In Need of Mercy

Tired

2011-12-06T23:48:00.000-05:00

I'm so tired! I feel like all I do is Go, Go, Go! I want to cut back and I don't know what to cut out! I'm praying about it and hopefully I'll get it all figured out soon. My kids aren't in a ton of stuff, but it just seems like there are commitments everywhere I turn. I'm going to see if I can find some new head shots of my kids, since the ones up must be two years old and that sounds like a nice relaxing thing to do =)!

Hope you all have a terrific Wednesday!

Teaser Tuesdays (Sept. 13)

2011-09-12T23:33:00.004-04:00

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

Mine is from The Bone House by Stephen Lawhead

Pg. 48

"Kit was mightily relieved to discover that his first attempts at communication were met with success. Whatever time he had landed in, Westerners were apparently a common enough sight among the locals that it did not provoke instant alarm; at least, his appearance did not send them reaching for weapons or running for cover."

Life with Little Ones

2011-09-12T14:44:00.000-04:00

Life with little ones is busy, crazy, fun, exhausting and always an adventure! Of course some of the little ones here aren't so little! I'll update the side pics later today. I've now got a 7th, 5th and 1st grader, as well as a 3 1/2 yr old going on 10 so he thinks! I'm watching a 2 yr old boy during the week as well!
Madline loves to draw and have a messy room (it drives me crazy, constant battle) guess she's creative. She inherited by old pin that says "I'm not messy just creative", she is still in Girl Scouts and does well at school. I wish she was a bit more social, we are working on that. PJ is involved in Robotics and Scouting as well as Church and friends, he seems to have something to do every day, he does pretty well at school too and still loves his video games. Nate is doing good in first grade, he just started as a Tiger Cub Scout, he loves to tell silly jokes and make lego creations. Joshy loves going to church and playing outside, he is a big talker and is enjoying and struggling with having another little guy around most days. He's used to being the baby, but you better not call him the baby =)

Couples Who Pray by SQuire Rushnell and Louise DuHart

2011-08-01T23:03:00.000-04:00

Couples Who Pray: The Most Intimate Act Between a Man and a Woman
by Squire Rushnell and Louise DuArt

This book started out with lots of background stories and such to boost up the book and the value of praying together as a couple. The authors challenge you to pray with your spouse for 5 minutes a day for 40 days to build and establish the habit and therefore the many blessings that come with it. I whole heartedly agreed and was encouraged by reading this. Unfortunately it did not convince my husband to do it with me. I felt my husband gave up reading to quickly as it started out with so much build up, I wish it would have gotten to the important parts a bit quicker. That being said there is still definitely value in this book for couples looking to develop the habit of praying together! Not one of my top books, but I'd give it 3 stars just for the whole concept.

The publisher provided me with a complimentary copy of this book through BookSneeze®.

Tomorrow's Another Day

2011-07-18T09:33:00.000-04:00

Today is fine, it's just not feeling real great. Some things have happened in my life lately that I don't necessarily want to make public (as if anyone reads this) but I know that I'll get through them just fine.
Making some banana-chocolate chip muffins, my kids love these even though I don't! I was out of white flour and did 100% WW hope they still like them!

I'm struggling to read through the book A Severe Mercy, it's a love story of a pagan love and coming to know a God's love, or something like that as I'm not to anything about God yet, I'm stuck in the lovey dovey 'perfect' pagan love part.

I've read a few good books by Connie Willis somewhat recently including Blackout and the sequel All Clear. These are mostly set in WWII England and are really great books once you get in a few chapters to the first one. The chapters go back and forth to different characters and years. There is time travel and modern day is considered 2060. Defintely worth the read in my opinion!

Time is Just a Flyin'

2011-07-05T13:50:00.000-04:00

Wow, who knows the last time I posted but I'm here now and that's what counts =)! The summer is flying by! Just played outside with the boys! Bubbles and bikes and scooters. Nate fell off his bike for the second day in a row. I'm going to have wrap in bubble wrap or something! Joshy is playing Batman on the Wii for a few before he lays down for a nap. Then I've got to help Madeline with her mermaid tail she wants me to make. She's taken the initiative and started making a pattern! So now I've got to do my part! Madeline will be 12 years old this week and as of lately she is obsessed with mermaids! I blame this partly on this show!
PJ has started going to a Lego Robotics Club, which he really likes and seems to be pretty educational.
We plan on going swimming this afternoon if it doesn't storm! Last week there were storms everyday! Anyways that's all for now, got to get back to the kiddos!

Bike Riding

2011-02-26T10:31:00.001-05:00

So let me give you some background! NONE of my kids knew how to ride a bike without training wheels. That would include my 11, 9, 6 and of course 3 yr old. Nate, my 6 yr old was the most willing, he asked me to take of his training wheels one day and I did. I decided to go ahead and take PJ's off too because it didn't make sense that he still had his on. So Nate practiced a little but didn't get anywhere and quickly gave up and didn't want to try again. But one day I got determined and made him try again. This time it went great! He learned within a few minutes he was all over the place! Pedro had to help him a little later with the taking off, so in one day he was riding like an old pro! PJ was at his friend's house when this went down. So we told him he was learning the next day! And with a little pushing Pedro taught him how the next day and he was off! That same day Madeline finally gave in and realized she should learn (she really didn't want to), she no longer has her own bike, so she had to learn on PJ's with her knees bent out to the side, I didn't get a picture of her, but she can ride know too, she really taught herself more, she didn't want much help. I think she is going to get a bike for her birthday! Now to teach Joshy!

laptop

2011-02-03T18:33:00.000-05:00

Well my husband has been out of a job now since November =( And he's driving me CRAZY! I need him to go back to work. He has been hogging the computer big time, but he just officially gave me use of this laptop that was doing no good sitting in it's bag. Only problem is it's kind of a pain to hook up my drive with pics and stuff. But I will. He had a second interview and is waiting to hear on that job, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed and praying off course too! Asking God that it please be HIS will for my hubby to get this job!
Sissy just fell off her scotter and scrapped up hands, elbow and her stomach, and she's such a big girl she didn't cry! Meanwhile my boys have all come in and our watching their Daddy play one of their video games (PokePark)! Well got run, just thought about easy it is to blog when you have a computer in your living area!

You Were Made to Make a Difference

2011-01-07T11:03:00.000-05:00

I signed up to review this book, because I have a young daughter who is 11. But I really enjoyed reading this book and being inspired. There were a ton of great stories and great ideas for practical ways to make a difference for God and all of his creation! It made me step back and say 'hey' if he his saying this for teens, then how much more could I, as an adult be doing? The book made me want to read it and it made me want to be a better person. It also reminded me that we don't have to be doing giant things, that little things can change the world too! There were lots of spaces to write out your thoughts and ideas which I didn't do because I was giving it to my daughter, but it seemed like it would make it feel more personal.
I did pass this on to my daughter, but perhaps I should have waited as she's not quite ready to change the world yet! I did notice one day when she was reading it, she came and offered to do the dishes without me asking. =) I imagine she will continue to look through it to. It's definitely one to buy and not borrow! I give this book 5 Stars!

The publisher has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book through Booksneeze!

It's Been Awhile

2010-12-16T16:55:00.000-05:00

It's almost Christmas, boy how time flies! My children are entertaining themselves, well no the TV is doing that job and the house is somewhat quiet so I decided to stop write up a quick post. I obviously am not great at consistency, but blogging has not been a priority. Lets see Nate aka Curly recently lost his first official tooth! He had his front two top teeth pulled over a year ago, so I'm not counting those. So now he has 3 holes in his smile =)! Nate will be turning 6 next week! I can't believe it! Baby Boy aka Joshua will be 3 next month, he is VERY talkative, very sweet and quite a handful or two. Madeline & PJ are loving their school and PJ has even been talking on the phone with his friends. Now Nate's complaining he's bored and only wants to do something fun, so I better run. More later, whenever that might be =).

Broken Arms & Happy Faces

2010-09-29T23:55:00.001-04:00

Well to tell the truth I probably didn't need to use plurals, particularly not twice, as there is only one broken arm around here for the moment!

No need to worry, he's as happy as can be, except for the part where he can't run, jump, climb or ride his scooter!

And ocassionaly he gets a crazy itch that he freaks out about (I know I would too!) Luckily that orange thing is waterproof so if he gets and itch he sprays water down it and that usually does the trick!

If your wondering how the damage was done well he fell off a...............bed! I wasn't home, but rumor has Baby Boy fell on top of him to, then one story said that PJ pushed him and well somehow it got broken! So don't do tricks off your bed!

Then Sings My Soul Saturdays

2010-09-25T00:22:00.000-04:00

Needtobreathe singing Signature of Divine ~ one of my favorite bands (just ask my kids) singing about our Glorious God ~Yahweh
Turn it Up =)
Click on the link up there to go visit Amy for some more great songs this Saturday! And come back tomorrow to find out which one my kids broke their arm.

Cathedrals have tried in vain

To show the image of your face.

But we are, by your design,

The signature of divine.

We'll always sing your name.

Forever and today.

Yahweh, Yahweh...

Great is your glory when you go before me

Oh, we sing...

Holy, Holy...

Your ways are lovely. So high above me.

Yahweh

The fortunes of kings and queens

Are wasted chasing what we've seen.

Cause we are, by your reprieve,

The beauty framed by your suffering.

We'll always sing your name.

Forever and today.

Yahweh, Yahweh...

Great is your glory when you go before me

Oh, we sing...

Holy, Holy...

Your ways are lovely. So high above me.

Yahweh

Take me, and pull me through.

Cause I can't move without you.

I won't leave you alone, you say.

It will be okay.

Yahweh, Yahweh...

Great is your glory when you go before me

Oh, we sing...

Holy, Holy...

Your ways are lovely. So high above me.

Yahweh.

Yahweh, Yahweh...

Great is your glory when you go before me

Oh, we sing...

Holy, Holy...

Your ways are lovely. So high above me.

Yahweh

Ancient of Days...

Yahweh!

Sharing Time

2010-09-18T00:20:00.000-04:00

So I'm feeling really happy that I've been taking more pictures lately. Unfortunately I'm having a tough time sharing them. I went to upload a bunch the other day and all but one dissappeared. I used to use Windows Live Writer, but I'm using hubby's computer and he doesn't want me downloading anything else, evidently I already gave him a virus, that sounds awful, LOL!
So I'm going to see if I can find a few choice pics to share with you =)
By the way I can't stand having the date on the bottom of the pics, but my hubby thinks it's wonderful. I doubt you see it in many future pics ;)

My Curly Nay Nay with a gun!

BabyBoy driving the neighbors dead Barbie Jeep (with another neighbor inside),
he wouldn't get out!

Baby Boy's drawing on the sidewalk of his potty seat, I thought that was hilarious!

Sid the Science Kid

2010-09-13T16:59:00.000-04:00

My Baby Boy loves Sid the Science Kids and so does Curly! Two of A Kind is having a giveaway to win a Sid the Science Kid by Playskool! Today is the last day to enter! Good Luck!

Meringue Cookies and More

2010-09-11T00:29:00.001-04:00

I'm tired, well no wonder it's midnight on a Friday night I suppose I should be sleeping. I just made the most perfect meringue cookies using a modified version of t recipe. I didn't use candy canes as I had none and I added a touch of orange extract. I think I should of cooked them a bit longer though as the middles are a bit chewy. For me an hour and half was long enough to wait. The last time I tried meringue cookies I never got my 'batter' stiff enough, so I was pleased these turned out. I hour and half was long enough to wait. The last time I tried meringue cookies I never got my 'batter' stiff enough, so I was pleased these turned out. I just let my whisk attachment go for about 15 minutes (or maybe more I was multi-tasking) and wha-lah beautiful stiff meringue goo! his
Speaking of goo PJ got some super nifty goo at cubscouts tonight called Area 51 Ooze, it is a really cool slime that is way above par in the slime ooey, gooey, slime world! It glows in the dark and isn't sticky!

So we had a great Labor Day weekend and I'll be sharing pics as soon as I find what my sweet hubby did with the camera cord! That's what I get it for leaving it on his desk!

Well since all the kiddos are sleepin I guess I should too, tata for now!

School, Rain, & Giveaways

2010-08-24T10:05:00.001-04:00

Oh my goodness, the rain here is unrelenting lately! My shirt is still wet from an encounter with it this morning. I took Curly to school! Wish I knew how to share my pictures off my phone, but I don't. I took a picture of him with wet hair and the rain pouring in the background! It was his first day of Kindergarten, he did go to preschool last year for 3 hours a day, but this is full days at a different school. He wanted me to walk him in and of course I did, despite the downpour! I only have a small umbrella and I was trying to keep it over me and Curly, so poor Baby Boy was drenched by the time we made it in. Did I mention their were huge lines of people just waiting to park? The sky looked light night and the only good thing I can think about the rain is there was no lightning! Curly seemed fine with the whole school thing, perhaps not real comfortable, but okay, unfortunately he didn't know anybody, but he will soon!
Sissy and PJ had their first day yesterday, Sissy seemed downright terrified to go to her new school. They are at the same charter school together, he's in 4th and she's in 6th. So after her being a nervous wreck the night before and morning of, she was fine by the time school got out. I think her first comment was 'it was boring'. But she made a new friend and found some fun things to tell me about. She is switching classes like regular middle school, but only 4 times and her whole class stays together. PJ is still in the elementary part so he doesn't switch classes, he is in a big room that has two classes it in a 3rd/4th and a 4th/5th, which is technically his class. He said there was only boys at his table and he made friends with all of them (which probably means he talked to them). I'll post an update on school in a week or two or maybe sooner!

Don't forget to read my review and enter my giveaway for The Heart Mender! Also I just entered a giveaway over at Two of Kind, Working on a Full House for a Flip SlideHD Video Camera! Click on the words and you can enter too, if you want to go buy one you can visit here! Also her post today has a whole list of giveaways you can enter!

The Heart Mender (A Story of Second Chances) by Andy Andrews + Giveaway

2010-08-17T23:14:00.001-04:00

Update: The winner of The Heart Mender by Andy Andrews is Melissa M. Congratulations Melissa you should have an email!

The Heart Mender (A Story of Second Chances)
by Andy Andrews

This book is an endearing tell based on real events, what you would call historical fiction. A German sailor from 1942 finds himself washed up on the Florida coast. What follows is a beautiful but short story of who finds him and how relationships can cross all sorts of barriers, plus a bit of adventure thrown in. Surrounding this tale is a separate one, which tells of the finding of relics and uncovering of bits of the truth, that help tell the historical parts.
While not extremely deep or developed I still highly enjoyed the story. I was also able to share it with my eleven year old daughter who liked it as well. I would recommend this book as a quick read to anyone looking for some enjoyment that is fairly wholesome and uplifting.

Thomas Nelson provided me with a complimentary copy of this book, plus one to give away to one of my readers! Just leave any comment on this post and I will pick a winner randomly after I close comments on August 31st. For an extra entry blog about this giveaway and link back to me, leave a link to your post in your second comment.

Lies and Poop

2010-07-26T23:21:00.000-04:00

So I lied...... Evidently I've not been here for quite some time. So am I back? Well that remains to be seen, but at least I'm here temporarily.

Let me tell you about life!

I've still got 4 kids and 1 husband and a dog and 2 guinea pigs.

It's summer (see that nice summer scene at top) and there is no oil on our beaches that we can see at least.

We've spent a ton of time in the pool this summer and I've got water in my ear to prove it. PJ is swimming without floaties this summer and is a regular old swimmer now. Nate desperately wants to learn and can swim under water, but can't keep himself up very good without floaties. Joshy swims quite well with his floaties (and usually an extra flotation vest) and I've got no intentions of trying to teach this summer, though I am working on getting him to go under water. He always says "dat cared me" when I take him under real quick.

And on that note I've got to say how cute my little stinker is and yes he is a stinker! He had fun with a permanent marker on the wall today. He has no problem admitting what he does wrong. 'Did you bite your brother?' yeah he says back or nods his head (of course at that point I would discipline him). His speech is so cute right now and I know before long he will be talking fully. Right now some of the things he says that are so cute is his 'yeah' he says all the time. It sounds just like that too. I'll see if I can get some video to put on here. I also love the way he says 'ti-ckle me' he says the word tickle like it's two words. Baby Boy is not potty trained my any means. I've really got to work on that, he doesn't have much bladder control that I can tell, but if I'd tried more I'm sure I could have him pooping on the potty (aren't you glad I shared that?) as he has a few times! So let's see he is a pretty good eater, though I'm wondering if I'm already messing that up as I've not been introducing enough new foods on a regular basis and now when I offered a plum today (which we don't usually get) he wanted nothing to do with it.

And let's see Curly is doing good, as noted above about swimming, he eats okay, better than his older brother anyway. Yet he is still my tiny Nater tot, I'm curious to see how he compares to his class mates this fall, he will be staring kindergarten, can you believe that? Nope me neither. He has the hardest time recognizing numbers. So I've been drilling him on that. He only gets in my bed early in the morning most nights (as opposed to sooner). I think we'll probably cut his hair short before school starts.

PJ is growing up slowly. Really can't believe he's 9 sometimes! He is as picky as ever! But still manages to be a healthy weight. He still gets in our bed at night almost every night, but he is able to go to sleep on his own (he had some issues with this last fall). He is really so sweet to his littlest brother, it's so cute, oh Baby Boy says PJ like AJ. Baby Boy loves him back and is always demanding his attention. PJ still plays his games, we just downloaded Chess on the Wii today and he beat me already.

Sissy is getting too old to be called Sissy, she had a birthday this month and is now 11! She's starting to get to the "I'm old enough to do that" age. And it's hard because she is our only girl and the oldest so she gets more responsibility, but also more privilege, but I've had to watch that I don't give her too much. She is still really helpful, but can also be quite sassy. She has recently started shaving (shh don't tell her I told you) and hasn't yet cut herself. I guess razors and cream are better than when I started. In fact I'm not sure we used shaving cream, I really can't remember.

So that's enough for now I promise I'll TRY to come back soon!

Hope everyone else is having a great summer!!!

Still Around

2010-05-16T22:57:00.000-04:00

I'm still around a little bit. For awhile, before we moved, I had my internet 'plugged in' so it worked better and I could visit blogs w/out having to reset my modem multiple times. But the location of my desk versus the router doesn't much allow for that now, so I'm back to having most blogs time out my connection. Anyways, I've been working and I'm unaccustomed to what that means for my life. The work in itself is not hard or stressful, it's just managing the time I'm not working and having any energy left at the end of the day. Also it means I'm barely seeing my hubby at all. Anyways, I'll be back sometime this week to post a few more posts, that might be a bit more interesting than this rambling. TaTa for now!

No Time

2010-05-07T21:21:00.000-04:00

Well I've got so much to say & so little time write, Okay I guess I just don't make the time. But anyways, I'm going to work tomorrow morning for the first time in a LONG time outside of the house. I'm sure it will be fine & dandy, I'm not too worried, it's only temporary work for a few months. So just pray the day goes well and that hubby does fine with the kiddos ALL day, as that's long for him! Hope everyone has a wonderful Mother's day! I already got some great gifts from my kiddos! Flowers and sculptures and cards and CDs, OH MY! Nigh Nigh!

Rub a Dub-Dub….

2010-04-19T10:14:00.001-04:00

Three boys in a tub!

and one on the potty!

He’s clapping for himself and that’s marker on his arm! He is not potty trained by a long shot, but we are slowly working on it. He won’t use the little frog potty we have, only the big potty! Curly told me he had to go potty yesterday and Baby Boy said “No, me potty” and ran and sat down and immediately pooped on the potty! He’s pooped twice on the potty in the past couple of days and once on the carpet! However the pee thing is just a little everywhere! A little in the potty, a little on the rug and well plenty in a diaper or pull up! I tried buying the pull ups where he liked the design and they say ‘cool when wet’, but he does not care about that. Any ideas? I know I probably just need to let him stay naked for awhile, but……. well I’m sure he’ll get trained sooner or later!

Masquerade

2010-04-18T20:29:00.001-04:00

Well my not so little girl is getting older everyday! She went to the Daddy & Me dance this weekend for Girl Scouts, she wore her new tennis shoes with an old dress. The theme was Masquerade, hence the mask! She is letting her hair get really long and does NOT want to cut it! Isn’t she beautiful?

What's He Really Thinking? by Paula Rinehart

2010-04-17T00:44:00.000-04:00

Well I guess Paula's been busy, I know I needed to come write my review of this book I read a little while ago, and then I was looking at Bloom Book Club and their new book for spring, well it's by Paula Rinehart and I was thinking I heard that name before and then five minutes later I decided to get this review written and I realize she wrote this book!
What's He Really Thinking?:
How to Be a Relational Genius with the Man in Your Life
by Paula Rinehart

I thought this book was very insightful into the minds of men in general, sometimes I feel like my man is a special case and all the rules don't apply to him (does everyone think this?) There were lots of wonderful insights, things that were easy to relate to and plenty to make me smile. I love how she talked about our influence on men, and she gave many useful examples of how to talk with the men in our lives, while I mainly thought about my hubby while reading this, you could take much of this and apply it to a son, dad, brother or any other man. If you are having trouble understanding your man or just want to get a bit more insight on them then it might be worth it for you to check it out! This book won't solve all your problems but it is nonetheless interesting and helpful!I would give it 4 out of 5 stars.
This book was given to me to review by BookSneeze! Check them out!

Friday Fragments

2010-04-16T11:55:00.002-04:00

- I got a night off from all 4 of my kids this week - thank you mom & dad

-I desperately need a bathing suit so I can swim w/my kids (not in my clothes)

- I stopped drinking soda 2 weeks ago now- hooray for me!

- Spring break is almost over & I'm not ready for that, where did the time go??

- I started working out again yesterday, does that count ? We've moved closer to the Y that my kids love the play area, the one by my old house Baby Boy would just scream when I left him, this one he runs to go play!

-I bought some cool wall stick ons at the dollar tree yesterday, if I had my camera handy I'd show you a picture!

Finally

2010-04-10T09:54:00.002-04:00

It's finally spring break! I'm so happy to have the kids out of school for the week & not have to worry about all the back & forth and just try & settle into this apartment. The weather has been great lately so we expect to be able to swim & maybe head to the beach one day! Hopefully I'll get some pictures this week! Tata for now!

Good Friday

2010-04-02T09:52:00.003-04:00

And it's a good Friday indeed! My hubby was telling Sissy before school today all about the story of Jesus being sent to the cross and why it happened. He is a much better story teller than I. I was so proud of him for his sincerity and taking the time out in the morning to do this and I was proud of my daughter who had tears in her eyes.

It's Been Awhile...

2010-03-25T14:03:00.004-04:00

I'm still alive, we are in the middle of moving & many exciting milestones and changes in our lives.
Baby Boy is getting talkative & loves to scribble and draw pictures of "mamadaddy" he also has graduated to a toddler bed after he started 'hopping' in and out his crib like he was the Easter bunny!

That's it for now, leaving you w/a shot of my 3 Boys and I'm off to go pack some more!

Two Years Old

2010-02-09T15:13:00.000-05:00

My Baby Boy is hardly a baby anymore! He turned two years old last week! I can’t believe how time flies. He is such a little pistol, literally runs around and shoots you with his hands and waits for you to play dead. I guess that’s what happens when you have two older brothers! He is trying to talk and says quite a bit that I understand. Tonight he came over to me after having some graham crackers and said something like ewhme, which after the second time I realized meant Juice Me, which of course means he wanted some juice. I then tell him to say please may I have some juice whereupon he rubs his chest furiously and smiles while running towards the kitchen! He uses the me form for many things, potty me (no he’s not potty trained), milk me, eat me, out me, daddy me, Elmo me, that is his preferred manner of talking. And he loves his Elmo and friends, though he does enjoy some other characters and toys to! He like Thomas the Train somewhat so I dragged out Thomas toys for him. He will see a Thomas DVD (PJ was a big Thomas fan) and ask me to put it on, then quickly turns around and wants Elmo on.

Anyways here are a few shots on his birthday, we didn’t have a party, just some cupcakes =)!

Yes, I should have fixed the red eyes but I didn’t, wanted to show you how much he enjoyed those cupcakes despite his initial grumpiness.

Not Me Monday

2010-02-08T15:37:00.002-05:00

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I did not just copy that coded intro, no way, not me! Surely if I did it would be because I do NMM every week and can’t come with something original, not because I’ve not blogged in so long I forgot how!

I didn’t already publish a post for tomorrow, because if I had that would seem like a miracle or something.

I’m not going to leave you now with some pictures of Baby Boy’s not so dramatic haircut for which he ACTUALLY behaved quite well!

Before

After ~ he wasn’t cooperating ~

Here you can see his eyes and I’m sure he’s happy he can see!

The Love Dare

2010-01-22T09:48:00.004-05:00

I started the Love Dare today, my husband doesn't know, but I'm also not trying to keep it from him. Pray for us, I feel the enemy is trying to make this hard.

Philippians 2:9-11

⁹Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,

¹⁰that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Breakfast

2010-01-20T14:57:00.001-05:00

The most important meal of the day I’m sure you’ve heard, but is it true? Well I know that cereal is a great, healthy and easy way to enjoy your breakfast! And if you know me you know I like that easy part! I feel good feeding my kids a bowl of Cheerios in the morning! I was given several coupons for free cereal from General Mills of my choice. I tried to make the most of those and got several boxes of my kids favorite Honey Nut Cheerios! They love them and they are good for them! For those of us with more grown up tastes I got the Total Pomegranate & Blueberry Cereal (I love cereal that has some sort of fruity stuff in it) and it did not disappoint. The only downside about this one was the box wasn’t bigger! My hubby likes to eat his cereal in a mixing bowl!

Did you know that General Mills is committed to lowering the sugar in their cereal that is advertised to kids under 12 to single digit grams of sugar per serving?

Here is some more info you might be interested to know:

Ready-to-eat cereal eaters consume less fat, less cholesterol and more fiber than non-cereal eaters? Cereals also deliver important vitamins, minerals and other essential nutrients, making cereal a top source of key nutrients in children’s diets.
Other cereal benefits:

Ready-to-eat cereals, including presweetened cereals, account for only 5% of sugar in children’s diets.
Ready-to-eat cereal is the No. 1 source of whole grains in a child’s diet today.
More frequent cereal eaters tend to have healthier body weights and lower Body Mass Index measures.

Studies also demonstrate the benefits of eating breakfast. A 1998 study showed that children who eat breakfast tend to perform better at school. Compared to children who skip breakfast, children who eat breakfast score higher on tests, are less likely to miss class or be tardy, have fewer reported discipline problems, and make fewer trips to the office.

So before you grab that donut and that soda think about a bowl of cereal ;)!

Click here for an instant coupon for $1 off of selected General Mills Cereal!

Information and free cereal coupons were all provided by General Mills through MyBlogSpark!

Laundry, Laundry

2010-01-14T16:00:00.003-05:00

Laundry, Laundry why don't you stop,
Dishes, Dishes piled to the top,
Children, Children why don't you clean?
Evidently I need to be more mean!

Just joking of course, sort of ;) Just lots to do and never enough time or energy to do it all! At least it's warming up a bit so I'm not walking around frozen! Sorry for all of those up north who are still frozen!

And I can't get around to other blogs because my wireless just doesn't work well enough, thinking of moving my desk so I can 'plug in', I've got the space, but it might look odd!
Anyways, I'll be back when the laundry and dishes are finished and the toilets are scrubbed and well that's it!

Freezing, Tired & Content

2010-01-10T23:33:00.002-05:00

Well I realize those of you up north think our freezing weather is mild, but it’s been unbelievably cold here in central Florida lately. I can’t remember a cold spell like we’ve had the past few weeks. While we occasionally get freezing weather, it’s usually only for a night or two at most. Typically the cold doesn’t bother me, but I’m sure not used to it!

I mean I’ve never felt the need to put on multiple layers and shoes just to take the trash out 20 feet! Not to mention having to actually dress and shoe (I realize this is probably not a proper use of the word shoe) all the children before they can walk outside! Of course the kids and perhaps the adults too have enjoyed watching the weather on TV and seeing what the latest low temp is around here! We hoped for snow on Saturday, but missed seeing any, though there were scattered reports of snow in nearby counties. And we finally had our first fire in our fireplace since moving here a year and half ago!

I am praying for the farmers and their crops as we have a few more freezing nights on hand. We will be back up to 70 or so by the end of the week (which is just perfect)!

So it’s just been a long week and I’m tired and still have plenty yet to do, but it will keep to morning. I’m content with things here and am going to lay down and get my rest now! Hope everyone out there is staying toasty and snug in their beds tonight!

Different Huh?

2010-01-05T11:09:00.003-05:00

Well I'm not sure if I'm leaving it like this or not and I still need to make a few changes even if I do, but for now.......... and if you are reading this in a reader.....sorry to confuse you ;)

I just looked at this again and decided it looks like I should be writing a romance blog, perhaps all about how God romances us.

Okay I'm updating this again, I changed the header only and am going to leave it till I get some good pictures of my kids. I just need to work on getting pictures as I don't have any I Love of all of them that are current (or 4 individuals), ya know what I mean!

Happy New Year's!

2009-12-31T20:41:00.004-05:00

Psalm 20:4
May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.

Philippians 4:13
I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

Psalm 51:10
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Proverbs 16:3
Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.

Just a few verses to consider while your thinking on the new year and what that means for you!

This last one is my favorite =)

Proverbs 19:21
Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.

Already?

2009-12-29T00:00:00.001-05:00

Well so much for jumping back into blogging! I can’t believe it’s already been a week! I guess with a birthday in our house and Christmas last week I should have known better. So just to keep those interested updated the k on my laptop is completely gone, it was hanging on , then it was gone and their was this nub I was pressing, well after the last time one of kids used the laptop my k is now nothing! I just press the space were it belongs and bam *k* it feels quite odd to do it, but is actually working better than it when it was originally damaged. Okay now that you are all clued in about that I can move on…….

So I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! We had a pretty good one, I’m going to try and find some pictures to share with you, so hold just a minute!

This was about all the pictures I got and then our camera was full, in fact this appears to be the only one I captured of Baby Boy Christmas morning!

I will be back soon, I promise! I’ve got a book I should have written a review on ages ago and something else I’m ‘supposed’ to blog about, plus I’m going to join the Body after Baby Challenge over at Mama Notes, so more about that soon!

Off to watch a movie w/hubby if we can stay awake!

Not Me Monday

2009-12-21T15:35:00.001-05:00

Today is Monday, time to tell all to everyone who cares to listen (or read) and laugh with you at how ‘perfect’ you are! Head on over to MckMama’s to read everyone else’s NMM’s!

I surely have not been out of the blogging loop for over a month! I didn’t decided that today is a beautiful day for hopping back into the bloggy world! I’ve not enjoyed my break one bit!

Today is not 2 days before one my children’s birthdays and only 4 days before Christmas, because if it was I surely wouldn’t still need to do quite a bit of shopping, not to mention wrapping! I’m not going to have to drive from store to store to find the toys that are apparently sold out because I waited so long! I don’t blame this one tiny bit on my husband who desperately wanted me to wait for him to shop! Nope, not me!

Today was not the first official day of my children’s Christmas break and I most certainly did not sleep in till 10 to have to reschedule the appointment I had at 10:15! It’s not 3:30 now and I’m still without a bra or proper clothes! I’m not going to have to around like a mad woman in a bit to have dinner and the house ready for when my hubby comes home at 6 so I can rush out and try to do some more shopping! That wasn’t a run-on sentence either, I always use proper grammar since my mom was an English teacher and all ;)!

Our Christmas tree did not get put up last Monday to just finally get decorated yesterday! I would never do that!

And these most certainly weren’t the best pictures of my 4 kids together that I could get last week! I’m not having a hard time getting pictures because my memory card died in my camera and now I can only take 16 pictures at a time w/out removing them.

Break

2009-11-21T14:32:00.002-05:00

Just wanted to let you all know that I'm taking a short blogging break, but a bit longer than normal.........I will be back though and maybe I will have found some new perspective on things or maybe not. Hope everyone has a fabulous Thanksgiving!

Not Me Monday

2009-11-16T09:55:00.001-05:00

Ok, you know the drill right? It’s time to tell about all those things you might not normally admit, of course denying them all as you go along! Understand? Good! Be sure and visit MckMama to read everybody else’s NMM’s!

Today I will not write this post all about guinea pigs! Because we were not blessed with two piggies from freecycle with a full size cage and all after we’d put off getting any because of the cost!

But before I get started on the guinea pig thing, I did not think I needed to giveaway our hamster cage and supplies on freecycle since we’d been blessed that way! So after people not showing up and no more interest I did not list the cage and supplies on craigslist for $15. I did not get a response almost immediately. When the nice lady showed up and was going to walk away with it all, I didn’t ask her if she had the money on her? I did not feel awkward asking in the first place to then realize she didn’t respond to the craigslist add, she responded to the freecycle add. I didn’t feel slightly embarrassed and she didn’t offer me $5 which I promptly turned down, apologizing!

Here are our new girls we’ve had them about two wheeks! They don’t make all kinds of noises one of which is called a wheek!

So I don’t make these girls veggie salads twice a day!

I don’t think it’s adorable how they squeak and jump when I take their food ball to fill with veggies! I’ve not gotten pooped and peed on by these sweet creatures. They don’t ever have poop on their claws when I pick them up, that doesn’t disgust me at all!

Even though these two girls live in my daughter’s room, I do not clean their cage and do most of the taking care of these two little cavies! We don’t call them the piggies and I’m not wondering if Baby Boy will be thoroughly confused about what a pig really is!

Gracie is the darker one and Mama is in the bag of hay (we left them with the names they came with)! In case you were wondering they are 2 1/2 yrs. old.

I did not make a play pen for them to be in on our porch and a lid for their open cage, since we have our sweet Lily who loves small animals a bit too much! I would never devote that much effort, money and time to two rodents!

Even though these girls are supposed to belong to my girl, she’s still not a bit nervous to hold them!

I’m not going to leave you with a shot of the cage before we added the lid, we didn’t just get the lid on yesterday and therefore I’ve not snapped any pictures of that! And the cage doesn’t rarely look so clean because they don’t poop a LOT!

They aren’t a bit spoiled!

Winner

2009-11-15T12:33:00.000-05:00

The Cheerios Gift Pack Giveaway is now over! I really enjoyed reading about everyones reading time with their kids! I have to say I used to be much better about reading with my kids when bedtime wasn’t so rushed with 4 kids and when they didn’t have to get up and go to school (we used to homeschool). I really need to get back into some of my old habits of reading at least nightly with them. My younger two get read to the most, with Baby Boy taking the cake, as he is always bringing me books to read.

And yes I’ve picked a winner using Random.org and the winner is…….

#4 which was

Grace who said “Since I have 5 kids of very different ages I read to the 2 youngest and then I read to the middle one and have him read it back to me then I let the older 2 read to me.”

I really need to have my older two read to me more!

Congratulations Grace! You will be getting the Cheerios prize pack with a box of Cheerios, 5 books and a Barnes & Noble Gift Card!

Pictures Kids Take

2009-11-13T15:55:00.000-05:00

Curly has his own camera that all the kids pass around from time to time, here is sample of what they choose to photograph. The quality isn’t that great, but you get the idea!

View Full Album

I’ve never done this put in pictures as an album thing before so I figured I needed to try it out…..

What Happened?

2009-11-12T23:21:00.001-05:00

So that’s the question for this post!

What happened? What happened to the week? Where did the past two weeks go? In fact what happened to October how did that slip by me? My contest for the great Cheerios gift pack ends Friday night at midnight, so there is still a bit of time to get yourself entered! Just once again wondering what happened to all that time….don’t let time slip away from you, make good use of it, enter my contest then go read some books with your kids, ya know, if you have any that will listen!

And what happened to this picture? Just wondering if anyone can figure out all the things Sissy & I worked together to change in Photoshop on this picture? No prize, but I’m curious to see if anyone can list all the things that are changed =)! Of course some are more obvious than others, yes she picked out that lovely shade for her hair, lets hope she never decides she wants this color in real life!

So what happened to this perfectly good picture? Why did we have to go and ruin it?

What happened to that word verfication on my comments? I got rid of it, because I just noticed it was on there while glancing at some settings tonight! Aren’t you happy??

What happened to that book review I was going to do and forgot all about….hmnnn…..maybe I started reading Twilight again and forgot all about it….maybe……..

And what happened to that guinea pig post I was going to do? Have you seen it? Oh right that’s because I’ve not done it yet! Soon, I will get to that and I will show you a bunch of the pics I took at the park the day I took the one above! But for now I’m going to see if I can remove a child or two from my bed because there is no question what happened to my empty bed, the rugrats got to it first!

Friday Fragments

2009-11-06T17:11:00.001-05:00

We got two guinea pigs yesterday and a post all about them will be coming soon!

Baby Boy still loves his doll!

I changed my book list in the side bar to a link with more details on some of the books, I’m going to ‘try’ and keep it updated.

Baby Boy took some of my keys off my laptop this week and now it takes a great effort to get the KKKKKKKKK to work! So if I start typing without K’s you know why! I never realized how much I use that darn letter!

Baby Boy is talking a bit more, or trying anyways.

My kids had a half day this Wednesday and next Wednesday they have no school and then in two more weeks they get a whole week off!

I’ve got a giveaway going on that I almost forgot about! So don’t you forget to enter, I promise it’s worth it! Just click here!

Go chec out Half-Past Kissin Time for some more Fragments!

His Doll

2009-11-05T21:53:00.002-05:00

A kiss for ‘doll’!

Helping ‘doll’ rock on the horsey!

Patting doll to sleep with Sissy looking so proud at what she’s teaching him!

And last but not least a sweet, soundless video. Notice when he puts his finger to his mouth and blows it he is saying shhh, he does this when I sing to him, he knows I can’t carry a tune!

Not Me Monday

2009-11-02T08:19:00.000-05:00

I can’t believe it’s Monday, ~~October 26th~~ November 2nd, it seems like time just flies by lately! So it’s time for another edition of Not Me Monday hosted by MckMama, it’s the blog carnival where we tell all our little secrets, ya know all the ‘not me’s’ of the week!

I surely did not just finish yesterday’s dishes at 3:00pm Monday, nope I’d never leave dirty dishes sitting around!

Just like I never ignore the fact that my toddler’s diaper needs a changing! I always change it as soon as I notice! So it would never happen that today when I was leaving to pick up Curly from preschool that Baby Boy signed poop and pointed to his diaper and I then inquired of him if did have poop for him to nod, yes. So at the point I most definitely did not throw him in the car, dirty diaper and all so I wouldn’t be late to pick up Curly! He did not fall asleep on the way home, so I didn’t have to wake him up at home to change his diaper that I delayed earlier. I never cause things like that to happen!

I did not (seriously) even manage to finish this post Monday, so I’m not scheduling it for next Monday so I’ll have something to post then!

Trick or Treat

2009-11-01T09:09:00.001-05:00

Mostly treats around here, I forgot to get a shot of all the candy though!

My masked boys would only wear their masks for about 1 minute while I tried to get a picture and curly took off another part of his costume too! Next year we will pick costumes w/out masks!

If you were wondering Baby Boy was a dog, his head is behind him and Sissy is a vampire princess or something like that, also Curly is a ninja and of course PJ is Darth Vader!

This is someone else’s giant pumpkin!

Curly kept throwing his basket in the stroller to get on Daddy’s shoulders, also you might notice Sissy and Baby Boy used Easter baskets! Baby Boy really started to like going up to the door and getting candy! There was one person who opened their door while laying on the ground with a spooky mask and he started to turn from that one, but the guy took of his mask.

He wouldn’t let go of that pail until we gave him a lollipop!

This was actually the first I remember ever having him sit in the stroller unbuckled and having him hop up and down, he kept running back to take his seat after he got his candy! I’m normally big about buckling him in.

Oh and one more thing it was hot out! Hot and humid, if you notice how curly Curly’s hair is in the pictures, that is because he was very sweaty! I was glad I didn’t have on a costume!

We went home and finished watching Ice Age 3 which I rented and let them eat 5 pieces of candy each, then it was late to bed!

Today I think we are switching the boys room with the Baby Boy’s . That should be fun!

Exhausted

2009-10-31T15:13:00.001-04:00

I feel like I’m always tired and always a few steps behind where I want to be with things! I’d really like to fix both of these things, any suggestions? Maybe I could pawn off all my kids on one of you for a weekend and then drink a bunch of caffeine (which I quit, mostly) and get caught up! Sounds good, I just need to do this once a month or so!

Anyways, I have no pictures to post but I’m sure I will after tonight, of course you might not recognize them, but you can try! Okay I’m off to work on a bit of catching up around the house and to chat with hubby!

What are ya’ll doing tonight? Anything exciting? I think we’re just trick or treating with our family and going to bed, okay maybe we’ll watch a movie or play a game before bed and I’m going to try and do some muffin or cookie baking just because it seems like a good day for that!

Don’t forget to enter my contest!

My Book List

2009-10-30T09:14:00.004-04:00

So I realized that I can't keep all the books I've read in the a list on my sidebar so I decided to make them on a separate page and just link in my sidebar for those who might be interested! I've missed quite a few but am going to try and keep better track now that I'm doing it this way and may occasionally write a brief opinion or fact!

A Mitford Trilogy by Jan Karon ~ starting with At Home in Mitford, very, very good and what I'd call heartwarming, I've actually read past the first three books, not sure how many there are but I've read (or listened to) five now and I know there is more. Sweet stories about an Episcopal preacher that will mostly keep you turning the pages for more, they have a similar feel as a James Herriot book!

A Map of the World (Oprah's Book Club) ~ don't read this if you don't want to be slightly depressed and crying. It had a lot of dark subjects in my opinion!

The Shepherd's Voice by Robin Lee Hatcher ~ I really felt like I learned more about being a good Christian woman from reading this book, I loved how much the lead woman- Akira- talked with God and repeated scriptures to herself, plus it was just a good book.

Ezekiel's Shadow by David Ryan Long

Violet Dawn (Kanner Lake Series #1) and Coral Moon (Kanner Lake Series #2) ~ these are Murder Mystery's written with a Christian perspective, easy reads, not too deep, but I'll probably finish the series.

Maximum Ride Series by James Patterson ~ aimed at teens, I let my 10 yr old read these and she loved them! I liked them pretty well myself.

The River Wife
Cross Country
The Poisonwood Bible
Face of Betrayal
The Other Side of Silence
The Twilight Saga
A Wild Ride Up the Cupboards: A Novel
Merciless ~ great Christian Science Fiction Trilogy
Fearless
Relentless

Cheerios, Books & a Giftcard Giveaway

2009-10-29T08:10:00.002-04:00

Over the past eight years, Cheerios has given away more than 40 million children’s books by distributing them free inside cereal boxes and has donated $3.2 million to First Book, their non-profit partner, which provides books to children from low-income families. The program is part of Cheerios’ ongoing commitment to helping parents provide their children with a healthy, nutritional and educational foundation.

Beginning this month, Cheerios is again bringing books to the breakfast table, by providing six million children’s books free inside Cheerios boxes. To help spread the word I was sent a great gift package courtesy of Cheerios, including a huge box of Cheerios with a book inside, a copy of each book they are giving away, plus a $25 giftcard to Barnes & Noble!

My children and I have had the pleasure of reading through all 5 of the books! Some are simpler and some have a bit more to them. I have to say my favorite is Ballyhoo Bay (by Judy Sierra) because the pictures in it are so bright and wonderful. These are fairly small paperback books, which makes them great to stick in a purse or diaper bag! My other favorite was Tea for Ruby (by Sarah Ferguson), but it’s a bit girly so my young boys didn’t take to it. The other books are Junkyard Fort (Jon Scieszka), Sleepyhead (by Karma Wilson) and What's Under the Bed? (by Joe Fenton). One more thing to mention about the books is that they also have the words in Spanish on each page, while I think the goal was to reach those who don’t read English I think this could be great for bi-lingual families or those trying to learn Spanish.

Now do you want to win a package of what you see above? I mean I know you all want that giftcard to get yourself a new book or two right? Well here’s what you have to do….

To enter leave a comment telling me about what story time with your children is like, you can go into great detail or keep it short, if you don’t have kids tell me what you picture it as or if your kids are grown tell how it used to be!

For extra entries (only after doing first entry):

(Leave an extra comment for each thing you do)

1- follow my blog (counts if you already do to)

2-blog about this giveaway and link back here

This contest will end at midnight EST Friday November 13th!

I will pick one winner via random.org to win the prize pack!

This opportunity was provided to me by …

The Flu, Surgery and a New Day!

2009-10-19T21:38:00.000-04:00

It’s the start of a new week, thank you God for new beginnings! All three of my school aged children went to school today, how nice!

Well as I told you last week (or was it the week before now) PJ got the Flu, presumably the H1N1 virus (they tested him for Influenza A which H1N1 is a strain of). So he was starting to get better and then he seemed a bit worse last Tuesday. He had started throwing up, but then had stopped and was just sleeping all day and saying his side hurt. Well I thought his side hurt from laying on it (brilliant mom that I am) and thought he needed to move around. But luckily my husband was home and noticed that he was saying it hurt where his appendix was. So I took him first to the doc, who thought it needed further investigating, so next to the ER! So my sweet mom met me at the ER for a long night ahead. PJ is my super picky child, so it is no wonder he wouldn’t drink the contrast he needed for the CT, they ended up having to put a tube up his nose and into his belly, fun, I felt so bad for him. And then several hours later (maybe at 2 am) we were told he would need surgery, that he did indeed have appendicitis and the answer was to remove the appendix. So my Mom went to try and get my other kids back to sleep at my house, while my hubby came to try and sleep at the hospital with PJ and I. PJ had surgery Wednesday morning laprascopically and did great!

This picture is Thursday he was playing bingo via TV because he was one of those special precaution kids thanks to the flu!

They brought around toys for prizes, he sure went home with a lot of goodies!

And here is the view out of his 8th story room……

He was able to go home Thursday afternoon and is back at school today. My other kids all missed some school last week for being sick and the surgery, but nobody was as sick as PJ. My sweet Dad came and stayed with PJ Wednesday night so I could get a bit of sleep, after taking care of my other kids at my house during the day. Unfortunately both my parents now have the flu, so say a prayer that they are better quickly, I am really thankful for their help and am praying they are back to normal real soon!

In our house, everyone is pretty healthy now! PJ can’t do strenuous activity until after he sees the doc on Thursday and he has a bit of cough as does Madeline, but thankfully everyone was back at school today and doing relatively well! PJ just has a ton of makeup work, otherwise I think it’s going to be a good week!

stopping by

2009-10-12T22:50:00.001-04:00

Just stopping by to say ‘Hi’, I’ve not been in Bloggy World much lately as life seems to be a whirlwind of activity and then I crash each night! I used to be able to stay up late and wake up early, evidently I’m getting old!

PJ has the flu, but is doing fine, really I think he’s getting better as he’s been sick since Friday and I’m hoping he can go back to school Wednesday. I’m also praying nobody else gets it! It seemed Sissy felt a touch warm tonight, so we’ll see how she is in the morning. And Curly stayed home from school this morning with a slight fever, but no other symptoms. Really if it wasn’t for all the hype, I’m sure I’d have sent him, of course when your 4 it’s no big deal to miss school! PJ on the other hand got some work sent home that I’ll have fun making him do tomorrow!

In other news….(I’m thinking)…..Oh how about this…..my hubby made dinner tonight and tried (he still hasn’t gotten the hang of how to load our dishwasher) to do the dishes all in the same night! Isn’t that sweet? He also did dishes yesterday by hand! He’s been trying to help me and I really do appreciate it, it’s so NOT like him to do dishes or cook a whole big meal, so thank you sweetie (he doesn’t even read my blog, lol)!400

Now I’ve really got some Bible studies to try and catch up on….so night, night everyone!

Just leaving you with an embossed picture of Hubby and Baby Boy sleeping ;)

Not Me Monday

2009-10-05T17:14:00.001-04:00

Oh my, it’s been a long week, oh wait it’s a brand new week, that means a fresh start! And what better way to start out than by confessing a few things from the week before! So of course I’m joining MckMama in another NMM post!

Well we surely didn’t start the week off by all being late this morning! As I was trying to fix a car seat this morning my sweet dog most definitely didn’t run out the front door after another poor innocent small dog that was being walked on a leash!

My kids weren’t all grumbly and complainy this morning because they went to bed so late last night! My kids always go to bed promptly when told with no trouble! They all woke up bright and cheerful and singing a happy song! Nobody complained about what I fed them and nobody’s hair was sticking up at all once we were in the car!

Also we did not listen to “The Pirate Song” for the 100 millionth time this morning! I do not know every word of it and I did not used to even really like the song before the 89 millionth time we played it! I don’t still like the “Belly of the Whale” song, because I’ve only heard it a few million times! I wasn’t happy to finally read those lyrics and learn the words at the end of that song! I don’t exaggerate at all either!

I didn’t just pick up my kids from the bus stop to find out they had a fire at their school today! They didn’t have to wait outside so long that water bottles were passed out. There wasn’t a real fire in the coaches office (or so rumor has it) and three fire trucks weren’t on scene along with an ambulance and fire rescue truck, I don’t feel like I should have known this before they got home! I guess I should have had the news on!

You may not have noticed that I didn’t also shamelessly put up a link to support my Cubscout by buying popcorn. I would never do that I didn’t feel a little bad that we were moving this time last year and that we didn’t participate at all in popcorn sales (their only fundraiser) and the year before we joined right after they finished! So I don’t think a big tin of yummy popcorn would make a great gift for someone you know! Well it was worth a try anyway =)!

I don’t think it’s time to finish this post before Monday is all over!

Walking through the Wilderness

2009-10-03T21:16:00.001-04:00

Sounds deep huh? Well this isn’t, just a few pictures about a short hike through some local wilderness with the Cubscouts last weekend! It was just him and me (and the other scouts) on this outing! It was real muddy out as it’d been raining hard that morning. The animals were almost eerily quiet and absent, though we did see a few bugs. PJ really wanted to hit the playground afterwards, but we skipped it because his Daddy had plans to take the three big kids swimming at the Y’s play pool when we got back!

Obviously our short hike wore this boy out, luckily he got a quick nap before the pool!

A Walk Down Memory Lane

2009-09-23T07:46:00.000-04:00

Come for a walk with me down Memory Lane!
And if you have a "Memory Lane" post, head on over to Scottsville to join in on the fun! Time for some more of PJ today as I promised to do a few weeks to each kid! This is once again when he was four! He had managed to break his foot by jumping off of a JayJay airport toy! Bad mom that I am I took him to the grocery store before I realized he was serious about it being hurt (I did let him ride in the cart). And I can’t remember for sure but I think he must have gotten his first cast wet and that is why he got a second one, but I sure can’t think of how that happened. I remember at first he wasn’t allowed to walk on it, and he crawled or we carried him everywhere, but after a few or so they let him walk on it! Looking at these pictures it’s strange to think Curly is that age now. Showing off his first cast! Trying to look pathetic in his second cast! (I know this was his second because we still have it!)

This picture is the same year before the cast I think!

Teaser Tuesdays

2009-09-22T10:17:00.001-04:00

This is a great meme by Miz B where you give two random teaser sentences from your current read!

I’ve not done one of these in a bit, in fact I’ve been quite bad at recording my books even in my sidebar….but anyways here I am sharing again =)! This is one I must have read awhile ago, but I can’t remember when and I happened to pick it back up recently. So if you like animals at all and have never read this book I dare you to go pick it up and give it a shot, it’s really quite funny!

All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot

My teasers from page 60:

“First, please,’ I called as I looked into the waiting-room. There was an old lady with a cat in cardboard box, two small boys trying to keep hold of a rabbit, and somebody I didn’t recognise at first. Then I remembered-it was Soames.

Now go visit MizB for more Teasers and all the rules !

Then Sings My Soul Saturdays

2009-09-19T12:14:00.003-04:00

I just love this song! Such a great reminder that our lives are speaking for us! What do you have to say?

Go and visit Amy at Signs, Miracles & Wonders for more TSMSS!

For the Record

2009-09-18T14:05:00.001-04:00

I’m going to try and make this quick so I can actually post it today!

Madeline ~ still loves to read, I finally got her into Anne of Green Gables (I’d been trying to tell her she needed to give it a few chapters for awhile), still has the messiest room of all, still wears her ‘ucky’ shoes even though I’ve bought her new shoes and still has horrible spelling! She is starting to grow up, sometimes she is more emotional, I’m so not ready for all that, but hey I can’t stop time! She likes to help and she likes to boss her brothers around, and she still tells me she wants a little sister!

PJ ~ I’m so excited for him, as he is doing really well in school this year, last year he started the school year off hating to go! So I’m really happy that he likes his teachers and all the experiments they do! He’s always coming home and telling me something good! He also loves his baby brother to death, he always wants to help Baby Boy, give him a hug or read him a book. He still spells better than his sissy and is proud of that fact! He has recently started swimming quite a bit better, he says he can swim as long as he has on goggles and wants to take his swim test at the Y so that he doesn’t have to stay in the shallow water!

Curly ~ Is still curly and loving as can be, he got his feelings hurt and started crying last night when I asked him to not climb all over me because he was hurting me! He is still loving preschool! They do so many fun activities, and amazingly he seems to know a ton of letter sounds all the sudden, he even sounded out cat for me yesterday! Oh and he can swim w/floaties and goggles!

Baby Boy ~ still likes to turn off the TV (he already broke one) and still likes to eat! He can do several signs finally, he recently started signing poop (yes you read that right) and cookie, but not at the same time thank goodness! He just grabbed the pack of graham crackers from me and went to chill in front of the TV! Better go assist!

Oh and he was wanting to go back in the pool in this picture!

Walk Down Memory Lane

2009-09-16T08:14:00.000-04:00

Come for a walk with me down Memory Lane!
And if you have a "Memory Lane" post, head on over to Scottsville to join in on the fun! Okay I’ve missed a few weeks, I’ve been out of the blogging loop since school started back! But I’m back, hopefully! And now we are going back to 2005 to check out PJ as a 4 year old! I just found a ton of pictures I wanted to put on here, but for today I’m going to stick to pictures of our trip in the fall to Colorado to visit my Mother in Law! This is on a playground at the Zoo there! I love this picture! It’s of him going up or down (I’m not sure) the train thingy (sounds official huh?) that goes down the side of the Royal Gorge. That’s the train thingy from the bottom! This was at some big waterfall place (they weren’t in this background though), don’t you just love his pose? Now go visit the other Erica for more Walks Down Memory Lane!

Not Me Monday

2009-09-14T00:22:00.000-04:00

Let's see if I remember how this goes.....It's Monday already and time to spill the beans about how perfect I’m not or am I? If you want to read about all the other perfect people out there then go visit MckMama and I’m sure you’ll see I’m not alone!

I’m not behind the times at all! I keep all of my blog readers up to date on all the exciting happenings in my life!

I’ve not been meaning to show a shot of Baby Boy wearing his tee from Honest Baby that I won over at My Organized Chaos for a few weeks now. We don’t get comments every time he wears it out!

And this little boy surely doesn’t need a haircut! Because if say, his hair was hanging in his eyes, then I’m sure it would have already been cut.

And I’m not finally getting used to this haircut….

Before After

I’m not still in need of some pictures of my older kids and of course I don’t still need to take my SD card down to the drug store to see if the pictures made it through the water.

I didn’t get excited when I saw the New Moon trailer on TV tonight! Why would I get excited about that? I don’t think I’ll make my hubby take me to see it at the theater, in fact I really don’t think I will, I’d rather go with someone who wants to see it!

Oh my and I did not get wrapped up reading the Taylor Swift drama tonight either, because I don’t really like her and I didn’t feel bad for her after I read all about it! I never waste my time reading about celebrities online. I don’t think she’ll recover just fine either!

I’m not tired and up way to late for my own good!

I always get plenty of sleep so I can be well rested.

I’m not going to end this post now so I can get some sleep!

Uhm, okay maybe I am! Night Night!

For the Record

2009-09-12T12:36:00.000-04:00

Oh my so much changes so quick! So posts by this name are mostly about keeping track of changes, milestones , little things and big things! (By the way I wrote this on the 5th, but just now added pictures and am posting)

Baby Boy~ tried to sign pee pee today for the first time. Likes to sign poop and say ‘phew wee’ while waving his hand. Is ready to start potty training and waiting for his Mama to get herself in gear (I’m actually trying to find a different potty at one of our consignment shops before I start full out, good excuse huh

?/’.’

). He also likes to type on my computer when I leave windows open for him to play in! Baby Boy loves books, and brings them to me all the time, he seems to be constantly searching for balls in the books! He will come and plop himself in my lap for me to read to him. He is just starting to listen to me read some as opposed to continuously flipping pages. Speaking of balls, he likes to throw all hard objects, calling them balls and launching them, we are working on that.

Yes, the dog lets him sit on her, for a minute anyways!

Curly~ still loves to snuggle with his Mama, he asked me tonight if he and I could lay on the couch before bed, he has been very sweet to his little brother lately too. Sharing his marshmallow man he made at school today! He is really liking school, of course who wouldn’t making candy, playing with playdoh, having snack and playing on the playground sounds like fun to me! He did have a meltdown on the way to school last Monday because he wanted to stay home with his older brother. He screamed all the way to school and cried when I took him, but he was fine and told me he had a good day when I picked him up. He is learning letter sounds and enjoying it, he’s started asking me what different words start with all the time and trying to hear for himself. He is also loving to bring in items for show and tell, they get to bring something for the letter of the week too, so lots of fun there! One more thing I have to mention is that Curly has taken to calling Baby Boy, Tubs, and I can’t seem to break it, my hubby will call him Tubs as well as other names sometimes and evidently Curly liked the name for his little brother!

Left~ Curly’s First Day of Preschool

Above~ Sharing Curly’s Marshmallow Man that he made at school!

PJ- Seems to like school this year, well so far! We are only in our second week and he missed two days this week for a chicken pox scare, we still don’t know what exactly all those ‘bites’ were, but they are going away! He is so sweet and sharing with his youngest brother! He loves to read to Baby Boy and help him out when he needs something! Baby Boy was shoving a book in my face tonight and PJ said “Come here I’ll read to you” and he had him cackling at the Clifford book, I wished I could have grabbed my camera without them noticing! PJ still likes math and is enjoying science experiments in his AGP class, he still doesn’t like to write at all, still loves video games, the latest he is trying to conquer is Lego Batman on the Wii! PJ and Curly fight and play like two brothers close in age (they are 4 years apart though). PJ is really quick to help me out if I ask him to anything, except his room of course! He is still my picky eater and may forever be.

The most recent picture I have of PJ ~ We missed getting pictures of the big kids first day and of course there is that whole camera incident the day before.

Sissy ~ Is growing up and yet still such a child! She is starting to get a touch emotional, which I’m not ready for one tiny bit! She is so helpful and yet such a mess! She seems to have my tendency for chaos in her room! Her and I really have a good time doing girly things together, including for us, going to the library and talking about books! Because she is the oldest and only girl we try to have lots of girly alone time, just talking, shopping or staying up late watching movies together. I’m going to miss it when she no longer wants to do these things with me! She also still likes to come snuggle with me some!

(Can you believe I can’t find any pictures of Sissy since July, I’m going to stop by Walgreens and see if I can recover any pictures from my SD card)

I am so blessed to have my four children (and some days my husband~wink, wink~)!

Fearless by Max Lucado

2009-09-08T22:53:00.002-04:00

I was blessed to receive the book Fearless: Imagine your Life Without Fear by Max Lucado to review (and no, I by no means am obligated to give a good review)! Lucado appeals to a wide range of readers with this book that covers many of the reasons people today live in a constant state of fear and anxiety. There are a wide range of fears covered in Fearless from the fear of the flu, to the fear of our kids not fitting in, to the fear of death or the fear of terrorists. Do we need to be this way? Is there another way? He is constantly giving proof of why we don’t need to fear the big or the small with Jesus as our Saviour! He goes so far as to give us an acronym of steps to help us stop our fear and move on with living a bold and fearless life! Also Lucado does not forget to remind us of the one healthy fear to have!

I have to say, I don’t consider myself to have a tendency towards fear in general. But realistically we are all afraid of certain things, whether minor or major, rational or irrational. If I start thinking I could definitely make a long list of things I fear! I think this book could really help someone who tends to fear excessively, but I too am thinking twice at my ‘worries’ and find myself stopping more often to realize I shouldn’t be worrying so and maybe I'm not even aware of how much I do fear! Part of me wished the book had a bit more structure to be able to reference back to certain parts, but the way it was written made it much more storylike and therefore easy to read for someone like me who tends to prefer some good fiction! If you find yourself drawn toward the title then I’d say make sure you read it, it may be just what you need! And if you think you tend to not ‘fear’ things, you may just take your words back and realize how much time you waste fearing unnecessarily and learn how to let it go! One of my favorite parts of this book were some of the lists of verses, I felt (still feel) like I needed to put up a few of these lists on my walls!

I’d give this book 4 out 5 stars!

Not Me Monday

2009-08-31T17:43:00.001-04:00

Holy Canoly! I can’t believe it’s Monday and almost September! Seriously did I just write that word September? Time flies(it never fails to amaze me like that) and once again it’s time for Not Me Monday where you get to air all your dirty laundry and well my family knows I’ve got a ton of that!

I did not keep PJ home from school today because he may or may not have chicken pox. I mean if I had kept him home surely I would know exactly what is going on! He’s not acting grand and playing the video game! And of course if I was going to keep him home it wouldn’t have been on picture day (cause geez they can’t have that already) and the first day for his AGP classes! Nope I wouldn’t have him miss all that for a few spots!

I’ve not been way behind in blogging because of this whole back to school schedule! I’m not excited that I’m going to start carpooling with a friend for Curly’s mid-day pick up soon! That won’t help out at all! I’m also not contemplating an afternoon bus ride for my Sissy & PJ, nope why would a stay at home mom put her kids on the bus? Poor PJ didn’t get a ton of homework sent home with his sister for him, while all his sister had to do was read (her favorite thing in the whole world).

And speaking of Sissy, in case you don’t remember her hamster died a few weeks ago (and she only had it a few weeks), well our sweet dog Lily, DID NOT dig up the hamsters grave this week! Sissy was not upset and mad one tiny bit when she saw the hole and the shredded box and bag! Sissy has not decided she wants a guinea pig instead of a hamster, since they are harder to kill and all! We’ve not read that they should have a friend, which means we’d need a bigger cage and more food, I’m not thinking twice about these guinea pigs!

And on a final note, my camera did not die this week after I dropped it in the water! It has not come back to life as I was hoping. I’ve not been wanting to check if my memory card still has the pictures on it We don’t luckily have another digital camera, so I’m not totally without!

Happy NMM and though MckMama isn’t doing NMM today, I’m now off to read her latest news before I make some dinner!

What Happened to Monday?

2009-08-25T08:02:00.000-04:00

Does anybody know what happened to Monday? Where did it go? Oh right it was filled with laughter and screams and chaos, I remember now! Another day in the life of us! Of course today is a new day all together as it’s the day school starts!

But lets get back to yesterday…….

My Curly is just barely curly anymore as he got his hair chopped, a bit shorter than I really wanted it! And he met his teachers on Monday for his very first school experience. Oh how I wish I was blogging when my others started, I’m sure I’d have more info recorded. But anyways, Curly managed to find the one action figure type guy in the classroom. He didn’t care about building blocks, hermit crabs or his name on the wall, nope he was excited they had a cool ‘power ranger’ ! He showed one of his new teacher’s the cool toy and came home and told his Daddy about it! When asked by the teacher if he knew how to spell his name he promptly said ‘NO’. So glad we worked on that! So I’m sure he’s going to love his new playroom, I mean classroom! And I’m going to love dropping off two kids at 8, then another at 9, picking him back up at 12 and the other two at 2:15 and trying to squeeze in a nap for Baby Boy somewhere in between!

So back to Monday……. I love those little dots…………… I decided the kids needed one last fun thing to do before going back to school! So I was going to take them to the beach on the bay that is 20 minutes away! So we got ready, finally got going and headed over. PJ was being miserable complaining that he’d rather go to the pool! But Sissy really was excited to go to the beach! So we pull up all excited that it’s not crowded at all, until we notice the big huge signs that say “Swimming Area Closed”! Ugh, so I reach into my purse to call someone to try and figure the next closest beach, no phone, I went off and left it at home! So I decided I’d just go where I knew, so off we went another 40 minutes through traffic and all! Finally we arrived! The kids had a blast, even PJ, I took a ton of pictures and we were getting ready to leave when Baby Boy decided to wiggle out of my hand into the 2 inch deep water, so naturally I reached down for him! And bam, my camera slipped of my wrist and into the water! At that point I pretty sure I cursed, I mean wouldn’t you? So then I did my best not to get frustrated with the kids and we trudged through the sand, stroller and all (I’m sure people were laughing at us) and back to the car that was thankfully ticket free and stuck our sandy bums in the seat and came home! I’ll stop there cause I’m sure your eyes are getting tired, but let’s just say my day didn’t end there! And geez I can’t even show you my pictures!

Anybody know if there is any hope for my camera? I still have the box and haven’t had it a year yet. Anybody?

A Walk Down Memory Lane

2009-08-19T22:14:00.001-04:00

Come for a walk with me down Memory Lane!
And if you have a "Memory Lane" post, head on over to Scottsville to join in on the fun!

Well I decided that I’d do one more week of little Sissy and then move on to PJ! So this week I’ve got pictures of Sissy when she was in ballet and tap and a picture of her on her 4th birthday! In case you can’t tell she seems to be thinking she was the most special princess in the world! And of course she was and still is to her Daddy and me! In case you didn’t know she is completely Daddy’s girl, but we’ve actually become closer as she’s gotten older so that is one plus to the whole growing up thing!

This is Sissy holding her rose afterward!

Don’t you love the HUGE bow on her head! She still has this outfit and still fits in it (it was baggy then, tight now)!

Sorry this is so grainy, but I figured I didn’t need to blur anyone out because of it! She is the second from the left! See how they are all doing different things =)!

Ah, and here is Princess Sissy on her 4th birthday looking at Bitty Baby’s book of course! And thanks to a trip to the doll hospital (literally) she still has Bitty Baby!

Thanks for stopping by, go visit the other Erica for more Walks down Memory Lane!

Not Me Monday

2009-08-17T11:12:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I am not so lazy that I grabbed MckMama’s premade intro!

I was not late to a birthday party on Saturday and late to church on Sunday, not me (I know everyone I know is LOL right?)!

I then did not precede to ‘get on’ to my hubby today when he was running late to take PJ to his friend’s party today!

Uh, that’s right we didn’t have two parties this weekend and you wouldn’t already know about how I climbed through the bounce house tunnels and slides if you followed me on twitter!

I’ve not actually been uploading some new things over at my other blog that you need to go check out! You shouldn’t look around and click on some buttons over there and tell me what else you’d like to see!

We did not have a bunch of easy meals this week, like grilled cheese and fries and totino’s pizza. Not a chance because I love to cook big huge exotic meals that my family won’t touch!

And I’m not going to put some strange photo on here, that isn’t even of my kids because I’m weird like that! When noticing the horseshoe prints on our nearby sidewalk, I wasn’t slightly surprised enough to take a picture (since the camera wasn’t already around my neck )! Please don’t notice my chipped toe nail polish!

LemiShine Winners

2009-08-15T16:55:00.005-04:00

We have our winners for the Lemi Shine Giveaway! Are you ready, drum roll please.......

Picked via Random.org

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

13
10

Timestamp: 2009-08-15 21:00:05 UTC

That would be Carma and Melissa! Congratulations girls!

Thank you all for participating and if you didn't win, well you still need to go get yourself some Lemi Shine, to make your life, laundry and dishes sparkling! Seriously, it's some good stuff! You can buy Envirocon Technologies products, such as LemiShine online or in a store near you!

Stay tuned, I may just have some other giveaway soon!

Friday Fragments

2009-08-14T09:50:00.006-04:00

~ Had to let ya'll know that Tony, my daughter's hamster died last week, she was heartbroken, but now she's okay, we will be getting another soon no doubt, she only had it about a month!

~Baby Boy is really trying to talk, he says things in twos, like e, e for eat and he says pew-wee for stinky diapers (while waving his hand around)!

~ School starts here on the 25th and Curly will be going for the first time, he will be in 1/2 days at a private school, this will be my daughter's last year in elementary, sniff, sniff! And Sissy and PJ's first year in gifted~ I'm nervous for them!

~ I've meaning to tell ya'll (that's how I talk ya know), that I've won two giveaways in the past week or two! A cool t-shirt over at My Organized Chaos for my toddler, Tammi has a ton of great giveaways over there! And I won a MoonCup over at The Ultimate Money Blog, I just googled Moon cup giveaways or something like that and found her! And if your interested in getting yourself a moon cup or a Keeper she will be giving more away starting tomorrow I believe! I'll be blogging more about these when I get them!

~ My Lemishine Giveaway ends tonight at midnight, so don't forget to enter ;)!

A Walk Down Memory Lane

2009-08-12T06:27:00.000-04:00

Come for a walk with me down Memory Lane!
And if you have a "Memory Lane" post, head on over to Scottsville to join in on the fun!

My memories today are from December 2001! I decided I was going to do Sissy a few weeks in a row. This was when I still had only one child, though my belly was pretty big behind that camera, as PJ was born the following March. The pictures were taken at my parents house. Don’t they have great backdrops?

Can’t believe how quick she’s grown!

Not Me Monday

2009-08-10T23:06:00.001-04:00

Well it’s still Monday right? I mean it’s been a long day and all, but it is still Monday right? Just double checking with ya’ll since I sometimes lose track of the days! Okay now that we’ve established that I’m here to let you know that this ‘Not Me’ Monday, hosted by MckMama, ya know where you tell everyone everything you’re too embarrassed too admit in normal fashion!

Let’s see it’s Monday and I did not almost miss that fact again. When I awoke at 6:30 this morning to my power being out I did not freak that it was because we owe them money, ya know cause we never get behind in our bills and all! I did not get up and get dressed and go use my dead cell phone in the car to call the electric company. I wasn’t slightly relieved to find it was a widespread outage and not my fault. I wasn’t still slightly annoyed that the problem wasn’t scheduled to be fixed until 8:00, in reality it didn’t get fixed until after 9! I didn’t go back to sleep until it came back on either!

I don’t want to remind you that I’ve got a giveaway going on that ends Friday at midnight EST, so enter now!

I have not been letting my children stay up until 10 PM or later! They are not up right now waiting for me to make them get in bed and brush Curly’s teeth. I did not just put Baby Boy to sleep a minute ago because he was being ridiculously cranky, crying for ‘teef, teef’ because he wanted to keep on brushing his teeth himself as he walked around! He did not throw himself on the ground or stomp his feet, this didn’t happen because I, the mom, didn’t get him to sleep sooner!

I did not just pause to those kiddos in bed! While brushing teeth Curly didn’t say his spit looked like giant throw-up from tiny giant! Curly and PJ didn’t then come out and start playing. PJ didn’t pretend to be a raccoon news reporter and Curly didn’t pretend to report the farting news! Nope, none of that happened in my house!

He did not want to pose with the dental floss!

And right before all our bedtime craziness we didn’t take pictures with my 16 yr old nephew Brandon who is leaving at 5AM(my hubby is taking him to the airport) in the morning to go back to San Antonio to live with his Mom. He didn’t come over for a late breakfast dinner! His blog link may or may not be rated PG. We aren’t going to miss him one tiny bit!

A Thousand Words Thursday

2009-08-06T15:55:00.001-04:00

Baby Boy found him a cool spot to play in his closet!

Go and visit Jen at Cheaper Than Therapy for more ATWT’s!

A Walk Down Memory Lane

2009-08-06T00:31:00.001-04:00

Come for a walk with me down Memory Lane!
And if you have a "Memory Lane" post, head on over to Scottsville to join in on the fun!

My memories today are from July 2004! This was the the month my only daughter turned 5! We were actually out of town for a friend’s child’s birthday party. And just for fun I threw in a picture of what her parents (that would be me and my husband) looked like at that time, sorry about the quality of the second one, they are both scanned, but that first one was just a great picture of her! That was back when I got to pick out her clothes, now she picks them all out, and I only have veto power! So much fun dressing a little girl! Can’t believe how quick she’s grown!

My First Giveaway

2009-08-04T07:45:00.005-04:00

Aren’t you excited? I’m having a giveaway! I found a new product that I love called Lemi Shine! See we were having issues with our dishes being white! I mean seriously some of our dishes, such as the kids plates, pots, utensils were covered in white. Even our red serving plates were starting to get white film on them that wouldn’t even wash off by hand. So I started searching the internet for what to do as I wasn’t sure it was healthy and my dishes were getting ruined! People had some different ideas about detergents , vinegar and rinse agents that I’d already tried without improvement and there were a few people who said a product called Lemi Shine fixed their problem! I found some Lemi Shine at my local WalMart near the rinse-aids. Took it home with high hopes and could tell the difference with one wash! After using it for several weeks my dishes are sparkling and the white film is gone from my dishes and the dishwasher walls!

The good people at Envirocon Technologies were kind enough to send me two each of three different products to give away to my readers.

Lemi Shine -The Hard Water Expert ™ - removes tough spots and film for sparkling dishes and glassware.

Lemi Shine Rinse - the final rinse agent, removes residual spots and film from dishes and glassware in the final rinse cycle.

Lemi Shine MC3 -the ultimate machine cleaner and deodorizer, cleans, deodorizes, and optimizes the performance and life of dishwashers, washing machines, and garbage disposals, and it is the only product designed for all 3 machines.

Also something that made me feel good about using their products, they are environmentally friendly and made from all natural ingredients with no phosphates!

Two lucky people will win all three products! The winners will be chosen by random draw, ends August 14th at midnight! ~ That's tonight!

To enter leave me a comment telling me why you need or would like to try one of these products or if you already have and like them! For an additional entry blog about this giveaway and come leave me a separate comment letting me know!

McLinky Blog Hop

2009-08-03T23:58:00.003-04:00

The theme of this week's blog hop is Encouragement, a quote, picture etc So when I think of something to put up for encouragement I think of.....

Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!"

Reciting or reading this verse helps me when I feel I can't get past something or accomplish what I want, I just have to remember I'm not doing it alone!

A bit long, but I keep Psalm 23 on my igoogle page to read whenever I need a pick me up!

1. The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,

3 he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.

4 Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death, [a]
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.

6 Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.

Can't wait to read everyone else's!

What’s Going On?

2009-07-31T15:46:00.002-04:00

So I’m sitting here singing those lyrics in my head. Let see What’s going on…..

Baby Boy is crying because he wants a marker, that is what all one and a half year olds do, then they stop and come zerbert your legs, perfectly normal toddler activity, then he resumes to saying please with his mouth and both hands because he wants that darn marker. I’m thinking of giving it to him, it is washable and we have paper on the wall for them to write on. I've been loving our giant sticky pad that my Dad gave me forever ago that’s been in hiding. After my white board got broken I thought to hang our giant sticky pad on on the wall in it’s place! Turns out I like it better than the white board for the kids. Well I should really say the kids like it, so I like it! When they finish we don’t have to erase it, we merely pull that paper off and stick it somewhere else. Of course one day the paper will run out and I’ll have to see if I can get another one! Well did I digress or what?

We cut back our cable and one of the few channels we get is the history channel. So I’m learning all about the Tomahawk and how it could be doubled as a pipe! Things I always wanted to know!

It’s thundering….. again….and I still like it!

The kids went to VBS again this week (yes, different church this one is one we actually attend sometimes), they’ve had a really good time. One thing they really liked about this VBS was they got to be in the class together. It was just my oldest two that went.

Oh, I’ve decided I need to start scrapbooking. I’ve been collecting things all week and am excited! I got a bunch of paper and stickers from freecyclers! You’ve got to love freecycle! Now I just need to order some pictures! If anyone has any must visit scrapbooking sites or any great forums for beginning scrapbooking, please let know!

Yesterday was my birthday! I turned another year older. My sweet friend Lauren brought me a birthday cake and noisemakers over to help me celebrate! And even though my hubby worked late he brought us home dinner from Chili’s, one of ~~his~~ our favorite places to eat!

Of course I didn’t think to stop and take my friends picture till after she left- duh! Do you like Live Writer’s Sepia color?

In case you’d not noticed the link in the sidebar, I opened up an Etsy shop. I’ve not yet sold anything, wanna be my first? I may add some more items or I may wait till something I have up sells! We’ll see.

Also I’m going to having a giveaway sometime in the next few days, so stay tuned for that!

I’m going to try and leave you with a video of Baby Boy dancing! Not sure if this is going to work, if it doesn’t I’ll fix it the ole fashion way in a bit.

~yep it's not uploading probably due to our crummy wireless, I'll connect by hand later and upload.

The I Believe Bunny by Tish Rabe

2009-07-28T11:35:00.000-04:00

I had the pleasure of reviewing this sweet book by Tish Rabe called The I Believe Bunny. This is the first book in the start of a new children’s series. In this story a Bunny comes across a mouse who needs rescuing from a river. After trying to rescue him without success, the Bunny stops and says a prayer for God to help him and soon after help shows up in the form of friends. My four and eight year old both listened to me read this book full of rhyming, I would say the book is aimed for ages 3-6. The copy I have does have paper pages (hard cover) so it wouldn’t be good in young hands.

I love that this book shows children that they can talk to God and that he can help them. This is a great way to help teach young children about faith in God! Oh and it was short enough that I didn’t lose my children’s attention! I would give this book 5 stars for sure, keeping in mind that it is a young child’s book focused on Christian beliefs.

Praying for Stellan

2009-07-27T00:00:00.003-04:00

Stellan is in desperate need of our prayers at this time, you can visit MckMama's twitter or blog to read details.

"And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." James 5:15-16

"O LORD, hear my prayer,
listen to my cry for mercy;
in your faithfulness and righteousness
come to my relief. Psalm 143:1

I also wanted to add that Abby went into the hospital today and is in need of prayers too!

Then Sings My Soul Saturday

2009-07-24T23:41:00.005-04:00

I've heard this song before, but I heard it again yesterday on Charity's playlist and wanted to put it on here for all of those who've never heard it. It's one of those songs that make you try to find God in everything! I don't know about you but sometimes I need to be reminded that He is everywhere! When I went to find the song on YouTube I came across this ASL version and wanted to share it because it's beautiful and if my Mom in law is reading she can watch it too!

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands." - Psalm 19:1

I also think of Psalm 139, which you can click on if you want to read =)!

Don't forget to go visit Amy at Signs, Miracles & Wonders to see more TSMSS!

By the way the song is "I Saw God Today" by George Strait

Not My Child Monday

2009-07-20T22:35:00.001-04:00

In case you haven’t been keeping up with MckMama, she is having a special edition of Not Me Monday this week that involves your child! So it’s time to share all the ‘wonderful’ things my children did or ‘didn’t’ do lately!

I wanted to let the world know that Baby Boy does not have a bruise and a scratch on his eye because he was playing with a light saber and of course a scratch on his chin from who knows what!

PJ and Curly neither one get out of bed TWENTY times after they go to sleep! Surely the 8 and 4 year old know how to lay down and go to sleep before they just pass out from pure exhaustion!

Curly did not have something odd on his face today and when I asked him what it was he didn’t lie and say he had no idea, but then when I realized it was an old horse stamp I have (that I had no clue actually still has some ink on it) he did not proceed to show me where he stamped his leg and his foot.

My boys Never pee on the floor behind the toilet and even in the trashcan in there! Nope, my boys are civilized little beings who are being raised proper. That would also mean that they never burp at the table or much less that they ever have burping contests! And my daughter Never joins in with them because she is a proper young lady! Baby Boy wasn’t even making a loud noise the other day that was a mimic of Curly’s loud pretend burp! Nope I would be mortified if all that were true!

And of course this 10 year old girl never makes funny faces when I’m trying to take a serious picture of her, she does not have just a touch or two of her Dad’s silliness! But this isn’t actually a sweet picture because I couldn’t find a good silly one right now.

Okay, I’m really late with this post, but better late than never =)!

For the Record

2009-07-14T12:04:00.004-04:00

This is were I write down (okay I'm typing) the information that I want to remember about my kids!

Like the fact that Baby Boy can climb on the couch now (with a bit of effort) whenever he feels like it and is currently tottering on the edge (in a sitting position). And that PJ loves to snuggle with his youngest brother and even hold him captive against his will. Oh and Baby Boy can get down properly when he wants to as well.

How about the fact that my now 10 year old, yep I can't believe Sissy is TEN, is begging me for a dwarf hamster, that she wants to buy with her birthday money. I've already said yes, we are waiting on her father to cave in!-Update- She bought her baby Dwarf hamster and is trying to win it's trust so it stops biting her!

Or that I'm taking her to the midnight, opening of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince tonight, she is so excited about both!-Update - We went and had a good time, she was wide awake when we left at 3AM! It was packed and there were plenty of people dressed up as characters, we even ran into some at WalMart buying candy like we did before the movie. Did I mention we bought a big tub of popcorn that we ate less than 1/2 of! And we ran out of our free refill drink, but for goodness sake who is going to leave a Harry Potter movie to get the refill, not us!

PJ still tells me he'd rather homeschool than go back to public school. Obviously I didn't work him hard enough when we homeschooled. He spends any time he can playing games on his DS, Wii and the computer. He surprised me the other day by finishing a chapter book without me making him (Spiderwick)!

I could add a gazillion more things, but then I'd never finish, so I better stop!

Not Me Monday

2009-07-06T10:46:00.001-04:00

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I for one do not love the new NMM Button! And evidently my main column isn’t slightly too small for the new button that is rectangular, nope my blog wouldn’t have a too small column!

I did not, while driving along by myself, pretend I could sing like Steven Tyler, Scott Weiland or Eddie Vedder! Nope I would never sing very loud with the music turned all the way up while speeding down the interstate, nope not me!

Let’s see what else I didn’t do this week…….Oh I remember, I didn’t run into into someone at the library, say hello and how are you doing, then walk away and try to figure out who that was! Nope not me, I then wouldn’t spend thirty minutes debating if that was a mom of kid’s friend or a lady from Bible study. I wouldn’t still not be sure of such a thing, because I am good with names and faces!

Oh my, and one of the penguins on my TV did not just sing “I’ll make love to you like you want me to,” why in the world would that be in a children’s movie???? I’m not suggesting that you skip Happy Feet and watch something else if you have young children!

I’m not going to end by letting you know that what you see is only chocolate on Baby Boy, since someone had questioned what was on him!

And that I didn’t stick him right in the bath instead of grabbing one of these, nope not me!

Now go and see what all the other Not Me’ers (that is a word) are doing this week!

I Might Be Crazy

2009-07-03T20:56:00.001-04:00

So, I’ve finally realized that I might just be a tiny, touch of crazy! Please don’t say that you already knew that, okay you can say it if you want, I mean I can’t hear you or anything.

You see I married this man who loves to have kids climb all over him! And even though I wanted to tell the kids to settle down the whole time, I did as I was asked and promptly got the camera to get a few shots. You might not be able to tell, but all four of our kids are in this shot!

And did you know that it really dawned on me that I’d lost my mind when he asked me to get a shot of this!

I really didn’t want to! You see, the inner-hidden clean freak inside of me was screaming that I need to stick him in the bathtub without a moment’s delay! So see I’m a a bit crazy because instead I got the camera and took a picture! But only a bit crazy because I told my hubby that he had to grab him to prevent this mess from spreading! And then I did stick him in the tub to satisfy that inner clean freak that no one knew I had!

Oh and one more reason that I might be crazy is that I decided to open up an Etsy store! Because I’ve got nothing better to do and all! So I’ve only got two things in there at the moment, so don’t get too excited or anything! But if I find the time I’ll be adding more soon! But right now I’ve got to go take care of my fussing toddler who likes to point and grunt like a cave man!

Teaser Tuesdays

2009-06-30T09:00:00.003-04:00

My teaser today is from one of the Maximum Ride Series by James Patterson
These are in the young adult section and my daughter and I have both been reading them out of order.

Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports

My two, actually three sentences are from page 168

"I was born to fly. And yeah, I know tons of people before me have said that, thought that. But I was literally born to fly, made to fly, created with the purpose of being able to propel myself through the air as effortlessly as any bird."

Now and go visit MizB at Should Be Reading for some more Teaser Tuesdays!

Not Me Monday

2009-06-29T21:13:00.001-04:00

Well evidently it’s Monday and time for Not Me Monday hosted by MckMama! In case you didn’t know NMM is where you get all your little secrets and imperfections out in the open while still denying them of course, as in “Who me? No Not ME!”

So what did I NOT do this week I’m sure you are waiting on the edge of your seats to find out…….well wait while I try and remember something……….

Okay I did not forget my daughter’s reading group because I forgot what day of the week it even was! I did not have a conversation about said forgetfulness on Saturday with my friend to later realize I’d forgotten the place I was supposed to have gone on Saturday! There is no way that I’m that forgetful!

I’m not super glad that the friend I just mentioned is doing so well after her recent second surgery! I’m not going to go call her in a minute because I want to check and make sure she is still doing good! She is not a wonderful friend that I’ve known since I was 12 ! I don’t want her to start writing something on the blog she created so I can link to her and be able to read it of course!

I’m didn’t make breakfast for dinner tonight again and my hubby didn’t have to run to the store to get syrup because I hadn’t thought about it. I’m more prepared than that!

Whew, I didn’t just stop and unlock my boys door because they locked themselves out for the 100th time this year!

Curly and I didn’t take these pictures of ourselves this week, he did not want to help me with the camera one tiny bit. And he’s not missing his front two teeth because he had to have them pulled because he hurt them a few months back! He is not a super wild, happy, silly and sweet child! He does not love to use the F word, you know the one young boys (and some old ones too) love to use because it refers to one of their favorite things to do! Fart of course!

I didn’t try and create a new NMM logo for MckMama and she didn’t send me a nice email thanking for me for my pathetic attempt, no seriously she didn’t do that, she was sweet and said she liked them both (maybe I’ll post them sometime)! I am not looking forward to seeing who’s she did pick though!

I’m not finished and I don’t think you should go and read more NMM’s!

Then Sings My Soul Saturday

2009-06-27T01:51:00.002-04:00

I love Martina McBride and many of her songs have a great message. Here is one of my faves of hers.

Go visit Amy at Signs, Miracles & Wonders for more TSMSS!

His Name is Jesus by Max Lucado

2009-06-26T22:40:00.004-04:00

His Name is Jesus by Max Lucado is a beautiful gift book that I received to review. It comes in a sturdy reusable cover to help protect it. This book is full of stories, chronologically ordered of Christ's life retold by Max Lucado in a way that only he can write. Though much of the book is in Lucado's own words there is still quite a bit of scripture and it is all based on scripture. This book is 191 pages of magnificent pictures, stories, quotes and scriptures. One minute this book has you rejoicing and another crying. It covers Jesus' Birth, Mission, Death, Resurrection and Legacy.

This is a book I would love to lay on my coffee table, if I only had one and didn't have a toddler running around that would rip it up! So for now it will remain in the bedroom. Here is a quote from page 68 the topic is Jesus Calls Peter to Walk on Water
"Those drenched men don't look like a team of apostles who are only a decade away from changing the world.... They look more like a handful of shivering sailors who are wondering if the next wave they ride will be there last."

I could go on just because I want to share, but you will have to read it yourself! Oh and I had to take a few pictures of it, so I will leave you with those!

A Walk Down Memory Lane

2009-06-24T15:39:00.001-04:00

Come for a walk with me down Memory Lane!
And if you have a "Memory Lane" post, head on over to Scottsville to join in on the fun! So I keep missing this middle of the week meme that the other Erica does! I’ve wanting to put up this old picture because it is hilarious to me! This is my husband and I when we were dating about 15 years ago! I can’t believe it’s been that long! I swear we neither one look anything like this now! He is wearing a leather necklace, which is just weird for him! And of course then there is his hair and the fact that we were both thinner(more so me) and I was a strange shade of blonde with a funny look on my face. I want to fix my hair and change my shirt!Next week I’m going to find one of us like 5 years later, I had one out but don’t know where I put it. This picture was taken on my parents front porch at Christmas time, I’m pretty sure the year was 1994, that was the year we met!

not me Monday

2009-06-15T09:17:00.000-04:00

It’s that time of the week again, time to confess all your imperfections and adorable little quirks via MckMama’s Not Me Monday blog carnival.

First off I’d like you to know that I’m not starting this post on Friday so I won’t forget to get write something in time! We all know I’m always on top of things and never forget anything!!!

My kids aren’t starting VBS at another church next week, if my kids don’t like it I’m not going to make them go! Me and Baby Boy aren’t going to get to spend some one on one time together!

I’m not applying to go back to school in the fall, I’m not hoping it all works out and that I qualify for some grants instead of just having loans! I’m not pretty sure what I’m going back for, but still not going to reveal it here until I’m closer to absolutely sure. I’m not hoping to be able to have a job that makes money when my littlest starts kindergarten in the year 2013 ( that doesn’t sound even a tiny bit futuristic to me either)! In 2013 my oldest will NOT be turning 14! No that is Not possible! And no doubt she won’t be needing more and more money for things too! And it is not possible that I bought that child deodorant this week , because she is not old enough for such things, no way!

Another thing that didn’t happen this week was me making yummy sugar cookies and Curly helping me decorate them at 8:30 at night so we could eat them at 9:00 right before bed! Nope that would never happen in this house! We would not eat icing and sprinkled covered cookies right before bed (and for breakfast the next morning)!

I did not give Baby Boy a pony tail!

He is not adorable no matter what!

I did not sew 21 cloth napkins Sunday night because I was on an extra frugal kick! I’m not a bit thankful that I have a serger (even though my computer doesn’t know that serger is a word)!

And I don’t like this shot of PJ in his PJ’s!

I’m not feeling extremely tired at the moment so I’m not going to stop typing and leave it at that!

Busy

2009-06-09T16:18:00.002-04:00

I'm here and busy, sometimes it takes effort to write, sometimes I just think it does so I delay. But I'll being posting more soon. I'm trying to get our summer started... house clean and on a cleaning/learning/play routine with the kids. Once we get more into our summer habits I'll probably post more! Or maybe I'll post again tonight ;) one can never say for sure!

Not Me Monday

2009-06-01T11:25:00.001-04:00

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I’m not going to complain one tiny bit in this post!

We didn’t take our whole family on an overnight campout with the Cub scouts this weekend!

I don’t feel like I’m cheating to say I went camping because at 9:30PM I decided to take Baby Boy and myself home to sleep! (We were approximately 5 minutes from our house) I wasn’t back promptly at 8AM the next morning!

Their were not a gazillion, billion mosquitoes at this campsite!

I would not have dressed my family in pants and long sleeves if I’d realized the mosquitoes were a much bigger issue than the sweltering heat! My children did not come home covered in bites! The guy at the grocery store did not ask what was wrong with my son’s face this morning!

Did I mention that it wasn’t a 10 minute walk to the bathroom or any running water!

After carrying Baby Boy on my back (in my mei tai) during a hike to the visitor’s center I didn’t get overheated and have to hand off Baby Boy and sit down the whole time we were there and drink a ton more water before I felt like I could walk back.

I didn’t enjoy tying the mei tai on my hubby for the way back! I don’t really wish I would have thought to take a picture of it! (He wore him on the front instead of the back). He didn’t end up knowing the park ranger from high school either (he knows somebody everywhere we go)!

I did not still feel exhausted the next day, even though I got to come home and sleep in my comfy, mosquito free bed!

My camera did not get lost because I left it with my husband who didn’t know I left it with him! I’m not praying we get it back and I don’t feel the slightest disappointment that I don’t have any pictures to go along with this post!

Oh wait, I didn’t almost forget that I got about 3 pictures with my hubby’s older camera, here is one of Baby Boy moving a horseshoe stake around!

Time

2009-05-29T16:51:00.002-04:00

It's hard to find the time to blog sometimes. For some reason I make blogging more work than it needs to be! I feel like a post is almost incomplete without a picture of some sort, so why bother posting if I've got no picture? Well today I'm writing this just because I realized how darn long it'd had been!

We've been sick with a stomach bug all week, it's making it's rounds around the house! Fun! My husband is the only lucky one who hasn't gotten it! My daughter managed to miss 3 days of school this week after having Monday as a holiday! Only one day was she 'truly' sick but the other days she really didn't feel well and considering what we had going around I didn't want to spread it. And next week is there last week of school, they get out Thursday at 11:45 and then I get the rest of the summer with them!

This weekend we are going to attempt to camp as a family! Only one night though, in tent with all of the kids! We will be meeting up with the cubscouts! That is one thing I like about the Boyscouts over Girlscouts is that they are more family oriented. So hopefully I get a few decent pics of our short trip! Did I mention the place is only about 5 minutes from our house?

A Walk Down Memory Lane

2009-05-20T20:02:00.001-04:00

Come for a walk with me down Memory Lane!
And if you have a "Memory Lane" post, head on over to Scottsville to join in on the fun! Today I’m walking around in December of 2004! This was Christmas Eve in the hospital the day after Curly was born! That is Sissy holding not yet Curly and PJ in the foreground.

And of course this is Curly (also known as Blondie among many other nicknames) before he was Blonde, Curly or Hyper!

And while I was in the hospital someone got this shot of Sissy sleeping amongst Christmas boxes and presents!

Next week (or when I jump on the bandwagon again) I’m going to try and venture back pre-kids!

Thank you Erica for hosting this (I just wanted to type my name)!

Teaser Tuesdays

2009-05-19T09:39:00.001-04:00

MizB at Should Be Reading hosts this weekly bookish meme, so head on over to her blog and read the rules to play along or find some great reads! I’ve found a few good books this way!

My teaser today is from Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

from page 5

“What was surprising was how each crossed-out line wounded me – as if the points of the letters had cutting edges. More than that, behind each angry beginning lurked a pool of hurt; Jacob’s pain cut me deeper than my own.”

Hope

2009-05-18T11:59:00.001-04:00

“And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” Romans 5:5

Just felt like sharing this verse this morning. It was sort of the ‘theme’ of the Romans Bible study I just finished up with CBS. In case you’ve never heard of CBS and are looking for a Bible study group click here to find a location near you! But that’s not what was on my mind to share. Just thinking about my sometimes seemingly illogical hope and that no doubt it comes from the Holy Spirit and is available for all who choose to receive it!

Not Me Monday

2009-05-11T10:49:00.001-04:00

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

It’s not Monday, and I didn’t just eat cheesy potatoes for breakfast with a cherry coke! I would never do that! Nor would I ever let my 4 year old eat Goldfish and Yogurt for breakfast!

My little Baby Boy is not still sick and congested, this has not been going on forever! He is not on 4 medications (since Friday) and still not seeming to be better! I’m not frustrated and feeling sorry for him! I’m not wondering how much of this medicine he actually gets in him, he knows out to spit as soon as it’s goes in his mouth! Here is how he feels after getting his medicine! Those couldn’t be curls peeking out from around his head!

I’m not listening to a CD I got a my sister-in-law’s wedding this weekend, it’s not full of love songs I never normally listen too! I got some fabulous pictures at the wedding, because we had great seats! Seriously we were not a half hour early and didn’t dawdle outside so as to not get a good seat! They didn’t have a jumping over the broom ceremony as well as having the Groom give a gift of 13 coins to the Bride! These WERE the best shots I got! And she WAS a beautiful bride despite my picture taking!

I couldn’t write a gazillion more things, but really need to go tend to my children and house!

Sky Watch Friday

2009-05-08T22:08:00.001-04:00

I took these a few months ago from our airport parking lot’s roof! PJ and I had been to the airport for a birthday party so I had my camera and the sky was beautiful!

I saw this meme over at Cathy’s blog and thought it looked like something I’d like =). So head on over to SkyWatch Friday and see some more great sky pics!

A Walk Down Memory Lane

2009-05-06T20:43:00.001-04:00

Come for a walk with me down Memory Lane!
And if you have a "Memory Lane" post, head on over to Scottsville to join in on the fun!

This is PJ at a little over a year old! He had curls, but lost them with his first haircut! He was also very chubby! He didn’t recognize himself when I showed him this picture! I think it’s adorable and boy is it hard for me to remember him this young!

Book Review~ Face of Betrayal by Lisa Wiehl

2009-05-04T22:13:00.000-04:00

Face of Betrayal by Lisa

Wiehl with April Henry

When I got this book I didn’t know much about it. I wasn’t dying to read it but I finished my other book so I started it! I read a few pages and was thinking I was going to have to make myself read it, wrong! After I got past around page 20 I couldn’t put it down!

The story was centered around three friends who call themselves the Triple Threat Club (I thought the name was kind of corny). Allison, who is a Federal prosecutor, Nicole who is an FBI agent and Cassidy who is a reporter for a local television station. At the beginning of the book Katie, a girl in the Senate page program, goes missing while on winter break. Almost immediately the Senator who sponsored her participation in the page program is a suspect in her disappearance! There are several twists and turns and things aren’t always as expected! Alison, Nicole and Cassidy all help contribute to the case in their own way. Several of the other characters encounter danger along the way, making for more excitement and ‘can’t put down’ factor!

There was plenty of suspense but it wasn’t scary for me at all. I felt like there were so many ‘main’ characters that none of them were fully developed, but I did still learn plenty about each of them. And I imagine their characters might well continue to develop in future books (just a guess on my part). The book switched perspectives a lot, which in the very beginning was a bit confusing but eventually I felt it added interest and dimension! There was a touch of scripture and prayer in the book, in a way that I don’t think would be offensive to non-believers, but as a believer makes you feel a bit more connected to Alison, the prosecutor. One more thing of note for bloggers is that the missing character had a blog which you get to read snippets of (oh how I wanted to be able to read through her whole blog at the beginning)! I would give this book 4 out of 5 stars!

If you are interested here is a video of the author talking about her book, she is a Fox News Legal Analyst who you may have heard of!

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Not Me Monday

2009-05-04T12:12:00.001-04:00

It’s been awhile since I’ve done a Not Me Monday post! I didn’t really feel right doing one without MckMama, while Stellan was in the hospital. I am so happy that he is home! But in case you didn’t know Not Me Monday is where you confess all your embarrassing and awful moments of the last week while still managing to deny them! Oh yeah and my favorite part is to read about how ‘perfect’ everyone else is!

I did not have my parents come over (from 40 minutes away) to babysit while I went to get my recheck echo! When I got there I didn’t find out that my appointment was supposed to be for another day, I was not embarrassed and wasn’t thrilled when they said they would see if they could fit me in! I didn’t forget to even mention that I was this ditzy to my parents when I got back!

So this past week I did not rearrange my living room even though the rest of my house was filthy and ~~calling~~ screaming my name!

I did not then spend two hours cleaning the bathrooms the next day because they were so desperately in need of a scrub down. Of course I didn’t even finish the second bathroom and it’s floor isn’t still waiting for me clean it! Did I mention how my husband did not say the other day (before I cleaned) that the boy’s bathroom smelled like a boy’s bathroom! I did not say, unfortunately it’s your daughter’s bathroom too, poor Sissy!

Speaking of Sissy she is not home from school today because she was coughing all night! I would not have completely made her go (after she took some medicine of course) except that she asked her Daddy and she has him wrapped! I’m not that mean! Oh and did I mention that she’s NOT stopped coughing all day!

There is no way my brain has run out things for me to type, so I’m not throwing this picture in here just because I like it!

Now go ahead and visit MckMama to read some more NMM’s (and she’s got a contest up today)!

Teaser Tuesdays

2009-04-28T21:20:00.001-04:00

My teaser today is from a book I just grabbed of the library shelf randomly! I’m not finished yet, but I’m enjoying it pretty well so far. I’m able to put it down, but still want to get it back to it!

From page 54

“For an hour Fallon lay motionless, waiting, trying not to think about anything once the memories were locked away again. The army, with it’s hurry-up-and-wait philosophy, had taught him the rudiments of patience; the routine at Unidyne and the desert treks had honed and refined it for him.”

Don’t forget to visit MizB for more Teaser Tuesdays!

A Thousand Words Thursday

2009-04-23T14:26:00.001-04:00

An Early (8:30) Morning Grocery Trip

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9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,

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⁹Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,