Robin's Nest

Easter 2010

2010-04-06T01:16:00.004-04:00

We had a wonderful Easter again this year. I got my first Easter basket since being married. Gary made me a wonderful basket full of yum. The kids loved their goodies. Nate got a new pair of shoes (he needed some new ones), the girls got a fun egg shaped flower pot and seeds (they will take care of those since everyone knows I kill live plants!) not to mention fun hair bands, pencils, paper and socks. Collin and Danny got some green army men that were a HUGE hit! All of the kids and Gary got new shirts from Under Armor and the girls got new spring outfits.

I love the yearly tradition of getting the kids new Easter outfits and taking those Easter morning pictures. I always get pictures of them with their baskets, but the pictures of them all dressed up just touch my heart the most.

It just make me so sad that they look so old this year!

After a very nice church service full of beautiful music, we went to Grammy's house for a delicious lupper (lunch and supper) of turkey, ham and all the fixin's. Even Grandma and Pappy joined us this year. Of course, there was enough food for a small army. Oh my, were we all full!

Well, that's all for now. I hope that you all had a wonderful Easter!

After the Storms

2010-02-12T17:12:00.003-05:00

We have had over 48 inches of snow in the last week. We live in a place that is used to maybe 4 or 5 inches at a time, so you can imagine that much snow has SHUT OUR WORLD DOWN! That means there has been no school for a week. Gary was off work for 4 1/2 days. We have had A LOT of in the house family time. All in all, it's been nice, but it was time for the kids go get out and play! Here are a few pictures of our snow covered world. Enjoy! (Please remember that Nathan is 5'9" and the snow drift is taller than he is!)

The Many Faces of Claire

2009-12-25T23:06:00.002-05:00

I know that it's Christmas and I should be posting about that. I actually was going too and will in the next several days. First I wanted to share the surprise I found when I downloaded the pictures off my camera. Right in the middle of all of the pics I have taken, here are a few I had never seen before.

Let's just say that there is a never ending spectrum of emotion in one little body! Have you even seen such a range in less than 3 minutes? What a silly girl.

First Day of Vacation

2009-12-21T17:46:00.008-05:00

We had the first day of Winter Break today. The kids played in the snow, I did laundry.

Playing in snow=Wet clothes that need washed.

Yippie for me! Anyway, the kids had fun.

Gary had off because the Federal Gov't in DC was closed. That doesn't happen very often, but it was a bonus day for him.

Fun in the Snow

2009-12-20T19:18:00.009-05:00

The kids had a ton of fun playing in the snow today. I have to admit, I am not a fan of cold, wet snow. I am a fan of watching the kids have fun, so outside I went. They really enjoyed themselves.We don't have much of a hill, but we make the most of the little one in our front yard. It's Chip's first winter. Although he hates rain, we have found out that he loves the snow. Who knew? Nathan tried "snow boarding" with a sled. He did a pretty good job. As you can see, they had a really fun time. I was happy to get the pictures, but was equally happy to go in and make some hot chocolate!

Baby It's Cold Outside!

2009-12-19T19:48:00.006-05:00

We are in the middle of a blizzard! The first huge snowfall since we moved to this house 2 years ago. We have had over a foot of snow in the last 22 hours, and it is beautiful! Poor Gary spent 3 hours with the snowblower this morning and then another hour this evening. The problem is that it keeps blowing back over what Gary shovels. It's too cold outside for the kids to go out to play. Maybe tomorrow the wind will stop blowing so much, and we will go out and have a ton of fun. For now, we are thankful to be safe and warm inside!

Papa's Legacy

2009-11-30T19:19:00.000-05:00

When my grandfather passed away, he left us a wonderful gift of a trip to Walt Disney World. We are so excited as we never thought that Disney would be an option for our large family due to the expense. We have planned the trip for January-the week of Nathan's 13th, Claire's 8th and my 39th-for the first time, really!-birthday. It will be the trip of a lifetime! We are thrilled that Grammy and Grandpa Dud will be going with us. I think Grammy and I are having as much fun planning the trip as anyone could! It's so fun to dream about the kids' faces seeing WDW for the first time. So, thanks again, Papa. Thanks for your generosity, your love and your thoughtfulness. We miss you so much!

Thanksgiving

2009-11-25T10:09:00.002-05:00

We are again at the Thanksgiving time of year. I am so thankful for happy, healthy, fun kids, a wonderful, supportive husband and a whole bunch of terrific friends. I couldn't be more blessed. I am also, as unusual as it might seem, thankful that my Papa is in heaven, not here on this Earth. He was hurting and unhappy for so long, it seems somehow good that he isn't enduring another Thanksgiving dinner. That being said, I will miss him at my table.

I am making Thanksgiving dinner again this year. I love knowing that I can cook up a feast and there will be something there that everyone will love. This year I am making both turkey and ham...not sure why I want both as this is the smallest group we have had in years, but I want both! I'm cooking, so I get what I want! Gary's family will be joining us, but my mom and Dudley will go to my brother's house for the first time. I hope they have a super time, although I will miss them. Maybe they can come over for some dessert when they get home.

I hope everyone takes a moment to reflect on their past year. My wish for each and everyone of my friends and family is that they can find many things to be thankful for and that they take the time to thank God for all of their blessings. I know I will!

What's Up?

2009-11-12T14:19:00.004-05:00

Well, since I've been away for a while, I thought I might try to fill in the cracks. As you can imagine, life doesn't stop just because I don't blog.

My wonderful Papa went to be with the Lord after several weeks of decline on October 23rd. While we will miss him, we are all aware that he is out of his pain and suffering. The children were all able to say good bye and tell him how much they loved him in the days before his passing. He lived a full and adventure filled life and we are all better for having had him in our lives. We had a lovely memorial service to celebrate his life and many kind friends came to support our family. Thank you for all of the kind

thoughts and prayers on our behalf.

Collin and Danny's soccer team, coached by Gary, went 8-3 this season. They were in 3rd place at the end of the season. They did GREAT! The improvement from beginning to end of the season was remarkable. Even a ref commented on it! We were so proud of our boys. Collin was in his boot (due to a bruised heel bone) and missed the last 4 weeks of the season. He was released to play the Wednesday before the playoffs. He was really missed while he was out, and played a big role in the tournament win. Danny, my trouper, had 102 fever Thursday before the tournament. That didn't slow him down though. He was feeling better enough to play in the two tournament games. He really pushed himself to get better in time so he didn't "let his team down". He made the winning goal in a shoot out of the first round win. They had a fun dinner at the local pizza place to get their trophies.

The team was really generous and gave Gary a gift certificate to Cheesecake Factory. We went yesterday while we were shopping for our new iMac and it was delicious.

Nathan's team is undefeated. They won the tournament this past Saturday and have one more game against the winners from across the county next Tuesday night. They will play under the lights at our local high school soccer field. The team is really looking forward to that! Nate is also playing basketball for the middle school. We have had a few conflicts with the practices, but Nate seems pleased to be on both teams. Thankfully both coaches have been understanding. He, as always, is having fun keeping busy.

Kaylyn, Claire and I are now considered professional cheerleaders! We feel like we have cheered from one game to the next, barely stopping to breathe. We love it. I will often give the girls a chance to stay at home with Grammy, but they are my shadows and don't want to be left behind. Sooooooo, off we go to cheer for our boys.

Report cards came out last week. We had conferences for all of the kids. I am so humbled by the blessing each child is. They are so smart, sweet and amazing. Each and every teacher took the time to tell me how great the kids are and how they are kind to other kids as well as their siblings. Kaylyn, of course, had straight A's. Nathan had just one B in high school Algebra, the rest A's. Claire had mostly 4's (the second grade equivalent of A's). Collin and Danny had only 2 B's, a C in Science (apparently there was a Science test that kicked BOTH of their butts!) and the rest A's. Not a dummy in the bunch! How special is that? We are so blessed!

Kaylyn is enjoying the flute. She is just amazed (well, really I am too!) that I can play her music after all of these years. We have had fun working together on leaning to play. She is a fast learner.

Collin and Danny were playing trombone, but that ended yesterday. Apparently Danny was having a hard time finding a note, and the teacher got on him about it. Danny was embarrassed and upset, so both he and Collin decided that they were returning their trombones never to play again. They came home and told me the story and had their minds made up. No matter how many times or ways I asked them to give it one more chance, they were DONE! There was no way Danny was giving the teacher the chance to embarrass him again, and Collin was being loyal (one of his BEST qualities) to his brother. When they left this morning, they both took the trombones with them. I can't wait to hear what the music teacher said. I am hoping that she can convince them to try again, but I don't hold out much hope. When they make up their minds together, there isn't much hope of changing it.

Well, I hope that fills in a little. I have missed being my blog the last month or so. If you stopped by, why don't you leave a little note to tell my you've been here. Thanks!

2009-11-11T20:40:00.003-05:00

We have a new addition to the family! Our old (ok, it was about 5 years old...to me it's not THAT old!) computer gave up on us. We have been without for 2 weeks now. Today, Gary and I went to the Apple store and bought a new computer. We have gone MAC. I think I love it...but we will have to wait and see. I was sold when the guy showed us what the photo program could do. I was ready to sign on the dotted line then. I actually have been told that my old computer could've done that if I bought the software, but this seems so easy. It is really intuitive. Anyway, now that we are back online, maybe I'll get back to our blog. Check back tomorrow and see!

We're Crazy

2009-10-03T20:03:00.002-04:00

We were thrilled to have a weekend with no soccer games. It's Homecoming at the local high school, so they cancel most rec. activities. Nathan was supposed to have a game at the local private school, but it was cancelled due to the other team not having enough kids. Yay right? We don't have to rush to any games and no stress of making sure everyone is ready to play. Nahhhh, not in our house. We went to a friend's J.V. soccer game at the next county over last night and then got up and rushed to the game that the girl's team was playing! So much for our lazy Saturday morning! In my defense, Nathan's coach coaches both the girls and boys team in Nathan's age group. I watch the girls practice almost as much as I watch Nathan. I felt like we should support them! Soooooo, on our lazy, no soccer weekend, we attended other people's kids games. We are CRAZY!

Broken Water Main

2009-10-02T12:12:00.002-04:00

Our elementary school has a broken water main for the second day in a row. Now, let me be clear, I love my kids and I love having my kids home with me. That being said, I had PLANS for the last 2 days. I was going to breakfast with Jenny yesterday and I was to meet with a nice lady from church about getting involved with the seniors ministry yesterday, then rescheduled to today. I remembered to reschedule yesterday, but guess who forgot today. Yep, poor lady was at the church waiting for me to show up (not quite as bad as it sounds since she works there) and I was a no show. GREAT impression! Oh well, thankfully she understood my crazy.

Where have we been?

2009-10-01T12:18:00.009-04:00

Well, it's been a long time since I have consistently posted. Did anyone (other than Misty) notice? In addition to a triplet birthday, let me give you an idea of what has been going on around here:

Yep, soccer, soccer and more soccer. Not only do the three boys play, but Gary coaches (yet again) Collin and Danny's team and, when he can, he helps out with Nathan's team. Please, don't think I am complaining, because I'm really not, but we are BUSY! We have practice/games at least 4 nights a week and then usually 2 games on the weekend. Add to that, Nathan has just started ref-ing 7-8 year old games. He is really good with little kids, he knows HOW to play the game, and he earns a little bit of money. Not a bad deal! It's been interesting for him to be on the other side of soccer games.

Nathan is also trying out for the middle school basketball team. It's amazing that he has hardly touched a basketball since last season, but he told me he is in the top 4 or 5 kids trying out. He has been blessed with athletic genes! (Believe me I thank God that he didn't get my athleticism!) He will also play on a rec team, but I think it'll be fun to play for his school. All of this is a great reason to keep his grades up because he will be yanked off any sports team the minute his grades drop!

Collin and Danny have both decided to play the trombone for the school band. Kaylyn took up my old flute. Collin and Danny are borrowing their trombones from the school, but, of course, to get my old flute in shape to play, we had to pay $120 for Kaylyn. Oh well, I just hope she gets as much enjoyment out of it as I did.

Last, but surely not least, Collin has had heel pain on and off for the last several months...maybe even longer. Since he started to consistently limp, I took him to the orthopedist. He was sent for a MRI and it turns out he has a bruised heel bone. We were told if we didn't treat it, it would become a stress fracture. Soooooooo, now Collin has a lovely boot for his left foot for the next 4 weeks. He can't play soccer or participate in P.E. He will get it off just in time for soccer playoffs if it heals properly. I hope so!

Well, that about sums it up. Thanks for coming back to our little blog.

Happy Birthday!

2009-09-25T08:44:00.003-04:00

Eleven years ago today my 3 miracle babies were born. We were told that I would NEVER have 3 healthy babies and we needed to do "selective reduction". That was never an option for us...NEVER! I would so love to take my 3 "unhealthy" babies back to that doctor! (I would except that time was a little bit of a blur-I was in shock you know!-and I don't remember which doctor said that to me!) We are so blessed! Happy birthday Kaylyn, Danny and Collin. You make each and every day a miracle to me!

Hello?

2009-09-11T07:58:00.002-04:00

Since school started, I've been a little busy. I've neglected my blog. My life had been something like this:

Get everyone up and out the door.

Try to get the house clean and neat.

Throw away the TON of papers that come home with the kids each day.

Grocery shopping.

Make dinner while helping with homework.

Eat dinner as fast as possible so that we can...

Run to soccer practice.

REPEAT

That's it. Just trying to get into the crazy school-soccer routine. While I love the kids playing soccer, it takes up a ton of time at night. Of course, my kids and husband are ALWAYS the last to leave the field and only when it is too dark to shoot on goal anymore. Again, I don't mind, but it makes for a later bedtime than I would like. All in all it's really a great time of life-busy but great!

Watermelon Cookies

2009-08-30T13:39:00.003-04:00

I made watermelon cookies for the party yesterday. I had made them once before a little differently. Now I'm not sure which I like better. What do you think?

First try with pink and a "bite out":

Second try with red and no bite:

Second try with red and a bite:

Unfortunately, the red icing didn't set up as well as I wanted. It was still a little sticky and I'm not sure why. Any thoughts? Could it be the humidity? Do I need more meringue powder?

I think that my favorite is the pink. I also liked putting them on the plate some with and some without the bite. It was kind of cute-like someone couldn't help themselves and took one bite out of a few of the cookies. It has been fun to learn how to make the cookies. I just wish I could master the icing. I guess I have to keep trying.

Funny Faces

2009-08-29T23:27:00.000-04:00

Our neighbor had a birthday party for their two little boys. They had a sweet teenager that did face painting. Check out these funny faces: And here is Claire with one of the birthday boys.The kids had a ton of fun on the blowup obstacle course they rented. (It was a little hot in there though.) Kaylyn even wants us to rent it for the triplet's birthday next month. Well, we'll have to see.

Happy Birthday Uncle Teddy

2009-08-29T13:54:00.002-04:00

Today is my brother's 30th birthday! Here he is with our dad, and his baby:

Here he is compairing muscles with Nathan:

I can't imagine how my "baby brother" got to be that old, but today is his special day. I hope it's the best day he could hope for! Love you!

Silly Boy

2009-08-28T08:58:00.002-04:00

Nathan had back to school night last night. He took me to all of his classes and I got to meet all the teachers. It was interesting to see him in his environment. I have to say he is a silly boy-actually he acted like the silly big fish in a small hormone filled pond. All was fine until we went to math. He likes his math teacher and, as a result, is really relaxed around her. Let's just say that after several silly comments from Nathan in front of all the other "back to school parents", I was a new shade of red...a lovely bright, dark, shiny red. Nothing inappropriate, but really silly, airheaded stuff. Afterwards, I talked to the teacher and apologized for his silliness. I told her he must really be comfortable around her and, I promise, he had been taught how to behave. Thankfully she said that she had a boy and said that Nathan didn't "scare" her. That's good 'cause sometimes he scares the life out of me!

Yellow Tomato Sauce

2009-08-26T08:25:00.000-04:00

Yesterday Jenny and I had so many tomatoes we had to make sauce. We made red sauce, meat sauce and a surprise.Actually, SHE had so many tomatoes, as I kill any and all plants left under my care for more than 24 hours. This is what we had left from 2 full bushel baskets! One of her giant tomato plants (She can grow anything, but she has an unfair advantage. She's a farmer's wife!) was confused and gave us half red tomatoes and half yellow. (We thought that this yellow tomato was a boy tomato. Wonder why?)Our culinary challenge (and the surprise) was to figure out what to do with the yellow tomatoes. So we just slipped the skins and made yellow tomato sauce, just like we would've with the red. It was a little sweeter than red sauce, but it was delicious! We decided that it could've been served at one of those cool little trendy cafes as "Pasta with Yellow Tomato Herb Sauce and Grilled Chicken". As you can see, because of the light color, you almost can't see the sauce. It just leaves a great flavor all over the pasta that really complements the grilled chicken.Sounds impressive, huh. I bet we could've gotten $12.95 a plate! It was fun to make something that we knew our families would gag over, but we enjoyed. Maybe one day we'll open our own little trendy cafe. It could be fun!

Back to School!

2009-08-24T08:30:00.003-04:00

The kids went back this morning armed with all new supplies, shoes and clothes. They were excited, except Claire who was a little nervous and didn't know if she wanted to leave me. (Bless her heart, maybe she will stay my baby forever!) Daddy even went into work late so that he could wish them a happy first day when they woke up.Like last year, I drove Nathan to school since he would have to leave the house at 6:45 to catch the bus. This year he will ride the bus home. We'll see how long he likes doing that. The elementary kids were really ready this morning. They even made their own lunches before I got back from taking Nathan! (I thought Grammy had made them, but they told me proudly that they had made their own.)We even got outside 10 minutes early! That's the first and I am sure the last time that's ever happened! Usually we are rushing out at the last minute, waving to the bus driver so he'll stop.Well, they're off. I hope they have wonderful first days as a seventh, three fifth and a second grader. Wow are they growing up quickly!

Tomorrow is the Day (Warning, I'm a little rambley)

2009-08-23T23:10:00.002-04:00

I'm up late again. I'm unable to go to bed because when I get up I have to start the school year. Well, I don't start the year, but my kids go back. I was so ready about 2 weeks ago. Now that it's time, I want another week or so before I send them away all day every day. It's times like these that I am more aware that I have them for such a short time...and that time keeps getting shorter and shorter. I just want to hold on a little tighter so that they can't keep growing so quickly. (Of course, as I say that, I realize just how blessed I am to have 5 healthy, growing, happy children that are able to grow, mature and move onto the next phase of life. It's not that I am ungrateful for that, I'm just a little conflicted tonight.)

Oh my, I am really tired I think.

I know that I will enjoy a little time to myself. Even more than that, I know that the kids are looking forward to going back and seeing their friends. It's much easier to get things done while they are at school. It's just that little voice in the back of my head says that I have the rest of my life to do laundry and shopping and cleaning. I have the kids for just such a short time and now they will be in school for so many hours.

Well, now that's enough of that. It's time for bed. Tomorrow will bring the excitement and craziness of a new school year. I'll put on a happy face, take pictures of the kids in their new school clothes with their new school supplies and shoo the kids out of the door to have a great first day. I'm sure at that point I'll be ready for the peace and quiet that comes with an empty house...well, maybe.

Dirty Harrietts?

2009-08-22T19:02:00.004-04:00

Look at these two Dirty Harrietts:

Wouldn't want to cross these two.

Uh oh, wonder what they did.

Aaaaahhhh, burning stress before school starts. What fun!

Meeting the Teachers

2009-08-21T18:19:00.003-04:00

We went to meet the elementary school teachers today. Collin and Danny are in the same class this year. They just happen to have the teacher Collin had last year. Collin really liked her, so he was excited to have her again this year. When we walked in, she could tell the boys apart right away. Points for her! Kaylyn has the teacher Nathan had for fifth grade. We LOVED her. She really made Nathan's transition to the new school an easy, happy one and she continues to be Nathan's favorite elementary school teacher. Kaylyn is really happy that one of her best girlfriends is in her class. That fact alone has made Kaylyn really excited to start the year. Claire has a teacher new to our school. She took a couple of years off to have her children and is now back to teaching. She seems really happy and upbeat and Claire seemed to like her. It turns out that Gary is coaching the teacher's niece in soccer and Nathan's gym teacher is Claire's teacher's uncle. (Are you confused yet?) I guess she's well connected in the area!

It was really nice to see the teachers in the hall ready to welcome the kids back. So many of them greeted the kids by name and seemed happy to see them. I love that small school feeling. Well, I guess, ready or not, here it comes! Our new school year starts now!

A Day at the Beach

2009-08-20T20:56:00.004-04:00

Since school starts next week, I had only a few days left to fulfill my promise to take the kids to the beach this summer. (Who says I procrastinate?) Just for fun, friends from our old church came with us. We had so much fun together. Here are some pictures:

Of course, eating was the first thing on the agenda. Riding in the car for an hour and a half works up an appetite you know!

Please notice the happiest face in the world. Kaylyn can't smile big enough when Nathan gives her his attention!

I love this one. The smiles are just so happy!

These are Claire's treasures.

Collin's treasure. Danny and Kaylyn

My girls, they are so amazing to me!

My big boy. Can he really be 12?

I think a fun time was had by everyone!

And so it Begins...

2009-08-18T16:10:00.002-04:00

Soccer started for Nathan last night. He was so excited! The running he did this summer really paid off. He was in great shape...better than the other kids on the team. He finished all of the running before the rest of the team and he was barely out of breath. The coach even asked him if he had been running this summer! He also used Nate to show how to do the first drill. He did GREAT! I think he will really be a leader on the team even though he's not the oldest. It was great to watch!
Collin and Danny start tonight. Gary is their coach, so he already knows how hard they've been working. I can't wait to see their improvement from last year. I know that Gary is counting on our boys to be leaders on his team. I just know it's going to be a great year!

School Shopping Part 2

2009-08-17T20:54:00.000-04:00

These are the happy faces you get after spending $466 in one day doing back to school shopping.

Actually, as you can see from the toilet paper and paper towels, I needed some household necessities as well. This tends to happen over the summer break when you avoid a "BIG" shopping trip because you don't want to have to take 5 kids with you.

Once we got the shopping done, I admit it was GREAT to have helpers to load and unload the car. My boys did a great job stacking the trunk. Poor Collin and Danny had a bunch of stuff between them too! And it looks like Collin didn't mind a bit...ha!

School Shopping

2009-08-17T11:11:00.003-04:00

We are off to go school supply shopping. It seems to me that the kids need more and more each year. I'm not really sure why when I was a kid, these things seemed to be provided, and now I have to go buy them! I mean really, is there a reason that the school can't provide PAPER for the kids? How about tissues? And glue...and crayons...etc. I know that times are tough for the school system, but times are tough for families too! When you multiply all of the supplies by 5 kids, well, it's a small fortune. Oh well, I guess I'll stop at the bank first to take out a loan, and then we are off to get our supplies. Wish us luck!

Bad Dog

2009-08-14T08:26:00.005-04:00

See this dog. He is in jail. He will be in jail for quite a while.

See this money. This money used to be in one piece.

Can you guess why this dog is in doggie jail?

The Tea Party

2009-08-13T23:29:00.007-04:00

Claire and I traveled back to our old town for her friend Maddie's tea party today. Claire was so excited to see her best-est friend, Maddie. It has been a long time since they had seen one another. I heard them talking about when they met. They thought it was in preschool. I had to correct them and let them know that it was in nursery at church when they were about 6 weeks old! Maddie was born 5 days before Claire, so all of Claire's Sunday School and preschool memories include Maddie. It is really a very special friendship. Both girls just couldn't be any sweeter!

Maddie had worked really hard with her grandmother to create this very special day. They had cooked all of the food for today, including scones, cookies, apple walnut bread, honey dill rolls, blueberry coffee cake and hand dipped chocolate covered strawberries. It was quite the occasion! The little girls looked so cute all dressed up. Claire was so polite and tried some of the food that she didn't think she would like. She sat still and enjoyed the tea (or pink lemonade as might be the case) like a little lady. I do think all the girls were glad when it was time to get up and play.

It just gave me a vision into the future of my little girl all grown up and the beautiful woman she will become. While the vision was nice, I am thankful that Claire promises me that she will always stay my baby. I think I'll hold her to that!

Tea Party Cookies

2009-08-12T22:59:00.007-04:00

Claire and I are going to a little girl tea tomorrow. I thought it might be fun to make some cookies to take. Remember, I wasn't thrilled with the icing from my last cookies, so I wanted to try again anyway. I was on a quest for the perfect teapot cookie cutter, but never found it. I did find one that was okay, so I used it. It would've been nice if it had been a little bigger so the detail might have been a little easier. I have to say, teapots are HARD to do. Flowers and pumpkins are much easier!

Oh well, they're not perfect, but it was fun. When Claire saw them, she said, "I don't like it, I LOVE it! Thank you so much Momma!"

That's it, that's all I needed to hear to feel as if I had been successful. She loved them, so my job was done and done well.

While I had the icing made, I decided to make some Rice Crispies treats and decorate them for a family I'm taking dinner to tomorrow. Their family has 1 girl and 2 boys, so I needed to make something less girly. I tried to make basket and baseballs. They're not too bad for my first try with the treats. I just love to learn a new skill!

Marathon Shopping

2009-08-11T21:45:00.001-04:00

Every year, Nana Pat and Pap spoil us by giving us some money for each of the children's back to school clothes. The girls and I then spend a day shopping with Nana so that we can spend that money. We look forward to it each year! I have to wonder when I went from 2 little girls to a teen and a preteen. I swear that I didn't blink, but they seem to have grown up before my eyes! Kaylyn, for the first time, was shopping in junior stores. Ouch, that hurts...both emotionally and financially! Nana was a great mediator between Momma and Kaylyn. For some reason-and this has happened the last several years too-no matter what I suggest, it is not what Kaylyn wants to wear. Thankfully, Nana seems to have better taste and Kaylyn loves her suggestions. So, I just made suggestions to Nana and she then took them to Kaylyn. It worked some of the time, at least when I wasn't caught! Claire had a hard time finding jeans that were comfortable. That was really frustrating for her. We FINALLY did find some, but they will have to be hemmed. Bless her heart, she has curves at 7 years old. She's not heavy at all, but she does have hips and a round tush. Most girls clothes aren't made for 7 year old curves.
Anyway, we had lunch (we had really bad service for some reason and ended up back in the food court at the mall!) and then were off to Target to spend some more money. We had a super time. Thank you Nana and Pap for your thoughtfulness and generosity. Nana sure makes back to school shopping a little more fun. We were just exhausted at the end of the day!

Cookies for the Second Time

2009-08-08T20:51:00.005-04:00

Here are the finished products from our first cookie decorating experience. They are okay...not great, but okay.

I wasn't thrilled with them, neither the decorating nor the taste. Of course, I NEEDED to try again. Last night I made 2 batches of cookie dough-one trying to improve on this dough and the other was a brown sugar cookie dough that I love-and the icing I would need. I then was awake until 2:30 a.m. thinking about how to make the cookies better. I know, I know, I need a life! So, this morning, I got up and got started. First thing, I realized that the icing was a little to watery, so I tried to fix that. Then I rolled out and cut both batches of dough. I have to say, the brown sugar dough is still my favorite. All of the kids, Gary and my mom agree. From now on, I will make the cookies out of that dough.

Of course I had PLENTY of helpers with our little project. It did occur to me that this might be easier in a couple of weeks when the kids go back to school, but I had it in my head NOW! There was no stopping us.

Here are the cookies.

I think they turned out a little better this time. The white and orange base coat is still not quite right-it didn't harden as it should-but the pink was perfect! We are getting there! The girls of course, were all over the decorating...and they did a great job. A few more tries and maybe I'll be satisfied. We are sure having a great time learning a new skill!

A New Experience

2009-08-07T20:32:00.003-04:00

I saw something to day that I have never seen before...and I'm not sure I need to see it again anytime soon. We had our septic system pumped. Being a suburbia kinda girl, I had city water growing up. This septic system maintenance thing is new for me. Of course, I had to ask "Big Jim" 101 questions. (On a side note, Big Jim was a lot bigger 1 1/2 years ago. He has lost 200 pounds! Wow, way to go Big Jim!) He told me all about how a septic system works and what I need to do every 2 years. (On another side note, a normal family only had to do this every 5 years, but with all the people and laundry our house has, we need to do it every 2 years. Just a benefit of a big family. ;0) ) I am so glad I don't have to do that on a daily basis! YUCK!! It is STINKY! Anyway, our septic is empty now. Big Jim found a little problem-thank you builder!- so he will be back at the beginning of next week.

The most amazing thing to me is that I didn't have to pay before he started pumping. I asked about payment, and he said they will send me a bill and then got to work. The same thing happened when the exterminator came earlier this week (we had a bee problem that Gary and I didn't want to tackle). I've got to tell you, I am shocked each time this happens. Before we moved, you can be sure that anyone coming to your house to do some work would've had the payment in hand before they started ANYTHING! Sometimes you even had to pay for the house call over the phone before they would even come to your house! It is so refreshing to be trusted by a serviceman. I am sure that things will change here, but for now, I am still loving this new life I'm living...even if we have been here 1 1/2!

Dog vs. Cookies

2009-08-06T21:13:00.011-04:00

I am always trying to learn new things. I most recently learned to decoupage and made this really cute stool for my nephew's first birthday. We thought it turned out pretty cute!
My newest mountain to climb is making sugar cookies with royal icing. We were at a family birthday party where this kind of cookie was given as party favors. They were adorable. My dad asked if I could do that. I said sure. However, the more I thought about it, the more I wondered if I had lied. So, in an effort to NOT be a liar, and after much Internet research, I decided to give it a try. I made the cookies, the icing and started the "base coat" of icing on the cookies.

Let me pause here and mention just how much fun it is to learn something new with 4 "instructors" adding their help, suggestions, ideas, and criticism. While I really enjoyed making jam and tomato sauce with my kids, these cookies were another thing all together! I had something to PROVE with these cookies, both to my self and to my kids.
So, as I said, I had my "base coat" on the cookies. I wasn't thrilled, but it was ok for my first try. The thing is, royal icing has to "dry" between base coat and decorations...over night. My kids, being kids, are not thrilled with the wait. In order to keep my sanity, I decided to put the cookies on the dining room table. Little did I know, the dog can stand up and reach the middle of the dining room table! He ATE or LICKED the icing off at least 6 cookies! I could've killed him! These were not just run of the mill drop chocolate chip cookies. They were labor intensive, rolled out, iced cookies!

Let's just say, Chip was lucky to get out of his crate for good behavior so he could eat dinner. The kids were really upset that Chip got to eat the cookies before they did. Claire told me she "felt just terrible" for me. Oh well, I guess I need to keep the cookies a little higher and out of reach of not only the children, but the dog too.

The Van Returns

2009-08-05T22:57:00.003-04:00

I got the van back last evening. It's great to have a mode of transportation back. I was able to pick Nathan up from an overnight trip and not have to borrow a car. Yay for independence!

Sadly, it's not all good news. I'm not sure what happened to the van, but it STINKS! It smells like it was sprayed by a skunk while it was waiting to be worked on. (Okay, in all honesty, it might have been. I am sure that there are quite a few living in the field near the garage.) Great. I'm not sure how to get rid of the smell. I'm guessing that dousing it in tomato juice isn't an option. It even makes the garage smell awful.

Well, I guess I'll take a stinky running car over none at all, but it's a close call. I'm just hoping that Pepe Le Pew perfume wears off quickly!

Being the Coach's Kids

2009-08-04T19:49:00.003-04:00

The "benefit" of being the coach's kids is that you get to start soccer drills BEFORE the season starts!

The kids spent about 25 minutes working the drills tonight instead of running their mile. (Nathan was not here, so he's not in any pictures!)

Oh, and you can take me out of the "Mother of the Year" competition. When we came in, Danny told me he had goosebumps. Kaylyn said, "Ohhhhh, he has the fever!" I said, "No he doesn't...wait, go get the thermometer." Yep you guessed it, he had 101.2. Poor guy. He was out doing soccer drills SICK! Bless his heart, he never even complained. The only thing he said when he came in was that his throat hurt a little and he had goosebumps. That's my Danny, a real trouper. He almost never complains, even as a small baby. Collin is the last one to resist this summer illness. The others have had the fever and ended up on antibiotics...wonder if Danny will.

My Blender

2009-08-03T11:09:00.006-04:00

I am so happy to rediscover the blender. I have to admit, when we moved, I sold my blender at a yard sale. Then, when we moved to the country, I realized that I want...no, need...a blender being so far away from any stores that might make milkshakes and/or smoothies. So, I purchased this blender for the purpose of making "yummies" on family night. Yes, I was Momma of the year that night.

Well, the other day, I was out and about and stopped at Panera Bread. I ordered a strawberry smoothie. As I watched the girl make it, I thought I can make that! I know I can make that, and for a lot less than $5.00 a drink! So I purchased the ingredients on the way home and proceeded to make the EXACT smoothie that Panera does. And, I made enough for the whole family for less than $6.00! The kids, except for Nathan who might have liked it if he didn't know it had strawberries in it, just loved it. I also made peach/strawberry smoothies that were good as well.

Then, when Claire and I made tomato sauce, instead of slipping the skins off the tomatoes, I cooked them for 2 hours. Then, when they were soft and mushy, I put them in the blender and PUREED them! It worked beautifully! I would guess that it's healthier too. (And we ALL know that I am above all else worried about the healthiness of my tomato sauce!)

Of course, the blender is always wonderful for milkshakes. They are Nathan's favorites. (Being a little lactose intolerant, I love them too, but they just don't love me!) Last night, after the boys ran their mile, I made Nathan a peanut butter/chocolate milkshake. He loved it!

All I can say is, I am so glad to rediscover my blender. We are loving the delicious creations we can make with it.

My Little Helper Girl

2009-08-01T14:48:00.004-04:00

Since we have moved to the country, I have embraced the "country way of life"...sorta. Well, I've tried anyway. Let me explain.

My friend Jenny provided me with more corn than I have ever seen in one place before, and we "put it up" for the winter. She also gave me more onions that I knew one garden could produce. I sliced and chopped them and then froze them for winter. I have a ton of regular and red potatoes thanks to both Jenny and Grandpa Dud sitting in a bushel basket in my pantry. Grandpa Dud gave me green peppers that I chopped/sliced and froze for winter. As mentioned previously, I made about 6 batches of strawberry jam from berries I bought from a local farm. I am feeling like quite the WOMAN.

Well, yesterday Grandpa Dud gave me 2 Target bags FULL of tomatoes. I decided to try my hand at making my own spiced tomato sauce. I was unaware that I had an observer in all of my cooking endeavors. It turns out that Claire (and all of the other kids too, except Nathan...he has NO interest in the kitchen except what he can eat quickly and often! He HATES to get his hands dirty-something that just happens when you are cooking.) was watching and waiting for an opportunity to help. She sat and helped me seed ALL of the tomatoes last night. Collin and Danny helped for about 5 minutes, but Claire sat next to me working the whole time! It takes a long time to seed 2 large bags worth of tomatoes in case you didn't know! She was so proud of herself!

Then this morning, we made peach jam. Claire, once again, helped me cut, peel and chop 8 pounds of peaches. 8 POUNDS! That's a lot of peaches in case you were wondering. This time, Kaylyn helped for a little bit, too. Then Claire measured out the sugar and helped stir 2 batches of jam. I am so proud of her! She is an amazing helper.

It has been so much fun doing all of this knowing that we will use this stuff in the winter when fresh produce won't be as available. It's even more fun knowing that the kids watch and want to help. Maybe they will smile and remember Momma in the kitchen making yummy jam when they get older. Now, if I could just learn to make bread from scratch, I might just be a REAL WOMAN!

Lego Camp

2009-07-31T19:13:00.005-04:00

Today was the last day of camps for the summer. Yes, that loud sigh you heard was my HUGE sigh of relief. While the kids loved camp and they really were a lot of fun, it was a lot of driving and scheduling around Mom and Papa's surgeries, visiting Papa in the rehab center, kid's illnesses and the van breaking down. I'm not sure I would've signed the kids up for 4 weeks of 1/2 day camps if I had known that everything else was going to happen. Oh well, we made it through and it was fun for them.

Collin and Danny were the last camp this year. They did a Lego Robotics camp. Nathan did this one last year and liked it, so the boys thought they would give it a try. They loved it! I really think that they would've liked to do another week if it had been offered. I got to go see what they worked on for the last 30 minutes of class. It was really neat. I have always been a fan of Lego and the creativity it requires, and this just reinforces it! The kids really used their imagination and came up with some cool projects.

Oh, and is it just me or are the instructors getting younger and younger? Mr. Brian was really great with the boys. He was also the teacher for Nathan's Game Maker camp. We are hoping he gets the job at the local middle school. Good luck Mr. Brian and thanks so much for the fun this summer!

I Tried Not to Laugh

2009-07-31T17:20:00.004-04:00

These two girls are usually the best of friends as well as wonderful sisters. However, there are times that they just start to pluck one another's nerves. Usually that is an indication that they are tired, bored, tired, grumpy, tired, pre-hormonal, tired, or just sick of one another. Or maybe tired. Today was just such a day.

I heard the rumblings upstairs, followed by stomping down the steps, the older yelling for "Mom", and the younger yelling "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to". Most of the time I try to let the kids work things out between themselves, but this was at the point I needed to step in.

Mom: "Stop, before you say anything, I heard Claire say she was sorry and she didn't mean to. Before you tattle, please decide if we need to continue."

Kaylyn: "But...:

Claire: "I said I didn't mean to. I said I'm sorry."

Mom: "Kaylyn, are you sure you want to continue with this?"

Kaylyn: "Yes, Mom..."

Claire: "I said I didn't mean to. I didn't mean to open my mouth and I didn't mean to bite you."

Kaylyn: "See...Mom..."

Mom: "Wait, please, Kaylyn. Claire, did you bite Kaylyn?"

Claire: "I didn't mean to but I just got it in my head and my mouth opened and it happened! I didn't mean to because I thought about it and I knew it was wrong, but my mouth just opened and bit her! I didn't mean to and I apologized!"

Mom (at this point knowing this was a serious thing but almost unable to keep from laughing): "I see. Why is your mouth so angry?"

Claire: "Because she is wrong."

Kaylyn: "I am not! I am NOT WRONG!"

Mom (pulling at her hair at this point): "I don't care who is right or wrong. What is so important that you two can't seem to agree and have to continue this argument?"

Kaylyn: "She says I'm not in 5th grade."

Claire: "Your NOT! School hasn't started yet! You're not in 5th grade! You're still in 4th!"

Kaylyn: "NO I'M NOT! I'm in 5th grade! I finished 4th grade already!"

Mom (ready to knock heads together): "You're both wrong. Kaylyn, you are BETWEEN 4th and 5th grade. You HAVE finished 4th, but you HAVEN'T started 5th yet. So, you are both wrong. Now, go sit on your beds, don't look or talk to each other until you can get along!"

Claire: "Told ya!"

Kaylyn: "Well, you were wrong too!"

Mom: "GO NOW! Don't speak, just go!"

Now, you tell me, just how can you take this kind of thing seriously? Oh, and do you want to guess who will be getting to bed early tonight (besides me)?

Van Trouble AGAIN!

2009-07-30T15:04:00.005-04:00

As mentioned, our van broke down on Saturday. We had been to my nephew's first birthday party and on the way home stopped in to see our old neighbors. While there, the belt in our engine broke and we lost all ability to drive. I was so thankful that we broke down in our old neighborhood. (I was also REALLY thankful that we started to pay for AAA about a year and a half ago.) We knew where to have the van towed and we had friends to help us out. As a matter of fact, I think we started an impromptu block party for our old court! My friend Tina allowed us to borrow her conversion van-thank God she had a vehicle big enough for all of us that we could use-so we didn't have to rent a 15 passenger cargo van from the airport. It was stressful, but we made it home in one piece. The garage was able to get the van fixed by 2:00 Monday afternoon. I made the 3 1/2 hour round trip to get the van and bring it home. Again, stressful, but not as bad as it could've been.

Well, yesterday the new belt slipped off again when I was bringing the boys home from camp. For the second time in 4 days I was left stranded with a car that isn't drivable! Oh, and of course it was raining. Again, it was the best of an awful situation in that I was only about 9 miles from home, I was able to get to a safe parking lot, Grandpa Dud was able to come pick up the boys while I waited for the tow truck and the garage is only about a mile from home. It could've been a lot worse...but it sure could've been a lot better!You know what frosts me the most? My dad had just told me at the birthday party on Saturday that I need to get rid of the van before it left me stranded. I defended the van saying that it has been great for the last 11 years and always gets me where I need to go. That I would love a new car, but we don't want 2 car payments at once. Pppppfpffffffttttt! See if I defend the dang van again. Now, we just need to nurse it for about 3 more years so that we can pay Gary's car off. Hahahahahahaha, we'll see.

Growing Up Too Fast!

2009-07-29T09:42:00.005-04:00

On Sunday, Kaylyn had a birthday party to attend. Her friend from school turned 10. Apparently her friend's mom told her years ago that she would get her a limo for when she turned 10. In true kid form, she never forgot her mom's promise. So, guess who got her first limo ride at the ripe old age of 10? Yep, all these girls! They had a great time and from all accounts knew just how to "act" in the limo...drinking soda from champagne glasses, dancing around to the music and waving to other passing cars. They went to get Rita's, stopped at a local restaurant to feed the ducks, stopped at the elementary school to play on the playground and then came back to the house to spend the night. The girls had a blast. My little girl is growing up way too fast! (By the way, my first limo ride was when I got married! I didn't even take one to prom. She is one lucky little girl!)

I'm Back!

2009-07-28T09:56:00.006-04:00

Well, our last several weeks have been more crazy than I like. As mentioned, my grandfather broke his hip and is in a rehabilitation center, my mom had colon surgery and is home recovering, and I had 3 different kids with fevers over 101 and needed to be on antibiotics. That's just the crazy health issues. We also have had several different half day kid camps at the local community college that is about a half an hour away. The kids loved them, but I have been on the road a lot. Then I can talk about the 3 different extended family birthday parties, one of which we sadly had to miss. And our car broke down after one party...an hour and a half from home. That's another post all on it's own.

Soooooooo, with all of that going on, I haven't been blogging. So sorry. I will do my best to get up to date.

For now, here are some pictures of a more fun activity Jen, my farmer friend, and I did the other day. We took this:

and turned it into this:

That's right, we froze some fresh Silver Queen corn for the winter. It was great. Our combined 8 kids shucked it and then we blanched, cut it off the cobs and then froze 2 bushels of corn. I can remember my mom doing that when I was a little girl. I think we will enjoy corn even more this winter!

Anwered Prayers

2009-07-16T21:36:00.002-04:00

I just found out that everything they tested for Mom came back clear...There is no more cancer! Although I expected that, it is so wonderful to have it confirmed by the doctor. Mom is recovering nicely. Of course she is sore, and will continue to be for a while, she is up and around. All of her "plumbing" is working and she is healing well. I just thank God for her health. And I thank any of you that sent up a prayer on our behalf, we really cherish each and every one of you! Have a great day!

Tomorrow

2009-07-12T21:56:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow is my mom's surgery. Please pray for my mom's peace, the surgeon's knowledge, Grandpa Dud, my grandfather's confusion, and Gary at home with the kids. It will be a long day for everyone. Thanks for your prayers.

16th Anniversary

2009-07-10T22:50:00.002-04:00

Sixteen years ago today I married my wonderful husband, Gary. We sure have packed a lot of living into 16 years! I am so thankful for the man God provided for me and our children. I only hope we live to see another 56 years together. Happy anniversary, Honey! Thanks for loving me all of these years. You're the best.

Papa's World

2009-07-07T22:52:00.003-04:00

Kaylyn and I visited Papa this morning. He is still so disoriented, but today it was funny. Today he was convinced that I needed to "get him off the plane and take him home on the helicopter". He was really put out with me because I wouldn't teach him to "drive" the helicopter. I told him I would teach him as soon as he could walk, but until then I was taking my helicopter and going home. Then he was really mad we wouldn't move the t.v. (actually a piece of foam to keep his legs stable) from between his legs. When I told him his t.v. was on the wall, well that really upset him. Why would I have put the t.v. on the wall? Oh boy, it's going to be a long recovery I am afraid!

On the other front, we went to see my mom's surgeon today. He has scheduled mom for colon surgery on Monday. He is very knowledgeable and professional, while still having a very nice bedside manner. We feel very comfortable with him performing the surgery and we were very thankful that he had time on his schedule so quickly. It will be about a 6-8 week recovery, but I know my mom. She'll be up and around ASAP. Our prayer is that Papa can stay at the rehab long enough for mom to be somewhat recovered.

Here at home, we have had the kids running laps around our property getting ready for soccer camp next week and tonight we started sprints across our front lawn. They are really improving QUICKLY! Nathan, of course, runs like the wind and just gets faster each night. Danny is improving faster than I could've imagined. In less than a week there is a noticeable difference in his stride and speed. Collin had a slow start...he didn't buy into this whole running thing. (Poor guy, I totally get it!) We had a serious talk last night about effort making a difference and tonight he looked like a totally different kid. He, more than any of our other kids, is a "mind over matter" kinda guy. Once he got on board, he looked great running. He just had to decide that it was worth it. Kaylyn said that she would like to play lacrosse next year, so she is jogging as well. This is huge because up until this point any exercise that caused her to overheat would give her a migraine. She has been great the last several nights. Claire, our least likely to want to sweat, has decided that she likes to run. I am amazed at how much effort she is putting into it. She can really move when she wants to. Of course, it's always more fun when Nate or Daddy jog along beside her. I am so glad that they are working so hard to get into and stay in shape. They are even doing sit ups before bed each night. I am really proud of them and even better, they are proud of themselves. Now, if only I could convince myself to get on board...

Well, maybe tomorrow.

Claire goes to College

2009-07-06T22:41:00.006-04:00

My little one went to her first day at college today.She started her first camp that wasn't a Vacation Bible School at the local community college. It's the Kids on Campus program and she went for the Painting on Ceramics camp this morning. I thought that Nathan would be there at the same time for a Create your own Video Game camp, but was surprised to learn that his was in the afternoon, not the morning. Ooooops, I made a little mistake at sign up time I guess! I have to admit, I was a little freaked out about leaving her there by herself, but she was great. She just marched over to her group and off she went. I am so proud of her! At lunch I asked her if she was nervous, and she said, "Of course, Momma. I have never been to a camp before, well other than VBS. It was my first time. But I did ok. It was fun!" I guess my baby is really growing up! Please pass the tissues.

As for that little mistake I made, well, it wasn't so little. It means that I have to drive half an hour back and forth twice as much. Claire has camp in the morning, Nathan in the afternoon. There is an hour between sessions-not enough time to go home, but a lot of time to just hang out and wait. Great, just great. I ended up taking lunches and when we were done, we walked around the campus for a little bit. Oh well, both kids had a super time at their camps and can't wait to go back tomorrow. Danny, Collin and Kaylyn were really troupers about the whole thing. Their camps will come later this month. It's just a week, we can do it!

Fun Fourth

2009-07-05T22:23:00.002-04:00

Although I felt crummy yesterday morning, by the afternoon I felt well enough to go visit with our farmer friends, Jenny and Randy, for the Fourth of July. They graciously let all of us come visit for dinner and fireworks. Our kids get along so well that we just let them loose to run about on the farm. The kids had a great time with only one little spat from the little girls that they worked out themselves. I don't know about you, but 8 kids, 5 hours and only 1 spat...that's some kind of miracle! We had a super dinner of all the Fourth Favorites...burgers, hot dogs, pasta salad, corn, melons, mac and cheese, and desserts. Jenny sure can cook! Later that night, from their farm, we saw no less than 4 different fireworks displays. It was amazing to realize that the land is so flat and the fireworks so high, that we could see them from miles away! Other than the fireworks that our old neighbor Mr. Bob would do for us, they were the best displays ever. We watched for about an hour. To tell the truth, I don't really need to be any closer to fireworks than we were. I hate the crowds and the loud bangs. It makes my heart jump in a really uncomfortable way. After the displays, we cleaned up while the kids played a little bit on the Wii. I can't remember a more relaxing, easy get together...ever! There was really no stress for us at all-and after the week we've had, that was the best blessing I could've asked for. Thanks, Jenny, Randy and family. We had a super time!

Moving Papa

2009-07-04T22:13:00.003-04:00

Papa was moved to a rehabilitation center today. He is really disoriented and out of it. We are hoping that it is just due to being moved and the anesthesia from surgery not being quite out of his body. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day. I had visited the center two days ago, and it is as nice as a facility like that can be. The best part about it is that it is only about 15 minutes from our home. As the summer progresses and the kids start camps, it is on our way to and from camp. That means that we can pop in for a quick visit several times a day if we want. I hope that takes some of the stress off of my mom so that she will be able to recover from her upcoming surgery. I'll tell you, I HATE medical anything, and this has been WAY TOO MUCH medical for me for one week. As a result, I woke up with a sore throat and head cold. Gary let me go back to sleep and I felt better this afternoon. I have no doubt that it was just the way my body deals with the stress-it's happened before. Oh well, that's the way the cookies crumbles. Thank you again for your prayers.

Happy Fourth of July!

2009-07-04T13:37:00.002-04:00

I hope everyone takes a moment to thank God for this wonderful country in which we live. We are so blessed to have such freedoms. A huge thank you to all of the wonderful men and women that work so hard keep our lives safe! Enjoy some delicious cookout food and fireworks!

A Slippery Day

2009-07-02T21:56:00.005-04:00

Papa had his hip surgery today. He made it though surgery fine, but is really disoriented as of right now. Thankfully it seemed to go smoothly. Thank you for your prayers.

What is a family to do on a warm summer day? The Slip and Slide of course! This was our second attempt to slide, but we found a huge rip in the bottom. Our neighbor, Miss Denise, showed us a "trick" last time we were at her house. Nathan held the hose and sprayed everyone and we added dish soap to the plastic. It worked like a charm! The kids had fun and didn't even miss the squirting water.

Oh, and the soap makes a heck of a mess! I don't think Danny minded one little bit!

This and That

2009-07-01T17:38:00.006-04:00

I have a little of this and that to post, so please bare with me!

Do you know what this is?

This is the sweetest gift from the most thoughtful little girl EVER! While we were out running errands today, Claire saw this and asked if we could get it. I was on the verge of saying no, when for some reason I asked why she wanted it. She said that she wanted to get it for Papa who is still in the hospital-actually getting surgery as I type. She thought it might make him feel better. He just loves store bought goodies. Isn't that too sweet?

Here is Collin riding the mower. When we got back from errands, both Collin and Danny ran over to Grandpa Dud's house to see if they could help him with the mowing. Although just Collin is pictured, both Collin and Danny had a turn helping out.

While Collin and Danny were mowing, Nathan was a huge help vacuuming out the car. He, knowing that I'm a little stressed out, has been trying to help out with whatever I ask him-and almost NO complaints. That's a sign of a maturing son!

I am just so blessed! I can't tell you how amazed I am each and every day by these wonderful children God has blessed me with.

Oh, and just because I need a laugh, on the way home from errands, I finally got a picture of this sign. I have been meaning to since about the last 2 weeks of school, but almost forgot. Anyway, I know I have a warped sense of humor, but this sign just about made me wreck the first time I saw it. Read it and see what you think!

Really, so we need to take the senior citizens to the Suicide Bridge? Am I the only one that finds that a hoot? I know, I know, I'm sick!

Prayers Please

2009-06-30T18:52:00.002-04:00

Well, when it rains it pours, especially for our family. Let me start by saying, I KNOW God's still in control no matter how crazy things seem. I don't doubt that for a moment. I just wish He would fill me in on what the plan is just a little bit.

My mom is having some major health issues-the big C word...possible cancer. She needs to have some tests done and the results from those tests can influence the rest of our lives. We believe that she is getting the best care possible, but that doesn't stop us from being concerned...not worried because we know that God has a plan...but we are concerned. Oh, and the eye problem from several months ago is still in the picture. She is to get another shot in the eye next week if she doesn't put it off.

While we were getting a procedure done yesterday, my grandfather fell and broke his hip. He, being the stubborn, hardheaded man he is, waited until no one was watching and went BY HIMSELF out to the garden. He had been forbidden to go out by himself, but did it anyway. While he was out there, he fell and was unable to move his right leg. Thank God Nathan was able to help Grandpa Dud get Papa into the wheelchair and up to the garage. My wonderful husband came home just in time to help get him into the house. We had to take him to the hospital by ambulance. He now needs surgery tomorrow. After viewing several x-rays, he has a few other issues as well, but they need to be addressed in the future-if at all.

Papa's health issues, of course, are a huge concern for us. However, for me, more of a concern is that my mom continues to stay on top of what she needs to have done. We just can't trade her health for his at this point. She is the world's best daughter and will allow her concerns about her father supersede her own health issues. Yes, I could gladly hit her over the head for that, except that I would most likely do the same thing in her shoes. It's just the way we are wired. Everyone else comes before us. Most of the time that's a good trait, but not when cancer is in the picture. Time is of the essence!

On top of all of that, my poor Kaylyn started running a fever yesterday of 103. She still had 102 this morning, so I took her to the doctor who had her tested for the swine flu. Thankfully, she doesn't have it, but we don't know what she has. If she is still running the fever on Thursday, we have to go back for some more tests. Great! I think Claire seems to be getting a little warm too.

Well, all of that information, and I know it's a lot, is to ask you all out there to pray for our family. It just seems like it's a lot for us right now, especially my mom. Pray for wisdom for the doctors and our family as we try to make the best decisions possible. Thanks!

Hamburger and Stale Fries

2009-06-29T10:05:00.002-04:00

I saw these adorable cupcake hamburger and cookie fries on Bakerella's web site. I knew right away I NEEDED to try them. Mine didn't turn out exactly like hers, but I thought they were just great. Even better,the kids thought they were AWESOME! It always thrills me when I am able to impress my children.

I made these for Pappy when they were here on Saturday. He and Grandmom thought they were "somethin' else". They always say I'm "somethin'". I think they liked it though.

I made this little basket for Maggie when she was recovering from surgery. I never thought that she might still be a little groggy from the anesthesia. We gave the basket of yummies to her and she ate a fry first. She said, "Thanks, but are these fries stale?" Bless her heart, she didn't realize that they were cookies, not real french fries, and they tasted REALLY funny to her. I had a huge laugh about it, but Jenny about died. I thought it was the perfect comment from a groggy little girl. So now, I have decided that these are cupcake hamburgers and stale fries. I will make them again. It was fun to serve hamburger and fry dessert! And my kids LOVED them. That's the true seal of approval.

Children of the Corn

2009-06-28T22:33:00.000-04:00

We stopped by Jenny's farm last night after the VBS musical. They have beautiful fields of corn. Of course, after the great weeds pictures, I saw that as a photo op. The kids humored me, and the pictures turned out pretty good.

Claire:

Collin:
Nathan:
Danny:
Kaylyn: Jenny's husband, Randy, has been working hard on the wheat fields. He has a tractor trailer full of this:This whole field was 4 foot (I think, but I didn't measure it) tall wheat just 2 days ago. I have a whole new respect for farmers now that I know one. They work REALLY hard and really long days. It has been fun to learn more and more about the community around us. Jenny and Randy have been super kind to answer all of my hundreds of questions. They also let me take some great pictures on their farm. Thanks guys!

VBS Musical

2009-06-28T21:15:00.000-04:00

The kids had the Vacation Bible School musical tonight. Danny and Collin weren't sure that they wanted to participate, but their mean momma made them! They did a great job singing and even doing the hand movements. I think, even if they won't admit it, they had fun.I know Claire and Kaylyn did. Poor Kaylyn was squished on stage. She could hardly move her arms. Claire knew all of the songs and all of the movements. She was right on throughout the whole musical. I am always amazed at how great she does with music.

I know these are awful pictures, but they are the best I got. I was so far away the pictures are grainy. I usually can fix the glowing eyes, but for some reason can't with these pictures. Oh well, you get the idea (and I can prove I was there)!

Visit with Grandmom and Pappy

2009-06-27T21:01:00.003-04:00

Grandmom and Pappy came to visit today. We had a fun day. Grandmom brought an Eye Spy book that she and the children had a lot of fun looking at. She's not much of a wrestler, you know.

Collin and Danny decided to wrestle each other.

Pappy wrestled Kaylyn and...

Claire. Their technique is a little unusual I think!

Nathan almost "took" Pappy, but not quite. It was a close match. I think Pappy was surprised at just how strong Nate has gotten.Gary jumped in just to say he could. I'm afraid it will be only a year or two before Gary will need some help!

We really had a lovely day. Thanks for making the trip down to see us Grandmom and Pappy. Please come back soon!

Feel Better, Maggie

2009-06-26T23:21:00.000-04:00

Our little friend Maggie had to have surgery today. She is out, home and recovering. Yay! Feel better Miss Magpie. We want to play soon!

A New Game

2009-06-25T20:50:00.003-04:00

A few weeks ago, I saw a game at Target that Pap and Nana Pat had introduced us to a couple of years ago...Ladder Ball. The kids loved it and it is the kind of game that all ages can play. Pap had made his set from scratch, but Target had a set (sadly much more flimsy) for $19.99. I had to get it! The kids were so excited when they realized what it was! We have spent the last several evenings playing together-we have the mosquito bites to show it. I don't know if Target still stocks it, but I would recommend it for family fun.

Busy Days

2009-06-24T19:23:00.005-04:00

We have had Vacation Bible School in the mornings this week. Everyone but Nathan goes. They seem to be enjoying it. Nathan seems to be enjoying some one on one Momma time. We have been running errands before running back to pick everyone up. He's great company.
This afternoon, we went to play on the Slip and Slide with Denise, her kids, Jenny and her kids. We had a fun time and a nice lunch. (Hey, I took homemade strawberry jam-it had to be good!)Being with Denise brings back memories of my triplets as younger kids. Whew, I am glad that they are a little older now! Three year old triplets are exhausting! My big kids are great with the little kids-they are super patient and kind to the little ones. It really makes me so proud of the little people they are.Nathan likes the kids too, but he wanted to watch the USA vs. Spain soccer game. He watched the first half at Denise's house, but we came home for the second. He was just thrilled that USA won!

The other 4 kids fell asleep for a much needed nap. We have been so busy that they just needed a little extra sleep-and their behavior at home showed it! Collin and Danny had a real knock down, drag out fight after VBS. They are getting too big for that...it hurts now...a lot!

Well, another fun summer day down. I think it is flying by much to quickly!

Updates

2009-06-23T00:02:00.004-04:00

We have been really busy the last week or so. Tonight, I just updated for quite a few entries. If you are interested, please scroll down to see the end of school, early summer activities and a chicken festival. So sorry I have been gone for so long. I will try to update more regularly in the future! Thanks for reading about our crazy lives.

More Flower Pictures

2009-06-22T21:49:00.001-04:00

Gary loved the pictures from Father's Day so much, we decided to try to get individual shots of the kids. I have a wall in our family room that has an 8x10 of each of the children. I have last year's school pictures hung because, for some reason, I couldn't order just an 8x10 of this year's. Anyway, since the flowers/weeds are so pretty, my camera so wonderful and my luck was so good, I thought I would try to get some shots of the kids myself. For some reason, it was harder to get individual shots than the group ones we did the other day. Anyway, after several attempts, here are the best:

Nathan

Kaylyn

Danny

Collin

Claire

I'll send them to Walmart and have them printed out. Boy, they just keep growing like crazy. I so wish I could stop time for just a little while.

Oh, and who knew that weeds could make such a great background for photos?

Father's Day

2009-06-21T18:40:00.009-04:00

I am so proud to be the wife of a wonderful father to our children. Gary has been all a Daddy could be for our kids, and then some. He gets up at an ungodly hour each weekday so that he can get to work and get home at a reasonable hour. He spends hours and hours learning about how to be the best soccer coach he can be. He is the leader in our home that the children can look to for integrity in all he does. He is VERY consistent (thank God, because I tend to be a little more wishy washy) in his ideals. Our children couldn't wish for a more wonderful and loving Daddy. Hope you have a super day, Honey.

We did a special project for Father's Day this year. We took some great pictures for Daddy, and they turned out GREAT! I couldn't have asked the kids to be more co-operative.

Aren't they wonderful? I took quite a few others and put them in a 9 picture frame. Gary loved it! He even took it to church to show it off a little. The kids were so proud of the great pictures and there wasn't one complaint-even when they had to march into the tall weeds. Here are a few of the other favorites.

I can't believe how big the kids look now. I am wondering where my little, preemie triples are!

No one would guess that Nathan is just 12 and Kaylyn is 10 1/2 from this picture. It's like a peek into the future!

Claire loved this picture. The boys were just hanging on!

It was a fun day full of church, Gary's favorite lunch, video games and movie watching. Gary's wish for Father's Day was a relaxing, fun day with the kids. I think he got it!

We have a Secret

2009-06-20T23:46:00.000-04:00

The kids and I have a secret that we are keeping from Daddy! We worked really hard on it yesterday, before those crazy birthday parties. I am no good at secrets, no good at all! I can't wait until Father's Day morning. I know, it's just in the morning, but we are busting at the seams! Check back tomorrow to see what it is...

Chicken Festival

2009-06-20T22:11:00.002-04:00

I now know that we have adopted country life as our own. The biggest thing to hit our county this year is the Chicken Festival. It was held at the 4-H park in the next town over. My friend, Jenny, has been talking about it for a while since her husband is, among other things, the chairman of the fry pan...the 10 FOOT fry pan...portion of the festival. I wasn't sure what to expect, I wasn't even sure I wanted to go, but I felt I needed to see a 10 foot fry pan frying chicken. Soooooo, despite the on and off rain and the really thick mud, the girls and I followed Jenny and her kids to the festival. It was great! Well, it would've been a little better without all the mud and without the tornado warning, but other than that, it was great!

Here is the best dang fry pan chairman ever with his lovely wife:

The fry pan:

The pan frying chicken:

Here is how they got the chicken out of the pan:

And dumped the chicken so that it could be boxed up for us to take home:

It was a blast!

Claire's favorite part was seeing the baby chicks. Baby chicks are her most favorite farm animal. She doesn't love chickens full grown, but the soft fluffy chicks are right up her alley. Claire's friend is Maggie, the chairman's daughter.

Kaylyn liked them too!

After some eating some great chicken, playing with baby chicks, and getting some delicious ice cream, we decided that we needed to go home. (After all, the tornado warning was over, so really, where was the added excitement?) We got to ride the tractor back to our car. It really made me laugh to read "Ride at your own Risk" on the little benches. I guess it can be very risky riding on a bench behind a tractor going 5 miles per hour. Please notice the excitement on Maggie's face. I just think that's the best face EVER!

I do have to say, you haven't lived until you have been to a Chicken Festival that has a 10 foot fry pan. It was really the most "country" thing I have done since I moved here...and I LOVED it. Who knew that deep down, I really, really want to be a country girl? Without moving here, I would've never known that part of me. And I really like that part of me!

Birthday Parties

2009-06-19T22:11:00.000-04:00

Kaylyn and Claire had two birthday parties this first Friday of summer. What could be more fun?

The first one was for our Bible study teacher's daughter, Cosette. She is Kaylyn's age, but they invited Claire too. At this party, they played a silly game where the girls at the party tried to apply make up to another girl. The trick was they were blindfolded while attempting to apply that make up! Here are the results!

Kaylyn:

Claire:

Ooooooooooh, I think a good face washing is in order. Actually, it was a hoot to watch and everyone was laughing like crazy! They also had a treasure hunt and a slip and slide. The report was that Claire was the best on the slip and slide while Kaylyn wanted to know what the "treasure" was at the end of the hunt. She wanted to be sure that it was worth hunting.

The second party was a pajama party for Denise's daughter, Helena, down the street. Helena is closer to Claire's age, but Denise was kind enough to invite Kaylyn too. Everyone needed to wear their pajamas to the party. It was so cute to see all of the little girls in their p.j.s! They had a blast dressing up in all of the princess clothes Denise had downstairs. Kaylyn was a huge help organizing the little girls. She is just great with little kids and had a great time too!

It was so nice that both of these parties were just nice, at their house parties. In years past, especially before we moved, I have felt that sometimes parents spend too much money taking kids to places like Chucky Cheese. It was great to see kids having so much fun without having to shell out a ton of money. Of course, you have to get the food and goodie bags, but at least the kids aren't expecting bigger and better each year. Or, maybe it is the parents being comfortable with hosting kids in their home that felt so "right" to me. We are just "home party" kind of people!

Oh, what were the boys doing while all of this partying was going on you ask? Collin and Danny were at Grammy's house for a sleep over and Gary took Nate to see the latest Terminator movie. (That was the "bribe" to get him to go see UP happily.) I have to say, everyone had a great day! Now, I'm exhausted!

Lazy Day

2009-06-18T18:08:00.002-04:00

I called a "Do Nothing Day" today. We did NOTHING! It's the first day of summer and it's chilly and rainy. We just stayed in our p.j.s all day long, watched t.v., played on the computer and read books snuggled under our covers. We can't do this everyday, but it sure was nice today. Happy summer to us!

The Rest of the Last Day

2009-06-17T22:49:00.000-04:00

After all of the parties at school, our neighbor, Denise, invited us over to celebrate the end of the school year. She is our sweet neighbor that has a daughter that just finished kindergarten and 3 year old triplets. Nathan worked for her 2 afternoons a week. We went over for hot dogs, chips and cupcakes. It was a perfect because Daddy was working from home today and wondered just how he was going to get anything done with everyone home for the afternoon! Of course, Denise's little kids were thrilled to play with our big kids. They had a blast running around and messing up the playroom. Finally we put on a movie and everyone relaxed. Just as a side note, they watched Barnyard. In my opinion, there is something really, really wrong with cows standing on their back legs and walking around. The utters just look VERY strange! Just thought I would mention it, you know it is my blog!

After the fun time at Denise's house, Daddy took us out to see the movie UP! Nathan wasn't thrilled to go see a kid's movie, but we convinced him that it would be fun...and we'd get popcorn! If you haven't seen it, I would recommend it. As with The Incredibles, Cars and Toy Story, there was an adult story weaved through out the kid story. Both kids and adults can enjoy the movie for different reasons. It was really well done and we all liked it a lot. I am still not a huge fan of 3-D, though. Sometimes it just makes my head hurt...and I know it makes my wallet hurt! Wow, movies are so expensive!

I have to say, we celebrated the end of the year to the fullest! I am now ready to start the summer routine. Let's sleep in tomorrow!

Last Half Day of 2008-2009 School Year!

2009-06-17T22:17:00.000-04:00

Today was the last half day of our 2008-2009 school year! As mentioned before, we met this day with a little bit of happy and a little bit of sad. The kids all have parties today. They were looking forward to that, but are a little sad that they won't see their friends for a little while. No matter how many times I remind them that we can get together over the summer, the kids are convinced "it just won't be the same!". Yeah, they're right. I'm not willing to have their friends over each and every day this summer. Man, I'm such a mean momma!

Claire's class had a Mexican Fiesta. I was asked to bring in refried beans. Claire and I both wondered just who was going to eat that! But, I took them in, and as we thought, no one ate them :)! Oh well, the fiesta was fun anyway. I know that Claire's going to miss her teacher. They really came a long way from the first day of school! The first day, Claire thought she yelled all day long and didn't want to go back. The last day, Claire had to have a little cry because she would miss her teacher over the summer.

Kaylyn's class had an ice cream party. I was to send in sliced strawberries. I tried, I really did! I went to 2 different fruit stands this morning, but I found out that strawberry season ended 3 days ago. There weren't any fresh strawberries to be found! I stressed over whether or not I had time to run into town and decided that I didn't. Sooooooooo, I took a small jar of my homemade strawberry jam, heated it with a little water and made strawberry sauce. I heard that it was a hit...even more than sliced fresh strawberries would've been. Kaylyn's teacher in on maternity leave, so her student teacher came back to sub at the end of the year. Kaylyn really loved her!

Danny's class had an ice cream party also. Thankfully, all I had to send in was peanut butter chips. He had a fine year. Of all of the kids, I think he had the most "growing pains" this year. He had a teacher that was very good, but very matter of fact. She was not a warm fuzzy kind of teacher. Danny responds best to warm and fuzzy, so he had to work a little harder to be motivated this year. That being said, he ended the year with straight A's. Hard to argue with that!

Collin had a brunch. His teacher was a little more health conscious! I sent in chocolate chip muffins (I, obviously, am not health conscious!). From all reports, they were a hit. Collin loved them-he had 3! He loved his teacher this year and is thrilled to hear that she will be moving up to 5th grade next year. I am afraid that he will be devastated if he doesn't get her again. We will have to wait to see.

I'm not sure what Nathan had other than a "fun day". I wasn't invited to visit his last day of school. Ahhhhhhh, the life of a middle school momma. I am never sure what is going on there. I do know that he LOVED his first year of middle school. He ended the year feeling great about himself socially and academically. I know that middle school is awful for many kids, but Nathan seems to have really blossomed. I only hope that it will be so great for the others when it's their turn.

Fourth and Sixth Grade Awards

2009-06-16T21:52:00.002-04:00

First thing this morning, we had the fourth grade awards ceremony. Of course, I am the only person to have a child in each of the classes! I guess that makes our family a little unusual.

Collin was first. He received:

Best Helper Award and

Computer Lab Award

Danny came next. He received:

Excellence in Science

Third Place in the 24 Tournament (a math game I think) and

Computer Lab Award

Kaylyn was in the last class. She received:

Positive Attitude

Computer Lab Award and

Class Ambassador Certificate

I was so proud of all three of them. I love that they were all recognized for something special.

Later that day, Nathan had his award ceremony. Of course, he didn't tell me about it, nor did he bring home the notification. My great girl friend, Tina, was visiting for the day, and we had plans. We were a little late for Nathan's ceremony so I don't have any pictures. Nathan received:

Excellence in Science

Perfect Attendance in Fourth Quarter and

Honor Roll for the whole year

What he did not get was the Physical Education award. I was really upset because he had come home telling us how he was beating all of the other sixth graders (and actually most of the school!) at the different competitions. When I asked him about why he didn't get his award, I thought he would be upset too. Instead, he started to laugh. He told me that he didn't get it because he got a ZERO on the Sit and Reach. He was in the top 3 of all of the other activities (in not only the 6th grade, but the whole school!), but because he can't touch his toes, he didn't get an award! We are now working on his flexibility for next year. We have had a lot of fun laughing about how the "most athletic kid in the 6th grade" (Nate's words) didn't get an award for gym.

I have to say, all the kids had great years. We are so blessed that they really enjoy school and find themselves with a bittersweet feeling at the end of the year. They are ready for a break, but will miss seeing their friends. I so can remember feeling that way as a kid too. Great job, guys! Momma and Daddy are so proud of you!

Claire's Awards

2009-06-15T21:37:00.001-04:00

The elementary school does end of the year awards for all of the children. Claire's ceremony was first this year. She received several different awards. The one I was SURE she wouldn't receive was the National Physical Fitness Award. (She takes after me you know!) Her teacher called her name and then listed her awards:

Math Whiz Award,

Positive Attitude Award,

Computer Lab Award, and...

National Physical Fitness Award!

When I asked Claire about it, her comment was, "I know, wasn't that a SHOCKER!?!" I just had to laugh out loud. She is so delightful. As suprised as I was about the Fitness Award, I was NOT suprised about the Positive Attitude Award. She always has a great attitude at school, with her friends, her teachers and about the work. It is so great to have her recognized for it.

GREAT job, Claire. We are so proud of you!

Step Club

2009-06-13T15:41:00.002-04:00

Kaylyn decided earlier this year to join the Step Club at the elementary school. She hasn't loved it, but I told her she needed to complete her commitment for this year. Today was the last performance for the club. She is glad it is over, but also glad she finished out the year.

Doesn't she look so enthused? In her defense, it was hot and bright out today! I don't think she'll join again next year, and that's ok. I'm proud of her for trying something new. Good job, Kaylyn!

Please Explain

2009-06-12T08:31:00.008-04:00

Can anyone out there please explain why my son, Nathan, needs his shorts to COVER his knees? They can't just go down to his knees, they MUST COVER them! I just don't understand...at all. I can understand wanting longer shorts, that's the style. I get that, really I do, but they must COVER the WHOLE knee to be acceptable. In order to get the shorts that long, they are too big! Please see the following picture.

His shorts, or longs as Gary calls them, are way too big. And of course, when they are too big, his boxers show at the top. Now, I do not allow boxers showing, so his shirts have to be big enough to cover the waist of his pants. This is much too much thought for me to buy clothes for my BOY!

The best part is he has influenced his brothers and their friends. Take a look at these pictures:

And on the other side of the coin, I have a hard time finding shorts long enough to cover my daughter's rear end!

Happy Birthday Gary

2009-06-10T07:06:00.006-04:00

Today is Gary's birthday. Happy birthday to my wonderful husband, father to our children, super soccer coach, encourager at all of the kids' activities and "videotographer"! Thanks for all you do to make our lives all they can be. We appreciate the sacrifices you make to make our lives better!

Grandpa Dud's Birthday!

2009-06-06T21:40:00.007-04:00

Today is Grandpa Dud's birthday. He is 77 today. I have to say, he is the youngest 77 I have ever known-or even heard of! I can only hope we are all as healthy and active as he is when we reach that age. We went over to his house for a birthday celebration at dinnertime. It was delicious as always.

Happy Birthday Grandpa Dud! Thanks for being such a great example of a Grandpa is on a daily basis. We can't count the many blessings you send our way each and every day. We hope you have a super year this year.

Bowling With Friends

2009-06-05T20:58:00.004-04:00

This is our friend, Matt. His birthday is tomorrow. Miss Jenny asked us to come over for pizza and then go bowling. We had a blast! It was just our two families having a great time.

Oh, happy birthday Matthew. We are so glad you had us celebrate with you!

Three Generations

2009-06-04T21:24:00.007-04:00

While in PA for Gary's paternal grandmother's funeral, we were able to visit with his maternal grandmother. It was great to see her. We haven't seen her in maybe 6 years. It is really hard to get up there with the 5 kids. (The hotels require us to get 2 rooms because there are so many people.) Anyway, since I always have my camera (the best Christmas gift EVER) in my purse, I was able to get pictures of 3 generations-Grandmom, Gary's mom and husband, Gary's uncle and his wife, Gary and his sister, Sue.

I also got one of just Grandmom and Gary and Sue. I know that these will be a treasure one day.

This is a very special picture of Gary's mom on the floor in front of Grandmom. It was so sweet. When Gary's mom sat down, Grandmom reached down to stroke her hair. It was such a beautiful picture of mother's love to me. No matter how old we get, we are still our mom's little girl. It almost made me cry. Whenever I look at this image, I will always remember that very special touching moment.

We're Baaaaaack!

2009-06-03T21:34:00.003-04:00

Well, about 36 hours after we left, we are home. From the reaction from the kids, you would think we had been gone 36 days! They missed us SOOOOOOOOO much and we can NEVER go away again. Just a note, Grammy was great with the kids, but they just missed Momma.

A side note-one that I have noticed before-going away for just overnight is never enough. You spend both days traveling and don't feel at all rested when you get home. Yes, I realize that this was not a "get away", but reality is, we did get away...together...without kids...and stayed in a hotel! Of course, there was the viewing and funeral, but we GOT AWAY! So, next time we get away for whatever reason, I am lobbying for 2 nights, not just one.

Another thing I noticed is that I really miss mountains. Where we live now is flat farm land. We went to the mountains for the funeral, and I loved seeing the mountains, the valleys, the beautiful streams and rocks and all of the sights that bring back the memories of my childhood. Some of the views simply took my breath away. I had forgotten what it feels like to stand and look up at the mountains all around you, or to look down from the edge of the road and see a little white church in the valley, or to see the fog lifting from the trees so it looks like they are on fire. All of those things make me so amazed at God's creation. I stand in awe of just how blessed we are to live in such a beautiful part of the country.

Well, thanks for your thoughts and prayers. Gary's family is doing as well as can be expected. They are all sad, but thankful that Grandma is no longer suffering. It was so touching to see just how loved she was in the community. There were so many people that came to the viewing and funeral. I can only hope that when my time comes, I will have touched as many lives.

We're Off

2009-06-02T08:03:00.002-04:00

Well, my house is as clean as I could get it in a day. Most of the laundry is done and put away. There is food for the kids and Mom to eat. I even made cupcakes. Gary and I will be on our way to his grandmother's funeral. My mom will stay here with the kids. It's funny, but it seems like a big deal to go away for overnight-maybe because it wasn't planned way in advance. We just don't get away that often and when we do, it's planned way ahead of time. It'll be the first trip in Gary's new car. Well, please send some prayers up for Mom and the kids as well as Gary's extended family. Thanks!

Busy Day

2009-06-01T10:12:00.006-04:00

I am really busy trying to get ready to head out for the funeral. Why is it I feel like I have to clean the house, mow the lawn and get all of the laundry done before I leave for OVERNIGHT? My mom (she'll be here with the kids) sees my house every single day, she knows what it looks like on a daily basis! It's not like I'll be gone that long, but I feel like everything has to be just so before I walk out that door. I must be crazy!

Before I left, I wanted to get pics from Collin and Danny's soccer game on Saturday. It was the last game of the spring season! We are free from organized soccer until July soccer camps-well we will be after Nathan's last game this Saturday! Can't you just hear that huge sigh of relief? I love the kids playing, I really do, but about this time each year I am ready for summer break! We run and run all year long, but I can honestly say I am more ready for summer than the kids are. It'll be great to just have them home for a couple of weeks before we start running with the different camps coming up...a little calm before the storm.

Please Pray

2009-05-30T18:54:00.002-04:00

Please pray for Gary's extended family. His paternal grandmother died today. She was 90 and had been in poor health for a while. It wasn't unexpected, but sad none the less. If you have a moment, please send up a prayer for them this week. Thanks!

Strawberry Jam

2009-05-29T16:59:00.010-04:00

What is it about taking this...

To this...

Made into this...

That makes me feel like a real woman? I LOVE homemade strawberry jam.

My Mirage of a Plan for My Life

2009-05-28T09:52:00.002-04:00

I try to have my life under control, really I do! I am not the most organized, but usually I at least have a plan for our days. Then we hit days like yesterday and I realize that my plans are really a mirage. My plans are just a vision of what I would like my day to look like that quickly evaporate as soon as someone else enters the picture.

Yesterday afternoon, as mentioned, I was going to get my hair cut-actually cut and highlighted. The sweet girl that cuts my hair is 3 weeks from delivering her first baby. She is super swollen, and as a result, a little slower than normal. So, I left the salon LATE with cut and highlighted wet hair. I had to go pick up Nathan from his club after school a little early so that he could go help our neighbor with her kids. It's his after school job usually on Tues. and Thurs., but she asked for him on Weds. this week. No problem, I had told her he would be a little late due to my haircut, but now I was even later than anticipated. I got to Nate's school and asked for him to be paged, but the P.A. system was down. I had to search the school for him since he was collecting recycling and could be in ANY ROOM IN THE SCHOOL! I spent almost 30 minutes searching, asking each and every kid I saw if they knew where Nathan was. FINALLY, I found him. I was about 10 seconds from standing in the lobby and screaming his name as loud as I could! He, of course, had a friend with him.

"Mom, could we take Brady home?"

Well, what could I say? Sure, we could take Brady home. Where does Brady live? Oh, only 10 minutes past our house in the wrong direction. Normally this wouldn't bother me, but Grammy had to get the other kids off the elementary school bus and I didn't want to leave them at her house too long. Besides that, I felt sure the puppy was ready to go out. On the way to taking Brady home, Nate called our neighbor and she no longer needed him to come...it was too late. (Sorry Denise, I really tried!) We got to Brady's house and before I could say anything, Nathan disappears into the house to "just see it for a minute". It took me 10 minutes to get him back out to the car and on our way home.

We got home, and I have to go to the bathroom badly by now. I came in the house, let the dog out of his crate and don't even get to the front door to let him out before Kaylyn is ringing the doorbell. I open the door to a panicked little girl saying, "Momma, I HAVE to talk to you!". Meanwhile, the dog has gone out the door with no supervision. Thank goodness, he really had to pee and came back in for his treat. Kaylyn proceeds to tell me, in the span of about 24 seconds all in one breath:

A boy at school really likes her and gave her a pair of earrings today. She likes this boy, but only as a friend, so she didn't feel she could keep the earrings. She sent them back to him via another boy because she didn't want to hurt his feelings. The boy that likes her was really upset, buried the earrings on the playground, and was crying at school. Can we please go back to the playground dig up the earrings so she can give them back to him again. And, by the way, did she do the right thing and how can she make him feel better?

Ummmmm, can I go to the bathroom before I solve this crisis? Please? I really have to go!

So, we talked about what Kaylyn should say to this boy (thank you for thinking of her, she really likes him just as a friend-but a nice friend, she appreciated him thinking of her, she is sorry she hurt his feelings, etc.) and she called him and talked to him. Then we load everyone up in the car and went back to the playground to find the earrings. Of course, this wasn't an easy job, but Kaylyn wasn't leaving until they were found. It ended up that I called the boy's mom-she, of course had no idea that he was giving earrings to Kaylyn...and they were his sister's earrings!-and they agreed to meet us at the playground to dig up the earrings. That boy worked really hard to bury them-without a shovel-because they were about 4 inches deep! Thankfully, they were found, the kids played on the playground for a little while and then we came home so that I could...

...Make dinner. I was making tacos. As I am browning the ground beef, I noticed that it smells funny. Apparently my ground beef had gone bad and in the rush to get it going, I hadn't noticed until it was browning. Of course, I didn't have another pound of ground beef, so I trekked over to Grammy's to beg for beef. She, of course, had some so I started dinner for the second time-after I threw away the first ground beef and washed the pan and utensils. At some point, Gary came in and mentioned how hungry he was and hoped we didn't have to wait until 7:00 to eat. Guess what time dinner hit the table? YEP, you guessed it, 7:00 it was. So sorry, Honey, I really did try to get it done sooner!

All in all, it wasn't a bad day. I was thrilled to get a haircut and highlights. I was glad to take Brady home. I enjoyed having extra time in the car with Nathan. I was super proud of Kaylyn for doing the right thing and being concerned about hurting some one's feelings. The kids had been wanting to play on the new playground at school for weeks, and we finally got the chance. I had been wanting tacos for a couple of days and finally got them. It wasn't a bad day, it just wasn't what I had planned.

Someone out there, please tell me you have days like these? Anyone?

New Hair

2009-05-27T08:10:00.004-04:00

I have a hair cut scheduled for today. I always want a new look, but chicken out when I get there. I have had about the same hair-long with bangs, give or take about 10 inches, since middle school. (I'm not counting those 2 years after the triplets were born and I had no bangs because I didn't get my hair cut-or wear makeup-for that long! Those are "the lost years".) Oh well, at least the highlights should help blend some of the grey. Nathan keeps telling me just how "white" I'm getting. Well, actually, he tells any and everyone around when the subject of my hair comes up. I love that boy, but might have to kill him! I just told him that most of those white hairs are labeled with his name. Actually, it's my desire to be totally white like my great grandmother, Mam, or my grandmother, Grammy Ruth, before I die. I remember their hair as pure white and just a beautiful texture as they aged. I figure I have earned those grey hairs, but I would like them to blend in! Oh well, it's the price of one more day, not to mention 5 kids, a husband and puppy, I guess. Have a super day! I'm off to get my hair trimmed and highlighted...not that anyone will notice the difference. It always looks the same to my family.

Funny!

2009-05-25T19:23:00.002-04:00

The other day Jenny and I were at Sam's Club. When we came out this is what greeted us:

Good morning to you too!

Many Hands Make Light Work

2009-05-23T12:46:00.003-04:00

Today Grandpa Dud got several loads of mulch for his gardens. My boys had a great opportunity to make a little money and help out Grandpa Dud. Claire made $.50 taking some great pictures for me. She wanted to help with the mulch, but I thought she would be better at picture taking...not to mention I was still in my nightgown and couldn't get out there myself! Anyway, here are some great pictures of the boys in action!

Field Day

2009-05-22T16:18:00.012-04:00

Doesn't this look like fun!?! When was the last time you did something that just made you grin from ear to ear? Our kids spent the day doing that today. Here's a peek...

The kids in elementary school had their field day today! They had a ton of fun. It was just the most beautiful day. It was hot enough that the water games were fun, but not so hot that they were melting. It was a great time for all of them.

Please notice Claire's shirt. I helped make her class's shirts. Each class chose a different college to represent. Claire was the University of Delaware, Kaylyn was the Navel Academy, Danny was Penn State, and Collin was Washington College.

Daddy enjoyed using his new video camera. He got some great shots of the kids and they loved watching themselves when they got home!

Claire's Field Trip

2009-05-20T16:08:00.003-04:00

Claire and I went on a field trip to the Herr's snack factory today. During the tour, we got to see tortilla chips, potato chips and popcorn being make and packaged. In the warehouse, they said that they have about a 4 day turnover. That means that all of the boxes in the warehouse will be gone and replaced with new ones every 4 days. That's a TON of junk food! It was interesting to see all of the different machines they use to make, package and box the different snacks. They also gave us warm chips from the fryer on the tour. Mmmmmmm, potato chips have never tasted so good! I thought it was interesting that any edible byproducts from the factories-chips that hit the floor, potatoes that aren't up to their standards, etc.-are ground up and fed to the Angus cows that the Herr's family raises. I'm thinking that HAS to be some great beef! I think Claire had a fun time, but it was a long bus ride for a short tour and lunch. At least we got to spend the day together. I sure love that she still wants me to go on her trips with her. She's such a lovie!

The Land of Plenty

2009-05-19T23:19:00.004-04:00

This has to be the coolest farm EVER! They grow marshmallows! If only I could find a chocolate bar and graham cracker big enough to make s'mores. Mmmmmmmm!

Who are you?

2009-05-19T05:23:00.002-04:00

Hey, I added the Live Traffic Feed on the blog and noticed some people visiting the blog that I might not know. WELCOME! I'm so blessed that you chose to visit my little blog. Please, feel free to browse around. I would love to know where you are from and how you found us, so if you feel comfortable, please leave a comment introducing yourself. I love new friends! Hope you decide to come back! Have a happy day.

3 vs. 3

2009-05-18T18:13:00.007-04:00

Well, I thought when we left for the tournament, we needed to file this experience under, "You Must be Kidding Me!". It was pouring like CRAZY, much worse than 2 weeks ago when it was postponed. The powers that be decided that it was supposed to clear up, so they said the tournament was ON. Check in and the first games were a mess! It was raining pretty hard, but both Collin and Danny's team and Nathan's team won the first round. After that game, the rain did start to let up. By the third games, we didn't need our umbrellas anymore.

I was so proud of the poor girls, they were real troopers! They didn't play, but they hung in there the WHOLE day! They didn't even complain too much (although they were ready to go by the 5th games). I think a soft pretzel helped a little as did the snacks I brought.

I have to say, I am not sure I have ever been as proud of the boys as I was yesterday. They played-and played HARD-in tough conditions all day long! The fields were wet, the ball was wet, their socks and cleats were wet, their uniforms were soaked, and it was cold and windy. They played on as if there were no problems...as if it was reasonable to play on a rainy, windy, cold day. The heart and soul they left on the field was awesome!
Collin (black socks) and Danny's (white socks) team had 6 players while Nate's (number 17) had only 5. That missing player on Nate's team made a HUGE difference. Instead of being able to substitute all 3 at a time, his team had to rotate subs. On top of that, one of the top players on Nate's team hurt his ankle in the Quarter Finals and he was unable to play on. This left Nathan to feel as if he needed to "carry" his team. He was all over the field! I don't think they took him out for a rest the whole game. He was also playing against the most aggressive kid I have ever seen is his age group. If that kid had attacked a kid other than Nathan, he would've really hurt someone. (Nate is so big and strong, he didn't stop playing, but he was really hurting at the end of the game.) Gary said that Danny and Collin's game was close too. He said there were a few missed opportunities and the game might have turned out differently. I do know that both boys played really hard.

Unfortunately, both teams lost in the Semi-Final round. It was a bummer to get that far and not make the finals, but I have to say, our boys were amazing! Gary and I couldn't have asked for anymore out of them.

It turned out to be a much better day than I could've hoped. The boys did a great job, the girls were really very good, and the weather did clear a little. As a matter of fact, I am the ONLY person I know that can get a sunburn on a rainy day. I am RED today! Who would've thought I needed sunscreen when it was 58 degrees and raining? Not me!

Soccer Tournament

2009-05-17T06:55:00.003-04:00

We are on our way to a 3 vs. 3 tournament in the RAIN! We have been told that they are going to play regardless of weather-barring lightning. great. Should be interesting. Updates to come.

Busy Weekend

2009-05-15T21:44:00.003-04:00

We have a busy weekend...again. Soccer for the boys on Saturday and a special 3 vs. 3 tournament on Sunday. Kaylyn and Claire have a Grandmother/Granddaughter picnic at Grammy's church on Saturday. It always makes me a little nutty to have us going in different directions on the weekends (It's important to me that we support one another's activities, but we can't be at everything!), but I know they will all have fun. I just hope the weather holds up and it's not too hot and humid. Have a super weekend!

It's so Fun...

2009-05-14T21:01:00.005-04:00

It's so fun living in a farming community. I have learned and seen so much that I never thought anything about when I lived the "the city". One day, our first spring here, I heard this awful droning noise outside. I ran outside to see what was going on, because I honestly thought there was a plane coming right through my window. Well, it wasn't coming through the window, but it was a plane...a yellow biplane dusting the fields all around our little community. It's just amazing to watch. He was back the other day and I ran out to try to get some pictures. It's hard to catch it just right, I get so caught up in watching him maneuver the plane up and around the trees, phone lines and poles. I almost have to hold my breath until he clears the trees. I'm just SURE he's going to hit them this time around. Somehow, he misses the trees, but hits the fields just right each time. It sure does look like fun! I have come to think of him as our own Yellow Barron. He is a true dare devil! I can just imagine him "barn storming" long ago. Happy, safe flying Mr. Barron...thanks for the entertainment!

Dear Mr. Chef...

2009-05-13T19:44:00.004-04:00

Dear Mr. Chef,

When you teach a class, please be sure your recipes are correct. It is a terrific disappointment to take a class expecting new wonderful recipes only to find that they are awful! Even worse, when we spend our time following the directions you have provided, we expect delicious results. By the way, at no time is it appropriate to say, "Oh, well I used to have a great recipe for Italian Almond Chocolate Torte but I lost it. I thought this was close, but I guess not."

Please be sure the measurements in your recipes are correct. As you explained, baking is a science and the recipes are specific formulas-they should be followed closely. It makes your students wonder about your abilities when we have mixed up a recipe only to have you tell us to "add 12 oz. MORE coconut". Twelve ounces? That's not a little off, that's 3/4 of a pound! I am sorry, but that makes a HUGE difference. When the creme brulee doesn't set up, it doesn't help us to say, "Maybe it needed 2 more egg yokes." Oh, and please explain why we might need to reduce 2 out of 3 components in a recipes. Don't you think it should be consistent? Just where does the "formula" fit into this recipe?

Please make sure you bring the correct supplies to class. When you are making Creme Brulee, it is imperative that your blow torch WORKS! Without the crunchy top, it's not much of a brulee...it's just custard-unless it doesn't set up, then it's just a really thick milky substance no one wants to eat! When you are making a bar type dessert, it helps to have a 13"x9" pan. When you are making a torte, a spring form pan would really help with the presentation. If you are going to make marzipan fruit, please bring the marzipan. Do not use the leftover almond paste.

Please do not show up with Food Lion brand ingredients as I can't imagine that Food Lion stocks the best, gourmet ingredients. Please do not tell us that unsalted butter is all a professional chef will use and then bring us salted butter. And, please do not tell us about the ingredients you use in Europe if they are not available locally.

And finally, although I could continue, please do not tell your students just how important fresh, seasonal ingredients are and then proceed to teach us pumpkin and cranberry recipes in May.

All in all, I have to say that I am disappointed in your teaching and your lack of preparation. When I have spent $130 on a class, I expect a lot more.

Your disillusioned student

P.S. When you have students that have paid $130 for a course that consists of only 3 classes, it would be smart to send any leftovers home with them. At no time does it seem appropriate to explain that it was your birthday this week, so you are taking a whole fruit tart-that we have made in class-home to share with your friends. I believe that we paid a hefty price for that tart and it is one of the few recipes that DID turn out.

Last Cooking Class

2009-05-12T16:02:00.003-04:00

I have my last cooking class tonight. We are making a souffle. I've never made one of those before. I have high hopes for this evening. I'll let you know how it goes.

Day of Recovery

2009-05-11T08:59:00.000-04:00

I am recovering today. I hope to do NOTHING! It was a busy weekend and now I am thankful to have everyone back to school/work. Maybe, maybe, maybe I will do a little laundry...only after a nap. Yea! It's days like this I am so thankful to be a stay at home momma!

Mother's Day

2009-05-10T21:30:00.006-04:00

I had a lovely Mother's Day. First thing this morning, the kids and Gary had a scavenger hunt for me to find different cards and gifts they had for me. Gary had some delicious chocolates for me from a local store...they were dark chocolate, my favorite. After that, we went to church. When we got home, I had everything done except cooking the things that needed to be heated! It was great! Well, yesterday I didn't think it was quite so great, but today it was really nice to just throw things in the oven and be done! Of course the kids were so hungry I didn't get a picture of full plates, but here they are half empty.

We really enjoyed spending time with Grammy and Grandmom.

After lunch, Gary, Grandpa Dud and Nathan cleared the table and put the dishes in the dishwasher. It was really nice to not have to clean up!

After everyone went home, I was thrilled to see Gary and the boys playing soccer for a while outside. It is so nice to see them playing together. The girls entertained me with a little dance. No gift could've been better than that for me.

I am so thankful to be a momma. It's all I ever wanted to be. God has so blessed me with such a great family.