HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMI!!!

today is my sister's birthday... love you....

good grief

as i sit here and i looked at the last date of the last post.... good grief. well we have had lots of changes going on with our bunch. since march, well here goes the update. we have moved into a much larger house for us... YEAH!!! the situation arose where we had to move out of our previous house, gasp. then the lord spoke clearly to me, "find a house." then with all of my rationalization of "what's" and how's" we found this house, and thanks to god, we are making it a home. double smile. the kids have finished school. we will have 2 in high school. eek, they are growing so fast.... mega fast. taylor and ashley just had their birthday a few days ago. 14 and 15. they are wonderful girls. joshua has poison ivy, we are almost done going through the 2 week cycle with it. amen, this time it hasn't spread like it did last time. my little man is highly allergic to it. it has stayed on his arm, and not spread like last time to cover his whole body. keith's nephew got married in may. congratulations..... we love you brad and may. keith neice is having baby number 2, which this little booger is making her very sick. :( keith's other nephew b.j. is in the military, and he is having a baby as well. our family is growing like crazy. keith's sister melissa has moved to ohio. our little town feels just a little more empty with her and shianne gone. i love you girl, and i still cannot believe that you are already moved. i am very happy for you though, keep on growing in your adventure. i still love my job. i am very blessed in that aspect of my life. VERY BLESSED. my wonderful husband surprised me wednesday with buying my flowers and having them delivered to my work. this is why i love this man and have for 16 years now.... these are just a snip-it of the new adventures we have been on the past few 4 months. i will not wait this long between posts in the future. there is way to much to keep up with. try remembering .... :)

steady as we go....

we are just plugging along these days, time is marching on. i am working lots, and staying pretty sleepy these days. for some reason i keep waking up at 3ish. this isn't good for the circles under my eyes :) yesterday was the last day for basketball with julia and joshua. tonight is the awards service. i must say that i am glad it is over, maybe our saturdays won't feel so rushed. to end on a high note, joshua scored a basket in his last game yesterday, after he made the shot, he turned to look at me... then smile. priceless....

today 2/20/09

today is my birthday, but yesterday is what is on my mind. we had a very tough day, our blind one-eyed wonder olivia bit joshua on the face and it required 9 stitches. we decided that it would be for the best to put her down because she has just steadly gotten aggressive. we miss her a whole bunch and there is a BIG void with her gone. so i have added some pics of her to just say bye livvie.

happy birthday julia

our squiggs is 12 today... happy birthday baby!!!!

picture for the day

this is my incentive to keep going to the gym

sisters and such

my birthday is next friday and i'm so excited. i am taking my kids to go see my sister that night. i miss her a whole bunch. not knowing her until i was 26 or so, doesn't seem to matter. as i have gotten older, i realize how much she does mean to me :). growing up an "only child" did have it's perks, but seeing the relationship that my children have with one another, is very comforting. would have been cool to have her there, those late night talks, that now as a parent i am telling my girls to "hush and go to sleep".... so now as adults with families and such, we try to hang out when we are able, living 2 hours away makes it hard though. but not to fret.... i can email her or chat through text,myspace... the list is long of ways to keep in touch. see you soon ami..... yeah!!!!!

just marching along

we have found ourselves at the end of another week...EEEKKKK who knew that the days would go so much faster the older we got. nobody told me... :) it's funny to me how our children want to grow up so fast and we just want to be irresponsible and not have a care in the world. taylor is in band now at the high school, along with u.i.l. and along with making staight A's. congratulations baby girl. ashley is plugging right along with basketball and school. julia is in band at the jr. high, she is doing fabulous!! joshua is working on a project for school and katie is excited about reading a whole hannah montana book :) i say all of this with smiles on my face, because even when they are challenging us and arguing with us, they are just fabulous!!! our little babies aren't little. they might not be considered as so, but they will always be to me. i will be turning .....34 in about 3 weeks. i thought that it would be strange to finally be this "old", but i can truly say it very lightheartedly now. it is quite fabulous to be this age, i can see my life moving forward and it's pretty cool. i'm just a big ole' dork... YEAH!!!!

super mom

the christmas holiday is behind us, sheesh!!! now the kids are going back to school, and our lives are just plugging along. work, laundry, dinner, bed, bath, laundry, breakfast, laundry and lunch... did i mention laundry? sometimes i feel as though those articles of clothing are multiplying on their own... sounds like i might be on to something. just think about it moms, you get your washing caught up, exhale and when you go back in there it seems like that stuff is some super powered fungus. i mean it just gets out of control sooooo fast. but to say that i must say what a sense of YES!!!! i get when it is almost done. going to bed with the laundry room just a little bigger is fantastic. the kids are getting better at keeping the washing going though. hey you get all of 'em working together and that stuff just goes so much smoother. ya know?? work is crazy busy, awesome, home is crazy busy, wonderful and the night time just seems to fly by... not so cool. i find that as the older i have gotten ( 34 in feb. eek) i enjoy my sleep, so much more. i am certainly regressing to an infantile period in my life. :) i do enjoy a good afternoon nap now and then. but as soon as i lay my head down, snuggle in my wonderful covers... someone tells me that they cannot find something, something broke, they are hungry the dogs need to go to the bathroom... so on and so on. this time is fleeting and it is going by fast, so as i crawl out of my shelter of blankets, i ,"tired yet able mom" march into duty. because after all i never will be off duty... :) amen

holidaze

as i watch the commercials, hear the reports everywhere about how we are entering a terrible financial crisis, i am reminded that this holiday isn't about presents. it isn't about money, it isn't about spending. it is about Jesus. it is about sharing the gift of eternal life with those that don't know about it. this year we, as many out there, are strapped for cash. nothing extra for anything other than bills. there is nothing we can do except for just keep going to work, and praying for mercy. we know that the Lord is good, and he is taking care of us. i truly belive that this season of rejoicing isn't one to be in mourning due to money or the economy. maybe this is us being brought back to a more simple time. remembering what is important and meaningful...family, love, life and Jesus... thank you God for your Son, thank you for giving Him to us. one day i might have to give you one of my children in service to you, then i will understand what your sacrifice meant. thank you... happy birthday....

scheherazade

this weekend taylor starred in the high school fall production of "scheherazade". she played the little sister "dinny". i must brag and say that she was fantastic. her first ever attempt at acting, and she is a natural. the first showing was saturday, and keith's sister and bro-in-law came down to see her. they spent the evening with us and it was nice to see them. they loved watching their oldest niece perform. then today my sister and bro-in-law with their 2 boys came to watch taylor perform as well. they spent the early afternoon with us. we all hung out and watched the play, then they needed to get back home so they could keep the boys on a regular schedule.i am attaching a few pics to show her off, just a little...

my sister

as of late i have been talking to my sister who lives in houston almost daily. this might sound strange, but we are both very busy, she has 2 boys and i the 5. i must say that emailing makes me miss her like crazy. i didn't know she even existed until 6 years ago...long story. anyways having siblings is different for me, being raised an only child. she is an awesome person and i am very proud to have her as my sister. ami is having a difficult time with one of her boys so please keep her in mind when you get ready to pray. i think the more prayers that go up on her behalf, the better. if we can interceed for her, things are sure to get better. lots of love my sis ami :)

family grievance

tonight i am trying to understand the why's and how's of things happening. long story short in the past week, we as a family, have encountered hate, anger, abuse, lies and hurt, all these just from family. so as i am writing this post i must ask (out loud) why do we as family on the outside to the world pretend to look pretty put together? yet on the inside, behind the prying eyes of the public, ya know our church family, friends, we are just ugly and almost well, not almost, we ARE in denial about it all. like if anyone out in the world knew that i had ugly, they would act as if they didn't know me. why is that such a big influence on us? my husband is dealing with abuse in his past that was more or less ignored by all those who should have jumped up and cried STOP or at least NO. so this being said, our lives have been filled with other forms of him self medicating, or picking up some form of personal addiction to mask the pain from feeling abandoned. this isn't a great environment to live in.he is tortured. now on to the other point, i cannot explain to my children anymore why other people don't take the time to get to know them or just flat out favoritism to others. it is unexplainable as if i feel the need to make excuses for those who have wronged them, just so i can protect my children. when what i should be doing is helping them understand that i don't understand. i just don't get it, i don't know why someone would treat people with a double standard, especially family and really treat kids that way. i am trying to look with eyes of the Lord, but when i am in such a confused state of mind as to why your own family behave a certain way, i'm lost for vision. why do we love people outside our own family more than our own family? we look the other way i guess because of conviction, because of pride. i mean are we really ready to go through those growing Jesus pangs to see more clearly? do we admit our wrongs to those we have hurt so that we can help the hurting heal? do we accept responsibility for our actions, even though they were dumb, or involved favor to another? why is confrontation just that, a confrontation? shouldn't we want to not be a terrible person? shouldn't we want to be fair? i'm not saying our family is hellbound, what i am saying is that there has got to be a time when enough is enough. when you stand up and don't let that grievance come to a boiling point. you stand up and give control over to Jesus, and be willing to be sat down by Him. you go to that person and take responsibility for actions, be it malicious or accidental at the time. you be willing to accept what is being said to you, leave pride at the door and really listen, with your heart. don't judge them because you don't want to get dirty. go to them gently and restore them. love them, and yes by all means when you haven't seen them, do more than just think about them... CALL them, VISIT them. that is what makes the difference... being a doer of the Word, not just a hearer.

painting

it seems the sound of spray guns and rolling cages is humming along around here. the outside of the house is barn red, where as the trim is a cream color, very bright i might say. the inside of the house in the living room and dining room is a green, grape leaves to be exact. i am pondering what color to paint the kitchen. right now it is an off yellow, very mild looking. mostly a sun burst color. the hallway is too, but i am considering adding some of the living room green to the top and let the yellow show through. joshua doesn't like it and katie loves it, go figure. keith gave me a frown when he saw it, but like i said, go figure. here are some pictures of the house as it is going through some very bright changes...

hum drum

there isn't much new going on in our house. waiting for the holidays? nah... taylor is hard at work on a play she will be performing in next month. ashley and julia are still playing soccer. joshua and katie are plugging through school. homework, practice, dinner and bedtime. things are slow work wise, busy family wise though. we always seem to be on the go, so when my head hits the pillow at night i usually don't have much difficulty going to sleep, it's the waking up that i'm not getting much pleasure in. we are enjoying the cooler nights and mornings. our year old 70 pound puppy absolutely loves it. we can't get her to come in.the bassett hound has started sleeping with us agin, that is a true sign of the colder weather. when she gets on the bed and burrows under the blankets and sheets. she thinks its her right to sleep this way, i haven't told her shes a dog, maybe someday i will. for now though it's just too cute.... :)

1972 mustang grande

about 3 weeks ago, while driving down the highway, i saw the most beautiful thing. it was a 1972 mustang grande. having mentioned this to keith, he saw it and wasn't in awe as much as i was. not long after that the car had gone somewhere else, it was sold. keith had done some checking and found it. long story short...it is now in our driveway. :) this car is awesome. it does need some work, brakes, steering and some cosmetic things. this will be a slow restoration, and that's alright. i have nothing but time until the Lord takes me home. keith started it up today to drive it home and let me tell you, it sounded so cool ! so now he is in awe of it as much as i am. i just wanted to show you some pictures and get your thoughts.

heartbreak

my heart breaks, yet those are tears of joy for the possibilities that are ahead. today my children started school, taylor is a freshmen and katie is a 2nd grader. we have a very big span of ages. joshua started junior high this morning and this is ashley's last year of junior high. julia is breezing right along in the 6th grade. i am amazed at how fast they grow up. scared for them, excited for the upcoming events. when i dropped taylor off, she was very scared and nervous, tears in her eyes. the only thing i knew to do was to call keith and ask him to pray for her as i had done. katie was very excited and giggly to be in elementary school. after all this is the first time she has been in a school by herself, without siblings. so while they are at school, i have to sit back and let the silence from the house soak in. for a minute it's nice, then reality reminds me... laundry, dishes, sweeping ... the list is just getting started. enjoy school babies,it goes so fast.

2 more mouths to feed

in april we added leelu to our family. about 3 weeks ago we added korben. today we thought that we should find us a plava laguna. so we did and we brought her home. her colors are totally breathtaking. bright green, yellow and lavenderish blue on her cheeks. for those of you who don't know where in the world these names are coming from, it is from the movie the fifth element. we enjoy this movie quite a bit. so enjoy these pictures and know that our house is filled with lots of tweets and chirps.

last tuesday

while in the midst of our packing, we discovered that the Lord was blessing Keith's business. we would ask Him "Lord are we supposed to move? you keep giving us more jobs". we would ask this as we added... " we are still packing". then another job would come his way and then we found ourselves asking " Lord we are packing, are we supposed to move?" then another job would come and of course it was followed with the same very rhetorical question... DUH!!! could we have been thumped any harder on our heads? then in our ignorance we decided to come to the Lord together, and pray for a very divine intervention. ( like we hadn't been getting them the whole time). we asked for a very clear answer from the Lord to send us someone out of the blue to tell us that we weren't supposed to move. now that's a big request, but we have an awesome God and might i add that i, tend to expect big tremendous things. so without a doubt He sent someone over to our house just hours later, telling us that the Lord sent them over to tell us we are not supposed to move. this was an awesome miraculous things that happened. my dear friend that came over, couldn't wait to tell us. even as i write this, i get goose pimples. she had tears in her eyes as i was telling her that we had prayed this most carefully to Him. we hadn't told anyone about our prayer, but we knew before we made a big mistake, out of His will, that we needed a clear-as-a-bell answer. THERE IT WAS !!! it was just so darn cool, i couldn't help myself from grinning, still am actually. so now we are unpacking, with all knowledge, that we are doing what we are supposed to be doing, that is pretty cool... ;-)

it's hot, hot, hot!!!

i'm not sure what to when it gets so hot outside. play in some water? nah... sunburn. turn down the a/c? nah... electric bill goes up. bask in the sun and bathe, just let it soak in, in a most cleansing way? that sounds relaxing. but the question is, when? before laundry, after dishes? early in the day, or late in the evening? fighting for the safety of my legs against mosquitos sounds too dramatic. doesn't really matter when i guess, except for the fact that i must make some time for myself, without letting that"mom voice" in my head reminding me of all the things i could be doing instead. i have gotten better at telling that crazy little "work, work, work," attitude to just chill. and i must admit that it is very cool to just stop. after all His word says to "be still and know that I am God". WHAT?? that goes against everything i know. how in the world am i supposed to be still when there is so much to be done?? when i do stop, that's when i realize that He is telling me something that i really need to know. something about how much He has prepared something wonderful for me. :) that is just cool. Wow !!! He wants to talk to me. yes i am smiling from ear to ear... and yes i am listening.