to Katie and said "Katie, we are going to go into this room and have our class. Mommy's have to sit here on the couch and watch you on that television. Can you go into the room please?" Without any hesitation Katie took off her coat, handed it to me and ran into the room for her class. On the television I could see her dancing and having a wonderful time.

While I was watching Katie in her dance class is when I realized I was one of "those" moms. You know the mom who thinks her kids are the cutest, smartest, funniest and better at everything than every other child. Okay maybe I am not quite that bad. As I was watching Katie I was thinking to myself things like.... She is so talented! I wonder if her teacher can see what natural dance talent she has? She is THE BEST dancer in the whole room. I could not stop myself from thinking these things. I had a grin on my face and a tear in my eye watching my baby dance across that wood floor. That is when I knew I was one of them. Honestly though she was really good!

(I will add some pictures of my little ballerina tomorrow. My camera battery needs charged.)

Cameron

2009-02-21T08:26:00.000-08:00

Cameron is my "middle" child. He really is the sweetest little boy. He is so laid back and just goes with the flow. All of those reasons are why Cameron as horrible as it sounds often gets lost in the shuffle of having 4 kids. Now, he gets plenty of attention and I spend just as much time shuttling him to and from activities as everyone else. It just seems like he doesn't get as much one on one time. Maybe it is because he is a boy and talking to his mom is not high on his to do list? I am not sure, but Chad and I are both trying to take a little extra time each day and talk to him privately, take him places alone and give him a few extra hugs.

Last night Cameron asked if he could have a sleep over at the neighbors house. At first I said no. He as never stayed anywhere except family (or friends who may as well be family), so saying no seemed like the right thing. I quickly decided to let him. He would be just across the street and he is almost 10 years old. So I told him he could. Cameron was so excited! That changed as soon as he got there and the other mother remembered they had plans early in the morning and said they would have to reschedule. Leanne was already going to a sleep over at the gym and when Cameron had a place to go Justin immediately called his grandma and asked to stay with her. Katie joined in on Justin's sleep over and they where on their way to grandmas for the night. Now Cameron has no where to go and he was so sad.

Chad decided that they would have father/son night. He took Cameron to get a new pair of tennis shoes since he really needed a pair. They then went to a movie where he let Cam have popcorn, candy, a hot dog and pop. I NEVER let me kids eat food at the movie theater. I do buy one popcorn for them to share, but I am just to cheap to buy all of the other stuff. They also played pinball at the theater. I stayed at Leanne's sleep over until 11:30 and when I got home the guys were just pulling in. I woke Cameron up early this morning and took him out to breakfast. We talked about his new baseball team and his upcoming football camp. When we got home this morning Cameron gave me a hug and said thanks for the great night. I am so glad we were able to take a little bit of time with our sweet boy. He had great time and so did we.

Thankful Thursday (I know it's Friday)

2009-02-20T06:56:00.000-08:00

I know I am late again! I had planned to post this last night. Then I realized I had DVR'ed all of my weekly shows and I needed to catch up. There are only 4 shows I really love to watch, so it was not a huge undertaking, but I did want to watch at least one. The kids where exhausted and all fell asleep by 8:30, so it was a perfect night for vegging out. Now onto Thankful Thursday.....

I am thankful for restaurants. Chad and I have made a plan to only eat out once per month. This is not the first time we have made this plan. We frequently break it, but we do try. It is just so easy to run through and grab something to eat on the way to cheer, football, baseball, dance, tumbling, scouts.... You get the picture. Anyway, we have decided a few weeks ago to try it again. We have done really well. I have cooked homemade nutritional meals for the last two weeks. I have made almost all of our bread, pizza dough, cinnamon rolls, homemade chicken noodles and so much more. We have actually not drank any pop or ate anything processed. It is so hard and I am ready for some takeout. Chad is taking us out for Chinese food for lunch this afternoon. We are all excited.

I am thankful for Cameron. Each and every time I make something for him to eat (4-5 times a day) Cameron thanks me for it. He always says "thank you for the good food mom" and then he hugs me and gives me a kiss. It is so sweet.

I am thankful that our rental property is rented. I listed it last Sunday and it was rented by Monday. We rented it to a very nice young couple who are trying to get thier kids in good schools and into a nice neighborhood. I am so thankful we do not have to make that house payment for at least the next year.

I am thankful for my steam mop. My kids love that crazy thing. My floors have never been so clean.

We are off to the rental house to meet the carpet installers. My tenants will have nicer carpet than I do as well as a nicer stove. There are some plans for new appliances here too. I desperately need a new oven. After we meet the carpet people we are picking up Leanne's brand new to her cell phone. She has no idea she is getting it today and it going to be SO excited.

Buddy the Beta

2009-02-18T12:56:00.000-08:00

Justin woke me up this morning with terrible news. Buddy the Beta has passed away. If you remember Justin received Buddy as a birthday gift from a little girl from our home school group. Justin is broken hearted about the loss of his new pet. When he is ready we will be replacing Buddy with a new fish.

Today? No! Today?

2009-02-17T18:52:00.000-08:00

I love taking Leanne to cheer practice and tumbling. We get a lot of one on one time and have some really interesting conversations. This is the time when we talk about life, things that may be bothering her, her hopes and dreams etc... Today was no exception. We have been looking for a new (used) cell phone for her. She cracked the screen on hers and can not see anything. On the way to cheer I mentioned to her that someone had emailed and let me know they had one for sale in her price range. She can not go over $75 dollars since her terrible and mean parents are making her pay to replace it:) Anyway- I told her about the email as we were pulling up and she had to run into practice. On the way home we had the following conversation:

Leanne: Did you email the person today?

Me: Yes

Leanne: No... I mean today?

Me: Yes, I did.

Leanne: No... I mean like today today.

Me: Yes, Leanne, I emailed the person today, like today:) I said yes when you asked me. Twice!

Leanne: Ohh.. okay I thought you meant like a few days ago.

Sometimes this girl worries me! She is definitely a cheerleader. You just have to love her!

She really wants to have her new phone by Friday. Her team is having a sleep over at the gym for some team bonding. The girls invented a new game tonight and a working cell phone makes it so much more fun. They are calling it Text and seek. I am serious! They were playing tonight and having a blast. The girls take turns hiding in the gym and then they will text each other with clues as to where they are hiding. I remember the good old days when we just played regular old hide and seek. When the only clue someone had to where we were hiding is when they heard you yell ready. Those where the good old days.

It's all my fault!

2009-02-15T07:38:00.001-08:00

On Friday I had to make an early morning T*rget run. Chad had offered to work my Bingo cheerleading fundraiser, so I could stay home. Before he left I ran to T*rget because some things I have been watching were being marked down to 75% off. I only had about an hour, so I had to shop fast! I bought a really nice chair for Leanne's bedroom (she is getting a more grown up room) and headed to the check out. The chair rang up at $7 and both the cashier and I knew that was not correct. As someone looked for the correct numbers for the chair the cashier and I had a nice conversation. She told me she had a cold and was not feeling well. I replied "we have been so lucky, besides one weekend with the stomach flu, we have not even had so much as a sniffle". This is where I went wrong. I called Chad on the way home and asked him to have the kids get ready, we were going "T*rget hopping" to look for some deals. When we got to the first store Cameron looks at me and says "Mom, I don't feel good. My head hurts". We went home and he took some Tylenol and a nap. He is feeling much better. On Saturday morning I felt terrible. I have a terrible sinus thing going on. That will teach me to brag about not being sick all winter!

My friend Lisa shared her Valentines tradition with me a few years ago (I shared my Christmas in July tradition with her). She decorates in all pink and red and has a party all day with her family. I started doing the same thing last year with my family. Despite being sick, I tried to follow through and make the day special for my family. Katie and I got up and made homemade donuts with icing and Valentine sprinkles. For lunch they had heart shaped sandwiches. I made yummy organic fruit smoothies last night for the kids and their friends from across the street. We skipped Valentines dinner and will be having it tonight with Chad (he was working last night). We will have heart shaped pizza and strawberry ice cream for desert. We will also give each of the kids a small gift. The boys are getting air hog battling helicopters, Leanne is getting a case for her new cell phone and Katie is getting new wooden food for her kitchen. I gave Chad a nice card and he gave me roses.

We will continue to celebrate Valentines Day with our home school group on Monday. After our classes we will have a party. We will pass out Valentines cards and eat homemade goodies. I will be taking chocolate chip cookies and Leanne wants to make brownies. The kids are working on the 200 Valentines right now. Each of the kids needs to make 50 cards! Katie is cutting construction paper for her cards and she keeps saying "scissors are for paper, not hair! Right mommy?". She is so cute!!! We will also decorating shoe boxes with stickers and hearts. I remember doing these things in school. I am so glad I can give my kids the same good memories I had as a child.

We are off to t*rget to pick up some clearance Valentines stuff. In a few years I will have as much Valentines stuff as I do Christmas! I think I need an intervention!

A Born Again American

2009-02-13T04:23:00.000-08:00

I liked this. I will write more of my thoughts later:)

Thankful Thursday, Abe's birthday and a follow up

2009-02-12T13:22:00.001-08:00

Today is the Bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth. To celebrate his 200Th birthday our State House was having a "birthday party" complete with speakers such as the Governor, senators from around Ohio, a Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court and let's not forget there was cake. My friend Lisa and I decided to take the kids. We are always looking for a way to get them out of the house where they are still learning something. We were also entertained by a fourth grade class dressed in period clothing who recited the Gettysburg Address, they were pretty cute. After the program concluded there was a Lincoln historian we wanted to wait and see. We had some time so we looked at the displays and Lincoln artifacts and headed down to take a tour of the State House. The kids loved the tour. We were able to step inside the Senate Chamber where we were able to see a mini session of Legislation in action. After the session was over the President Pro Tempore came over and asked the kids a if they had any questions for him. Of course they didn't have many, but they asked a few and he took his time to talk to us and was actually funny. He shared a little saying that Lisa and I thought was quite funny. He said "There are 2 things you never want to see being made. The first is sausage and the second is legislation!" We all had a good laugh. I thought it was very nice of him to take time out of his schedule to talk to 4 homeschoolers and a few adults. We finished our field trip with the kids favorite place....The gift shop!

After our trip downtown, Lisa took the kids home, so I could get to a doctors appointment. I was actually going in for a third opinion and I am so glad I did. He said what I have is called: focal complex hyperplasia with atypia (in my uterus). Sounds scary doesn't it? He said "your body is basically growing it's own cancer cells". There is a pretty good chance it is actually cancer already (based on a scale, one doctor said he would consider it cancer, 2 said not yet), but it is not a fast growing or aggressive cancer. I can avoid a major surgery by taking a high dose of progesterone daily. I will have to be monitored and have a biopsy done every 4- 6 months. If anything changes while they are monitoring it, I will have to have "the surgery". On a good note, there is a chance that after several more D&C's the cells could be totally gone. So I will just think positive and hope that the latter happens.

Onto more happy thoughts. It is Thankful Thursday again. I am on a roll for the last two weeks! There are so many terrible things going on in our country right now. I do however have faith that GOD is in control and these things will eventually turn back around. During these tough times it is nice to be able to concentrate on the good things even if it is only once a week.

I am thankful for:

1.) A heath care system that though flawed in many ways can and does save lives and cure diseases everyday.

2.) Being able to take my kids out of a classroom and teach them myself. Being able to watch them learn about things like our judicial system by sitting in a Senate Chamber instead just reading it out of a book.

3.) Rainbows! Yesterday after a terrible rain storm there was the most beautiful double rainbow outside. I took the kids outside and showed them and they were in awe. The beauty of our earth is amazing.

4.) My kids. I can not imagine where my life would be without them. I imagine it would be quiet:) But not nearly as entertaining or exciting.

5.) My mini van. I never thought I would drive a "grocery getter" but I am so thankful for it. I can sit each child in a seat where they can not touch each other. Genius!

I will end with a cute conversation Justin and I had about the field trip today.

Me: "We are going to a 200th birthday party for Abraham Lincoln."

Justin: "Awesome!!! He is really old!"

Me: "Jus, he died a long time ago. This is to talk about him and celebrate his life."

Justin: "How long will they be talking? Do you think it will be more than 45 minutes"

Me: "Probably, there will be several people there"

Justin: "Can I just stay home? If it is longer than 45 minutes I get very bored!"

He is so funny. He ended up staying home with Katie and Chad. He was upset when we got home because he missed.... The gift shop!

Bouncing, fish, arrows and ponies ohh my....

2009-02-08T15:18:00.000-08:00

We had the big birthday bash today. I think all of the kids had a great time. Actually, I think the parents did too!!!

Justin and Katie have wanted to have their birthday party at The World of Bounce since before it was open. They painstakingly watched all of the construction through a glass window while at Leanne's cheer practices last summer. I promised them if it was finished in time we would celebrate their birthdays there. This was an awesome place for a party. They were so organized and everything ran so efficiently. It started as soon as we pulled up! We were given a huge bin on wheels to load all of the things from our car into. It made carrying the food, gifts and all the party extras so easy. There was no need for running back and forth 50 times to the car. We were then assigned our party "helpers". We had 3-4 young girls and one young man who helped with every need we had. The kids played in the bounce room filled with huge inflatables and Chad and I socialized as the girls set up everything. It was so much easier than cleaning and decorating right up to the minute the guests arrive at my house and spending hours cleaning up after they all leave. The kids had 1 hour and 15 minutes in the bounce room and were then moved to the party room. Once in the party room they were served pizza and juice. We sang happy birthday, blew out the candles and had cake. The kids then took turns sitting in the inflatable throne to open their presents. Since this was Justin's second birthday party we let Katie go first.

Katie received so many great gifts from our friends and family. Daddy and Mommy got her S'mores the pony, a new pair of cowgirl boots and a nice tea set. She also received, princess dolls, baby doll clothes and accessories, the rest of the furniture for her rose petal cottage, art stuff, beautiful sparkly shoes, wooden kitchen food, games, a pink doctor kit and dress up clothes. I am sure I am forgetting something, there was a lot of stuff. She loved everything and is having a blast opening it all and playing with it.

Justin also received many wonderful gifts. Daddy and Mommy got him a new remote controlled car, a baseball pitching machine and a camping set with a compass and flash light. He also received, money and gift cards to his favorite store T*rget. He also got a fish from a sweet little girl in our home school group. It had been previously approved by mom:) Our newest pet is a blue betta fish. Justin LOVES this fish. He had a hard time naming him. He was going to call him Fredrick, but "he just doesn't look like a Fredrick", so he settled on Buddy The Betta aka. Buddy. Another huge hit was a homemade bow and arrow set made by one of Justin's best bud's Seth. It is really neat and actually works. I know this because as I was sitting on the couch this morning the arrow went flying over my head. Don't worry it will not put an eye out. LOL! He also received art stuff, games, a nerf gun, bionicals, lego's and a science kit. Justin also truly loves all of his gift and is making bouncy balls right now.

We really did have a great time. Everyone we invited was able to make it. Most of the parents stayed so Chad and I were able to enjoy ourselves as well. Katie looked adorable in her custom birthday petti skirt and top. I also had a set made for her Bitty Twin, but we forget to take her to the party. The cakes turned out great. Justin choose a volcano cake and Katie had a fancy cake. We all arrived home from the party exhausted. That is the sign of a good party!

I must tell the story of Justin's cake. Justin could not decided what kind of cake he wanted. He wanted baseball, soccer, outer space.... anything he could think of really. So he and I started searching the internet for the perfect cake. We found a great cake decorating site that has every party theme you can imagine and the cakes are made at home. He quickly decided on the volcano cake once he saw it smoking. Being the over achieving mom I am, I decided to go for it. Now, I am by no means a professional cake decorator, but I am also not a novice either. I ordered the dry ice and made a list for the cake store. I ran into a huge problem when I went to look for my airbrush. I had loaned it out to a girl from cheer. When I emailed her to see if I could pick it she conveniently didn't have it. She also had no recollection of borrowing it. Even though I dropped it off at her house.

Anyway- I then spent two days trying to find a airbrush and air compressor to make Justin's volcano cake. Four stores, 50 phone calls and $300 dollars later, I had a working air brush. I made his cake and it turned out really cool. I am so glad I was determined to get a new airbrush. Justin loved his cake and it was huge hit at the party. I told Justin not to ever think I don't love him. Only a mothers love would make spending $350 to make an 8th birthday cake not seem ridiculous. I'll need it for something else right?

Ohh... and if anyone needs a volcano cake for an upcoming party, I know someone with an airbrush!

Thankful Thursday

2009-02-05T21:10:00.000-08:00

I have missed two Thankful Thursday since I started my blog. I am really going to try to get better. Thursdays just seem to be a busy day of the week for me. Maybe I should do Thankful Wednesdays? It just doesn't have the same ring to it!

Today was not a great day. Everyone seemed to be in a funky kind of mood. We did a lot of running around in the car, so that could have had something to do with it. We had waffles for dinner and that seemed to lighten the mood a bit:) Well since it is after midnight I think I will keep it short and sweet.

I am thankful for...

Choices: The freedom to live in a nation where we can choose as we see fit. We can choose who to vote for, what to believe in, how to educate our children and so on.

Snow: I will admit I do not like snow. It is pretty and nice a few times a year. We like snow on Christmas, but rarely get it. What makes me thankful for snow is how much my kids love it. As soon as the first flake falls they are ready to get outside and play. I watch from inside my warm house and make the hot cocoa when they all come in.

My mom: As crazy as she made me while I was a teenager, I am so thankful for her. She has taught me so much about life and being a good mother. Her love is invaluable to me. She is a great mother and extraordinary grandmother.

Coupons: I know it sounds weird, but I am truly thankful for coupons. They allow me to save money for my family. I can feed my family an save money for the fun stuff.

Chloe: Our little dog Chloe. She is my dog. She follows me everywhere she can. She loves me unconditionally. She snuggles with us when we are sick and makes us smile when we are sad.

Just wanted to point out that I added pictures to some of my older posts. Scroll down to take a peek!

Why is it so hard???

2009-02-04T12:39:00.000-08:00

I have a confession to make... Katie has had a bed full of clean laundry for several weeks. Please don't think her beauty sleep has been interrupted by this. She is not sleeping among the piles of gym*boree and baby g*p. She is nestled between mommy and daddy in our bed. I know, I know, it is a BAD habit! Back to the laundry story...

It is not that I do not put her clothes away. There was literally no place to put them. Her closet was crammed full and her drawers were so full you could barely open and close them. The girl has way to many clothes! I think I have a serious illness when it comes to dressing this child. Here is where it gets difficult. I decided I finally had a few hours to devote to going through her closet, the dresser and the boxes of clothes in her closet I have been saving. I started with the drawers and it was not hard at all. I moved to the hanging clothes in her closet which was still pretty easy. When I started the boxes everything changed. I opened the first box and almost cried. This was not even the box clearly marked clothes to keep forever, DO NOT GIVE AWAY! so I knew it was going to be bad. Chad and I then had the following conversation:

Me: So, you are positive you do not want to adopt another baby, right?

Chad: I'm positive

Me: You're sure? Because once this stuff is gone, I can not get it back.

Chad: I'm sure

Me: I just don't think I can do this.

Chad: There is not reason to hold onto that stuff she will never wear it again.

Me: I can not give away all of the gym*boree. I just can't do it!

Chad: Sell it!

Me: Are you sure you do not want to adopt another baby?

Chad then left the room smiling. He came back a little while later to see how I was doing and asked me if I needed a tissue. Such compassion:)

After our conversation I brought out the big guns. I sent Katie to ask her daddy for a baby sister. Katie truly believe she has a baby sister in China. Her name is Lilly and we will be "picking her up on a big hair plane", she is "very tiny and very cute". She came back a few minutes later and said "daddy said no baby sister".

So, it is was back to the task at hand. I was able to finally thin her closet out and put all of her laundry away. I have 2 trash bags of clothing to bless a family we know with a sweet little girl younger than Katie. I also have another bag to donate to the the local thrift store. I had about 20 pairs of shoes, winter coats, snow pants, more jackets than any child needs and enough bathing suits to start a large swim team.

Now her room is clean. Her bed is cleaned off and her closet and dresser have room for me to fill. Katie could even sleep in her bed tonight, but I won't push it!

Confessions of a bad blogger and other ramblings....

2009-02-02T18:09:00.000-08:00

I will admit it.... I am a bad blogger! I want to blog everyday. In fact there are many times a day when the kids do or say something and I think "ohh...I should blog about that". I just do not get to blog as much as I would like. I have also missed two Thankful Thursdays. I am still thankful for many things and while I am not sharing it on my blog I am sharing it in prayer and that is where it really counts.

I wish I could find a few more hours in each day. I just have to many things I like to do and many more things that I HAVE to do. Unfortunately blogging has to take the last spot in my crazy life. So, what has been keeping me so busy the last week or two?

First is school. We are so behind. Luckily, I have heard that from about every other homeschool mom I know as well. I think it is the winter blues. We are so done with being in the house all the time. Come on spring!

The second thing that is keeping me from blogging it my house. It has taken on a life of it's own. I can not get on top of it. It really seems like as soon as I clean something there is someone right behind me making a bigger mess.

Third would have to be cheer. We have had 2 day competitions for the last few weekends. We have also had extra practices and Leanne started a private tumbling/stunting lesson on Monday evenings.

The forth would be T*rget. Each year after Christmas they discount most of the toys down to 75% off. This is when I like to stock up for the little kids birthdays, friends birthdays, the "gift closet" and things to donate at Christmas time. They usually have the toys discounted befor Justin's birthday. This year however I think they decided to drive us (Lisa and I) CRAZY! They dragged it out for weeks. We had to make many trips each week until the finally made the big mark down. After all of the trips would you believe we missed it? It was a sad day in around here. Luckily my mom saved the day. Her store marked down the day after all 7 we checked and she got us all the things we wanted. Thanks Mom!

The last thing that keeps me from blogging is my favorite. Every time I sit down to blog, Miss. Katie crawls on my lap and asks me to hold her. How can I say no? She is so sweet. A few nights ago i rocked her to sleep in my office chair. I am sure I do not have many more nights left to rock her to sleep. So I will cherish each one I can get.

I will end with a few things that are coming up. They will hopefully be blog worthy.

We have the BIG birthday bash for Justin and Katie on Sunday. They can not wait to spend the afternoon at World of Bounce with 25 friends. I will spend most of Saturday baking a decorating birthday cakes. The boys will be getting their Boy Scout Pinewood Derby Cars this week. Leanne is gearing up for Cheer Nationals in Florida, so mom is looking for gift idea's for 37 girls who have everything. We have a Valentines Day Party at our home school group next week, so we will make boxes and decorate Valentines. I will also bake cookies for the cookie exchange. We are picking our 4-H projects this month. We were going to do a duck and rabbit until I learned the fate of the animals after the fair. Let's just say you do not bring them home to be the family pet! We also have science fair projects for our home school groups first Science Showcase (which I volunteered to organize). I love this stuff. I think that about does it until Spring when we will start getting ready for cheer try-outs, camping and planning our summer day camps and field trips. No wonder I can not find the time to blog!

Why do they have to grow up?

2009-01-24T21:22:00.000-08:00

Chad and I had an entire evening and night alone. No kids!!! The girls went to my moms for the night and Chad's parents have the boys. We will not have them until sometime tomorrow. I MISS THEM! The girls started calling about 15 minutes after we left them, so I think the feeling is mutual. The boys on the other hand.... well, at grandma Linda's the boys have a 12 year old cousin, video games and a new puppy. I had to call them!

Chad and I went to dinner tonight all by ourselves. We got seated right next to a table with two young couples and their sweet little babies. They were not as cute as my babies (I may be a little biased), but I could not stop looking at them. That is when it hit me HARD! I do not have any babies left. I have 3 school ager's and a pre-schooler. I almost cried in the Mexican restaurant. I do not know how it happened. One day I was the proud mother of little tiny, adorable, sweet smelling little kids. Now they are practically grown. Leanne will be leaving for college in the blink of an eye and THERE IS NO WAY FOR ME TO STOP IT. I want them little again! I want them little forever! I want them to need me to fill sippy cups of milk and tie shoes. Is there some way to get that back? I tell the kids all of the time "if I had a magic wand I would keep you like this forever". But time just keeps moving.

Honestly I do not know where the time has gone. It seems like my days go by faster and faster turning from days to weeks to months and then years. It will be six years ago next month that Chad and I walked into that office and brought our children home. I knew the moment I saw them all standing there with all the possessions they had in trash bags, that they were my children forever. I knew looking into those sad little faces that I needed them and they needed me. For months after that life was hard. It was not like those silly Hallmark movies I used to watch. Having kids was not all picnics in the park and trips to the zoo. It was stinky diapers, temper tantrums and mounds of laundry. But, this momma would do it all again if I could have them little for just one more day.

Since I can not turn back the clock, I guess I will have to find a way to get passed this. I have been assured by friends who have older children that I will come to a point in my life where I enjoy them being independent. I am not sure this will ever be true for me. I guess I will just have to keep trying to talk Chad into adopting a baby from China or Vietnam or Africa....:) That should help! Right?

This is one of my favorite pictures of Justin and Katie. Only kids can get away with such fashion. Yes, my son was wearing a coon skin cap and Katie boots with shorts, in public. They are only young once!

All Cheered Out

2009-01-19T06:50:00.000-08:00

We are home from Indy and we are all cheered out!

Chad and I took all 4 kids to Indianapolis this weekend for the Jamfest Nationals Cheer competition. Both of Leanne's teams were competing, so we thought it would be a nice family weekend. Not so much! Thousands Cheerleaders in one building is not my idea of family fun (there were over 500 teams with between 15 and 35 girls each). I think Justin said it best this weekend when he said "this is the stupidest vacation I have ever been on!" I would not call it stupid, just crowded, noisy and hot. The kids were cranky from the lack of sleep and there was honestly nothing for them to do except argue with each other and watch cheerleading. We all know how much I love cheerleading, but it was even a bit much for me.

We stayed a Mar*iot Res*dence Inn and while the room looked nice I am pretty sure the walls were insulated with toilet paper. It was so loud at night we could not sleep. I am sure the fact that the hotel was over run by teenage girls (more cheerleaders) didn't help. We started our Sunday at 6:15 AM. That was when we turned on the lights. The kids were all up at around 2:20 AM having a "party". At one point we walked in on Justin standing on the bed on top of his pillow "surfing". The other kids though it was hilarious. I threatened them with grounding and losing Ds's among other things for several hours before I gave up and just turned the lights on. We were up so early they were not even serving breakfast at the hotel yet. That is not right!

The rest of the trip was nice. We borrowed my friend Lisa's pink GPS. It was great. At one point however it did start yelling at me:) It was saying "turn right", but it was not giving me the directions until it was to late to make the turn. Finally it started saying "turn right, turn right, turn right...Turn LEFT!!!" It was so funny. I am pretty sure I confused the thing. We finally arrived home around midnight last night and boy was it nice to sleep in my own bed.

I guess I should mention how our teams did. Leanne's youth team finished 11th and her senior team finished 9th. Both teams had great performances. On the second day the youth team had the best performance ever. So even though the girls didn't finish as well as we hoped in the standings.... they did wonderfully. The looked great, had a ton of energy and most of all had fun. We could not have asked them to do better. I am so proud of all of them!

Here are a few pictures of Leanne throwing her back tuck. The second one is her moments after she landed it. She is very proud:)
(These are pics I copied from a website. We bought the CD but it takes 4-6 weeks to receive. I will replace them with the correct ones when I get my CD)

This is what happens when a tuck does not land. The poor girl fell on her face this summer when she was learning her standing back tuck. She broke her thumb and her nose. She faced her fears 4 weeks later by getting back on the mat and perfecting that tuck!

8! and Then Some

2009-01-14T11:21:00.000-08:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JUSTIN!

My little Justin is 8 today. I can hardly believe it. It seems like just yesterday he was a sweet 2-year-old little baby boy. Justin has grown into a wonderful little boy. He is so sweet and loving. Justin loves to give hugs and still likes to cuddle with his mama. He is so smart and is so very funny. Justin is very strong willed and will not back down when he thinks he is right. We love Justin so much. The memories of Justin's first 6 years with us are priceless. I can not wait to see what the future holds for him. I know he will do something wonderful.

To celebrate Justin's special day we had a family dinner at home. He really wanted to go to BD's Mongolian BBQ, but we got ALOT of snow today and the roads were terrible. Justin settled for McDonald's, since it was a close second anyway! He also got to choose his cake, so we had a chocolate cake with chocolate icing. Yummy! He opened his gifts from us and he loved them all. Jus got a remote controlled skunk, a new scooter and helmet, a metal detector and a small steel safe with an alarm (to keep his siblings out). All of his gifts were a huge hit, but he really loved the metal detector. He can not wait for a nice day so he can go out with his pal Seth and look for treasure.

We always end up celebrating the kids birthdays for several days. We celebrate once with family and once with friends. Justin's "fake birthday" (that is what he calls it) will be held on February 7th at the World of Bounce. He will be having a joint party with Katie that day. We will have the place to ourselves for about 3 hours, so each of the kids can invite 12 friends. They are both really looking forward to their party.

I will end with a cute story:

When Chad woke Justin up today he told him Happy Birthday. They then had the following conversation:

Chad: "Well Buddy, now that you are 8, it is time to get a job!"

Justin: "What do you mean?"

Chad: "You know work. You have to get a REAL job."

Justin: "Ohhh! Like at BURGER KING?"

He is so crazy.

(For some reason the spacing is messing up on this post. I will try to edit it again later!)

Thankful Thursday (on Saturday)

2009-01-09T13:06:00.000-08:00

I was so busy yesterday I did not have a minute to post on Thankful Thursday. The terrible thing is I really don't remember what I did yesterday. I think my kids have sucked every ounce of intelligence out of my brain. I love them dearly, but they are exhausting! Truth be told, I would miss them like crazy if they were not with me every waking minute of the day. However, I will not lie and say I do not day dream about them all being in school all day. I think of lunch dates with friends, reading books, grocery shopping alone (before 10pm), having a clean house because they are not making messes all hours of the day..... A girl can dream.

This is going to be short and sweet. Princess Katie has shared her flu with me. I am so sick! I feel horrible, but I can not lay in bed for another minute. I feel so terrible that I sent Chad to a cheer competition with Leanne today. Dad is being "cheer mom" for the day. He took Katie with him, so it is just me and my sweet boys whom I last saw playing video games and drinking a diet Mt. Dew. I was too weak to correct them. Back to Chad.... He deserves and award or something. He helped Leanne get ready and even double checked her bag to make sure she had her "spankies for her second uniform". I was shocked the man remembered. He did not attempt the cheer make-up. Who can blame him? It involves glue and lots of glitter, but I would have loved to see her after he did it:) I called my great friend Shelly and she agreed to go early, do Leanne's make-up and help her change into her senior uniform and re fix her hair, make-up and bow for the second team. She will also help get her to the right people at the right time. I am sure Chad is thrilled to be there. Don't worry though Katie will keep him occupied! He will have a new understanding for me when he gets home!

Now back to Thankful Thursday (on Saturday). I am so glad I decided to join the other bloggers who participate in Thankful Thursday. I have found myself thinking about what I am thankful for all week. Thinking about what I am thankful for has helped me in other areas as well. I have always prayed everyday. Lately though I have found myself in a little rut. I thank the Lord for the usual things, my salvation, my husband and my kids, but lately I have been asking for more than I am thanking him for. In the last week I have found my time in prayer to be a lot more in depth. I have realized I need to thank the Lord for the small stuff I take for granted every day. There is nothing to small to praise God for. Our God is GOOD. I am adding to my goals for this year. I would like to start getting up earlier than the kids and spending some time in prayer. We start our school day with prayer, but I need to be praying personally each morning for my children and our day. I need to begin my days on the right foot. I will do this everyday next week and hope that by next week on Thankful Thursday I am able to feel a difference.

Here is this weeks list. In no particular order:

1.) Adoption: There was a time in my life I thought I may never be a mother. It was such a low point in my life. I was overwhelmed with the feelings of sadness, grief and hopelessness. I could not understand why this was happening to me. Through adoption all of those feelings are now gone. Adoption also saves lives. It saves the lives of helpless babies who may not have ever had the chance to take their first breath. Adoption saves orphans from a lonely life in an orphanage in Asia, the streets of Africa or the foster care system of the United States.

2.) Vacation: I am thankful we are able to take our family on vacation. There is something so wonderful about leaving all of the cares of life and spending a week away. Whether it is hitting the beach, going to Disney or just camping, spending uninterrupted time with my family is priceless.

3.) Our Troops: I am so very thankful for the men and women of our armed forces. I am also thankful for their families. They sacrifice so much of themselves, time with family and for some their life, to protect this wonderful nation of ours. I recently watched my friend send her son off for training so he could head to the Middle East to protect our nation. She is so sad to see her baby boy leave. Yet she knows this is where he wants to be. Please continue to pray for the men and women serving our country. Whether or not we support the war, we have to support our troops.

4.) Salvation: I am so thankful for my Salvation. I am thankful that through the grace of God I know where I will spend eternity. I have peace in the fact that once I close my eyes forever here on earth I will open them in eternity. I know I will be in Heaven. I find comfort in knowing this. I am thankful that through the blood of Jesus, I am saved.

Only 4 today. I am heading back to bed. Please pray I am better by tomorrow. Leanne's competition continues tomorrow and I want to be there. I NEVER miss her competitions. I have big time mommy guilt!

(I know it says I posted this on Friday. I started it on Friday, but posted it on Saturday. I am not crazy!)

I'm a CHEER MOM!!!

2009-01-07T09:57:00.000-08:00

As most of my friends know Leanne is a cheerleader. Not the "Go Team Go!" type cheerleader, but the ESPN, flying in the air, flipping all over the place, dancing and jumping type cheerleader. When people hear Leanne say she cheers it is usually followed with something like "show me one of your cheers". To which she will reply "I don't know any cheers!" while staring at them like they have 3 heads. This is All-star cheer and all of the girls think they are stars. So do their mothers, but that is a different post:)

Leanne spends a minimum of 15 hours per week at cheerleading. She does not mind at all. In fact, I have to practically drag her out of the gym after each practice. She just loves it! One of my dearest friends just can not understand why we love this sport so much. I don't really know either. I think the glitter, sparkly outfits, fake hair, the lights, music and the thrill of the stunting is what Leanne likes. I think the reason I am so into it is because Leanne really excels at cheerleading. Leanne started cheering right after she was placed with us. She was so shy and sad. Cheerleading really brought her out of her shell. She is a totally different little girl. I like to think some of it was excellent parenting, but I will give credit where credit is due:) Cheerleading gave her the confidence nothing else could in that difficult time in her life. I don't know if I would feel as strongly about it as I do, if she was not so talented. But, I can honestly say "My girl is GOOD!". Or maybe I am living vicariously through my daughter? Hmmm... That something to think about:)

Cheerleading has instilled so many wonderful traits in Leanne at such a young age. As a homeschooler she does not have to work with groups of her peers. She works at her own pace and has no one to be accountable to. Being part of a team has taught her:

1.) How it is necessary for the whole group to work together to make a something work.
2.) How to work together with a person she may not really like.
3.) How to be a part of team.
4.) How having a positive attitude is always important.
5.) Life does not always work out the way you want it to.

I am sure there are many more lessons she has learned on her team, but those are the 5 she could come up with when I asked her.

Leanne and I get to spend a lot of quality time together because of cheer. She and I spend a lot of girl weekends together (we usually bring Katie along too!). We have had a mother/daughter trip to Florida for Nationals for the last 3 years. We will be going again in March and we are both looking forward to it. I hope as Leanne gets older she will look back at all the time she and I spent together and realize how much I loved being with her. Leanne is such a loving, sweet, caring, smart and beautiful young lady. I am honored to be her mother.

I have the best intentions....

2009-01-05T08:48:00.001-08:00

Today was our first day back to school after our long Christmas break. I had grand plans for how this day would go. The first thing I decided was there would be no phone calls for me today! I was not placing one and I was not going to answer the phone. My next goal was to wake up at 6:30, get a shower (before afternoon! I was shocked too.) I was going to come downstairs alone, before the kids got up and read my Bible (I am so bad about this) and pray for a productive and peaceful day. I would get the kids up, have them get dressed and make breakfast. I would spend some time with Katie while the big kids did independent seat work. I would take turns working with each child, while someone played with Katie and the other child had quiet reading time. After talking to my good friend Lisa last night, I decided to give each subject a time limit. That's right, no more math for 2 hours. You get 45 minutes and then it is homework. Homeschool homework and dad could help them we he gets home. Brilliant! I had solved all of our problems in one night, with one call to a very wise homeschooling friend. I was so excited for today. I had even made the copies I needed, in advance. I was really on a roll last night. I was ready to brave the much dreaded copy work. Life was good....

All mom's know nothing ever goes as planned. As I was peacefully dreaming away last night I was suddenly awaken by the sounds of Princess Katie getting sick. Being 3 I was pretty sure she had not made it to an appropriate place for this to happen. You guessed it, she was in her bed. Which as luck would have it is also be my bed (read with much sarcasm). Yes, the princess snuggles right next to mom in the big bed every night. I was horrified. So instead of starting at 6 a.m. my perfect day started at 2:30. I know this doesn't seem like a huge deal to a lot of mothers. Sick kids happen! I however am not that kind of mom. I don't "do" vomit! I don't like to see it, smell it, hear it or do it. All of which are hard to avoid when it is happening right next to your pillow. I am the mom who will hand you a towel from outside the door and lysol after you are finished. I am not the hair holding, back rubbing, it's going to be okay kind of gal. I HATE it! In fact I was on a 10 year streak myself until the "incident of 2008". But what's a mother to do when her baby is calling for her. I held her hand, rubbed her back and cleaned her up. I thought it was a fluke, that maybe something she ate didn't agree with her. She seemed to be her normal bossy self: "I need pink jammy pants", "not that toothpaste it's to spicy", "I need a new pillow", "call the doctor in the morning".... you get the picture. She was bouncing around on our nice clean bed and seemed normal. So, being the kind mother that I am, I tucked her in, kissed her head and had "the talk". The "if you have to be sick again please, please, please make it to the potty" talk. Being the kind sweet little girl she is, she made it there the rest of the night. It was not a fluke, I have a sick baby. Poor little thing!

I now have Katie watching Barney, Justin is in his room in trouble and the older kids doing silent reading. The day is not totally lost. I will do better tomorrow. After all, I can not solve all of life's problems in one night. But, I do have the best intentions.

Home Sweet Home

2009-01-04T09:04:00.001-08:00

I have not blogged in the last few days because we have not left our house all weekend. Sometimes I feel so old and boring! Seriously though, it is not often that we can stay home. We are always on the go. I think poor little Katie has spent most of her life strapped in a car seat going from one event to another.

To give you an idea of our weekly schedule:
Monday: AM. Home school Group (when in session) PM. Tumbling
Tuesday: AM. School PM. cheer practice, starting 1/6 Katie's dance class
Wednesday: AM. School PM. Cheer practice again
Thursday: AM. School and Justin's Speech therapy PM. Tumbling for both girls and Scouts for both boys
Friday: AM. School PM. Nothing
Saturday: From September- April our Saturdays are filled with cheer competitions, football or baseball games.
Sunday: Leanne cheers from 2-8 and we have the day off.

Now we have to add in doctors appointments, dentist/orthodontist appointments, trips to fix broken glasses, cleaning, cooking, laundry and grocery shopping. Let's not forget a few random trips to the ER for stitches or broken bones. My kids only get sick or hurt over the weekend and after hours! We actually had stitches in the back of the head (Justin) and a broken thumb and nose (Leanne) last year. In the spring we add 4 weekly baseball practices, which to keep things fun for me usually include at least one night of both boys on different fields at the same time. In the fall we add 4 nights a week of football practice. Throw in the occasional field trip and it is easy to see why I am never home. What I don't understand is how people think home schooled kids are "un-socialized"?

Back to this weekend.... We played board games like Lucky Ducks (one millions times), yahtzee and monopoly. We actually finished two games of monopoly. We tried to play clue, but it still seems a little hard for some of our kids. However, the thing we have had the most fun with this weekend is my new steam mop. Go figure! Hundreds of dollars spent on new toys for Christmas and my kids are fighting over a steam mop. On a positive note, my floors have never been so clean!

We are now off to cheerleading practice. Katie is going to Grandma Tina's and the boys and I are having a nice afternoon together. Tomorrow is the end of Christmas break. Back to our normal schedule. I am exhausted just thinking about it!