Just Checkin' In

Miss Rebekah Claire is under the weather.  She has been running a fever and I know that her throat is hurting.  "No!" has been her favorite word.  I literally had to put ear plugs in to deal with her crying today...I am turning into my husband!

 

These boys sure do love each other....

Well, maybe not THAT much:) 

Snake in the yard!  We had a very long black rat snake in the backyard.  I think it is the same one we saw moving very slowly in the fall when it was cooling down.  I crack myself up at how I don't freak out about snakes anymore.  I mean...I don't want to hold one or anything, but if I see one that I know isn't venomous I just kinda waive and go about my merry way.

Sad story alert!  Christian called and told me that he had a surprise  for us one day.  I was sitting in a chair reading to the boys when the kitchen door opened.  I looked up and saw this sweet thing

wander into the house.  A friend had raised it for a few weeks and then was heading out of town.  Christian volunteered to keep him.  He warned us that fawns this young don't usually make it and that we shouldn't get too attached.  Um, excuse me? 

How can you not get attached to Bambi when you are feeding him a bottle every 3-4 hours?

Levi was the perfect little "mama", but I am sorry to say that about a week after we got little Ben the Buck, he wasn't doing so well.  We nursed him the best we could, but he just didn't make it.  We have had lots of discussions about death lately.  I am grateful that it is over pets and not people!!  There were some sad faces around here for sure!

On a lighter note....Sarah has said some pretty funny things lately!  Anna Grace had her over at her sister-in-law's house (who is expecting).  She said, "Momma, Tracy has a baby in her belly.  I saw it when I was at her house...it was just all hangin' out in there bubbling out!"   She also has been watching Snow White a good bit lately and she calls it "Snow White and the Seven Dorks":)  She is such a clutz...it cracks me up when she has a particularly nasty fall and all that you see are the bottoms of her feet and she yells out, "I'm OK!"

Trashy

Sometimes our yard just gets downright embarassing.  After a few very busy weeks, I realized that our yard was just ridiculous.  Not only were there shoes, clothes, and toys all strewn in the yard, but there was also lots and lots of trash.  Small pieces of broken toys, popsicle papers and sticks, little pieces of paper, and other things were just everywhere I looked.  I told Levi and Caleb that I would give a dollar to the kid with the most trash picked up out of the yard and put in a grocery bag.  I kid you not....this is what they brought to me.

They FILLED both of those bags.  Levi won, but I gave Caleb 50 cents for a great second place finish.

Have I mentioned that Levi loves to burn things with his magnifying glass?  This is what I found Saturday morning.  The magnifying glass was lying nearby.  This poor little piggy bank was about to be in an inferno.

This same morning I asked Caleb where Levi was and he told me that he was "outside cooking something with his magnifying glass".

We stopped by Zaxby's for a quick bite and Rebekah wowed everyone with her classy table manners.

Sometimes I just feel a little on the trashy side:)

Fashion Forward

My husband is so very concerned with the latest styles.  Today we had a conversation that went like this...

C:  "Hey...is there anywhere close by where I can pick up a pair of tennis shoes?"

A:  "Well, there is Rack Room over by Target and Sports Academy."

C:  "No, that's too expensive.  I was thinking like a Payless or something where I could get some like $10-15 tennis shoes with velcro.  You know...easy to slip on and off."

A:  "Are you kidding me right now?"

C: "Huh?"

A:  "You want to purchase a pair of adult velcro shoes at Payless Shoe Source for around $10-15?"

C: "Yes..."

After I explain to him that velcro has no business on an adult shoe, he then gets Jackson in on the conversation.

C:  "Jackson, how do you feel about velcro?"

J:  blink, blink....blank stare

A:  "Jackson, how do you feel about velcro on your dad's shoes?  Just to be clear we are not talking about Caleb's shoes..."

We then got a lecture about how he didn't care what we thought and how he was going to bring back the velcro shoe and he huffed out the door.

Pictures to follow...

Girlfriend!!

Sarah had a play date today with a little friend from church.  It was HILARIOUS!  I had the best time watching them squeal and run around.  They played 'picnic' and played with all of the stuffed animals that have been collecting dust forever.  It was like another girl in the house just made Sarah act so girly:)

After playing in the sprinklers, I stripped them down in the yard and was washing all the grass off of them when Sarah yells to Elena with elation, "HEY!  YOU HAVE THE SAME BOOTIE AS ME!"  Poor child has seen so many boy "booties" that a girl "bootie" was just a fantastic surprise:)

P.S.  Emma, I am so sorry that now your child's vocabulary includes the word bootie.  And loser.  And "lookin' good dawg!". *sigh*

The Good Life...

These days I am just living the good life.  Not the perfect life...there are days when I want to pull out every hair on my head.  Those days usually come once a month, or when I don't get my required 8 hours of sleep! The good life consists of just ordinary days with children making messes, doing school work, playing football  in the yard, working on chores, etc.  I am thankful for ordinary days:)

Caleb's little personality is really coming out these days.  He is so sweet!  He loves to draw and color, something the older brothers never enjoyed.  He is always wanting to mail his masterpieces to Mimi.  He loves to run and is very fast.  It is really funny how fast he can run.  Maybe he will be my track star:)  All of the teeth that were hanging on for dear life after the library parking lot accident Febrary 2011 have now bitten the dust.  One came out while he was wrestling with Cousin Joshua over Thanksgiving, and the other one gave up the fight a few months later.  He now has a gaping hole that is just adorable.  It is quite a challenge to eat certain things when you are missing 3 front teeth!

Sarah, Sarah, Sarah...what am I going to do with this child?  At breakfast one morning, she casually said, "Momma, Daddy shot that racoon."  I said, "I know Sarah, was it just so sad?"  She replied in an excited tone, "Nope!  It had blood coming out of it's eyes and it was on the ground!"  Poor little thing.  I hear stories of little girls crying when they watch Bambi.  Not this girl.  She is just such a little boy sometimes.  She can now boast of stitches, a broken collar bone, and a burn on her leg...all more accidents than the brothers combined.  She is such a sweet girl, though, and her personality is really so cute.  She still has her little lisp and still LOVES Diego.  We were at Lowe's and she was hanging on the cart and yelled, "Look Mommy!  I'm a sloth!" 

Levi is still catching critters!  Any empty box or container that is left lying around becomes some kind of habitat for one of his pets.  Right now we have an old Zaxby's salad container with moths in it.  He also has a mason jar with some little worm in it that has managed to hang on for a few weeks.  He got a guinea pig for Christmas that had belonged to a friend and was full grown.  He was in LOVE!  Christian said that he gave "that thing" til March, and I am sad to say that he was dead.on.it.  One Wednesday morning in March,  I was ready to head out to bible study. Levi came to me with tears saying that Ipod wasn't moving.  I was so sad for him.  Jackson had to "man up" and put Ipod in a shoebox. I dug a hole and we buried her.  Levi was so sad, but it was such a good opportunity to talk to him about death.  I told him that it is so sad that we live in a world where people and animals get sick and die, but that this isn't how God originally created it to be.  Sin entered the world and now everything is broken....BUT, we have a hope!  We talked about how Jesus came and defeated sin and death and that one day there will be a new Earth.  We won't get sick and no one will die!  It was so sweet to see that really sink in.  We went to the pet store that weekend and bought another guinea pig.  This one is Valentine and she was a baby when we got her.  Hopefully she will be with us for a while!

Sweet little Rebekah has changed the most these last few months.  She started walking and got a roomie!  I moved Sarah's little toddler bed into the room with her and it has been great.  Usually I put Rebekah down first and then tip toe in with Sarah once she is asleep.  Tonight, I put them in bed at the same time and I heard them giggle and "talk" for a while.  I just love it when you see those little friendships start to develop.  Rebekah still has her loud scream/cry, but we don't hear it as often as we used to.  She can be a little fretful at times, but as the boys like to point out, "She is just spoiled!"

Yep...and guess who it is that spoils her?  Her big brothers and sister!

They are always tending to her and if she ever gets a little pop on her hand, they will say, "Momma!  She's just a little baby!"  She's a little baby that is wearing the pants around here.  We are going to have to get a handle on this one quick!

Aaron continues to be the comic relief in my life.  He is just so witty!  He is extremely bright, but would rather have a root canal than read a book or do a little math.  He is very sensitive and tenderhearted (in a good way).  He loves to play football with his daddy and brothers.  Christian made him a little putting green in the yard and he is always out there practicing.  

Jackson has really matured this school year.  He is so self sufficient and conscientious of his schoolwork.  He has grown a foot and will pass me before long.  He is growing before my eyes, it seems.  He is just finishing his second year in piano and enjoying it.  I hope that he continues with it.  He has been doing odd jobs here and there and is saving his money for an Ipod.  He an Aaron are the dynamic duo...or as Christian affectionately calls them, Dumb and Dumber.  They really are like a comedy team...Jackson is the writer and Aaron just delivers it.  It is hilarious!

We are finishing up the school year and hopefully that will free up some time to take more pictures and blog about the crazy things that go on around here.  If I don't, I forget them.  I hate that 4 months have passed without documentation of these little people and their antics.  When they are all gone and my house is quite and spotless and I have time on my hands...I want to remember the days we were living the good life:)

Oh Where, Oh Where Has My Little Blog Gone

The lap top finally bit the dust. I can't even turn it on, which is a problem because all of my pictures are still on it. I am happy to report that Christian gave me my Christmas present early, and I now can blog from my IPad. I haven't totally figured it out yet, but at least I can now get some of the crazy things that have happened around here down before I forget!


Christian built a swing set for someone and generated a little cash for Christmas. We never give each other Christmas presents, so I was pleasantly surprised when he told me that I could go buy myself an IPad. I know that everyone knows our electronics issues...we have none. Oh, we have a tube TV and a VCR, but nothing manufactured after 1989.

I could not bring myself to pay the full price wanted at the Apple store. I flirted with the idea of buying a refurbished one. One fateful day, I searched Craigslist...just to see if there might be something there. SCORE! A man was selling one, new in the box, for $120 less than they are at the store. I got my cash, loaded up the kids in the van, and set out for the Target parking lot.

As we are driving down the road, Aaron says, "Mom, let me get this straight. We are going to the Target parking lot to buy an IPad from someone you talked to on Craigslist?? I have seen this on TV...this is NOT going to end well!" At that point, I started second guessing my involving the kids in Operation Buy iPad on the Black-market. The boys then proceeded to plan out what they would do if the guy was some crazy killer. Jackson was going to have the phone ready to call 911 if needed, and Aaron said he would hop in the driver's seat and drive the kids to safety.

Thankfully, the guy was normal. His wife was inside shopping for their 2 kids. I commented on how glad I was that he wasn't a Craigslist killer and he agreed. I told him about the plans the kids were making and as we turned to look at the car, all I saw was Aaron's very serious face staring out the driver side window with his hand on the horn. He was ready to sound the alarm at the slightest hint of trouble!



A few random pictures of what is going on around here these days...



Levi reminds me so much of Christian. We'll be sitting at the table eating and he will jump up and get his bb gun and rush outside. I am sure my "precious" neighbor would love to know that He has a bb gun pointed in her field.



I totally busted Jackson watching Miss Patty Cake!





Because I don't want to get into trouble, the man in this photo shall remain anonymous. It looks as though the elastic in the waist of the Adidas wind pants that I got out of the lost and found at Lakeside High School some 20 years ago has finally given out. Most people would just toss them, right? It takes a special gift to see the life still left in these pants...this man, who shall remain a mystery to you, put a belt on to hold up said pants and proceeded to leave the house to run to CVS for a few essentials. His t shirt was a Goodwill gift from a friend. He also had on crocs and socks. If he had gone to Walmart, I feel certain he would have ended up in the next 'People of Walmart' feature.

5K and Trot to Adopt

I ran in my first 5K with some girls from church. It was really fun. I have heard people say that before and wondered how in the world running could ever be enjoyable. Training with friends and race day totally took my mind off of all the hard work. It felt really good to know that this time last year I was about to give birth to my 6th child, and this year I ran a 5K in under 30 minutes!! It was a great feeling.

My next run is the Trot To Adopt in January that will help 3 of my dear friends bring home their girls from Africa and China. You can visit their blog to learn more about them. www.trottoadoptaugusta.blogspot.com If you would like to join me, you can register there. If you want to sponsor me, send me an email and I'll get your info. I am so excited to be able to help these families with the costs of bringing home their children. Won't you help, too? Even $5 will be a big help!