Crazy

It was the craziest thing....somebody actually told me that I had a blog....and that I had been neglecting it for a very long time. Could that possibly be? I vaguely remember typing needless bits of information into my computer....vaguely. Maybe it's that I've been too busy catching up on American Idol or The Bachelor--because I certainly haven't been keeping up with the dishes, laundry, vacuuming...you get the idea.
I've been having so much fun being a mom. Sometimes it gets so busy that the joy of being a mom and wife is forgotten. When Rick's been in town, we've been playing games with the kids at night or we'll watch "Survivor Man." The kids' love watching that crazy guy eat sheep eyeballs, make fire out of nothing, etc. They're so obsessed with Survivor Man that when it iced last week, they all ran out into the backyard with bowls in hand. They were collecting every piece of ice they could find......so that their dear, adoring, wonderful mom could boil it and make grape koolaid. And that's exactly what I did. Mind you, I didn't take a sip of the koolaid, but the kids loved every drop of it. They loved being in "survival mode"--even though their koolaid was accompanied by a nice, warm, bowl of soup in a nice, warm house.
I'm also preparing for The Cowtown Half Marathon later this month. My older sister, who is every bit as crazy as me, is flying in so that she can walk with me. I was up at 3:45 a.m. to walk 10 miles before the kids woke up. Why again am I doing this to myself??? I am only walking to see the great signs that say things like, "This sounded like a good idea in September."
So, other than being a good mom, training for a marathon, neglecting household duties, watching reality t.v., and carpooling to tennis, basketball, guitar, dance, gymnastics, horseback riding, and swimming, it's been a relatively normal start to another great year.
P.S. Brenton, here is the video of Piper that I promised.

Christmas Memories

Can it be that Christmas is already over??? It seems as if I were just putting the tree up. We had so much fun this year! My brother Brenton, and his beautiful bride Kelly, my sister Olivia and her crew (Jeremiah, Judah, and Eden) and my sister Genevieve and her clan (Erik, Malachi, Levi, Shaddy, and Halle) all came to Texas. This was the first time we've all been together for Christmas in a LONG time.

We ate, opened presents, baked, ate, cooked, ate, watched movies, talked, had a weiner roast, went fishing, ate, went bowling, and need I say one more time......we ate! Well, most of us did. Kelly and Erik got the flu (or some really nasty bug) so while the rest of us put on 10 lbs, they lost 10 lbs!

Today was one of those days. The day the trees, lights, wreaths, had to come down....or else, they'd be up for another several weeks. Whenever I get motivated, it better get done right away b/c I don't get motivated very often. I'm exhausted from all the re-packing of Christmas stuff. No wonder our parents had one tree, with one wreath on the front door! They were far smarter than we're giving them credit for.

I'm off to shove the remnants of Christmas back into the attic. I hope all of you are better sports and far more motivated than me. Happy New Year!

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!