Please Pray for Ellie (Elise)

...and if you so desire, please add her to your prayer chain and blog so that others will pray for this family as well.



Ellie (Elise) is the daughter of James Lee and Liz and little sister to Matt. She was hospitalized back on December 2, 2005, with HUS, Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome. I have experienced the ravage that HUS does to a little child firsthand as my oldest dauther, Cynthia, is a HUS miracle survivor. I know that my daughter would not be alive today if it had not been for the intercessory prayers of thousands of people all over the United States as a result of family, friends, acquaintances and friends of friends adding her to prayer chains. There is no other explanation for her being alive today, except that God gave us a medical miracle. It is my prayer that Ellie, James Lee, Liz and Matt receive this same miracle. I pray that God will fully heal Ellie and that her recovery will point many to HIS kingdom.

Not So Useless Anymore

My husband is telling everyone how proud he is of me. He is noticing a huge change, one I really hope to continue. This change was due to the Angel Sermon that I blogged about on Dec 13, Am I Useless in the Kingdom in Heaven. I've actually dwelled on this a little more and have realized that Satan really hasn't had to do much to keep me useless, I had been doing it all on my own. I really have not been a good witness to my husband or to my children. Yes, I take them to AWANA's on Wednesday nights and I sometimes help them with their verses during the week. However, they have not been seeing me walk the walk.

My next step is to start a Bible Study in our home. I've been doing one on my own on the book of John, but my children need to be reading the Bible everyday as well. I'm thinking that we should read the same praise Psalm everyday for a week, then come together on Saturday morning and talk about what they think that the Psalm means. Hopefully by the end of the week, they will almost have the Psalm memorized as well.

I know this will not be easy, but keeping my house clean for a month has not been an easy task either after many years of laziness. It is one of my deepest desires that by leading a Bible Study in the home that my 4 younger children and possibly my husband will also desire to accept Christ as their Savior or desire to be more led by God.

A B C D E F G

That's what Kurt and Shelby were singing while playing with the magnetic letters on the door this morning. It's amazing to find out that your 2 1/2 year olds know that the song they are singing refers to the letters they are playing with!

We Wish You a Merry Christmas!

Tonight we will read the story of Jesus's birth, but this morning was all about the presents. I woke up around 7:45am and found that Jaba was not in bed, so I ventured out into the living room and found him and Mary-Jo laying on the couch watching Jesus of Nazareth on the History Channel. It's hard to believe, but the rest of the children were still asleep! While the three of us sat there enjoying the movie, Jaba relayed his conversation with Mary-Jo.

He asked her, "What day is it, Mary-Jo?"
"Christmas." Mary-Jo replied.
"Well, what do we do on Christmas?"
"Open presents."
"Do we have any presents?"
"I don't think so..." then she slowly looked up and over her shoulder and exclaimed, "well maybe we do!"

About 5 minutes later Kurt and Shelby woke up so we sent all three of the youngest to go wake up the two oldest sleepyheads so we could open presents. I couldn't find the digcam so we don't have any Christmas morning pictures. So I'm going to have put it in prose here so I at least have it recorded for posterity. First the kids all got to pull out the toy in their stockings. I don't wrap these presents so they got to immediately start playing with them. Then we started unwrapping presents about 10 minutes later.
First off, Jab and I got the kids 2 gifts each and then 1 for them all to share. However, my mom also bought them 2 gifts each and my Aunt Debby mails a gift for everyone in the family each year as well. So each child got to open 4-5 gifts. Shelby loved opening presents just as much as the other kids, but the joy on her face was just so apparent. The other kids had a "down to business" kind of look on their faces as they ripped the paper off. We let everyone open a present at the same time. Then we'd take it out of it's store package so they actually get to enjoy it for a few minutes before we went to the next present. This seemed to work really well for all of them. No one got bored or cranky.
After all the wrapped presents were opened, Jab asked Mary-Jo and Alex to go get him the frozen fruit out of the deep freeze in our multi-purpose room (dining/school/kidsTV). They both just walked right past the pink and blue bikes, got the fruit and walked past them again to bring Jab the bag. So he told them, that he preferred the frozen peaches instead of the strawberries and for them to go back and turn the light on and exchange it. Finally, they saw the bikes and started jumping up and down with excitement.
There was one more present to go, though. Mary-Jo went back to lay down beside Jab and he whispered to her to look out the window into the back yard. Mary-Jo whispered, "A trampoline, Daddy! Can I tell?! Can I tell?!" But Jab told her to wait, then he told Cynthia and Al to go look at the snow in the back yard. This is Central Louisiana, ya'll, we don't get snow, we get sleet or have an ice storm. So they go look and start jumping for joy because now they don't have to go to any of the neighbors' homes to jump on a trampoline. Everyone took a trip out to the back yard and jumped on the trampoline for about 5 minutes before they could no longer stand the morning chill.
Their favorite gifts, besides the trampoline, are as follows: Cynthia--portable CD/w headphones in a carrying pack, Alex--guitar, Mary-Jo--guitar, Kurt--cars, Shelby--play guitar & Mary-Jo's lipgloss. I got Jab a cell-phone for Christmas and I got some Journey perfume that I asked for. My mom also got each of us a pair of shoes from the kids.
Afterwards, the kids played with their toys while Jab and I cuddled on the couch, pleased with our beautiful family. Around 9am, I sent each of the 3 oldest to go take turns bathing before we headed out to my SIL's house for dinner (for you non-Southerners, that's a 1-2pm lunch). When 11am rolled around, all the kids were dressed and it was time for Jab and I to get cleaned up. We were finally able to leave around noon.
At Aunt Darlene's, the kids got to open another 6 gifts each. Kurt got a Thomas train and 2 cars to go with it that he rolled all over the house on imaginary tracks for the 3 hours that we were there. Alex got a remote controlled helicopter that he played with for 2 hours, too. Mary-Jo got a barbie with a pegasus horse. Cynthia got a watch and Shelby got twin babydolls--one that wet and one that has lots of clothing fasteners to open and close. But their favorite gift was the season passes for 6-Flags.

We had a beautiful Christmas. I hope and pray that all my net friends had a wonderful Christmas, too.

The tree is up!

I'll try to add a picture by tomorrow, but we finally have the tree up. It's a 4 1/2 ft tree sitting up on a table. All the kids got to put ornaments on the tree and I just did a little rearranging this year. Hopefully, next year I'll be able to keep my hands off of it, as I really do love looking at how the little ones put 9 and 10 ornaments all at the end of one limb.

Popcorn

NO, it's not the kind that you cook on the stove or in the microwave. It's the kind that is on the ceiling and now it is all over my floor. Well, at least until the culprits get it vacuumed up.

I smelled Smoke!

My first thought was, "ALEX! Where's the match!" However, it wasn't Alex...this time, anyway. I guess I've been putting the washer through the ringer this last week, because it was the culprit of the smell of smoke/fire. I think we caught it in time, though. It may just need some simple repairs. So for the rest of this week, I'll be using my Mom's and my SIL's washer & dryer so I can keep up and not have the laundry pile up on me.

Jaba has been very appreciative of the way the house has been looking these last 2 weeks. He's even helping me do things that I ask for him to do without griping. It does help that I ask him the day or night before and also that I'm either helping him with the job or doing other work in the house at the same time. I'm just as thrilled that my children are starting to actually complete the small jobs that I've asked them to do as well. I do have to keep them on task and it sometimes takes them 30-45 minutes to do a 5-8 minute chore like folding towels or cleaning off the table after a meal.

I don't know why it's taken me 13 years to learn how to do this, but if it makes my husband happy, then I'm willing to keep at it.

Laundry down; Toys to go

I've finally washed every stitch of clothes & linens (including rugs) in my house. I've only stored one tote that combines some clothes for Mary-Jo, Kurt and Shelby to wear next year.

Right now there is only 3 very small partial loads (whites, darks, towels) that is from what we wore or used today. So that means 3 loads to wash tomorrow evening.

I told Sandi, today, that this seems to be a seasonal thing for me because I will let laundry pile up on me and go through a laundry catch-up period like this about once every 3-6 months.

My next project to tackle is toys! I'm going to keep all the cars & trains for Kurt & Alex , all the horses/ponys for Kurt, Shelby & Mary-Jo, and most of the purses for Mary-Jo Cynthia, Mary-J0 & Shelby. Everything else is gone. I plan to send all the stuffed animals to Dawn and all the toys in excellent condition to the Hope House (for battered women & their children). The rest of the toys are headed for the landfill.

I hope I can talk my husband into just 3-5 gifts for each child this year. I'd like for it to be more like 1 or 2 because they get so much from the relatives on both sides. What I'd really like to do is build a combined clubhouse/storage shed for them.

I need a POWER nap!

It's about lunch time, so hopefully, after I feed Al, Kurt & Shelby, then put K&S down for their nap, I'll be able to take a nap as well. Jaba at least gets off at 5pm today, so I won't have the whole evening by myself as usual.

So, what am I going to make for lunch? I hope there is something easy in the freezer/fridge!

Edited to Add
We had chicken alfredo croissant pockets & chicken/broccoli chedder lean pockets. Guess who had what.

Am I useless in the Kingdom of Heaven?

Sunday's sermon was the last in a series on angels by our pastor.

Two things he said really hit me. First, for the believer, Satan and his minions are constantly asking how can I make this believer USELESS in the Kingdom of Heaven. Boy was I convicted and started questioning myself. I am a believer, I was saved when I was 5 almost 6. For the first 12 years, I was certainly a light shining quite brightly. After that, there were a few years where my light was hidden completely and only uncovered briefly. It saddens me beyond belief that I have not been a beacon for some in my family. I especially hope that I have not been useless in my witness to my children. I fail miserable, daily, in pointing to Jesus in my daily walk for them.

Second, our pastor did an example word association test with us where you say the opposite word, for example: good=bad, day=night, sun=moon, up=down. Then he said "God" and but didn't ask us to say an opposite because, Hallelujah! There is no opposite to God. God created Lucifer/Satan. We already know the end of the story (Revelations). GOD WINS!

Still Washing Today

I found another 4 loads of clothes that I needed to wash, but the best part is that they all are going to end up in someone else's home.

Just some clothing facts from our household:
1. Kurt has the most clothes with Cynthia in a close 2nd.
2. Mary-Jo has the most school uniforms as she can wear both Al's & Cynthia's hand-me-downs (yes I've kept hand-me-downs that long--8 years)
3. If you remove the lint from the lint trap on the dryer when you go to put in the fabric softener in the washer at the beginning of the rinse cycle, your clothes will be dry by the time the rinse cycle is complete--well, just a few might be minutely damp if you are washing jeans.
4. By the end of today it will have taken me five 8 or more hour work days to wash & sort ALL the laundry in my house.
5. I've slept an average of 4 hours each day for the last 5 days to try and complete the clothing elephant.
6. It's amazing how clean your house gets when all the laundry is washed, folded/hung-up AND PUT AWAY!

Lots and Lots of Washing

I am down to about 7-8 loads of laundry you wear and 4 loads of linens (including curtains). I have been one lean mean (well, I'm not lean and I really haven't been mean--this time) washing machine these last 2 days. I've washed nearly every stitch in the house. I've also weeded out some clothes for Mindy's youngest, Marcy; Micki's oldest daughter, Breanna; for a church friend (Angela) with a daughter 3 years younger than Cynthia; and for the Salvation Army. I've kept just a few items for Mary-Jo, Kurt and Shelby to grow into for '06--about one large plastic container with lid.

Let's see, Mindy got 2 plastic totes, Micki got 3 plastic totes, Angela's daughter got 2 plastic totes and the Salvation Army is going to be recieving 6 plastic totes, so far. Unfortunately, I had lots of stained and small ripped clothing that I ended up getting rid of, too. I wish I had the storage and the time to make quilts out of all of those unwearable clothing. I bet the kids would love to have family heirloom quilts made out of clothes that they and their parents wore while they were growing up. I've gotta go and get those patterns and the quilt holder (it goes up on the ceiling) from my Grandma so I can get to doing that!

You must be asking yourself, "Does she have any clothes left for the kids to wear?" Of course! Two neighbors blessed our family with clothes for Cynthia, Al, Mary-Jo and Kurt. I just need to find someone with a daughter that is a year bigger than Shelby and I will be set.

Pride & Prejudice 2005

It's the best love story that I've seen this year. Keira Knightley (Elizabeth), Rosamund Pike (Jane), Judi Dench (Lady Catherine de Bourg), Donald Sutherland & Brenda Blethyn (Mr & Mrs. Bennet) are awesome. As for Matthew MacFadyen (Mr. Darcy), I think he has dreamy eyes no matter the brooding "pride & prejudice" behind them.

If I had to choose only one film to watch this year, "Pride and Prejudice" would be my choice. Keira is awesome and Rosamund deserves a best supporting actress nod. However, I do look forward to seeing The Chronicles of Narnia (but it will probably still be in theaters come January so P&P could still be the one movie that you could watch this year).

Cynthia & Megan's Birthday

Cynthia and her cousin, Megan, shared their 13th, 12th birthday party on Saturday, Dec 3. They both invited about 15 school friends each, but only 2 showed up from Cynthia's list and 3 from Megan's list. However, it was really a fun party for both. My step-sister and her husband live on a military camp and had access to the movie theatre. It was reserved for just us, so the girls and their friends & family had the whole theatre to themselves. We watched Madagascar on the big screen and ate popcorn (no drinks allowed in the theatre because we had to clean it up if there was a spill).

All in all everyone had a great time and it is a birthday party that Megan and Cynthia will remember for quite some time.

Power of a Praying Parent

I wrote this on another board, but wanted to transfer it here so I would have a record of it.

I can remember when I first dedicated each of my children back to God. The first time was in 97 when Cynthia was almost 5. She somehow was infected with the virilent strain, e-coli-0157. She went in to the hospital because she would not eat (even popsicles) and was having diarrhea movements a minimum of 1 or 2 an hour. Turns out it was bloody diarrhea. We came very close to losing our beloved daughter. She was supposed to be airvaced to Tulane in NO (Nov 21, 97), but because of tornados hitting all around (Lafayette, Covington, Picayune MS, Nicholson MS) the sent a PICU team of RN specialist by ambulance. When they got there, I just assumed I would be able to ride with Cynthia but found out that it was not a given. But God knew that I was supposed to ride with her that night. That ride was full of prayer, but the one prayer that will forever be imprinted on my brain was, "God you know that I am selfish and want my daughter to live here on earth with me, but I know that she is not mine. You have blessed me so richly with the 4 years that you have lent her to me. Lord, Father, she is yours and if you want her with you, then bring her home. But Lord please give me a second chance. Heal her body. Speak to her heart and let her know that you are with her to comfort her. Hold her in your arms while I am unable." The rest of that ride, and for the most part the rest of her hospital stay (a month) and then the recovery at home (5 months), God gave me a real peace to listen to the grim statements from Doctors. Then once she began to recover and was moved from the PICU to the floor, He stayed with me as the nurses began teaching me how to care for Cynthia (peritoneal dialysis, cleaning the cathetar sites, and giving shots every other day). After 3 weeks Cynthia's kidney functions began to recover. All of the doctors were stunned. But we were not. We had so many family and friends, many church prayer chains, firefighters (my DH was a firefighter), internet prayer chains, teachers and children in schools, ALL were praying for Cynthia. I certainly learned the POWER OF PRAYER in one small month in 1997.

I still fail miserable as a Christian, as a parent, a wife, as a human. I certainly fail in my prayer life. I don't pray everyday. Cheryl, thank you for starting this discussion. And Step, thank you for providing me with the book and study guide. I pray and hope that this journey through The Power of A Praying Parent will be the catalyst for a closer walk with God.

(Our church is starting The Purpose Driven Live: 40 Days of Purpose Campaign this coming Wednesday night, too, so I'm getting a double dose over the next 6 weeks.)

More than you want to know

After much searching on the net, I have finally figured out my bowel woes--it's Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Maybe that's why I've been so irritable all the time?

Sleeping

What is wrong with me? These last 2 nights I've actually been getting sleepy and going to bed by or before 10pm. Not only that, but I've also been really tired throughout the day as well. Is my body finally shutting down to get rest after all of those late nights?

Jingle Bells

This afternoon we have been cleaning up yesterday's mess along with some of todays. It hasn't been an easy task because I keep finding them doing something other than what I've asked them to do. The reason I named this post "jingle bells" is because that is the most recent thing that I heard Cynthia playing on the piano when she was supposed to be cleaning the table off. All I could think of was, "I'm going to jingle your bells if you don't get back in there and finish cleaning that table off!!!"

Thanksgiving movie night

After Thanksgiving Dinner I took the 3 oldest children to see Yours, Mine & Ours (link is review by pluggedin online a division of Focus on the Family). The one thing that is not mentioned in the negative part of the review is that the one child seems to be played as a prepubescent homosexual. This is the child, Lau, that the mom states that, “No one will ever doubt you’re my son.” It was not really an in your face thing, but more of an inference on my part at least. For the most part, though, it's a really positive movie (and remake at that) about large families. My favorite part is how the Dad's actual statement about "pretend you like each other until you do" really happens. All of my children, especially Alex and Mary-Jo, laughed hysterically throughout the movie. I certainly agree with Tom Neven's conclusion that "It’s refreshing to see a story that so strongly supports intact families, and both parents and children learn important lessons about love, patience and the law of unintended consequences."

The kids were so excited they could hardly sit still, but thankfully most of the other children were just as excited. I wish I could take the kids to see more movies, but Hollywood just doesn't seem to produce enough seemingly wholesome pictures to view--especially those without animation.

Daily Trivia Game

I'm enjoying the Daily Trivia Game Tournament that was started by a friend on a private message board so much, I thought I start one for my blog.

I chose Bible Trivia as the question theme.

I want another baby

Today, Jaba and I got into a raising your voice match. For my part, I was totally unrealistic, but quite jealous of Jaba's time. However, the root of my discontent really has to do with my desire to have another baby. I can't pretend to know what it's like to suffer through infertility as Jab and I first got pregnant on the pill, then when we planned to have our second child, we got pregnant that same month. The next two times we got pregnant we were practicing NFP and "threw caution to the wind" during my week of ovulation. So I've never had any problems getting pregnant, nor not getting pregnant.

After our heated discussion, and before our customary "making up", I talked with Jaba about how he felt about another baby. We haven't just outright discussed the lack of NFP since the twins birth because I assumed that because he wasn't asking "is it safe?" he was willing. As it turns out he is willing and ready to accept any children that God decides to bless us with.

I have desired to have another baby since February '04. Jaba and I have not even been practicing NFP since the twins were born in Mar '03. I know that I have said that I would be satisfied with the children that we have now, but this desire just keeps getting stronger. Please pray with me for God's will. If His will is for us to have more children, I ask that God will give me patience to wait on His timing. If His will is for us to not have any more children, I pray that God will take this desire from me.

blog color

Your Blog Should Be Blue

Your blog is a peaceful, calming force in the blogosphere. You tend to avoid conflict - you're more likely to share than rant. From your social causes to cute pet photos, your life is a (mostly) open book.

What Color Should Your Blog or Journal Be?

The blue lights behind me

Ya'll I was stopped by the police!!! I was asked to step out of the vehicle and go to the back. I was resigned to getting a speeding ticket as I was going about 57 in a 50 mph zone. But I was stopped because my right tail light and license plate light was broken.

I didn't know about either and told the officer that my husband who works at Ball Foods usually drives the truck and I usually drive the suburban, but that it was in the shop. He then asked me what my husband's name was. Thankfully, he knew my husband (he was a firefighter for 8 years) and I was allowed to head on home.

Now, as to why I was out so late.... I took Cynthia to see Harry Potter. It was pretty good, but Cynthia and I both agreed that you really have to read the book to understand quite a bit of the movie. We both think the movie should have been 3-4 hours long to get all the pertinent scenes in.

We also saw Walk the Line. It was a really slow movie. Interesting, but slow.

Presentable

Well, after about 5 hours of cleaning, the children and I have finally gotten the house clean enough so that we are not embarrassed if suprise guests or company comes by.

Lousy Home Manager

Why is it that I can happily clean and organize someone else's home, but it is such a chore to do my own? *raises hand* I know! I know! It's because I don't feel quite as appreciated by my husband and my children as I think I should when I've cleaned my house. How's that for being selfish. I think I've resigned myself to an unclean, but quite lived-in home until the last of my children reach school age. I know that Jaba probably expects me to enter the cash paying workforce when all the children are in school, but I'm going to pray, pray, pray and ask God to grant the desire of my heart to continue being a SAHM and professional housewife/home manager for at least another 2 years, but hopefully until all of our children are in college.

I'm not saying that I don't ever want to work a monetary paying job again, I am just beginning to take seriously the awesome responsibility to actively raise & educate our children.

Now

Kurt and Shelby no longer just tell me "I hungry" or "I want more." They end everything with "NOW!" I guess they've heard "in a minute" or "wait just a minute" one too many times.

BTW, Shelby is telling me, "I want more, now, Mama," right now. So I'm cutting this post short......NOW!

Don't know what to write about?

Try BLOGideas.

I sometimes am stumped at what to write about and came across this link on Cara's To Whom It May Concern's blog. Cara is a Christian SAHM.

I forgot to say "love you"...

when I put Kurt and Shelby down for their nap time. After they switched around through the 4 sleeping places (a crib, toddlerbed, cushioned footstool the size of a loveseat, and a twin bed), I kissed them and said "night-night" at the door. I usually say "night-night, love you", but I forgot the love you.

Kurt smiled and said, "Night-night, love you."

Boy did my heart swell. Love you has always been demonstrated with a hug and a kiss by my little ones, but Kurt actually said the words, "love you."

Vocabulary

"Yak-let now!" That's what Kurt told me.

I had to listen to him 4 times before I understood what he wanted...I want chocolate now.

My boy's vocabulary has exploded over the last 2 months. With the songs such as "God Bless America" and "Battlehymn of the Republic" and of course "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star", "Itsy Bitsy Spider", "Old McDonald", "Big Big House", "Jesus Loves Me", etc., in his repertoire, I would guess that he has quite a large vocabulary.


Shelby's speaking vocabulary is probably only a 1/4 of what Kurt's is currently, but she is quickly catching up.

Shelby tinkled AGAIN!!!

WooHoo!!

Shelby tinkled on the potty again! Almost as soon as she sat down she began tinkling. Dare I hope that I will have at least one potty trained before Christmas?

Shelby TINKLED in the potty!

Shelby had taken her clothe and her barely wet diaper off (after I got off the phone with Sandi) so I decided to go ahead and take her to the potty to sit.

Shelby started out on the big potty and Kurt on the little one. Neither of them had done anything. So I turned on the water in hopes of getting things flowing, but Kurt just decided he wanted to wash his hands. Shelby took the opportunity to sit on the little potty and all of a sudden she teeteed!

They've been sitting on the potty off and on for several weeks, but had not voided or soiled as of yet. Today was Shelby's very first time to actually void in the potty. She was so proud!

LSU WON! 20-17

Jab called me from work about 2pm and asked if I felt comfortable enough for Cynthia to watch the twins from 6-9pm this evening. His boss invited him and his wife(me) to go to their house to watch the LSU game. Jab and I have not had a night out together without kids since we brought the twins home on March 17, 2003.

Jab and I have also been cleaning up our junk room, formally known as our master bedroom. It looked like a room from that TLC show CLEAN SWEEP. But now only half of it looks that way. Jab is off tomorrow and Monday, so we are hoping to get it completely finished before we take Al to his football game Monday night.

Future Remodel

Waaaay into the future. This is our 5 year plan. The previous post shows the current layout (minus where I'd like to add a foyer locker area) of our house. This one shows how I'd like to remodel our home. Is there anything that any of my friends would do different?

This is a general layout of our property. With the exception of the little inkspots near the road at the top of the picture, all of the black spots are trees. After I put a fence up, I'd change my driveway so that the one on the right would circle around the 2 trees and go back out the same way you come in.

HousePlan

I would add the foyer locker space in the green rectangle located between BR3 & dining room. It is a foyer area, but it's not a enclosed foyer.

EWW, EWW, I LIKE IT

Thanks to Peggy, I have found 2 dream design options for my foyer locker space. My next step is to show my Mom the designs so I can get her opinion. We both like to do projects like these.

This design is closest to what I liked about the furniture locker space that I found in my previous post. But I really think I like the next one better.

I just absolutely love the way this space is layed out. The only thing that I would do different is change the dresser located closest to you in the picture to a desk area for doing homework.

MY Christmas Wish List

I would love to have either something very similar to this style of Entryway locker or have someone build something similar for 8 people. (NO, I'm not expecting, but we do have animals that need a space, too). Right now when any of us come in we put everything on top of the deep freeze. So we end up with baby bags, school backpacks, etc., loaded up on top of the deep freeze.

I love bugs!

But only when you add bunny behind it!

Aug 05 Vacation Pics

Some new pictures

Mary-Jo as a future bride. Like 20 years into the future!!!


This picture was taken at my Grandma's 90th birthday bash. Ninety percent of the time, you will find Kurt playing with trucks or cars.

Jaba with the kids and the cats. Duet is the black and white and Solo is the other.


Jaba took Al and Mary-Jo fishing early one morning at one of the many nearby lakes back in late July. This is Mary-Jo's fish.

Alex caught a fish, too. They got back around noon, but thankfully they didn't bring any fish home. They were a little too small to cook.

Football and Privates

Alex got hit in the privates Tuesday night at football practice. He got up and hobbled to the coach and told him, "He hit my private! He hit my private!" Well, as you know, we've been having a problem with soiling & wetting, so when I saw him holding himself, I just assumed he needed to go potty. I told him, "Come on, let's run!" But the coach told me, runnings probably not the best idea.

I took him to the bathroom so we could do an inspection. I didn't see anything wrong, but since we were in the bathroom I told him, "Let's see if it works, why don't you go ahead and try to tinkle in the potty." It worked fine.

Homeschooling Alex

Today has been a real rollercoaster of emotions for me again, but it has also been a day where God has answered prayer and revealed answers and opened a path as well as provided a clear choice.

As I waited in the schoolboard office waiting area to meet with the Assistant Superintendent, I prayed and asked that God would soften all of our hearts (Jab's, mine & school officials) and I asked for God to reveal His plan how on how He wanted us to help Alex.

We met with the Assistant Superintendent of Schools and the Elementary Director of Education. Both seemed to want to help Alex, but they still wanted the release of specific medical diagnosis. After an hour of debate and discussion, they did concede to a generic diagnosis along with specific instructions of how to assist Alex.

However, I did not come away from the meeting as if this was the course of action that God wanted us to take. While we were waiting outside for my SIL to come pick us up (our suburban broke down on our way into town ), Jaba and I started discussing what questioning what would be best for Alex. I think it was Jaba that mentioned short-term homeschooling. We discussed how even with the twins at home, it could give Alex time for much one-on-one supervised care, not only in the medical aspect of it, but also give his school mates time to release associations of soiling with Alex. He has had to endure much teasing AND has not been able to make any close friendships with any of the kids in his class.

When Jaba mentioned homeschooling, a sense of peace-not a full sense, but a small part of relieving, entered my heart. It was not until later at the doctor's office, that God fully revealed His plan. I went into see Al's pediatrician to get the letter that was agreed upon. However, after about a short 10 minute discussion with the Pedi about the specifics of what the school board needed in a letter, then discussing Alex's hardship with his peers, he asked me what kind of education I had. I told him some college, then he asked me if I felt that I could adequately homeschool Alex. (The doctor brought it up, I didn't.) At that moment, I knew that God was revealing that this was the course of action that we needed to take. I was fully at peace.

The note that the Pedi wrote reads as follows:
[Alex] has a severe medical problem with his intestines. He cannot function in a school room setting, but would benefit from home schooling, at least in the immediate future.


Now, I know that homeschooling is not something that can just be done on a whim. It is also not a cheap endeavor, but Mama had already opened that door yesterday. I know that homeschooling will be challenging. But I also know that God has given me wonderful friends who will be able to guide me and encourage me if or when I get discouraged or frustrated.

God is Good.

Thank you Father, for this whole process of revealing to us your plan for Jab and I to parent Alex more fully. You keep teaching me that when I say "I can't" or that "I don't feel that I can do an adequate job" that your will is greater and that through You, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Father, continue to direct me in your path, keep throwing up those big direction signs so that I can follow you more fully. I ask all of this in the name of your Son, Jesus. Amen.

Principal called again

I am in a rollercoaster of emotions right now. I got a call from the principal today requesting that I drive Alex to and from school instead of him riding the bus. Now, if money were no object, I would be perfectly fine with this; however, money is an object. At the current gas prices, it would cost me between $5-6 a day for transportation. That's $25-30 a week.

When I informed the principal that we just could not financially accomadate their request, she asked me to call the spec ed supervisor. She is someone that I know personally, but because Al is not in spec ed she could not authorize anything. So she gave me the number of the transportation director.

I called and left a message with the transportation director's office. About an hour later he called me back so I had to go over the whole situation with him and his assistant.

Here's the situation: Alex has a problem with soiling and wetting. He wears pull-ups to school and has extra p/u's at school for accidents. I have only been called by the school ONCE to have to pick him up for a soiling accident since school started back on Aug 18. He has had soiling accidents on the bus in the evenings on his way home from school but it has been fully contained in his pull-up. His clothes have never shown any evidence of soiling or wetting. The bus driver made statements that it is getting on her seats. I was really gentle the first time that I spoke with the principal and said that the bus driver's statement was false. I had already spoken with the bus driver and asked if we could have a 2 week period where the school worked with me to have Alex scheduled to go to the bathroom within an hour before he is to get on the bus as this helped him last year (on this same bus driver's bus) to come home virtually accident free. The bus driver agreed. Alex has only attended school 2 days since that time (we had Hurricane Rita) but today I got the call from the principal.

I also told him that I have a 5 year old who has been looking forward to riding the bus with her brother since last year when she was not allowed to attend PreK because of her high test scores.

The transportation director actually listened to everything and thought that my plan was a good one. He also gave some back-up options such as letting both of them ride the accessible bus or even the transportation department providing gas for me to take Alex to school everyday. The only problem is that the other bus may not get him home any sooner in the evenings. The Transportation director said he would call the and talk with the bus driver and the principal at the school tomorrow to discuss the transportation situation. So right now we are at a stand still.

Jaba came home and is quite upset as I am, too, but I'm a little more willing to try and work through the rungs of authority. Jaba told me that either I should or he will call tomorrow and tell them that any other child who ever has a "first incident" report as our son has and is not required to be removed from the bus then he will sue the school board for discrimination. Believe me I understand his frustration, but I think that we may have better results with "honey" first.

Kurt's "Nony"

Kurt loves My Little Pony's. He can even distinguish between them now because I've taught him the color names. They are Purple Nony, Pink Nony, Orange Nony, Ween Nony and White Nony. I don't know why he can say Purple and Pink, but not P-P-P-Pony.

Christmas List

I don't usually let the kids make out a Christmas list for Santa because I don't want them to be disappointed if they don't get what is on their list. Mostly because they really are good kids and I don't want them to think that they've been bad if they don't get everything on their list.

So far I'm thinking that this is what I'm going to get them for Christmas this year.

Cynthia---art drawing supplies & accessories for her clarinet

Alex------a 1/2 size guitar

Mary-Jo---I have no idea yet

Twins-----(yes it will be shared)
tunnels of fun

I was asked some soul searching questions by some friends and I just thought it might be a good thing to record some of them here.

What scripture do you feel you use most often on a regular basis?
I struggle with sin so much in my daily life. It is a great burden to know what is and what is not sin. I don't want to sin, but I do it anyway and then feel like such a failure. The following scriptures are the ones that I use most often for encouragement and as a reminder of His promise.

KJV 1 John 1:9
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

KJV Romans 7:14-25
14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
16 If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.


What one thing (if any) do you wish you had learned earlier (or wish you could get to sink in to your brain now)?
being submissive to my husband and allowing him to be the head of our home


Favorite decade and why? Not in your life just in general.
Oh boy, there are so many to choose from and I have very little historical knowledge of most. So, I think I will have to choose 1/2 of the 1990's and 1/2 of 2000 since those are the years that my children were given to me. Afterall, I am living my happily ever after. I'm thinking, though, that my favorite decades are yet to come when all my children are grown and have started giving me oodles and oodles of grandchildren.

SMACK

It came to my attention this week that some who visit my blog got a bad "vibe" because of the word "smack" in the name. So I thought it would be appropriate to give the
definition and a synonym for the reason I chose this particular name.

So what does SMACK mean to me?

First the letters represent the first letters of each of my children's first names...
Shelby
Mary-Jo
Al
Cynthia
Kurt

Secondly, not only do I smack my children all the time, but they are always smacking me as well. We smack each other on the cheeks, the lips, belly, legs, feet, arms, etc.



DEFINITIONS:
v 2. To kiss noisily.
n 2. A noisy kiss
n 5. An enthusiastic kiss


SYNONYMS:
Kiss
Smooch
Sugar


So now I hope that anyone who reads my blog will have much sweeter thoughts when reading the word SMACK!

RITA bonfire

Sing with me now...School's out for RITA! No, it's not summer (did you start singing?). It's "Rita" assessment. I know we are out Monday, but not sure what Tuesday and the rest of the week holds. Some areas are still experiencing power outages. Additionally, I think it will depend on whether our gas shortage has abated and if any schools are still being used as a shelter for our Southern neighbors.

The oldest 3 are excited to be at home. However, I don't know how long that will last as I have lots of work planned for tomorrow. We've got lots of laundry to wash, dry & put away and a multitude of little limbs in the yard to get picked up and burned. However, maybe they won't put up such a fuss if I tell them Daddy's going to bring home marshmellows for roasting on a bonfire once all the limbs have been piled up.

Suburban fixed, but NO GAS

We finally have the suburban repaired, but I can't drive it anywhere because Alexandria/Pineville has no gasoline anywhere.
The final cost on repairs was $1000. Thankfully the mechanic is letting us pay it out over a couple of months.

Jab's store can't open because they have a leak in the roof that has left standing water on the floor in the produce aisle as the floor slopes down about an inch or two. They've been in there sucking it up and sloshing it out the last two days.

Our SS teacher called yesterday to check up on us. Jab told me that we are only one of two families in the class of about 20 families who actually have utilities. Jab and I have been stunned that we didn't lose our electricity. We can't remember a thunderstorm since we moved in 6 1/2 years ago when we haven't lost electricity.

Please remember the people who have lost so much in the Gulf Coast in your prayers.

Mary-Jo has a new teacher

Due to Hurricane Katrina our school enrollment has increased tremendously. So our school has added a Kindergarten teacher and Mary-Jo was selected to be moved to her class as the teacher feels that she is able to accept change easily.

To be honest, I was really quite thrilled. I had prayed and asked God to provide a friend or two for Mary-Jo. Today I discovered that there are at least 2 girls that Mary-Jo attends AWANA's and SS with in her new class.

God is Good
All the time!

Principal Conference

I got a letter from the school yesterday concerning Alex.

This is a first offence.
Nature of Incident: Fighting his little sister. Pooped in his pants again. Second request for Alex to ride the Special Ed bus or his mom to provide transportation.
Action taken by School Administration: Principal held conference with studen and student was reprimanded. Parent is to come to school for a conference.

I called the bus driver last night at home and asked why on a first offence she requested that he be transferred. Not only that, but Mary-Jo was fighting as well, so why was Alex the only one written up. The only thing that she wanted to talk about was that Alex had pooped his pants on that day and that she had to move him up to sit behind her and she had to smell it until he got off the bus. I explained to her that I really did not want to split Alex and Mary-Jo between two different school buses.

When I got to the school today to have a conference with the principal, it turns out that the main complaint from the bus driver is that poop got on the seat. This is a bald-face lie! Alex has never had poop on his clothes (I'm the one who washes them) since the first day of school. The principal wanted to know if he had a medical condition for the soiling. He does. Well she wanted to put it in his file. I am just totally opposed to having this in his permanent school record. This is something that he will grow out of and I do not want this following him the rest of his school life.

I made an appointment with our Pedi for tomorrow. I'm not taking Alex, I want to have a sit down talk with the doctor and tell him that the 2 previous treatments are NOT working and I want to have tests done find a specific cause. Alex does not know when he has to go to the bathroom. I have never seen him purposefully soiling his pants, it just slips out.

Football & Rodeoing

Al's football practice started at 2pm Saturday with pictures following at 3:30. His JV game started at 5. He is not a starter so he did not get to play his position the whole game, but he was substituted in about half-way through and played his 2 positions the rest of the game. His positions are the O's.


xxx.xxx x

xxxxxOxxO x

xx.x x x x x



After football, I took the kids to Cynthia's best friend's (Taylor) rodeo. It was the final one of the season. All of the kids had a tremendous time. Cynthia walked aroun with Taylor. Alex, Mary-Jo, Kurt and Shelby played with toy trucks & toy horses near the edge of the rodeo arena. They had a good 75 x 10 feet of area that they were able to play. When the horses started coming out, Mary-Jo stopped playing and commented how pretty all of them were.

Finally, it was time for Taylor's event, barrel racing. She didn't place in that particular event, but she tied for the overall with one of her other best friends with the same name. They had to do a tie-breaker which "our" Taylor won.

Next year, I will be doing plenty more rodeos.

WooHoo! We all get to go!

The suburban is still not fixed so I was going to have to leave Cynthia home to babysit while I took Alex to football today (1:30-6:00). Cynthia was really disappointed because she wanted to go to Taylor's last rodeo of the season.

My Mom was scheduled to work tonight, but she is not feeling too well (that part is not a woohoo) so she is letting me use the van so we can all go to Al's football game. Then we are all going to Taylor's rodeo.

Painting & the greatest IL's ever.

I have been doing lots of painting and cleaning at my SIL's and my FIL's home. She is preparing her 2 spare bedrooms (now that her boys have moved out) for the possibility that my FIL may find it necessary to move in. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer back in March. The first line of treatment did not work and the cancer has spread so now he is reluctantly doing chemo. He has been really weak during the last 3 weeks and has not been able to keep up with his normal day-to-day housekeeping. He would never ask me, but I have made it a point to go with my SIL over to his house and just clean little bits at a time. In addition I've been doing his weekly shopping.

My SIL tried to pay me for the painting and the cleaning, but I told her, this is what family does for one another. She has fibromyalgia and is a breast cancer survivor so she is limited in the amount of physical labor that she can do. I told her, Darlene, you have given more to my children over the last two years than I could ever repay by being a step-in Grandmother. She has! She has basically paid for the most part of the 6-Flag vacations that we have been on. We spend several nights in a row over at her house--I mean all 5 children and myself. Who has a friend like that? I'm one of the most blessed persons in the world.

Musical Instruments

I heard Cynthia and her best friend, Taylor, talking about band at the beginning of the second week of school. Taylor was expressing her desire to enroll in band and that she wanted to play flute. Well, I have 2 flutes so I told her to get permission from her mom first and that I would let her use one. If after this year she wanted to continue in band when she gets to high school, I told her that she could have it.

Band was such an intergral part of my life that I am happy to be able to share and pass it on to the next generation.

Cynthia is still playing her clarinet. However, we are going to have to have some repairs made to it as she has left it out and the younger kids messed with it. We've gotten an estimate of $90.

AWANA's Started!

I'm still a Cubbie helper this year. There are nineteen 3 & 4 year old Cubbies enrolled and the majority is made up of the 3 year olds.

Mary-Jo was promoted to Sparks this year. I was worried that I might have to move with her, but she has been a big girl this year and has not had attachment issues like we did the previous 2 years. This is Alex's last year of Sparks before he is promoted to T&T. Finally, my baby, Cynthia, is now in youth group. I have one more year before Kurt and Shelby will be old enough for Cubbies. After their 2 years in Cubbies, I will probably move on to be a T&T or Sparks helper then.

Alex is playing football

and he is LOVING it! He is also not complaining as much about doing his homework because I've made it a rule that he has to finish before we go to practice.

His jamboree is today at 4:30 after a 2:00 practice and 3:30 pictures. We still don't have the suburban repaired and Jaba has to work. I'll have to leave Cynthia at home in charge of Mary-Jo, Shelby and Kurt. However, it won't be so bad because Kurt and Shelby will nap for the majority of the time.

Mary-Jo's 1st day & Katrina students

Mary-Jo's first days of school (kindergarten) was August 30 and Sept 1. Then she started full-time after Labor Day on Sept 6. However, she missed the first day of FT school because the parish buses for Rapides, Natchitoches and Grant parishes were commandeered by Governor Blanco to transport the people who went to the Superdome & Convention Center of New Orleans as a Place of Last Resort to find safety from Hurricane Katrina. Parents in Rapides parish were required to provide transportaion to and from school Tuesday through Thursday, Sept 6-8, while the buses were sanitized and disinfected. NO ONE complained, though, we were HAPPY to do it. What is a little inconvenience compared to what the men, women and especially the children in Southeast Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama had to endure and are still enduring. The 4 Red Cross Shelters alone in our parish has housed over 6,000 people. That does not include those who are being housed in churches or with strangers, family or friends.

Our schools have enrolled over 1700 Katrina evacuee students as of Sept 14. I happened to pick up my children from school yesterday and noticed that there are 2 makeshift classes that have been set up in the hall just in their small school. I am so proud of our parish school district for making changes to quickly accomadate these children so that their lives will have a some semblence of normalcy.

Our computer crashed

Two days after my Bus post, our computer totally crashed. We tried to get a second hand computer but the computer that the guy sold us didn't meet what he said it would do so we took it back. So Jaba & his Dad went to Sam's Club and he bought an Explora GS28 PC. We had been talking about getting a new computer as our old one was at least 7 years old, but we were going to wait until Jab got his Christmas bonus.

I'm finally up and running!

I have been trying for almost a week now to get back onto my blog!!!

I thought I had it figured out a week ago, but for some reason I got locked out again.

He just Bussed right on by!

Cynthia's bus driver drove by her AGAIN without picking her up. He didn't even slow down to look and see if she was there.

I called his house first thinking, well maybe his wife can call him on the bus and he can come back by and pick her up. No, no phone on the bus. So I call the school and tell them that this is the second time that he's driven right by her. They asked me if I could bring her to school. I said yes, but that she'd be late because I have 2 others that are getting ready for their school bus and two 2 year olds at home as well. They said that she would not be counted as late/tardy and just to bring her in when I could and that the principal would talk to the bus driver.

When I brought Cynthia in, I also asked that when the bus driver was informed if they could discuss with him about picking Cynthia up closer to the place of business--he said he will pick her up at the road which is about 100 feet away from where I'd like her to be picked up. If he were to pick her up closer to the business she could stand on the porch and then when she saw him coming run 30 feet to the busstop rather than 130 feet.

Why can't people be sensible and considerate about such things?


UPDATE
The bus driver called me and apologized. He was very nice and agreed that picking Cynthia up closer to the place of business would be better, especially in inclimate weather.

My Incidental Weight Loss Program

I don't recommend this weight-loss regimen.

I've lost 16 lbs during the last 2 weeks.

First you start with pink eye. I couldn't see to bring a fork to my mouth.
Second, you add one hefty dose of viral gastroenteritis to clear out all the bad stuff and and to start your exercize program of utilizing the squeezing of buttocks & swiftness of feet exercises. You also must lay down inbetween these trips as they are quite frequent, ranging from 5-20 trips an hour over a 6 day period. The other upside is that sometimes your husband will wait on you and bring you iced water, your children get to visit their Aunt and Meme for several days, and you get to spend some one-on-one time praying to God (for relief).

Not only is this program a P"in"TA, but it's also a P"around"TA because I've got a bruise in the shape of a toilet bowl seat.

Shopping & the Movies

I just got home from the movies & then "sopping" at Wal-mart. (yes, it's 4am as I type this).

I saw 40 Year Old virgin. I liked the main character, but his new buddies should have been left out. The supporting 3 buddies were just waaaaay to crude. I agree with pluggedinonline's review that it should have gotten a NC-17 rating. BTW, the 40 yr old virgin waited until he was married to consumate and give his virginity.

On to the "sopping". I picked up four books that were regularly priced at $5.95 for .97 cents each for Kurt & Shelby to share. They have soft foam covers and the inside is the cardboard. The covers have a picture to correlate with the names of the books--[Itsy Bitsy Spider with a blue spider, This Little Piggy with a pink pig wearing green overalls, My Pretty Kitty that is yellow with purple ears, nose paws & tip of tail, and My Puppy Playtime that is brown. Kurt has gotten to where he brings books to me 3 or 4 times a day so that we can read. His favorites so far are Bambi Grows Up (a Little Golden Book) and Goodnight Moon. My guess is that Puppy will be called Saucee and Kitty will be called "Lolo", that is Solo.

They had many more titles such as Cuddles the Cow, Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, My Goldfish Wish, and My Baby Elephant that I didn't get, but I think that there are at least 4 more titles because I didn't get the one with the Jack in the Box on the front. But I think I'm going to go back tomorrow and get the rest so I can give them as stocking stuffers for the 4 nieces and nephews that I have now, the one that is on the way already and the one that my youngest sister is hoping to make with her DH over the next month or two.

I also got some school supplies that Cynthia needed that I found cheap: looseleaf, poket folders and a protractor. I also found a package of socks that had a sticker on it for $4 (the rest did not) that were regularly 5.62. I came out of the store spending less than $12. Which is great because I still had $7 in my pocket and I usually will spend every last penny that is in my pocket when I go "luxury" shopping.

I once found a 3-pk of spidey underwear at Wal-mart that was mismarked down to $1 from 4.92 and grabbed every single package they had. I figured that Kurt would grow into them. They are still in the package in his underwear/socks drawer waiting for him to finish potty training.

Okay, I can't believe I spent 40 minutes writing this ONE little post!!! It's 11 minutes til 5am, I gotta go to sleep! So if ya'll don't see me before noon, you'll all know why!

Rsvd for LONGVIEW vacation

This post is reserved for the Longview vacation that the children and I took with my SIL from Aug 4-15.

Jab decided to return the cell phones

After I reviewed my objections about the cell phone with Jaba again, He decided to return them.

My objections included:
Our home is in a dead zone,
$70 for service and we have $101 monthly notes for home insurance coming up in Sept.
We still have repairs that are needed on our family vehicle, it's unreliable which makes it unusable.
We are already paying for a landline
Cynthia is not driving, yet.
We never go out of town with either of our vehicles unless someone who owns a cell phone is with us anyway (basically my SIL or my Mother)
Our driving routes are populated enough that if either of us have a breakdown we only have maybe a mile at the most to have to walk to get to someone's house for a phone.


Those are just the few things that I object to a cell phone for.

Grrrr...New cell phone

Why is it that men have to have buy all the gadgets that come out? Jaba brought home 2 cell phones last night. We have already discussed that where we live is a dead zone. We have so many other things that need to be paid--house & auto insurance is coming up in November, we have to get the suburban repaired as we have no family vehicle right now. If I wanna go ANYWHERE with all the kids I have to ask my Mom to use her van.

I didn't blow up this time like I did when he brought home a cellphone before, but I'm questioning why we even have a need for a cellphone. Who does he need to call?

Ocks and Ooos

That's what Shelby told me as she was bringing me my socks and shoes. I let Cynthia, Al and Mary-Jo go with a friend to her house to play on a tree that was cut down. They are making obstacle courses with it to run on and race. They were getting their socks and shoes on, too, so Shelby was telling me she wanted to go. Unfortunately, the grass in the yard is too high and the surburban is not reliable enough right now for me to take them to the park that is 9 miles away and back. Hopefully, I'll be able to get the grass cut by Sunday or Monday so I can go outside and play in the yard with Kurt and Shelby again.

Why do we even buy them toys?

Mama's sanitary napkins are so much more fun to play with? They make a nice ripping noise when you stick & remove them from the floor, the dining room chairs, the table, and everything else in between. They don't like it too much when it gets stuck in their hair, though.

DAY 3!!!

I was sure that my house would be a disaster area by now, but here we are on day 3 and it's still presentable! Hmmmmm, I wonder if being out of the house for almost all of the waking hours makes a difference?

Wednesday evening after Jaba got off from work we went and spent the whole evening with my Aunt Debby, Uncle Howard and cousin Zack. We ate at a BBQ place, then stoped at TCBY for a cool refreshment. Afterwards we went back to the hotel. We were talking quietly in the room when the phone rang. The management called to say we were being too loud??? So we decided to go outside to the pool area where everyone else was being loud. My Dad showed up about an hour later. My Aunt Debby and my Daddy have not seen each other for close to 22 years. Mostly because of the distance. I hadn't seen my Dad for about 4 or 5 months. Tears were shed and hugs were plentiful.

My house is presentable today

It's not perfect, there is still lots of places that I could declutter. My entertainment center, the computer desk, the china cabinet, the bed with all the clean clothes on it could all use some attention, but I'm satisfied. The kitchen is clean, the diningroom is clean, 3 of the 4 bedrooms are clean, the bathrooms are clean and the livingroom is clean. I've also washed 4 loads of clothes, but there are about 15 left to go including linens for 8 beds. However, I'm finished with laundry until late tonight as the heat index is not to pretty today.

Why is my house clean? Well my Aunt Debby, Uncle Howard and cousin Zachary are coming into town today. They are originally from Concord, CA, but are moving across country to North or South Carolina. However, after 4 hours yesterday and 5 today of cleaning, I'm just done. They are not coming to inspect how clean I keep the house, they are here to see my family.

I do hope to declutter some of the spots that need it before we leave on vacation. It will be really nice to come home to a clean house after a 2 week vacation. Maybe Jaba will finish putting the floor down in our bathroom and even get the toilet set! That would be wonderful to be able to start using our master bath!

Going on Vacation

My SIL, Darlene, finally got a contract. It is in Longview, TX, which is about 1.5 hours away from 6 Flags Dallas. She has an apartment as part of her contract so we are spending the first 2 weeks of August between Longview and Dallas. I haven't really let my kids know as of yet, but after I talk with my SIL tomorrow and finalize the details with her I plan to get lots of work out of them before we leave on Sunday, July 31.

She got the contract just in time, too. School starts the third week of August. We will get back and have 3 days to get all ready for the first day of school.

For those that I keep in regular contact with, I will have a laptop that I can check in so I won't be totally out of touch.

Micki is pregnant!!!

Mindy called me on Tuesday to ask if I'd talked to Mama or any other family lately. I didn't suspect anything at that time so I just told her that I hadn't and that maybe Mama was working. Well she chatted with me for a few more minutes and then said, well, I better get off the phone in case anyone tries to call. Immediately, my brain kicks in gear and ask/exclaim, "MICKI's Pregnant?!" Mindy was quick to reply, "I didn't say anything!" So we get off the phone and about 15 minutes later Micki calls to surprise me with her news. I didn't tell her any different. So, Congratulations to my sister and congratulations to me, soon to be a new niece or nephew's favorite aunt, well in about 8 months anyway. hehe

Well, maybe next cycle

Jab and I are not actively trying to get pregnant, but we do not prevent pregnancy either. Our conviction is that God will open and close my womb. That does not prevent me from praying and wishing for another baby, though. These last 2 days I was actually beginning to think that maybe there was a possibility, but this morning I was visited by my monthly friend.

Maybe 5 children is God's plan for us, I don't know, but I hope that no matter what path God has planned for me that I will be content.

Not an easy admission

Yesterday was a real doosy of a day for me. Jab went into work for the early shift so I was looking forward to spending an evening with him and the children, then some intimacy time with him (and no, not just sex, there's so much more to intimacy). So I call Jab up to find out the time he's going to be home and I also had a few things that I needed from the store.

He told me he was scheduled to get off at 3 and my heart just flew because we were going to have a very long afternoon & evening together. However, he then informed me that he was going to Lake Charles (about 1 1/2 hours away) to meet some of his internet gaming buddies (cribbage, euchre, pinocle, etc). He said he had told me over a week ago, but that was not how I remembered it.

I remember him mentioning that he was thinking about going, but we did not have time to talk about it at that moment because of some interference with the kids. We both forgot to bring the subject back up later. I remember at the time, that I was thinking that it would be great for us to go on a little excursion together and thinking who could I get to watch the kids. I have met with internet friends--Sabine & twins (twice), Amy & Rob & their twins, Eric & Laura and their twins--but each time I met them in VERY public places WITH all 5 of my children.

Anyway, after he surprised me with the fact that he was going, my heart just sank and I'm not very good with surprises so I didn't take it very well. I got hot and angry quite quickly and after about 10 seconds I hung up on him. I don't like to have an argument with my husband on phone while he's at work. It's just not professional. So I'm steaming mad and in the middle of making a late lunch for hungry kids.

In recent times, I would have started to take my anger out on my kids for any little infraction. But this is something that I've been trying (with God's help) to stop. So I told Cynthia that I was not very happy and that I needed her to take the kids back to the bedroom while I finished up lunch so that I wouldn't get upset with them whining about when lunch was going to be ready. Then I thought of Sandi because I knew she'd be on AIM as our children have very similar schedules. I asked if I could vent and she was accommadating.

So I hashed out all my gripes and complaints. First, he was going; second, he was going without me; third, I had no idea of what his plans were. I didn't know who he was meeting, where they were meeting, when he was going to be back home. AND I know when he gets together with a bunch of guys that its a normal thing for him to want to have a drink. I don't have anything against drinking alcohol, but I didn't want him to drive back inebriated. Sandi asked if maybe I could spend the evening with my Mom. She wasn't available, but my SIL was.

Come to find out, Jab called her yesterday to borrow their vehicle. The air is out in the truck and our suburban needs some repair. My SIL suggested that she could watch the kids and I could go with Jaba, so, YEAH, I was excited, my original thoughts when Jab first brought the meeting up was going to happen!!! I get myself dressed up for going out and the kids packed up to spend the night at my SIL's, she picks us up and we're off to meet Jab at her house.

But then my excitement is dashed to smithereens when Jaba informs me that he wanted to go alone and that he hadn't planned on bringing me. I was so upset and disappointed. It still upsets me as is evident from my watery eyes. However, after about 20 minutes of my brooding and self-pity, I tell Jaba to go ahead and go because if I didn't we would just have a sad evening of both of us resenting each other and I didn't want that. He promised that he wouldn't drink and told me he'd be home by 11.

I am so thankful for Sandi being there for me and most thankful for her suggestion of spending an evening out of the house with someone. Even when it rolled around to 12:15am and no Jaba, I did not get worried, angry or upset because I wasn't home alone (well not alone, but I would have been the only one left awake as the kids would have been in bed). Jab did call at 12:30 and said he was about 30 minutes out but that there was an accident and traffic had backed up. So he gets to SIL's house. The kids wake up because the dogs barked, we all load up and go home. I wasn't sullen, mad or angry, I was just relieved to have my husband home safely. I was relieved that I gave in and gave Jaba my trust to be faithful to his promises.

Oh, and btw, I've never kept this blog hidden from my husband, but I am certainly going to make sure that he reads this one so that he will understand my thought process through yesterday. It's hard for me to convey my thoughts and emotions verbally, but most of the time when I write them down they become a complete picture. So, Jaba, I'm sorry. Please forgive me for my reaction. I love you.

"You have to ask God"

"Are you going to have any more babies?" That's what Mary-Jo asked me after our Library & McDonald's visit this morning. So rather than just giving her an answer, I asked her if she wanted me to have more babies. She said "Yes!" Then she said, "You have to ask God, Mama." I told her she could ask God, too, but she was insistant that I am the one who has to ask God for another baby. So, God, please give me another brother or sister, or both, for Mary-Jo.

BTW, if those of you who read my blog are wondering...Yes, I would love to have another baby.

Mary-Jo had me all to herself

Jaba got off early today (around 2pm). The twins had just been put down for a nap so I decided to spend an afternoon just with her. First, we brought my Mom's gasoline container back to her house then we headed off and did everything that Mary-Jo wanted to do (with a little guidance of course). We went to the zoo where she got to decide the paths to take and how long we spent at each exhibit. Then we went to my SIL's house so she could play with six 3 week dachsund puppies. Afterwards she chose Taco Bell for supper. Then she helped me clean out Mama's van because her Meme & brother are returning from vacation tomorrow. We were hot after that so we headed to TCBY for Wednesday Waffle Cone night. She got rainbow and I had white chocolate mousse. By this time it was 7pm, but as we were approaching her favorite park (Key's Park) she asked if we could stop so since it was her evening and it was still light I told her we'd stop for about 30 minutes. She got to swing so she was happy. Finally, just as it was starting to sprinkle, we loaded up for our last trip and headed home.

Tomorrow, Jaba is off, so I told Mary-Jo that I'd take her to the library tomorrow morning. Then we are going to Mama's house to watch my sister's children while my sister mows Mama's yard before they arrive home. Tomorrow evening Mary-Jo and her 2 cousins are spending the night at Meme's house. So today and tomorrow was and is going to be a big fun day for her.

Edited to add...Oh, I forgot. We also stopped at the everything's a dollar store and got her some paint and brushes so she can paint on the big brown paper (the kind you use to wrap boxes for the mail). She is so excited that she will get to paint when the babies are sleeping!

Handfuls of dogfood

Kurt and Shelby discovered my new "hiding in plain sight" place for the dog food. I was chatting with Sandi on AIM when all of a sudden I heard what sounded like beans falling to the laminate floor. But from the direction that I heard it, I knew right away that Kurt and Shelby had discovered a new fun mess to make.

I really gotta find my digcam so I can post pictures!

Shelby's cuspids have finally broke through

Shelby has always been right at the outside on almost every developmental stage. Teeth eruption is no different. Her upper cuspids have finally broken through this week. She's only 4 months past the time that they normally appear. I used a pediatric dental chart to discover this information.

I am so in love with my children and their love for Jesus. They are constantly making up their own songs about Jesus and God. I need to get a recording tape deck so that I can record all of their lyrics and melodies.

Today, when I went to meet my step-sister, Nancy, to drop of Cynthia for a Nazarene Church Camp, Cynthia and Mary-Jo began singing some of the VBS Ramblin' Road Trip songs (the link give you a list of the songs and you can hear them, too). Mary-Jo's favorite song is "Raise some Praise". Cynthia's favorite is "The Heartland". My favorite is "We Believe".

After we dropped Cynthia off, MSK & I headed to McDonald's playland, then the city park & the zoo before heading home. During each "road trip", though, Mary-Jo started making up her own songs. Her lyrics on the way home were "Jesus died on the cross for my sins, Jesus loves me, I love Jesus." There were some more lyrics but I can't remember all of them.

It's times like these that I realize that for all that I do wrong while trying to parent my children, I must be doing something right for them to just start bursting out in song, praising Jesus. In fact, during these times my heart comes close to bursting out of my chest.

28 months

At 28 months, these are Kurt and Shelby’s stats.

Kurt
Length = 33.25 inches
Weight = 27.5 pounds
Head circumference = 19.0 inches


Shelby
Length = 30.5 inches
Weight = 23.5 pounds
Head circumference = 18.25 inches

King Solomon

Lots of stories to tell today...

First, I picked Cynthia up from her 4-H trip this morning. She has 2 cameras filled with photos, but I have to get them developed before I can post them.

Second, since Jaba was off today, I asked him yesterday if he wanted to do something with the kids. When I got back with Cynthia, I was going to lay down for another hour because I had to pick her up at 8:45am and that's really early for me. Well, Jab decided that we should go ahead and get up and take the kids to the Alexandria Zoo. So about 45 minutes later we are all loaded up in the van and off. Kurt and Shelby enjoyed walking and running to each animal habitat. Kurt would quickly repeat the names of the animals, but I had to work with Shelby a bit. (As an aside...I've been reading a little bit about speech development and have been wondering if maybe Shelby has a case of developmental verbal apraxia. She may not, but I'm paying close attention as I try to teach her to say new words over the next month. If I find that her speech doesn't improve tremendously over the next month, then I'm going to contact a professional speech therapist.) Our zoo has a wonderful Louisiana Habitat exhibit that was completed in 1998. The last picture at the bottom of that page is a picture of the zoo train that is always the finale of our zoo tripa. The train ride at our zoo is not at all good for seeing animal exhibits, it's purely for the enjoyment of riding a train with your children.

Third, after hearing Mary-Jo and Kurt talk about cats pretty much the entire time we were at the zoo, Jab decided to take a detour and headed to PetSmart to look at the adopt-a-pet kittens. Since our house has been a mess for about 3 weeks now and neither Jab nor I put it in that condition, Jab told Mary-Jo if she & Cynthia cleaned the house that we'd get them a kitten.

Fourth, we stopped a Chinese place to eat. Jab picked up a newspaper while we were there (this is a significant part of our day for a later event). After we ate we returned home and Jaba put the twins to bed while I took Cynthia and Mary-Jo to my Mom's house to pick over the vegetable garden. We now have an abundance of zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes and okra. Mary-Jo was excited to see her cousin, Macy (she's a year younger) while we were there. Mindy, Macy's mom & my youngest sister, is taking care of Mama's house while they are away on a 2+ weeks vacation.

Fifth, the kids and I returned home to clean. I was flabbergasted! I have NEVER experienced a day in my life when Mary-Jo cleaned without griping that she was tired or sleepy. She cleaned more than Cynthia, even. As soon as she finished a job she was back to find out what to do next. Not once during the 2 1/2 hours of cleaning the house did a negative word escape her lips.

Sixth, we decided to go out to eat supper so we didn't have to make a supper mess.

Seventh, after we returned home, Jaba took Mary-Jo with him to go to the store. This is where the newspaper becomes significant--they went to the store, but the main purpose fo the trip, unbeknownst to me, was to return with kitty litter, kitten food and King Solomon. He looks a lot like the kitten on the right side of this calendar. However I dubbed him "Solo" (pronouced like the musical term). Kurt quickly learned the kitten's new name and both he and Shelby petted her very gently. Solo seems to be very tamed because for a kitten he has not scratched any of the kids. He certainly had a chance when Kurt picked him up and held him just a little too tight, but he just meowed and I quickly removed him from Kurt's hands.

Today was a day all about the kids and it was a great day for Jab and me, too. However, right now, I'm missing my son, Alex.

Baby-socked Door Handles

Boy is it getting harder and harder to keep Kurt and Shelby out of unsafe rooms! Just a week ago my biggest problem was making sure that C,A&M closed the bathroom door behind them when using the facilities. However, Kurt can now turn doorknobs. A friend of mine used babysocks and a rubberband to solve her doorknob turner's probing eyes and hands. So I'm breaking out the babysocks and rooting through kitchen & bathroom drawers for rubberbands that I can wrap tightly around the knobs. I wonder if a locking plastic tie wrap will do the trick?

Here are some more frugal baby tips.

Cynthia left for 4H camp

Well, I am now down to 3. Alex left on Thursday to go on vacation with my Mom & Johnny. And now I just returned from bidding farewell to my oldest child who left for 4H camp. She has 2 cameras and specific instructions to make sure SHE is in the photos. Hopefully I'll be able to share those when she returns early Friday morning. It was a lot harder last year to let her go as it was her first overnight trip away from family. She had gone on many vacation trips with Mama and Johnny since she was 2, but last year was a big step for me to rely on those not related to me to handle her with care. It still was not easy this year, but I since she came back last year fairly unharmed (she ended up with swimmer's ear) I wasn't quite as on edge and ready to load her back up in the van and take her home.

Let the Colors Fly

Last night we had an Ice cream social and fireworks at church. There were about 30 different homemade ice cream flavors (although I don't know who won) served then around 9:15 p we all went outside and let the colors fly.

The biggest part of the night is that I let myself relax rather than be my usual mother hen on patrol. Shelby quickly found the drink table so she only traipse back and forth from that location to where we were seated and I let her do it without me hovering over her. Kurt did take off a few times but I was able to catch up to him before he got out of sight. I even let Cynthia get out of my sight to go with her friends to watch the fireworks.

After we finished eating ice cream (well, Shelby drank) we headed outdoors and found a spot to sit and watch. After watching for about 10 minutes, Mary-Jo laid down so she didn't have to crook her neck and Shelby quickly followed suit. Kurt on the otherhand held onto me as if his life depended on it. I asked him if he was scared and he quickly learned a new word and repeatedly told me he was scared during the really loud firepops for the next 30 minutes.

Overall we had a really good time in a great Christian atmosphere!

Blazing a trail with the toilet saddle

Well we are now on day 3 of potty training. The first day was just the introductory phase to the potty. I have a soft seat insert that I used with Cynthia when she was potty training. Yes, the seat is 11 years old, but my policy is "if it ain't broke, don't fix it!" Kurt was a little scared to sit on the potty but after the 2nd time of being able to put a little toilet paper in the toilet and saying bye-bye to the "yucky" along with my showing extreme excitement he is all about the potty for now. So far the only thing entering the potty is a little toilet paper, but today's last trip to the potty looked promising. Shelby, who is always wet, wanted to go to the potty and was still dry. She didn't go in the potty, but about 5 minutes after we left the potty she came back to me to go to the potty and had a wet diaper. So I'm thinking they are really learning what we are trying to accomplish.

Wish us luck as we blaze a trail with the toilet saddle!

Potty Training Has Begun!

I finally decided to start potty training since Shelby and Kurt have now been removing "yucky" diapers almost immediately after wetting or soiling.

Do you act your age?

Well what do you know, I really do act my age!

You Are 34 Years Old

34 Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe. 13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world. 20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences. 30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more! 40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

What Age Do You Act?

Peggy had an IQ post on her blog so I took the IQ test and here's my results.

Your IQ Is 120

Your Logical Intelligence is Above Average Your Verbal Intelligence is Genius Your Mathematical Intelligence is Genius Your General Knowledge is Above Average

A Quick and Dirty IQ Test

I finally found a fairly recent picture of Jab and me in the same photo. This photo was taken at a Sunday School get together. We were building a float for the '04 Christmas parade.

Now that I have figured out how to add photos, I'll be taking plenty more and uploading them!

Square Foot Gardening

I finally realized that I could upload pictures!!! This is from L to R, Mary-Jo, Cynthia and Al. Cynthia's 4-H project this year was gardening. She did 2 gardens this year--one at my SIL's and one at my Moms.

Al and Mary-Jo always have to help Cynthia because they think they should get to do anything that she does. However, Cynthia didn't mind the help while weeding.

For those who have known me for some time and remember Mary-Jo cutting her hair, yet again, this was just a week after we had it cut shorter than Al's hair. Her punishment was that she had to wear a hat at all times except when taking a bath or sleeping until her hair grew out.

Naptime woes

I have 2 totally opposite babies when it comes to naptime or night-night time. Shelby wants to be totally left alone in a bed all by herself and Kurt wants to be in bed right slap up against you or even under you. About 50% of the time Kurt will remain in his bed, but the other 50% he is either screaming at the bedroom door to come out or I hear Shelby having a screaming "me-me" fit because he has climbed into her crib. Yes, she is still in her crib at almost 28 months and I see no end in sight. She may still sleep in her crib when she's 4 or 5! Kurt started climbing out and into the crib (his and Shelby's) when he was between 15-17 months. Other than when Kurt climbs into her crib, Shelby loves to go down for her nap & down for night-night. She will lay there patiently while Kurt is screaming at the door. The only time she gets upset is when I finally relent and go get Kurt if he is still screaming at the 20 minute mark. If she is still away, oops, awake, she gets jealous that he has been let out of the room.

I've read a lot of posts by my friends with twins that share about their twins wanting to sleep together or how they will find one on top of the other sometimes I can't help but be jealous. However, when my 2 are awake they are the lovingness little siblings ever. They love to hug and kiss each other and for the most part share and play really well together. They only have a few "love" bites and "love" hits every so often.

I rarily edit but away and awake just did not fit at all. I even had to go back and think about what I wrote before I figured it out.

New Favorite On-line Game

Jaba discovered a new gaming spot on the internet and as the McDonald's jingle goes, "I'm lovin' it!" Splashspot has a game called Water Park that I have found myself playing way to often. It's quite addictive for me.

Movie night again

I watched Bewitched and Herbie: Fully Loaded at the theater tonight. I don't think I'm going to let the kids watch Bewitched, but I'll definitely take them to Herbie.

EEK!!! We have mice

I was up late the other night with the living room light on and saw a mouse scurrying around a corner. Where there is one mouse there is sure to be others. Jab got some traps and some poison. However, I don't plan to use it until I can have all the kids away from home for a day or 2. I'd be terrified of having one of them step on a trap or eat the poison.

Oh and BTW, where there are mice, snakes are sure to follow. So I'm definately going to be getting rid of the mice!!!!

Saucee is okay

I picked her up from the vet today. She just has to stay inside for a few days and calm. She wasn't poisened by an agent. The Vet thinks that she may have had a reaction to an insect bite of some kind.

I am so mad--Saucee

The kids were out with the dog (we have a miniature dachsund) and forgot to put her back up after playing. Well about 45 minutes later a neighbor came and told me she was acting funny. So I went to go and get her and knew there was something wrong by the way she was acting. She couldn't move & was very lethargic. So I called my SIL to call the vet we loaded her and the kids up in the van and headed off to the vet. (My SIL pays for all the vet bills as it was her gift to the kids.) Anyway she was poisoned. We don't know from what yet, though. This is the second time that MY kids' dog has been poisoned. We lost our dog two years ago to someone poisoning her.

The thing that irks me the most is that our dog is not the only "loose" dog in the neighborhood. She is on a 25 ft cord in our yard until the kids take her off to play with her. During the evenings she is put in her kennel. That is more than was the rest of the people in the neighborhood do. Everyone else's dogs are allowed to roam all day and night. Why is it that OUR dog is poisoned and not the other animals.

I could let go a stream of sailor terms right now!