In other news....

Courtney making a Play-Doh ocean scene with .... our cousin, Shawn? where'd the kids go? why are the young adults playing Play-Doh...and not the kids? they are there somewhere.

raw talent!

these marks on their faces are not beating marks but tattoos.

schweaty baby...
sweaty hot days of June....

Farewell Michael and Farrah...

Not that I was a big fan of either lately but I can say this....

I wanted to marry that dude when I was in 4th grade. Thriller was out that year and we watched it in the Blanche Sims Library at the end of the school year Carnival. Ohhhh, those dance moves. Oh, those OOH OOOOH's.

And Farrah with the lovely feathers? O dear, who didn't want her hair 'do, exuberant smile or curvaceous bod?

Goodbye to two of America's biggest icons. I'm almost as sad today as I was when Princess Diana died.

Eyebrow shavings, picnics with cute chix and eloquence with Vince..

This cute chick in the red shirt is Courtney...she comes to our house on Tuesdays and Thursdays right now (till she, sniff sniff, leaves for college in the fall)....She is most excellent with the kids and we are grateful for her amazing child caring abilities.She had a picnic with Mel and Levi yesterday while Molly napped.

This is Vince, waxing eloquently to my enthralled teenaged young men...he is doing some amazing work around the place....Thanks Vince. You are one cool cat.

These two pix are of our eyebrowless one...Levi took it upon himself to use my razor to shear off his brow....I knew it would happen eventually....and he did such a nice job. Levi, you are so cute, even with 1.5 eyebrows. I mean it! You are one handsome dude. (can you say Vanilla Ice?)

Happy Father's Day and pix from the past few days...

This was David's Father's Day gift...he slept for 15 minutes. not without interruption though.

Beck gave the wormy girls a bath...

Nora bean...

BFF. LYLAS.

Nora and Molly were almost unstoppable. Confirmed: this age is for the birds. I am most grateful for M and N's health, cuteness, agility though. don't get me wrong. Molly just wears me right out right now.

little piggies at the pool...

she just LOOKS sassy in this picture. and she is.

The younger sister that Ethan doesn't pester too much.

Molly might be an ivory tickler like her big sister, grandma, and great grandma. that'd be nice!

Hey Mel....slow down on the growing up, K?

Where did these dashing young men come from? E., maybe you will get your growth spurt soon and be as tall as Will! no pressure though. Will, you are definitely your dad's son. Ethan, you are like a mood ring...sometimes you really resemble a Y and sometimes you look like my brother Andy.

Will's a good sport.

You are such a cutie, Levi! Your little round cheekers kill me!

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Well, good evening to you!

I wish I'd been better about blogging over the past few days/weeks. I'm going to want to remember all of the good, weird, bad, not so fun, really fun things we've been involved in. Then again, I probably wouldn't want to put some of it on here. scare you right away.

So, all that to say, even though things are extremely busy, crazy, hectic, life is good, God continues to give us breath and blessings.

Some things I want to remember (not necessarily because they were fun but they are our history):

1.) The sheer craziness and small details that go along with not only starting your own company, but patent company as well...David has handled ALL of this like a champ.

2.) The way God has given certain people for certain times in your life...to encourage, to help out, cheer ya on, etc.

3.) The bickering and whining that my kids are subjecting me to. I know what to do to cure it...but sometimes it just seems so wrong to spank a kid that happens to stand one head taller than you. The dynamics between W, E, and M, and even some Levi makes me one crazy lady.

4.) Molly and the sheer determination that drives her. She is so cute. She is sooo smart. She drives me so crazy. She is definitely a whirling dervish. A little bit defiant but that's normal for this age.

5.) The neat ways that the Lord opens doors. I may edit this later....too fried right now to think of them, but in my subconscious, I KNOW that there is a list of these....

My parents, Tom, Beck, Scott and their girls came down for some KFC tonight...Dad got some money, and Blossom Dearie CD's....David got his scrapbook page in a frame, which I think is more for me but hey? He also got a cool Starbucks mug from Mel.

We are putting the kids to bed right now and we may actually (**gasp** wha???) sit and visit. If he's not on the phone these days, he's going over this list or that, typing up this email or that....so I need to enjoy this quiet time. so I'll be back later.

Hope your Father's Day was magnificent...I'm so blessed to have my Dad, David's Dad, David, and other amazing dads around us!

Past few days...and some thoughts...watch out.

yes. this is out of order. again. I still don't know how to move pix around on this Mac....help. But this is my big brother, Tom. One of the world's best Uncles!

Yes, I know, Molly's little cheeks are showing. This crax me up (get it??)...she puts on the weirdest clothing pieces (here we have some odds 'n' ends pj's and a bathing suit) and I love that her little buns show. hee hee. cute girl.

Will's checking Levi's ear. Molly's on the tips. Mel and E are just such posers.

I think I have the squarest jaw since Jay Leno.

awww, this makes for a neat-0 Father's Day idea in my head....I just know David wants another scrapbook page in a frame for his Dad day celebration. I love my brood.

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I'm really diggin' my post titles lately. so very....interesting.

Have you ever just felt so aggravated that you want to spit? I know that is wrong...I have no real reason to be that way. But so many situations around me make me feel a little outta control. Husband working from home, which really is quite neat and stuff. but.... yeah.

Kids bickering, friends wiggin' out, hot weather, bugs, etc etc, so on and so forth. All in all, I am blessed. I know this. I don't take that lightly. and I thank the Lord for the trials and tests He takes me thru. I know He is refining me. and there's a lot of work. I'm loyal but I'm non-confrontational. I'm friendly but I talk too much (God has really been dealing with me on this in the past year), I'm fun but I take things too far. I love the Lord but I let Him down all the time. Why am I saying all of this?

I don't know. my caffeine must be wearing off. the endorphins from my 6:30 workout have left the building.

I have lost a few friends in the past few months and it sucks. For whatever reasons, it's not fun or cool. I know and have faith that God is using this as part of a bigger plan for me. Not to say it doesn't hurt, because it does...a lot. but I will rest in the shelter of His wings. (no, He's not a bird but I like to think of my Redeemer as that bird at the end of Lord of the Rings, that rescues Sam and Frodo from Mordor, as it's melting). And I will praise Him for the people that are still actively in my life...I have an awesome, ambitious, amazingly UH-MAZINGLY talented, gracious, forgiving, loving husband, FIVE of the best kids on the planet, a great house, an awesome sister and her cool family, two cool brothers, nieces and nephews, an incredible set of parents that are still married after almost FORTY YEARS (whoa nelly, that's a long time)...and a group of friends that I learn from daily!

Why am I blogging all of this? for a few undisclosed reasons...but just because I can.

Hope this finds you and yours enjoying the sorta sunny, sorta warmish days of the Summer of 2009!

These thoughts really have nothing to do with the pix I posted, other than to just remind myself of the richness of life, when I feel like I'm down deep in the trenches. That's all. that's all.

gotta love photobooth

really, you do.

my lovely daughters....and how evident the love is between them. Second mother, experience, hand in hand.

I love you, Melanie Kate and Molly Christine. God has blessed us with your very presence.

Good night...lots of love

Wednesday...

Fellow bloggin' buddy, Heather, fellow soon to be bloggin' buddy, Becky, and I...in the Methodist Parking Garage...after some delicious girl time! Heather, Beck, you girls ROCK! so glad to have you both in my life! Heather, you are a rare breed...genuinely nice. Let's do this again sooooon!

This was a fun thing to stumble on. Molly loves to climb up to the computer. She is ALLLLL over the place, quite literally. And while I love it, it does get a little old about 3 minutes after she gets up in the morning.

This permanent red marker that she scribbled all over my desk, did come off...but it was awfully close to the keyboard and I just don't like that.

she is starting to talk in full sentences..."Levi hit me"..."I want water"..."Look! rain"...she is growing up right before my eyes.

Hide your camera from...Levi.

a little close and over exposed, Levi...but you'll learn.

I'm sure he was just lounging around on the floor here...what a view! Mel fixin' her 'do, and David scratching his belly. hmmm. how do I delete these again?

good pic of Molly, Levi. love those baby blues.

Not a bad shot, either, Mr. Photog. You are one artsy fella!

He really enjoys taking pix of the island.

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I've got a few things I could blog about but nothing is more fun than uploading pix and discovering that your rascal-y kids (Levi, to be exact) have snapped a few shots.

I really do appreciate it because, with all the busyness of life around here lately, I have not had the time or desire to take pix or to blog.

That stinks. I pray my load lightens soon so I'm able to update this more frequently.

All in all, though, things are quite excellent here...and "things" are moving full steam ahead on the business front....so that is great! David's meeting in MD went as well as could be expected, if not better! So Praise the Lord for this! he's on his way home even as I type.

That's all she wrote. night.

Let's not forget Mel's birthday party.

Nora
Molly....yes, these pix of our littlest girls are obviously out of order...but again, I don't know how to rearrange pix on blogger with the Mac. help? any hints? and besides, with Molly's second birthday coming in less than one month and Nora's at August's end, they are just practicing for all of their birthday paparazzi.

Check out Piper's little face...she is blowing out the candles in her mind. cute girls!

Mel, I just want you to remember how agile your dad is, years from now. and what fine legs he has. David, you are funny.

I have NOT forgotten, Mel.

Though it would seem that I have.

Mel's birthday actually fell on a Sunday this year...a perfect day to celebrate a near-perfect gal! And what a charming young lady she is.

We had a cook out, and since we have no grill (Foreman grill doesn't count), Scott was gracious enough to bring his big ol' honkin' grill down to our house to cook out the dogs and burgs. Then the kids wanted to swim, so we did that for a time.

Time for presents....lots of cool things. clothing, Target money (she ended up buying a few little things and an iPod shuffle), Wii games...

Then cake and fun. ok well definitely cake...Good family friends Vince and Janice dropped by for the gifting and cake. Nice to see you guys!

Hope your birthday was fun Mel...and I hope you know that your dad and I, as well as the rest of our family, love you so much and think you are one cool, sweet, good natured girl! We thank the Lord for you.

I love my sister

during Intermission of the musical, we decided it was high time for a self-portrait...this first pic was me talking to a guy that was offering to take our pic. I was explaining that we were quite good and rather capable of taking our own picture but thank you.

You really are lovely. Now come back to my blog. I promise I'll blog about you more!

this is what I think of your blogless visits. (man, can I make THE faces?)

This spooky statue inside the Murat Theatre was kinda creepin' me out. Or as Levi says "You're kinda creekin' me out".

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I do love my sissy. It'd be nice if she actually visited my blog again.

Since she left her job to come work for us, for David, she says she's only visited my blog twice.

Seriously? two times?

Granted the past two months have been rather iffy for my blog, yes, I know...but c'mon.

So here's my vow, Dad, Tory, Beck, whoever else out there drops by now and then....I will aim to blog at least every other day.

I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Hello June. Goodbye Green Van

Will is the family garden keeper this year....Look how loverly the tomatey plants are growing!

Mel? When did you get so grown up?? 11 going on 22? sheesh!

We have a lot of warm memories associated with this little green cat. When we got it in March of 2006, my big kids were a lot smaller. That was fine then. But now, long limbs and bigger bodies stuffed inside like sardines just wasn't working for us anymore. (Molly is behind Will on her infamous seat)

This pic is rather significant for a few reasons. 1.)  Molly has no pants on. She has this new "habit" of taking off her clothing upon first awakening. Cute but annoying. and 2.)  Molly was practically born in this seat...and exactly 23 months prior to this June 9th day, I sat in this seat very similarly...though I did have pants on. till my water broke and...well, for THAT story, see July 9th of 2007. 

Hug it good kids....you won't see Green Bean around here anymore...awwww. it was kinda sad.

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It's June and I'm only just now doing my first post.

Melanie has been 11 for almost 10 days now.

Needless to really say, it's been really busy around here. I sound like a broken record.

Lots has happened and I'm having a hard time getting my pix uploaded on here.  After a bit of digging around, I can usually figure out how to blog on this here Mac computer. All the little ins and outs on this can throw me for a loop.....

I'll be back...I have more pix....and prayer requests.