Daffodils are Starting to Bloom

I took my buddy Harley out to visit the daffodils today!
He loves running and jumping through them.
Here you can see the flowers on the hill going up towards the house.

Here is the second-best climbing tree in the yard. This is also the tree that I found the 5-6 FOOT copperhead or rattle snake. I can’t remember which, but I don’t really care.
It was a SNAKE!

I flew about 25 mph to the back yard, to the garden, on the John Deere, screaming for Husband. He thought I was kidding about the size of it until he saw it.
He chopped its head off and my three brave-no-fear children held it. They even wrapped it around their necks… AHHhhhhhhh.

Anyways back to my pretty daffodils. I love these closeups!
I had my coffee this morning with Kelly, oh and Regis too!!! The rain is so strong! I am glad we dug up some of the flowers yesterday! I plan on taking the 25 pots with us when we move...whenever that will be!!!

Favorite Joke

Two young boys walk into a pharmacy one day, pick out a box of Tampax and
proceed to the checkout counter. The man at the counter asks the older
boy, "Son, how old are you?" "Eight," the boy replies.
The man continues, "Do you know what these are used for?"
"Not exactly," the boy says. "But they aren't for me. They're for him. He's my brother. He's four. We saw on TV that if you use these you would be able to swim and ride a bike. Right now he can't do either one."

From the Mouth of a Child

My Aunt in Greenville, SC sent this to me! I thought I would share! Have a great Monday!

Who God is.......
It was written by an 8-year-old named Danny Dutton, who lives in Chula Vista , CA .
He wrote it for his third grade homework assignment, to "explain God." I wonder if any of us could have done as well?[ .... and he had such an assignment, in California , and someone published it, I guess miracles do happen !

EXPLANATION OF GOD:
"One of God's main jobs is making people. He makes them to replace the ones that die, so there will be enough people to take care of things on earth. He doesn't make grownups, just babies. I think because they are smaller and easier to make. That way he doesn't have to take up his valuable time teaching them to talk and walk. He can just leave that to mothers and fathers."

"God's second most important job is listening to prayers. An awful lot of this goes on, since some people, like preachers and things, pray at times beside bedtime. God doesn't have time to listen to the radio or TV because of this. Because he hears everything, there must be a terrible lot of noise in his ears, unless he has thought of a way to turn it off."

"God sees everything and hears everything and is everywhere which keeps Him pretty busy. So you shouldn't go wasting his time by going over your mom and dad's head asking for something they said you couldn't have."

"Atheists are people who don't believe in God. I don't think there are any in Chula Vista . At least there aren't any who come to our church."

"Jesus is God's Son. He used to do all the hard work, like walking on water and performing miracles and trying to teach the people who didn't want to learn about God. They finally got tired of him preaching to them and they crucified him. But he was good and kind, like his father, and he told his father that they didn't know what they were doing and to forgive them and God said O.K."

"His dad (God) appreciated everything that he had done and all his hard work on earth so he told him he didn't have to go out on the road anymore. He could stay in heaven. So he did. And now he helps his dad out by listening to prayers and seeing things which are important for God to take care of and which ones he can take care of himself without having to bother God. Like a secretary, only more important."

"You can pray anytime you want and they are sure to help you because they got it worked out so one of them is on duty all the time."

"You should always go to church on Sunday because it makes God happy, and if there's anybody you want to make happy, it's God! Don't skip church to do something you think will be more fun like going to the beach. This is wrong. And besides the sun doesn't come out at the beach until noon anyway."

"If you don't believe in God, besides being an atheist, you will be very lonely, because your parents can't go everywhere with you, like to camp, but God can. It is good to know He's around you when you 're sc ared, in the dark or when you can't swim and you get thrown into real deep water by big kids."

"But...you shouldn't just always think of what God can do for you. I figure God put me here and he can take me back anytime he pleases.

And...that's why I believe in God.

Goodness and Mercy

I read this from GirlTalk last Friday and wanted to share it with you!

A mom was concerned about her kindergarten son walking to school. He didn't
want his mother to walk with him. She wanted to give him the feeling that he had
some independence but yet know that he was safe. So she had an idea of how to
handle it.

She asked a neighbor if she would please follow him to school in the
mornings, staying at a distance, so he probably wouldn't notice her. She said
that since she was up early with her toddler anyway, it would be a good way for
them to get some exercise as well, so she agreed.

The next school day, the neighbor and her little girl set out following
behind Timmy as he walked to school with another neighbor girl he knew. She did
this for the whole week. As the two walked and chatted, kicking stones and
twigs, Timmy's little friend noticed the same lady was following them as she
seemed to do every day all week.

Finally she said to Timmy, 'Have you noticed that lady following us to
school all week? Do you know her?'Timmy nonchalantly replied, 'Yeah, I know who
she is.'The little girl said, 'Well, who is she?''That's just Shirley Goodnest,'
Timmy replied, 'and her daughter Marcy.''Shirley Goodnest? Who is she and why is
she following us?''Well,' Timmy explained, 'every night my Mom makes me say the
23rd Psalm with my prayers, 'cuz she worries about me so much. And in the Psalm,
it says, 'Shirley Goodnest and Marcy shall follow me all the days of my life',
so I guess I'll just have to get used to it!'

Board Meeting in Progress

I met the breakfast Club this morning! The first time in several weeks! It is so good to have genuine good friends who you can just be yourself with AND they still love you and your crazy family.

My chunky-butt has gained back every ounce and then some! I tried to be good at Chick fila, but that sunflower bagel and chicken is tooooo tempting! I caved! But looking back over the past several hours, that was not my pitfall. Have you seen the new Breyers ice cream that is fat free? Don't go looking for it...

Of course I cannot just have a little scoop...I had a LARGE scoop with Hersey's lite syrup AND a scoop of crushed peanuts. I would like to have this nutritionally analised. 90 + calories for the ice cream, 30+ for the syrup and protien from the peanuts........I think I could be onto something.



No, I did not anything else for lunch. That was my lunch.


Enough of that! The girls did great on the bus! We will be doing that little number again today. There were only twelve children on the bus! I was excited! They really think they are cool now - riding the bus like brother does!

Husband and I still have our house on the market. We have started looking again, in case our house actually sells soon. There is not alot out there. I know God is in control, I just have to sit back and let HIM drive. I am so bad about that - Ask Husband ;)

My sister and I are trying to work out a little adventure this weekend! The Cousins are having a shower for one of the cousins who is getting married in May. If I can get all my childcare worked out we are going to leave Saturday morning. So, yes Su-Sue, we may still be coming. I promise to call so you can tidy up your house! I can't imagine it dirty! I would really love to see everyone "without" the children.

Well, I must quit sipping my hazelnut coffee and get ready for my babies to get off the bus. Do you know why I am sipping coffee at 2:30 (other than because I can)? I am freezin' from that ice cream Sundae (wink)!!!!!

Tooth Fairies and School Busses

Twin M did great having three teeth pulled! Her Papa Chuck is her dentist and he made sure she had some happy gas and was numb!! She stayed home from school and ate ice cream and soup. She was my little princess for the day while her brother and sister were at school.tooth

On the way home from basketball practice, Twin C and I were alone and I asked her what she thought the tooth fairy would bring for three teeth pulled out by the dentist. She said $10. Wouldn't you know, she was right! She brought her sister a crisp $10 bill!

Today we are trying something new. They go to a different school from their brother. They were both able to get in (it is a lottery system) to a public 3rd - 8th school. I always joke and say whoever rode by the day I got their acceptance letter probably thought Ed McMann was bringing the BIG one! I did cart wheels all over the front yard. Brother is on their waiting list, but no one has left fifth grade all year and we are number seven. Things are not looking real good for him this year.

Anyways, I say all that to say that the girls were originally going to ride the bus home at the beginning of the year. They were so excited! This is their first year in public school and they could not wait to ride the bus. At orientation I found out that their bus stopped at the High to load up those kids and I said NO! My little third graders are not riding with tenth graders!! They were devastated, but quickly learned I was not backing down.

Yesterday they announce that their school was getting their own bus system and they would be the only school on that bus. The girls were so excited! So today for the first time in eight years I do not have to do carpool. Oh wait...today is Wednesday. Son has academic team and a piano lessons. Oh well... there is always tomorrow!

Please pray for my babies. They are the first stop, but still I worry about them!

Top Ten From Twin M

Twin M is having three teeth pulled today to make room for her permenant teeth. Please keep her your prayers.

I set the children up email accouts and Twin M sent me the sweetest message! I had to share! This is straight from her email!

theses are ten reasons i love you

1. your specail



2. your just so encredibly sweet



3. you help us clean up are room



4. you do are dishes



5. you clean are close



6. you provide food for us



7. you care for us



8. you love us



9. you married an awsome father



10. And most of all your my mother
    
    love your favorite daughter

President's Day Vacation

This was a great family weekend! The children are home for Winter Break and we did not go anywhere!

I shopped around for the best deal on a laptop and Husband helped me SOOOOO much. First in making the decision, then installing everything. I am not the engineer I think I am! The first thing I installed I locked up the internet~ it was Norton antivirus... go figure.

Today the children are playing on "their" computer and playing their DS. We are being so lazy!
I am sitting on my bed typing and surfing away!

I sold several items on ebay. It has definately been a learning experience.

• Do not sell over a holiday weekend. I did not have any "show-downs" in the last few minutes of bidding like I did before.
• Shipping is really hard. Sometimes I win, others I have lost big - like $5-$6 per item.
• Husband is not proud I am selling our possessions to buy a laptop. He told Muffintop at basketball that she too could have a laptop if she sold $1500 worth of goods out of her house for $300. I love that Man~ always calling it like he sees it!

Twin C won Valentines Day Queen for her room! They also named a King! It was great! All of the classmates voted!

My Addictions Have Gone TOO Far

Okay, this is THE funniest Post I have read in a long time! It was only funny to me, because I think this is me. These two girls share a blog and one is writing about the other. I laughed so hard (Muffin top) when I read about the aspirin! Reminds me, I need to give you some of those 10 bottles to take to your parents! If you read the post and see "Drama Mama", I am publicly asking for intervention!

Husband had the day off and we had a great time! The children are out of school for Winter Break! We started off the morning at THEIR favorite breakfast spot - Waffle House. We smelled like the place for the rest of the day! We had a family bowl-a-rama on the Wii and Twin C spanked us all with FOUR strikes in a row! We made our way South and found a new laptop (on sale no less) and then ate dinner at Carabbas! Husband and Son wanted to see Spiderwick so we all went! It was a little too scary for the girls, but they made it through it. I'll let you know in the next few weeks if any "severe damage" was done to their sleeping patterns... husband managed to parallel the Bible with the movie and explain how there are really "Ogars" in our lives, those we cannot see (Satan) and how we have to put on our Armor of God daily!

Overall the day was great! We have basketball in the morning and then we are going to pickup my laptop! I cannot wait! I will be blogging all over the house now!

IHOP and The Science Fair

Our Pancakes were delicious!

We went to IHOP right after school!

The children ate their free pancakes, Cheesy-eggs and bacon! My best friend and her children met us there! They all had fun and we got to catch up!

I did not take any pictures at IHOP, but I did at the Science Fair! Son won FIRST place for Fifth grade! I am so proud of him!
***Thank you to Mr. Larry who helped our little inventor!**

This is what the girls did with my camera while I was in the Book Fair! Aren't they cute? Taking pictures of each other!

I will be posting on Thursday about our Valentines. We drew names and everyone is writing a poem for that family member! I can't wait to read what those children wrote!

First Daffodils of Spring

I love my yard!

We have a hill that is known around town as "Daffodil Hill."

The lady who lived on the property before us filled a small section of the field with these beautiful spring flowers. That was probably 50 years ago. Now they run rampant down the hill with a sweet wild daisy that follows in April!

As the field starts to bloom I will keep you posted!

For now enjoy the first cuttings - compliments of Twin M!!

She even took the picture!

Lazy Saturday

The children and I have been working on Valentines this weekend!
At the ages of 9 and 11 a lot of thought and work goes into these special creations!!
We will definitely have a few masterpieces by Thursday!

Tuesday after school I am taking them to IHOP for a Pancake special! They are sooo looking forward to that! That place scares my Mother. She has never seen three kids (who normally eat like birds) gorge themselves with pancakes and bacon! That is their favorite meal!

I have now created a store for my eBay auctions! This is really a lot of fun! Like I said before, I'll let you know if it is really a money maker or a time waster! It is very time consuming and just plain CONSUMING! I could never do the stock market. I would be glued to a ticker 24/7.

We are winding down our basketball schedule this week and next are the last games!!!!!

Soccer is definitely our sport. Twin C loves basketball, but the other two are just there because I paid for it and I will not let them quit their team! Their teammates are depending on them!

We had a fun family night last with tacos and nachos. We played Monopoly and of course their entrepreneur Father beat us all!! He has a way of turning everything to gold!!
The girls helped me bake a chocolate cake with carmel! They love to help in the kitchen! They have monogramed aprons from their grandmother and think they are little CHEFS! I love it!
We had a great family Friday night!

I am planning to spend the rest of the afternoon after basketball gathering my item for this weeks eBay! Baseball pants and cleates; some ski items for those "Spring Break" trips...and who knows. Husband better come home before I sell it all!!!!!!!!!

Family Update

I am sorry I have totally deserted my blog!

I have a new hobby, yes MOM, something other than couponing, book fair and CVS...It is Ebay!

You remember how well I did at Christmas with the Wii, well I am not having that much success, but I am selling it all so I can buy a laptop!

Once I actually started saving money from all my coupons I decided to save for a laptop. My children are thrilled and encouraging me to sell their toys...(not really). But they do have an alterior motive - they want total access to my "old" computer.

My son's Acedemic Team did not place tonight, but they did well. We went and ate dinner afterwards with another family...on a School NIGHT! I know I am softening. We had not even studied for vocab or spelling. You know us, living on the wild side.

The Birthday party was great! The girls had a blast!

The picture at the top is Big Brother at the Hannah Montanna concert/movie. When it was over he told me "privately" that he was not going to tell his friends at school he went to the movie. You can't blame the boy! He was one of only five males in the theater, one was his dad and the others were selling popcorn!

Husband and I went to Cancun for a GREAT getaway. Very nice weather and great food! We really enjoyed the date time!

I promise not to be so slack! I'll let you know if I found my new profession after Monday when all my acutions end!

Monday Moments

I m back in town!!
Last week was great! The girls had a blast celebrating their birthday at the Hanna Montana Concert/Movie! I'll post more about that later!

This was to good not to share!
I am not POLITICAl, BUT please remember to vote tomorrow!

UNITED STATES MAP
A father wanted to read a magazine but was being bothered by his little girl, Shelby. She wanted to know what the United States looked like.

Finally, he tore a sheet out of his new magazine on which was printed the map of the country. Tearing it into small pieces, he gave it to Shelby and said, "Go into the other room and see if you can put this together. This will show you our whole country today."

After a few minutes, Shelby returned and handed him the map, correctly fitted and taped together. The father was surprised and asked how she had finished so quickly.

"Oh," she said, "on the other side of the paper is a picture of Jesus. When I got all of Jesus back where He Belonged, then our country just came together."