Name That State

"You know dat place where da bell rings?  I want to go there because it smells like chocolate!"

I bet I can guess that WHS learned about the Liberty Bell and the Hershey's Chocolate Factory this week! Whattayathink?

At least he gleaned the most important facts, right?

This Baby...

My biggest baby hit the double digits this week.   I really never thought I would get to this point.  When he was a baby, I remember having a vision of changing diapers for the rest of my life.  Ten years old seemed SO. FAR. AWAY.  And in a snap, it's here.  No more diapers.  No more sleepless nights.  He is ten and I am 10 years older {ugh}.

I just informed him tonight as I tucked him in that I already cried about him going to college.  Of course, that seems like an eternity to him.  But it's LESS than 10 years!  We are more than half way there and I can't stand it.  I told him that, being the oldest, he is going to be breaking all of the molds.  I will cry when he graduates. I will cry when he leaves for college.  I will cry when he gets married.  I will cry.   I will cry when I don't get to hug him every day....or talk to him every day.  For all the years I never really cried much, I will certainly make up for them when my babies start leaving the nest.

Today....had to paddle all three of them.  It was awful.  It REALLY does hurt Babe and I as much as it hurts them.  No one was minding or listening.  Granted it was a "snow day" in Texas (ha!), but they had lost control.  Then, they cried, I cried and we all ended up in a big snuggle pile on the couch watching a movie.  Perfection.

I don't remember exactly where I was or when it was, as I was sleep deprived, after all.  But I distinctly remember the words an older woman said to me one day.  I was somewhere in public with all three boys.  It wasn't within the last three years, so at the very least, I had a 6, 4 and 1 year-old.  I know people look at me at times and think I am crazy, maybe a bad mom and sometimes they probably even feel sorry for me ;)  This kind woman walked up to me and said, "I bet you worry about your house, don't you?"  Well, she must have been an angel who could hear my thoughts because I like a clean house.  The only time my house is clean is for the one hour after my cleaning lady leaves before my boys get home.  Then, three Tazmanian Devils enter and in a matter of seconds there is/are food, socks, shoes, backpacks, folders, underwear (true), dirt, UFO's, noise.....CHAOS.  The serenity doesn't last long.

She said, "I used to worry about my house, too.  Now my house is perfectly clean.....and perfectly quiet.  I would really like that mess back so I could have the noise, too."  Her words have stuck with me like glue.  I still worry about my house and "getting things done", but really, whats more important than letting it all go and snuggling on the couch with my growing babies.

It's so hard to believe I have had this little blog going for 7 years.  So, I can highlight a few of my favorites about Mr. JBS for your reading pleasure:

Diayeeah
Forgiveness
He's Got Social Skills
He Made My Day
Baby Sister

Happy Birthday, Baby.  I love you all the way to Heaven and Back, to Infinity and Beyond, and Forever and Ever...Amen!

Love My Texas Boys

Love these boys.  And I LOVE that they both dressed themselves for church.  AND that they BOTH put on their boots for the good Lord. :)  WHS did have to remove the cap once we entered church, but man, I like his style!

More Writing Workshop

Oh to be a first grade teacher!  

I lost a tooth yesterday

and I couldn't go to 

sleep because I was 

so excited and I got

three dollars and Toy

Skunks {he did! :)} The end.

JLS did, in fact, get toy skunks.  That cracks me up.  The boys have a Noah's ark and they often receive gifts of "Two x Two Animals" and this time around it was, indeed, skunks...Steve and Shelley are their names :)

JLS' Take on Kanakuk

I am purging pictures from my iCloud.  I don't know how it all works, but I know I had a ton and I know they take up space.   So I am purging.  There are a few in there I didn't know were there, so am going to post some from 2013.  These are precious.  In school, JLS wrote about his time at Kanakuk, a place very near and dear to my heart.  Translation below:

August 30, 2013

I went to Kanakuk

and I went on the

ziplines and we

sleep in Tee Pees

and there was a pool

There was a diving board

and there was a swing

where you swing in

the pool and there was

a big slide and there

was a lake and I went

tubing and kayaking

and archery and Bible

Stories and there was 

a petting zoo and there

was a blob and...

The best run on sentence EVER!

A Day Off

When I went to bed last night, I checked my calendar, like I always do.  Today was full with the first Bible Study of the semester, a dentist appointment and hopefully a little bit of time to finish up shopping for JBS's birthday before I picked #3 up from school and then #1 and #2.

This morning I woke up and heard a very distinctive seal cough.  With my eyes closed, I prayed it was in my dreams.  Then, I heard it again.  JBS came to my room and said, "Why does WHS sound like that?"  I knew the day was shot.  WHS came  in sleepy-headed and whimpering...more scared of the noise that came out of his mouth than in pain.   We snuggled a bit and watched the news.  Then, Daddy's orders...take a steamy shower.  WHS took it to the next level and took a steamy shower.  When he was done with that, he took a warm bath, too.  My kind of man.

I kind of like a day like this.  I caught up on folding the laundry, got to watch the news a bit and just be still.  Amidst the news, the laundry, the phone and the computer dings, I lost track of WHS.  I actually thought he was in the den watching TV.  I turned around and almost stepped on him.

Totally out with sword in hand.  He was so tired from fighting "army guys" that he just couldn't keep his peepers open anymore.

The house was totally silent, so I checked on Mona.  All snuggled into her kennel and very happy to be so tucked.

We are a happy team of 3 enjoying the peace and quiet....until 3:25pm.  Then peace and quiet run and hide when Mr. Loud and Mr. Chaos walk thru the door.  Until then...we absorb.

Keep Calm and Carry On

A few months ago, the employees at Babe's work were given T-shirts that said, "Keep Calm and Carry On."  We thought it to be so funny, as at Babe's previous employer, they would never come close to doing anything of the sort.  So, while it was a bit corny, it actually gave me a glimpse of the culture of his "new" job that he loves.  

The shirt was red...and apparently not pre-washed.  So, when Babe so graciously did the laundry the week he received the shirt, he threw it in with the dark clothes and neglected to see that ALL the jeans, polos, etc had an aura of pink on them before he threw them in the dryer.  And, the entire load of laundry came out of the dryer.... pink.  We attempted all the secret concoctions to no avail.  We threw the pink laundry away.  No one here is wearing pink!

I have been cleaning up a storm here.  Re-organizing and throwing out.   I have a table (that is not in the proper place yet), where I pile all our "give-aways."  As it very quickly accumulates to the size of a trash bag, I bag it up and carry it to the garage.  The boys know my system, as they learned very quickly not to put anything of value on that table because they know where it will go.

In the midst of cleaning, I was multi-tasking and keeping the laundry moving.  Babe is SO great at starting laundry.  A-hem.  He STARTS it really well.  I opened the dryer to find a load of dry laundry. Dry laundry that was PINK... AGAIN!!  Still the dark clothes, but that darn KEEP CALM AND CARRRY ON shirt got mixed up in there again.  And once again, Babe washed that shirt and moved the laundry to the dryer without noticing and yet another load was pink.

The other morning I was in the rest room.  At times, the ONLY place of calm in my house.  Door is always locked and for those few precious moments of calm, I relax.  I heard a knock on the door. 

"Mom!  My undaware es pink."  Giggling to myself I said, "Oh no!"  And the little voice said, "Daddy made my undaware PINK, Mom!"

"I am so sorry baby."

"Mom?"  {Pause} {Pause} "Can I put my undaware on da table for someone who needs it?"

Thoughtful, yes.  

Used, pink and unwanted underwear to give to those who need it....questioning the motive. :)

Fwd:

My sweet, precious, at times ornery dad has a tendency to send forwards.  Like...a LOT of forwarded emails.  Despite being told that he will get viruses if he opens them and not to forward those viruses on to the other 50 recipients at the top of those emails...he still does it.  Ornery.  He has been told and told.  When he is old...he WILL forward emails.  And the girls in his life just apologize to those 50 people who get them every day...multiple times a day.

HOWEVER...there are times when the subject line does intrigue me.  I am always captured by the pilot emails.  I never open the video emails and I sometimes open the animal emails.  Because my emails have a preview at the bottom of the page, I was captured by his most recent animal email.  I am a sucker.

It had this picture:

And this one...

And this one...

I am sure these pictures are widely circulated.  Probably as much as this one he recently sent that he said was a friend of a friend's uncle....I just looked it up and IF its real its from Jackson County somewhere taken in 1994.  {thats 20 years ago}  :)

Despite it all, the bottom of the email said this in small print and I thought it was REALLY good.        I am definitely at the stage in life where I am leaving the drama behind and focusing on whats most important.  It feels so GOOD to know that is OK!

There comes a time in your life, when you walk away from all 

the drama and people who create it.

You surround yourself with people who make you laugh.  

Forget the bad, and focus on the good.

Love the people who treat you right, pray for the ones who don't.   

Life is too short to be anything but happy.  

Falling down is a part of life, getting back up is living.

Just made it worth it to open another one of dear old Dad's forwarded emails.

A Day in the Life...

This is a day in the life.  When we decided to move, there were a few things we wanted to gain.  The major thing was land.  But when I say "land"...not just any land.  If we had 3 acres with no trees, it wouldn't have worked.  Acres with WOODS is what these boys want.  (a little funny since our old street was Acrewoods :))  They want to blaze trails and build hide outs...multiple hide outs.  JBS has his hide out on one side of the yard and JLS on the other.  They like to visit each other and use their walkie talkies to communicate.  They have created maps and stashed goods in secret places.  They can spend the entire day traipsing around in the backyard...and there is nothing that makes me happier! 

In fact, last night a friend was over and JBS was certain there was someone in the trees with a flash light.  I hadn't been able to find Babe in the house and was certain Babe was hiding in the woods to scare the boys...as he has done many times before.  The boys got their gear, their guns, and their hiking books (plus flash lights!) and cautiously proceeded to the woods.  They scared each other and ran back and forth with their guns blaring.  They hollered for Babe.  They were "certain" they saw him multiple times.  After half an hour and no Babe, I went inside to find him upstairs.  Oh dear!  I told him he HAD to run out the front door and go around back and scare the boys.  And scare he did. He pulled out his usual dog bark and they scattered.  It was hilarious.

They aren't inside begging to play the Wii or my phone or Babe's phone or the iPad or the....they are fully entertained with themselves.  This is the life I had when I was growing up.  We woke up and couldn't wait to get outside and play.  We played all day long and waited for Dad to whistle for us to come in for dinner.  Then we went outside and played some more until it was time for bed.  I cannot describe the warm feelings I have that while we are still meeting the neighbors, I have 3 boys who love to play together and have a HUGE imagination.

Babe is 40!

Babe turned 40 on New Years Day.  We rang in 2014 and Babe's 40th year.  Because Babe doesn't like attention on his birthday...no parties, no fuss, I figured this was the year to fuss if any.  He would not enjoy a surprise party too much so I asked around for ideas.  A friend suggested asking for friends to send 40 of anything to him.  Of course, I waited until the last minute to alert the world, but he received somer really clever gifts.  

40 Barn Cats.  To explain...Babe calls my friend, Nida, the cat woman. She loves cats, has two and volunteered at Petsmart petting cats (until she got bit and acquired fascitis..true).  He really wants a couple barn cats here to keep the varmints away.  So, Nida printed off 40 cats and staked them in the ground by our barn.  It was hilarious.

The kids loved it.

He received tons of texts, 40 lottery tickets, 40 Hot Wheels, 40 words (puzzle we are still working on figuring out) and so many other cute ideas.

Unfortunately for John, he gets the same meal every year seeing that his birthday is January 1st.  We have ham, cheese grits, black-eyed peas and cornbread.  This year I made him a rum cake and man was it good.  I used coconut rum instead of rum and it did the trick!

Happy Birthday to Babe.  May you have 40 more wonderful years!

Boys' Backyard

One of our biggest goals when moving was to gain some land.  While we only have 3 acres, that is HUGE since coming from a postage stamp yard.  Not only do the boys love playing football, wrestling hiking, building a new fort, etc.  There is plenty of room to shoot BB's in our back yard.  They spent the better part of 3 days in and out shooting all day.  Of course, the BB gun was a gift to JBS, but we never got a shot with him in it.

I think when I posted about the house previously, I forgot to put a picture in of our barn.  Right now, it is a "filtering" point where there are lots of things that need to be given away.  Babe has set up a pseudo batting cage in there and the boys have arranged a bit of spy gear in secret spots.  So much fun to have a barn to play in!

The Day After Christmas

Babe's parents were, unfortunately, not able to come see us this year.  We trade years for Thanksgiving and Christmas and Poppy couldn't get off work long enough to make the trek for "their" Christmas.  We understand as Babe is often in the same boat. So, on the 26th, after spending Christmas with Vin, Grammy and Big Daddy loaded up the Burb and headed to Texas.  We were even MORE excited that Great Granny got to come.  I am MOST disappointed to report that we didn't get any pictures with the adults, including Great Granny.  HOW did that happen?

So, when Grammy and Big Daddy came, it meant a few more presents to open.  Starting with Under Armour all around!  I sure wish I had stock in UA.  Sheesh.

BD gave all the boys camp caps..that have led lights underneath the bill.  They are actually quite awesome and the boys love them.  They use them to read in their beds a night and we use them to walk to the barn in the dark.  I kinda wish I had my own...

Grammy received the Salt and Pepper shaker this year  (A tradition spanning at least 40 years in our family...yes. It started before I was born.)

In Texas, you can wear shorts the day after Christmas.  Here is our parade of kids and vehicles.  The boys were thrilled that G2 hopped a ride from Oklahoma to spend a few days with us.

Grammy was a great sous chef and got to wear my onion goggles. She's so stylish...

Grammy, Big Daddy, Great Granny and Garrison loaded up the following Sunday and headed north.   Within just a few hours of their departure, this is what I found on my couch.  They slept for 3 hours.  

Just so much fun and excitement!  Come back soon!

Christmas Morning

This year, we were alone for Christmas Day.  They boys were so excited for Christmas that they all went straight to bed after church so Santa would come STAT.  Truly...the fastest and most efficiently my boys have hit the hay in a long time.

They know they always get to open one gift on Christmas Eve and they have figured out that its always pajamas.  But THIS year they each wanted robes and house shoes.  So that is what they received...and they loved them.

Their stockings were hung by the chimney with care...  And this is what Santa brought!

For JLS...

For WHS...

For JBS...

And the discovery...

The first gift opened was WHS getting a cool Cabela's bean bag...the only child without one to call his own.  Not anymore!

A rockin' tennis backpack for the tennis star...

A special request..."Hobbit People"...and I got the last set on the shelf.  This was a fun year, as we have taken a step back and really want to value the reason for the season.  If it were up to Babe, there would be no Santa. {I can't let go of that yet} Each boy received 3 gifts (just as Jesus did) from us and one Santa gift that was larger.  We weren't so overwhelmed with excess and the boys truly loved what they received.  We were able to get a couple things on each of their lists and they were really surprised getting things they loved that they didn't even know they wanted :)   Like a BB gun and walkie talkies...heavenly gifts for country boys now.  Ha!

WHS also opened the very last gift which was from Gambo.  His own tractor...

We had a lot of fun, enjoyed the day despite having a little sickie running thru our house.  It was such a relaxing and peaceful day.  Happy Birthday Jesus!