Christmas Greetings.!

I fully understand that most of you don't want to be bored with 7+ minutes of Ford family photos....but if it's mid-night and you're having a hard time falling asleep--this MIGHT help!

Are you kidding me???

Our last fill-up at the gas station was so much fun....seriously! Just 6 months ago, we were paying nearly $140 to fill up our Excursion. This week we found gas for just over $1 a gallon!! I don't remember gas prices that low....well, for a very long time.

We've been busy with sick kids. No whooping cough this year....we had to find another 1800's long-forgotten disease to contract. Baylor got Scarlet Fever. I really do feel like I'm stuck in another century. I haven't heard of these diseases since history class when we studied nineteenth century US epidemics. She's much better now. Rick ran his marathon this past week, the boys are playing basketball, the girls' are already on Christmas break, and we're preparing for ALL of my siblings to come "home" for Christmas. It will be crazy fun! There will be 10 children ages 7 and under in one house. Hee hee hee. I'm sure that fact alone will make Christmas extra exciting this year.

My Little Artist

Corbin, my little artist, had his artwork displayed at the nearby Barnes and Noble. He was so proud to take us so that we could see his fish painting. He is very much our artistic child. He's the one who tells me what clothes to wear, how to arrange furniture, he critiques food, etc. I'm just hoping he's not on Project Runway some day. He did a great job on his painting, and we're very proud of him.

(To prove my point about how "creative" he is....this afternoon he and Piper were playing "house." Piper wanted to get "dressed up" for him so that she would look "pretty." Corbin told her, "That's ok. You don't have to look pretty, because we're married now." "Now that mommy's married, she doesn't look pretty very much." )

OUCH!! Let me pick myself up off the floor and go put some makeup on.

Giving Thanks.

What a fun week this has been! The kids were out of school all week. We've stayed in our pj's half of the week. We've Christmas shopped, watched movies, had a weiner roast at my parent's house, and enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving! Rick was home for Thanksgiving, but due to his job he told me that was the last holiday he'd be home for years to come. If I'm lucky, he might be home for Groundhog Day or Secretary's Day. Lucky me!

Black Friday.....Why do they call it Black Friday? It should be called, "Get the &$*% out of my way before I run you over with this germ infested shopping cart FRIDAY." I mean...seriously!! I've never seen more people grabbing things in my life. And they weren't grabbing nicely. They' were grabbing like the item they were going for was the last item in the store. All I could think was, "Recession? What recession?"

I hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving and that none of you were crushed by the rush of crazy shoppers this morning!

Merry Thanksgiving.......

Merry Thanksgiving. I've created a new phrase for those of us who are crazy enough to get Christmas decorations up before Thanksgiving. I figure if Hobby Lobby can put their Christmas trees up in July, it's ok if I put mine up in November.

I'm looking forward to a whole week of NO school. Our district gets the entire Thanksgiving week off....no homework, no swimming, basketball, guitar....no anything. I think I'll stay in my warm pj's for 7 days!! Attractive thought, I know!

We will spend Thanksgiving day with my parents--cheering on our mediocre Cowboys, stuffing our faces with way too much food, and rejoicing in the fact that God has taken such good care of us for yet another year. As the economy continues to faulter, every day becomes a reminder of His graciousness. Our childrens' prayers are now 20 minutes instead of 2....they have to thank God for the grass, roof, windows, warm beds, clothes, toys, family, schools, food, tables, playgrounds, water, etc, etc, etc.

I miss all of my sweet friends and even though I hardly ever get to see any of you, I'm incredibly grateful for each one of you. Happy Thankgiving!

Halloween....

So, I started blogging nearly a year ago. One of my first posts detailed our 2007 trick-or-treating "experience." This year was far more enjoyable...well, don't ask my parents--they may disagree. Maybe it's because all of the kids are out of diapers, I no longer have to push an enormous stroller around town, and they don't automatically fall asleep at 7:30. We packed the kids up and took them to our church's trunk fest. There were an estimated 15,000 people there....so we didn't stay long. We ventured back to our old neighborhood and enjoyed seeing our former neighbors. They, of course, emptied their trick or treat candy bowls into our kids pumpkins. So, even though we only went to 10-15 houses, the pumpkins were nearly full--as were the kids stomachs. I've never seen a child eat as much candy as Baylor did that night. Piece, after piece, after piece went into that child's mouth. It became humourous! The kids were so sick of candy after that night, they've barely wanted to eat the last couple of days.

So, now it's down with the pumpkins. Where, oh where are those Christmas trees??? They're about to come out of hiding. If Wal-Mart can bring out Christmas stuff in June, I figure I can get it out in November. In case I fall back into my lazy habits and "forget" to blog for 2 months, have a Merry Christmas!

Pre-Halloween Festivites

(Deliquency. That's all it is. This is why I never kept a diary. Blogging is hard. Or maybe I'm just lazy, busy, or have 4 kids with demanding schedules.) We weathered a nasty stomach bug that ripped through our house about like it ripped thru our stomachs. It was awful. Yep, we'll just leave it at awful. We're all feeling much better--just in time for Halloween.

People always wonder what my children want to be for Halloween. The question needs to be...."what costumes did you find at the resale store for your kids this year?" I must be an awful mom. I've truly never asked the kids what they want to be....I just tell them what they're going to be. I'm sure they'll be in therapy for this some day.

I got to watch "Little Bo Peep" (Baylor) and Red Riding Hood (Piper) walk in circles, and circles, and more circles for the costume parade today at school. Seriously, how many circles can one class make around a courtyard?? Baylor was yawning by the end of her "parade" saying where's my candy. I'm with you sister. If I had to parade around for an eternity in a silly outfit, I would want restitution (candy), too. I saw 250 Tinkerbells, 2 million princesses, 2 Yodas, Pop-stars, Fairies, Butterflies, Batman, SpiderMan, Knights.....I saw it all. We got a good head-start on the candy for tomorrow. That's another good thing about having 4 kids....we get 4 x's the candy--like any of us need it. I'm sure Halloween night will be an event-filled evening....as it usually is.

A Fantastic Reunion

I love the nearly annual trek to Siloam Springs....my home of 4 years in NW Arkansas. The JBU campus was as beautiful as ever. The fall leaves, bright mums, and familiar faces are a welcome site....though I am taken back by the students on their cell phones texting as they stroll down the walkways. I guess we were "old fashioned" and actually had to say hello as we passed someone. Maybe they just text hello these days....darn technology.

Things are looking up in the ole homestead. There is a Hampton Inn!!! Suites, granite countertops, jetted tubs and quite possibly the most comfortable bed in the world. After a wonderful nights rest in that most wonderful bed, we went to the car to head to my reunion. What did my ears hear?? Meow, meow, meow, MEEEEOOOWWWW, meow, meow, MMMMMMEEEEEEOOOOOOWWWWWWW. There was a cat, no, a kitten somewhere in our tank of a truck. The kitty was somewhere under the hood near the engine, but neither Rick or I or the entire hotel staff could find it. Rick somehow scared the cat toward the fuel tank....so we turned the car on a started to drive very slowly around the parking lot. It was quite a scene--to say the least. I'm figuring we'll be on youtube someday--as there was a little girl capturing the whole thing. Ty Herndan's tour bus was parked directly behind us. His band members were getting quite a chuckle out of us driving in circles with an insanely loud MEOW coming from the car. We decided to drive up to JBU because the stinkin' cat was not coming out. Corbin was in the backseat praying, "Dear God, please help our daddy not to be mean and turn the car on and kill the cat...." We get to school, call animal contol--who couldn't lure the cat out either. Finally, after lunch, Rick popped the hood again and there stood a little gray, fuzzy, scared to death kitten whom we lovingly named "John Brown." No, we're not nice parents. We didn't keep the kitty. Rick held him as we drove to the animal control. All the while, he was sweetly saying...."Nice kitty. I know you're giving me all sorts of gross diseases, aren't you?"

We enjoyed Barnett's hamburgers, going to the soccer game, seeing and talking with old friends, going to hear the Cathedral choir sing (A Mighty Fortress is my favorite!), and quite possibly the best thing of the weekend was holding my precious neice, Halle Joy. We had a wonderful trip.

My "Top Gun"

Had to post a pic of my little miniature Tom Cruise. Well, I think Hudson's a bit cuter....but I'm biased. He wants to be an Air Force pilot for Halloween--like father, like son?!? He looked 20 years old to me when he slipped into his costume. How, oh, how do mother's send their cute little pilots into war? I don't know, but oh how grateful we should be that they do.

Time marches on..

Yea! It's October--one of my very favorite months. Cooler weather is hopefully on the way (still upper 80's here, ugh!). The pumpkins are coming out from the attic after a year-long hiatus. We made pumpkin-shaped sugar cookies the other day. One of our trees is starting to turn bright red. It's just a great time of year.

Rick and I took the kids to go see the new Kirk Cameron movie, Fireproof. For those of you who have not yet seen it...GO! It was not created on a Hollywood budget, and that's somewhat evident, but it's still really good. You can see the preview at http://www.fireproofthemovie.com/ . It's a movie about marriage--great date movie. (Even though you'll probably feel guilty the whole drive home-trust me on this one.)

During our recovery time at home, the kids' built their own "Noah's ark"...thus the picture with the 10 million stuffed animals. Those are only a small fraction of the actual # of stuffed animals at our house. I'm starting to feel very sorry for Noah and his family--animals everywhere!

I'm starting to feel a little bit OLD. I will be joining my classmates from John Brown Univ. to celebrate our 10 year reunion. Can it really be 10 years??? It's time to start studying names in the old, dusty yearbook. Hope to see many of you at JBU soon.

Perfection

We were able to snag a few shots of our new little neice Halle Joy. She is beautiful! Her only fault is that she lives too far away. I'll have to take that up with her mommy, I guess.

We've enjoyed the laziest of weekends around our household. The kids' have sinus infections so there have been lots of naps, doses of medicine poured, temperatures taken, and LOTS of scoops of icecream. Yea! for lazy weekends.

Our t.v. has been tuned to golf and football all day (not by my choice, but I'm ok with that) I saw the funniest t-shirt on the news this week. It said "We interrupt this happy marriage to bring you another football season." Yep, that's the world I live in. Go Cowboys!

Hallelujah!!

Hallelujah!!! My oldest sister and her family just added #4, Hallelujah (Halle) Joy to their family. I'm now the proud aunt of 2 neices and 4 bruisin' nephews. Congrats to the Jaeger family...we love you!

The girls started school last week, my dear sweet Piper turned 5, and we've started swimming, dance, baseball, and guitar this week--not to mention the piles of homework/paperwork. So, for all 2 of you that read this blog every once in a while, sorry for being such a BAD blogger and taking forever to update.

Back to School

The boys started back to school. It's so hard for me to let them go. I hate not seeing them for 7 hour stretches of time, but it sure makes it special when I pick them up from school and they can't stop loving on me. Hudson is in 2nd grade this year, Corbin is in 1st. The girls will start pre-school next week (2 days a week). Oh! How quiet the house will be. Things are beginning to return to normal. I finally have unpacked our suitcases from Austin. The talk of Papa, though still prevalent, is not the only talk of the day. Dance, horse lessons, guitar, swimming, and baseball are all about to begin. All of the signs of fall are here, except, of course, for the cooler weather.

Blessed Assurance

It's hard to believe that only one week ago, we were returning from a wonderful trip to Austin. This week has held a lot. So much so that I have no idea how a family with no belief in assurance of salvation, or no belief in God could make it thru a week like this.

As our family gathered around "Papa" at 10 pm on Thursday night, we watched as they unhooked the ventilator, the medicines, everything. Although it was difficult to watch, as he struggled to breathe, we sang hymns, laughed at the fact that he was snoring, remembered our favorite "Papa" memories. When he took his last breath, I nearly collapsed to the floor in tears. The room was filled with emmence sorrow, but also with the greatest joy I've experience in many years. The words of the hymns "The Joy of the Lord will be my strength," "Blessed Assurance, Jesus is Mine," "A Mighty Fortress is our God,"....all of them....they all have new meaning to me. I watched my father-in-law depart this world and enter into eternity. Praise the Lord that I can KNOW exactly where Papa is today. He wasn't trusting in his church or good works to get him to Heaven. He was trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ....Blessed Assurance!!

On to Sunday afternoon....We had most of the family to our house for a time of fellowship and food before the visitation. To make a short story short, and to keep from saying things I shouldn't, Baylor was whacked in the head with a metal bat by an 11 year old cousin. So, my dad and I had to rush Baylor to the hospital while the rest of the family went to the visitation. (I told you all I have the greatest parents!! Thanks dad) Baylor got her head glued back together...I figured the glue would look prettier in pictures than stitches.

The kid's were mesmerized with Papa that evening. Baylor kept waiting for him to "quit resting." Piper wanted to hold his hand. Hudson and Corbin whispered to him--surely it was something to do with sports. They kept telling him that they couldn't wait to be with him, and Corbin let him know that "you don't look like yourself when you're not in your body, Papa." It was a sweet night, and I hope it created sweet memories for them.

He was buried at the D/FW national cemetary.....the sight of the cemetary, alone, will bring tears to ones eyes. The bagpiper was there, the rifle men....the full military honors. It was beautiful. As we sat through the following memorial service, we sang "I can only imagine." I've never been so at peace with death. Why it's taken me 30+ years to get here, I don't know.

Thank you all for your prayers and kind emails. They were greatly appreciated.

12:28

At 12:28 this morning we watched as Rick's Dad took his final breath! How sweet it was, amidst all of our pain, to know that we watched him enter Heaven. Thank you for your sweet prayers and messages.

Rick's Daddy

We returned yesterday afternoon, just after 5 pm from a peaceful, relaxing, wonderful trip to Austin. We left Austin early yesterday for no other reason than that it was raining and would therefore not be fun to be on the boat anymore.

As we walked in the door with suitcases in tow, the phone began to ring. It was Rick's dad's neighbor calling to let us know that Rick's dad was being transported via ambulance to the nearby hospital, and that the situation looked bleak.

Bless my parents, they were over here in an instant and Rick and I both arrived at the hospital shortly after the ambulance. Hours and hours of tests revealed that he had suffered a pulminary aneurism (sp??) He had 2 blood clots--one on each lung--preventing blood flow from his heart...so there was no blood flow for nearly 20 minutes. He has internal bleeding from his stomach, liver, and kidneys. His acid level in the blood is high b/c of his kidneys. The 3 blood clots remain. He has extensive brain damage. Etc, etc, etc. He remains in ICU and will more than likely be removed from all machinery tomorrow. His wife was 9 hours away visiting grandchildren and had to make her way home in the middle of the night--thus the machinery to keep him alive.

I've been awake for nearly 40 hours. Rick and I made the decision to come home and spend some time with eachother and with the kids tonight. I will be glad when rest comes, but the adrenaline is still pumping.

There will be many non-believers at this funeral. Our prayer is that the Lord Jesus Christ will be glorified throughout the ceremony. We serve an amazing God and we have such a peace about the whole situation.

All of this to say, we would covet your prayers this week as we go thru such a difficult time.

Busy, busy, busy....

Football camp, baseball camp, soccer, camp, basketball, tennis, golf camp, gymnastics, swimming, horse riding lessons.....now breathe!! That's where I've been this summer. Driving back and forth, back and forth. From one camp to another. The kids' have had quite an active summer. Though we've been crazy busy, it's kept them from boredom, video games, snacking all day....

We just returned from a fun weekend trip to Tulsa to see my cousin Mallory get married. My sisters and their families spent the week in TX with us--so we've had a wonderful dose of cousins, aunts, and uncles.

School starts on the 25th and I'm left wondering where in the world the summer went--in fact, didn't I just put the Christmas tree in the attic??? We're looking forward to fall. The 100+ degree weather has been oppressive!! The kids are already starting to ask when the pumpkin patch opens, when the State Fair and football begin. All I'm wondering is when the high will be 80 degrees for a high...not for a low (as it has been.)

And my big news to report is I finally achieved at least one of my New Year's Resolutions. I've lost 21 lbs!!!!! I think I hear the angels rejoicing with me. I've had that Resolution for nearly 4 years. It's about time I resolved it, huh?

"LOCKS" AND LOTS OF LOVE

PIPER HAS THE MOST GORGEOUS, LONG, BEAUTIFUL (AT TIMES TANGLY) HAIR. LAST WEEK, SHE HEARD ME READING AN EMAIL TO RICK ABOUT "LOCKS OF LOVE" HAVING AN EVENT WHERE THE GIRLS' GET THEIR HAIR CUT. (FOR THOSE OF YOU NOT FAMILIAR WITH LOCKS OF LOVE, THEY'RE AN ORGANIZATION THAT YOU CAN DONATE 10" OR MORE OF YOUR HAIR TO, AND THEY WILL MAKE A WIG FOR SOMEONE WITH CANCER WHO HAS NO HAIR. )

PIPER WAS SO TOUCHED THAT SHE DECIDED, ALL BY HERSELF, THAT SHE WANTED ANOTHER LITTLE GIRL TO HAVE HER HAIR.....SO, YESTERDAY WE WENT TO SWEET AND SASSY'S AND PIPER, MY SWEET LITTLE 4 YEAR OLD, GAVE AN AMAZING GIFT TO ANOTHER LITTLE GIRL IN NEED--10" OF HAIR.

I HAD TEARS IN MY EYES. PIPER WAS BEAMING THE WHOLE TIME SHE WAS IN THE CHAIR.

FABULOUS, SHORT GET AWAY

LIFE WITH 4 PRECIOUS KIDDOS GETS CRAZY SOMETIME. I HAVE NOT REALLY BEEN AWAY FROM THEM FOR MORE THAN ONE NIGHT SINCE BEFORE BAYLOR WAS BORN...OR WAS IT PIPER?? IT'S BEEN A VERY LONG TIME.

WE'RE SO THANKFUL FOR THE BEST BABYSITTERS EVER--MY MOM AND DAD. THEY KEPT OUR KIDS FOR TWO DAYS WHILE WE ENJOYED OURSELVES AT A RESORT 45 MINUTES DOWN THE ROAD. IT WAS GORGEOUS. THE POOL WENT ON FOREVER, THE VIEWS WERE GORGEOUS, THE SERVICE WAS AMAZING! WE ENJOYED THE EXECUTIVE SUITE (BECAUSE THE HOTEL MADE A MISTAKE--NOT BECAUSE WE COULD AFFORD IT). WE ENJOYED IN ROOM MASSAGES, AN AMAZING BREAKFAST BUFFET, AND RICK EVEN HAD TIME TO ENJOY A ROUND OF GOLF....I THINK I WILL HAVE TO CADDY FOR HIM FROM NOW ON--SEEING THAT HE SHOT A 79!

WE RETURNED YESTERDAY AND FEEL OH! SO RELAXED AND READY TO TACKLE PARENTHOOD HEAD-ON AGAIN.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU MOM AND DAD!

I love having a 7 year old...

I was so tired this morning. I heard the kids stirring around 7:30. I'm usually up around 6-6:30...so I had already gotten an extra hour of sleep but I still wanted more. I burried my head back in my pillow and fell sound asleep--again. I woke up an hour later to complete silence. Knowing this was not the norm, I jumped out of bed to go investigate. As I rounded the corner into the kitchen, this is what I found. Four children sitting at the table, eating their cereal, pancakes, and bananas. Hudson had quieted them all so that he could read them his daily Bible reading from John. I'm not sure what I've ever done to deserve: #1 to sleep in on a Saturday a.m. and #2 to have children that realize when I need a couple extra hours of sleep and are self-sufficient.

Temples and Withdrawal...

My morning began with Piper tapping me on the shoulder saying, "Mommy, you look like you're going to have a baby!" (Note to self....re-enroll in Weight Watchers....NOW!!) She's mesmerized by all of the talk of babies lately. When I told her we're not having any more babies she just says, "Oh, mommy, you're such a kidder."
On to our next stop of the morning, I got to watch Corbin's eye doctor remove Corbin's splints from his eyes. If you've not had the pleasure of watching this procedure, trust me, you don't want to.
We went over to our neighbor's house to bid them farewell--as they're moving to NC. Our neighbor was giving us a "tour" of the house. As the lady and I chit-chatted along, I see her eyes get huge. She sternly said, "No, no that's a temple." "This is where I worship." Sweet little Piper thought this "temple" was a doll house and was swinging open the doors and windows. Truly, it did look like a doll house....an odd, black, spooky doll house. It kinda reminded me of the time when I washed out a bowl of "holy water" when I was in highschool babysitting.
And....now on to my children's behavior. What is it with summer and lousy behavior? They're not always disrespectful. They're usually the best kids ever. But because of their lack of respect, I took away their blankets. To some of you, this may not seem like such a big deal. But to my kids, this is the worst punishment....EVER!! To Corbin especially. He's in withdrawal. He's going on 3 days with no blanket. I kept finding him sobbing, in the fetal postition all day long. I think I may be paying for therapy in a few years for this.

She's here...

My first neice, Eden Michal, was born yesterday morning. I have 4 bruisin' lil' nephews, so it was about time another little girl made it into the family. She'll be spoiled with lots of bows, jewels, dresses, etc. Olivia and Jeremiah, the proud mama and daddy, made we wait for the name, too. They, along with Traci, are teaching me great amounts of patience. They actually changed the name once they got to the hospital. It was a rough delivery for Olivia, but she's recovering and resting peacefully at the the hospital. I haven't seen pictures of Eden yet, but my mom says she has dark curly hair on the back of her head, and lighter hair on the top of her head...mom says she looks like she has hi-lights. So...sweet little girl, welcome to this crazy world. We love you so much already! ***Just got some sweet pics of the happy family***
www.geocities.com/thefralics/Index.html

Gross

My sweet hubby took the kids and I out to eat for lunch the other day. Our waitress came up to the table--wet hair, sloppy demeanor. The entire time she was getting our drink orders I stared at this long, strangly hair sticking to the front of her shirt. All I could think was that I really didn't want that hair in my water or on my salad. I figured once she went back to the kitchen to get our drinks another server would be nice enough to get that hair off of her shirt....But, no. She comes waltzing back to the table with our drinks....and that nasty, yucky, gross, wet strand of hair was still hanging off of her shirt. I couldn't handle it any more. I reached out, grabbed the hair, and threw it on the floor. I said, "I'm sorry. You had a hair on your shirt. I thought you'd want it off." She acted mad, offended, angry. She brought my salad out last--I'm sure that was because she was busy spitting in it and placing random hairs throughout the lettuce leafs. Rick was convinced we were having a "Seinfeld" moment, and I had to agree. So...my question is, what would you have done?

3:30

I was fast asleep, dreaming of getting a full night's rest with no interruption. The kids were all nestled in their beds with visions of cocoa puffs dancing in their heads--apparently. At 3:30 in the a.m. Baylor tapped me on the shoulder. I cracked open my eyes to see who could be interrupting my perfectly wonderful night of sleep. Baylor stood there with a box of Cocoa Puffs. She was popping them into her mouth one at a time. When I asked what she was doing she sweetly said, "I'm saving the world one bite at a time." I laughed myself back to sleep. I have no idea how long she was up eating cereal, or how much she ate. I allowed my 3 year old who was "saving the world" free roam of the house in order to get back to that peaceful rest.

Life

Life is never dull around our household. I guess it'd be too much for me to ask to have healthy kids for say....1 month in a row. We've transitioned nicely from whooping cough to strep throat....all 4 kids. Our doctor's office staff said they're going to start leaving our file on the counter--since we're in there every week.
I'm learning to "love" cleaning up vomit in the middle of the night....learning to not get completely grossed out when I step in a pile of vomit in the dark of night. You know the drill, girls. As disgusting as it is, I've sure had some sweet moments with my children during their illnesses.
One of my dearest childhood friends, Heather Rudy Erickson, lost her 29 year old brother to leukemia this week...what in the world am I complaining about??? I can most definitely deal with strep throat.
Tomorrow is Father's Day. I have Rick's whole family coming over for lunch. Rick was supposed to come home tonight from a trip, but his company had other plans and are keeping him until tomorrow night. So much for the surprise lunch, cake, gifts. Am I complaining again??
On a positive note, I found the greatest company. I bought several items from them, and can't wait to get more. They will custom print verses, sayings, children's names, anything.....you have to see it, it's too hard to explain. http://www.ezwordart.com/ And for my friends' with children...I found a miracle product. It's called Red Erase. You can buy it at Linen's and Things or online at http://www.evergreenlabs.com/ If you get red kool-aid, or anything red on your clothes, and spray this stuff on it takes it out. I haven't found any other products that work this well. There's my 2 cents, spend it wisely.

My little "pony-girl"

Since my beautiful little Piper was 2, she's been telling us she wanted to be a "pony-girl." Not a cowgirl, a ponygirl. She wants to ride every horse, at every fair, carnival, party...that she comes across. We finally let her start taking lessons. Her instuctor's name is Abby--the sweetest 15 year old I've come across in years. Piper's horses name is POKEY. And believe me, when you place your precious 4 year old daughter over to a horse for the first time, you want that horse to be Pokey. She absolutely loves every minute of her lessons. I've tried convincing her just how much fun gymnastics, tennis, swimming, etc. could be, but without a doubt her passion is horses.

$140

$140 used to go a LONG way. A new outfit, purse, shoes, night out on the town, groceries (do you like how I prioritize??)....well now $140 fills up our beloved Brutis' gas tank. $140!!!! Gas is nearly $4 here. When we got married, just over 8 years ago, gas was still under $2 and people were freaking out that it may reach $2. Who wouldn't kill for $2 gas right about now? We heard on the news that it may go as high as $6 in the next year, or so. I may just have to buy a Prius (hybrid car) and strap the kids to the top....that couldn't be any more wrong than charging people $4-$6 for a gallon of gas.

Mother's Day

I always wondered why my mother spent half of mother's day in tears? Wasn't she happy that she had the 4 GREATEST (ha ha) kids in the world??? Why in the world was she sad when little urchins were bringing her breakfast in bed, giving her macaroni noodle necklaces, and handmade fingerprint cards? I just didn't get it....until this year.

Mother's Day, for me, started like any normal Sunday...in a rush to get kids dressed, food in mouths, stinky teeth brused, Bibles in car, and to church no less than 10 minutes late. As I settled into my seat, late, I began to think about how lonely my life would be without my four little ones. I would be lonely not dressing, feeding, loving, caring for them. Just thinking about them, the tears started welling up....then the preaching began.

"Do you pray for your children, mothers??" That's how the sermon started. Well, of course, I thought. I pray for my children. The preacher continued. "Do you pray for them to find their purpose in life? Do you pray for them to be content...just the way that God made them? Do you pray for them to find the importance of integrity?....to acquire wisdom?...to be protected against the world?".....

My tears of pure shame were falling at this point in time. Yes, I pray for my children, but definitey not nearly as much, and not nearly as fervently as I should. The devil is waiting for our children. Preying upon them. A sense of guilt fell upon me....and it was at that moment that I began to understand why mother's cry on mother's day. We have been given an immense responsibility. To raise Godly children in a society of complete immorality. So if anything, friends, I encourage you to pray diligently for your children, grandchildren, neices, nephews, friend's children. They need to be bathed in prayer every single day....every single day!!

My kids bring great joy to my heart. I received 2 sets of paper flowers this year for mother's day, 4 hand-print cards (priceless) and LOTS and LOTS of hugs and kisses. I hope each of you had a very special mother's day, too.

Who knew?

Silly me. I thought whooping cough was a thing of the past. Apparently not. Hudson, Piper, and Baylor all spent last week dealing with the affects of whooping cough. We were told, for 3 weeks, that it was just allergies. We had to isolate the kids--which meant no school, church, ball practice, swimming, etc. It was fun to have them home for a while. If you can't go to swimming lessons, and you don't have your own swimming pool, turning on the sprinklers works just fine. And, if you have left over "moving" tape, you can make bracelets to sell...as Piper did.

Insanity Prevails......

Whoever gave USA Today's Oliver "Buzz" Thomas a pen to write and allowed him to pick topics such as "Might our religion be killing us" posted on April 21, 2008...is a MORON. I'm going to post part of the article he wrote. Bear with me, it's long, but for those of you who have multiple children, I think you'll be shocked too.

Is what we preach-and ultimately what we believe-hastening the destruction of our planet? The answer appears to be a resounding yes. So then what?

"Be fruitful and multiply," says the book of Genesis and Lord knows we have. To the tune of more than 300 million at home and more than 6 billion abroad. Bus as we go about the heavenly task of multiplying, a poignant question arises: Might our religion be killing us?
We all remember the Aztecs. Some say their religion, with its penchant for violence and human sacrifice, played a critical role in the destruction of their civilization. We moderns are far more sophisticated, of course, but if we persist with some of our religious practices, we could be heading down the same disastrous dog trot. Sort of a reverse Noah story. Noah is credited with saving humanity during the big flood. We could be the ones who get blamed for destroying it. (HUH???)
Here's why. The hundreds of scientists who make up the Intergovernmental Panel on the Climate Change warned recently that the environmental crisis is more dire than originally believed. We might have reached a tipping point. Even if we stop producing harmful greenhouse gases immediately, temperatures could continue to rise and ocean levels along with them for the next 1,000 years. How much? The IPPC says by as much as 11 degrees this century with a corresponding rise in ocean levels of nearly 2 feet. Other scientists, such as Britains James Lovelock, say it will be far worse and happen sooner. Both predictions portend drought, starvation and species extinction.
Hopefully, not ours. Of course, much of our environmental problem is due to overpopulation. There are simply too many people for the planet to sustain--at least the way we expect to be sustained. Each new person requires more food, water, and oxygen. At the same time, each is producing more carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and methane. For each additional human, planet Earth, and the rest of us, pays a price. The world knows where this is all headed.
Now, consider the Roman Catholic Church's continued opposition to modern birth control or the church of Jesus Christ latter-day saints encouragement of large families. This might not alarm you unless you realize that nearly one in every 5 humans is R. Catholic and that the Mormons belong to one of the fastest-growing religions in the Western Hemisphere....
In the interest of preserving our planet and our species, shouldn't religious organizations be encouraging smaller families? Do our spiritual leaders need additional divine revelation to realize that our current doctrines--which threaten take the entire world down with us--have become ethically and theologically questionable?
Population growth hits hardest in the poorest nations, and as poverty increases, public heath declines. I am quite certain that God is not the author of human misery. (No, you idiot, he gave us choice, and we created the misery all on our own!!) By preaching against birth control at the same time we are preaching against abortion, it seems that we're making God out as cruel, a buffoon, or both.
I recognize that religious organizations tend to be conservative institutions. Their continued resistance to equal rights for women and gays is a good example. A woman may be president of Harvard or speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, but in the largest religious organizations on the planet, women still can't get ordained as parish priests. It's even worse for gays and lesbians (guess he's never heard of Sodom or Gomorrah). All this is to say that religion often comes late to the party--sometimes kicking and screaming, as did most Southern churches on slavery and civil rights. Only this time, we can't afford it. Not when the fate of the planet might hang in the balance.
How should people of faith respond to this gathering of environmental storm??
First, we must stop having so many children. Clergy should consider voicing the difficult truth that having more than two children during such a time is selfish. Dare we say sinful? The average American might not listen to his elected representatives, but he darn sure listens to his pastor. Every week. This is a hard message for pastors to preach..., but w/o it we court disaster.
In addition, Americans should be having important policy debates as we anticipate a hotter, more hostile natural environment. Instead of providing tax breaks for having more children, shouldn't Congress be providing incentives for having fewer? ........It might be my belief that I should have as many children as God will allow, but if having additional children imperils my neighbor's ability to obtain food, water, or shelter, I need to think twice about it.
Oliver "Buzz" Thomas is a minister (ha, ha, ha, ha, ugh!!).........
First of all, if "Buzz" thinks the climate is getting hotter, he better seriously be preparing himself for a heat storm when he arrives on the doorstep of HELL and gets kicked in--for eternity. Second of all, the government IS already doing their part to control the population. Have you not noticed the price of gas, food, everything rising. We drive the biggest car imaginable....our humongous Ford Excursion. It fits our 4 children (oops, Buzz, did I have 2 too many??), their sports equipment, etc comfortably...but it also costs $130 to fill up. I'm sorry, but a family of 6 is not going to fit into a Hybrid--it's just not going to happen--until the ultra-fancy, ultra-expensive Cadillac Escalade is released next year. I propose, Buzz (and friends), that if each person alive is taking up too much air, that you be the first to offer to die for your neighbor. Rid the world of your absolute, idiotic ideology. Your values fit right in with Hitler, and Stalin. Sounds like you would enjoy living in Communist China.
I agree. Some people should probably not have children. Some people are too busy, yet still decide to have children. But for those of us who are taking the time to train up our children correctly, and who have the money to raise 4 kids we have every right in the world to have 4.
If my pastor dared to mention this in church (which I know he wouldn't), I would walk out and never return. Buzz, a "minister", has no clue what the Bible says.
The climate may be heating, recycle, recycle, recycle.....the Lord Jesus Christ is coming back and taking those of us who've asked Him to be our Lord and Saviour with Him. I hear Heaven has a perfect climate, and you never have to recycle...and you should see the number of children God has. Are you ready? You'd better be.

***WARNING****

OK, guys, I'm usually not one to start warning people about things (usually because I don't know if they're true) but I know this is true....it's happened to me.

Most of you have read the scare-mail about the person whose kidneys were stolen while he was passed out. Well, read on. While the kidney story turned out to be an urban legend, this one is not. It's happening every day.

My thighs were stolen from me during the night a few years ago. It was just that quick. I went to sleep in my body and woke up with someone else's thighs. The new ones had the texture of cooked oatmeal. Who would have done such a cruel thing to legs that had been mine for years? Whose thighs were these and what happened to mine?

I spent the entire summer looking for my thighs. Finally, hurt and angry, I resigned myself to living out my life in jeans and Sheer energy pantyhose.

Then, just when my guard was down, the thieves struck again. My butt was next. I knew it was the same gang, because they took pains to match my new rear end (although badly attached at least three inches lower than my original) to the thighs they stuck me with earlier. Now, my rear complimented my legs, lump for lump. Frantic, I prayed that long skirts would stay in fashion.

It was two years ago when I realized my arms had been switched. One morning I was fixing my hair and I watched horrified but fascinated as the flesh on my upper arms swung to and fro with the motion of the hairbrush. This was really getting scary. My body was being replaced one section at a time. How clever and fiendish!!

Age? Age had nothing to do with it. Age is supposed to creep up, unnoticed, something like maturity. NO, I was being attacked repeatedly and without warning.

In despair, I gave up my T-shirts. What could they do to me next?

My poor neck disappeared more quickly than the Thanksgiving turkey it resembled.

That's why I decided to tell my story. I can't take on the medical profession by myself. Women of the world, wake up and smell the coffee.

That really isn't plastic that those surgeons are using. You KNOW where they are getting those replacement parts, don't you? The next time you suspect someone has had a face "lifted" look again. Was it lifted from you?

I think I finally found my thighs...and I hope that Cindy Crawford paid a really good price for them!!!

This is not a hoax. This is happening to women in every town, every night. Warn your friends.

P.S. I must say that last year I thought someone had stolen my breasts. I was lying in bed and they were gone! As I jumped out of bed I was relieved to see that they had just been hiding in my armpits as I slept. Now...I keep them hidden in my waistband.

Girls, after giving birth to 4 babies, just about every body part of mine has been "stolen." I hope that if nothing else, this makes you giggle. Thanks to my Aunt for passing this on.

My birthday boy

Can you get any cuter?? Corbin, my happy-go-lucky, spikey-haired dude is turning 6 today.

Somewhere along the way, he started to believe that he actually grew taller (like several inches) and could run faster on the day of his birthday. Last year, he grew at least 5 inches on the morning of his birthday and he could run "so much faster." Well, this morning when I woke him up, his eyes popped open. He said, " Oh my goodness mom, my heads taller ....it's taller....it's taller." He was squeeling with delight because he was so much taller. Then he sprang out of bed and started running laps around the kitchen/dining rooms yelling "I love being 6!!" He loves being 6 b/c apparently he's "so much faster than when he was 5."

It's so cute that I cannot possibly tell him that he didn't grow any or run any faster. He doesn't believe in the ho-ho-ho Christmas guy, but he believes in this----so very cute!!

So, to my very fast, very tall, extremely handsome little Corbin...Happy 6th birthday.

I'm turning into Martha....

Stewart, that is....except for the fact that my laundry is in piles around the house, the dishes are not washed, and the toilets haven't been scrubbed this week, but boy have I been busy baking cakes. I vowed to bake all of our birthday cakes this year because we spent a fortune on buying them last year. My cakes may not be as cute as the ones we bought, but they were pretty darn tasty.

On to other news...it seems just about everyone I know is either pregnant or getting puppies....or moving. Congratulations to Genevieve, Olivia (my sisters), Traci and Erin on your pregnancies!! For the first time in a long time, I'm not envious of you, but I am excited for you.

It's weird. For a while, I was "in the zone." I wanted 4 babies, and by-golly, we were going to have 4 babies. And we did. All in under 4 years. But, the moment Baylor popped out, it clicked. 4 was enough for me. Just perfect for us. Each family is different, yes, I know. But 4 seemed to be our magic number. I truly don't miss the maternity clothes, packing diaper bags, pushing jumbo strollers around, or buying wipes, diapers, etc.....All of that being said, I will gladly babysit any of your babies(if you'd only move a bit closer)...because I do miss the smell of a baby...the goo-goo, ga-ga's....those genuine "I love you" smiles....the squeals of delight when they see your face.

And on to last bit of news, quite possibly the most exciting news I have to share...Baylor came to me last week dressed in only her Dora panties, h0lding her Bible and a Bible tract. She said, "mommy, I want Jesus to come into my heart, to save me, so that I don't have to go to Hell." Oh!! I have no greater joy than to hear my children walk in truth!! She just turned 3, and already has begun to understand what most adults in today's society have failed to grasp. We all need a Saviour. My "baby", my 3 year old gets it. Praise the Lord!!