A New Camera and Fried Chicken....

Here is the fried chicken I cooked for dinner yesterday. My family loves it, and I love my new camera. It was accompanied by garlic mashed potatoes and applesauce, but he kids got into the applesauce before I could take my picture. :)

I have been going into school this week trying to get my classroom ready for the children. Classes start on the 5th of September. We have a loft in our classroom which served as a storage space for me last year, however I have decided it would make a nice peaceful reading nook for the children so I am cleaning it out. Let me make it clear that organization is not my strong suit. The room now looks worse today than it did before I started cleaning. After a few hours, I realized that I was getting nothing done, but moving one things from one place to another. I really need to bring in a giant trashcan and force myself to part with anything that I never used last year, or all the things I didn't even know I had in the room. Then I could get a true fresh start. I am a bit of pack rat, as I think all teachers are. My goal for tomorrow..."Get rid of unnecessary stuff!". I will bring in my camera to show any progress made....pray for me!

Here are a few pics I took with my cool new camera. As you will see my photography skills, and the cooperation of my children have not improved! Besides, if my children were always smiling and in matching clothes without the odd bit of food (or worse) stuck to their faces I would not be portraying the real me. Another goal of mine...be happy with who I am, thank God for each day, and appreciate the humor that comes along with having so many children.

While I am thinking about it.....

Things I Never Thought I'd Have to Say #2

"Who put the watermelon in the potty chair?"

I don't think this one needs any explanation. I should be coming up with many more things I never thought I'd have to say once school starts. I always say I'm going to write them down. Ah ha! Yet another goal for myself!!

Matthew and Ricky say "It wasn't me!"

Noah says "We have watermelon?"

Ruby quickly answers "Clara"

Clara just laughs....hmmmmm? The guilty party perhaps??

My children are very quiet upstairs which makes me a tad nervous...so I shall sign off for now. Pray for sudden and swift organizational skills to be bestowed upon me. I will keep you posted on my progress.

Thumper looks a wee bit guilty doesn't he?

God is good. All the time.....

Yeeeehaw!!!

Tonight we went to the rodeo, it's become a bit of a tradition in our house. Brian and I enjoy going because the rodeo was one of our first dates, the kids like to go mostly I think in the hopes of getting us to buy them "stuff".

We got a sitter for Clara and Ruby, and Noah decided he didn't want to go (he doesn't like the steer wrestling or the calf roping...he worries about the calves...) so Brian and I got to go out with just TWO of our children! Which is a rare treat.

Matthew was a little confused, as he thought we were going to go to ROMEO's house! Romeo is a dear playmate, and Matthew and Ricky both think he is great! If you read this, please keep him in your prayers. He is only six years old and has had to battle cancer twice already. Recent test results show that "something" might be going on again...but his poor mom Michelle has to wait until September 10th to see endocrinology! Keep her in your prayers as well. As a mom to a very sick child myself once upon a time, I can empathize with the roller coaster of emotions she is riding!

I couldn't quite figure out why Matthew kept telling me the drive was too long, but when we arrived at the fairgrounds, he said "Where Romeo at?....Hey...why him got all these people here!" He was a little disappointed I must admit, until he saw the horses, and the cowboys! He was in awe, and now wants to be a cowboy for Halloween.

Ricky LOVED the action and excitement of the rodeo. He was disappointed that he didn't get to be a part of the "mutton busting" kid competition which is an event when they put the kids on a sheep and they hold on for dear life! I told Ricky we'd try to get him signed up for the competition next year, and just as his big blues began to get teary, Dad showed up and saved the day with cotton candy! Yea dad!

Brian and I enjoyed the evening as well. Holding hands at the dusty fairgrounds and watching our boys try to lasso one another with their trick ropes was a pleasant end to the hustle and bustle of the week.

God is good. All the time.

A Wonderful Weekend.....

My best friend in the whole world came to visit this weekend. It sounds strange to be as old as I am and refer to someone as my " best friend", but there are truly no other words to describe our relationship!

We have been friends since we were teens, and have seen each other through thick (our current sizes....) and thin (we were once....really!) Missy is the one person that I can always turn to for shared laughs or tears, advice, or simply a listening ear and a quiet nod. If all works as I would plan, someday we will be little old ladies remembering when as our shared grandchildren scamper about the front lawn of one of our houses, and our husbands snooze in an easy chair.

Our friendship gets better with age as we support each other through the ups and downs of daily life as wives and mothers. Our friendship is like an old comfortable blanket, a crackling fire, and a good cup of creamy coffee!

This weekend we went to the Heritage Festival in my hometown of Ypsilanti. The Heritage Festival has vendors of all sorts of handcrafted goods, fair food, and by the river there are Civil War encampments with period foods and crafts. Missy makes the most delightful clothing for children, and I am trying to encourage her to set up a booth at the fair for next year. I think it worked! :)

We had to bring my children while we went to the festival so we didn't get to stroll as leisurely as we may have liked, but my husband did watch the kids for several hours earlier in the day while we scoured fabric stores and second hand shops without any interruption!

So today, the weather matches my mood as rain falls from the sky. Missy just left with her husband and children, and the old familiar ache returns. We are so alike, yet so different, the country mouse (she) and the city mouse (me). The home school er, and the public school teacher, the sewer, and the "hey can you sew this for me?", but alas, I digress... Missy lives several hours away, and I know it will likely be months before I see her again, so I take these few moments to reminisce on a weekend that was ordinary, but better and am grateful for the gift of true friendship.

Who I am...

I am a wife, mother, and kindergarten teacher. My husband Brian is my knight in dirty carharts. He is a contractor, and as surely as he has faults to others, he is (most of the time) perfect to me! I have five children at home, one in heaven, and one currently living with her biological mother.

My family is my life! My children are Alyssa, who is 16 and currently living in Ohio with her "real" mom....long story, I'll save it for another day! Noah is 9 and going into 5th grade. He is my sensitive, braniac, who also happens to be addicted to video games, although I only let him play games that are rated "E" for everyone. Ricky is 6 and going into 1st grade. He is my "wild" child. All boy most people would say. He wants to be either the president or a pirate....that pretty much sums him up! Briona is my saint. She was born with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, and passed away while awaiting a heart transplant at the age of three months. She would have been five this October. Matthew is three. He will be starting school this fall...which is scary because he wears a size 2t yet! He has some sort of growth delay, which actually is the reason I was able to get him into school so soon. I always say though, good things come in small packages. This is especailly true in Matthew's case. Clara and Ruby are my twin girls. They are not identical in any sense of the word. Clara was born first, and is the classic "girly girl", perfectionist, tempermental, (complete with temper tantrums), not liking "icky" things, and playing with dolls. Ruby is the little girl I was always wishing for after each succesive boy. I often said "Just a girl to dress in pink WHILE she swings from the trees would be nice!" That is my Ruby. Even tempered....always tagging after her brothers, but the first one to pick out a frilly dress and wear it while playing in the mud!

I love my life and all of the blessings and miracles that happen every day. I am getting ready to go back to work as a kindergarten teacher, which I love...but it will take awhile to get back into the groove after a summer of runny nosed kisses and lazy days of snuggling.

I truly cannot think of anything else that I could ask for. (Well maybe a tummy tuck and some lypo, but I digress...again that is for another day!) My plan is to post things that I always say I need to write down, but never do...like my list of things I never dreamed I'd have to say aloud....

Things I Never Thought I Would Say Aloud

#1. Who pooped on the floor?

I feel the need to explain this one....my Matthew JUST got potty trained. In order to do this, I just let him run around in the buff...much to my neighbor's chagrin! The girls have been quite fascinated with his lack of diaper and have now figured out how to take theirs off as well...they have a potty seat, and they LOVE to put toilet paper in the toilet...but so far, they just take off their diapers and hide somewhere....and yes...poop on the floor. At this point though they are quite proud of their acomplisment, and usually my question is answered with a proud..."Me!"

This is new to me....

This is my first attempt at a blog. I'm not sure how it will work, or how often I will be able to post. I am often fascinated by the blogs of others...but I'm not sure at how good I will be at making my own.