{creative.chaos}

Christmas Card 2010

2010-12-06T20:42:00.001-05:00

Faith Hope Love Religious

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GOING GLUTEN FREE!

2010-04-18T08:48:00.004-04:00

Gluten Free

Living gluten free has become a reality in our household since I have been diagnosed with gluten intolerance. It hasn't been as difficult as I thought it would be thanks to the fact that I have other family members who also live gluten free and are willing to share tips and already-been-tested-and-approved gluten free products with me. Thanks, Cindi! :)

It hasn't even been too difficult for the rest of the family. We have found some great gluten free foods that everyone likes. Caitlyn even had a gluten free cake on her 16th birthday and was happy with it! The biggest draw-back so far has been the added stress on our grocery budget. Unfortunately, gluten free living is rather expensive. But the fact is, the way I feel has greatly improved, even in areas I wouldn't have considered, so the trade-off is absolutely worth it.

TOOTH UPDATE

2009-05-20T15:09:00.002-04:00

I took Garrett to the dentist Monday and that is definitely not his permanent tooth coming in... but it's not part of the baby tooth either. It is a mesiodens, or middle tooth, that will need to be pulled. No problem. Garrett didn't freak out at the mention of pulling that tooth. He didn't even freak out when Dr. Jarrell said she'd likely have to pull the top front tooth next to it as well because pulling the mesiodens would knock that other front tooth out anyway. He DID freak out at the mention of a pediatric dentist or oral surgeon doing it though. He said, "No way! I want HER [Dr. Jarrell] to do it." Dr. Jarrell said we could take him to one of the other dental specialists if we wanted it out right away or she can pull it in a couple of months when it has erupted a little more. We are going to wait and let her do it. There is no risk of damaging any other teeth by waiting so we will honor Garrett's wishes and let her do it once the tooth has come in enough to get a hold of it. He seems kind of excited at the prospect of getting "laughing gas." lol. not sure exactly what he thinks that means, but as long as he's not worried about it, I see no reason to fully explain the whole process. ;)

FIRST LOST TOOTH!

2009-05-16T17:12:00.002-04:00

Garrett lost his first tooth today. It's been loose for about 3 months. When I took him to the dentist for his routine cleaning, Dr. Jarrell said she didn't see a permanent tooth in the x-ray so she felt pretty certain he had bumped his face on something and knocked the tooth loose. She also said it probably wouldn't fall out anytime soon and that when it did, it would be a blank hole for quite a while. Well, the tooth fell out much sooner than she expected and there IS something there trying to come in (or something that broke off the baby tooth, not sure), but it doesn't look right. So Monday I am going to run him into the office and have her take a look at it. Whatever that is that's in there is really skinny and very sharp. I've never seen anything quite like it before and am hoping it is nothing to be concerned about or that she has to do anything with. Garrett freaks out about this kind of stuff. It's funny, because he is a really tough kid. It takes a lot to make him cry, but the mere mention of going to the doctor or dentist literally makes his head spin and he has a major meltdown. Grrrr. In the meantime, we are just going to put that lost tooth underneath his pillow and let him be thrilled that the Toothfairy came and brought him a dollar! (our Toothfairy isn't rich so she hasn't kept up with the Joneses - lol!)

TOO BUSY TO BLOG

2009-05-13T15:58:00.010-04:00

Yep, that's what I said. I"m too busy to blog. What ever made me think I would actually have time for this? I must've been having a crazy moment. But I am going to try to do better about keeping this up. We'll see how it goes. Another school year is almost over and I can't even believe it. It seems like we just started and now we're ending. :( I am sad to see my two groups of preschoolers leave this year. I've had two fantastically fun classes filled with sweet kids. I must admit the afternoon class was a BIT more challenging than the morning class, but we did have fun and I love all those kids dearly. My afternoon class consisted of 7 boys and 4 girls. 'Nuf said. I'm sure you can draw your own conclusions from even that tiny bit of information. :D

Last weekend was Western High School's Jr.-Sr. Prom. So for the third time in five months, Caitlyn had to find the perfect dress and the perfect hairstyle. And yes, she went with Aaron because they are still together (10 months today in fact as I was just informed a few minutes ago that today is their "10-monthiversary." what the heck??). And as always, they looked gorgeous and, more importantly, they had a wonderful time at the dance even though Caitlyn had to be on a bus at 7:45 a.m. the morning after prom for an all-day cheerleading stunt clinic. You can view more prom pics here: http://picasaweb.google.com/scrapnfor3/WESTERNPROM09?
authkey=Gv1sRgCOGoxfW0l8CkTg# [just copy & paste that entire link]

Oh, and speaking of the cheer stunt clinic, there's more news to share: Caitlyn made JV Cheerleading! She has wanted to do this for a long time and is super excited about the coming year. The girls have just started getting their cheer camp outfits and practicing a few things for camp so she is getting really pumped about it. I'm excited for her as well because I know how much she wanted to do this.

Last Friday was the annual 4th Grade Pioneer Day at Northwestern Elementary School. That was a really fun day for Claire and I was able to go and spend the whole morning with her. My mother made a cute pioneer dress and bonnet for Claire which thrilled her. There was so much for the kids to do that day. They learned how to weave, do tin punching, candle dipping, corn shuckin' the old fashioned way, and square dancing. Now that was funny to see. The last thing those 4th grade boys and girls wanted to do was hold hands with each other so they could dance. Hilarious, I tell you! But in all actuality, I was very impressed with their mad square dancing skills. Those kids really knew what they were doing. ;) They also got to make funnel cakes, juste bracelets and they sewed their own pin cushions stuffed with saw dust. There were many other activities for them to enjoy as well. As I was passing a little girl in the hallway, I heard her exclaim, "This is the best day of my life!" For more Pioneer Day pics, go here: http://picasaweb.google.com/scrapnfor3/4THGRADEPIONEERDAY?
authkey=Gv1sRgCMvdrqTCquvgpAE# [again, copy & paste the entire link]

This week has been extremely busy so it's no wonder time seems to fly. I don't feel like I can catch my breath sometimes. Garrett is playing T-ball right now and he really loves it. It's so funny to watch those little guys though because sometimes they just forget they are supposed to be playing ball and it ends up looking more like a Ladies Aide Society Meeting - haha!

Caitlyn is getting ready to start KIVO (which is a travel volleyball league - gotta keep improving those skills if you wanna play varsity!). Caitlyn is smack dab in the middle of track season too and Claire has just tried out for NES Entertainers which is a select choir of 4th, 5th & 6th graders. I'm really hoping she makes it since she's not really into sports too much. I'd love to see her find some extracurricular activity that she enjoys. Well, that's all for now. I'll be back again soon with more updates - that is, if I can keep up with them myself! I sure hope summer doesn't fly by. But I have a feeling it will.

BEDTIME STORIES

2009-04-13T13:16:00.004-04:00

So... I wasn't thrilled with the selection of movies at the Red Box this last time, but it was spring break and we weren't going anywhere until the end of the week, there were reruns on TV and the kids wanted to rent a movie. This was actually the only movie available that all 3 kids could watch and MIGHT actually be interested in so I got it. I was pretty sure it would be dumb. I like Adam Sandler for the most part, but he definitely has starred in a couple of movies that I just didn't like at all. In fact, I either hate his movies or love them. There has never been an in-between for me as far as his movies go.

Bedtime Stories pleasantly surprised me though. Not that it was a really good movie in any way, but it was cute. The story line was pretty lame, but Sandler played a lovable character that you find yourself rooting for. The kids in the movie were kinda cute too and actually had some more thoughtful insight into a few things than the adult main character did, reminding him what "true heroism" should be. There was no cussing (although I wish they hadn't thrown God's name around), no terrible name-calling (except for "Sir Butt-Kiss" which I have to admit, made me laugh) and no sex scenes. While this movie does have it's faults (lying & greed happen to be 2 of the biggees here), it wasn't horrible to sit through and I didn't fall asleep like I did when we saw Over the Hedge. In all, I can say I might even watch this one again some time. In a few months... or next year. And we might even add it to our DVD collection. :P

TIME TO PLAY "CATCH-UP"

2009-04-13T11:57:00.025-04:00

So... I know it's been way too long since I've blogged. It's been way too long since I've done a lot of things actually, but what can I say? Life just goes by so much faster than I ever wish for it to. I'm thinking I may just post a few pictures to catch you up. I know. That's taking the lazy way out, but sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do. KWIM? :)

So that photo up there ^ is the first family picture we've had taken since Garrett was born (it was taken in December of last year). Yikes! How terrible is that? I had to beg Keith to get that one taken and I even resorted to using the "it's the only thing your mom has been asking for for Christmas" line. But it was true and it worked, so whatever it takes.

Also in December, Caitlyn & Aaron went to Northwestern's Christmas Dance - Caitlyn's first high school formal. They were very cute-looking and had a great time. Too bad we had to take out a loan to pay for Caitlyn's hair, nails, shoes and accessories - haha!

They also went to Western's Winter Formal in February. We were smart enough to borrow a dress this time and she did her own hair. :) I decided she will have to do her own hair from now on unless it's for Prom. Luckily, she's okay with that.

I can't even post any pics from Christmas because guess what? I haven't even loaded them onto the computer yet. I need to get that done sometime soon or at least put them on a CD.

Garrett went on his first deer hunt this past winter. Keith had been out several times and hadn't shot anything. He had resigned himself to the fact that he wasn't going to get a deer this year so he finally told Garrett he'd take him along since he'd been pestering him about it all season. When he told me he was going to take Garrett I laughed and said, "This will probably be the day you shoot one then." Garrett can't sit quietly for very long so Keith was pretty sure that wasn't going to happen. Well, that little trip just goes to prove that God really IS in control of ALL things because Keith did shoot a deer even with Garrett standing on top of him jumping up and down with his fingers in his ears yelling, "Shoot Daddy! Shoot!" Haha! Good times for them. Garrett was SO EXCITED!

So that's it for now. I'll be back later to update some more. But as I'm sitting here typing, I'm thinking the practical thing to do will be to just pick up right where we are! :)

FEAST DAY AT LITTLE SCHOOL!

2008-11-26T15:16:00.021-05:00

Yesterday was the day of our annual Feast at Little School. It is such a fun day for the children. They get to dress up as Native Americans and all of us teachers dress like Pilgrims. Well, not really. We wear black pants and white blouses so we really resemble your basic restaurant server-type, but we tell the children we are the Pilgrims and since they're 4- and 5-year-olds they pretty much don't know the difference. It works for us so why change?

But anyway, we move all of our little tables and chairs into fellowship hall and set them up with colorful placemats, tiny plates, spoons and tiny plastic cups. It's so cute.

We are all in our classrooms for the first hour of school. During that time we do our usual opening circle times and then each class gets to whip up a culinary delight to be served at the Feast. The 5-year-old class makes mashed potatoes (instant of course, but you have to start somewhere), and the 4-year-old classes prepare the batter for Mrs. Dikeman to make the corn cakes (Jiffy corn muffin mix but again, you have to start small) and all the classes make their own butter to use on the corn cakes. It's amazing what a clean plastic peanut butter jar, some heavy whipping cream and a marble can do! You should try it sometime, it's delicious and fun. They also get some time to play with some special Native American themed items which is a lot of fun for them.

Once it is time for the Feast, all the children put on the necklaces and headbands they made then they head out on a little "hunt." They aren't really hunting anything but they"re very quiet in the hallway as they are looking for deer. All the classes gather together in fellowship hall and Mrs. Dikeman tells them a little about our history and how we celebrate Thanksgiving to honor God and to thank him for all the blessings we receive from him. She also teaches them a little bit about Squanto and how he and his people helped the Pilgrims learn to farm and hunt and fish, as well as a little about the homes the Pilgrims built and the longhouses that the Indians in our area lived in. They also get a mini nutrition lesson when Mrs. Dikeman holds up various fall vegetables and asks them to help her identify them. This year we also taught them a little song about an Indian who is hunting for deer.

On the menu this year: roasted turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, raw carrots, dressing, and corn cakes & butter. We've tried serving pumpkin fluff and applesauce in the past but found that the children just really didn't eat it. One thing that is certain though is that every year the unanimous favorite Feast food is CORN CAKES. The children can't ever get enough of them!

Oh yeah, we had special visitors this year too. One of the little girls in our morning session has am uncle who trains bird dogs so she and her dad brought in a couple of live pheasants and a couple of live quail for the children to see and learn a little bit about. That was pretty cool although I had forgotten my camera so I didn't get a picture. Pheasants make a pretty strange sound. It actually sounds like someone with a dry cough. I thought it was kinda weird but I learned something new which was kinda cool.

A bit of a sad note, this will be my last time to have a child of my own at Little School on Feast Day. I will always enjoy the Feast, but it will never be as special as it has been for the past 8 years. I have gotten great joy out of watching all my children have fun at their Feasts and I will miss that.

HALLOWEEN 2008

2008-11-10T20:08:00.011-05:00

Really quick - just a few photos I took of the kiddos this Halloween:

Caitlyn - Pirate Princess

Claire - Bumblebee

Garrett - Knight in Shining Armor

Aaron & Caitlyn - Pirates

What a bunch of Q-tees

We met our posse at the Longshores again this year and trick-or-treated in beautiful downtown Green Acres ;) Mike hooked the hay wagon up to the 4-wheeler and loaded it up with all the little cuties. Then our very own Sarah Palin drove them around so they could trick-or-treat without getting sore feet and tired legs. It was rough, let me tell ya - lol! The older girls, Caitlyn and Sam and Claire and Abby kind of went out on their own this year so in reality, we have absolutely no idea what they did but, oh well. They didn't disappear or eat any poisoned candy so it all worked out fine. After trick-or-treating we all met back at Mike and Connie's for some delicious chili and all sorts of other yummy foods. Loved that Halloween was on Friday this year so no one had to hurry home. We ate, we sat around and talked and we laughed A LOT. It was a super fun time with our friends. How many kids were there you ask? I don't actually know... I lost count somewhere around 25 or so. ;)

FALL SPORTS

2008-10-20T11:10:00.006-04:00

Well the freshman volleyball season is finally over. Unfortunately, it wasn't a very impressive season for a bunch of girls who have been playing together for 4 years and were the County Champions the past 2 years and the City-County Champions last year. Not too sure what happened to them this year but they kind of fell apart. Don't get me wrong, when they were having a good night, they were fabulous. But when they were having a bad night, they were completely terrible. It was sad to see them playing so inconsistently this year.

We can't really complain about Caitlyn's individual season. She really only played one bad game. I don't have her stats yet, but I am hoping to get them from the coach soon. She really did have a very good individual season overall. Caitlyn has decided she wants to play volleyball for Butler University. In order for that to happen she is going to have to get a volleyball scholarship which also means that, although she is a good player, she is really going to have to step up her game. She is not amazing and in order to get a scholarship to play volleyball at Butler she is going to have to be amazing. That means volleyball camp at Butler or Purdue FOR SURE every summer until she graduates. And even if she doesn't get a scholarship from Butler, maybe she'll get one somewhere else. There are a lot of good schools in Indiana. We'll just have to wait and see.

So most of our time for the past 3 months has been taken up with volleyball practices, games and tourneys. The rest of our time for the past 3 months has been taken up with high school football: Northwestern and Western football. We attended all of Northwestern's home games except two which happened to be on the same nights that Western had home football games. We have always attended some Western football games since Keith has been working there for the past 15 years, but this year we have attended all of their home games and some of their away games. Yes, this year Caitlyn has a boyfriend that plays football for Western and she would rather go to his games than the Northwestern games. SO glad we bought all-sports passes for all of us for Northwestern. I'm thinking we should have bought them for Western instead. :/ Fortunately, Aaron doesn't play basketball so we can at least make all the Northwestern basketball games. And football is almost over. Sectionals start this week. Hopefully, Western will advance past Friday. They have a very good team this year so it's possible. For the record, Northwestern's football team sucked so we didn't really miss anything. :(

GOODBYE, GRANNY

2008-08-27T15:11:00.004-04:00

My Granny passed away Tuesday morning. It has hit me harder than I thought it would. I mean, I knew it would affect me like Papaw's passing did, but I didn't think it would be this much. I lived next door to them practically my whole childhood. I can remember sitting in the rocking chair in their living room some days and not really having conversations, but just BEING with them. Sometimes we would all three just read. It sounds kind of weird I suppose, but for me it was comforting just to be there with them.

So anyway, I have been pretty emotional the past three days. The girls and I went to see her Monday evening and we knew then that she wasn't going to be with us much longer. I regret that I didn't go see her a couple of days earlier when she was still somewhat responsive. I told her I loved her and I hope that on some level of consciousness she heard me. Who knows though? She had a fever of 105 degrees and had been given morphine so it's probably unlikely that she even knew we were there.

I don't know. What I do know is that she took care of me when I was little and throughout my high school and college years and I will miss her.

WASHINGTON, DC

2008-08-17T18:35:00.005-04:00

I know this post is long overdue since it's been a few weeks now that we returned from our trip to DC. I can honestly say it was an amazing trip and everyone should visit our Nation's capital sometime during their lifetime. We spent 3 whole days in DC and every single one of them was jam-packed with activity. We started our days at 6 a.m. and typically didn't end up back at the 4-H Conference Center until 9:30 p.m. It was hot and humid and it felt like we walked a hundred miles (we didn't always look or smell real great either), but it was worth it. The city is amazing in so many ways. So let's see if I can just give you a few highlights:

We saw every monument/memorial in the city I'm pretty sure - even some we didn't know existed prior to going (the new Air Force Memorial for instance, which was really cool)
Food courts seem to be very popular
The Smithsonians are amazing - and FREE!
Arlington National Cemetery is WAY bigger than I ever imagined (and I'm certain it's all UPHILL - if you go there, pay the $15 and take the shuttle)
The changing of the guard at Arlington is a must-see
Schedule a tour of the National Cathedral. I've never seen anything like it - incredible!
We were nearly run over by the Secret Service speeding out of the drive of the Capital Building. We never did find out what was going on but there were fire trucks, ambulances and several huge black suburbans involved.
Favorite memorials: Korean War Memorial and Iwo Jima (be sure to count how many HANDS are in that memorial)
Mount Vernon was interesting, but I was a little disappointed in it.
There are tons of homeless people, but you don't notice them too much unless you are out very early and they are still "camping out" in the parks, or until early evening when they start to stake their claims on park benches (or you see them literally eating from the garbage cans in the parks - very disturbing)
Everything about the Capital Building is awesome - the magnitude of the building itself, the architecture, the ornateness of the ceilings, the inner-workings, the underground tunnel and train... it was my favorite building of all and I would love to be able to explore it more fully and without all those dang tourists.
Saw the original Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights
Saw the Hope diamond which was pretty impressive

There is so much I could say about this trip, but it would take too much space. I took about 300 photos. I'm not sure how many Caitlyn took. This is an experience I am glad I had and glad my daughter had. I don't think the kids will really fully appreciate the trip though until they are much older. I think maturity and life experience are the keys to really "getting" a trip to DC.

This is one of my favorite photos from our trip. The whole city is very massive - lots of limestone and marble so most of the buildings are grayish/brownish/white. But this was one area (a relatively small area) where the landscape was very different. This was on our walk to the Smithsonian Castle. This is such a stark contrast to the rest of the surroundings. It's very serene and beautiful. And notice there is no congestion. That struck me as odd since it was the prettiest spot in the whole city.

IT"S ALMOST TIME

2008-07-24T09:40:00.005-04:00

Caitlyn and I leave for D.C. in four days. We're both really looking forward to the trip although we agree we could do without the 12-hour bus ride. But then we can't really complain considering it is costing us $25 for Caitlyn to go on this trip which includes her room and board, tickets, and dinner at Hard Rock Cafe on Thursday evening. Her only other expenses will be 2 meals a day for 5 days, plus whatever "stuff" she brings home. It's a great deal and I'm thankful she is getting this opportunity. As we get closer to the trip, we have a couple of things kind of hanging over us though that concern us. For one, Granny hasn't been well and has suffered some more mini strokes. She is now bedridden and hospice makes daily visits to care for her. That's never a good sign. It is difficult for me to know she's been in this state for so many months now and I am praying nothing else happens while we are out of town. Last Saturday our neighbor, Ed, suffered a massive stroke. He has been hemorrhaging from his brain since then and is not expected to recover from this stroke. We are told it is just a matter of time before he dies. His family has already been making funeral arrangements. This has made our whole family sad since we have lived next door to them for the past 12 years. For many years our kids were the only "grandchildren" they had. We have so enjoyed getting to know them and talking with them and helping them. They are neat people. They are good people and both Keith and I have taken advantage of the wisdom Ed was able to offer us on many different topics - especially about life and faith. We will miss him and we worry about Beverly whose health is also a huge concern. Ed always took care of her. So anyway, Caitlyn and I are saddened by the realization that Ed may pass away while we're gone and we would miss the funeral. We are praying for things to work out differently but we also know God is in control. So for the next few days we will focus on making sure we have everything we need and getting packed. We will be leaving around 6 a.m. on Monday so we'd definitely appreciate prayers for travel mercies as well as a safe overall trip. There will be about 25 teenagers and 10 adults on this trip. For many, it will be a chance of a lifetime to fully experience the rich history of our country.

DARK NIGHT

2008-07-21T08:32:00.005-04:00

Keith took Claire and Garrett fishing in the sweltering heat and humidity last night so Caitlyn and I decided to go see a movie. Since Caitlyn's boyfriend went to see Dark Night without her and we've both been wanting to see it, that's where we went. It definitely didn't disappoint. Even though the movie is nearly 3 hours long it didn't feel like we'd sat in the theater nearly that long (except for my bad knee which was totally killing me when we left and the stinky people next to Caitlyn).

Caitlyn and I both liked this movie well enough that we'd see it again today. For her, that's not saying much since she'll watch any movie she likes a thousand times. But for me to say that does mean something. I'm not a person who likes to watch very many movies more than once and if I do there has to be a significant period of time between viewings.

The movie is fast-paced, of course full of violence and action, a little romance, suspense and there was one part that even made me jump in my seat. I won't reveal the details in case you haven't seen the movie.

I've never been a huge Heath Ledger fan, but I have to say he played the role of the Joker fabulously. Funny, at first I thought it'd be a perfect role for Johnny Depp (and I still think he could pull if off well), but Ledger did a remarkable performance. He was able to pull off the freak part with finesse and the character was very believable. And of course, Christian Bale is nice to look at and plays such a great role. I love the personna that has been given to Bruce Wayne in these movies. ;)

So yeah. I definitely recommend seeing this movie but I highly recommend you see the first two Batman movies first so you know what the heck is going on. If nothing else see Batman Begins before seeing Dark Knight.

PROJECT RESULTS

2008-07-09T15:03:00.004-04:00

Both girls did really well on their 4-H projects this year. Last night was the Fashion Revue. Caitlyn received a Blue Ribbon with Honors which put her just under Grand Champion and Reserve Champion. Not bad for her first year in the Fashion Revue! Caitlyn didn't finish her photography project because she ran out of time. This summer has been kind of busy. She did receive a Blue Ribbon with Honors as well as Reserve Champion on her Computer Arts project though. :)

This was Claire's first year in "real" 4-H, meaning she was finally able to get out of Mini 4-H. She was going to do a couple of projects this year, but due to our schedules and this being her first year I limited her to just one. She competed in the Make With A Mix division of the Foods category. She had to use a box brownie mix and create her own unique brownie by adding two new ingredients. She added chopped Milky Way bars to the batter and caramel sauce on top. The result was pretty tasty - rich, but tasty! Claire received a Blue Ribbon for her brownies which made her pretty happy. :)

I guess tonight we'll take the kids to the fair to ride rides. Not my favorite thing especially since it's so dang HOT right now. Geez, it's 90 degrees and the humidity is off the charts! But oh, well. At least I won't have to do it again until next year.

FAIR WEEK = FRUSTRATIONS

2008-07-07T20:37:00.004-04:00

This is fair week and typically I wouldn't mind it too much but this year I'm annoyed. We aren't going to be too busy this week which is nice. We'll only be at the fair 2 days in fact. Last week was the crazy week with pre-fair judging and Caitlyn having to work two shifts in the concession stand. We had to drive to Greentown and back several times and some days more than once a day. Tuesday Caitlyn is in the Fashion Revue so we'll go to the fairgrounds for that, but then we won't go back again until Thursday. Keith has to work the fair that day so we'll be there from 3 p.m. - 11 p.m. The kids will ride the rides that day and we'll probably spend $150. That's nuts.

What irritates me is that the Sheriff acts like Fair Week is some kind of National holiday or something. He has actually ORDERED people to NOT TAKE ANY DAYS OFF DURING FAIR WEEK. Are you kidding me? Whatever. Keith and I were going to go to the Creation Museum and to King's Island with the youth group from our church this Friday and Saturday, but it looks like I'll be going alone (well, not really alone, but without Keith). We are just now getting to a point where we can do things with the older kids (i.e., Caitlyn) and I was really looking forward to it. I'm still going to go because Caitlyn wants me to go and because if there aren't enough chaperones the trip can't happen. But I'm frustrated that Keith always has to miss out on stuff because of his job. I keep wondering when we'll ever have a normal life. :/

PRODUCTIVITY

2008-07-01T18:18:00.006-04:00

It's so quiet here this afternoon. All the kids went to my mom's to swim and Keith is working so I've had the house all to myself since 2:30. Yay me!

At first I thought it would be a great day to take a nap, but I've been doing that a lot lately. I'm not sleeping much during the night these days so, whatever. But after I thought about it some more I decided I really didn't need to succumb to my sluggishness. I didn't feel like scrapping either. I haven't wanted to do that since Cropulation back in May. :( So I decided to do a little more work in the front room. I really need to get it cleared out so we can paint and refinish the wood floor. I'd like that done before school starts. I have actually gotten a lot done in here and I feel good about it. I had to take a break and eat something since that's been an issue for me lately too. It's hard to eat when you constantly feel like you're going to throw up (and no, I'm NOT pregnant). So anyway I thought I'd update my blog to reflect that I am still working toward the goals I set the other day.

I've been able to listen to all the Aerosmith , INXS, Eagles and Journey I wanted today too. So that's been kinda fun. :D

Oh, and I did get all the kids' outgrown summer clothes to the resale shop and/or the Salvation Army. ;)

BIG BLOG CHALLENGE #29: A GOOD EMAIL

2008-06-30T08:06:00.004-04:00

Today's challenge is to copy and paste a good email message I've recently received. One of my friends and fellow staff members at Little School sent me this. It actually made me LOL several times and then I realized... yikes! this stuff is sooooo true. :/

YOU might be a school employee if you believe the
playground should be equipped with a Ritalin salt lick.

YOU might be a school employee if you want to slap the next person who says, 'Must be nice to work 8 to 3:30 and have summers off."

YOU might be a school employee if it is difficult to
name your own child because there's no name you can come up with that doesn't bring high blood pressure as it is uttered.

YOU might be a school employee if you can tell it's a full moon or if it's going to rain, snow, hail... anything!!! Without ever looking outside.

YOU might be a school employee if you believe "shallow gene pool" should have its own box on a report card.

YOU might be a school employee if you believe that unspeakable evils will befall you if anyone says, "Boy, the kids sure are mellow today."

YOU might be a school employee if when out in public, you feel the urge to snap your fingers at children you do not know and correct their behavior.

YOU might be a school employee if you have no social life between August and June.

YOU might be a school employee if you think people should have a government permit before being allowed to reproduce.

YOU might be a school employee if you wonder how some parents MANAGED to reproduce.

YOU might be a school employee if you laugh uncontrollably when people refer to the staff room as the "lounge."

YOU might be a school employee if you encourage an obnoxious parent to check into charter schools or home schooling and are willing to donate the UHAUL truck should they decided to move out of district.

YOU might be a school employee if you think caffeine should be available in intravenous form.

YOU might be a school employee if you can't imagine how the ACLU could think that covering your students chair with Velcro and then requiring uniforms made out of the corresponding Velcro could ever be misunderstood by the public.

YOU might be a school employee if meeting a child's parent instantly answers this question, "Why is this kid like this?"

YOU might be a school employee if you would choose a mammogram over a parent conference.

YOU might be a school employee if you think someone should invent antibacterial pencils and crayons...and desks and chairs for that matter!

YOU might be a school employee if the words "I have college debt for this?" have ever come out of your mouth.

YOU might be a school employee if you know how many days, minutes, and seconds are left in the school year.

ENJOY YOUR SUMMER!!!!

NO BETTER TIME THAN THE PRESENT?

2008-06-26T10:01:00.003-04:00

Today is the day I start "ridding out." I have been in a serious funk lately. I'm guessing it is less funk and more depression than anything (gotta remember to take those anti-depressants everyday). My house is trashed. My life is complicated. I hate that I'm not enjoying this summer. So I need to pull myself out of this funk before it gets any worse. I've known this for a while, but knowing what I need to do is a whole different thing than actually doing what I need to do.

So today I am making two goals. I figure it's best to start out small that way the chance to succeed is way higher. :p

Goal 1: Take all the kids summer clothes they've outgrown to the resale shop. What they don't take, drop off at Goodwill.

Goal 2: Begin cleaning the clutter from the front room. It's ridiculous. There is so much junk in here I hate to come into the room. It actually makes me nauseous to look at it.

Those are 2 pretty attainable goals really. Especially since the big box of outgrown summer clothes is IN THE FRONT ROOM. Just getting that out and into the van will give me a start on clearing the clutter. :)

I've been told there's no better time than the present so I should get started. I think I'll crank up INXS' Switch album and get busy. I'll have to work on uncomplicating my life a little later. That's going to be a little bit bigger of a job. :(

SOME RANDOM*NESS

2008-06-26T00:00:00.001-04:00

I can honestly say I've never been an "obsessive fan" when it comes to Hollywood or the music scene BUT if I were to become one, I would be all about this guy: J.D. Fortune. He is such a hottie.

I've been a huge fan of INXS' music for as long as I can remember, but frankly, no one in the original band was all that good to look at. Don't get me wrong, the original lead singer, Michael Hutchence, (who died in 1997) was an amazing singer and made the band what it was, but he didn't make me go "Ahhhhhh." When the band found J.D. they got the total package. Hot, smart, charismatic, amazing stage presence and yeah, a voice to go with it all. I could listen to this guy sing all day and watch him forever. He's assertive and confident. He's bold. He's opinionated and smart. He's an amazing artist. He is kind. He's got that Bad Boy look (that I've always been a sucker for) with the heart and smile of the boy-next-door. Wow.

So here's my favorite INXS song performed by J.D. before he became the lead singer for INXS. The video quality isn't that good, but I saw this performance on TV and he was... yeah... SMOKIN'

25 OF MY FAVORITE THINGS

2008-06-25T09:00:00.004-04:00

So it's the 25th of June and my sweet friend Tiffany at sb.com (the one who challenged me to blog this month) has challenged me to list 25 of my favorite things. So here they are in no particular order:

1. Sunday sermons
2. flip flops
3. the internet
4. creamed spinach (yes, seriously)
5. fresh-squeezed lemonade
6. freshly laundered sheets on my bed
7. sunny, crisp fall days
8. the smell of lavender
9. mint tea (must be a mixture of spearmint & peppermint)
10. the entire Christmas season
11. family vacations/time share condos
12. the color brown (like my son's eyes. and mine.)
13. gathering with friends
14. new pajamas
15. seafood
16. lima beans (yes, seriously)
17. fried green tomatoes
18. a shampoo at the beauty salon
19. spring water (for drinking)
20. scripture
21. being in Keith's arms
22. the laughter of my children
23. car rides in the rain
24. new scrapbooking supplies
25. deep muscle massages

So there's the "short list." I have lots of favorite things. But isn't it interesting that as categories go, my list has lots of things in the FOOD category? Oh well. ; )

3 DOORS DOWN: IT'S NOT MY TME

2008-06-23T17:32:00.004-04:00

ALL IN A DAY'S WORK FOR A MOM

2008-06-17T19:58:00.005-04:00

It's been a little crazy the past couple of days. All five of us are either helping with or attending VBS at our church this week. As usual, I am the kitchen staff (I have three good Middle School/High School helpers this year), Keith is a group guide for the first time (he has done games in the past), Caitlyn is a group guide for the 4th year and the two younger ones are, of course, attending.

This is an interesting year for Keith. Since it is Garrett's first year of being in an actual group rather than the Toddler Room, Shelly put him in Keith's group along with about 15 other 4-year-old boys. Hehe! Serves him right for always saying how "easy" my job is. He has been more exhausted than me chasing those little boys around, taking someone to the potty every 10 minutes, TRYING to get them to walk in a line (yeah, whatever), and not all want the same songbook. Which is actually quite amusing since none of them CAN READ! ; ) I am loving every minute of his experience.

So in God's great way of reminding us not to take pleasure in the trials of others, He put the idea into Shelly's head that I should make Rice Krispie treats for snack one day this year. Ha! I love eating Rice Krispie treats, but seriously dislike making them. If you've ever made them you know how much trouble it is to stir that sticky, messy mixture and then scrape it into a pan. Well, picture trying to make enough for 170 kids + 35 helpers. For obvious reasons I did not want to make these one batch at a time. I mean, I'd have been there for, I don't know, two days or something. So I decide to alter the recipe and make enough to use 3 family size boxes of Rice Krispies at a time. We have an industrial kitchen in our church with industrial-sized pots and pans so I think to myself how great it will be to make a lot of them at one time and only have to make a few batches. Mmmm-hmmmm. Not the best idea I've ever had. Let's just say that today I found out what it would be like to have to mix fast-hardening concrete by hand. NEVER TRY TO MAKE AN "INDUSTRIAL-SIZED" AMOUNT OF RICE KRISPIE TREATS. Seriously, it's a bad idea. Oh, and did I mention I still had to make 8 pans to have enough? And clean-up was loads of fun. Yeah. We aren't having Rice Krispie treats next year unless someone else is in charge of the kitchen and I'm in Maui. Like I said, God has His way of keeping us humble. (Thanks to all the men who stopped by the kitchen to help me mix, lift those ginormous pots and scrape today! You all have Servants' hearts and I appreciate you!)

So after VBS every single one of my kids wanted to bring a friend home. I couldn't take kids home with us today but I offered to pick them all up and take them to the park since Caitlyn and Luke had made plans to play tennis. I was going there anyway so I figured why not kill two birds with one stone so to speak. As it turned out I had to drive all over the county to pick up these kids. None of them, except Garrett's friend Wesley, lived anywhere near us or each other.

Now here's where it gets fun. We left Luke and Caitlyn at the tennis courts and the younger kids and I made our way to the playground. This park has one slide and it is an old metal one that barely has any sides on it at all. The steps are metal and steep and when you slide down it's like a rocket ship launch - it's FAST! There were 6 swings, a bouncy bench-type thing, and lots of climbing things (not one of our best parks, but it had tennis courts). So guess which thing the kids wanted play on. Yep, that's right, the old metal slide. I wasn't too concerned about the 2 girls, but Garrett and Wes scared me. Those two boys are peas in a pod. Neither one of them has any fear and they are typical rowdy, energetic, stunt-loving boys. Not a good combination. Both of them nearly fell over the side a couple of times and they both catapulted off the end of the slide several times landing flat on their backs or their bellies even though they went down on their bottoms (my rule).

As if that weren't enough my son, who has been the single most stubborn kid to potty train, finally started peeing in a toilet on Saturday. Well, he gets almost to the top of the slide, looks at me and starts to wiggle. I said, "Garrett, do you need to potty?" Of course he did, so I told him to come back down the steps and I'd take help him. The bathroom was clear up by the tennis courts which was a good three minute walk. I knew we didn't have that kind of time so I told him he'd have to pee on a tree. He's never done that and neither have I so it was quite an experience. Needless to say, I learned a lesson today which is: a little boy absolutely cannot pee on a tree without pulling his pants all the way down. I know this because I didn't want to expose Garrett's whole hiney in the middle of downtown Kokomo so I tried to help him pee while just pulling the top of his waistband and the top of his pull-up down just enough to get... well, you know. He peed on his shirt, his shorts, his shoes, my bag, my sleeve, and my feet (which were in flip-flops). I kept trying to get his you-know-what back in his pull-up but couldn't quite do that because he wasn't finished so I wasn't really sure what to do. I just knew I didn't want him to pee on me anymore. I'm sure if it were video-taped it would be hilarious, but at the time it wasn't all that funny. Thankfully there was no one else on the playground. I had put some diaper wipes in my bag though so that was a bonus.

After I got Garrett cleaned up and back over to where Wesley was playing I noticed Wes grabbing himself and I thought, "Oh, no! This isn't even my own child. What will I do?" Wes assured me he did not need to pee, but after about 20 minutes of him walking funny and grabbing himself I told the kids it was time to pack it in for the day. I took all the friends home, took my kids to McDonald's and came home and just sat on my bed for a while to reflect on my day.

It has been exhausting to say the least, but it has also been filled with joy and laughter and beautiful weather. I couldn't ask for a better day than this.

BLOG CHALLENGE #14: FATHER'S DAY

2008-06-15T09:00:00.004-04:00

Today is Father's Day and Keith is actually off today - yay! He works most holidays so it's always a blessing when he actually doesn't have to work on a holiday.

father \ˈfä-thər\ (n): a man who has begotten a child
daddy \ˈda-dē\ (n): a diminutive, familiar term for father

So, um, neither the definition for "father" nor the definition for "daddy" is really all that special. That's too bad. It really is. I mean, any man who is capable of reproducing could be a father or, by dictionary definition, even a daddy. So it's too bad that we haven't come up with a term for father that has a deeper, more endearing meaning. I had a father who loved me (and still does as far as I know), but he certainly wasn't the best father. I suppose he was the best father he knew how to be, but he was pretty selfish and very controlling and had/has a host of other issues I absolutely disagree with. In my book he would never qualify for Father of the Year. We've had our ups and downs and while I do love him because he's my father, I don't spend much time with him. Sometimes it makes me sad that I don't have a father that I'm close to and that I truly enjoy spending time with, but I have accepted the fact that, for reasons I will probably never understand, he is the father God gave me and I have an obligation to honor him. I still struggle with what that means, believe me, but I am trying. My father doesn't show any signs of changing so I have adjusted my thoughts, actions and attitudes according to God's commands and, like I said, it's a struggle, but I'm working through it.

Now MY children, on the other hand, do have a wonderful father. Notice I didn't say "perfect." Because he's not. But he is a good father. He is a very good father. He can be overprotective to the point of being obnoxious, he can be quite inflexible at times and very judgmental and sometimes he interrogates our children like he's interrogating a criminal suspect which is simply infuriating. But when it gets right down to it, he is an amazing father. He loves his children with all that he is and works himself half to death to see that they not only have everything they need, but that they have much of what their hearts desire. Not so much that they are superficial or materialistic or that they think the world owes them something, but he likes to see them be able to take advantage of every opportunity they are given if possible. For instance, he makes sure they can play sports if they choose to (and in today's world it costs a small fortune per sport/season), he makes sure there is money for them to attend social events and activities and church camp, there are vacations and trips every year, we go to the movie theater and to restaurants, and they don't have to wear bargain basement clothes (although I do love a good bargain!). In other words, he doesn't just provide for their basic needs which is really all that's required of him. What's amazing to me is that even though Keith works two jobs - he's a full-time Sheriff's Deputy and the school liaison officer for one of our county schools 20 hours a week - and he takes on special assignments and jobs for extra money, he spends TIME with our children and makes memories with them. He takes them fishing and to the movies and on picnics and to the park and to museums. He plays games with them on the floor and reads books to them. When the girls were little he even played doll house and Barbies and dress-up. He wrestles with Garrett and teaches him how to throw the "perfect punch" (I'm secretly hoping Garrett will never need that skill). Keith has taught all three of our children how to cast a fishing line, how to bait a hook and fillet a fish (well, not so much the girls!). He talks with Garrett about anything and everything and even lets him help work on the truck and under the sink. He teaches Garrett how to open doors for girls and to be a gentleman. He takes Garrett to the barbershop, has taken Caitlyn to dinner and dancing and goes putt-putt golfing with Claire. He attends all of their school programs, church programs and sporting events even if he has to show up in uniform. He hugs and kisses all three of them and tells them he loves them every single day. He takes them to church every Sunday morning and helps out with and participates in mid-week children's ministries as often as he can as well as Vacation Bible School. He prays with them and for them. So no, he isn't the perfect father, but he is a darn great one and his daughters and his son know he cares and that they can depend on him. They might not always like his rules or his advice (especially our teenage daughter) or his actions, but they know without a doubt that they are loved. The dad in our family could definitely qualify for Father of the Year.

BLOG CHALLENGE #12: A TREAT FOR MY FAMILY

2008-06-13T21:21:00.019-04:00

We are a family of blueberry nuts. We all love them and it doesn't matter if they are raw or part of a fruit salad, blueberry pancakes or whatever. We all just really like blueberries. So this morning I made my family a special treat. I made them our favorite Blueberry Cake. It is a recipe I got from my sister-in-law, Cindi, before Keith and I ever got married. It's quite yummy and very easy to make.

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 c. granulated sugar
1/4 c. oil
1 egg
1/2 c. milk
2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 c. blueberries, rinsed, sorted and & well-drained

TOPPING:*

1/4 c. butter or margarine
1/4 c. sugar
1/3 c. flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

*Melt butter. Stir in sugar, flour, cinnamon. Crumble over cake batter.

DIRECTIONS FOR CAKE: Cream together sugar, oil & egg. Stir in milk. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt into creamed mixture. Gently fold in blueberries. Spread batter into a greased & floured 9x9 baking dish. Sprinkle with topping. Bake 45-50 minutes at 375 degrees. Serve warm.

BLOG CHALLENGE #11: PIECES OF ME

2008-06-12T11:59:00.019-04:00

In follow-up to yesterday's blog: I actually CAN walk today, but I'm pretty sore. ; )

So my challenge today is to write about ME and add a photo of myself. I can do that. I'll try to get a decent photo to post (I'm not very photogenic) and I'll try not to write a book, just the basics - some bits 'n pieces:
*Age: 39
*DOB: April 19th
*Birthplace: Beaufort, SC
*Siblings: three sisters - Casey (deceased), Bethanne (32), Julie (26) & one brother - Michael (6, I think - don't ask). All of my siblings are half-siblings, but I don't consider my sisters half-sisters. We lived together during all of my childhood so basically I had/have the best and worst of both worlds. I am the oldest sibling in one family and an only child in my other family.
*Married to Keith for almost 15 years. Married him 6 months after we met. Still in love!
*Children: Caitlyn (14), Claire (almost 10) & Garrett (4) who you've been introduced to somewhat in previous blog posts.
*Education & employment: B.S. in Political Science & Legal Administration (minors: Spanish & Criminal Justice) from Ball State University, 1991. Paralegal in civil practice for 3 years, paralegal for Howard Co. Drug Task Force and to Chief Deputy Prosecutor for 7 years. Child Development Associate from Ivy Tech Community College, 2003. Employed at First Presbyterian Church Little School (preK) since 2000.
*Sorority/Honor Society Memberships: Sigma Kappa (Gamma Eta Chapter) Social Sorority; Pi Sigma Alpha (Zeta Iota Chapter) Political Science Honor Society
*Pets: none at this time. Used to share our yard with Keith's police dog for 10 years but he is deceased. Not really an animal lover - can live without pets. Don't hate them, but I'm allergic to things with dander plus, I just don't really want any animals to take care of. I've got 3 kids and a husband. That's enough.
*Hobbies & Interests: scrapbooking, taking photos, Internet browsing, blogging, vacationing, cooking, music, shopping, high school sports (watching, not participating obviously)
*Favorite colors: brown & red
*Favorite candy: lifesavers gummies wildberry sours
*Things that bother me/Things I don't like: drivers who don't use turn signals; judgmental attitudes; messy beds; earwigs; potholes; body odor "masked" by perfume/cologne; humidity; racial prejudice; cynicism; being too cold; pets on furniture; rude restaurant servers; selfishness; talking on the phone; vomit & poo - human & animal; beets; most reality TV shows; sea foam green; birds, including chickens; dirty feet; dirty fingernails; whining
*My Book of Me
*Friends who are dear to me: Susan A., Sharon H., Patty (in HI), all the gals I work with - you're the best, and all the Cropulators - you continue to rock my world with your wit, charm and compassion!

Some of you who read this will already know many of these things but I bet there is no one who reads this that will be able to say they knew everything I've revealed about myself.

THE JOURNEY BEGINS

2008-06-11T13:49:00.004-04:00

Today was the day that I stopped talking about getting off my butt and moving toward a more active lifestyle and finally did it. I have been planning to start the Couch to 5K running program for about 3 months but have been plagued by such severe back pain that I kept putting it off.

A little background: I ruptured a disk in my back in 2005 and since then have another disk that has herniated. I got another epidural injection last January but the pain has continued to get worse. Last Tuesday I took my newest MRI films and had another appointment with Dr. Macadaeg. He said the disk degeneration is definitely progressing and that he now sees significant arthritis in the L4 and L5 joints (I'm only 39). He injected more meds directly into the joints this time (ouch!) and said if the pain is due to the arthritis I would feel almost immediate relief. No such luck which means that, in Dr. Macadaeg's opinion, I need disk replacement surgery. Bummer.

In light of this I decided my back is going to hurt whether I'm active or not so I started the program this morning. The good news is I didn't have a stroke. The bad news is I felt like I was going to! OMGosh, I haven't even done any walking since last summer and it's been um, like THIRTY YEARS since I've done any running. Wow. Fortunately, the program is an interval program where you walk then run then walk then run. Let's just say I walked then ran then walked then walked then ran... In other words I skipped every other running interval. But then again, considering I've gained 30 lbs. in the past two years, have a jacked-up back and haven't exercised in forever, I don't think I did half bad. Keith says I won't be able to walk tomorrow, but so far I don't feel any serious ill-effects from the workout.

I am using a podcast program I was turned on to by my friend, Julie (senora_x) and I really like it. The music is great, there are verbal prompts that tell you when to switch gears and the time seems to pass quickly (even if you do feel half dead) - no need to look at a watch which helps a lot. I'm hoping this program will really allow me to see my progress which will definitely keep me motivated. I want to lose the weight I've gained, but I have three other goals that are actually more important to me:

increase my stamina and resistance
strengthen my heart
strengthen and tone my body

Now if I just happen to lose weight while I'm doing this that would be an added bonus for sure. So I'm just going to take this one day at a time and see where I go. I'm not sure I can work up to running 3 miles in 9 weeks like the program says, but if I am ever running 3 consecutive miles I will consider that a huge accomplishment. In fact, if I ever run 1 mile without stopping or passing out, I will consider myself successful. Did I mention I have always hated running?

SUMMER IS... FRESH-PICKED STRAWBERRIES

2008-06-10T14:46:00.005-04:00

One thing my kids and I have in common each summer is our anticipation of fresh strawberries picked from my Mom's strawberry patch. Nothing tastes better than a just-picked-warm-from-the-sun sweet strawberry. It's funny because the kids and I will actually race each other to the patch because, well... finders keepers, losers weepers! When it comes to picking and eating those berries we show no mercy. So yesterday my mom dropped by the house with a huge bowl full of fresh strawberries that had already been cleaned and hulled (yay for Mom!) as well as a fresh lemon pound cake. What a wonderful treat that was. It tasted delicious. But I have to admit that huge bowl of strawberries was empty by 10:00 this morning.

BLOG CHALLENGE #8: PHOTO OF WATER

2008-06-09T09:00:00.007-04:00

Although it is nearly summer and I do have numerous photos of the Atlantic Ocean and Lake Michigan, as well as a bazillion photos of my kids playing in pools, indoor water parks, and rain puddles, I am going to post a couple of my favorite Fall water photos. We have so many beautiful State Parks in Indiana and Keith and the kids and I visit them often during the fall. The kids get a 4-day weekend in October as a Fall Break which also typically falls right around Keith's and my wedding anniversary. So we like to take the kids and head to southern Indiana to relax for a few days. The fall foliage is absolutely gorgeous. Of course, everyone else in the state thinks so too so October weekends at the State Parks can be quite crowded.

These first two photos were taken on one of our hikes through Clifty Falls State Park. Clifty Falls is located in Madison, IN. In college I had a sorority sister/housemate/best friend who was from Madison. I used to go home with her some weekends and fell in love with the town and the State Park. Madison is a small but beautiful river town that has a rich history. To view more of my photos from our trip click HERE.

These next photos were taken at McCormick's Creek State Park. These are from a trip we took in October 2001. We stayed at the Inn at McCormick's Creek this time. It was beautiful. The atmosphere was very homey and we really enjoyed it. As I recall, it was stinking COLD that year. Very atypical for October in Indiana. We had to drive 20 minutes to a Walmart and buy long underwear, gloves, and ear bands so we could even hike. Luckily, I had taken the girls' winter coats. Even though it was cold, the girls had a great time hiking and horseback riding. Funny thing, we were the ONLY ones at the horse stable that weekend and believe me when I say those horses were not too cooperative. Even they thought it was too cold! In fact, the stable hand couldn't coax any of them into allowing riders. The girls ended up having to settle for a pony instead and even that pony had quite an attitude! It was pretty funny. For more photos of this trip click HERE.

BLOG CHALLENGE #7: GREAT SUMMER MEMORY

2008-06-08T14:38:00.003-04:00

A couple of years ago we spent the 4th of July weekend with Keith's mom and dad at his sister's house. Keith's dad's birthday is on July 4th so we decided to make a weekend of it and celebrate Dick's birthday and Independence Day. The kids had a blast! Actually, we all did. We spent the weekend swimming, grilling out and playing. We also took the pontoon out to Heritage Lake for a day of cruising to summertime tunes by Kenny Chesney and a little fishing. I mostly just like cruising around on the lake listening to tunes. It was a beautiful day. The highlight was seeing all the boats out on the water after the sun went down. Even though Heritage Lake is a private lake there were at least a hundred boats on the water and it was an amazing site to see them all out there with everyone watching a spectacular display of fireworks (my photos don't begin to do it justice). I think the fireworks show lasted at least 40 minutes. A lot of planning and work went into that display. It was one of the best ones I've ever seen. Memories of times spent with family are the best and I'm lucky to have married into a wonderful family.

A few of the
cool fireworks we saw.

Garrett totally ejoys
being on the boat.
He likes to think
he's "driving."

Grace & Claire just
enjoyed being together
& waiting for it to get
dark enough for the
fireworks to start.

Caitlyn likes fishing
as long as she's
catching something!

BLOG CHALLENGE #6: SUMMER MENU

2008-06-07T10:00:00.013-04:00

From my house to yours... a few of our favorite summer dishes begining with a beverage and ending with sweet treats:

SUMMER FARE FROM THE MYERS' PATIO

Fresh-Squeezed Lemonade
Freshly Brewed Iced Tea
Laura's Famous Muenster Burgers
Cheesy Potatoes on the Grill
Fried Green Tomatoes
Corn on the Cob
Honey Lime Fruit Toss
Grandma Wilson's Mayonnaise Cake

I didn't want to post all the recipes here since it would take up quite a bit of space, but you can find them HERE. If you try any of the recipes, let me know how you liked them (or didn't).

BLOG CHALLENGE #5: VACATION MEMORY

2008-06-06T14:48:00.001-04:00

I have taken a lot of vacations in my 39 years. And with the exception of one, I have enjoyed all of them. Some more than others of course, but there has only been one that I couldn't wait to get over with. That was the houseboat vacation we took in Kentucky when I was 7 months pregnant with Claire. It was the most boring vacation I have ever been on. I was stuck in a boat on a lake with nothing but a couple of John Grisham novels, my parents, my husband, our 4-yr-old, a VCR and three video tapes (one of which was "Arthur's New Baby" that we watched close to 50 times), some Barbie coloring books & crayons, six days of 90+ degree weather, two nights of severe thunderstorms, fishing, fishing and more fishing (which gets old very quickly) and it sucked. When the highlight of your week is a trip to Walmart, you know it's BAD. And when you are trying to think of any reason whatsoever to GO TO WALMART, well, then it officially qualifies as the worst vacation ever. I have vowed to never go on another houseboat vacation. Put me on a cruise ship to the Cayman Islands, but don't even think about trying to get me on a houseboat on a river. Not gonna happen.

BLOG CHALLENGE #4: MY SUMMER SONG(S)

2008-06-05T14:20:00.016-04:00

This has always been one of my favorite songs to sing along loudly with. It's just a fun song. The lyrics are good for sure, but the music is fun and catchy and always gets me in a good mood. This is not an original Nicole C. Mullen song, but I think her version is the best. Of course, pretty much any song she sings gets my blood pumping. She's an amazing artist. Enjoy! [this has a short intro, wait a minute for the actual song to start - couldn't find a better video. also, you may need to click the pause button (>ll) on my MINiPod to stop that music from playing if it's actually working today]

And here's another one of my favorite summer songs. I have been belting this one out for as long as I can remember. It's an oldie for sure, but it energizes me to sing it (and it brings back some fond memories of the summer before college and my freshman year of college). The video is priceless. Be sure to notice the "Happy Rainbow." Wow, stage sets and effects have come a long way, Baby! Not to mention the hairstyles which, oddly enough, look an awful lot like what the high school girls are wearing today. Oh, and pay close attention to the guy who is announcing the band. Those eyebrows - oooowweeeee! Tweezers? Wax? Lawnmower? Anyone?? Anyway, enjoy the video!

BLOG CHALLENGE #3: SOMEONE/SOMETHING I LOVE

2008-06-04T21:15:00.027-04:00

Here are my favorite "someones to love": my beautiful daughters, Caitlyn & Claire, my cutie-patootie son, Garrett and my handsome husband, Keith. These are the four people on this earth who can bring me incredible frustration and immense joy. Wouldn't want to do life without them.

Hmmm... and some things I really, really like (I'm trying to get out of the habit of using the word "love" when it's not really what I mean):

1. Orville Redenbacher's Tender White Microwave Popcorn. This is the most amazing popcorn - my absolute favorite! It is lighter tasting than yellow popcorn and the salt-to-butter ratio is perfect.

2. I've always wanted a red 1965 Ford Mustang convertible. My mom and my step-dad got me one for my 16th birthday. Too bad only GI Joe could fit into it. I recall unwrapping that small gift just sure there were car keys inside. But no, I actually found a whole car in there. Bummer. As a side note, I did end up getting a red Ford Mustang as my first car, but it was the newer 1985 version rather than the 1965 one and was not a convertible. Did I mention it was a stick shift? All my friends thought I had a cool car, but I was disappointed. I was an idiot.

3. Cade's Cove driving tour located in Smokey Mountain National Park, TN. If you ever get a chance to go there, do it. The first time we went was in mid-October, 1995. The weather was perfect so we could park the car and explore each area of the settlement. It was breathtaking! Plan on spending the better part of a whole day there. Cades Cove

4. Purple hyacinths are one of my favorite flowers. I just think they are so pretty and they smell great too. I'm always amazed by God's creations. God writes the Gospel not in the Bible alone, but also on trees, and in the flowers and clouds and stars. ~Martin Luther

5. I am extremely fond of fried green tomatoes - yum! yum! They taste so good when they're made with fresh green tomatoes from our garden. I can eat them until I get a stomach ache. And just for good measure, here's a link to my favorite recipe for Fried Green Tomatoes: Recipe

6. One of my favorite vacations involved a little side trip to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC. This was the home of the George Vanderbilt Family. It is amazing, especially when you think about the time period in which it was built. I mean, really. It is an 8,000-acre estate and the "house" has 250 rooms. This place has an indoor Olympic-sized swimming pool with a hallway of private changing rooms, bathrooms with flush toilets and bathtubs/showers, an indoor bowling alley, several kitchens, the most amazing stairways and so much more. The grounds and gardens are fabulous too. Plus, there is a winery and six restaurants on the property. We ate at the Stable Cafe. The atmosphere was pleasant and the food was very good. Plan to spend a whole day here too. No need to rush. There is just too much to see and appreciate. Biltmore Estate

So there you have it, a few people and things that I love and that make me happy. I'm sure I could list a few dozen more, but this will do for now. : )

BLOG CHALLENGE #2: REFRESHING

2008-06-04T20:47:00.010-04:00

Our second challenge is to add a photo of something refreshing:

I am a water drinker. Have been as long as I can remember. I much prefer water over soda, juice, iced tea, etc. Every once in a while I like a killer margarita or a nice glass of sangria, but I definitely prefer water. And much to my husband's annoyance, I am not a "sink water" drinker. City water (aka chlorine from a spout) is nasty, well water tastes mostly like dirt and well, who knows what's in there? And soft water, which is what flows from our tap, literally makes me gag. So yes, even though we are on a well at our house and do not pay the city for water, I spend our hard-earned money on something I could get for free from our faucet. And to make matters even worse, I am extremely picky about my water. It can't have any taste whatsoever. That cracks Keith up. He's of the opinion that there is no purpose in drinking something that doesn't taste like anything. Which I guess is why it doesn't bother him one bit to drink city water or well water or soft water. I have tried all kinds of water and my favorite above all others happens to be Fiji brand artesian water. Coming in a close second if I can't get Fiji or don't feel like paying for it is (and I'm sure you'll get a chuckle out of this) good ol' Kroger brand Spring Water. It has absolutely no taste at all if it's icy cold. If it's kinda of warm it tastes a bit like the plastic jug it comes in. Ew.

To me, there is nothing that can quench a thirst or is as refreshing as water. Soda and juice and tea always have an after-taste which leaves me thirsty and needing more to drink. I think it's because of the sugar in it, but I'm no expert so don't quote me on that. Tea can be an acceptable alternative because I don't drink sweet tea, but I don't like the caffeine in it so unless I can get unsweetened, decaffeinated tea, I won't bother. That's hard to do unless you make it at home. Or unless you're my mother-in-law who is very thoughtful and always makes me my own jug of tea for family gatherings. She also keeps bottled spring water on hand for me too.

What do I order at restaurants you ask? It's funny because I order ice water with lemon. That is the only acceptable flavoring for me to add to water that generally comes from a tap and tastes like, well, chlorine or dirt typically.

Something else that gets Keith's goat is that our kids won't drink sink water either - except for Garrett who would basically do anything his father does just because his father does it. But even Garrett prefers bottled water if Keith isn't around. Funny boy. And believe it or not, we go through a minimum of 6 gallons of water each week around here. I love the refreshing taste of H2O!

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!

2008-06-01T21:18:00.004-04:00

So I'll just admit right off I am on a tangent tonight. I'm mad. In fact, I'm so angry I'm sure there is steam coming out of my ears and the top of my head is probably going to blow off any minute. It frustrates me when companies don't exactly lie to consumers, but they don't exactly divulge all the facts either. In my book, the omission of important details is the same as lying.

Let me give you a little background info for a minute. Last month Keith and I finally decided to upgrade our broke-leg cell phone and to add another line and phone and upgrade our plan. We have had the same cell phone for the past 6 years as well as the same plan. I don't use my cell phone much so we didn't really need a high-end calling plan. Now that our oldest daughter is 14 and entering high school and has a quite active social life we have decided she should have a cell phone at times. So the solution for us was to get another line and phone so that Keith and Caitlyn could share a phone. Keith usually has the supervisor's cell phone at work so he's never really needed one all the time, but on occasion it would've been handy. So we call Verizon and upgrade our $24.95 per month plan (seriously, that's what we've been paying for the past 6 years) to the 700 Minute Select Family Share Plan. This is to include 700 anytime minutes to share between the 2 lines, unlimited nights & weekends, unlimited text messaging (very important when you have a teenager), unlimited domestic long distance, no roaming charges, no activation fee, etc., etc. all for the fairly reasonable price of $99.99 per month. Now that was kind of hard for me since we'd been paying 1/4 of that cost for so long, but I went ahead and made the switch.

Imagine my surprise when we got our first bill tonight in the amount of $287.08. Yep, that's right, almost $300. I nearly went ballistic! I started clicking on links and looking at all the charges and I was getting angrier and angrier by the second. For one thing, they charged us a roaming fee on our OLD phone in the amount of $13 (an account that we paid in full at the end of April), $60 worth of activation fees, and some kind of "get it now" download fees for things that were supposed to be FREE. I kept looking at that and thinking, "Okay, that's bad. But even with all those added fees, it still shouldn't add up to almost $300. So I called Verizon and this very sweet and sympathetic customer service girl told me, "I'm so sorry. I can certainly understand why you're freaking out about your bill; I would be too. The bad thing is, Verizon charges you for the first month, plus another month in advance on your first bill. I don't know why they do that, but they do. I think they just want to make sure they don't get stuck with someone who doesn't pay." Whatever. That's fine for first-time customers, but we've been with Verizon for 6 years and always paid our bill in full and on time.

Wow. In the hour or so that I was on the phone with the customer service rep who was "helping" me upgrade our phone/plan she never once mentioned we'd get billed for two months on our first statement. So yeah, I am more than a little ticked off about this. It's ridiculous for companies to misrepresent (by omission) their services. Would I still have ordered the new phones and upgraded the plan? Certainly because we needed to do it. I wouldn't have liked it, but I would've done it. The difference being that I'd have been expecting a big bill the first month rather than getting this huge, unexpected shocking billing statement.

Well as it turns out, the gal I spoke with was very helpful and apologetic. Of course there wasn't much she could do about the double billing but she did help me out some. She removed the activation fees that weren't supposed to be there and took off that crazy roaming fee that shouldn't have been there (after confirming with me that I wasn't anywhere near Canada on May 2nd - I was just over the IN border in southern MI and hoping they weren't going to consider that CANADA for billing purposes!) so when it comes down to it, we still owe Verizon $216.03. Yikes! I'm still mad but what can you do? If we cancel our service saying we were misinformed they'll charge us $250 as an early cancellation fee. So I'm going to suck it up and pay it and consider it a lesson learned - the hard way. I hate those.

And just for the record, I did not get nasty with the customer service rep I spoke with tonight. I refuse to take my frustrations with companies out on the people who work for them. I realize it isn't their fault and they can only do so much. I've also found through experience they are much more willing to try to help you find a resolution to your problem if you treat them with respect and kindness.

There's my vent. I'm still not liking the facts, but I'm over it and moving on. Let's see what surprises tomorrow has in store. ; )

DOMINION

2008-05-31T19:24:00.006-04:00

I don't do a lot of book reviews but I feel compelled to share my thoughts on the book I most recently finished reading. For starters, let me say I came across Randy Alcorn quite by accident. I was searching our very limited church library for something, anything, that wasn't the Christian version of a Harlequin Romance when I stumbled upon a book titled, Safely Home. The back cover synopsis intrigued me so I took it home. I read that book in two days and found myself completely engrossed in the story and often in tears. I tried to read it in public once and found it too difficult because I couldn't keep my emotions in check. But I am getting off course since this isn't about that particular book. However, since reading that book I have purchased and read every fictional work published by Randy Alcorn. The last book I read, Dominion, is amazing and thought-provoking on so many different levels. Where do I begin?

Well, here's the basics of the story as written on the back cover:

A shocking murder drags black newspaper columnist Clarence Abernathy into the disorienting world of inner-city gangs and racial conflict. In a desperate hunt for answers to the violence (and to his own struggles with race and faith), Clarence forges an unlikely partnership with detective Ollie Chandler. Despite their differences, Clarence and Ollie soon find themselves sharing the same mission: victory over the forces of darkness vying for dominion. Filled with insight - and with characters so real you'll never forget them - Dominion is a dramatic story of spiritual searching, racial reconciliation, and hope.

All of Alcorn's novels have affected me in many ways. However, Safely Home and Dominion have had such profound affects on me that I find myself thinking in radically different ways than ever before. Dominion is a superbly written mystery/detective story containing lessons in racial relations in America, gang dynamics, Christian values, spiritual warfare and even angels. I see these issues in a new light and I will never see them the same way again. The story is written in a way that literally brought these characters into "being" for me. There are uncomfortable moments in this book, but they are real and thought-provoking. After all, sometimes it takes an uncomfortable moment in life for us to really "get it."

Alcorn's portrayals of heaven and hell are, in my opinion, biblically based but also use imagination and imagery to bring the ideas to life for the reader. Those are images I will not soon forget, nor do I want to. I must admit that I sometimes got bogged down during those times in the book when he broke away to the story that was playing out in heaven, but I think that is because I was so caught up in the story that was playing out in the Shadowlands. What can I say? I am still human and I have my faults.

My favorite character in this story was Obadiah Abernathy, Clarence's father. His character taught me that God's love is best and that forgiveness is not something any of us deserve but that we MUST extend to all regardless of the wrong that has been committed. His character is the epitome of what it means to be a true follower of Christ.

There was also a subtle but very important lesson about angels. The book's surprise ending clearly shows that a fascination with angels without a belief in Christ has the potential to be spiritually deadly. Had Alcorn's characters simply talked about the danger of angelic preoccupation, his words would have lacked force. But here, using action rather than words, albeit very little action, Alcorn gave us an unforgettable lesson.

This book is long - over 600 pages - but worth the time it takes to read it. I found myself not wanting to put it down no matter how late it was or how early I needed to get up in the morning. I highly recommend this book to everyone. In fact, I almost think it should be required reading in our high schools simply for the understanding it could bring about race relations and gang dynamics.

SCHOOL'S OUT FOR SUMMER! a/k/a WHERE DOES THE TIME GO?

2008-05-29T19:59:00.005-04:00

Another school year has officially come to an end and I sit here amazed. Amazed at how quickly time literally flies by. I hate to sound like my parents but the truth is, I find myself saying to my children, "Don't wish your life away. The older you get the faster time goes." I hate saying it, partly because it's what my parents used to say to me, but mostly because it's so stinkin' true. It seems like just yesterday (here I go with another one of my parents' cliches) that Caitlyn was starting kindergarten. This fall she will be a freshman in high school. Claire will be in 4th grade and Garrett will begin his last year of preschool. When did that happen? I don't feel like we've even HAD him all that long and already he is 4-and-a-half. And when did I get so darn close to 40? Forty used to seem pretty old to me and well, now, I think it's the new thirty!

In all honesty though, my own age hasn't been an issue for me. It's still just a number. But when I think about my parents turning 60 well, that hits me kind of hard. I guess I never really thought of my parents being in their 60's. That just sounds wrong.

But what makes me sad is the realization that my oldest daughter is more than 2/3 of the way through the time she will spend under our roof. Each day I look at her and I no longer see a little girl, let alone that sweet baby we once had. I see a young girl who is teetering on the edge of becoming a woman. She is certainly beautiful on the outside, but what I have been noticing more and more lately is how mature her thoughts are and how she is maturing spiritually. I am pleased because it means she will be a good and kind woman; a woman who turns to the Lord for strength and comfort. I just wish it wasn't happening so fast.

Claire and Garrett are also growing up and moving into new stages of their lives. Claire's teacher sent a handwritten note home with her today that says, "Claire is such a great girl! She has matured so much this year. I think she is very comfortable with who she is and I am proud of her!" Wow. That says a lot to me. The teacher she had this year isn't exactly known for her kind and nurturing ways. I'm not saying she is a horrible teacher or that she is mean. She just has a reputation for being the teacher who can handle the "difficult" children. We were concerned about Claire being placed in her class this year because Claire is very sensitive and she is a people pleaser. She thrives in a nurturing environment but gets her feelings hurt easily by those who are less nurturing. We even thought about having her moved to another class, but we were assured by the principal that she'd be fine. And she was. She made almost straight A's this year and never complained once about her teacher. The note from Mrs. Gray means a lot to me. But I'm still having a tough time with that fact that she's actually a 4th grader now.

Garrett will be going to Little School for his final year this fall. I remember how sad I was when Claire graduated from preschool. I cried for about a week afterward. But I have had Garrett there with me for the past three years and I'm happy to have him there for one more year. I love seeing his face light up when he sees me at school and tells the other kids, "There's my momma!" He always waves and smiles from ear to ear and I often get a big hug too. When he starts kindergarten I will miss seeing his sweet smile and getting those spontaneous hugs each day at school. It will be the first time in eight years that I will be "alone" at Little School. I'm not looking forward to that. Fortunately though I do have that one last year and I intend to enjoy every single day of it.

So that's it. Another school year gone in the blink of an eye. But tomorrow summer begins and I will have all three children here with me every day. I am going to try to slow down this summer and take advantage of those lazy summer days. But something tells me that with all the stuff around here that needs to be done, summer will be gone before I know it too. And in the fall the madness will begin again.

SHRIMP, SPINACH & TORTELLINI

2008-05-27T13:34:00.007-04:00

One more entry for today so I can share a new favorite recipe with you. I am striving to be healthier. Notice I didn't say "thinner." Thinner would be fantastic, but whenever I try to go on a diet, I end up sabotaging any weight loss that might happen. It's a pyschological thing, you know. If I'm on a diet and I "can't" have something, well then, of course I want it for sure and I'm not happy until I devour it. So this summer we are eating HEALTHY. A few months ago I started gagging every time I would see meat so I haven't eaten much chicken, pork or beef at all lately. I thought I was on my way to becoming a vegetarian but I've done a little research on that and now realize that I am a "pescatarian." I am a pescatarian because I eat fish and seafood. I love fish and seafood so I don't see me giving that up any time soon which is good because we all need our protein, right? You can believe me when I say there is no way I'm eating beans and tofu for every meal. I actually like beans of any kind, but as you all know they aren't usually something we can eat 3 times a day, 7 days a week. It would be a gastronomic nightmare. And tofu... well, let's just say eating a rubbery piece of cardboard box isn't on my list of acceptable foods either. So I have been searching for delicious meatless and/or seafood dishes to serve for my family. They haven't missed meat apparently because I haven't fixed any since before Easter and no one's said anything.

So here's my seafood recipe of the week. My family loved it (even my 4-yr-old). It's low-fat, low-calorie, highly nutritious and oh-so-yummy! If you try it, post a comment and let me know what you thought of it. Enjoy!

SHRIMP, SPINCAH & TORTELLINI

1 (9 oz.) pkg cheese tortellini
1/4 c. fat free Italian salad dressing
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (14.5 oz.) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
3/4 lb. cleaned and cooked med. shrimp
1 (6 oz.) bag baby spinach leaves
1/4 c. fresh basil, chopped
2 T. grated Parmesan cheese

Cook tortellini in large (4 qt.) sauce pan according to pkg. directions. Drain in colander and set aside. Heat Italian dressing in same pan on med.-high heat. Add garlic; cook 1 min. Add tomatoes and shrimp; mix well. Bring just to a boil. Stir in spinach; cover. Simmer 1 to 2 mins. or until spinach is wilted, stirring occasionally. Stir in tortellini and basil; simmer uncovered 3 to 4 mins. or until sauce has thickened, stirring occasionally (over stirring will make the tortellini mushy so be careful). Top with grated parmesan cheese and serve. Serves 4 (pretty large helpings)

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT

2008-05-27T11:23:00.021-04:00

I have recently discovered Rob Bell and nooma. There are certain things that Rob believes that I don't completely agree with, but there are many that I do agree with. Regardless of whether I agree with his message or not, he always gets me thinking. "Rain" is one of my favorite Bell video messages. I hope you'll take a few minutes to view it and that it will cause you to do some thinking too. One of the most important messages I got from this video is that as christians we don't have to have it all together and that's okay. And a huge relief. What message did you receive?

THE CHALLENGE...

2008-05-26T20:09:00.008-04:00

begins now. I have been challenged by my friend, Tiffany, over at sb.com to start blogging more. I had a blog here for a while but I wasn't good about updating it. Hopefully, I'll do better this time. Maybe. We'll see.

Life gets kind of hectic around here and I seem to get sidetracked a lot. You know what I mean, starting something with every intention of finishing it only to find myself doing something else and wondering what the heck happened. I hate that. But I seem to have perfected it to an art form. Take cleaning the house for instance. I will start picking up in the family room with the idea that I'll get all the stuff picked up and put away and then I'll begin the dusting and vacuuming. But it never fails, I'll leave the room to put something away and end up starting a load of laundry, washing up stray dishes, organizing a dresser drawer and by the time I realize it, I've spent 4 hours doing something in every room of the house BUT the family room. It drives me crazy! So lately I've been trying to stay on task when I start something. Like this blog. I am hoping to stay on task and write about this crazy, hectic, frustrating but blessing-filled life of mine. Wish me luck and check back often!