Monday, December 24, 2007

Faster please!!

Those of you who know me, know that I adore my husband. With that said, I have something to complain about and it involves Jeff!!
We just returned from visiting family in Rockton, IL. It was about a 3 1/2 hour trip each way. On our way there it was raining and VERY foggy. I had to spend most of that trip looking out my side window.
"Why?", you ask.
Well, I couldn't see very well out that front window, that's why! For some reason, the same wonderful husband who can't just sit and watch one TV show without changing the channels during every commercial, also can't seem to pick his hand up to the windshield wiper lever and turn the speed up!! He likes to put them on the lowest speed and leave them there. It almost seems like he wants to prove something and see how far we can go without really being able to see clearly and then at the last moment wipe the window. If you think that I am exaggerating, you should ride with him in the rain sometime and see for yourself!! It drives me nuts to ride in the front seat and not be able to see clearly where we are going!!!
You know, maybe it is a man thing. I just remembered a phrase from a song sung by a man...."I can see clearly now the rain is gone.." Maybe if the singer used his wipers more he would see clearly in the rain too!

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Happy Birthday to me!

Jeff woke me up this morning and told me that he didn't think I looked a DAY over 35 .........just HOURS over 35!! Isn't he sweet! I am officially 36 years old today! Wow I remember when 20 seemed old!

Last year I came up with the BEST birthday present ever and I asked for it again this year!! I plan on asking for it for the next several years! Here is my brilliant idea, just in case you moms of small children need an idea for your birthday or Christmas gift.
Last year I turned 35. I asked Jeff for 35 hours at home BY MYSELF! I took those 35 hours in 5 hour increments. I ended up with 7 evenings or afternoons all to myself!! I spread those 7 times out over the entire year. During those hours, I spent my time organizing our house. It was so much fun to tear apart a room and be able to put it all back together without ANY interruptions!!! As far as I am concerned, that was like Heaven on earth!! This year I get 36 hours. I am SO looking forward to my time alone!! Everyone in the family wins. The kids get their dad's total attention, Jeff doesn't have to spend a dime for my gift and we all get a CLEAN house!!

I had a great birthday today. I invited some of my children's friends over for the evening. The house was filled with much laughter and excitement.....just as a birthday should be!!

Sunday, December 16, 2007

A first!

After five children, one would think that we have seen it all! Apparently not so! Tonight Jeff and the kids were watching a movie. Probably 10 minutes before the end, I noticed Joel lying on the floor. The movie ended and the lights came back on. Where's Joel? We looked everywhere for that child. Where did we find him? Are you ready.......he had put himself to bed for the night!! Now we have seen everything!!

Saturday, December 15, 2007

They are better than me

Lauren , Amy, Daniel, Emily and I decorated cookies the other day. They did better than I did!! I enjoy putting frosting on the cookies, but I don't care much for spending all that time decorating them. We had a great time together seeing what new ideas they could come up with.

We went out today to deliver some of those cookies, but we didn't give many away. At the first delivery, the man was not home. I drove right by the second delivery, I figured we could just deliver them on the way home....wrong. Third delivery, yes finally someone to give them to. Fourth delivery was never made either, but we plan on trying again tomorrow.

In the midst of our cookie deliveries, we went shopping to buy gifts, to give away, from Life Action. We had a blast buying things, but while we were shopping the roads got very ICY!! People were sliding off the roads. I do not like driving in the snow, but I hate ice even more. If I had known that it was going to be icy, I would never have left my house!!! On our way home from shopping, I slid through TWO stop signs and many other places. One of those slips was a miracle that we did not crash. I was going (sliding) as slowly as I could down a steep hill, at the bottom was a stop sign. I never did stop, not even close to stopping. I was headed straight for a truck crossing in front of me. I was totally calm though, a huge God thing!! I needed to turn the corner at the stop sign and it was as if God gently guided our van around the corner and we somehow slid up right behind the truck, without touching it!!! I hope my angels are getting their rest in anticipation of our commute to church in the morning! Jeff will be driving, Lauren will be in my seat in the front, and I will be in the back with the children where sight of the road is pretty much impossible. You know...what you can't see, can't hurt you!!

GOD, I WANT TO MOVE SOUTH!! In fact, my whole family wants to move south. Could you please move us SOON?

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Christmas party

This Tuesday night was our annual Life Action Ministries Christmas Party. Over the past several years, I had come to not like those "parties". In fact I didn't even go last year. Well this year's party was different. There is absolutely NO DOUBT about it! This year's was the best Christmas party we have ever had!!!! Four things made it so different. I will state them in order of least important to the last one being the most important difference.

  1. We were not required or even asked to dress up fancy. (huge for me, but the others are even better)
  2. They didn't hire outside entertainment. Talented staff, within this ministry, entertained us marvelously!! We all enjoyed it!
  3. Jeff usually has to work through the entire night. I usually find myself sitting without him most of the time. Not this year!! They hired teenagers to do the serving work. We were able to enjoy our party TOGETHER!!!
  4. This one is the real kicker. I will never forget it!! As stated in #2 Life Action did not hire entertainment. Which saved them about $3,000.00. (Don't ask me why they have ever paid $3,000.00 for entertainment! I can't remember one year where I think their worth was ever close to that much! I hope they never pay that much again! Okay, sorry I got a little side tracked there.) The ministry decided to split the money that was saved, 60 ways. Each share was $50.00. They offered a share to whom ever wanted it, but we could not use it on ourselves. We have to give it to people in our community. We can spend it how ever we want and on whom ever we want. The only thing that they asked is that we give it on behalf of Life Action Ministries. Life Action does not know the needs of all the people in our community, but since our ministry "family" is so huge we know a lot of people. I will post more this weekend about where we are giving. I AM SO EXCITED...can you tell?

Friday, December 7, 2007

Today's highlights

  1. Joel has a name for Lauren. Her official name from Joel is now.......Nauney (sounds like naughty)! Joel is obviously very perceptive of his sisters faults, because he also has a name for Emily. It is....Dissy (sounds like ditsy)! Enough said!!
  2. We had another fire tonight while using the stove. Emily was just frying up some ground turkey and flames started shooting out from under the pan. Cooking over a open flame is not my idea of fun!! I blew out the flames and we moved the pan to another burner.
  3. The children went outside to play most of the afternoon!!!
  4. I gave Jeff a haircut.
  5. I worked very diligently on our Christmas gifts for our supporters.
  6. I got three separate foot rubs today!! No my children were not just being kind. I did Lauren's HUGE pile of dishes and in return she has to rub my feet or back for 1 1/2 hours! She did two of her three 1/2 hours today and Daniel did the other 1/2 hour (for discipline issues)! Have I told you recently how great it is to have kids?

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Do they have to grow up?

Daniel is very huggable. He will come up to me and just hug me at a moments notice. Today he came and sat on my lap. He was facing me, letting me hold him while he hugged me back. It occurred to me during that time that he will soon be getting too big for me to be able to do that with him anymore. I commented about it to him. I said, "Oh Buddy, in less than two years you will probably be too big for us to do this anymore. You will be bigger than me soon!" He picked his head up, looked me in the eyes, and said, "You can sit on MY lap then!!" I just smiled and hugged him tighter!! I know when he is twelve he will not want me to sit on his lap (nor would I want to), but isn't his love for his mommy at ten just so sweet?
Enjoy them while you have them, they sure do grow up FAST!!!

Sunday, December 2, 2007

I now have proof!

Joel does get into EVERYTHING!!! He still has chickenpox so he and I stayed home from church today. I was "trying" to get some things done while he followed me around the house. After a morning like today, I now know why God gave Joel to us last!! He NEEDS 6 other people to watch his every move. I promise these pictures were not staged. I did have him reenact two pictures, because I didn't get my camera out for them. After he got into the third thing and made his "Joel" mess, I started taking pictures.

Loves playing with money. Maybe banking is in his future.....or maybe support raising!!


He so enjoys getting into my cupboards and stacking dishes EVERYWHERE!! Maybe he will be a dishwasher or better yet maybe an architect!!


Playing with food is one of his other passions. Do you think maybe he will be a cook like his daddy? He does arrange and stack everything so neatly....maybe he will be a builder!!


I was cooking lunch when I turned around and saw that he had bowls in the toaster oven!! Maybe he will be a baker.


He loves to pull a chair up to anything higher than himself. Today he was fascinated with the bread, chips and bagels on the counter. Nothing is safe with him around.

These pictures where all taken before lunch!! He doesn't often stop moving, unless there is a movie on. I didn't even get all the picture of him that I could have......pulling out my pots and pans and playing with them, getting down our Nativity set and scattering it all over the living room, or walking around in someone else's shoes. It is such a good thing that he is SO cute!!

Saturday, December 1, 2007

Send a holiday greeting to a soldier overseas!!!

  1. Log onto the Internet and go to: http://anysoldier.com/WhereToSend/
  2. Click the name of a soldier from the list on the left-hand side of the screen.
  3. Follow the click "HERE" link below his or her name and rank on the new page to request his or her mailing address.
  4. Fill in the requested information, including an email address to which the soldier's mailing address can be securely sent.
  5. Check your email inbox (or junk/spam folders) for an email from AnySoldier.com which will contain the soldier's mailing address.
  6. Label the envelope with the EXACT mailing address provided.
  7. Send your greeting and good cheer to someone who needs it.

I am so excited to be able to support our troops like this. I just had to share this with you. I hope that you choose a few soldier's that you and your family can write too. They LOVE to receive mail. You also have the option to send care packages. We are doing both. I am hoping to get a few soldier's to write us back. I would love to get to know some of them and send them special things through out the year!!