Yo Gabba Gabbaliciousness...

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Does anyone else find this preschool/school age children's show strangely amusing?

~I do. I'm a Yo Gabba Gabba fan....this is thee only show Molly will bring me the remote for...."I want Gabba"...and when it's over? "Gone gone" ... So my bigger kids had Blue's Clues and Arther. Levi has enjoyed Caillou (blech) and Molly be lovin her some Gabba.

Just wanted to share that. get that off of my chest.

~It's Sunday today. We had a great worship service....a nice lunch/coffee excursion with Steve G. and his kids afterwards....brought one of his daughters home with us....I ditched 'em all for the Y with Beck...pretty sad when a getaway to an exercise establishment is a "break". not really. it's amazingly therapeutic and I am so "proud" of myself for building up (though slowly) in the jogging/running department. I am not a runner by any means. But I'm starting to dig it. Just a bit. Not fanatical...but healthily. Beck, glad you can outrun me....you go girl! You rock! and your new kicks are pretty sweet too.

~Man, I'm really rambly. so now Will is at his Phos/Ontos group (think Youth Group) led by Mike and Pam (I've blogged about them before, remember Patria??), E, Mel, Hope, Molly and Levi are downstairs doing kid things. David is running some worky errands with Tommyboy....and I'm blogging and listening to Vic Damone singing "Cheek to Cheek". I guess I should go get some laundry done or make sure Molly isn't nude.

~I hope to get a different camera this week...we shall see how that goes....until then, bear with me on the weird picture front.

Thanks and have a nice rest of your holiday weekend. God Bless you!

the last few days of september

"I've never seen so much yellow"...I am quoting Melanie from a few years back. We'd drive by fields like this and she would emit this phrase, which was always so cute. We still tease her about this and she almost gets mad. but deep down, I'm crying because she's not that itty bitty girl anymore. sigh.

Levi really likes his Sunday School teacher and asked if he could sit with her at Sunday's church dinner...he talked her ear off. (I will have to learn her name this coming Sunday)

Molly and Katie cheesing for the camera at said lunch. Pretty little girls!

Melanie's piano teacher has a box of chalks on her porch for waiting siblings to play with (I'm assuming here). Levi took advantage at yesterday's lesson...what nice drawings, Tiny.

He has really been into wearing hats lately. This is his Santarossa hat.

Here is my afternoon delight. Thanks Momma! Half caff Americano, 2 pumps pumpkin spice, 1 pump white chocolate, half and half with whip on top. If u look closely, you can see my friends' garage. Hi friend. u know who you are. I saw your hubby in the front window. hope you guys heard me honking and saw me waving.

O whatta whirlwind month we have just been through.

Can you buhleeeeeve that it's the first day of October?

Can you buhleeve that I'm going to get worse in the nostalgia department?

Are you going to keep coming to check out this blog, even so?

Please. pleasepleaseplease do.

I need some pic taking inspiration. Velvet always manages to get some really cool shots that she posts on her blog...and I guess I am missing THAT creative gene. got any helpful hints, o West Coast Beauty? Maybe I could take pics of all the crazy midwesterners withdrawing all their money from the banks. Or the diverse bumper stickers that you see around election time...I wish I'd had my cam with me at the Nissan dealer today. I struck up some convo with a very nice widowed lady...it was her first time buying a car since her hubby passed away three years ago. We got talking about checkbooks, checking accounts and how some people should just NOT be allowed to have them. (her and I).....soooooo, yes, Mom, I've turned into you.

And quite frankly, I'm ok with that.

love you mom. you too dad.

these are some totally and completely random shots from Sunday to now...hope the pix from last night didn't freak you out too badly. the childbirth pic is pretty tame. (you could come over and watch 4 of my 5 birth videos, if you are a girl, of course. Always a good time. always. and such excellent birth control. and a reminder to get a better hairdo before delivery day...anyways....)

Ok, time for school with Levi. Hope you are having a wonderful Wednesday...enjoying this lovely mild weather. I loooooooooooove it! Fall, you ROCK!

Mom jeans

Hip, Hip, Hooray!!

That's all I got tonight, folks! Trying to dig up pix to bore you with ... found a few fun ones.

Be back later...

This post is all over the place

Classic Levi and one of our all-time favorites around here. 2005 baby

This is David's "Garth" look (see "Wayne's World" or our 2001 appearance on Fox 59 morning newscast with Cody Stark. Yes, we are local celebs. and yes, you can have our autographs.) "Dude, if you're gonna spew, spew into this!"

I'm just a young momma here (nice hair but THIS is my natural color)...with my one easy, cheerful, perfect boy, Will. May 1995. I had no clue and my outfit proves this. (rag skirts and crochet vests WERE in.)

The 3 Amigos. This was E's 6th birthday and he wanted to have blue hair for it. it's all spikey and blue but the gel/glue was killer. they. were. so. little. and. cute.

April 2002 ~ groovy pants, Mel. nice skin-colored shirt.

June 2004...this one makes me weepy. Will making his Dick Van Dyke face. E. and Mel w/ those killer peepers.

Reader's Digest is always good for some laughs....thought I'd share some with ya!

Forgot to change my picture positiony thingy...so sorry about the clumpy pics. The 3 above are pretty self-explanatory. This was Molly yesterday...when she had just hurled for the first time in her sweet life.

The porch beams are pretty nifty, if I do say so. Here are my men working hard and still smiling and choosing JOY. I can't wait to see how massive this porch will seem when the rafters are up and we are sitting out there, sipping our coffee....ok, well that may be next fall but this girl can dream.

Good Work on the porch, David, Will, and Ethan...You guys are so manly and hard-working. Good work, Mel, keeping the house straightened, piano practice, baby entertained, math completed, etc. etc. etc. she is such a good momma already. Levi, thanks for making such a mess with whatever food you are carrying around the house (against our wishes), drinking all of my coffee, and making matchbox trails for all of us to trip on...Good job, Molly, getting better, eating some and not hurling or pooing on everything this evening.

I will end this now...I'm driving myself crazy so I know I must be doing the same to you. you know you love it...that's why u keep coming back. my insanity reassures you. I'm ok with that. :)

~O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. Psalm 34:8

~My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works. Psalm 73: 26, 28

~Just a few rich morsels from God's Word for you tonight...don't let my so-called "insanity" fool you. I trust in something so much bigger than any politician, gas price hike, stock market plunge, HDTV conversion can promise...And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. (John 17:3) The same yesterday, today and forever!

Good night! God Bless you tonight, in whatever situation you find yourself. If I know you, and I know what it is, I'm praying for you! Hug, hug, hug, hug, hug (that's for you Andy...remember those? U too Heather and baby Luke)

More Friday fun

longing to be out in the pool with her siblings...she was screaming and squealing at them, drooling all over the windows that had just been cleaned. I give up. Between her and Levi, my windows won't be clean till they all leave. And we don't want that so dirty windows it is.

love the tippy toes!

Molly Moo was here! she's a mini-tornado!

Nora and Piper haven't been on here in a long time...so here's a hats off to my two little nieces. I scrapped their recent pictures and put them on my wall! love you girls! your pictures are a-dorable! The bottom left pic is one of my all time faves of Miss P, her face is sheer peskiness yet so grown up!

Well, I guess that's a matter of opinion (Friday fun), but in my opinion, these things are fun.

In fact, my favorite thing right now is letting Molly pull off, rather gleefully, all of the toilet paper from the roll. It's hard to tell her no because she looks so cute when she is in the midst of the unroll. And she looks so forlorn when you yank her away from her activity.

Solution? keep the bathroom door closed and just let her dismantle the rest of the house. it's all good.

I was just sitting here and realized I had totally forgotten to do my 12 on the 12th as always. And there's no salvaging it this month because it's the 20th! Yikes! Can you believe it's nearing the end of June and that it's the first day of summer? where is the time going? I will have to take my pic of 12 fave fotos from this month in my 12/12 album!

The kids are out swimming (so spoiled) and I'm listening to Mozart with Molly! we are building brain cells...I'm hoping to gain some that never developed. I just "caught" her sitting by the CD player "singing"...it's so precious to see her learn and to watch her catch things. Soak it up, soak it up!

This weekend sounds like it will be pretty low key...I think David and the boys are working tomorrow. Beck and her girls are going to come down to swim and get some sun. Then of course it's Saturday night Bible study, family fellowship at Patria! Sunday, so far off in the future, dunno what will happen that day besides morning worship! so, until then...have a relaxing weekend and get out there and enjoy this milder than usual summer weather!

Word to your mother and good bye! LY

This is a weird post...

poor chubby birdie flew into the kids' bedroom window...Sherry, birdie was ok...just stunned and embarrassed because we made fun of it. "Uh, duh, there's a winder there! Go poop on my clean van, K??" (by the way, doesn't our mulch look snazzy??)




blurry sugar pie
**sparkle, sparkle**





um, what is this?

one of those reasons to hide your cam from your kids...isn't this the weirdest pic of Levi EVER?
who IS this kid?


Mel's having an identity crisis! she wants an afro!


classy. um, I was supposed to watch her in this evil contraption. She fell off and
hit her melon on the cabinet...not good. she was ticked!


Kinda aimless and far from cute (this post that is). But that's ok. Life is kinda like that right now. These pix have no theme...they are just some random shots from the past week!



Molly, poor thing, has cut her first tooth. It's not up yet but it has broken thru and is causing her some extreme misery. We are enjoying some of her brand of misery as well. She is not her usual self today, though she has tried. I was in the store tonight and she just looks so cute sitting up in the cart...looking around, taking it all in, being cute etc. A nice lady came up to us when we were walking out to tell me how sweet M. was, what beautiful eyes and how happy she was...I was surprised because she had not really been any of those things today. Puffed up peepers, runny nose and mouth, grumpaliciousness, fever...I guess she is just doing what I've always tried to teach my kids, and that is "get over yourself, smile, say HI, be happy, make eye contact, yada yada yada"... she really is a good kid.




The pic of my (very clean) van and the rocks in the back cup holder are just on here to remind myself that yes, at one point in time during this rainy spring, my van WAS clean...Levi is a holy, mess making terror right now. I'm glad, he is just so full of life but I had spent an entire afternoon cleaning, scrubbing, moving seats, disgusting myself with how doity our van had gotten...and came out to finish up, only to find this huge, dusty pile of driveway rocks packed so nicely in. ugh. (this is where I had meltdown..) so pardon my reminder. (slow news day! sorry)

go play a fun trick on a loved one. get a rise out of someone. then hug them and take them to dinner to make up for the heart attack you've just caused.

Ok, well, I need to finish the laundry folding marathon, and hit the hay...Hope you are having a lovely week! be back tomorrow!

Levi & his camera adventure etc.

nice nostrils

it was only 45 degrees outside but this kid manages to lose his shoes.

a self-portrait of his Mr. Mischievous shirt...

nut. but I do have to say, he has gotten quite good at

self-portraits. love the cheeks.

like my Botox?

how can I torment this li'l lady?

this is my mad face

Nuff said....night.

A totally random, pointless post!!

This is Debbie...Piper's stuffed bunny!! she's feeling a little abandoned!!
I look tired and haggard and David looks like he's up to something!
We played Apples to Apples last night and these were the cards I won...
A seriously goofy, challenging pic of Levi
All I have to say is if you haven't played "Apples to Apples" yet, you'd better. It is so fun, especially with an interesting group of people. If you've played, then you know how I won these cards shown above...we've determined in our 3 years of playing this game that the cards you win usually describe you very well.
Debbie...first picture, is Piper's BFF...We had Nora and Pipes Sat. night while Beck and Scott went to his work Christmas bash (Yes, I failed to take pix of the girls' time here but I DID get one of the stuffed bunny, nice)...I love my kids and my sister's kids but it cemented the fact for me that I was not cut out for 7 kids. All of you that have more than me, I have a deep respect for you. If you have twins? An even deeper respect. Nora is such a good baby...and Piper is a good girl...she fits into our mess very well! She is Levi's mother hen and I love the cute little relationship they have with each other!! She is so dang smart and cute! Nora spit up on her in the middle of our Bible Study group and Piper ever so calmly stated "Laaaaurie, she frew up on me!!" Boy, did that tiny little girl up-chuck...made a little pool in Piper's folded up legs. Beck, your kids ROCK! love 'em.
The pic of David and I was taken by Melanie..man, do I always look that old and tired? probably. I was in this pic for sure! David looks cute though! and last but definitely NOT least, Levi...making his signature photo expression. he has started doing this in a lot of pics!! I'm not fond of this look...he is such a poser!! Ok, enough randomness for this day. Thanks for letting me make no sense! Lots of love to you!