I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. Ours was great except for the fact that I am sick with a cold. My head feels like it's going to explode every time I cough.
We have been having fun enjoying our time together playing games, etc...
Now about my post title...Grace was sitting next to me on the chair that is next to our wood stove and she lifted my shirt alittle to see my belly. She began to rub my belly and squeeze it so I said, "It's soft, huh? Well that is from having five babies. You used to live in my belly too for 9 months." To which she replied while lifting her own shirt, "Jesus lives in my heart." It was so cute and I said, "Jesus lives in my heart too." Faith like a child! Dan has been talking to her about Jesus and having him in her heart and what that means. I know she is still young to fully understand but just knowing that she put two and two together...A baby in my belly and Jesus in my heart!
Then she went back to squeezing my soft belly and talking in a quirky little voice and I suddenly realized that she was making my belly button talk. I didn't know whether to feel offended or giggle at her creativity. So I did alittle of both and quickly pulled my shirt down and removed her from my lap.
Hope everyone has a Happy New Year and that Jesus lives in your hearts!+069.JPG)
~credits for the picture go to Sarah~
Friday, December 26, 2008
In my heart
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
Christmas photo shoot
Well, I am still learning alot about my old camera and it's settings, but it can be very frustrating at times. Like when you want to take your own family photo for Christmas cards which includes trying to get 7 people to look forward and smile without blinking or making silly faces. Not to mention trying to get the right settings on the camera in a low light setting and then having to use flash while trying to not over expose our faces or cause a glare from Jack's glasses. All the while running back and forth from the tripod to where I am supposed to sit after pressing the timer being careful to not knock over the camera in the process of getting into position after quickly making sure everyone is looking ahead and not at me and then brushing my hair out of my eyes before the camera "clicks". WOW, that is a challenge.
Monday, December 01, 2008
Oh the weather outside is frightful...
But the fire is so delightful, since we've no place to go...let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...
(in this picture. Left to right, Kaylyn holding Charlie, Jenna, Adam, Sarah holding Ben, Jack in front row at Sarah's feet, Grace at Adam's feet and Lauren in front of Kaylyn making a run for it)The day after Thanksgiving we put our tree up. The boys played video games while the girls and I put up the tree and decorated it. I strung the lights while Sarah and Grace hung the ornaments behind me. The best thing about having kids decorate the tree is that you have a good excuse for not having an elegant looking tree plus it's more fun this way. Here is an example of what I mean...
(Grace put four ornaments on the same branch)
It looks better this way, decorated with LOVE!
(It reads: An unexpected payment is coming your way!)
(Grace, Adam, Jack, Sarah and Ben)Sunday, November 23, 2008
Happy 1st
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Heartbroken
I just found out that my son Adam's best friend, Jackson's, mom died yesterday. She was a freelance writer whom you can read about here. I remember getting a letter from the school at the beginning of last year when she fell ill, but I never made the connection because Adam had not yet begun a relationship with Jackson. I remember praying for her at that time but unfortunatly her name then faded from my memory until I read this article from our local newspaper. That's when it all came back. When I read her name I instantly new this was Jackson's mom. UGH, my heart aches for their family. Poor Jackson to loose his mother at such a young age. I am not sure if Adam will know about this when he comes home. I am assuming there will be a letter sent home but I don't know if they actually tell the students at school or let their parents tell them later. :'(
She wrote this article in the Washingpost a few years ago not knowing what was to come.
My husband asked me if I knew her, and I said I didn't, but things are connecting in my brain now and I do remember meeting her once a few years ago at the playground where our children now attend 2nd grade before she became ill. It was before Jackson and Adam were even in school. I briefly spoke with her as our children played. Oh man, this makes me so sad.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
An email forward...
**I don't normally forward emails as I rarely read them myself but my sister sent me this as a forward and I thought it was pretty neat.**
VERY INTERESTING STUFF
In the 1400's a law was set forth in England that a man was allowed to beat his wife with a stick no thicker than his thumb. Hence we have 'The Rule of Thumb'
-------------------------------------------
Many years ago in Scotland , a new game was invented. It was ruled 'Gentlemen Only - Ladies Forbidden'and thus the word GOLF entered into the English language.
-------------------------------------------
The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime time TV was Fred and Wilma Flintstone.
-------------------------------------------
Every day more money is printed for Monopoly than the U.S. Treasury.
-------------------------------------------
Men can read smaller print than women can; women can hear better.
-------------------------------------------
It is impossible to lick your elbow.
-------------------------------------------
The State with the highest percentage of people who walk to work:
Alaska
-------------------------------------------
The percentage of Africa that is wilderness: 28% (now get this...)
-------------------------------------------
The percentage of North America that is wilderness: 38%
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The cost of raising a medium size dog to the age of eleven: $ 16,400
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The average number of people airborne over the U.S. in any given hour:
61,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The first novel ever written on a typewriter:Tom Sawyer.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The San Francisco Cable cars are the only mobile National Monuments.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history:
Spades - King David
Hearts - Charlemagne
Clubs -Alexander, the Great
Diamonds - Julius Caesar
------------------------------------------------------------------------
111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321
------------------------------------------------------------------------
If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle. If the horse has one front leg in the air the person died as a result of wounds received in battle. If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Only two people signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, John Hancock and Charles Thomson. Most of the rest signed on August 2, but the last signature wasn't added until 5 years later.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q.. Half of all Americans live within 50 miles of what?
A. Their birthplace
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q. Most boat owners name their boats. What is the most popular boat name requested?
A. Obsession
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q. If you were to spell out numbers, how far would you have to go until you would find the letter 'A'?
;
A. One thousand
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q. What do bulletproof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers, and laser printers all have in common?
A. All were invented by women.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q. What is the only food that doesn't spoil?
A. Honey
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q. Which day are there more collect calls than any other day of the year?
A. Father's Day
------------------------------------------------------------
In Shakespeare's time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes.
When you pulled on the ropes the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on. Hence the phrase....'Goodnight, sleep tight.'
------------------------------------------------------------------------
It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the honey month, which we know today as the honeymoon.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts.... So in old England , when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them 'Mind your pints and quarts, and settle down.'
It's where we get the phrase 'Mind your P's and Q's'
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Many years ago in England , pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim, or handle, of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to get some service. 'Wet your whistle' is the phrase inspired by this practice.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
At least 75% of people who read this will try to lick their elbow!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Don't delete this just because it looks weird. Believe it or not, you can read it.
I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
YOU KNOW YOU ARE LIVING IN 2008 when...
1. You accidentally enter your PIN on the microwave.
2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.
3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of three.
4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.
5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don't have e-mail addresses.
6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.
7. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the screen
8. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't even have the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it.
10. You get up in the morning and go on line before getting your coffee.
11. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. : )
12. You're reading this and nodding and laughing.
13. Even worse, you know exactly to whom you are going to forward this message.
14. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.
15. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn't a #9 on this list.
~~~~~~~~~~~AND FINALLY~~~~~~~~~~~~
NOW U R LAUGHING at yourself.
Go on, forward this to your friends. You know you want to!Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.
**On a side note...check out my photo blog to see the picture I entered in the photo contest on my flickr group
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Happy Veterans Day!
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Happy 3rd Birthday Gracie!
Friday, October 31, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Ha!
Me in 1996 the year before I married Dan. I was blonde back then! LOL
1984, um..not quite, but I do remember the feathered look! I was only 5 at the time.
1968, My face actually fits this one rather well, except for the turkey neck!!
1964, I've actually had my hair this short before, believe it or not.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Adam twigs...
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Nothing much in bullet form
- Sarah, Adam and Jack are all doing well in school as we had parent/teacher conferences two nights ago and came away with very good reports for all three.
- Sarah continues to impress us with her art work.
- Adam lost another tooth bringing his total loss now to four.
- Jack broke his glasses the night before picture day at school so he had duct tape wrapped around his glasses for the picture. (see pic below)
- Adam was toothless for his pictures.
- Jack's new glasses should be here the end of the week or beginning of next week. One eye got better while the other worse and he definitely still needs his bifocals.
- Ben's been taking 4-5 steps on his own several times a day and he waves now too. (see pic of him standing below)
- Grace's 3rd birthday is election day this year, 11-4-08, and she is excited to be turning 3.
- Dan's been very busy with the business but we are thankful for the times we get to spend with him on jobs where a play area is near by like the "Children's Garden" behind the library. (see pics below)
- I'm still messing around with my camera and trying to figure out how to work it properly (see pic below)
- Our house is still for sale
And now for the pictures:
You'll notice the infamous duct tape wrapped around Jack's glasses. The arm broke completely in half.
Sarah, Adam and Jack playing at the children's garden behind the library (and two random unknown boys on the left). Dan is working on a new portion of this garden so we got to visit/play. You'll notice Jack on the far right driving the wooden train. He has a special bond with trains and spent most of the day inside that train only occasionally venturing out to gather passengers, "All aboard"
Grace doing her own thing here with her imaginary friends, possibly helping round up passengers for Jack's train ride.
Me on the far left (with my legs in a pretzel twist) practicing my mad photog skillz! Just kidding about that, but I am trying to learn. Ben is pretty hard to capture as he moves around a lot but he stopped dead in his tracks upon seeing his reflection which allowed for a quick shot.
Saturday, October 04, 2008
The buzz cut brothers...
The boys got their hair cut the other day. The famous buzz cut. What do you think, can you tell they are related? Ben's been taking steps by himself for the past week so he might be off and running by the next time I post since I don't post very often. If I can figure out how to upload a video I'll let you all see.
Monday, September 29, 2008
The kids{collage}
Friday, September 26, 2008
Tagged...Sorta....
Well, not really but Amie said who ever wanted to play can play and since I haven't updated my blog for awhile I decided to play. I am not going to play exactly right because I won't be tagging anyone. Instead I will do as Amie did and anyone who wants to play can play.
6 Unspectacular Quirks {about me}
- I LOVE the smell of books. I have to smell any book or magazine I am reading. The pages scent appeal to me.
- I also LOVE to feel glossy book pages. They feel nice between my fingers and I usually rub my hands and fingers all over the pages while I am reading.
- I have a habit of tearing off the end of the toilet paper in public bathrooms before I take the portion I am to use. I just feel the end might be dirty from the last person who touched it when they ripped off their portion.
- I HATE repeditive noises unless I am the one making them, i.e. tapping, clicking, drumming, dripping, pretty much anything that makes the same noise over and over and over again. Even if my kids or husband are clapping or making silly noises. They have learned quickly of my adversion to repeditive things.
- I shake the milk before I pour it into my cereal, for some reason it's not the same unless it's foamy.
- I have feelings for inadement objects so in the past when we've sold our cars or houses I felt like they were sad thinking we didn't want them anymore. I would have to say goodbye when we left.
Well that's all for now. Weird huh? I may be a little more then crazy!
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Tooth boy
Monday, September 08, 2008
That's Jack for ya....
Jack's first full day of school was last Friday so I packed him a lunch and off he went. When the kids got home from school that afternoon Adam asked me why Jack was eating "hot lunch" (cafeteria food) at school. I was like, huh!? So I asked Jack why he ate pizza at school instead of the lunch I so lovingly made him earlier that morning and he made one of his usual Jack faces....total confusion washed over his face as he pondered my question. We stood staring at eat other in total silence as I waited for him to respond. "I didn't find a lunchbox", he finally said. So I took him over to his backpack and showed him his uneaten lunch right their tucked neatly into his backpack, right where I put it that morning and in plain sight. I mean, it was the first thing you see when you open his backpack and I know he opened his backpack because he had to get his folder out to hand in to his teacher. So I asked him again why he didn't eat his lunch and how he'd gotten a free hot lunch from school. Of course his response was total silence followed by mass confusion. He was lost in his thoughts, he didn't know how to answer me. I ended up calling his teacher to explain to her that I was a good mother and that I had indeed packed him a lunch. I didn't want her to think I had forgotten my son's lunch and expected the school to let him slide with a free hot lunch. So she told me how she has asked all the kids with cold lunches to get their lunch boxes out and in the basket ready for lunch time. That is when it hit me, she said lunch boxes. Of course, it made perfect sense, Jack thinks in the most literal sense you can imagine so he was looking for a lunch BOX and I had packed his lunch in a brown paper bag, not a box. He gets so confused if the slightest details don't match up in his head. I explained this to his teacher and we had a good laugh about it. She said, "Most kindergarteners think like that", and I agreed only silently I was thinking, "Lady, you have no idea, Jack's mind blows my mind and it will most likely blow your mind as well." We both made mental notes that I need to remind Jack that his lunch is in a bag, and she will remind him to take out his lunch bag not lunch box.
I love Jack!
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Veggies {garden harvest}
Some veggies from our garden including this huge cabbage that Sarah brought home as a seedling from school last year. It was a "giant" cabbage and it was a GIANT weighing 9.2 lbs
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Kindergarten man
