Thursday happenings

loves to touch his beard...scratchy!
so limber

Just a few of them, anyway.

I'm sitting here waiting for the snow to show up...they are predicting 4-8" for our area...I hope they are wrong. :( I just looked at my calendar and realized that it's February 1, 2008...one month down, 11 to go!

This month holds lots of fun times for us, as E. will turn 12 on Valentine's Day (sweet li'l cupid that he is)...and then my sister turns thirty on the 27th..man, I can't even fathom that she is going to be that OLD! old, ya hear me, Beck? really, 30 isn't as bad as we all make it sound...it's a whole heckuva lot more fun that FORTY!! (not that I'm 40 but I'm halfway there)...let me know if you have a birthday.

Also this month holds a leap year, and the Groundhog will hopefully NOT see his shadow this Saturday! (thanks for reminding how that works, Sherry)

These pix were taken at my parent's house tonight. Levi kept doing somersaults and this was the best that I could take...as my cam is slower than molasses in January. (Canon Digital Rebel would be swell). Molly got some G-ma and G-pa lovin' and we ate a lovely beef stroganoff dinner! Yum, thanks Momma and Daddio. We be lovin' your grub! and you as well.

I'll let ya know if the snow shows up, take some sledding pix for those of you in warm places...you know who you are and I'm coming to visit! Make up the sofa bed!

Update: it had started snowing at 11:30 or midnight and I just checked and there is some rain coming down, making a niiiiiiiiiiiice layer of ice! Things will get messy!

My sibs & stuff

Even as a newborn, I was reaching out to my big bro!
Check out his body language....stay away, brat! Weren't my
parents cute??

at least Andy loved me...

Isn't this pic funny? I'm the one in the horrible striped shirt...I was pregolicious with Will so cut me some slack...Beck is in the middle, holding some of those lovely ceramic Cabbage Patch kids that Gma. T always gave us for Christmas. The girl on the opposite end is Tracy, she was dating Andy at the time...

I know I'm really stretching it today to be posting on such randomness but like I've said in my past posts, tough!! It's my blog! :P

I love my brothers and sister. Growing up, I know I took them for granted, and I probably still do to some degree but I just wanted to shout out to each one of you, Thomas, Andrew and Rebecca how much I love you and how much I thank the Lord for each one of you. You too, Mom and Dad...hope you all know how much I love ye!

Home sweet home, a horse and a whale

Mr. Ed comes to visit ( just wanted to put a pic of a horse on my blog)
Our house, is a very, very, very fine house...
This picture has no point, I just found it and thought it was
funny.
One of my readers asked if I had posted a pic of our living quarters (the house that the D-man built)on my blog...I'm sure there have been bits and pieces of it but here it is...it's a simple place, yet, I believe it has a lot of character...from our brick wall in the lower level, to the spiral stairs next to the bright red flue from the wood stove...it's a fine place to be, to raise our kids, to have our friends and family visit, to feel safe when there's a weird January storm...we thank the Lord for our home!
Our house is undergoing some renovation...the upper porch that you see in the middle pic is leaving...right now, we have a makeshift, get thru the winter kinda porch...and then come spring, we will hopefully (if the economy doesn't drop too much) have the porch going out to our li'l pool, which will be soooo nice.
We are home allllll day so I will try to post again in a bit...drudge up some funny pix from the past...

Winter blues

A view from our old back door on Anderson St, Lake Orion, MI
Dad, Me (grey), Tom, Andy (black suit), and Beck (green) building an incredible snow fort
February 2007: from this point and down...

I'm not complaining, just mentioning that I'm over winter. We had a little taste of spring around these parts over the past couple of days.

Here's an interesting Indiana day, rain, overcast, thunderstorm blows in, lightening, fierce winds, temp. still holding at around 50 degrees. In a matter of MINUTES, wind shifts from the south to northerly breezes...straight from Canada and all of those other really cold, snowy places on the globe...(this is where your teeth chatter, k?). Snow blowing, wind still whipping and roads icing over. It is so funny to me how many different types of weather we can get right here in the grand midwestern United States. Un-believable! Thankfully, our house is going nowhere...this house that David (and some other guys) built!

How are you today? Safe and warm? I hope so! Hang in there, friend, Spring is on it's way, the groundhog will do his jig really soon here!

Today was my first full day without any coffee...I can't believe I have to type that...but if I want to get better, lose weight, dissolve kidney stone, gonna hafta start making even better choices...boo hoo. good night.

How are ya, Andy? I don't even know if you check my blog...

But here are a few memories of you...that I found whilst digging through some old photos. Your face isn't showing in either one, which I found rather funny, considering how much you made the girls swoon as a young man...(he's my brother, folks)...
Here's to you...o sporty one...this jumping picture is amazing...wish I had been the one to take it.
Picture number 2...Gma. T. is holding you, thinking "while this new one is cute, he will never replace dear Tommy" (my older brother)...and fave to all! jerk. just kiddin' Tom. You were cute in your #12 shirt...but not as cute as me in my cute pink bell bottoms. ;) Gpa. T. looks annoyed, like "Joan, you oughta quit procreating, really"...and Aunt Lanie looks so trendy in her beehive 'do, holding onto baby Scott...wasn't he a cutie?
This pic of me is just so funny because my body is still as husky and stumpy as it was at the age of nearly 3.
Sorry for the randomness of this post, I was thinking I could get my li'l bro to make a comment on my blog :) You know I love you, Andy! We are praying for you and the boys, hoping all is going well out your way! God Bless You!

Patria-Family or a group of families!

~~my peeps on the bottom right, that blur of yellow in center is Levi!!~~
><>< ~~taffymakers...hope their hands are clean~~
>< ~~the view from the front...lots of couches!~~

Most Saturday evenings, from 7 p.m. till whenever I can pull my people away from this place, we attend an awesome Bible study, led by two servants named Mike and Pam. They are the epitome of Christ on earth, serving, loving, ministering in ways that we don't even think of. On Friday nights, they host a jr. high group called "Kaleo" which means to invite...Will and E. go on occasion. Sunday nights, they host a sr. high group called "Phos/Ontos" and I don't remember what that means actually.

Mike teaches on very relevant subjects, like last night was how we can be salt and light in the world (eg, shining our lights before men so that they will know we serve Jesus Christ and being salt to the world, adding flavor, never dull, healing wounds etc), we read a group of verses from the Bible, and then we do our BOG (Break Out Group) where each family goes over some pertinent questions and find ways to apply the lesson we just heard. Onto the FAT (Family Activity Time)...sometimes this can be quite physical and sometimes we make a craft or as we did last night, completed the last step in the salt water taffy process (salt)...

Mike B. gets his whistle going, all of the kids are at attention, waiting for their next "command" from him...it's an incredible experience to be a part of life at their house...

These pix are just a tiny glimpse into what's going on in their ministry...I didn't even get a pic of Mr. B but I will...I did, however, get a pic of his patient, calm, on top of things wife, Pam with their newly adopted 2-year old daughter from Haiti, Ellie...she is so sweet and congrats to them on the new addition to their (and our) family!

Next time, I need to blog what their house is like...quite unreal...games, arcade, cafe, ping pong, carpet ball, pop machine, candy wall..o my...found another reason to blog....We thank the Lord for the gift of Patria, Mike, Pam, Ellie and all the fun and serving friends that go along with it!!

Happy Monday...I am off to bed...thanks for your thoughts and prayers, faithful friends! I truly appreciate it! :)

Can you say Kidney Stone?

that's my ouchy face...
These girls ROCK!! Love you!
Hi.
I thought I should get on here and update you. It's been a pretty quiet weekend...soccer, dinner at some fellow homeschooler's home before going to our Sat. nite Bible study (which I will post pics of that later)...and then today, I sent all three boys to work with their dad this morning and the girls and I were going to go to the church service. A nice, well thought out day...hmmm. During the church service, I noticed that feeling you get where you must tinkle but don't(TMI, I know but it's important to the story)...and a general achiness in my lower back, a feeling I've been having every once in a blue moon since Christmastime. I thought I must have a bladder or kidney infection...after church, the 2 M's and I were driving out to David's job and I just kept getting worse...fidgety, achy, back ache, panicky...(see July 07, it totally reminded me of almost having Molly in the car)...We got out to the Subway we were going to pick up the food at, I called my momma, who was w/my sis and bro, they dropped everything and rushed to help me (you guys rock, even you Tom!!) and then I threw up...(again TMI) but if you know me at all, you know I don't do that. EVER. so I knew something was up and it wasn't good. David called his mom and she muscle tested me (don't ask)...and sure enough, kidney stone...here's what ya need to do to get rid...6 lemons to one gallon of purified water...and quick. Mom went into Meijer to get said treatment and I was a caged, hurting beast out in the car with my dear infant daughter. (Mel had gone with my sister to our house). I would see people walking out of the store and wonder why they weren't in as much pain as I was or how they could be smiling...I couldn't believe how frantic and hurting I was...my back would not stop and I could not get comfortable to save my life. I kept praying, also, that the Lord would just let me find a comfortable spot...about 5 minutes from home, I found that spot, I didn't want to move because I was scared, so scared, that the comfort would leave. I smiled at Molly, who had been staring at me for the previous 10 minutes like, "What's your deal???" My mom in law is sending me some herbs that will help to dissolve Mrs. Stone...get outta here, we don't want your kind round these parts...and I pray, fervently, that I don't have to live thru this again. It verified loud and clear for this cat that I DO NOT WANT TO LIVE THRU CHILDBIRTH EVER AGAIN!! thank you very much. I love my kids dearly, but that pain, unknown and deep rooted, is in my past. whew, thanks for that reminder, God. I needed that!
Sitting here now, blogging this like the pathetic nerd that I am, I am trying to recall that feeling (like you do after you are done giving birth) and it escapes me. My back still hurts and I'm sucking down lemon infused water like it's going out of style but the feeling has left. Brighter days ahead. me and my stone.
I will try to blog some of my other weekend shots later on but for now, Davey boy is on his way home from work with Subway (the Subway I was to have gotten for them at 12:30)...and a little boy that pooed in his pants...hmmm. (Levi, in case you are wondering)...Peace and love, painfree from me!! L

Rock-A-Hula Baby

Remember Molly, modesty IS the best policy!!

we need to work on her calves and thighs!This is titled "Rock-A-Hula Baby" because there is an Elvis song that I loved a lot as a youngster (something you didn't know about me,unless you are my family, I was an Elvis freak as a teenager and young adult!! I would cry over him...)and I couldn't help but sing it when we were taking these pix...she is my little rock a hula baby!!

Molly really does love wearing Melanie's Build-A-Bear hula outfit. If it wasn't 5 degrees tonight, she might like it even more.

I feel the need to be somewhere warm right now. I'm not a hot weather fan...but I would almost take a swampy August evening right about now. This weather wears on a person's frame of mind. You can see why people used to get "cabin fever" in the old days....o the blue days, the melancholy moments of winter!

It's midnight and I think this night owl may just go to bed now. We are painting our closet tomorrow...that should be lots of fun!!

I have a lot of thoughts going on in my head right now, could get really deep or overly sensitive but thought these pix of Petunia in her hula garb would hold you over till I could get my "deep thoughts" processed and save me from becoming teary and verklempt. I have a heavy heart tonight and so if you are reading this, and you are my brother or sister in Christ, maybe you could pray for me. I would appreciate it! God bless you tonight.

Sweet, sleepy babies

My beard finally grew...no, really, Molls getting loved on by Gramps...she loves his picky beard
vision of sweetness

This post is to finish up yesterday. After a crazy day of running to lunch, errands and just basically taking care of my #4 and #5 kids ON MY OWN (no help from those bigger kids that I love and depend on so very much)...poor little Levi couldn't keep his head up on the ride home. Molly had been crying a lot in the car due to no one being around to give her the pacifier, so she was plum-tuckered. Levi felt the stress and at one point in the ride, he cried because she was so upset and he said it made him sad. Whatta peach! I have totally done the 2 kid deal before (Hi Will and Ethan!!) but I'm older now, more dependent on my built in helpers and it is blasted coooooooold. I love you, my children. You are such incredible helpers and this has shown me to stop sighing at you and appreciate you for the willing helpers you are!!
Ok, hope you all are having a superb Thursday!! Stay warm! God Bless You!

I got a job....

peanut head gets a job
don't know if you can see B's wallpaper on the comp...but it's the pic of Triple C. yum yum
Dai, Molls, Beck and Jana....
don't get the Reese's whipped...they are nasty
again, nasty.

No, I already have a job...just doesn't involve much adult interaction (well, as much as I would want it to involve)...

I went to have lunch with my sissy today...let me set this up.

David and the 3 big kids went to Illinois late last night. I spent the night with my parentals. I got up this morning, went home and got ready to go have lunch with my sis. She works on the east side of Indpls...which is like a ghost town. We went and ate, and stopped at a gas station to grab something sweet...then I got to meet her office mates...Dai and Jana...nice, cute girls!! Nice to meet you chickies.

I have more to blog but I'm out the door to work out with my sister...we need to burn off our candy bars and lunch...so hope this finds you all well, warm and healthy. Get well, Mom and Dad...

Porky Pig, Americanos and more dear in headlights

Levi, Porky Piggin' it
talk about a high maintenance drink, my sweet Americano the face I see when I ask for help with the babies...just kiddin-love you babe

I really do think this guy is cute though, but this is not one of his more flattering shots! He was on the floor, getting ready for work, and I looked over to this...(long story) but at least he wasn't yelling at me.
Um, so it's a slow news day really. I have a load of stuff to do today, none worth mentioning. I am getting my hubby and 3 oldest kids ready for a jaunt over to the in-laws...Mel has piano lessons, school, exercise...ahhhhhhhhh.
Levi has been walking around like Porky Pig all day (my new fave saying, thanks to my sister, it's where one has a shirt on but no pants)...he does have his briefs on but this kid loves to PP it.
The coffee cup is a sweet reminder of a fun visit with some friends last night...I think I will save this cup for ever.
I need to get a life.
time to run...peace out peeps!

deer in headlights goes to lunch

My 3 sons
Said deer (aka dear) in headlights with lovely girl

who is drinking (shhhhh) coca-cola!

Levi and Molls
A great wall plaque

Good Monday morning to you! I know it's cold, and you had to drive to wherever it is you have to drive (Beck, I don't even know where you drive to)...but your long, chilly drive was worth it, you can now view my weekend's worth of posting...ahhhh, does it get any better?? I mean, really, does it? (it is actually late Sun. night, early Mon. morning when I am typing this)

Before I forget, here's a shout out to my pal, Carolyn, who turned one year over 40 today...Happy Birthday to you, girl!! We enjoyed meeting your "friend" at soccer on Saturday. "he's real cute" as we say here in the midwest.

We got adventurous today...went to our worship service, took some lunch to some friends and then went and had ourselves some yummies at Grindstone Charley's...we rarely go out to eat at a sit down place...but we did it all for less than 50 bucks and that is feeding 6 peeps. I am such a blog nerd...I want to take pix of everything and put it on here for the whole world to see. most of the whole world, anyway. The picture of David and Mel is kinda funny...he really wasn't high, he was in quite a friendly mood also!! he just looks funny in these because, quite frankly, he is high...ON LIFE!! The best part about the lunching out?? The above plaque (am I spelling that correctly??)...so true. in so many ways.

I really need to get to bed...tomorrow is going to slam me...and I have got to start planning for our Feb. 7 homeschool club on the American Revolution and the times around then...so if any of you have any good suggestions, say, craft&food ideas, how to dance a minuet or if you could give a presentation on those times, to a bunch of 4-14 yr. old kids, I would be most appreciative...that is my full plate right now...help. heeeeeeeeeeeeelllllp.

nighty night.

(O yeah, Beck, i meant to call you but I had fallen asleep this afternoon and woke up when D. went to work...and by then, had too much fog in my head but I'm so proud of you for working out, pilates-ing with out me...you go girl!!)
this pic is funny because M. really goes to town on my chin...I wonder what she is thinking but I love it!!