Category Archive

I think I have the post vacation blahs. I’ve had a hard time since coming back up here.

It may change soon. I have something that may potentially be a comforting thing for me to do sometimes, plus it will help me with figuring out songs for the church’s Children’s Choir. I’ll let you all know when I’ve got more details (and maybe pictures too, if all goes well.)

I got a Shelfari account and started putting books on there that I have read and loved. I realized how broad my reading is. I like such a variety of authors, from Terry Pratchett to Dee Henderson to Louisa May Alcott. Terry Pratchett’s humorous fantasy series of Discworld is my choice when I need a good pick-me-up and a laugh. I like other fantasy as well. Elves, dragons, and such are so fun to imagine about. A few other authors of these that I enjoy are Terry Brooks and the Christian author, Donita K. Paul. Dee Henderson’s Christian suspense thrillers and other various authors in murder mysteries are great for when I want to think. Louisa May Alcott and L.M. Montgomery are for when I want to read old-fashioned stories. I also like some of the Christian romance authors, like Janette Oke, for when I want a simple love story with no graphic physical encounters (if you know what I mean.) I like the way her books focus on loving who the person is more than what they look like and that is what I look for in a Christian romance novel. If you know of an author who writes like that, let me know, I don’t have enough of those for when I get in a sappy mood. I tried science fiction, but it was incomprehensible to me. I just didn’t understand it nor enjoy it much. I tried a few different books and one of the sci-fi mysteries, The Caves of Steel, by Isaac Asimov was kind of interesting, but still wasn’t enough to make me want to read more.

Anyway, if you have any new author suggestions for me, I would love to try them out.

Sarah got up here around 11 am. She helped me out with the kids’ school and lunch. James had tried destroying his homework page to get out of doing his math, but ended up grounded and with much more work to do which I wrote up myself. He stayed home with Jeremy, who was working from home yesterday. After lunch, the two of us took all four girls out to the Nature Center. They really enjoyed watching the turtles because one was actually moving all around its enclosure. If you were next to it’s space and talked, it turned it’s head toward you. Noelle loved that. She made up stories about how it was listening to us and what it was thinking. Once they were done indoors, we took a small half mile hike out to the pond. Christine doesn’t know how to be quiet, so as we got close to the pond, Sarah and I noticed that all the frogs we’d been hearing suddenly got quiet. Later, after we got back away from there, we heard them start back up. They just couldn’t compete with my girls. The hike ends at a few cages that sometimes hold injured animals. Only one of the cages had an animal, a red hawk. The sign said that it was badly injured and can’t be released back into the wild as it wouldn’t be able to catch it’s food, so it is there for life. It is beautiful.

After we were done with the Center, we headed to JoAnn’s Fabric Store to look for some patterns and material. Sarah had a few skirt patterns she is hoping to try and make and I was looking for something for my sister’s baby. She found some pretty material, but it was a bit too expensive for her. I found what I was looking for and can’t wait to start… but I will wait because we are leaving tomorrow to go down to my parents’ house in NC. Anyway, the girls enjoyed looking through the pattern books and asking if I would make them this or if I could make them that. They all want me to make them nightgowns with the nice soft satiny-ish material for summer. We’ll see.

After a quick dinner, we headed to church. We didn’t have adult choir practice last night, so I went and taught the Children’s choir during that time instead and was able to join in with the adults for Bible study later. I haven’t been up there for Adult Bible Study on Wednesday since the beginning of the year and it was a nice change.

After church, I dropped the kids off and Sarah and I went out to a restaurant and shared a chocolate dessert and just talked. It was great. On the way there, who should call, but my friend Michelle! She and Sarah got to meet a while back when I took Sarah to St. Louis and they got along really well, so they are hoping to both get up here at the same time before the end of August (and Sarah heads off to college.) Between the two of them, I got really giggly. It was awesome.

One of my best friends, Sarah, is coming up today and staying the night. She’ll be going to church with us tonight and then she and I are going out for a talking and chocolate time afterwards. I wish my other best friend, Michelle, could come up here sometime too. I don’t think I’ve told her yet that we have our bed couch up here now, so she can come visit when she’s able. I need to tell her. I would love to really have some time with her too. It’s been too long.

Hi, it’s me. I’m living here alone until this house gets packed and cleaned up. James is with my parents in NC and the girls have gone to Jeremy’s parents house. I have some friends that are coming over to help me and keep me company, which is really nice.

Ok, I’m on a break from caffiene again. I allow myself a cup of coffee every once in a while or a cup of Dr. Pepper when we’re out, but for the last week, I’ve had hardly any. I picked up some caffiene free Dr. Pepper last Friday because I was feeling too dependent on the caffiene and drinking too many Dr. Peppers. On Saturday, I had one regular Dr. Pepper (have some around because Jeremy drinks them) and then I haven’t had any more until today when I drank a cup of caramel kiss coffee. (yummmmy!) I have also cut back on my soda consumption. I decided to stick with only 1 soda a day. The same day that I bought the c-f Dr P, I bought some bottles of water. Our store has Spring! natural spring water on sale for $1 for 6 bottles. I bought 2 packs. While I’m at home, I have my bottle of water and I carry it around with me. I find it easier to carry around than a cup, especially since usually my cups get knocked over and spilled with all these kids around here . (Where did they come from? *laugh* Just kidding.) We got a filter for our kitchen sink cold water and so I re-fill my bottle over and over at home from that water. If I lose my bottle or it gets thrown away while the kids are doing chores, than I can easily grab another bottle from the pack. It’s tastes good and I feel like I get my $1 worth out of the whole pack. Also, if we go anywhere, I can grab a bottle or two and not worry about having to save them. Anyway, I’m going to try and stick to this a bit longer this time.

from a good friend here in town. Daisies! They’re so pretty and cheery. She’s so sweet!

I got a small digital camera that can fit into my purse. I don’t want to rely on my phone camera when we’re out and about. It’s a Canon PowerShot A550 with 4x optical zoom and 7.1 mega pixels. I hooked it up to my TV, so the kids could see the pictures I’d taken at James’s drama play on Saturday (oh, wait, I forgot to post about that… pictures coming soon, maybe later today) and we checked out how big the picture could get on the TV without getting too pixellated. It was pretty good and I’m satisfied for now. Someday, I’ll be able to afford the Canon Rebel, but until then I’ll stick with this one for whenever shots and my film camera for the nice shots.

Oh, speaking of my film camera. This last roll of film has not a single photo of any of my children on it. It was dedicated to other things. I’ve used the last 10 or so shots on it to keep track of a flower growing in a pot on my window sill. I have 1 photo left on that roll of film and the flower should bloom anytime, so I’m saving it for that.

This time, it’s not kids.

I got up at 7 am on Friday morning to go to an Acquire the Fire event in Muncie, IN. I roomed with two girls who did not sleep at all that night. We didn’t get home until 2:30 am on Sunday morning. I had to wake up at 7:30 am for church this morning. Jeremy decided to go to the chinese buffet restaurant in a town 20 minutes away for lunch. It had a long line. We didn’t get home until 3:15 pm. I had to go back to church for choir at 4:30 pm. Got home around 7:30 pm and Jeremy made me dinner. Kids finally went to bed and got quiet.

When did I sleep? Between 3:00 am and 7:30 am this morning and a bit of a snooze from 3:30 pm to 4:15 pm this afternoon. That gives me around 5 hours of sleep since Friday morning.

Good Night!

Part of why I haven’t posted as much on here as I used to is that Jeremy is working at home most days, so my computer time is somewhat limited. Also, we had sick kids and lots of church stuff going on around here. I’ve dedicated more time to reading the Bible and praying. It’s been hectic. I also haven’t been able to post comments on many of the posts that I read on other people’s blogs. Just know that I am reading them when I can, about every other day or so. I really miss reading them every day. Many of you all have become friends because of your blogs and the e-mail correspondence that has come because of them.

I’m not going to stop blogging, but if I don’t blog for a few days just don’t worry much about it. Just pray for me. That means I’m very busy.

How to send a cell phone picture to my e-mail. Of course, I can’t really do it much because we don’t have pix yet in our cell phone plan, but did one. When I get my new cell phone in March or April, I would like Jeremy to put pix on our plan. We’ll see how much it cost and check our budget at that time to see if it can be done.

Check out my Vox blog to see the pic. The format of how I post has changed and I can’t really figure out how to slap a pic in here.

Just popping in say to hello.

Hello, hello, goodbye!

LOL

Linda was giving out letters. I got “w”. These are listed in no certain order.

1. Wall family. They are my family by marriage, but I love them just as much as my own.

2. Wonders. All the cool things God has made. They are wonders to me. I love nature.

3. Worship. Praising, praying, discussing, learning, singing. All that for God. It helps me to combat the stresses of the day.

4. Womb Fruits. or also known as my children. They are such blessings.

5. Windows. The ability to let the light of the sun into my house and see all that is outside. I like being able to see the Amish buggies go by.

6. WWW. The internet is great. It’s so nice to be able to meet people so easily, though I’m a bit cautious as well.

7. my Wall man. My wonderful, loving husband.

8. Wicks. candles, nice smelling ones or the hurricane lantern. I love to turn off the lights and just have candles and our hurricane lantern on.

9. Waltzing. ok, so dancing with my husband. He can’t really waltz, but I learned back in high school for the musical “My Fair Lady”. I enjoyed it. These days, I like a dance I can do with my husband, laying my head on his chest.

10. Wonderful friends. I don’t have many friends, but those I have are good ones who care for me and love me for who I am.

The internet went out about 10 minutes after I got on to check my e-mail and blogs and all.  We have ours through Mediacom and they had a massive state-wide breakdown.  This is my socialization most of the time these days and I wasn’t sure if I could handle a day away from it.  Well, ok, so I’m exagerating.  I could easily make it.  I just like being able to keep track of my friends and all.

Some of you who have known me for a while know that I have always been interested in sign language. When I was young, I was given a book to show the signs and I used it quite a lot. My sister and I enjoyed pretending that I couldn’t hear sometimes and she would talk and use some signs and I would sign back to her. It was fun. In college, I met Michelle and she showed me some more signs and we took a class at a church in signing some of the church songs. Jeremy did that with us as well. I’ve used it often since then so I wouldn’t forget, but it wasn’t enough to have a really good conversation with someone though I could converse a bit.

Recently, there had been some talk at church of having me teach a sign language class for anyone interested. I refused this time because I don’t know enough, but I did teach the babies in the nursery for the last 11 or 12 weeks some of the signs like please, thank you, more, help, excuse me, mommy, daddy, milk, cookie, hungry, and all done. It was a whole lot of fun.

For my own education, I have been looking up words as I want to know them on the internet. As I was looking up some words on the American Sign Language University (ASLU) site, I found that they offer free lessons for people like me who just want to learn. The first lesson is mostly signs I learned long ago, but some have changed in that time, so it’s always good to make sure I am still up to date on the signs. The lessons that ASLU has to offer are what they have for college credit too though you have to register and pay for that, so it is a good course. The only thing different is that I don’t have the CDs to use for reference, but I think most of it is on the site, so I don’t think it will be a problem. So far, I’m finding it fun and interesting. The nice part of taking the free lesson is that I don’t have to do the research paper, though I can if I want. What do you all think? You want me to do a small research paper on something that has to do with sign language and put it on here? I don’t know if I’d want to do one as big as what is required for the paid course, but I might like to do a small one to help me with my understanding of the deaf community.

Yesterday, after two cups of coffee, I was so hyped up.  I was browsing the internet, talking on IM to one friend, signing our Christmas cards, and for a little while was talking on the phone to another friend.

Anyone have a way to really get me out of this post-Thanksgiving funk? I miss my family and Ash. It was so wonderful to have them around. Even listening to Christmas music isn’t helping and I usually LOVE that.

Oh, and now that everyone else is okay, I’m getting sick.  Sinus pressure and slight scratchy throat.

I’ve been enjoying learning how to modify pictures. Jeremy taught me a new thing with our Gimp image editor this week. This is one of the pictures I played with:

I wanted to isolate one color on Noelle and make the rest black and white. This was my first attempt at it and I’m pleased with the results.

I also posted another picture I did on my Vox site.

Click on pictures to see larger.

I am so extremely tired. As one friend who’s met me on IM late at night knows, I’ve not been sleeping well for a while. I either have trouble getting to sleep or I wake up around 3 and can’t get back to sleep. I usually have one day a week (usually Saturday or Sunday) when I’ll completely crash and take a good, long nap. I haven’t crashed in about 3 weeks though and it’s been showing up on my stress levels. Today though, I have a good reason for needing that nap. I’m not sure when I actually went to bed, but it wasn’t too late. Usually reading helps me to relax, but last night it just wasn’t working. I know it was after midnight when I finally got to sleep. I was woken up a few times after that. Jeremy was running a small fever and tossed and turned and Noelle woke up twice crying. One of those times Amie let her come cuddle in bed with her. The third time, she didn’t stop crying. I went up and got her and we cuddled on the couch. She was extremely upset. I changed her diaper and got her a drink which really helped her to settle down. She was so tired, but kept talking and talking. Finally, I got her to lay down and we both drifted off. She woke up a few times, but slept most of the time. I didn’t sleep well with her beside me and one cat would come and cuddle for a little while and then switch off and let the other one cuddle. Tiger Lily decided my toes were fun toys under the blanket at one time. The kids woke me up around 8 am to get them breakfast and Amie needed medicine for an ear ache. Now I’m feeling extremely out of it.

Lullaby and good night, go to sleep, my dear self.

I would really like it back, please.

Remember how I was sick last week?  Well, I was feeling mostly better on Monday and feeling like myself by Tuesday, but I still don’t have my voice completely back.  Yesterday, I went to choir practice at church and I had to stop a lot to rest my voice AND I couldn’t sing either the lower or higher notes, only the ones in the middle.  If you know me well, you know this is really hard on me.  I sing all the time and I don’t enjoy not being able to.  At the moment I’m listening to some songs and can’t sing along with them or I’ll strain my voice and I don’t want that.  *sigh*  I want my voice back.

I remember many things about a house we lived in down in TN until I was just out of third grade. I remember going sledding on the slope in the cow pastures across the road. I remember climbing a huge tree that grew on the edge of that pasture with my dad. I remember taking walks in the woods surrounding the house. I remember trying to fish in the nearby lake and catching my mom. I remember that we had only two year-round neighbors and one summer neighbor nearby and everyone else (to my child’s mind) lived far away. I remember having to walk a ways to get picked up by the school bus. I remember learning to ride my bike there. I remember my dad building a deck onto the house along with a picnic table. I remember him also building us a really, really neat playground which he designed himself. I remember disobeying my mom and taking my kite out when it was a bit too windy and my string snapping. I remember watching that kite fly higher and higher over the pasture until it was out of sight and wishing I’d listened to my mom. I remember one summer when all three of us decided to try to go down the slide into the kitty pool together and the slide collapsing. I remember when my mother was in labor with my brother, trying to get my sister and I dressed before the neighbor came and having to stop frequently and just take deep breathes. I remember trying to ride down a very steep, long hill on a gravel road on my bike and wiping out (another thing my mom had told me NOT to do.) I remember my dad warning us to never mess with the black snakes in the woods, but my brother and I went hunting for one anyway and he caught one. I remember…

A few friends of mine did a Johari window and I thought it was kind of fun, so I put my name in for one.

http://kevan.org/johari?name=Pixiemom

You pick the five traits you think describe me best.  I think it would be interesting to know what my internet friends, most of whom I’ve never met, think are my good traits.

Know what today is?

Just a note to say thank you to all the people who were praying for me during the confusion I was having.  My co-leader and I are staying in our positions and all is going well.  The director is reorganizing everything and we are all happy with the roles we have been given to do.  I’m sure God was working in all this and now my confidence in what I do has been strengthened.

In other words, I’m very tired.  Last night I was up for at least two hours, probably more.  Noelle started crying first.  I let her cry for a little while thinking she was going to go back to sleep, but she came downstairs.  I found her curled up on the bottom stair when I came out of my room.  She has a rash and her diaper was dirty.  She had come down to get it changed because it was bothering her.  I took care of that and then rocked her back to sleep.  Just after getting back in bed, our front screen door slammed.  It has a tendency to do that if not latched properly.  I went out and closed it the correct way.  (BRRRR, it was really cold at 1 am even in my heavy sweats!!)  It took me a little while to get myself warmed up and settled after that.  I read a few pages of the book I’m in at the moment and started to nod off when I heard a noise in the kitchen.  The kittens were both in the living room and were just as startled as I was.  I went back there and checked everything out, but didn’t find anything.  Whatever it was stopped the noise once I turned on the light.  I again went into the living room and read a few pages and heard the noise again.  I checked under the sink where we’d blocked off a hole where animals had climbed up (that’s another post, with pictures) and it looked as if something had been scratching it.  I’m guessing the noises I heard was that.  I finally got to bed not long after that and didn’t wake up until the 7 am alarm went off in town.  (Have I told you the town still has the old factory alarms?)  Anyway, now I’m exhausted.  I need a nap today.  Thankfully, the kids seem to be eager to get their school work done quickly, so I may be able to get a bit of rest later.

Yeah, I’m still confused.  Other people are questioning whether what I believe is God’s Will for my service to Him is what I should be doing.  Right now, I’m continuing in it and will continue unless I’m told to stop or I feel that it is no longer God’s Will.  The girl that I have mentored and who has become my co-leader is having the same thing, only it’s a little worse for her because a few people only see her age and not her spiritual maturity.  I keep reminding her of 1 Timothy 4:12.

This is really hard on both of us.  For those of you praying, I thank you so much.

I’ve been posting a little on my Xanga blog.  Not an extreme amount, but I’ve started putting some of my personal Bible study thoughts on it again.  I’m thinking of making a lesson out of the latest Proverbs one I did for my youth girls.  We’re going to have a girls only time about testimonies soon and I think it can be applied in there as something to strive for as our personal daily living testimonies.

I just checked to see how long ago it was that I posted my testimony on here.  Wow!  It was almost a year and a half.  If you want to read it again or if you haven’t read it yet, than go check it out.

The Truly Ultimate Makeover 

Lord, I’m so confused.  I don’t understand what all is going on right now.  I am sure You will get it all straightened out.  My service and my friend’s service to You here is being questioned by others and it is so hard to keep myself from worrying about it.  I know You have it all under control.  Please help me to be calm and figure out why You are letting this happen.  Thanks for Your presence with me at all times.  I can feel the Spirit working in me letting me know that You are working on this.  You had just the right scripture for me to read in my daily devotions last night.  I praise You for all that You are doing for me.  Amen.

Last night, as I was reading through Psalm 24 for my daily devotion time, I suddenly burst into song.  One from Handel’s Messiah based on that Psalm, specifically verses 7 and 8.  I think I startled Jeremy.

I sit here with a bad headache and dizziness. Please accept my sincere apoligies for the unimaginative briefness of my lastest posts.

I’m addicted.

I’m so worn out.  We’re still unpacking stuff.  We finally got the big trash pile picked up, so our driveway is kind of clear.  There are still little pieces of trash out there that need to be picked up.  I’ll send the kids out to do that after dinner tonight when it is cooler.  All I have to say is that I’ll pay them and they will do it.  Never mind that it will probably only be a quarter each.  They think that is richness.

Anyway, I just feel so worn out with everything and keeping up with the never-ending laundry, dishes, and other housework stuff.  I do have to admit though that our living room is looking ok now.  Only ok, because the furniture is all about the same age as I am and nothing matches, but our friends don’t care.  Now if only the dining room could get cleared out.

I sure think so!

This is random, so I don’t think it would be so close to everyone’s name.  I thought it was funny how it came up with mine on the first try.  I tried Pixiemom and I really didn’t like what it came up with on the first two times.  I’m not posting those results.

has been posted here at ABA.  It is pretty long.  The short version… we loved it and can’t wait to go back.

This week is our VBS at church.  I’m teaching the 7th-8th grade class.  It’s challenging.  They just want to have fun and not really do a lesson.  I was so frustrated yesterday as I was trying to teach them about the story of Esther and the courage she showed as she trusted in God to keep her and the other Isrealites safe during this time.  I wish I could get them to understand how important these Bible stories are to them.  They just kept goofing off and wanting to go out and play volleyball instead or have a “snowball” fight with little foam balls we had over there.  On Sunday night, we did the story of Elijah and his courage at Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18).  One girl seemed interested and answered lots of the questions I asked and really seemed to get it.  She wasn’t there last night.  I hope she comes back the rest of the week though.  I think she’d help some of the others to join in and answer instead of either 1) just sitting there and not saying anything or 2) making silly remarks and joking about the lesson.

Sometimes I just feel so discouraged while working with the youth.

Oh, James, Christine, and AnnaBeth are really enjoying their VBS classes.  I don’t know how much they are absorbing of it, but they about had a fit when we turned up slightly late yesterday because I thought it started at 7pm and it had actually started at 6:30pm.  I was just getting there thinking I would have a little less than half an hour to go over my lesson again before the other kids came.  Oops.  My fault.  They’ve always had it start at 7pm on the weekdays before, so I assumed instead of actually looking at the schedule.

Well, I don’t know about weight since we don’t have a scale here, but I’ve lost inches. I went out and bought two pairs of capris that are two sizes smaller than my jeans. Those jeans were getting a bit tight at the beginning of this year, but now they are nice and loose. You should have heard me give a big “Woohoo!” in the dressing room when I tried my first pair of capris on. Upon exiting the dressing room, the attendent said, “I guess you were able to get into the size you were hoping for.” LOL

I woke this morning hurting. Remember my shoulder surgery. It’ll be two years in August since I had it. That same muscle is hurting. I can barely move my arm. The last time this happened, a few days of rest worked, so hopefully that’s all I need. I forget that I’m not supposed to pick up heavy things and with moving boxes around and all, I’ve picked up a few of them which are probably a bit heavier than I should be lifting. This bothers me so much, I really am wanting to try and get this house in order, but I need my arm to do it.

I need a girls’ night out. Anyone up for it? Oh, wait… I think none of you live close enough. *sigh* Oh, well.

I love Salsa con queso with extra salsa.  Too bad I really don’t need to eat much of that kind of stuff.

Matthew tagged me. I thought this would be kind of fun and let you all know something more about me. I hope I can think of some things.

1. I have five kids. We had actually planned on six. That’s right, six! Because of problems with pregnancy though, we decided to stop. Also, if we count the one baby which is in Heaven, we do have six.

2. I love broccoli and don’t like much fruit.

3. I’m the one who teaches sports to my son and takes him to the high school games. I love baseball, basketball, football, and badminton. Volleyball is growing on me. Jeremy only cares for soccer.

4. I’m proud to have grown up in “the back hills of Tennessee” (always said in my southern accent) and then add… that’s why I was barefoot and pregnant for my first seven years of marriage. LOL

5. If asked I will tell you how old I really am (30) and if you are really nosey, I’ll even tell you the correct weight, but not online.

6. I love learning about different animals and their internal anatomy. I enjoy learning the different types of plants as well, but start talking about their parts and I’ll glaze over.

There ya go. And I’ll tag six people who want to do this as well.

EDIT: I tagged my 1997 playgroup board.  I can’t wait to see what some of them list.

A migraine. Those headaches that just don’t let you function normally. I have two loads of laundry waiting to be folded and more waiting to be done. I got more dishes washed this morning and I think that was the end of them until we get more boxes from the storage unit. I’m going to rest for a while and hope this goes away. It’s making me sick to my stomach.

Oh, and I have NO idea where any of my medicines are. I may send Jeremy out for something if this isn’t gone when he comes home.

Ok, now for Key West and the trip home, plus an update on what’s been going on around the house.

Read the rest of this entry »

Okay, today I’ll tell about Nassau, Bahamas and Royal Caribbean’s private island, Cococay. It’s VERY long!

Read the rest of this entry »

I’ll update you all later. I need to spend some time with my kids and Jeremy right now.

The house got two and a half rooms painted today. We haven’t done trim yet in them, but did most of the walls. We painted the dining room and most of the kitchen a light yellow color. They had them painted pink. We got the girls’ room painted, a dark pink on the bottom and a very light pink at the top. Now we need to get a border to put in the middle. I bought the paint for James’s room, but we didn’t get to it this time. Maybe next time. All the trim is going to be done in antique white. I didn’t finish the kitchen because I couldn’t reach over the counter very well. I think Jeremy is going to have to finish it, plus it has tall ceilings so we need to borrow a ladder to reach the top 3 feet of the walls.

Jeremy did the stair railing on the mid-landing and from there on up to the second floor. He only has to finish the landing up there. It looks really good, much better than it had before.

He’ll have plenty of time to work on the house this next week. My Dad is taking me on vacation. For my 30th birthday back in September, he got me a cruise. Well, because of all the hurricanes, it was cancelled the first time we scheduled it in October, so we rescheduled it for this week. At the time, we didn’t know it would also be right after buying a house. Jeremy and I hadn’t even started looking when my Dad had to reschedule. All I knew was that the kids’ ballet and drama was off this next week for Spring Break, so it would be okay for me to be gone. My mom is taking the kids down to Jill’s house in St. Louis for the week. Jeremy has work, so he’s going to stay at the house and when he’s not doing his regular work, he’ll be doing house stuff. Poor boy. He’ll need a vacation when we get back.

Anyway, I’ll be gone for a little while. I’ll see you all when I come back and I’ll give a BIG update. Both on what I did and how much Jeremy did on the house while I was gone. See you all later!!

I have a fever. Yesterday, I had one off and on. I feel awful. Even with a t-shirt and sweater on, I feel really cold. I know I shouldn’t bundle myself up in blankets, that will only make my temperature go up, but that’s what I want to do right now.

I don’t think Jeremy got a lot of sleep last night. I was hot, so I’d throw the blankets off and then a little while later, I’d be freezing, so I get back under them and cuddle next to him. I tossed and turned from having a headache and achy muscles. I just feel yucky. I hope this is done soon.

We had visitors yesterday and today and I just didn’t feel up to socializing. I stayed back in my room with the curtain up and the gate locked so their little girl couldn’t come in. I hope I was able to keep my germs away from them, but my kids (who seem healthy right now) were playing with their kids, so I doubt it. Maybe they’ll be able to fight it off.

I’m going to go lay down again. I hope I’m better tomorrow. We are planning on shopping for the stuff we need for our house.

Now, I don’t usually do these. Mostly because I don’t have the time to do them or I forget not long after I leave the site I was tagged from. This time Phisch tagged me for a Bible meme. It took some thinking, but here it is.

1. Who is your favourite Biblical personage, other than Jesus?

Well, I really like Ruth. She risked everything to stay with Naomi. Because of her nationality, she could have been killed once they got to Bethlehem. She knew it, but also knew the Lord and how He wanted her to do this. He protected her and for her faith, she was rewarded by being in the lineage of Jesus. Wow! What an honor. Plus, I’m a romantic and her story is very sweet.

2. What is your favourite book of the Old Testament?

Ok, so I already told you that I love the book of Ruth, so I’ll give you my second favorite. That would be Genesis. I have probably read through that book at least 15 times by myself. I really enjoy reading of all those men and women who had been chosen by God to do different things. They had their faults and doubts, but God used them and helped them to become the Godly people we think of.

3. What is your least favourite book of the Old Testament?

I don’t really have one, but I guess the one I’d rather not have to read as often would be Leviticus. I enjoyed reading all those laws and stuff and relating it them to how Jesus now saves us, but it was hard work and very slow reading.

4. What is your favourite non- gospel book of the New Testament?

That’s a hard one. I enjoy reading in Acts about the early churches and the people that helped build them. I like in Romans 6 how it talks about getting rid of the old man and living our new lives. I like in 1 Corinthians 13, reading all about love. I like in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-23 of the things Paul tells us to do. I like Revelation because it tells about what I get to look forward to after I die. I guess it’s really hard to pick just one of them.

5. What is your life verse?

I would have to say Hebrews 12:1-2

1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Always remember to look to Jesus and remember what He did for us, while patiently going through this race while we are in this world full of people who need to see us as a testimony to His goodness and sacrifice. Amen and Amen.

6. Tag 5 people who might want to play

Ummm… I have no idea. Like I said, I haven’t done any of these before. I really enjoyed reading Phisch’s and Linda’s and would love to read anybody else’s if they choose to do this.

I got this from Ash.

The Five Love Languages

My primary love language is probably
Quality Time
with a secondary love language being
Physical Touch.

Complete set of results

Information

Unhappiness in relationships, according to Dr. Gary Chapman, is often due to the fact that we speak different love languages. Sometimes we don’t understand our partner’s requirements, or even our own. We all have a “love tank” that needs to be filled in order for us to express love to others, but there are different means by which our tank can be filled, and there are different ways that we can express love to others.

Take the quiz

I went out for a little while yesterday, but had no books to read and no girls to go with me. I only know of three women around here who I’m close enough to to ask for a night out with. One was working, one was out of town, and the other had a baby not too long ago and I didn’t want to bother her yet. I just went to Walmart and picked up a few things. I was only gone for about 2 hours and it takes 30 minutes just to get to Walmart. Well, at least I got some exercise while I was out. I probably walked around the whole store. I got the Lady and the Tramp DVD. I love that movie… “We are Siamese, if you please. We are Siamese, if you don’t please.” I also got a new toy container for the kids. What we’ve been using is a big cardboard box and it’s ripping down one side. I got a few other things, but nothing exciting (unless you are Noelle, she’ll be happy because I got more copy paper which is what I give her for drawing on.)

Well, maybe I ought to get off and finish that washcloth I’m crotheting. I’m about halfway done. I’ve done a few of them. One granny square regular size, one granny square small size (for the kids playset), and one double crocheted rows small size. The one I’m working on is just double crocheting back and forth in rows. I plan on making a few more. The next one will probably be rows alternating between single, double, and triple crochet.

I’m sorry. If you don’t crochet, you probably have no idea what I’m talking about up there.

I’m a bit stressed out with what is going on around here right now. I’m hoping my sweet, loving, caring husband (who reads my blog) will allow me a night out tonight. I don’t know if there are any other ladies or girls who would want to join me, but I’d like it if I could find someone. I just love a good girls night out.

I woke the other morning with an interesting dream still lingering in my head. It was so weird and vivid that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. Okay, here it is, and I haven’t added or exaggerated any of it… (it’s a bit long)

Read the rest of this entry »

I love football. My Dad got me into it and then when I was in high school and marching band, I got to go to lots of football games. That’s when I started really cheering with all my friends. You should see me. I get so excited and shout at the TV. Not bad stuff, just RUN, RUN, RUN… GO, GO, GO and that kind of stuff. I don’t really have any certain team that I strongly want to win this year, but I’ll enjoy watching it anyway. I’ve been thinking of rooting for the Seahawks since this is their first chance at a Super Bowl win and I think it’d be great if they could get it.

Anyway, our youth group is having a party tonight. They got a big kick out of my cheering last year. They said they watched me more than the game.

I’m puffed up with pride over the little hat that I crocheted for Noelle’s baby doll. I got a picture of it on baby with Jeremy’s mom’s camera and will post it once she e-mails it to me.

Hmmm, pride goeth before a fall… I wonder, will my next crochet project fail miserably. LOL

I felt awful yesterday. I started having a headache on Sunday, a few hours after morning church. Some Aleve helped and I was okay until Monday morning (when Christine got sick in my last post.) I thought at first that the headache I was having that day and on Tuesday was just from lack of sleep. On Tuesday night (or Wednesday morning in reality,) I woke at 2 am with a horrible stomach ache. Not sure what all was going on, since the headache and that were my only symptoms. It kept me up until 4 am. I got a little more sleep before the kids woke me at 7:30 am. Thankfully, Amie and James are quite capable of getting breakfast (cereal and milk) and lunch (sandwiches) while I watched from the couch. They played quietly in the living room, where Grandma Anna stays, during naptime and I slept the full 3 hours with the younger kids. Jeremy’s dad was kind enough to fix hot dogs for their dinner even though he had to get to church to lead Wednesday night Bible Study. I was very grateful. They used paper plates and cups, so the only dish we had to worry about was Noelle’s sippy cup. I slept ALL night last night and am feeling better. My headache is subsiding slowly today and I’ve got no more stomach pain.

Because of all this sickness, I’m so behind on doing after-Christmas stuff, so I’ve been extra busy today. I’ve done two loads of laundry, gone through two of the kids drawers to get rid of some old clothes to have room to put in the new ones, and re-organized the bathroom cabinet because everything we took for our trip had been just stuffed in or left on the sink’s counter and the cabinet door wasn’t closing completely. Very tempting for a little two year old. I still have three kids’ drawers to go through, the toy box to tackle, as well as another load or two of laundry and some hemming for Amie’s skirt and a pair of AnnaBeth’s pants. Maybe the weekend will give me the time to finish all these things.

I don’t like braving the crowds on this day, but I have some friends who will get up at 5 am and be out hitting the stores at 6 am. They browse through the “Black Friday” shopping lists days in advance to know which store they want to hit first for the best things. I just tell them, “Good Luck, have fun, and I hope you are able to get what you want.” As for me, I just laze around on this day. I’ll only go shopping if there’s a really, really good reason (like no diapers.) Jeremy and I are talking of going out later today, but not to any stores. Just have a little date. Not sure yet. We’ll see.

I’m going to be fixing Thanksgiving dinner for 12 people. Tomorrow, I’m fixing pumpkin pies. On Wednesday, I’ll fix an apple pie, a chocolate pie, and maybe a chocolate cheesecake if I’m feeling ambitious enough. Thursday is the rest of the meal. Jeremy will be helping me a lot on Thursday which will be nice. I may fix one of the other pies on Tuesday since the pumpkin pies aren’t too hard to make.

SO, if I’m not around much the next few days… you’ll know why. I may pop on once or twice if any of my kids say or do something funny.

Sometime during morning chores, I hurt my shoulder again. Not sure exactly how. Not many problems at all since the surgery in August ‘04 and this morning I was hardly able to move it without pain. As soon as I noticed, I used some ibuprofen, put it in my sling to rest, and put an ice pack on it. It’s been about 4 or 5 hours now and not hurting with small moves. I’m not going to try any big moves until tomorrow. I’m hoping a day of rest will help and I’ll be fine. Of course, I’ve heard a drop in temperatures is expected within the next 24 hours and a huge storm, so maybe it’s just predicting that. It’s bothered me a little every once in a while with weather changes, but never like this.

I took a picture of the teardrop dulcimer that Jeremy got me.

I’ve put all posts with pictures into extended posts so that my home site opens quicker for those with slower connections.

Read the rest of this entry »

My birthday present from him FINALLY got here. First, the one he ordered was no longer being made, so he changed his order. That one was out of stock and had to be backordered. I was getting impatient. I had no idea what he’d gotten me and I was going crazy waiting for UPS to deliver it. He was losing patience himself and was ready to cancel the order and try to find one locally when it came…

Read the rest of this entry »

My birthday was a normal Friday, but on Saturday we spent the day at one of Jeremy’s coworker’s houses. He and his wife have 3 children and one on the way. The kids all got along so well and I was able to relax some and have good woman socialization. I miss having that face-to-face. I don’t mind the online stuff and it helps me get through my lonely times, but sometimes I just need someone I can actually see. The four of us adults had about an hour that we took over the Gamecube and played MarioKart. It was really fun, though I’ve lost my touch with that game. I haven’t played it in about 4 years and it was with a different nintendo system and controllers. I think we should get it. I like MY controller at home. It’s a bit smaller than normal cube controllers and with my small hands, it’s easier for me to handle. I may do better with it.

My favorite birthday present so far is a little 9.5″ baby doll by Berenguer that looks like a real little baby. It represents the baby I lost before Amie. I have some other presents coming and I know what a big one from my dad is (I get it in October), but I’m not ready to share about it yet. Jeremy hasn’t gotten me anything yet. Since I’d spent some on the girls’ birthday presents (their party is on Saturday), he is waiting until payday (tomorrow or Wednesday) to get mine.

I don’t feel like it, but when I look at my 5 kids, I realize it has to be true. LOL

I still have a bit of a sore throat today, but it isn’t as bad. What I hate the most is that I clench my jaw when my throat hurts and end up with a headache that’s worse than the pain in my throat. I’ve been taking some ibuprofen which helps a lot.

I have a VERY sore throat. I’m also very tired. The problem… I can’t get a substitute teacher and just sleep in. I can still do my teaching from the couch and I need to stay alert in case anything goes on with my 5 children. The kids are doing well, so I guess it’s all okay. I just want to take a nap sometime today though, so I hope Amie and James can finish before naptime is over so I can rest a little.

Yes, I do! It’s on Xanga. I post about what I’m reading in my Bible. You’ll get a small inkling of what Jeremy hears each night as I’m reading. I don’t update it as much as this one, but if you want to know what I’m thinking about as I’m reading through my Bible, take a look. I have to warn you though. Only Xangans can post comments. I don’t think there’s a way to let everyone post. Just give me an e-mail if you really want to discuss something with me. I believe I have a link on that page.

I started it when my cousin, Becca, began her blog at Xanga. I tried to comment and couldn’t. I was putting down my thoughts of what Jeremy was teaching in Sunday School and Youth Group in a notebook, but was thinking of starting another blog anyway to put it all on. Instead, it’s become my way of putting my thoughts of my daily Bible study up. Everyonce in a while, I’ll talk about something Jeremy taught or tell about what’s going on in my life or at youth.

At this moment, I have four children on the floor trying to do exercises. All because I said something about needing to remember to exercise. Well, if they can help me remember that’d be great. Why am I not down there with them? I’m still eating lunch. I’m always the last one eating. I get Noelle and AnnaBeth’s food ready, help Christine with hers and sometimes help Amie or James if they need it. By the time my food is actually ready to eat, they are all done with theirs. Anyway, once I’m done eating and letting my food settle some, I’ll do some exercising. I need to keep my body in shape and keep my shoulders working okay. If I don’t exercise enough, my shoulder that I had surgery on gets stiff and hurts if I try anything out of the ordinary, but as long as I keep it limber it does fine. I’ve learned how to keep my shoulder limber and incorporate the rest of my body into the exercises so I won’t have thin strong arms with a flabby body. LOL That’s quite a picture isn’t it?

We still had a last payment to make for the expensive repairs the van needed last month. We paid it with this last paycheck. Next Wednesday is Jeremy and my 9 year anniversary. Unfortunately, nothing left for us to do anything, not even a dinner out. Oh well, I guess we’ll just wait until the 13th and have the youth trip to Six Flags be our anniversary outing also. It’s Christian Family Day there and we’re all going to the Third Day concert that night. It’s just not going to be the same. We’re not going to be alone, instead we’ll have about 15 teens to supervise. Not that it won’t be fun. I know I’m going to have a blast.

Sorry to talk about it here. I’m just disappointed and needed to get it out of my system. I think part of my attitude is contributed to by lack of sleep at the moment. Noelle was up fairly often two nights ago and every half an hour last night and I wasn’t able to get a nap yesterday or today. I’m exhausted.

I really, really want this swim top from Land’s End. It has a nice high neckline and I can wear it with my swim shorts. I like the light cobalt color best and I wear a size 8 or 10.

Ok, ok. I know no one is going to get it for me, but I can try, can’t I? *smile*

I know you all probably are tired of reading about me, but the kids aren’t doing anything original right now… they’re just being kids.

On Sunday, I noticed the bulletin said workers were needed for the nursery during church. We have two people who usually end up down there when it says that and they hardly ever get to be up in service to worship with the adults, so I went down and refused to let them work this time.

Guess what? There was a little one down there this week. She was so beautiful and has such a calm disposition. Even when she was hungry and wanted a bottle, she didn’t really cry, she just rooted around and fussed a teeny bit. I had three others down there in the baby nursery, all girls; AnnaBeth who belongs in the toddler room, but since I was down there she came over, Noelle, and a 9 month old. The 9 month old was needy and liked being held a lot. No problem. I held her while the baby was sleeping. She finally got down and started playing with toys just before the baby woke. When I picked up the baby, she wanted to be held again. No problem. I held them both. I’ve done that many times. Then Noelle wanted up. Ok, I had to think about that. I used to have three in my lap when Christine was a baby, but it’d been a while. I figured it out and she enjoyed hugging the 9 month old and stoking the baby’s arm. I sat there and sang songs to them with AnnaBeth singing along and they really seemed to enjoy it. Noelle and the other girl didn’t mind too much when I had to put them down to feed and diaper the baby and I just enjoyed watching those little smiles and hearing those little coos again.

What I thought was really funny was when people heard I’d had the baby nursery by myself with four little ones and they said I was brave. I just replied that it was easier than what I do everyday.

It sure felt nice to hold that baby in my arms. I can go for a little while before needing another fix.

I was so stressed on Saturday. Jeremy has been working long hours putting in or fixing computer networks in different school systems while they are on school break. He had to work on Saturday as well. He got home about 4:00 pm just as I was starting to fix dinner. As soon as dinner was done, I put him in charge and left. I just had to have a Mommy time out. I went to Dairy Queen with Sherlock Holmes and got some food and a drink. After a while of reading, I called and talked to my Dad. It really helped, plus I got a nice blizzard before leaving, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups with chocolate ice cream. Yum!

I could see a difference in my attitude when I got home. Amie’s new scooter (that James had ridden without her knowledge) and Christine’s tricycle were sitting right where I needed to park. Instead of getting very angry with them (as I would have before leaving) I just calmly told James and Christine to put them away. They are supposed to put them away when they are done playing with them, but you know kids. Actually, Amie has been doing a good job of taking care of her new scooter, probably since she bought it herself.

Anyway, I think I’ll do that every once in a while. Mr. Holmes and Dr. Watson are nice companions and I just have to get some down time somedays.

Sometimes you don’t realize you have a nervous habit until it hurts. I have found two. One, I push my hair back, more so when I’m agitated at something. Two, I rub my forehead. At the moment, my boo-boo from yesterday makes both of those actions hurt. You can’t see a bruise and the little place where it was bleeding is up at my hairline, so it isn’t easy to see either, but it feels as if most of the right frontal eminance is sore and tender. (Look that one up if you don’t remember your anatomy lessons from high school. LOL)

Well, I’ve got a nice piece of my head missing. Ok, so it’s not really that big. I was rearranging the videos and DVDs so they weren’t ready to fall over and dropped one. Bent over to retrieve it and hit my forehead on the corner of a dresser. I didn’t realize it was an open sore until after I’d put ice on it. I pulled the ice away and saw a little blood. I think the ice helped slow any bleeding and since I got it on so fast, it didn’t bleed near as much as many head injuries. A small hole up near my hairline has been covered with a liquid bandage. Thankfully, my bangs should cover it up. I took some pain meds, but I can still feel a low throbbing. I think I need to rest some while the kids nap now.

On a good note, I found a lot of sock pairs that I’d been missing while doing some cleaning. The kids now have plenty of socks again. Some of the socks had been put into a plastic bag until the other one showed up in the wash (usually I find them within a day) and had somehow been stuffed back behind and under where we keep the videos. I’ve been missing these for at least a month if not two. I was wondering where they’d been put.

Today was my angel’s day. She was due on this day 8 years ago. I’ve always kept this day special for her and we’ve always done something, but today I slept on the couch most of the day while Jeremy’s mom watched the kids playing in the kiddie pool outside. Noelle slept a lot of the day away with me.

Oh, and the kids left the soccer ball under a vehicle and it was run over. James is not happy.

I’m feeling much better. My throat is still raw, but it doesn’t hurt much anymore. I’ve been downing green tea like crazy. I love that stuff when I’m sick. Actually, I like it all the time, but when I’m sick it’s my drink of choice as opposed to my usual drinks which in the morning is a hot chocolate and in the evening a Dr. Pepper.

I’ve got a sore throat and a headache, but I still have to take care of these 5 wonderful kids. I hope I feel better later today or if not, at least tomorrow.

It’s been 6 weeks since I broke my toe (or since Jeremy broke my toe, depending on how you see it. LOL) Anyway, on Sunday I wore my nice shoes with the wide inch high heels (only ones I have) and was able to get around all during Sunday School and Morning service. My foot was aching a little afterwards so I put my pink and purple lite-ups on, but I was happy to finally be able to completely dress up for church. I always felt a little funny wearing those flashing lights with my skirt or nice slacks.

He didn’t change it. Today is the 14th. After this post, I used my website caretakers login and password and figured out how to change the time. I was right, it was set on the wrong time zone.