It's official.

I am offically addicted to Ebay. I love to buy. I love to sell. It's a win win situation.

Can you say "thank you?"

So, we decide to go swimming this afternoon. I lay out EVERY ONE'S swimsuits, towels, goggles and sunscreen. By everyone I mean my husband as well. And the conversation that follows goes something like this:

Fred: "I thought we were saving these swimming trucks?"

Me: "saving them for what?"

Fred: "the cruise!"

Me: "Oh, well did you want me get you a different pair?"

Fred: "NO!"

Me: "well what do you want?"

Fred:"Nothing."

Me: "well then what is your point?"

Fred: "I don't have a point. I just thought we should save them for the cruise."

Me: "So let me get this straight, you don't have a point, nor do you want me to get you another pair. Yet for some reason you felt the need to interrupt my phone conversation to tell me we should save the swim trucks."

Fred: BLANK LOOK!!!!!!!!
If anyone out there can explain this conversation to me by all means explain away! What ever happened to saying "thank you?" After all I did get your clothes out and get everyone ready.

Tag it and bag it!

I have spent all evening getting ready for the consignment sale in August. So far I have tagged and hung up 100 different items of clothing. I am no where near done!!!! I am always amazed just how much clothes we have. I guess that would explain why I never get caught up on the laundry.

I just can't resist.

I have to share this lovely little bit of information. I feel this overwhelming need to let everyone know the latest in my in-law saga. Once again I will refrain from complaining and simply share the details.

Some of you may remember a few weeks ago when my mother in law decided to educate my children in the dangers of Poison Oak. Thanks to her informative and "hands on" lesson Elijah developed a huge reaction. One that had to be aggressively treated with steroids and cortisone. He is after all home schooled and homeschoolers like to experience lessons from every aspect.

My mother in law told me that she wanted the children recognize poison when they saw it. This way they would know to stay away. She felt that we should spray the yard the way they do in Alabama. That would kill any poison that we might have. It never entered her mind that the poison oak she showed them wasn't in OUR yard. It was in the neighbors yard. Nor did she consider the fact that I have five children. We have lived here eight years. NONE of them have EVER gotten poison oak or poison ivy!!! Not until she felt that she needed to "educate" my family.

Well, Elijah went to Alabama this week to spend a couple of days working on the farm with his Grandad. He is coming home this afternoon. He called this morning to talk to me. That was when he casually mentioned that while at GRANDMOTHER'S HOUSE he had gotten into some, you guessed it.......POISON OAK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lemonade????

I know when life gives you lemons your suppose to make lemonade. But what about when life gives you apples? Well, if you live at our house you make applesauce.

We have two huge apple trees in our back yard. Monday night's storm split one of the trees. So a rather large branch off the tree fell to the ground. It was covered with apples. They weren't quite ripe enough to eat or to use to make apple jelly. So what do you do with 600 unripe apples?

I decided to make applesauce. That way even though they were still too sour to eat I could add sugar and Cinnamon to sweeten them. 200 peeled apples, 6 cups of sugar, a fourth of a cup Cinnamon, and 3 hours later we had 16 cups of applesauce. It was a HUGE undertaking. Lots of work and a huge mess. I have made apple butter before but not applesauce. It turned out pretty good. It tastes great. Final analysis:

200 apples = free

bag of sugar = $2

Cinnamon = $2

Freezer containers = $5

10 cups of applesauce that I could have bought at the store for $3 = Not worth it!

Time in the Kitchen with my kids = priceless

I LOVE TO SHOP!!!

I love to shop at the children's place. It is one of the few stores where I can get matching clothes for ALL the boys. And right now they are having a sale. Not just any sale. But an amazing sale to end all sales!! There clearance price is an additional 50% off. I got eight shirts, four pairs of flip flops, four pairs of sunglasses, and four pairs of shorts for $31.00. I was sooooo excited.

No, my children don't need anymore clothes. But I wanted them to have coordinated outfits for the cruise. I know it sounds so vain. I really NEED for them to coordinate. My OCD requires that somethings be in order. So when I can get my all my kids outfits for several days for 30 bucks I go for it. Sure it means we will have to stay home this week. Yeah, I spent my gas money! But it will be worth it to look good in those cruise pictures!lol

Such profound emotion.

This day started normal enough. Everything seemed so ordinary yet such an unusual set of events would ultimately lead to an extreme experience. An experience that would lead to profound emotion. Emotion full of so many feelings.



We got up this morning to eat breakfast. My inlaws are in town and wanted us to meet them to eat (first in a long line of circumstances.) So we headed out to breakfast. Roy (father-in-law) needed to pick-up Betty (mother-in-law) before we could eat (second circumstance.) This made us extremely late for breakfast. Burger King was our only choice (number three.) We ordered our food and sat down. Well the kids wanted to move next to the window to sit with their cousins who were also at Burger King (number four.) I ended up sitting at the window because my seat had been taken by someone (number five.) We finished eating and were about to leave when Grace asked if she could take her cousin out on the patio to feed the birds. I said sure but only for five minutes (number six.) As I sat there by the window I looked out and was amazed.



Coming down Clinton Hwy was the longest procession of Motorcycle cops I have ever seen. Followed by many city cruisers. Then several undercover cars proudly displaying American flags. Followed by more motorcycle cops. Suddenly there was a white Hearst with huge American flags wavy from the back. The procession of cars that followed was astounding. Most of them decorated with flags. Then bringing up the end was 40 to 50 motorcycles ALL displaying American flags.



It didn't take long to realize that this was the funeral procession for Jason Hovator. He was killed last Sunday in Afghanistan. I was truly overwhelmed by what I saw and felt. I felt such sorrow for this family. I felt such gratitude for a soldier who gave his life for my freedom. I felt such pride in my country. I felt so unbelievably moved by the support I saw for this young man today. My entire attitude and outlook was changed today.



For a moment today my life stood still.

Waiting, is not my greatest virtue!!

Isaac went to Alabama with his Grandparents for the weekend. Much to my dismay I might add. The deal was that they would bring him home today (Monday.) Well it is 7:41 and still no Isaac. It is driving me crazy. I don't like it when my kids are gone. I don't like it when they are gone with my inlaws. And I don't like waiting on him to come home. Needless to say I am not thrilled at this moment.

The phone is ringing. Hopefully, it is my boy telling me he is almost home. I miss him terribly. I always miss my kids when they are gone. I feel like a part of me is missing. It is so important to me that all my kids be with me, under one roof when it is bed time. I don't sleep well when I cant check on each one and know for myself that all is well. Thankfully, tonight EVERYONE will be home with me where they belong.

I know it sounds horribly selfish. But God gave them to me to raise. They are my responsibility. He holds me accountable to HIM for what happens to my children. I don't want to let Him down. So I make no apologies for wanting my children close to me. Besides I like my kids. I like to spend time with them. They are a great bunch a people.

Nothing Extraordinary

We have had a nice weekend. Nothing extraordinary but really nice. Sometimes those are the best. I tend to over plan and force things to happen. Generally it works better if I just "let" things happen instead.

Saturday was pretty much consumed with getting new glasses for Frederick. He won't pick them out on his own. So off we ALL went to the mall to get new glasses. It took all afternoon but we did treat ourselves to the teriyaki chicken (man, I love that stuff!) And then a Auntie Anne's pretzel (love those too!) Then we had a great surprise. Kora and Llyod stopped by around 10:00 and I got to hold baby Fisher. Don't get much better than that.

Sunday was a wonderful day. Back to the mall to pick the second set of glasses. Unfortunately, they still were wrong! Oh well. We then headed to Dollywood. I LOVE to go on Sunday. It is never busy then. Lloyd talked us in to going to see the 50's show. It was great. I really enjoyed it. Then off to the rides. Everybody enjoys those. We left Dollywood for Gatti's. Kora has free game cards for everyone. WOW, what a treat. Needless to say we had a really good time. Thanks Kora for the cards!!!

Well, as you can see we had a busy and fun weekend. I just love when things come together and run smoothly. It is sooooo nice.

300 - No not the movie!

300!!! That is how many ears of corn we shucked, silked, washed, cooked, wrapped and put in the freezer! All before 12:00 today!!!! So needless to say we will be eating a lot of corn this winter.

Hey Lisa maybe we need to do some trading. Corn for squash? lol

Best thing since sliced bread!!!

This may very well be the greatest invention since sliced bread. It is truly amazing. I don't think my house has EVER been this clean. I don't want to stop cleaning. Trust me that is truly a first my life.

I just have one complaint. Why has no one told me about this thing before? My friends know I have five kids. That should automatically put me in a position to receive regular phone calls or at least emails when knew things present themselves. I should have been told about this a LONG time ago.

This may very well change my life.

Call me CRAZY!

Yes, we are going to yet another VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL. Yes, this is the 4th one we have went to this summer. Yes, they also went to camp. Yes, I am certifiable. No, they don't have a clue how much I run for them. I pray that someday they will realize how blessed they are to be able to have such a full and amazing summer.

My CLOWN!

Grace attended a preforming arts camp last week. She LOVED it!!!! She has yet to stop talking about it. Clowning was just one of the many aspects of the camp. Here she is in all her glory...

You may not believe what I did today!

I went to the library!!!! Those who know me know that I almost NEVER go to the library. I don't like it at all. The smell, the germs, the lack of noise, and the accountability of returning those books. I hope those of you who do the library realize that those books you spend so much time picking out have to be returned! You spent time and gas money getting there as well. Not to mention the fact that they aren't even new books. You are actually borrowing used books! That's a whole other aspect that I literally cant stand. You know everybody reads in the bathroom on the toilet. So there they are, sitting on the toilet wiping their hiney and touching the book that you are going to check out next week. ARGH!!! It really is all too much for me. But for the love of the children I went. Now don't get to excited we didn't check out any books or even touch any for that matter. But I thought they would enjoy seeing the magic show they were having today. Indeed they did. They had a good time and I survived the ordeal.

Cumberland Falls

Isaac and I went to Kentucky! Wednesday Isaac and I headed out with Gabe and Cheryl for Kentucky Splash. We ended up at Cumberland Falls (don't ask.) Believe it or not I have NEVER been there before. It was really amazing. I was impressed with the falls and the entire park in general. I would love to go there for a camping trip some day. We really enjoyed spending the day with our friends. Very rarely do I go anywhere with only one of my children. It was a nice change of pace for me. I was actually able to carry on a decent and normal adult conversation!!! Heres a few pics of the water fall. .....

Around and Around

I don't think I mentioned camp. So I will mention it now. The big guys (Grace and Elijah) have gone to camp this week. They are having an amazing time. More on that later. I said all that to say this......

In the absence of the "biggins" I am trying to do some things with the "littlins." So today we headed off for the zoo. We really did have a great time.

After a couple of hours of animal viewing and camel feeding we headed toward the merry-go-round. We paid our money and boarded the ride. The ride started and so did the rain. It rained extremely hard for about 20 minutes. The ride operator suggested everyone stay on the ride and out of the rain. Sounds like a good idea right? Well, sure. Until you have gone around for the 200th time. There is such a thing as too much of a good thing.

ACHOO!!!!

I have a cold! Da-gone-it!! I hate to be sick. My head hurts. My throat is sore. I have a cough. And my nose is running. YUCK, YUCK, YUCK!

Who in their right mind?

Who in their right mind puts carpet in a bathroom? In case you haven't been to my house or used our guest bath you probably don't know that it has carpet!!! Well, not anymore. About eleven o'clock last night we ripped it out. Carpet, pad and all. It was sort of fun. I have a HUGE aversion to bathroom floors!!! I use public restrooms only in extreme emergencies. And I NEVER sit in a bathroom floor, even my own. So this wasn't easy for me. But getting that nasty old carpet out of there was worth the gagging. Everyone got into the project. The kids loved using the pliers to pull out the carpet staples. Now we have plywood floors. lol

So today we took off to Home Depot to look for a new bathroom floor. Yeah!!!! I finally decided on a slate looking tile. Not my first choice by far. However it was in my budget and that's what matters right now. So this afternoon I will be spending my time in the toilet, literally. I will let you know how it goes.

Family, Friends, and Fireworks

We had a great 4th of July. We spent the afternoon and evening at cousin Katie's house. Her husband Darryl cooked BBQ ribs, BBQ pork chops, boiled shrimp and ALL the fixings. For desert there was several different flavors of homemade ice cream!!! The kids enjoyed shooting fireworks and playing with their cousins. I enjoyed being with my family. Fred enjoyed the food. So...everyone was happy.

BLT dip

OH MY WORD!! Do you know about this dip? Why did no one tell me? I found this recipe online and decided to make it for myself. I have a new love. Lord knows I needed something else to add to my long list of food favorites. If you like tomatoes you absolutely have to try this recipe.

1 lb. cooked bacon

1 pint of grape tomatoes

3/4 cup of sour cream

3/4 cup of real mayonnaise

Crumble bacon. Dice tomatoes. Put all ingredients in blender and chop together. Serve with crackers or veggies.

You will be amazed how easy and GOOD this dip really is.

Parents really should do the parenting!

People should not try to teach a child if they don't have a clue how that child thinks. This is basic skills 101. A class my mother-in-law obviously audited. She was here for less than 24 hours last week. Yet in that brief period time she managed to wreak havoc in my home. Being the nosey busy body that she is, she took it upon herself to snoop into my neighbors yard. While there she made an amazing discovery....POISON OAK. She then decided she should take each one of MY CHILDREN over to the tree with poison oak. While there she preceding to explain to each child the dangers of the feared three leafed vine. At the end of her speech came these famous last words... DO NOT TOUCH. Now this is good sound advise to give to Grace, Isaac, Zion, and even Aaron. But those simple words ring out like a challenge to manhood for Elijah. As if the child needed a reason to get into mischief. So the conversation goes like this....

Grandmother, "Do not touch"
Elijah, "why?"
Grandmother, "it's dangerous"
Elijah, "why?"
Grandmother, "because I said so"

Two days later......

Elijah, "I don't get poison oak, do I?"
Mom, "Elijah, what have you done?"
Elijah, "I didn't touch it, I don't get poison oak."
Mom, "Did you touch the poison Oak?"
Elijah, "NO! but I have hundreds of Mosquito bites on my face."
Mom, "Elijah, did you touch the poison?"
Elijah, "ONLY ONE LEAF!"