D.C.

So we're going out of town to visit my brother in the DC area. I probably won't have "easy" access to a computer, so I won't be back to blog until Tuesday or Wednesday. Hope everyone has a great Labor Day weekend. Here's some of the sites I expect to see. It's actually counting as a "field trip" at least on one day. I havent' been there in 2 years, and Eric hasn't been there ever. The kids are dying to go and see their cousins, Kaylee and Andrew.

So, while it might be hard, try not to miss me and my family too much.

Oh NO! It's already started.

I can't remember if it was today or the other day, but somehow Luke and I were talking. The topic was how cute he was, and how big he has gotten. Then I told him that he was a baby at one time, and I asked him if he knew that he came out of mommy's belly. He said, yes because of course, he's had two brothers since then so is used to this idea. I then went on to tell him, and I'm not sure why, but I told him that his daddy had put him there. He looked at me, and said, "You mean he opened you up, put me there, and then closed you up again?" Of course, by this time he wanted more info, but I just quickly changed the subject. I was so not ready to talk about "that" right then. Shoot! I need at least another 10 years before I might even be remotely ready for that! Sure did make me chuckle though.

One year "Blog"-iversary

It's been one year to the day of when I started "blogging." I wasn't very faithful with it at first, and in fact didn't do it for about 3-4 months, but along the way I realized that it was cool, enjoyable, relaxing, and fun to Blog.

I like writing things down that happened during the day. I also like relaying my thoughts down. I like to think that I might make some one laugh at the happenings in our lives, or at least chuckle. It has also helped me realize that I LOVE my life, and don't think that I would change a thing about it. I love my boys! I love my husband! I love where I am right now in life!

If, when I was in school, you would have told me that I would learn to enjoy expressing my thoughts and writing them down, I probably would have laughed at you. But, I find myself looing forward to blogging and getting it all out. Sometimes I probably write more than I should, and sometimes not enough. But, all in all, it's been a good year of blogging, and enjoyable year.

And thank you, all of you who read my blog. Thank you for helping me discover this hobby. Thank you for leaving comments or for just making my counter go up on more count. I look forward to another great year.

a typical Tuesday

How can a child do this to his shoes??? I mean one minute the sandals were just fine and now....they are completely destroyed, completely unwearable! I guess boys will be boys on this one! (btw....these are Luke's shoes, and he said that this happened "everywhere." I think what happened is that he go his shoes caught on something and pulled hard??? I don't know! No idea where this happened although I know that it happened today. At least I hope it happened today, and that he hasn't been wearing them like this for a long time.)

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Well, let's move onto Jakeb. We're all in the guest service desk at the grocery store returning something (and actually getting something since I forgot my bananas and bread when i was there at 4:30 in the morning) when Blake was messing around and touching something that he shouldn't have been touching. I reminded him of the four rules that we have when we go out in public. And then I heard him. I heard little Jakeb reciting the rules. Shoot! I never even knew he really understood them, but there he was listening to me talk to Blake about the "rules," and saying them out loud. So basically, I found him out. I found out that he understands EVERYTHING we say now, and just "pretends" not to understand. So SNEAKY!

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The older boys played their first soccer scrimmage today. It so funny to watch a whole bunch of 4 and 5 year olds run around kicking a ball. It's even funnier to see their parents screaming at them from the sidelines, "Get the ball! Take it from him! No, wrong way! Get it!" As though these little kids can even really hear their parents or even care what they're saying considering their parents are the ones who made them come out there in the first place. Anyways, the all the kids did much better than Eric and I anticipated. Blake was even able to play goalie a little bit.

Ali and Elsie's book

These are two books that I bought before my no-spending spree, so don't be thinking anyone gets and $$$$$. Anyway, these books are AWESOME!!! Tons of great ideas and challenges that I can't wait to try out. I mean, they are VERY COOL! A must have if you're into scrapbooking!

PS. Stephanie, this post is just for you since you love scrapbooking sooooo much!

A tribute to Marcus

c
In the news here for the past couple of weeks, since August 15, there has been a little boy missing from the surrounding area. This little boy's foster mother passed out in the park, and when she came too she told the police and paramedics thatthere were four kids with her. All of them were accounted for except her 3 year old foster son, Marcus. He must have wandered off was the conclusion. So for days people combed through the area looking for him. He was not to be found though. Cops started looking at the foster family and kept catching them in lies. Almost 2 weeks later, they have finally proved that the foster parents locked this poor little boy up in a closet in their house, went on vacation for two days, and came home to discover that he had died in the closet. Then they disposed of his little body by burning his remains. And the whole park....wandering off....that was a whole cover-up that the entire family was involved in.
How anyone could do this to any child is beyond me. NO child deserves this.It makes me sad. It makes me want to strangle the involved people. It makes me want REVENGE, but it also makes me so THANKFUL for my boys and the fact that God gave them to Eric and me. I'm thankful that my boys will never have to be put through anything remotely like that, God willing. With God's help, Eric and I will be able to keep our boys safe from any type of harm. And that is why I'm so thankful.
I was reading the story online when Luke came into my room, and I just looked at him in such a way that made me realize what a huge blessing he is to me. And so are all of my boys. I am so thankful that God gave them to me, and sometimes I forget that.
This, by far, will probably not be anyones favorite post that I've posted, but hopefully it will make you stop and smell the roses and be thankful for the people who God has put in your life.


I also encourage you all to say a quick prayer for Marcus' biological family. He had a mother, a brother, and a sister. They will need your prayers at this horrific time in their lives.

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On a happier note, I watched this movie tonight. You've got Mail with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. There were a lot of other people who are now famous on it too like the girl who works with Meg Ryan on the movie is the winner of the pageant from Miss Congeniality. Anyways, I watched this movie probably about 7 or 8 years ago, right when it first came out on DVD/VHS. But for some reason I didn't like it at all. Niki has been telling me that it's one of her all-time favorite movies, and I just can't see how our tastes could be that different. So I watched it again. I thoroughly enjoyed it this time, every single part of it. I can't figure out why I didn't like it the first time around. That was back when I was in college, so maybe, that's why. Or, believe it or not, I didn't understand the whole "internet" thing very well, so that could have been it too. Regardless, I love it this time. You were right, Niki. It ranks up there close to the top.

Eric cleaned

Eric cleaned the bathroom and the kitchen the other day. I know, everyone is pretty shocked. Shoot! I'm still shocked. It looked nice. He was pretty proud of his organizational skills. Note: Everything is facing the front to where it is easy to see what everything is.

As everyone know, I have made the "vow" not to buy scrapbooking stuff until after Christmas/the New Year. Today, we were on our way to the restaurant when somehow Blake mentioned a scrapbook store. I looked at him, and said, "We haven't been to a scrapbook store in over a week. " His response was something like this, "I'm feeling really good about that!"..................from the mouth of babes....

1st accordian album

This was my first accordian album. It was kinda fun to make and very easy. If I can do it, anyone can. This album is for a friend of mine who obviously just had a bachelorette party. It was a good time.

Kmart & Sonic

Hating, but enduring K-MART!

List of reasons to hate Kmart:

1. Always seems dirty and run down.

2. Never has anything you absolutely need like the gallon of white milk I needed yesterday.

3. Never has size 5 or 6 Husky pants when they are on sale.

4. Aisles are always messed up.

5. There's no one ever at the dressing room, so you're not sure if you are supposed to go in or wait.

6. Children easily hide in racks while you are searching for clothes.

7. Then you think you're children are lost only to have them scare you to death when they pop out from the middle of the rack.

8. Bathrooms are dark and dingy and always in the scary part of the store.

9. They always only have one person working the checkout.

10. And of course, there are 20 people in line with tons of stuff.

11. When they do open up an extra register, everyone else beats you there because you have a cart and 4 kids.

12. The person in front of you has a problem with something that they rang up wrong, and then you have to wait longer.

13. You finally get up to the register and the receipt paper is out. (okay, so that didn't happen today, but it has before.)

14. When they ring something up wrong and you correct them....the cashier leaves the register to go check, instead of sending someone else.

15. When the cashier is gone, everyone gives you dirty looks as if it's your fault, and not Kmart's for marking it wrong.

16. Then the cashier is normally short with you because you made them do their job and go look up the item.

17.Then they always ring something up wrong again.

18. Process starts over.

19. They don't have any of the rebates coupons that they are supposed to have for the item you specifically bought to use the rebate on!!

Reasons to endure KMART:

1. They have buy one get one free pant sales. (I got 5 pairs of pants for less than $35. Of course, be my luck, they fall apart.)

2. Their pants are made larger than most, so the elastice 4/5 fit Luke just right. (Otherwise the 6/7 fit in the waist, but the crotch and length of the pants don't. )

3. They have good clearance sometimes. ( I got 3 pairs of pajamas including a shirt, shorts, and pants for $5.)

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SONIC and I were also not friends yesterday. I had promised the boys that if they were good in the store. They were extremely good, but they were okay, so we went. Normally the drive thru taks forever, so we just went to one of the parking spots and ordered our DRINKS!. We ordered a Large Dr. Pepper, a Large Chocolate Coke, and 2 small waters. That's it, nothing else! So we waited, and waited. The person who we would have been behind in the drive thru left, and we still waited. We listend to someone Karaoke horribly, cringed tremendously, and STILL PATIENTLY WAITED. Okay, so maybe the patience was running out. (By the way, the person who sang was so bad even the boys were complaining.) So, we're waiting....and waiting. Now, mind you I can see inside of Sonic where all the young adults are standing there pretty much just talking to each other. So I buzz them again

Marshan, speaking politely "I've been waiting here for about 10 minutes, and all I ordered are drinks. Are they coming?"

Sonic Worker: "All you ordered were drinks? Oh, are you the one who ordered a Large chocolate coke and Dr. Pepper and two small waters?"

Marshan: "Yes, that was me."

Sonic workers: "Oh, we'll get that right out to you."

5 more minutes pass. Marshan is fuming. Patience is not really her virtue.

Sonic worker comes to Marshan's car.

Sonic worker: "Here's your order, Ma'am. It'll be #3.48."

Marshan, acting extremely annoyed: "Is there someone I can talk to about this? I've been waiting for 15 minutes for some Cokes. I don't think I should have to pay for these now."

Sonice worker, looking sheepishly: "Oh, don't worry about it. Here you go."

Marshan, passing out the drinks, gives what she assumes is the chocolate coke to the boys. She had tasted it, but it didn't seem to chocolatey. She assumed they forgot the chocolate. One of the small waters had a whole in the cup, so it is leaking everywhere. She starts up the car, exits Sonics parking lot, pours some of HER Dr. Pepper in to Jakeb's sippy cup since he didn't have a drink now. She proceeds to bring the straw to her mouth and sip: CHOCOLATE DR. PEPPER!!!!! She tastes the extreme sweet, chocolatey flavor and has the urge to spit it out, but forces herself to swallow. She is beyond furious. She gives the boys the chocolate crap, and sips very little on the coke, so thankful that she did not pay for any of the drinks.

30 things to do before I'm 30

1. Be done having kids! '04
2. Own a home. '00
3. Have at least one car paid off. '03
4. Bungee-jump
5. Be caught up on my scrapbooks
6. Lose 30 pounds.
7. Have all my kids potty-trained.
8. Help Eric plan my surprise 30th birthday party.
9. Take a photography class.
10. Go to a bed-and-breakfast with Eric.
11. Do the B&B Riverboat.
12. CKU would be nice again!
13. Take a family vacation.
14. Be out of credit card debt.
15. Have a vegetable garden.
16. Have a huge party at my house. '06
17. Straighten my hair. '05
18. Go see Niki in North Carolina.
19. Make an album about special memories of my childhood.
20. Get a new hairstyle.
21. Plant a tree.
22. Go a whole day without yelling at my kids.
23. Enjoy homeschooling.
24. Use all my stamps at least once.
25. Get away for the weekend with a friend.
26. Re-do my kitchen.
27. Get a new dining room table.
28. Have 20 kids in King's Kids.
29. Help out in building our new church building.
30. Enjoy being in our new church building.

28

So the other day, Eric took Blake to Kroger to get some milk. Of course, they bought other stuff too which is always what happens when you sned a man to the grocery store. But that's a whole other story. Eric bought some Hershey Kissables candy for Blake and Luke to share. I told them that they could have it the next day after lunch.
So the next day, it was finally time to eat the candy. Blake had a brilliant idea to share. He proceeded to explain that he would get 5 pieces of candy because he was 5, Luke would get 4, and so on. But when he got to me, he told me I would only get because I'm 28. I said, "WHAT?" So I emphatically explained that since I was 28 I would get 28 pieces of candy. (Now, note, I don't even like this candy, but I was trying to prove a point. Not sure what the point was, but...)Blake then decided that his original plan wouldn't work to well to his advantage and decided that everyone would just get 2. I told him absolutely not! I was getting my 28 pieces of candy.
So I opened the package counting out candy: 5 to Blake, 4 to Luke, 3 to Jakeb, 1 to Kaleb, and 28 to me. And wouldn't you know it? There was just enough in that package to cover all of us. Well, Blake, of course, was very upset, almost throwing a fit, that he had to give me 28, especially since he was only getting 5. And Luke, being the kind brother that he is, gave his 4 pieces of candy to Blake. (Now, I think there might have been ulterior motives for that. He might have figured that I would be proud and give him more candy.) And, of course, I did give him more....18 pieces to be exact. Kaleb and Jakeb got 5 more pieces each, and poor Blake, only got the 4 extra that Luke gave him. Hopefully next time he won't throw a fit.
(Did I mention that while all of this was going on, Luke spit chicken nugget crumbs out of his mouth, looked at it, and shoved it back in his mouth? The kid will never pass up food!)

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2Peas challenge for today was: your favorite books as a child

I absolutely adored the Babysitter's Club books by Ann M. Martin. I must of had all of them that were out at the time. I think I had 1-60 and then 1-6 special editions. That was my dream as a kid to have my own little "baby-sitter's club." Never happened although I did some baby-sitting. I loved those books. What's sad is that I still have them all packed away. I was surfing the web the other day and found out that she stopped making them. I was so distraught. I did find out that there are 131 BSC books out, not to mention the special editions. How am I going to get them all? And why would I need to get them? Shoot, I even had a couple of their original movies from back in the early 90's. I was searching the ebay the other day and found out that they even made Barbie dolls!!!!! Man, why didn't I have those when I was little?
Some of my other favorites books were Follow my Leader by some Garfield guy, and Key to the Treasure by Peggy Parrish, and Mandie books. You must understand, I love to read. I have always loved to read. So books were a daily part of my life when I was younger and still are.

Tales from the Potty II

Okay, so potty training is pretty much done. I’m sure there will be an occasional accident for Jakeb, but he’s got it down. He’ll actually tell us when he has to go potty which is a first. None of the other boys ever did that. We just had to tell them to go which was a pain because we would inevitably forget. So, anyways, as I was saying, Jakeb has got it down. He came up to me today and told me he had to go poo-poo. So I go in there with him, get him settled on the toilet with his little computer, and then he looks at me and says ever so politely, “Will you get out of here, Mom?”

A funny sight

Here's something that made me laugh the other day when I was out with my friend, Terani. I followed this car around in the parking lot just to get the picture. I mean, seriously, why would someone spend all this money on their wheels, but leave their car in a horrible need for a paint job. Of course, then again, they probably spent ALL of their money on their wheels, so they couldn't afford a paint job. Anyway, it just made me chuckle when I saw this. Enjoy! (oh, I didn't even notice the "Now Hiring" sign before his car until now. ha! Maybe he's going to try to get a job so that he can get his car painted!!)

I altered something!

So one of the huge crazes in scrapbooking and papercrafting is altering. I've altered very few things, in fact, nothing has really turned out too great. But these, I think, look pretty good. I made them from Frappucino bottles. (Thanks to Roy and Terani for saving me theirs!) I'm storing my buttons in them. They're not completely filled, but that's okay. I still like them.


Here's something else that is kinda funny. Kaleb swiffering. He was cracking me up running back and forth across the living room swiffering away. In fact, the giggle that went along with it was priceless. He likes to help clean.

This past weekend

Okay, lets see what did I do this past weekend?

On Friday night, I went with my friend Mindy to a crop. I'm not usually a crop person because I inevitably forget something at home. But I went and had a good time. I got 5 or 6 layouts done, and I made about 26 note cards. Got home about 11:00, and then went to work about 1:00.

Saturday, we vegged for awhile in the morning. Some of us vegged until 1:00pm, no names included. Then we went over to Roy and Terani's house for the big She-bang. Everyone came except for KENT!!!!! (Kent, that one is for you, man!!) He was supposed to come, but he said he was "sick." (I'm just kidding, Kent!) I'm always a little paranoid about going over there because I'm going to get her house all dirty especially with the kids. She says she doesn't care, but well..... So let's see....I spilled pickle juice all over her counter and floor, kicked a Diet Coke all over their brick walkway outstide, and then Jakeb knocked over her glass soap pump in the bathroom. So much for being careful. But beyond that, it was a good time.

Then Sunday was church which I already posted about yesterday. We had Answers in Genesis at our church yesterday. They were awesome.
This past weekend I also got a few of my packages that I ordered before the new "resolution." I got myTechnique Tuesdays Masterpieces of Paisley set. Oh my word, there's a ton of stamps in there. It was the only place I could find them in stock. I also got my Cropper Hopper vertical storage units. (I should have bought 10.) So I spent some time organizing my paper again. I think it's going to work out very cool.

Looks nice, doesn't it?

Answers in Genesis

Answers in Genesis came to our church today. They were phenomenal. I thoroughly enjoyed it. AIG (Answers in Genesis) is basically a Christian organization centered in on creationism, defending the faith, and preaching the word. Here's an excerpt from their web page about who and what they are:
Answers in Genesis is an apologetics (i.e., Christianity-defending) ministry, dedicated to enabling Christians to defend their faith, and to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ effectively. We focus particularly on providing answers to questions surrounding the book of Genesis, as it is the most-attacked book of the Bible. We also desire to train others to develop a biblical worldview, and seek to expose the bankruptcy of evolutionary ideas, and its bedfellow, a “millions of years old” earth (and even older universe).
AiG teaches that “facts” don’t speak for themselves, but must be interpreted. That is, there aren’t separate sets of “evidences” for evolution and creation—we all deal with the same evidence (we all live on the same earth, have the same fossils, observe the same animals, etc.). The difference lies in how we interpret what we study. The Bible—the “history book of the universe”—provides a reliable, eye-witness account of the beginning of all things, and can be trusted to tell the truth in all areas it touches on. Therefore, we are able to use it to help us make sense of this present world. When properly understood, the “evidence” confirms the biblical account.
The speaker, Carl Kirby did a great job speaking. I really enjoyed how he showed so many fascinating animals that are great evidence that God did create the world, but yet the greatest evidence is the Bible itself. (The animals included a frog that could release a glue subastance as a defense mechanism, a bug that could actually be frozen for 3 months and then unfreeze and be fine, the emperor penguins and how the mom knows exactly when to come home after her baby hatches, and so many more. It was so clear to think that the evolution process is impossible because of so many fine details that these animals go through to survive. I mean if evolution was true, how long did it take the glue frog to realize how to process and make the glue, and probably by that time, it would have been to late, and would have been eaten by a predator.
I don't know. It's so crystal clear to me that it's so hard for me to even phathom why people wouldn't believe in God. I also like to think about the fact that if God cared enough about the animals to put all of this in their natural instincts, He must care about us so much more. I mean, He sent his only Son to die on the cross for our sins.
Well, Check out Answers in Genesis. I think that you'll be intrigued. They are actually opening a Creation Museum next spring. Can't Wait!
Oh, and they also have a lot of books and videos on their website. I really thought the ZOO GUIDE was cool. It's a spiral bound book that can be taken to the zoo with you to tell interesting facts about the animals. Now you're probably thinking, "Hello, Marshan! The zoo already does that for you." Yeah, well, sure it does if you like to think about 30 billions years ago,and so forth. This book shows the creation side of the animals, the true side. We got a copy for our kids. Can't wait to look through it.

Music to my Ears

This morning, I was awakened by Jakeb coming into my room and saying, "Mommy, I have to go potty!" He was dry from all night. I think he's really "getting it." Did I mention that he's learned how to stand up and pee like his brothers.

Updated: He's been completely dry for two days, even through naps and overnight.

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Top Five books I read this summer:

Designing with Patterned Paper by Ali Edwards

52 Scrapbooking Challenges by Elsie Flannigan
Found by Karen Kingsbury
When Joy Comes to Stay by Karen Kingsbury
Like Dandelion Dust by Karen Kingsbury

Top Five movies of the summer:
Devil Wears Prada
Click!
X-Men 3
24 seasons 1-3 (Does this count?)
CARS

Top Five favorite moments of the summer:
Getting Jakeb potty trained
Going to the Ayers Family Reunion
Kent and Eric's Firework Exravaganza
The older boys starting Soccer
Jakeb's birthday

Row your boat

When did Jakeb learn to sing this? I have no idea, okay, well maybe Dora or something. He's pretty cute singing it, huh?




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On to a sadder note...I started my new "resolution" too soon. QVC is having a scrapbooking day. Lisa Bearnson is going to be selling lots of yummy stuff. (Did I just say "yummy?") She will have her third book in her series and this really cool holiday card kit for sale. Why is she doing this to me? This is such torture. They look so cool. I must be strong. I will be strong. I can be strong!

Hey, well, at least everyone knows what I want for my birthday and Christmas now. (For all those wondering, my birthday is in November.)

Tales from the potty!!!

So yesterday, he was dry all day. Not a single problem. In fact, he's learned the art of standing up. His aim might not be very good, but he can stand up. Only problem is....it's hard to explain to a 3 year old when he needs to stand up and when he needs to sit down. (almost had a mishap yesterday with that!)

What did he say the other day that was so funny? Oh, yeah, he was sitting on the potty, and I told him to go potty. He said, "Which one, Mommy?" meaning which kinda of potty. It made me chuckle.

Anyway, so like I said, yesterday he was dry all day. That even includes his nap. And overnight, was almost dry. So we are definitely entering the "almost trained" stage. Pretty excited.

Three down, one to go!

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On to another note, you must check this out. It is so me!!! Scrapbook Diva Hahahaha!!!! The potty one really made me laugh, and then 99 scrapbooks and no pictures of me. So funny. Shoot, she even had big hair like me! Even my kids were watching it and laughing. They even thought it was me, and the little boy going potty was Jakeb. Jakeb was quite proud that he made it on the computer song with his potty skills.

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So plans for tonight are scrapbooking with Mindy at her old church. Hopefully, my babysitter comes through for this afternoon, so that I can go early and not wait for Eric to get home. Of course, I still have to get all my stuff together.

Happiness

So a friend and I were talking the other day about happiness. And along the way, a question was asked along the lines of this: "Can you be happy if you are not in God's Will?" Here's my opinion, although it's probably not worth much. I think you can only be "Truly Happy" when you are in God's will. I think that there are a lot of people in this world that say that they are happy but deep down, they know that there is either something missing from their lives or they know that God is not where He should be in their lives. So what if your jobs stinks? Or what if you and your husband can't get along? What if you just totalled your car? What if you kid is terminally ill? As long as God is number One in your life, everything else will fall together. I mean, sure I know that hard times strike even when you are in God's Will, but you have God to back you up, man. What could be better than that?He is the reason for Happiness. Without Him, we have nothing. With Him, we have EVERYTHING!

I'm done! No more! If I do....I owe all of you $5 each. Hold me to it!

Okay, so I'm am absolutely DONE buying any type of scrapbooking supply for the remainder of the year!! Okay, so actually there are two exceptions....one is I might buy the ATG Tape gun when I run out of adhesives, and two is if I join the Stampin' Up club in October and the is $25 or less per month, but I'm gonna see if I can wait until January to join that. Oh, and I can buy blades for my trimmer. Obviously without blades, I can't scrapbook very well. That's it. No exception on my end. Here's the catch. If any of you are with me, or see me, or read on my blog that I bought something, I have to give you $5. Five whole dollars for you! Hold me to it!!!! Now I bought a few things some websites yesterday, but that was the last day I was allowed to buy anything. I have been cut-off by myself. (Anything posted in the next couple days referring to what I bought is from yesterday or before. I'm waiting for a few packages to arrive.)

A big scare

So we went to the brown park. I was pushing Kaleb in the swing and I remember looking over at Jakeb in the grass. Next thing I know is that he lying on the ground crying. Then I watch him get up, try to walk, and then double over in pain and crying at the same time. I couldn't figure out what was wrong. Then he told me....HE FELL OFF THE SLIDE!!! Anyway, you could tell he was hurt. How seriously, I wasn't sure. I was pretty nervous. First I tried to calm him down and inspect him to make sure there was no red marks or anything. All appeared to fine except for him saying that his back hurt. So I wasn't sure what to do. I figured if he felt well enough to keep playing he was okay, but if not, then...... He got up to play for a second, and then decided that his back hurt too much to play. So off to the Urgent Care we went, only to find out that the Urgent care that we went to wasn't an Urgent Care until 6:00 pm. ARGHHH!! Now you must realize that he hasn't cried in about 20 minutes, and from the occasional "my back hurts" he seemed fine. So I went home, called the doctor, described it to him, and he said he was probably fine, that maybe he got the wind knocked out of him or something.

That was this afternoon. Now it's evening and haven't heard anything about the back, so everything is fine.

dream job

2PEAS CHALLENGE: What was your dream job as a child/ What is your dream job now?

I remember when i was little, I would play "school" at home with my dolls. I had attendance cards for them and sometimes ever report cards. I also remember my friend, Janice, and I would play school at each other's house taking turns on being the teacher. We'd get our books out and read to each other, and tell each what to do. So that's it, for as long as I can remember, I've always wanted to be a teacher. (Okay, for a while there, I thought it would be cool to be a toymaker, and play with toys all days. I REALLY liked my Legos.)

That's it now, too. I still want to be a teacher. I am afraid, however, that if I ever make it back to the classroom setting to teach, that I won't enjoy it anymore. One of these days I will find out. I know, you might be thinking that I AM teaching since I'm homeschooling, but it's not quite the same thing. It's my own kids which should make me enjoy it even more. I'm really gonna try to get into this year and teach my heart out. Maybe pretend that I'm in front of a classroom again.

You know, there is one more "dream job" that I have.....to be a photographer. I would love it!

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HIGH SCHOOL

2 PEAS CHALLENGE WAS: Did you enjoy highschool? and what was your favorite subject(s), why?

Did I enjoy high school? Well, that depends on which year. My freshman and sophomore years were okay, but my last two years of high school were the greatest! I had great friends, great times, great boyfriends, and did I mention great times??? My junior year, I finally had a "real" boyfriend that boosted my self confidence although by the end of the year, we broke up. But by then, I had started hanging out with the "right crowd" and I felt like I was "cool." Now even back then, I knew that being cool didn't really matter, and because I had been on both sides of the fence, I never really took sides. I was friends with everyone regardless if they were "cool" or not.
The summer between my junior and senior years, I was at camp and accepted Jesus Christ as my own personal Savior. Now I had grown up in a Christian home my entire life, so this was a complete shock to everyone. It was the last night of camp at the WILDS in North Carolina. I had been under conviction the whole week. It was the closing service, and we were about to go home back to Florida. I remember wanting to just talk to my youth pastor's wife, Mrs. Ford, and not wanting to go forward in the invitation. But I started worrying that if I waited to talk to Mrs. Ford, so much could happen between now and then. What if the bus got in a wreck or caught on fire? Then I would never get to go to Heaven. I remember "thinking" I got saved as a little girl.Throughout the years, I remember asking God to save me over and over. When I was 13, I even once went and talked to my Pastor telling him of my doubt and asking how to get assurance of my salvation. But Tom Farrell spoke that week at camp about salvation. He said, "How can you get assurance of something you never even had?" That got me to thinking, maybe all of this doubt and confusion is because I never was saved in the first place. I mean, I could say the words until I was blue in the face, but only God and I knew if I meant them or not. I had never actually repented of my sins, and asked Jesus to come into my heart. So instead or waiting to go talk to Mrs. Ford, I ended up going forward, and I accepted Jesus into my heart. After that my life was changed. I knew that God was forever with me, and that I would never have to doubt again if I was going to Heaven when I died. I only hope and pray that all of you who are reading this also have the same assurance.
Okay, so how did I get into that? Umm...Senior year??? One of the best of my life!! Friend galore, fun galore, great times! Kristy Redmon, Michelle Lamb, and I spend the whole year hanging out with Jim Mayo, Tom Smith, and Shawn Lockhart. I had a boyfriend who was a couple of years younger than me. (They respect you more if they are younger!) Anyways, so many memories to list. Would I do it again? I don't know. It might not turn out as good as the first time!

Here's some pics of my senior year. The scrapbook pages were done forever ogo.

From one minute to the next

This was Kaleb from "one minute to the next." I mean, one minute I find him climbing on furniture, and then the next, he's grabbing a game out of a cabinet and ripping it open on the floor making a mess. AHHHH!!! How am I gonna keep up with him?

from this......


..to this......

..to who knows where next!

FOUND

So it's out! FOUND by Karen Kingsbury. It's book three in the "Firstborn Series." I've been waiting for months for this book to be out. I was in Berean Christian Bookstore the other day, and squealed when I saw it. (I think I already mentioned that in another post, but anyways...) Of course, I paid top dollar for it buy it there ($14), but I did get a $5 off coupon for my next visit. (Of course, yesterday when I was surfing FOUND by Amazon.com it was only $8, and if you know me, it kills me to overpay for anything, but this was SOOOOOOOOO worth it. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.)
I started reading it yesterday afternoon when the kids were running around, and just couldn't stand the extra noise, so I put it down until they went to bed that night. Then I finished it a little after 11. Karen Kingsbury is amazing. I don't even know how to describe how good her books are except for about three hours, I was able to live vicariously through FOUND. I was able to forget my life and live as a member of the Baxter family and Dayne Matthews. I was able to cry with them, laugh with them, and share their joy.

I mean, I'm 8 books into this family, and I love them more everytime I read them. If you haven't read her books, you must start with the original series, "Redemption Series" that she co-authored with Gary Smalley. It's the first 5 books, then the "Firstborn Series" is a spin-off from the original. The fourth in the "Firstborn Series" doesn't come out until October which is going to drive me crazy because I CAN'T WAIT!


All of Karen Kingsbury books are good, but these 8 are beyond good, they are superb. I think I've read every book she's ever written. LOVE HER!

Our house

The older boys adore video games. I know, that's so bad because they are so young already, but they really do. We just got our V-Smile "fixed," so that's what they're really into now. (That's an educational video game, so maybe that doesn't really count, right?)


The younger boys are completely content to just want movies and play with toys. Okay, Jakeb LOVES movies. Sometimes when he's disappeared, I'll find him downstairs watching a movie "in hiding." He used to love Baby Einstein and Baby Faith, and he'll still watch them with Kaleb, but he likes other stuff now like Diego, Dora, Backyardigans, and a ton of others.



Of course, our toy intake at our house is atrocious. We have them coming out of our ears, and it's totally my fault. Believe it or not, all the toys that are in their rooms right now have been played with in the past couple of months, so I feel bad getting rid of them, because they
do play with them. I did do a big "toy cleaning" the other day and purged a lot in efforts to downsize before birthdays and Christmas.




Anyway, the point is about all this "extra" stuff in my house. Without all of it, it wouldn't be what it is.... Our House.

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Had another girls night out tonight. It was a lot of fun. Terani, Amy, and I went to see Click! I gave it a B- on my scale of movies. It was funny and serious, made you laugh and cry. I was also shocked to think they made Adam Sandler cute the older he got. (not when he was fat though, but when he had the grey in his hair, I thought he looked distinguished and nice looking. Guess I have a thing for grey in hair.) Anyways, the movie was good. Afterwards we went to Chilis and Target. Good times!

Oh, and did I mention that I found my next Karen Kingsbury book,
FOUND? So very excited to read this. It only rots that the next one is not coming out until November. I actually squealed when I saw the book in Berean Christian bookstore. I'll probably have it finished tomorrow afternoon.

My Stampin up demonstrator, Tammy, also delivered my stamps that I bought. I'll have to post a picture later. She hooked me up with a great deal. I bought the new Pirate stamps and the white ink pad, and then she gave me the pirate wheel for free. Such a blessing from God to get that for free.

Melting pot

So, have you ever been to the Melting Pot? It's a fondue restauraunt. I've been at least four times, and this was the most I enjoyed the food. I think it's because we venured out and got something a little different instead of getting the norm. We got the fiesta cheese fondue which had tostitos chip to dip in there, and then we got the meal with Mojo pot which they said was a little Carribean tasting. As always, the best part of the meal was the dessert, the Cookies and Cream. They mix chocolate, Oreos, and Marshmallows in the fondue pot. See them there in the picture next the the graham-covered marshmallows. They almost blend into the plate. Then they give you all different sorts of stuff like strawberries, cheesecake, brownies, and marshmallows to dip in there. The best is the Oreo covered marshmallows. Yeah, that lasted a whole 5 minutes at our table.

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Okay, you must try this:

Chicken Dip

a bar of cream cheese

one can of cream of chicken soup

one can of canned chicken jalopeno slices/juice.

Mix this all together and you get best dip for your tostitos chips. I mean so good! You can add the jalepenos until your hearts content or you can not add them at all. So good. Oh yeah, you BROIL it for about 10 minutes, and then it's ready. Your mouth will be so happy. Did I mention how good it is?

5 goals reached, 5 goals to achieve

5 goals I've reached already:

Whoo, that's a tough one. I'll have to think about that one.

1. My one goal was to have all my kids before I turn 30, and I think that I've reached that one. At least I hope I done giving birth to children.

2. Another goal was to have a house by now, and we've successfully reached that also.

3. Complete the first year of homeschooling my boys. Now it's on to year 2.

4. Find a church that we love and can activily be involved in. We love Morning Star Baptist Church. We have from the first time that we went to the church. I remember being so excited after the first visit.

5. Have a scrapbook room. Eric built me my scrapbook room before Jakeb our third son was born. It's awesome! I love it. I love to rearrange it and organize it, and of course, scrapbook in it.
5 Goals that I would like to achieve in 5 years time:

1. I would really like to go to China and adopt a little girl. One reason is because I know that we could give her a better life here in America, and also it's my sure-fire way to get a little girl!

2. I would really like to one day teach again. I hope that by the time all the kids are in school, I will still have the desire to teach in a classroom setting again. But who knows I could be burnt out by homeschooling by then.

3. I would love to take a photography class, and actually become a photographer on the side. I love to take pictures, and I just think that it would be fun.

4. I hope to take my kids to Disney World. I mean, we could take them now, but I don't want to deal with diapers and strollers. When they can all walk around and pee on their own....that's when we're going for a week!

5. I hope to have a playground in my own backyard. I think the boys would love to play and climb. I often want the boys to spend more time outside, but there's not much to do in our yard. I think a playground would help.

I realize that some of the future goals are little ones, but I don't really have huge aspiring goals, at least not off the top of my list. I mean, there's lots of things that I would like to do like maybe write a children's book, or meet someone famous, but I'm a pretty simple person, and I'm realistic. I'm not saying writing a children's book couldn't happen, but I'm sticking to realistic, futuristic goals that can be achieved in the next 5 years.

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So today I got a phone call from a college friend. It's been too long since we talked. It was so good to hear from her. Thanks for calling Tracy. She has two boys, and is pregnant with her third child. So we had lots of stories to swap. Hopefully I'll actually be seeing her in a couple of weeks if everything works out.

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You know, I was thinking the other day about some of my favorite cartoons as a child. They were so much cooler then. Although Dora and Diego are pretty cool. There was SMURFS...laaa,laa, la,la, la, laaaa...laaa,la,la,laa,laaaaaaaa. I loved those little blue guys. I also loved HE-Man. I know it was for boys, but I loved it....."He-Man, and the Masters of the Universe....I HAVE THE POWER!" And I liked little Orco. Let's see, there were tons of other ones: Thundercats, Punky Brewster the cartoon, GI Joe, the Littles, and, of course, SNORKS. You know, there was one cartoon I never really liked, and that would be LOONEY TUNES. I mean, seriously, how many times can Elmer Fudd try to catch Bugs Bunny and not get him, or Will E. Coyote get hit on the head with an anvil while trying to catch the Road Runer in a net or something. So annoyed me. Anyway, "That's all Folks!"

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ha, ha so funny! Get it, "That's all, folks?"