Our Blessed Chaos

Powerful lessons for a such delightful book.

2012-01-30T22:00:00.000-05:00

Ever since living near an Amish community, I have been intriuged with their lifestyle. I have often thought we could learn a great deal from their way of life - starting with hard work, strong family values, and deep faith in God. And so, obviously I have been drawn to Amish fiction to gain insight into the Amish life.

This book did not disappoint me and I was quickly and easily drawn into the story. The lesson to be learned is forgiveness and when it seems that forgiveness is impossible, how we can trust in God to guide us through to complete forgiveness. Powerful lessons for such a delightful book.

This is the third book in a series, but it did not seem to matter that I had not read the first two. Although it did make me want to run out and get the other two books!

Find out more about the book and read an excerpt here.

Disclosure: WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group provided me with a complimentary copy of this book as part of their BloggingForBooks.org book review program.

A fantastic story, beautifully written

2012-01-30T21:33:00.000-05:00

As I began this book I expected a typical Christian historical romance, but it is so much more. It is a fantastic story, beautifully written, but most importantly an amazing lesson about trusting that God's timing is perfect and He is in control of the paths we are on. Filled with heart break and drama, this book pulls you in deeper with every chapter. The characters are charming and it is easy to get drawn into their emotions and situations. I often found myself wondering what could possibly happen next, and how is this going to end. I love that the writer keeps you guessing and you don't know for sure how it will turn out until the very end. My only complaint is that there was a last page and it did not continue.

Disclosure: Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group provided me with a complimentary copy of this book as part of their book reviewers program.

About the Book:
While war rages in Europe, Rebekah Hendricks dreams of life far beyond the family farm in Oklahoma. And when a telegram arrives in October of 1918, she believes God has provided her way of escape. After all, caring for her estranged Aunt Adabelle means living closer to dashing aviator Arthur Samson in Dallas, well within reach of the exciting, modern life she desires. Rebekah travels to Texas, seeing the circumstances at God’s final kiss of approval to all her plans.

But she doesn’t anticipate the devastation of the Spanish Flu. Or four motherless children grabbing hold of her heart. When true love turns sour and a stranger causes her to long for the life she intends to leave behind, will Rebekah allow God to rearrange her dreams?

Heart pounding page turner!

2012-01-29T23:05:00.000-05:00

The back of the book lists this book in the category of "Suspense" - they are not kidding... Have you ever read a book that is so well written that at the height of the scene your heartrate actually speeds up? This is one of those books...except better, because there are several of those twisting tension filled moments!!!

I literally could not read fast enough...and I could not put it down. As you may know I am a sucker for books in a series and guess what...this is the first in a series!!! I can't wait to read more Sue Duffy.

Disclosure: Litfuse Publicity Group provided me with a complimentary copy of this book as part of their blog tours program. See the blog tour schedule here

About the Book and the Author:
Caught in a deadly conflict between American and Russian undercover agents, this innocent young pianist is just trying to survive her own personal trauma. Through it all, Liesl must learn that no matter how dark her world grows or how fiercely her enemies pursue her, God is still in control--if only she can yield herself to His grace. Read an excerpt here

Sue Duffy is back with a brand new three book series, Red Returning. The first release, The Sound of Red Returning, is a breathless and unexpected tale. Romantic Times gives it 4 Stars: Book one in the Red Returning series starts out just right with political intrigue, suspense and just enough romance to keep readers guessing and interested. Well-defined secondary characters add that extra zing to the plot. To celebrate, Sue has teamed up with her publisher, Kregel Publications, for the "Red Returning" Giveaway! One winner will receive a brand new Kindle Fire!

GIVEAWAY
Win a Kindle Fire from @SueDuffy2 and @KregelBooks in the "Red Returning" Giveaway!

Sue Duffy and her publisher, Kregel Publications, are celebrating the release of The Sound of Red Returning by giving away a Kindle Fire prize package worth over $200 to one lucky winner!!!! (1/23-2/11)

Enter the Sue Duffy’s Giveaway today and you could win:

* A brand new Kindle Fire with Wi-Fi

* The Sound of Red Returning (Book One in the Red Returning series) by Sue Duffy

To enter click one of the icons below. But, hurry! The giveway ends on 2/11. Sue will be announcing the winner of the “Red Returning” Giveaway on February 13th on the Litfuse website!

Tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning.

A quick survey

2011-11-23T16:33:00.000-05:00

I missed the Mother's day questionairre thisyear so I thought Iwould do another quick survey, just for fun....
I asked Sam these questions

1. What is your favorite color?
hmmm black

2. What is your favorite animal?
dogs

3. What is your favorite snack?
animal cookies

4. What is your favorite toy?
my police truck gramma su-su gave me

5. What is your favortite thing to do?
hmmmm my favorite thing to do, my FAVORITE thing to do is play vampires at school, at recess.

6. Where is your favorite place to eat?
mcdonalds in suffolk

7. What is your favorite TV show?
batman
8. Where do you want to go on an adventure?
hmmm where do I want to go. The fire department

9. What is Daddy's job?
he is a coast guard military

10. What is Mama's job?
home

11. What do you want to be when you grow up?
a police

And here are Carlee's answers.

1. What is your favorite color?
purple

2. What is your favorite animal?
horses

3. What is your favorite snack?
goldfish

4. What is your favorite toy?
trains

5. What is your favortite thing to do?
cook with mommy

6. Where is your favorite place to eat?
wendy's

7. What is your favorite TV show?
umm little house on the prairie

8. Where do you want to go on an adventure?
the playground (giggles) ummm ummmm (whispers) the beach

9. What is Daddy's job?
Coast Guard and the military

10. What is Mama's job?
(whispers) what is your job again?
I say "haha no,you have to tell me"

working at the house

11. What do you want to be when you grow up?
a cooker!

And for your entertainment here are Ben's answers! By the way, there are no typos in this section. I typed exactly what he said LOL

1. What is your favorite color?
ummm mmmm umm dark green dark purple and dark black

2. What is your favorite animal?
can it be um a regular kitty a jaguar a lion and ah and ah and ah um is a shark a animal?
I say "yes"
a turtle. Those three

3. What is your favorite snack?
ummm um i want a snack.
I say "no we are going to have supper soon" then he throws a quick fit.

I like a juicebox and some crackers and cookies.

4. What is your favorite toy?
that is a very hard one to guess. its very hard. um my favorite toy is stuff umm ummm my kitty

5. What is your favortite thing to do?
i don't know alot of things sleep um eat and playing and going to cities and watching tvs and playing abc mouse and all those things

6. Where is your favorite place to eat?
mcdonalds

7. What is your favorite TV show?
diego

8. Where do you want to go on an adventure?
ummm baaaa did you spell what I like? ummmmm go to a place that alot of military vehicles

9. What is Daddy's job?
ummm go to work and um make sure and is his job to umm make sure that they have the right weapons right?

10. What is Mama's job?
discovery toys

11. What do you want to be when you grow up?
i want to be a police and um a rescuer a search and rescuer. boff of those things.
Mama what are you doing this for?
I say "just for fun."

Is it going to go to any place?
I say "on my blog."

What is a blog?
he runs out of the room before I can answer...whew got them all asked and answered.

The House of Hope

2011-11-16T21:36:00.000-05:00

100% OF THE PROCEEDS OF THIS BOOK GO TO FUND THE WORK AT HOPE FOSTER HOME. HERE IS THE LINK TO THEIR SITE: http://www.hopefosterhome.com/

The ministry of the Hills is truly remarkable and God's loving touch can be seen and felt throughout this inspiring story. I was deeply touched by this inredible story, and for that reason alone I highly recommend this book. This story has insopired and challenged me to think of ways I can step out of my comfort zone and be more compassionate to those in need of simple acts of kindness and love,.

However, I do have a couple of complaints with the book itself. I found the structure to be confusing and I was often lost in trying to figure out what part of the story we had jumped to or gone back to - or to try to remember the details of a specific child's case from several chapters back. There were also pieces of information, sometimes important life events, that seemed to be thrown in at the end of a chapter, almost as an after thought. It seemed to mix chronological writing and topical writing styles and it really didn't flow well. Perhaps if it had been written as a diary or by devoting a chapter to a specific child or event it would have been easier to follow. But what annoyed me the most were spelling errors!

Blog reviews are all about honest opinions - so here is mine. Awesome, fantastic, inspiring story that has truly blessed me just to have read it, but the story is somewhat downplayed by mediocre writing and poor editing.

Disclosure: Litfuse Publicity Group provided me with a complimentary copy of this book as part of their blog tours program.
Blog Tour Schedule

About The House of Hope: One couple’s powerful ministry to some of China’s most vulnerable children
Robin and Joyce Hill lived in a gated community in Beijing. Their family’s life was marked by luxury and the security of Robin's job as an engineer. Then one day, as members of their church, they had a chance to tour a state-run orphanage. Haunted by the needs of the children they saw there, for the next four years they tried to help the institute in meaningful ways.
In 1998 the Hills planned to leave China, but instead felt a sudden call from God on their lives. They left their gated community--reserved for only non-Chinese residents--moved their family into a small apartment miles outside of Beijing and immediately began to take in foster children.

They took in any child, but especially those that needed extra care—terminally ill children that couldn't receive care elsewhere, and those that needed complicated and expensive surgeries that the Hills soon began to coordinate and sometimes pay for out of their own savings.
What began as Hope Foster Home is now New Hope Foundation. As they continue their work, the Hills enjoy support from major corporations and high-profile philanthropists as well as the trust of the Chinese authorities. The Hills' story is an inspiring example of God's care and provision for those whom society does not value. Learn more about Hope Foster Homes here: http://www.hopefosterhome.com/.

"I strongly support Robin and Joyce Hill's New Hope Foundation which is saving so many orphan lives in China. Read this amazing story of God's grace and accept the challenge to make a difference!"
--Steven Curtis Chapman

"I had the privilege of going to China and witnessing the work that God is doing through Robin and Joyce Hill. They are wonderful servants of God who lovingly care for the 'least of these.' I hope that many will read this book and consider their example."
--Francis Chan, author of Crazy Love

Link to buy the book

About Elisabeth Gifford: Elisabeth Gifford is a journalist who has written for the London Times and the Independent Newspapers. She lives in Kingston, England, and teaches children with dyslexia.

too funny - sneeze

2011-11-07T20:41:00.002-05:00

Carlee was by herself in the next room when I heard her sneeze, to which she immediately said...

Bless me...um I mean Bless You.

Then she giggled and so did I!

too funny - shark attack

2011-10-24T13:20:00.000-04:00

Recently at our church, the youth group was watching Soul Surfer. Hubby & I were busy in the kitchen and so our kids were watching the beginning of the movie with the others. I have not seen the movie but knew what was going to happen, but had also been told that it was not too graphic. However, I knew that it would probably be Sam that would get upset so I was going to pull them out before that scene.

When I peeked in, the movie was at the point where she is lying on the beach with no arm - oops I was a teeny bit late... Well, Sam fell to pieces and cried and cried and started to say he just wanted to go home. Only problem with that is that we walked to church while it was still light out and now it was dark...and I forgot to put the outside light on in our yard - oops! Thankfully my phone saved the day and they used it as a flashlight.

When we got home and into jammies they were asking all sorts of questions.
- They asked about the girl in the movie, which I told them that she got better but didn't have her arm, kinda like Bootsie is missing a leg (having a three legged cat has really been a blessing!) and that people were interested in what happened to her so she used the opportunity to tell people about Jesus.
- they asked about sharks and why they were so bad. We told them that sharks are not bad, just hungry and thought the girl was a seal or something, but spit her right out because people taste yucky to sharks.
- Then they told me that they were "never ever going to go into the salty water ever again". But I told them that was so silly because sharks only eat before breakfast and after supper so we will only go in the water during the day. They thought that was a good idea - phew!

As we were having this conversation our puppy Lucy joined us on my bed and was soon quite excited to have so many willing hands to pet her. It didn't take long before she was licking Sam who of course started to giggle and I said "Oh No the Lucy shark is attacking Sam!!!" In between his giggles he yelled "AHHH I am being attacked by a shark and need a Coast Guard rescue!!!" Ben and Carlee did their best to rescue their brother but ended up being attacked by the big bad Lucy shark too! It was a big pile of giggling shark attack!

Soon the Lucy shark had enough (because remember that people taste yucky to sharks) and she left our part of the ocean (aka my bed). But we were still in danger! There was a huge black shark still in sight (aka Daddy's black suitcase that was still on the bed) and it had a gigantic mouth that opened up really really wide and slammed down to try to capture anything near its mouth! That big black shark tried and tried to bite off hands and feet or any body parts that happened to be too close!

All the scary stuff from the movie was soon replaced by major silliness and all was well by the time they went up to bed. Not sure what will happen the next time we go to the beach though!

too funny - I love to color

2011-10-08T23:04:00.000-04:00

Sam: (while coloring) Mama, I really love to color.

Mama: That's good! I used to really love to color too.

Sam: You mean when you were a little kid.

Mama:  Yep.

Sam: You should color more often.

Mama: That would be nice, but I always seem to have a lot of other things to do.

Sam: You mean like cleaning up messes, and marking papers, and folding laundry and stuff like that?

Mama: Yep, and there always seems to be someone making more messes for me to clean up!

Sam:  Mama, I will be the one who doesn't make a mess anymore.

Mama:  That would be great and I would really appreciate that a lot!

Sam: Well, maybe I will start next Monday.

Recent FB funnies

2011-10-08T22:52:00.000-04:00

I haven't been blogging much so here are a few recent Facebook updates I posted...

On our way to a quick stop at the quilt shop I told the kids that they had to have extra good behavior. Ben immediately states "but I don't gots that much good behavor"

posted a few hours before the hurricane started...
Was looking around and thought hmmm this floor really needs to be washed, then my next thought was, well maybe I won't have floors tomorrow. So until MEAN IRENE is done with her unwelcome visit I am postponing all housework...

Today was the first full day of school for Sam, Ben & Carlee. Can you guess who gets the first incident report of the year. Of course it was for Ben! He got stung by a couple wasps on the playground at recess. When we got home he got lots of snuggles and they all got a bowl of ice cream!

I asked Sam what the best part of kindergarten was. He said recess. So I asked him what was so fun about recess. He said that is when he gets to see his girlfriend! Good thing I was sitting down, I was so not ready for that yet!

Ben: I dont like school

Me: Oh? Why not?
Ben: cuz I miss you tooooo much
Apparently Sam & Carlee don't miss me all that much because they informed me that they both LOOOVE school

Ben: I don't like this...it is unyummy

LOL

Student of the Month!

2011-10-06T23:04:00.000-04:00

Sam is doing so well at school that he has been named the Student of the Month for his class!!! I am glad that I got him to smile when I took this picture because the photo on the wall looks like a mugshot LOL!

I am losing my mind

2011-10-06T10:45:00.000-04:00

Usually I post funny things that the kids say or do - well, when I post... Anyway! Today I must tell on myself because I have done a couple things this week that if I didn't laugh at myself I really might have to start questioning my sanity.

The other day I was shopping and walked by the birthday cards and thought I should get cards for Ben & Carlee's birthdays. There were several different cards for kids turning 4 years old and I looked at all of them and finally picked two. It wasn't until I got home and was unpacking the bags that I realized what I had done...they are turning 5! DUH

Today I was reading my email and realized that I needed to put something into the calendar on my phone. I looked around for my phone on my desk, didn't see it so I got up to look for it and got halfway to the kitchen before I realized I was using my phone - I had been on hold for several minutes! DUH

Mathathon!

2011-10-01T16:03:00.000-04:00

Part of going to school is being a part of various kinds of fundraisers. I remember being involved in various -athon type of events when I was in school. Of course I was able to see grandparents and other relatives face to face and could collect money by asking them to sponsor me in person. It really makes me sad that my kids can't do that because we live so far away from family. However, we are blessed with technology so Sam really can ask you to sponsor him!

His fundraiser is a Mathathon that is raising money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. They are taking technology to yet another level because you can even donate online and it will be counted as Sam's sponsors! Here is the link to his webpage www.mymathathon.org/samhicks. Donations are due by October 7.

I am sure that there will be other fundraisers throughout the year, and we will not participate in all of them, but this one has given us the opportunity to show our kids that money can be raised to benefit others. They have been asking a lot of questions about the hospital and about the sick children that are there. Even though this is technically Sam's fundraiser we of course are treating it as a family project and learning opportunity. They were amazed to know that the money collected will go to the hospital to help take care of the sick children - you know to buy bandaids and cough medicine and stuff like that (their words, not mine!)

If you do sponsor him please make sure you include your email address so that I can let you know how he does with his mathathon book.

School update

2011-09-30T23:38:00.000-04:00

After a full month of school, we are settling into a routine. Here is what a typical day looks like for us...

6:45 am - alarm goes off, press snooze a couple times because I hate getting up to an alarm!

7:00 drag myself out of bed, brush my hair and my teeth, because otherwise I simply cannot function! Then start waking everyone up - so far not too many issues with grumpy kids.

7:15 everybody is out of bed and busy:
1. having a quick breakfast (they get breakfast at school so I don't give them too much),
2. getting dressed (on Sunday they pick out all clothes for the week, makes it quick!),
3. brushing teeth
4. getting on socks, shoes, and backpacks

7:40 out the door and getting buckled in the van

7:48 have to be driving out of the driveway to get there on time

8:00 arrive at school, sign in and stop at the bathroom

8:05 bell rings and we can head to classrooms. Usually we drop Sam off first and then walk to the complete other side of the school to the preschool classrooms.

8:20 I am done with school and head off to tackle my very long to-do lists. The day flies by and I never seem to get as much done as I had planned to, but certainly I finally feel like I am gaining on the disaster of this house!

2:40 get ready to go to the school to pick them up

3:00 usually Ben &Carlee come out first and Sam a few minutes later. The absolute best part of the day is when their faces light up the moment they see me and they yell "Mommy or Mama" and come for big hugs.

3:10 or so we are piling into the van and all the good behavior they have had all day has come to a very abrupt halt and they start fighting and crying and whining and complaining.

3:30 after school we have a snack and the bad behavior usually is starting to mostly wear off. I often have to send someone to lay down on my bed until they can have a better attitude, which usually doesn't take long.

3:45 after a quick snack we go through their backpacks and I ask questions about their day. Sam has homework everyday except Friday that he has to complete so I also have Ben & Carlee do some kind of homework as well. Homework usually doesn't take more than 15 or 20 minutes.

the rest of the evening is spent playing, eating supper, doing a Bible study (which we have not been very diligent at doing), and maybe watching a bit of tv

7 pm start getting ready for bed! The days are flying by!!

Sam and Carlee's teachers use an apple system for behavior. If they have had good behavior all day their apple stays green - they have both had green apples every day. One day when we were going through backpacks Carlee sheepishly said, with tears pooling in her eyes "Mama, I almost got a yellow apple today because I was playing too much at lunch." I love this apple system and have started to tell them that if they are bad at home I can tell their teachers to change their apple the next day. It works!

Ben's teacher uses a fish system and if they have good behavior the fish stays at the bottom of the tank. Then at the end of the day, both Ben & Carlee's teachers put a sticker on their calendar that comes home to let me know that they had a good day. Ben had two days that he did not have a sticker. One was because he was at home with a fever and the other was because he kept throwing his stuffed animal at naptime even after being told not to. I have told them that if they get into trouble at school then they will get into even more trouble at home. Well, he had a long time to think about it on the bench and then we made his teacher a sorry card. I told him that he had to say sorry and make it right. The best part was that when he came home from school that day, his teacher had put two stickers on his calendar! It was perfect - I was able to tell him that because he did something nice by making her a card to say he was sorry that he made it right and then so did she by putting a sticker on that day!

Our first egg!

2011-09-17T23:08:00.000-04:00

After months of waiting one of our chickens finally gave us an egg! I was surprised at how big the egg was. I was expecting the first few to be quite small, but this one is almost as large as the large store bought eggs! Must be from one of the Jersey Giants - can't wait to see how big they will get.

Of course everyone had to be in the picture and holding something!

Dramatic and inspirational!

2011-09-07T23:33:00.014-04:00

Fairer Than Morning - The Saddler's Legacy
by Rosslyn Elliott

An intriguing novel from a new author! It is so well written that I was surprised that this is her first novel! The imagery in this book was exceptional and I could easily visualize the historic surroundings as the story dramatically unfolded. I found the storyline to be so suspenseful at times that I could not put it down. How fun it is to read a historical Christian romance that keeps you on the edge of your seat!

Although some of the subject matter that the author tackles is daring and dark in nature she has managed to balance it with a depth of Christian writing that makes the book a moving and inspirational read. The faith of the characters is beautifully developed and their spiritual growth is encouraging and thought provoking. Just put yourself in the position of the main character, Will, and ask yourself if you could forgive the horrors he endured. Or put yourself in the position of the main character, Ann, and ask yourself if you could be so kind and hospitable.

I am curious about something though, the subtitle of the book is "The Saddler's Legacy". Does that mean this will be a series? Oh, I hope so, the author seemed to leave the door open to be able to continue the "legacy" of this story!
Disclosure: Litfuse Publicity Group provided me with a complimentary copy of this book as part of their blog tours program. See the blog tour schedule here.

About the book:

Ann dreams of a marriage proposal from her poetic suitor, Eli-until Will Hanby shows her that nobility is more than fine words.

On a small farm in 19th-century Ohio , young Ann Miller is pursued by the gallant Eli Bowen, son of a prominent family. Eli is the suitor of Ann's dreams. Like her, he enjoys poetry and beautiful things and soon, he will move to the city to become a doctor.

Ann travels to Pittsburgh , accompanying her father on business. There she meets Will Hanby, a saddle-maker's apprentice. Will has spent years eking out an existence under a cruel master and his spirit is nearly broken. But Ann's compassion lights a long-dark part of his soul. Through his encounters with Ann's father, a master saddler, Will discovers new hope and courage in the midst of tremendous adversity.

When the Millers must return to Ohio and their ministry there, Will resolves to find them, at any cost. If Will can make it back to Ann, will she be waiting?

Read an excerpt here: http://www.rosslynelliott.com/books.php

About the Contest:

To celebrate the release of her debut novel, Fairer Than Morning, Rosslyn Elliott is giving away two fabulous prize packages. The first is brand new KINDLE in her Fairer Than Morning Kindle Giveaway. Then on September 20th she's giving away a $200 gift certificate toward a Custom-Made Historical Reproduction Dress (from Recollections) during the Fairer Than Morning Book Club Chat Party on Facebook! Sigh...romantic.

Fairer Than Morning is receiving wonderful reviews - Library Journal said, "A well-written historical series debut…". Read more reviews here.

Be sure to join the fun and enter the Kindle contest -

One winner will receive:

* Kindle with Wi-Fi

* Fairer Than Morning (for Kindle)

To enter just click one of the icons below. But, hurry, giveaway ends on 9/19. Winner will be announced on 9/20 at Rosslyn's Book Club Facebook Party. Details and official rules can be found when entering the contest.

Then be sure to RSVP for Rosslyn's Facebook Party! During the party Rosslyn will be chatting with guests, hosting a book chat about Fairer Than Morning (don't worry if you haven't read the book yet - you could win a copy!) & historical Fiction, testing your trivia skills. She'll also be giving away that $200 gift certificate toward a FABULOUS custom-made period dress from Recollections!

Please be aware...

2011-09-02T21:05:00.001-04:00

This Little Prayer of Mine
by Anthony DeStefano,
Illustrated by Mark Elliot

I had high expectations for this book because of a wonderful book called Little Star by the same author and illustrator. I was disappointed. Although the illustrations are beautiful it seemed that the book was somewhat lacking in depth and to quote a friend I showed it to - "watered down religion". Honestly, my kids come up with much deeper prayers all the time! Don't underestimate what kids can comprehend, they get much more about God and what He can do for them than what is in this book.

Also be aware the Jesus not even mentioned anywhere in this book! But the biggest problem I had with this comes from the last page, and one little line that goes against a major Christian doctrine. The line is "Please love me God, forevermore." Why are we asking God to love us? God is love, the entire basis of Christianity is that God loves us so much that he gave us Jesus so we could be saved. We do not need to ask God to love us, He already does, no matter what! I do not want my children to ever question that and so I will never read this book to them.

Disclosure: WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group provided me with a complimentary copy of this book as part of their BloggingForBooks.org book review program.

too funny - nuffin

2011-09-02T00:10:00.000-04:00

At home after the second day of school, I had Ben up on my lap when I noticed that he had something in his back pocket. I asked him what was in his pocket and he told me "nuffin" Of course he was lying, and continued to lie through his teeth for probably 30 minutes before he finally showed me what was in his pocket and admitted to taking it from his classroom.

The next day he had to return them to his teacher who said, "Oh I should have watched out for that because he asked if he could take them home."

So it was even worse!! Not only did he lie about it, but he took something he was told he could not have!!!

At the end of the day when I picked him up I asked his teacher if she gave him a pat down! LOL

Thankfully, he hasn't brought home anything he shouldn't since then!!! If he does he will have to take it back plus one of his own toys. He did not like that, especially when I told him that I get to choose which toy it would be ;-)

First Day of School

2011-09-01T23:17:00.000-04:00

For various reasons we decided not to homeschool this year - I won't bore you with all the details in this post. Instead I will share the excitement the kids had to be going to their first full day of school.

All ready for school!

Sam at his spot in Kindergarten. I was concerned that he was going to fall to pieces that day, and even more so after another little boy was crying so hard he was nearly hyperventilating! But thank God for friends and very thoughtful teachers. Sam's teacher put Sam across the table from the only other kid he knew - our friend Tara from Sunday school. As soon as I saw here, I said, "Look Sam, there's Tara - get your school box and go sit with her" He was fine and even gave me this huge grin to start his very first day!

Then we had to rush all the way to the other side of the school to get Carlee & Ben to their Preschool classrooms. It was pretty crazy in there and I only managed to get this photo of Carlee. Before she put her stuff away she started her day & her teachers day beautifully. In the car on the way to school she had a pen and a notepad so she drew a picture and wrote her name on it to give to her teacher! Not too many kids starting preschool can write their name! But I had a tear in my eye because she had done something so thoughtful. Oh, and when we went to leave Daddy said "Bye-Bye Carlee" and she barely looked at him when she waved him off. She was on a mission to be at school!!!

Do you see anything odd with this picture? Check the shirt that he is wearing and compare that to the first picture. Do you think that when he is older he will notice that he has on two different shirts for his first day of school pictures? Well, that first day was a pretty crazy day - just trying to get three kids to three different classrooms in less than 15 minutes is quite challenging! Anyway, by the time we got him to his class on the first day there was not an opportunity to get a photo, so I got one the next day! I was pleasantly surprised, and relieved, that Ben has been enjoying school, has not been too clingy when I leave, and most importantly has not been getting into trouble!

So much more than historical romance

2011-09-01T00:25:00.001-04:00

Blue Skies Tomorrow
by Sarah Sundin

The book is a labelled as a historical romance, but it is really a thrilling drama with an underlying romance theme that pulls it all together. It is so fantastically written with many obstacles and challenges thrown in the way of the main characters that it will draw you in deeper and deeper until you are entirely captivated.

What a refreshing and exciting read! It has a plot that builds and twists all the way to the end. It certainly kept my nose buried in this book with pages turning quickly to see what in the world could possibly happen next. This is one of best novels I have read in a long time!

The author was creative in the way she developed many layers to the main characters as the plot was built. With each plot twist we are taken to a deeper level of these complex main characters. Life lessons are learned through dealing with the many obstacles and lives are dramatically changed through decisions made and the manner conflicts are resolved. More importantly, through the experiences the characters are deepening their faith and trust in God. We can apply these spiritual lessons learned by the characters to our own lives as we also learn to trust God through all trials we are faced with.

This book is the third in a series called Wings of Glory but from what I could tell it can be read independently from the other two books. I am a sucker for books in a series and I will soon be reading the other two books in this series and will watch for new titles by this author.

Disclosure: Litfuse Publicity Group provided me with a complimentary copy of this book as part of their blog tours program.

About the book:

Lt. Raymond Novak prefers the pulpit to the cockpit, but at least his stateside job training B-17 pilots allows him the luxury of a personal life. As he courts Helen Carlisle, a young war widow and mother who conceals her pain under a frenzy of volunteer work, the sparks of their romance set a fire that flings them both into peril. After Ray leaves to fly a combat mission at the peak of the air war over Europe, Helen takes a job in a dangerous munitions yard and confronts an even graver menace in her own home. Will they find the courage to face their challenges? And can their young love survive until blue skies return?

Want more? Read the press release.

About the contest:

To celebrate the release of Blue Skies Tomorrow, the final installment of the Wings of Glory series, Sarah is giving one lucky winner A Vintage Kindle Prize Package!

Read what the reviewers are saying here.

One winner will receive:

* Kindle with Wi-Fi

* Handmade vintage apron for you and a friend (see a photo here)

* Blue Skies Tomorrow (for Kindle)

To enter just click one of the icons below. But, hurry, giveaway ends on 9/10. Winner will be announced on 9/12 at Sarah Sundin's blog. Details and official rules can be found when entering the contest.

Procrastinating...

2011-06-08T23:50:00.001-04:00

So it seems that whenever I am supposed to be working I have this need to find something else to do, today I decided to work on getting my blog up to date - again! And so as I continue to procrastinate perhaps you will enjoy some posts you haven't seen before. I have added posts to February and March. Apparently I don't procrastinate often enough, or maybe I procrastinate too much - hmmm have to think about how that works exactly, or maybe not...maybe I will find something to think about instead

Perfect Reading for the Beach

2011-06-07T13:47:00.000-04:00

My Foolish Heart
by Susan May Warren

If you are looking at reviews for this book, then you already know about the page-turner plot and the fantastic character development, along with the witty & refreshing writing style of the author. I don't need to get into all that, besides the publicity did a wonderful job already!

For me, the best part about reviewing books is that I sometimes receive books that I may not have picked up otherwise. Books that are truly entertaining. Reviewing books has also given me the opportunity to find new favorite authors and Susan May Warren is now one of them! She is the kind of author that you want to read every single book she has ever written! Even better is that this book is part of a series. I absolutely adore books in a series and I can hardly wait to get the rest of the books in the series and devour them this summer at the beach. There is something special about a series set in a small town, maybe because I can relate to it so well. If you are a small town girl, or even a city girl with a small town heart then you will relate to this book too.

Disclosure: Litfuse Publicity Group provided me with a complimentary copy of this book as part of their blog tours program.
See the blog tour schedule here.

GIVEAWAY!!
Win a Romantic Night on the Town from Miss Foolish Heart!

Susan May Warren is thrilled to announce the release of her latest Deep Haven book, My Foolish Heart!

Read what the reviewers are saying here.

To celebrate this charming novel about a dating expert who's never had a date, Susan has put together a romantic night on the town for one lucky couple. One grand prize winner will receive a Miss Foolish Heart prize package worth over $200!

The winner of the Romantic Night on the Town Prize Pack will receive:

* A $100 Visa Gift Card (For Dinner)

* A $100 Gift Certificate to a Hyatt/Marriott Hotel

* The entire Deep Haven series

To enter just click one of the icons below. But, hurry, the giveaway ends at noon on June 16th. The winner will be announced that evening during Susan’s Miss Foolish Heart Party on Facebook! Susan will be chatting with guests, hosting a book club chat about My Foolish Heart, testing your Deep Haven trivia skills, and giving away tons of great stuff! (Gift certificates, books, donuts, and more!) Don't miss the fun and BRING YOUR FRIENDS!

About the book: My Foolish heart

Unknown to her tiny town of Deep Haven , Isadora Presley spends her nights as Miss Foolish Heart, the star host of a syndicated talk radio show. Millions tune in to hear her advice on dating and falling in love, unaware that she’s never really done either. Issy’s ratings soar when it seems she’s falling in love on-air with a caller. A caller she doesn’t realize lives right next door.

Caleb Knight served a tour of duty in Iraq and paid a steep price. The last thing he wants is pity, so he hides his disability and moves to Deep Haven to land his dream job as the high school football coach. When his beautiful neighbor catches his eye, in a moment of desperation he seeks advice from My Foolish Heart, the show that airs before his favorite sports broadcast.

Before he knows it, Caleb finds himself drawn to the host—and more confused than ever. Is his perfect love the woman on the radio . . . or the one next door?

Read an excerpt here: http://www.susanmaywarren.com/novels/contemporary-romance/

About Susan:
Susan May Warren is an award-winning, best-selling author of over twenty-five novels, many of which have won the Inspirational Readers Choice Award, the ACFW Book of the Year award, the Rita Award, and have been Christy finalists. After serving as a missionary for eight years in Russia , Susan returned home to a small town on Minnesota ’s beautiful Lake Superior shore where she, her four children, and her husband are active in their local church.

Susan's larger than life characters and layered plots have won her acclaim with readers and reviewers alike. A seasoned women’s events and retreats speaker, she’s a popular writing teacher at conferences around the nation and the author of the beginning writer’s workbook: From the Inside-Out: discover, create and publish the novel in you!. She is also the founder ofwww.MyBookTherapy.com, a story-crafting service that helps authors discover their voice.

Susan makes her home in northern Minnesota , where she is busy cheering on her two sons in football, and her daughter in local theater productions (and desperately missing her college-age son!)

A full listing of her titles, reviews and awards can be found at:http://www.susanmaywarren.com/.

Link to buy the book: http://www.blogger.com/goog_1528197088

Must be a great book

2011-06-06T20:37:00.001-04:00

No He Can't - How Barack Obama is Dismantling Hope and Change
by Kevin McCullough

I chose this book to review for two reasons. First because I am generally pretty clueless about - and certainly not up to date on - current politics. I thought it would give me some insight or at least an opinion of what is going wrong with the government. Secondly I thought that my hubby could read the book and give me an opinion about the topic, giving me further insight into the current state of the country.

So that was the plan and he took the book with him on a short trip. It must be a really, really good book because it was stolen from his hotel room!!!

Disclosure: Thomas Nelson Publishers provided me with a complimentary copy of this book as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program.

Took a break from the computer!

2011-06-06T14:58:00.000-04:00

So the first thing tht yo need to know is that my dad has been at home for a couple weeks and he is recovering and gaining strength back quite well.

The next thing you need to know is that it took me 6 days to drive backto North Carolina because we drove across Canada, which is about the same distance but western Ontario is a slower drive - very beautiful, just slower. We had to stop and stick our toes into the biggest lake, Lake Superior.

Well, my suggestion was to put our toes in, they decided to throw rocks in!

We also stopped in Toronto, the biggest city in Canada to see the biggest tower. This is all we saw...

The fog was so thick that only the base of the CN Tower was visible.

Then we stopped in Welland to visit some relatives and wished that we could have stayed longer, but we had to keep going. We stopped briefly at Niagara Falls to see the biggest waterfall in Canada.

Stunning, breathtaking - all of it. We have to go back!

Ok, so it was a great drive and we got to do a few fun things this time, but as I said it took 6 days to get home. Meanwhile I was not checking email and once I finally did there were something like 1,546 unread emails. I really didn't want to deal with all that so instead I turned off the computer and read some books for a few days, which turned into a couple weeks and several books! I am still trying to get caught up, which seems to be the story of my life! Anyway, I do what I can and hope that you hang in there to see what happens next...

rub-a-dub-dub

2011-05-12T16:00:00.000-04:00

We love the jacuzzi tub at Mimi & Papa's house!

overdue update

2011-05-10T22:01:00.000-04:00

Seems that the last several days have flown by and I have not even turned the computer on!!!

Anyways I thought I better post a quick update on my dad...

He has been slowly improving every day and his strength is returning, just very slowly. He is able to move around a bit more and is even managing to get in and out of bed by himself, although it is very tiring for him. Yesterday was a big day for him as the doctor at the hospital he was at agreed to send him back to the hospital at home. This is a really big deal, especially for my mom because she can go back and forth to the hospital several times a day.

I am sure that it is also nice for him to back where there are nurses that he knows he can pester. Two of the nurses have been good friends of mine since elementary school!!! Also being at the hospital at home means that there will be more people who will be able to visit, which will give new faces and more things to think about. At this point it is all looking pretty good, except for his appetite.

When it rains it pours!

2011-05-04T12:56:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was my turn at the hospital with Papa. When I got there I found out that he had been moved from ICU up to a regular room! Of course, this is good news because he is no longer sick enough to be in ICU! However, I quickly realized that the big change will be with the level of nursing care he will be receiving. I was there all afternoon and there was very little contact with the nurses. He is still incredibly weak and still cannot get himself in and out of bed on his own so I am concerned about that. However, it might make him do more for himself which will hopefully increase his strength. Anyway, I was thinking that we would have to spend even more time at the hospital to help him out.....

Then we found a bunch of water in the basement late last night! Mom hauled out the shop vacs and we vacuumed and sucked up gallons and gallons and gallons and gallons of water and it just keeps seeping through the floor. Places that we had just sucked up are soon sopping wet again. The worst offender was the hole in the bathroom floor that is still there from when they had to fix a crack in the basement wall. I would guess that this hole held about 5 gallons of water. We would take all the water out of it and it was full again within 30 minutes! So every 30 minutes one of us were in there emptying the hole and sucking water out of the carpet - neither of us slept much! Then this morning mom called a friend to help her set up a sump pump in the hole, then at least we wouldn't have to worry about that - just the water seeping up through the floor...sigh...

Of course I have the strangest kids in the world and they thought this was all very exciting and soon had all their pant legs rolled up like mine. Then they started running back and forth on the wet carpet singing "Slippety Slide, Slippety Slippety Slide". I seriously need a nap!

No more tubes and wires!

2011-05-02T23:55:00.000-04:00

On Saturday we were treated to one of the worst blizzards many people around here can remember - including my 89 year old Grandma! Sunday we were completely blocked in until a family friend was able to get to us with a Bobcat. However, even though we would have been able to get out of town, most of the highways between here and the city where Papa is in the hospital were reporting that travel was not recommended. So obviously we were not able to get to the hospital on Saturday or Sunday. My mom was able to talk to Papa on the phone once and then he even called us on Sunday! That was a surprise!!

So after two days of not seeing him at all, my mom went in today. She said that he has been taken off of oxygen completely! And all his IV's and whatever other wires he was attached to have been removed as well. That is simply amazing to me as just one week ago he was in a medically induced coma and was on a ventilator doing most of the breathing for him!!! A walking miracle for sure!

Well, speaking of walking - he actually is not doing much of that yet. He is still very weak but is slowly and steadily improving. The physical therapists were there twice today and got him up to walk a short distance. At one point he was seated in a wheelchair and asked mom if it was locked. She said that it was and asked if he wanted it unlocked, which he did. He managed to take himself for a little spin into the hallway! Progress!

The complaint of the day is that he is not eating enough, so we are praying that he will gain a bigger appetite so that his strength will come back more quickly...

Time travel?

2011-04-30T14:26:00.001-04:00

I started out the month of April in North Carolina and was thrilled with a beautiful spring. I took pictures like these in our yard and our neighbor's yard a day or two after the first day of spring...

Our house is in the background and is the view from my bedroom!

It was even warm enough to dig out some shorts!

but then I came to Saskatchewan and apparently travelled back in time to the middle of winter. We woke up this morning to this...

We knew it was snowing but we didn't know how much because we couldn't even see through most of the windows!

All the snow was gone when we got here about a week ago. This is all fresh snow!!

I am thinking it will be at least a couple days before I can drive my van!

This is at least a 4 foot drift!

maybe I should have packed more than raincoats and rubber boots?

and I had to exchange my flipflops for Papa's snowboots!
We were all dressed up and ready to go out into the snow storm...

We were not out very long, it took us longer to get dressed than we were outside.
They were not impressed with being out in a snow storm!

Oh and yes, I did check the calendar and it is in fact April 30. So nope, not time travel just a reminder that anything can happen with the weather in Saskatchewan! And yep I am really missing North Carolina right about now...

strength slowly returning

2011-04-29T23:26:00.010-04:00

I have not posted for a couple days because there has not been much change with my dad. He was taken off of the breathing machine on Tuesday and has been breathing fine and has not been in any pain. His meals have been slowly changing from clear fluids to this evening he had a sandwich. Progress!!!

He has also been getting some strength back, although this is a very slow. When I was there on Thursday he managed to pick up a glass and take a drink of water and put the glass back down without any assistance. When he put it down he kind of smirked and said whew that was a pretty big job. I laughed and said yes indeed it was. Of course what you don't know is that there is a family joke about pretty big jobs and being pretty busy - and it would take too long to explain and wouldn't be nearly as funny so I won't bother you with it. The point is that his sense of humor is there and we are seeing him come back. At one point he was even humming along to a song on the radio.

The downside is that many of his comments are kind of strange and he is often very confused. According to the nurses he is suffering from sleep deprivation and one nurse even called it ICU-itis. At this point we are praying that they can find a good medication to help him get a few nights of good restful sleep and the confusion will go away.

progress

2011-04-26T23:40:00.002-04:00

Today was a really good day with a great big step in the right direction. My mom and I have been taking turns going to the hospital and today was my day. I got to dad's room early in the afternoon and he was awake but still on the ventilator. His nurse told me that they were waiting for the doctor and then they would take the breathing tubes out.

This particular nurse is one of our favorites and I had some good phone conversations with him while I was still in North Carolina. Anyway, I was somewhat amused by his obvious impatience with the doctor! Well, he soon cornered the doctor and I was kicked out for quite awhile. When I returned the breathing tubes were gone and he was only using a breathing mask. This mask provided him with moist air as his throat and vocal cords would be sore for awhile.

For the next couple of hours he was on this mask and he could have ice chips. His voice was very raspy and even though he tried to talk a little it was very hard to understand him. Later they took the mask away and he was put on oxygen with just the nasal prongs. Then we could understand him a little better and his voice was coming back a bit more.

Soon his gourmet supper arrived - juice and blue jello! I know my dad well enough to know that jello of any kind would not be appealing. However, we joked that because Papa had blue jello that the kids would be wanting blue jello and he agreed with that! He ate some of the jello but was more interested in the juice and kept asking for ice water.

He had been completely sedated for an entire week and so he is still very weak and it is going to take quite some time for him to get strength back, but today was a huge step in the right direction. And I when I was about to leave I said "I Love You Papa" and then I heard the 5 most wonderful words ever "I Love You Too Sweetheart". Precious, precious words indeed!

2 steps forward

2011-04-25T21:53:00.000-04:00

Today was another good day for my dad. He was off of sedation and breathing on his own longer than yesterday. This is very good progress and they are thinking about taking the breathing tube out soon!

When my mom left this evening they were sedating him again for the night so that he can get some good rest. Maybe the tubes will come out as early as tomorrow. Now that would be a huge blessing!

Easter Blessing

2011-04-24T21:44:00.025-04:00

Today was Easter Sunday, so the kids were excited that the Easter Bunny came. Then we went to church and after lunch I went up to the hospital. When I arrived the nurse told me that my dad was breathing on his own. The ventilator was providing some support but essentially he was breathing on his own and that was fantastic news. While I was there they stopped the sedation drugs so that he would wake up. That took some time and he was pretty groggy the whole time I was there, but imagine how you would feel after being sedated into a coma for nearly a week!!

Once the sedation wore off a bit he was able to respond to commands and wiggled his toes and squeezed our hands. Of course he could not talk to us because of the tubes in his throat, but he was able to move his head to answer yes or no questions. He shook his head no when asked if he was in pain. I don't know if he knew it was me talking to him or if he thought it was just another nurse, but he did respond to some of the things I said to him. It was a busy afternoon and I stayed much longer than I had intended and even missed the steak my brother barbequed for supper. If you don't know my brother, then you have missed out on some fantastic cooking. I have no cooking skills because he got all of them! So I was slightly bummed that I missed that but I also was not about to leave the hospital while my dad was awake.

Anyway, after a couple of hours his breathing became more labored and the numbers were starting to get out of the ranges they wanted to see. They decided to sedate him again and put him back on the breathing machine. They were pleased with the progress he made, but his lungs still need more rest. He will rest through the night and will be woken up again tomorrow.

Another bit of information... my cousin is an xray tech at the hospital my dad is in, and she has not been doing this job very long. However, she knew at some point she would have to xray someone that she knew and who was very, very sick. I cannot imagine how she managed to do it but she did and I am pretty sure she will have to xray him again tomorrow. If you know her please give her an extra big hug for what she does. Not only is it a very hard thing to see but would be even harder to do your job when it is someone you know and love...

This is where we are...

2011-04-23T21:28:00.002-04:00

A couple weeks ago my mom called to tell me that my dad had been admitted into the hospital in the small town where they live. He had not been feeling well, had no appetite and was in a lot of pain for a couple days.  So on a Monday he went to the doctor and was sent over to the hospital to be admitted.

***A quick disclaimer! Some of this information is second and third hand and even many days old. Much has occurred in these last couple of weeks so I may not have the terminology correct or even the dates. I certainly have no medical training and don't have a clue about most of it, other than what we are being told. However, the purpose of me even posting this information is because there are so many people who care about my dad and our family that we cannot possibly keep everyone up to date on a daily basis except through this blog. My prayer is that WHEN my dad recovers he will not strangle me for doing this!!!***

A diagnosis of pancreatitis was soon determined and the treatment/testing was to do several blood tests to determine what the pancreas was doing and how the digestive enzymes were functioning. As this was going on the fluids in his body were building up. This went on for most of the week until he was tranferred to the hospital in the next biggest town for more testing and with increased pain and now a fever.

After a couple days in this hospital his condition continued to deteriorate as the fluids continued to build up, including fluid in his lungs. He was having more trouble breathing and was on oxygen.  One evening his breathing became very labored and his heart rate went really high and was irregular. That got him a pretty fast trip to ICU. However, after a couple hours the medication worked and his heart rate was back down and his breathing was much better.

Over the next couple of days there was improvement and seemed that he was improving, enough so that I had decided not to make the 2000 mile trip home. But then on Saturday they determined that there was some pnemonia in his lung and went downhill very quickly from there.  By Monday night he was completely sedated into a medically induced coma and placed on ventilator.

They are now saying that not only is there pnemonia in his lungs but they have used the term ARDS or Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome.   Basically the breathing machine and the sedation are so that his body and lungs have a chance to rest and recover. For the last couple of days they have slowly been trying to wean him off of the ventilator and bringing him out of sedation. He needs to be breathing on his own and fully alert before they can take him off of the ventilator. We have no idea at this point how long, or even if that will happen.   All we can do is pray.

My trip...
So I am sure that you are wondering about that 2000 mile trip home that I mentioned earlier. Well, it is about a 5 day trip from our house in North Carolina to my hometown in Saskatchewan. Certainly not a trip that you can make without a bit of planning - both if travelling by vehicle or by flying.

The first week or so that my dad was in the hospital was not overly concerning. Certainly not to the point where I felt I needed to rush home. Although, for lack of a better description, it really really sucks to be so far away in such a situation. Then the night that he was put into ICU was the night that I suddenly felt the need to be home. But it is just not that easy to get home.  Flying is very expensive and driving takes 5 days. On top of that Sam's passport was expired. Although I soon learned that if we were travelling by vehicle he could cross the border with only a copy of his birth certificate.

The couple of days after he was sent to ICU were more positive and I made the decision that I would not go home at that point. Besides the 5 day drive I knew that hubby would have to be away for work for a few days at a time so there were the critters to take care of - two dogs, the new puppy, the cat, and the 19 chickens still in my living room!!! So with my dad improving I was comfortable not going. Until the next day when they found pnemonia. I started to pack and left Monday morning, which was the same day he was put on the ventilator and I was wishing I had left on Saturday when I originally had planned.

Anyway, I was on the road and headed home. It was an interesting trip but the most amazing was how well the kids did. Of course there was complaining and fighting over toys, but generally they settled into the routine of driving and making short stops.  The first couple of days I also stopped at Walmart (love GPS) and they each got a new toy, including Leapster and Tag, which made it possible to switch toys throughout the day. However, the most exciting part of the day for them was stopping at the hotel rooms!

However, it was not a trip without problems!

Day 1
I was only 10 miles from home when I blew the fuse to plug in the cooler. So now we had no cooler to keep milk and drinks cold. Thankfully our van has 2 plugins so I was still able to have the GPS. Later that day I realized that I had forgotten to bring my debit cards and Canadian credit cards, not a serious problem - just inconvenient and will cost me more in bank fees...sigh...

Day 2
Driving through West Virginia was beautiful and the kids were so excited to see mountains! They were bouncing in their seats yelling things like "OOOHHH mountains! OHHH look at that one! WOW that is the hugest mountain we have ever seen. Oh Mama this is the bestest adventure ever!" Hahaha
Then it started to rain and rain and rain. It rained through the entire state of Ohio and most of Indiana! Close to the end of the day we were fairly close to Chicago and I wanted to be on the other side of the city so that I did not have to fight traffic in the morning. Great plan until it the torrential rains started.  Not great driving conditions! I didn't even want to take my hands off the wheel to try to find a hotel, so I just stayed in my lane and drove and tried not to jump to much when the thunder cracked!

Day 3
Wasn't long and we were in Wisconsin and it started to snow. Our first stop that morning was a bit uncomfortable as I was having to walk through slushy snow in my flip-flops! I knew where my other shoes were - at the bottom of my suitcase under a bunch of other stuff! It would take too long to dig them out standing there in snow in my flip-flops - I kept driving! By the time we got through Minnesota I was wondering where all the flooding was and if we would be in that path. We did see some flooded fields but there were no road closures and we made it to Grand Forks that night.

Day 4
A few miles into the day and we were detoured off the interstate due to flooding. The kids kept asking me "Is that the ocean?  Can we go swimming?"  Entire fields were completely under water! Soon we were at the border crossing and after answering many questions - I can't remember all of them, but here is a sample of the questions he asked me...
"How many are travelling with you?" - my three children
"I need you to open that side door" - ok (so I did)
"Why are you coming to Canada" - Dad is in the hospital
"Where do you live?" - North Carolina
"You are Canadian?" - yes
"Your children are US citizens?" - yes
"Is their father travelling with you?" - no (and I gave him the notarized letter from hubby stating his knowledge and permission for me to travel out of the country with our children - sheesh)
"Who owns this van?" - I do
"Why do you live in North Carolina and have California plates?" - husband is military.
"Why do only 2 of your children have passports?" - one is expired.
"Where is this one's original birth certificate?" - with the passport application
"How long are you staying" - I have no idea (which raised his eyebrows and I got quite a look so I quickly added) - it will depend on what happens with my dad.
"Longer than 2 days?" - yes
"Drive safely ma'am"

whew! We got in!!! I grabbed my phone to call hubby and friends who were praying that we would get in. As soon as I crossed into Manitoba I had no cell coverage! I now had to drive all the way to Saskatchewan before anyone would know that I was actually still driving and not detained at the border! I did find a payphone to call hubby but who knows what that will cost.

A few hours later I got to Saskatchewan and was able to use my phone again. And a short time later we finally arrived at Papa & Mimi's house. I phoned the hospital to get an update on my dad and then talked to my mom. Of course she had no idea we were coming - no need for her to worry about us!! So I asked when she would be home and told her that there was a special delivery waiting for her. She thought I sent flowers or something! HAHA you can imagine her shock when she walked in to see three little kids saying HI MIMI!!

Homemade Bread

2011-04-09T21:09:00.000-04:00

My good friend Melissa introduced me to the concept of grinding your own grain to get freshly ground flour. I have been making homemade bread for quite some time now. But with all the ooh's and ahh's I get and the comments such as "Oh, I could never do that", I thought it was time to do a post on how I make bread. I am sure that it will take me longer to create this post than it did to make these two loaves of bread!

Start with 3 1/2 teaspoons of yeast.

Then two cups of water. This looks like more than 2 cups, but really it is actually 2 cups.
There is some optical illusion that happened with my camera that I could not seem to overcome.

The water needs to be quite warm, about 90-110 degrees F.
Just the right temperature in my microwave is a bit over a minute.

Meanwhile, a minute is about all you need to scoop out 4 cups of wheat.
I prefer hard white for bread.

Dump the warm water into the yeast. It needs to sit for a few minutes so the yeast can proof.
So I let it sit there proofing away while I do the next few steps.
Or if you are a preschooler then you would say POOF everytime the yeast expands!

Then dump the 4 cups of wheat into the grain mill and turn it on. It is quite loud when you first turn it on so if you have small children then you should give them a "BIG NOISE" alert because if you forget then you will scare them. And I have not found a good way to make bread and deal with screaming children.
And, yes, I leave my mill set on the finest setting even for bread.

While the yeast is proofing and the grain is grinding I pour 1/2 cup of oil.

On top of the oil I pour 1/2 cup of honey.

By now the grain mill has done its job - yes it truly only takes a few minutes to grind the grain!

And the yeast is done proofing so I add 2 teaspoons of salt.

Pour in the oil and honey.

Add 3 cups of flour.
This flour is super fluffy so I tend to pack it down in the cup a bit.
Then turn on the mixer.

Meanwhile I get my sink ready to wash dishes and by the time I have the water ready...

the flour is all mixed in and it is nice and smooth.

Then add in a heaping teaspoon of dough enhancer.
The directions say a tablespoon, but I figure a heaping teaspoon is close enough.

and add two more cups of flour.
At this point I change the beater to the dough hook and let it mix for a minute until all the flour is mixed in.

The dough is starting to form, but it is still way to sticky so we have to add more flour!
I have never measured how much I add, but my best guess is about a 1/4 cup at a time.

My mixer has a timer on it, so at this point I set it for 15 minutes.
This is enough time to get the dough into a ball and for the mixer to do enough kneading.

After the flour has mixed in, if it is still sticking to the sides I add a bit more flour.

Sometimes when I stop to add more flour I also scrape the sides

or sometimes I will push the dough off the dough hook.
I don't know why, just something that I do

Finally you will get a ball of dough that does not stick to the sides anymore.
Then I let the mixer do the kneading until the 15 minutes is up.

I put any leftover flour into a ziploc bag and store in the freezer.
I often use this flour for making waffles or muffins.

I also turn on the oven light to make it nice and warm in the oven.
Then while I am waiting for the mixer to finish I am doing the dishes.

When the mixer is done I form the dough into a ball and put it into a bowl.

Then the whole bowl goes into the oven. Do not put this kind of bowl into a preheated oven!
The only warmth is from the oven light. It needs to rise until double, so I usually set the timer for 1 hour 45 minutes.

Up to this point I have spent maybe half an hour in the kitchen. Yep thats it, only half an hour to mix the dough and do the dishes!

This is the ball after 1 hour and 45 minutes. I punch it down and knead it slightly before cutting it in half.

Form the two halves into basic loaf shapes and back into the oven to rise again, which should take about 1 hour 20 minutes. I also cover the pans with a dishcloth, don't know why...

After the second rising take the pans out of the oven so you can preheat to 350.
Then the pans go back in to bake for 25-30 minutes. My oven is best at 29 minutes.

Here are the baked loaves. Usually I get more rise out of my dough, so I am not sure what happened that day. Maybe taking all the pictures threw the routine off.

After 10 minutes out of the oven I dump the loaves out of the pans and onto a cooling rack. The great part about the cooling rack is that it leaves lines on the bottom of the loaf which happen to be perfect guides for cutting just the right thickness of a slice of bread.

So there you go. A recipe and picture instructions for making homemade bread with freshly ground flour. If you have a mixer and invest in a grinder and some wheat you can do this too. I won't even start on the health benefits right now because too bad you can't smell the house when it is baking or taste that end piece when it is still warm enough to melt the butter YUMMM

More critters!!!

2011-04-08T23:43:00.000-04:00

Because we don't have quite enough to do around here and it is not nearly chaotic enough...we decided to get chickens! At first it was going to be just a few chickens for eggs, so I put in an order for 8 Rhode Island Reds and hubby started to build a small coop.

Then he said to me one day... "We should have some chickens for meat too."
To which I said, "then you are gonna need a bigger coop!"
So we ordered a shed that will be converted into a coop.

When I went to pick up the 8 day-old chicks I ordered, they had some Jersey Giants (which I knew would be great meat birds) that were only about a week old so I got 10 of those. While they were putting them into a box I asked if they were all hens.
She said "Yes, did you want a rooster?"
I said "I don't know, do I need a rooster?" At that point I wasn't planning on getting one..
She said "Well, they are free."
I said "Okay, I will take one!" So now we have a Barred Rock rooster too!

If you are keeping count, that adds up to 19 chicks. A very odd number that I am sure drives my hubby crazy!!! Here they are...aren't they precious?! Yeah precious pooping machines!!! But that's okay, the cute peeping makes up for it, and soon we will have yummy eggs. Oh, and we named the black ones, Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and Nuggets.

Carlee is holding the rooster. We named him Rocky Roo

awww so sweet and cuddly

until they start flapping those little wings!

too funny - I am rich

2011-04-05T23:13:00.002-04:00

Today the kids were checking out what was in their piggy banks. when I walked into the room Carlee excitedly waved a dollar bill around and sang "I am RICH, I have a dollar, I am RICH, I have a DOLLAR!!!" I hope she is always so grateful for a dollar!

An important lesson

2011-04-03T20:05:00.001-04:00

Here is the link to an excerpt from Chapter 1. The basic story line is a college student, Lauren, who is contracted by an elderly women, Abigail, to transcribe a diary written by a young girl, Mercy, who was falsely accused of being a witch during the Salem Witch Trials.
I recently reviewed Lady InWaiting and although I did not love the book I did like it, so when the opportunity came to review another book by this author I decided to read another one! I am so glad that I did! For whatever reason, the author did a much better job of weaving the two story lines. Not only is this a story of Lauren immersing herself into Mercy's life but the author also developed the three different love stories - one that ended tragically, one that never had a chance to grow, and one that was new. If all that were not enough there is also the powerful theme to the book that is a wonderful lesson in how we can so easily misjudge others and how first impressions can be very difficult to change - even if they are completely wrong.

A book that is read quickly and pages can not be turned fast enough is one that always ends with some degree of disappointment because you just do not want it to end. I want a sequel! Or perhaps I just need to get more Susan Meissner books!

Disclosure: WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group provided me with a complimentary copy of this book as part of their BloggingForBooks.org book review program.

I WON

2011-04-02T18:15:00.000-04:00

I WON this giveaway!!! SO exciting!!!! I haven't a clue in the world what I am going to do with all this cool stuff but it is such an amazing opportunity to learn!

Thank you so much Azure Standard and big hugs to your little ones for picking my name!

http://azurestandard.blogspot.com/2011/03/giveaways-dont-get-any-sweeter-than.html

Thanks to Laura at http://heavenlyhomemakers.com/ for letting me know about it!

Say ahhh

2011-03-30T01:38:00.001-04:00

This is an example of the silliness that typically goes on around here. Seriously, who needs satellite tv when you have entertainment like this!

At the end of this video, it appears that Carlee has been pushed. She probably was, or she could have tripped over her two left feet. Yes, she is just as graceful as I am! Anyway, I thought I should let you know that she was fine and to prove it, here is the very next video that I took only moments later.

Wholesome Sweeteners Giveaway!

2011-03-28T18:12:00.000-04:00

http://azurestandard.blogspot.com/2011/03/giveaways-dont-get-any-sweeter-than.html Huge giveaway, go check it out.

Thanks to http://heavenlyhomemakers.com/ for letting me know about it!

too funny - in the same

2011-03-24T17:04:00.001-04:00

We were driving along and Carlee was pestering Sam. He was getting quite annoyed...

Sam - Stop it! You are driving me in the same!

Me - Sam, what was that you said?

Sam - I told Carlee that she is driving me in the same.

Me - What?

Sam - I said she is driving me in the same. You know just like what you always say to us.

Me - (laughing) I think you mean 'insane'

Sam - Oh, what is insane?

Me - It means that someone is making you crazy or you are getting really frustrated or they are being really irritating. It is when you feel like going AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH (this scream included waving my arms around like a crazy person).

At this they all laughed hysterically and proceeded to act like crazy monkeys in their carseats - it was driving me in the same, oops I mean insane! haha

Just plain bizarre

2011-03-24T16:08:00.001-04:00

The Promises She Keeps by Erin Healy
Just plain bizarre is about the best I can offer for an overview of this book. The character development is fairly well done but that is about the end of the good points of the book.

The storyline is generally okay, and the characters are brought together in an interesting way but the author never really drew me in and captured my attention. It certainly was not a page turner and was a hard book to get through - which for me is unusual as I can generally devour a fiction book, even a mediocre one. However, I am kind of kicking myself that I actually finished this one. There were some bizarre things throughout the book, but nothing really unreasonable. But then the ending went so far off the deep end that I am not even sure how the author got there. I had to reread some of it to try to figure out if I missed a page or something to explain how a reasonable storyline suddenly went - well, I really don't know where it went!
Fiction is a broad description and can include many varying levels of writing, but you generally can follow the logic and you can usually place a book into a specific fiction genre. Not this book - it had elements of a mystery bordering on a supernatural mystery, but then it seemed it would take a turn to be a romantic love story, or even a tragic love story. But with the strange writing at the end I have no idea what category to even put it in - like I said, just plain bizarre. Not recommended at all!

Disclosure: Thomas Nelson Publishers provided me with a complimentary copy of this book as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program.

First day of spring

2011-03-22T01:10:00.002-04:00

Spring has always been my favorite season, and even more now that we live in North Carolina. Here spring comes when it is supposed to! I have even seen crocuses and daffodils blooming on my birthday, which is at the end of February. Growing up in Canada I only ever saw the dead of winter on my birthday so being here and truly experiencing spring is so refreshing. I think that all those cold miserable birthdays have made me appreciate spring here so much more!

Here are some photos I took the first day of spring (well, technically it was the day after the first day of spring). Hard to imagine that in Saskatchewan they still have three feet of snow! There are moments that I really miss home, and then there are those moments that I really don't!

I don't even know what kind of tree or shrub this is growing in our yard, but what a beautiful surprise!

Here is my tulip tree which seems to get prettier every year!

A close up of the tulip tree.

By now the daffodils are nearly done blooming, but there was still a few.

A huge Camellia tree in my neighbor's yard

Our house is in the background. I have such a pretty view in the spring!

Cool stuff at the zoo

2011-03-16T00:45:00.011-04:00

A trip to the zoo is always fun, but this particular trip there was some cool things that we saw that I wanted to share...

I have been to this zoo several times, but this was the first time I really noticed the elephant...

Designed entirely out of butterfly shapes!!!

Carlee was our guide.

The giraffes and elephants were still in the barn, and we got to see them really close up! The pictures inside didn't turn out well but it gives you an idea how close we were to the giraffes!

Then we got to see the vet taking a blood sample from the elephant. I thought that was pretty cool, but the kids were more fascinated when she reached her trunk through the bars to pick up a carrot from the floor.

The lions were more active than I have ever seen them - usually they are sleeping on these rocks!

But the coolest part of the day was hearing one of the lions roaring. I tried to get it on video but it is hard to hear - you will know why when you watch it.

too funny - bad guy

2011-03-15T15:34:00.002-04:00

This is an example of "I have no idea where they come up with this stuff - must be a boy thing"

Sam If I was a bad guy I would swing my knife and cut you in half.

Ben (very casually responds) But then I would be dead and you would miss me.

Sam That is very true. Good thing I am not a bad guy! Are you still my best bro.

Ben Yep!

I tried to decide whether to deal with the knife comment or praise them for being "best bros". But I was laughing too hard and the opportunity passed as they moved on to playing with trucks. I posted it here instead!

too funny - difficult

2011-03-10T15:29:00.000-05:00

Sam was being difficult and arguing with me. Finally we solved the issue and this is the conversation...

Me - Sam, I love you even when you are being difficult.

Sam - I love you to even when you are difficult.

Carlee (who was just coming into the room) What??? You need a different coat???

too funny - Bible talk interrupted...

2011-03-05T15:13:00.001-05:00

We were in the van driving somewhere and with hubby along I had the rare opportunity to work on my Bible study while travelling so I jumped at it. Of course the kids wanted to know what I was reading so I read portions to them and we talked about what it meant. For example,

Me (reading from the Bible) And I will be the glory inside the city...

Carlee What is "the glory"?

Me It is the glory of God...

Ben Hey! Do you know that M&M's only have M's

Me (laughing) Yes Ben, that is true but I am not sure how reading the Bible and a discussion of the glory of God has anyhing to do with M&M's but that is good spelling!

A little later...
Me (reading from the Bible) And the Lord surrounds His people...

Sam Does the Lord surround like policemans surround bad guys?

Me Sort of, the Lord surrounds us but we are not bad guys.

Sam The Lord surrounds us so that we cannot get away kind of like police surround bad guys so they cannot get away?

Me That's right we want to be near God...

Ben Do you know that monster trucks have very loud engines.

Another day Sam was being difficult and arguing with me. Finally we solved the issue and this is the conversation...

Me - Sam, I love you even when you are being difficult.

Sam - I love you to even when you are difficult.

Carlee (who was just coming into the room) What??? I need a different coat???

Loving Ellie

2011-02-28T00:38:00.000-05:00

Most days the kids don't bother much with Ellie, but on this day she decided to give puppy kisses and the kids enjoyed loving her right back...

she didn't even mind when Sam got a bit rough. That's when I stopped the video to settle him down, which he did. Then this little love fest went on and on!

My Birthday Adventure

2011-02-24T00:09:00.001-05:00

Ok, so I ran away from home for my birthday. But I had to come back... and then it was my real birthday and the kids now expect that even Mama & Daddy should have a Birthday Adventure for their birthday. So for my birthday adventure we went to a children's musuem...

We played with the trains...

then rode the ferry...

went to Joe's Crab Shack (because I insist on having shrimp on my birthday)
that has an indoor playground (because we have kids and it was cold that day)

On the way back to the ferry we rode this ferry up and down 17 million times so that every combination of who got to push the buttons and who got to be steer could be accomplished. I didn't know that elevators had steering wheels, but this one did! We had quite an adventure on that elevator!

By then I was ready to claim my birthday wish and crawl into bed with my book, which I did and didn't feel the slightest bit guilty about it...Happy Birthday to me!

I got a message I didn't expect

2011-02-22T21:06:00.000-05:00

Life in Spite of Me - Extraordinary Hope After a Fatal Choice
Kristen Jane Anderson with Tricia Goyer

A few weeks ago I heard Kristen's story on the radio and so when I saw this book I wanted to read it. Here is a link to an excerpt from the book.

Her story is amazing, inspirational, and a miracle.   It is a story of how a seemingly normal teenager can go so far down that there seems to be no way out. It is a story of a miracle and of how God saves, restores, and uses someone for His purposes.

There are many messages in this book, including:  hope for those suffering from depression, a light for those who are contemplateing suicide, and inspiration for those seeking a closer relationship with God. It is this final message that touched me in a way I did not expect. I originally wanted to read the book because I thought it might help me better understand teenage depression so that I could better help some teens in my life.

What I found was an inspiration to grow closer to God...she writes "I need to grow up and be more intentional about my life. I need to focus on God more and start doing things more his way."  Don't we all need to be more intentional and more focused about growing closer to God. I got a message I didn't expect to find when I picked up this book, and just I love how God works that way!

Disclosure: WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group provided me with a complimentary copy of this book as part of their BloggingForBooks.org book review program.

We ran away from home

2011-02-21T23:50:00.000-05:00

For my birthday this year I wanted to do something different. We have established a tradition with the kids that on their birthdays we have a "Birthday Adventure", and I thought for my birthday it would be fun to run away from home. Or at least go away for a couple days with no kids! So I did, and I took my good friend Monjetta with me to a hotel with an ocean view. Good thing we got the oceanview room because it was a cold, windy weekend and almost too cold to be out on the beach for very long. Anyway, we had a delightful weekend and here are some of the photos I took...

I never was a morning person, but at the beach getting up to see the sunrise is a must!

Stormy weather up the coast makes for a cold windy day, but the surf was fun to watch!

Even the seagulls had trouble flying into the wind.

All ready to go out. We felt like snowmen trying to lounge on the beach!!

Being at the beach in February made me desperately want to rent one of these beach houses
for a week in the summer. Just imagine literally living right on the beach...
I will let you know what it is like, we will be spending a week in one of these beach houses in August!

More snow...

2011-02-10T00:34:00.001-05:00

After growing up on the Canadian prairies I can truly appreciate a mild winter. And found out that I really don't mind winter too much when it only snows twice and the snow only lasts for a day or so. We had a little snow today...

Some things are pretty in the snow...

and some things are hilarous! Like a lab-mix puppy plowing her face through the snow!

Please let me in, I have played in the snow for a really long time
and I am now really, really tired and ready to nap for four hours!

A ring that links two delightful stories

2011-02-06T23:01:00.001-05:00

Lady in Waiting by Susan Meissner

SNEAK PEEK!!! Click here to download the first chapters of this book!

The book revolves around a ring, first given to Lady Jane in the 16th Century and then found by another Jane in the 21st Century. It is certainly a captivating story and will keep your attention all the way through to the end.  The story is a delightful fictional escape into several love stories that are all touched by the ring and all end differently...

It is written as two separate stories with the common link being the ring. The ring plays an even bigger role in the present day story as the character gains strength and individuality from her journey to discover who the ring originally belonged to.  The link from past to present was intriguing but both stories were fantastic and could have each been a great novel all on their own. I tend to prefer a historical story and preferred those portions of this book and wanted more of that story.

Although I am certainly not a writer and have no idea how to develop a story I found myself distracted by thinking how I would have written the story instead of how it was actually presented.    For example, as I was reading portions of the Lady Jane's story I would become annoyed when it suddenly jumped to the present day. Then I would get into the present day Jane's story and be annoyed when it jumped back to the 16th century. I truly loved both stories but became impatient when one was temporarily put on hold. Maybe I am the only one that this bothered! Remember the movie The Red Violin? I really really loved that movie but was annoyed whenever it jumped to the present day - hmmm maybe it is just me!
Even with the slight annoyances this was a lovely book and I certainly recommend it for fun and quick light reading.

Disclosure: WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group provided me with a complimentary copy of this book as part of their BloggingForBooks.org book review program.

too funny - dancing

2011-02-05T12:28:00.000-05:00

I have no idea how this even started, but I think Daddy and his version of KuFu Fighters had something to do with it...

Carlee pretty much summed it up hahaha I can't stop laughing!
Do you think dance classes would help them not be total nerds when they go to prom?

Grateful for little reminders

2011-02-01T22:20:00.000-05:00

My kids say funny stuff everyday, many of which I never get to share because I can't remember how it went by the time I get time to get on the computer.  One of the things I have been doing recently is writing down the funnies when they say it and then putting the paper near the computer to remind me to write a post about it. This is exactly what happened this morning.  I heard them say something funny so I wrote it down, put the paper by the computer and pretty much forgot about it.

The day went on and we ended up having an absolute disaster of an afternoon.  It was just one of those days that I could hardly wait for Daddy to get home so I could escape for a few minutes - oh wait, that's right he is away until Friday well isn't that just fantastic, I thought to myself!

So first I am so grateful that I have a wonderful babysitter that was scheduled to be here this evening so she was incredibly helpful tonight. But I am also grateful for my little note.  Normally once all was quiet I would sit down and probably reflect on what a horrible day we had. But instead, because I had written a few lines on the paper I am reminded that even though the afternoon was horrible, the morning was quite delightful.

This is what I wrote down...

Sam (who was speaking in a different voice because he was pretending that it was his stuffed toy dog talking said to Carlee) - OH NO It's an emergency!! There is a big bad monster coming to kill us!!!

Carlee (looks across the room and then says with much tenderness) Oh it's ok little puppy, it is not a monster it is just my brother and he won't kill us. (after a brief pause then she adds) He might bite us, but he definitely won't kill us!

This post is linked up with Heavenly Homemakers Gratituesday

Our newest addition

2011-01-31T23:49:00.008-05:00

Because we don't have nearly enough chaos we thought it would be fun to get a puppy. One day we went to see our babysitter in her high school drama play. On our way home there was a family with some puppies they were giving away...and so because we are all suckers for puppies we stopped. They said the mother was a pure bred chocolate lab and no clue what the father was. We think probably some kind of deerhound.

Well, we decided that it is as good a time as any to get a new puppy. One of the biggest reasons is because Ellie is getting older and we wanted the puppy to learn her good traits, like staying in the yard without having to be tied up for one thing. I noticed that the puppies that looked more like labs were much more active and more likely to be jumping up on the kids. And so we picked the puppy that they said was generally the quietest. Hubby was sold when he picked her up and she licked his face. I was hoping for easy to train, we shall see ...meet Lucy!

This is actually Ellie's crate, but for now it will do because she is smaller than Ellie - but not for long!

So I am sure you are wondering how the first week went. Biggest lesson learned is - do not get a new puppy the day before your hubby goes away for a week! The worst part was that I ended up being quite sick that week which is not a good thing to be when you are trying to house train a 2 month old puppy. A puppy that was quite sick for the first couple days - probably due to the stress of being away from her littermates and the change of dogfood on her delicate little tummy. Oh and did I mention the chewing - good grief! We got through the first week...phew!

too funny - twins

2011-01-28T22:45:00.000-05:00

Carlee & I had this conversation today. It started when she excitedly asked if she could do her schoolwork. Once she got settled...

Carlee - Ben sure doesn't like school.

Me - Nope, he sure doesn't. How do you think we could get Ben to like school more?

Carlee - When Ben is bigger he will like school.

Me - Oh, well how about now? How can we get Ben to do his schoolwork today?

Carlee - (shrugs) How would I know?

Me (trying not to laugh) Well you have known him longer than anyone!

Carlee - HUH?

Me - You two were in my tummy together so you have known him longer than anyone else.

Carlee - God put me & Ben in your tummy at the same time?

Me - Yes

Carlee - So that's why we are twins?

Me - Yes

Carlee - (smiles) that was nice of Him to do that!

Me - Sure was

Carlee (suddenly serious and thinking very hard) So was Sam in Daddy's tummy?

Now in August

2011-01-27T23:27:00.001-05:00

Trying to make progress with my backdated updates! I have zoomed all the way into August. Aren't you amazed at my speediness...

too funny - just wanted to talk

2011-01-27T16:29:00.000-05:00

Ok, so a little background info is needed for this story. Last week Ben was pretty sick, fever for 4 days and has, well let's say tummy problems, for the last several days. So when he is in the bathroom and calls for me I go pretty quick. Here is the latest conversation...

Ben (yelling from the bathroom) MAMA, I NEEEED YOU

ME Ok, I'm coming (when I get to the bathroom I start unravelling some toilet paper)

Ben No Mama, I don't need you to wipe my butt.

ME Oh, Ok, why did you call me then?

Ben Ummmm, because I wanted you to talk to me (then he grins)

ME (trying not to laugh) Ok, what do you want to talk about?

Ben Ummmmm, Ummmmm, Ummmm (meanwhile one of the cats walks by the bathroom) Why do Cats have whiskers?

ME hmmm I don't know, we will have to ask Daddy

Ben Oh Ok

ME Ok (I turn to leave)

Ben Hey Mama...

ME Yeah?

Ben ummmm ummmm Why doesn't Ellie have whiskers? (Ellie is the dog)

ME She does have whiskers.

Ben Can you call her in here so I can see them.

ME (laughing) No Ben, when you are done we will do look at them. Anything else?

Ben ummmmm ummmmm, yeah you can wipe my butt now.

Me (laughing) Ok Ben

too funny - louder

2011-01-20T15:26:00.000-05:00

Well after three days spent on the couch and in bed, Ben is finally feeling much better today and acting more like himself. You would think that with two kids the noise level would double and with three kids it should triple - right? Seems logical doesn't it? Nope, not even close - the noise level is way-way up today. I even had to plug my ears and cringe when the boys started playing fire trucks!!!

Carlee, meanwhile, is quietly working on her school work and said to the boys "Hey guys! Why don't you be louder so they can hear you in the city!" Hahaha!!! She came up with that one all on her own, but I am so using it next time they are too loud for my liking!

Well, guess what, the boys listened to her - I wish they would listen that well when I speak. Then Carlee turned to me and said "Hey Mama, do you gots a headache yet?" Yes, actually I think I feel one coming on...sigh...

Gratituesday - Ben

2011-01-18T21:50:00.000-05:00

Anyone who knows us or has followed this blog knows that of our three kids, Ben is the challenge. He is the one that most often gets into trouble, and if he is quiet for more than a couple minutes I am looking to see what he is getting into.

Well, yesterday after lunch he crawled up on the couch and fell asleep. Not entirely unusual, he still naps occasionally. But when he was still sleeping at 4:00 we checked on him and found he had a pretty high fever. We gave him some Tylenol and it wasn't long before the fever broke. We knew he was feeling better when he was tormenting Boots, the cat. Well in his mind he was trying to help Boots. Something was on his back and he was just trying to wipe it off - with a Clorox wipe! Hahaha so even though he was getting into trouble I was grateful he was feeling much better.

This post is linked up with Heavenly Homemakers Gratituesday

Pray with me

2011-01-17T15:51:00.002-05:00

I know that because I pretty much dropped off the face of the bloggy-world for most of last year that there are very few who follow this blog. But if you are still here please join me in praying for Joanne.

I know Joanne only through her blog The Simple Wife. A couple years ago I found her blog and immediately loved her blog and her writing. But the most meaningful part of her blog to me was that she introduced me to her Memory Monday.

I was not very faithful with Memory Monday, but the tool has really stuck with me (even if I have not been doing it faithfully). In fact, when I finally got back to blogging and reading other blogs one of the first blogs I checked in on was Joanne's. That was on the 12th. On Jan 11th she suffered a major stroke and I have been praying for her ever since. I also learned that she is the same age as me and for some reason that hits even closer to home. Please join me in praying for her and her precious family - but also join me in Memory Monday - which I will be posting on my Bible Study blog

too funny - Story telling

2011-01-15T23:31:00.000-05:00

We love to tell stories. On this day we recorded them...

too funny - gonna marry

2011-01-12T15:56:00.000-05:00

Sam - I'm gonna marry Bootsie (Bootsie is the cat)

Carlee - You can't marry Bootsie, he's a boy. You have to marry a girl.

Sam - Then I'm gonna marry Ellie (Ellie is the dog)

Carlee - (very disgusted) YOU CAN'T!!! She is JUST a stinkin pet AAANNND she can't even dance!!!

Hooray for May

2011-01-10T23:37:00.001-05:00

I am done with April and am now moving on to posts for May! Please leave a comment to let me know you were here :)

So May was easy, apparently I did not take many pictures or videos, and after a quick look it seems June will not take too long either...

too funny - enjoy

2011-01-10T15:46:00.003-05:00

Quite often when one of us goes to run errands we will take one of the kids with us. Recently I had taken Carlee, then the next time was Ben's turn and finally on this day it was Sam's turn.

When I told Sam to get ready to go, Carlee had a meltdown because she wanted to go too. Here is the conversation...

Me Today is Sam's turn to go with Mama and don't you remember when you really enjoyed your day with Mama? And yesterday Ben enjoyed his day with Mama.

Carlee (sniffling) yes

Me Well today is Sam's turn to enjoy his day with Mama.

Sam WWWWEELLL, I really don't know if I'm gonna enjoy it, and you don't know if I am gonna enjoy it because you're not me.

LOL perfect 5 year old logic!

Updating April

2011-01-08T22:11:00.000-05:00

In an effort to get back into this blog and to not leaving a big gaping hole of time I am just letting you know that I am working on some April-2010 posts with pictures and videos. You know just in case anyone happens to check in here. and if you do please leave a comment so I know that you were here :)

too funny - FB posts

2011-01-08T21:57:00.001-05:00

Okay so last year was not a great blogging year. I barely posted anything at all and the posts with pictures and videos are all backdated to the date that I took them. So in the next month or so make sure you look back into previous months (like back to March...uggg why did I get so far behind) to catch any picture and video posts I will be posting...

Anyway, perhaps this year will be better? We can all hope...

Let's start with an easy copy and paste. Here are the posts I have made on Facebook in the last several months...yes several months, the last time I did this was the beginning of June. Yikes I can't believe I have not blogged for so long! Ok complained enough... here are some of the funny things the kids have said and done that I posted on FB since last June.

big dog vs tiny kitten = very traumitized babysitter!!
But she handled it beautifully and I love her even more!!!! At least it wasn't all bad, I think she was entertained by my silly crew. I now know that we have been watching too much TV because Sam told her "Sarah, you're sponsored by Huggies" LOL

All three kids went grocery shopping with Arlan today. In the checkout Ben makes a loud funny noise by blowing on his hand. Carlee says very loudly "Daddy did that come from your butt" LOL

Carlee was helping me with alundry and the dryer had just quit so the clothes were still pretty warm, so she said "Mama, I need a work glub" haha then she went and put one on to take the clothes out LOL

took the kids to get haircuts today - they call it the haircut store. Then Carlee in her most serious voice says "Miss Kay, our Daddy has none hair." LOL

here is an interesting conversation I just overheard my kids having...

Carlee- I miss the little kitty
Sam- it's ok Carlee, the kitty is in heaven
Ben- God is in heaven
Sam- God is my most favorite guy
Carlee- When we die and go to heaven we will see God and the little kitten! But when I get upset stay away from me so I don't bite you

my darling children figured out all on their own that bum and dumb rhyme. Apparently this is incredibly hilarous...

kids are eating lunch and Ben yells at Sam "DO YOU HEAR ME??!! AM I TALKING TO THE WALL??!!" hmmm wonder where he has heard that before

I ask Ben "Why are you wearing sweat pants, its 105 degrees?" Ben says "cuz I'm sweatin" hmmm that is actually quite logical

I catch Ben standing on the remote control for the TV, so of course I say "Ben, what are you doing?" He says "surf channeling" HAHAHA

kitchen table and chairs transformed into a jail. Bad guys Carlee & Ben put into jail by police officer Sam...can you guess who came up with a plan to escape?

yesterday at the airport Ben saw a toy helicopter he really wanted. This morning he said to Susy "SuSu can we take you back to the airport with money to buy that helicopter I love and then we can pick you up again?" LOL LOL LOL

Got a speeding ticket yesterday, grrr...but Sam put it in perspective when he said "Well Mama, it is a good thing he didn't throw you in jail!" Yep, good thing because I had forgotten my wallet and driver's license at home!!!

Ben says to Carlee about his Jelly Beans "you can taste one as long as you promise not to eat it" LOL

...Seems I was not on FB much for awhile. I guess I was rather distracted with other things in Aug (flood in the house), Sept (making a quilt for my brothers wedding), Oct (going to Canada for my brothers wedding) and did not post anything funny that they said. Although I know that they did, they crack me up all the time!! By the end of Oct I was posting funnies again...

The fight of the day is not over toys, nope, my children are fighting over an old cardboard box.

Ben unexpectedly shared one of his treats with Sam, then Sam said "awww Ben that was so nice, Thank You! You are the brother I have always wanted!!"

They picked their own Halloween costumes from the dressup boxes...Snow white, Fireman Sam, and "I am NOT dressed up, but Kitty is, see he is wearing this geetar" LOL why is it always Ben!

was wondering why the kids didn't complain about being hungry this afternoon. Then at bedtime they were munching away on their cache of cereal they had stashed. Daddy is so proud of their emerging survival instincts LOL

I said to the kids "go outside and play!" which they did. Five minutes later Sam came in and said "Ok I played outside" to which I replied "Are you serious?" and he so cutely said "Oh yeah Mama, I am serious, I really did play outside" LOL I then said "well, go play some more!" then he said "Ok Mama, Bye I love you...!"

Satellite TV is history at our house. Day 2 results - no complaints and creativity is flourishing, they created an entire city in my kitchen from cardboard boxes!

Asked at lunch on thanksgiving day - What are you thankful for? Ben said "my entire family and toys" Carlee said "mama, daddy, the critters and FOOD!" Sam said "I am thankful for God who gave us our family and our food!" I am thankful for my amazing kids!

Sam - I'm 5.

Sallie - That's great! I'd like to be 5. I'm almost 39.
Sam - WOW!
Sallie - Do you know anyone who is 39?
Sam - Noooo.... I can't even count to that number.

This morning Sam was snuggling with me and he said very quietly "Mama, I love you buuuut you are hurting my arm." LOL he is so sweet

Carlee just asked me for a piece of paper. I asked what for, she said so that she could count how many bullets we have. I laughed and gave her the paper. Later I asked Arlan if was doing an ammo inventory. Nope, she came up with that all on her own! Daddy is so proud!

We had been talking about things you do when you are grown up - like going away to college, getting married, having kids, etc etc. Then Carlee says to me very quietly and very seriously, like she was expecting me to to say no but hoping I would say yes..."Mama someday when I am grown up will you come visit me?"

I was hoping for a few more years before I heard "I don't love you Mama" in the middle of a fit...sigh...I can hardly wait for the middle of the night when he comes to snuggle. I hope I am still "the goodest snuggler"

Fun to Read

2011-01-04T23:03:00.001-05:00

The Charlatan’s Boy by Jonathan Rogers

This was a captivating and interesting read and certainly suitable for all readers - both young and old. It was quite a departure from anything I would normally read, but it was just about the most fun I have ever had reading a book. Basically the story is about a two person travelling show, the “barker” and the orphan boy who usually plays the part of the “side show freak”. They are constantly travelling and working their many scams until they develop the ultimate hoax.

It is written as the young orphan’s narrative and the author writes in a delightful manner that will make you smile often and even laugh out loud. You can easily hear the southern drawl as you are reading. This makes the story much more interesting as if he were right there telling you his story. If I can ever get the accent I will use this as a read aloud chapter book with my preschoolers.

The story takes many twists and turns and just when you think you have it all figured out the plot changes, then changes again and again. I hope they make it into a movie!

Disclosure: WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group provided me with a complimentary copy of this book as part of their BloggingForBooks.org book review program.

Boxing Day Blizzard

2010-12-26T21:25:00.024-05:00

It stared to snow before the kids went to bed on Christmas Day. This is what we woke up to...

Notice the forked tree just to the right of center. This will be important later...

It snowed all day and we ended up with about twice as much as this
- about 2 feet of snow I think was the final result!

This is the same swing set that I had taken photos of less than 24 hours ago!

Of course the kids wanted to go out to play in the snow...

Sliding

Swinging

Somewhere under all that snow is the airplane!

I took this in the morning. Remember the forked tree? It is in the middle of the picture.

Now look at the same tree a couple hours later - part of it broke and crashed!

The poor squirrels used that part of the tree to get through the yard without having to get down on the ground. Looks like he is praying to have his tree path back!

I did find some color among all that white!

Christmas Morning

2010-12-25T20:46:00.043-05:00

I am not sure why, but I really didn't take all that many photos of Christmas this year. I didn't even take one of the kids little trees or of the big tree! Anyway, it was a fun day - here are some of the photos and videos from Christmas morning.

First we opened our Christmas stockings. Last year I took a long video of this and it was so fun to watch for those who would like to be with us Christmas morning but can't. Anyway, I did it again so that you could see how much fun they have tearing into these stockings filled mostly with everyday stuff. The first one is only a few seconds long and is about how long it took Ben to take out all the stuff. The second one is much longer - about 10 minutes! Took Carlee alot longer to take everything out!!!

One of the things that didn't get on the video was that there were mitts in their stockings. I asked them why they thought Santa would put mitts in their stockings and they gave the typical answer "to keep out hands warm". So I had to make a big production about going outside to get some wood and of course I saw why Santa thought they needed new mitts...

Here Carlee is reading who it is to and from. I had asked Ben if he was ripping the paper - this is his "nope not me I would never do anything like that" look HA

I hope that they are always this happy to get simple things like bathrobes and shampoo!

This was my favorite gift. Our babysitter took the time to do these with the kids - how special is that!

Baking Christmas Cookies

2010-12-23T15:53:00.000-05:00

I am sensing a theme, apparently we think it is okay to do certain things while sitting on the table haha...anyway, here was our Christmas cookie baking adventure.

They used a lot of sprinkles!

Did I mention they used a lot of sprinkles? In case you don't believe me watch this...

too funny - folding laundry

2010-12-21T12:48:00.001-05:00

Daddy took this video. I guess Ben was helping me bake something and I had my back turned so I didn't notice where they were folding the laundry. But they really are being very good about helping, so I really don't know what to say about this.

SisSue Christmas

2010-12-12T11:43:00.013-05:00

This year we had a real blessing! We got to have SisSue Christmas!!! Gramma SisSue is hubby's aunt, but she is much more like Grandma to the kids and she was able to come visit for a few days. Of course SisSue loves nothing more than to spoil everybody completely rotten and her time there was soon called SisSue Christmas! And SisSue is so special that she got to talk to Santa and convince him to let her get the things that the boys had asked him for. Remember that the boys had asked for a police motorcycle and a search and rescue helicopter... Anyway here are some of the photos from SisSue Christmas!

Can't have SisSue Christmas without new Christmas jammies

Matching jammies for the whole family!

Everyone gets a SisSue stocking filled with goodies

And everyone is so grateful and gave SisSue lots of loves!
If they only knew what was coming!!!

Carlee was tough to buy for because she didn't even know what she wanted for Christmas. Apparenty a video game was the perfect choice because she said "it is just what I always wanted" I guess she didn't know that until she saw it haha

A search and rescue airplane big enough for everybody to play in!

And what would we need handcuffs and convict costumes for?

because Policeman Sam needs someone to chase and put in jail!

and he can chase them on his Police motorcycle!!

as long as we take turns :-)

WOW SisSue Christmas was so much fun!

too funny - learning letters

2010-12-06T11:28:00.000-05:00

What happens when you have three homeschooled 4 year olds in the same room with a pen and a notebook? Why you teach each other the letters of your names of course!

And who really cares if the windows are not clean, they need to be replaced anyways!

Please can we read it again Mama?

2010-12-03T16:14:00.001-05:00

Little Star by Anthony DeStefano

This children’s book is simply delightful and incredibly moving. It will be read in our home at least a million times. The illustrations are beautiful and the message is love. Through this book my children are starting to understand that everything about Christmas, including the tree, the giving of presents, and even Santa are ways to celebrate the birth Jesus.

The first time I read this book to my children I had a hard time getting the words past the big lump in my throat! Then the words were difficult to see through the tears pooling in my eyes. When we were done my kids eagerly asked “Please can we read it again Mama”!!! Need I say more?

Disclosure: WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group provided me with a complimentary copy of this book as part of their BloggingForBooks.org book review program.

The Prophecy Answer Book by David Jeremiah

2010-12-03T13:57:00.000-05:00

The Prophecy Answer Book by David Jeremiah

This book is designed like a handbook or a FAQs guide and each chapter is set up as a question and answer format. There are several topics starting with current events and then go through all the main end times themes that you would expect: rapture, tribulation, antichrist, second coming, millennium, and the new heaven and new earth.

It was easy to read and is a great start to a study of prophecy and end times. If you have not studied any end times themes then this book is perfect for you. It will give you a fantastic summary of all the topics.

However, the format of the book left little room to answer the questions in depth. I recently completed a very in depth study of Daniel and so I already knew the answers to most of the questions and I was left wanting more on the topics.

In the end, I was reminded that Satan is trying “to take as many people to hell with him as he can” (pg112), but because of my salvation through Jesus I can look to heaven despite all the suffering to come. “When you believe in Jesus Christ, you receive the free gift of eternal life and make your reservation in heaven” (pg 162). I pray that you will be there with me!

Disclosure: Thomas Nelson Publishers provided me with a complimentary copy of this book as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program.

Santa!

2010-12-02T10:43:00.001-05:00

Every year Santa makes an appearance at the TurkeyShoot supper. He even gets a special ride on the local firetruck with ALL the lights flashing! Very exciting! I was impressed with my incredibly shy and bashful kids. They all willing went and sat on his knee!! I also think they knew that is what they needed to do to get the candy Santa was handing out.

Sam did awesome with Santa. He was very nervous as you can see by his hands, but he spoke clearly and told Santa that he wanted a police motorcycle - no kidding! He got police cars for his birthday and now he all he wanted was a police motorcyle!

Ben was also nervous, again you can tell by the hands! I don't think he actually looked at Santa, but he did tell him that he wanted a search and rescue helicopter, although it was barely audible and I only know that is what he said because he had been saying that's what he wanted for weeks!

Then it was Carlee's turn and she was too scared. A few more kids had to go before she was brave enough, but finally did it and she got up there. She never spoke to him - probably because she had no idea what she wanted for Christmas! Every time I asked her what she wanted for Christmas she would sigh and say "I just don't know yet."

Nervous - again with the hands! In this photo you can see she is looking over at his sack of candy and I am sure she is wondering how long she will have to sit there before he will give some to her.

She didn't have to wait too long, and she didn't have to talk to him. But the moment he handed her that candy she leaped off his lap. I barely had time to snap even this photo. But just look at that grin of satisfaction HA!

too funny - overalls

2010-12-01T11:16:00.000-05:00

So here is the dilemma I have...

We have tried very hard to teach our children responsility. For example, if they do not clean up the toys in their rooms for several days then I go and do it the toys get put away in the attic. The reasoning being that eventually they will get bored with no toys and next time they will realize that when I say clean up the toys they will do it so they won't lose the toys. Logical thinking right?

Nope, not my kids - they NEVER get bored! Here is an example of what I mean. They grabbed a few bags and turned them into overalls by making holes for their legs to go through and putting the handles over their shoulders. They did this so that they had work clothes to go to work at their construction site. The construction site was under the table and they were using hats, mitts, and boots for building blocks.

Not a single idea came from me, I could never be that creative! So the moral of the story is that you should take away toys from your children to encourage and dramatically increase the level of creativity.

too funny - my tutor

2010-12-01T11:15:00.000-05:00

Carlee was working hard at her schoolwork and I had the camera right there so I snapped a picture.

She looked up and said "MAMA" so I snapped another one.

A couple minutes later Bootsie sat up a bit and it looked like he was overseeing her work, so I snapped another one.

He immediately turned to me with a funny little growl/meow that he does, which let me know that he was annoyed and that I should stop it because apparently I was interrupting the lesson hahaha

Fall Colors

2010-11-22T14:29:00.001-05:00

Have I mentioned that I used to hate fall. But that was when I lived in Canada and fall meant harsh winter was on its way and soon...

Now that I have been living out here in North Carolina and Maryland and back in North Carolina I have become a lover of fall. The beauty of it is breath taking...

I had to stop trying to take pictures while driving. Kinda dangerous... so I would have to find place to stop

I had him sitting up on a branch and he really did not want to be up there!!

Sam turns 5

2010-11-20T13:56:00.000-05:00

Can you believe that Sam is 5 already! For his birthday adventure we invited some friends and went to an indoor bounce house. It was a total hit with the kids, and even the big kid (aka my hubby/my fourth child) had a blast! Sam chose McDonalds for lunch (big surprise) and after some more bouncing we came home for presents and cake. Fun Fun day!

He is still our sweet boy - always ready to give loves and say thank-you for his gifts.

Can you guess what he wants to be when he grows up?

Fall family photo shoot

2010-11-20T11:08:00.002-05:00

Every fall I want a family photo. This has two purposes, first it become the Christmas card that we send to our family and friends and secondly it will go into our family photo album along with the photos of the kids we have done every year around their birthdays. This year was no different than last year - it is impossible to get a good photo of all of us together...

This one is my favorite - only one small problem...I am not in it (probably why it is my favorite)

So this is an example, of the typical family photo. Not too bad of me and Carlee (and it certainly has to be a good one of me to make the final cut), but Sam's eyes are closed, Ben is looking away, and hubby was pointing and saying something so he has a goofy look.

Here is a more typical shot of me trying to get them smiling. I am probably saying something like "Everyone say YAY for candy!!!"

Here we have completely lost control and that was the end of the family photo shoot. Once I saw the photos I knew we didn't have "the shot" and I really hated the red. By then it was too late in the day and we would have to try another day.

One day while we were waiting for Daddy to be home at the right time of day - daylight would be helpful - I took the kids to a park and with the beautiful fall colors I had my camera along. First thought I had was - if I could get a good group shot of the kids we could use that for the Christmas cards...

Yeah right! What was I thinking!!!
Apparently when you tell my kids to say cheese it also means they are also supposed to look away from the camera and make goofy faces.

But then I managed to get these three photos and Costco had the perfect card for three photos! Problem solved - Christmas cards done. People just want to see the kids anyways haha!!!

Trees and falling leaves

2010-11-17T14:15:00.001-05:00

When you have an acre yard with huge trees like this...

it is in your best interest to train the children to rake as early as possible

Halloween

2010-10-31T23:39:00.001-04:00

I really dont like Halloween, but the kids wanted to dress up. They raided the dressup boxes and suddenly we had Snow White and a firefighter. Ben said "I am NOT dressed up, but Kitty is, see his geetar!" LOL

Fall hikes

2010-10-25T23:07:00.001-04:00

While we were in Canada we had the opportunity to go on a family hike in the valley near my parents home.

I think she was listening to something

The boys were fascinated by the rushing water beneath them

The picture above is taken at the beginning of October in Canada, pretty much the end of fall by then.

When we got back to NorthCarolina we went on another family hike to a swamp near our home. This was at the end of October and fall is just starting! I have truly learned to appreciate fall since living here!

Simply beautiful!

I agree - purrr-fect

Let's GO!

They are trying to figure out what that is

My Little Brother's Wedding!

2010-10-15T22:31:00.002-04:00

The day started early with Carlee at the haridresser. She sat perfectly while getting her hair done and it was so cute. But I think the bobby pins were hurting her and when we got home she went into the bathroom and took them out. I found her brushing all those cute curls out - I could have choked her!!!! I tried to fix it as best as I could and once she was in her dress she was fine - except for not being in any of the pictures that the photographer took...sigh... Other than that it was a really wonderful day. Here are some of the photos I took.

Still not sure how I got them all lined up so nicely!
I think Ben was in love!

Waiting...

WAITING!!!

Everyone did what they were supposed to!

And now I officially have a sister-in-law HOORAY!!!

And how special it was for our Grandma to be there. Scott is her only grandson!

Look how happy they are!

We love you guys and are thrilled that you are married - FINALLY!
May your marriage be blessed with love, laughter, and precious memories!

Birthdays in Canada

2010-10-12T19:57:00.049-04:00

Going home for my brothers wedding in October meant that we also got to celebrate several birthdays and anniversaries! We were there for my brothers birthday and my parents anniversary which is the same day - what an anniversary gift that must have been!

Anyway, what better way to celebrate than to have a fish-fry and be able to play with cousins. Nobody fries fish better than my Dad YUMMM!

A few days later was Ben & Carlee's birthday which also happens to be their cousin Hayley's birthday. Pretty cool that half of my parents grandchildren have the same birthday. We had a big family dinner and birthday cake after. My mom went overboard by making each kid a cake. Yep even Sam & Daihja got their own cakes even though it wasn't their birthday!

Patiently waiting to open presents

Time to open presents - Finally!

It is a team effort to open a present!

Once Ben realized there really was a candle then he noticed the Grave Digger!

Don't eat the candle!

Never too old to lick off a candle!

Suddenly it was quiet - for a few minutes anyway!

For our birthday adventure we went to an indoor waterpark and had a blast! Turning 4 in Canada was pretty cool!

Combining

2010-10-08T19:07:00.000-04:00

One of the first things the boys did when we got to Canada was go out to see some combining. They even got to drive! Talk about excitement - even though it doesn't seem like Sam is excited in the pictures you should have heard them when they got home! I think they went two seperate ways which is why there aren't any of Ben. Gotta love that and a special thanks to Mr & Mrs Pask for taking them out!

Not too much blogging

2010-10-05T18:03:00.001-04:00

Most of September and the first part of October I was not blogging and not even taking alot of pictures. The pictures you see posted in September are pretty much it - and I didn't even take the ones of the boys in the rain! Our babysitter took those!

So what was I doing with my time? I was completely wrapped up in making this...

I blogged about the making of this quilt here. It was a gift for my brother and sister-in-law who were married in October. I finished it only a few hours before we had to leave for the airport!

Rain Rain go away!

2010-09-29T22:59:00.000-04:00

How high can we build it?

2010-09-07T23:10:00.001-04:00

Yummy

2010-08-07T23:27:00.002-04:00

Why Daddy would bring these back from his trip I will never know!!! They could have them only when they promised to stay sitting on the floor!

I love you Daddy! You are the best Daddy in the whole world!

Here Daddy, I will share with you!

HAHAHAHA lesson learned! If you buy something for your children make sure you are willing to have some!

Visit sevenclowncircus.com for more Wordful Wednesdays.

We love the park

2010-08-02T23:19:00.000-04:00

We love to climb

We love to slide

We especially love to swing

and we love to just hang out

A day at the Fair

2010-08-01T22:49:00.001-04:00

We went to the fair and walked around, but the rides were just so enticing. We bought tickets for the rides. They were very expensive and did not last very long. Next time we need wristbands or go to Disneyland. Anyway, they had a blast on the few rides that they went on...

Here they are with their tickets waiting to get on a ride. I think they were not quite sure what to expect...

The lookon Ben's face cracks me up! I think he is saying "I think this is gonna be fun, or maybe scary...but probably fun...I hope"

A couple of rides over, they are pretty sure that this one will be fun!

Yep! Pure Joy!!!

After a few times around, Ben got serious about driving that thing!

Last ride of the day. And with one extra ticket left over Daddy got the honors to join them. I didn't mind one bit! I can ride roller coasters all day, but me and spinning rides just are not a good combination!

Daddy said "Everybody make a funny face at Mama!"

Carlee didn't make a face, so Daddy made them do it again!

Isn't it a lovely picture of all my kids - yep, all four of them!

A vet perhaps?

2010-07-30T00:26:00.000-04:00

Ben says he wants to be a monster truck driver when he grows up. But I wonder if he will be a vet?

Oh and in case you do not know Bootsie's story, he is our 3-legged cat. His story is included in this post