spring baseball

Michael is actually about a month into baseball games, and has been practicing since March. He is on the Giants this year - and is enjoying playing catcher mainly, and then some first base, and outfield. He is having a good year. Saturday is the 1/2 way point in the season - so they switch from having a pitching machine for 3 innings and then kid pitch - to kid pitch. It will be a lot slower game once they start pitching the whole game.

Feelin' old

Tonight at dinner the kids were messing around and not eating their food. Finally I said "Just eat it, eat it, eat it, eat it..." singing the Weird Al song. The kids looked at me like I was crazy. I then said it was a song... for real. They laughed and did eat their dinner. After dinner we looked up Eat It on youtube. They asked about the video, which spured us to watch Beat It by Michael Jackson. One really does forget the simliarities until you watch them back to back. Anyway, I got to thinking about when the songs came out... thought I was likely about Emily's age (I can remember really liking MJ and when Cousin Danette came down with her family we all listened to him over and over again, as we did when my Shelly came down for a visit)

I just looked it up and Beat It came out in 1983 when I would have been in 5th or 6th grade - 11 - just like Emily (she just turned 12). Yikes! Does not seem like that long ago really! If you want to enjoy the videos for yourself, here are some links. Hope they work.

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/sy-336010670/weird_al_yankovic_eat_it_official_music_video/


http://www.metacafe.com/watch/sy-43555856001/michael_jackson_beat_it_official_music_video/

funny

Today in school when we were in the lunch line a little girl all of a sudden says to the cook, "that is the last straw" We all started laughing and looking at her - wondering where that came from. Then she handed the cook the straw container - it really was the last straw. :) We then had to explain to the confused little girl why we were all laughing at her.

What was really ironic was many days by lunch I am ready to say, That is the last straw, as I have some tough kids. Today actually was a good day - so the thought had not even come to my mind until the little girl said it.

I thank God for the chance to be a mother!

I thank God for giving me these two wonderful children. For the chance to be their mother, to pass my faith onto them, for the opportunity to see them grow and change, for the chance to discipline them, for the chance to educate them, for the chance to see them become individuals, for the chance to see them make mistakes, and for the chance to love them - unconditionally. Thank you Lord for the gift of being a mother!

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to my mom and to my mother in law. I hope you have a great day! Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers out there who give so much, care so much, pray so much, love so much, and do so much for your children and families. I thank the Lord for you!

3 weeks to go

It is hard to believe that we only have 3 weeks of school left. That means only 3 more weeks until I have a 4th grader and a 7th grader. Where has the time gone. It seems like just yesterday I had little ones who were not even in school. Now the kids are becoming more independent and are able to do lots of things.

Emily has been doing some babysitting. She loves crafts, sewing, scrapbooking, painting & anything artistic. This summer we hope to spend lots of time scrapbooking - as I need to do lots of catching up.

Michael is very much into baseball. He has been playing lot of catcher this year. Last practice he practiced pitching - and got two strike outs. He also enjoys creating crafts - so he will be dong the scrapbooking right along with Emily and I this summer.

Since Emily started babysitting & making some money, Michael is also wanting to make money. He can't quite push the lawn mower. Any ideas for something a 10 year old could do to make money (without mommy and daddy just paying him for doing stuff he already does)?

sorry!

Well, I want to apologize for being out of touch since the end of February. I needed a break - and life just got busy. I know lots of people want to know what is going on, so I need to get back into my blog. So ..... I am going to try to get back into it. I am not going to even try to catch up - as I would feel even more behind - so I am going to go forward from here.

Busy Week

Whew, this week sure was a quick on! On Monday night I had Bible study at Church - started a new one. Tuesday night it was work night for the Pinewood Derby for scouts. Wednesday was Church. Thursday night was handbell and choir night. Friday night was movie night at school - the student council sponsored it and I was asked for chaperone. Doug and Michael were down at the science center for a scout sleep over and they got home around 8:30 this morning. So - we did not have any nights at home this week. I am very tired, but need to get the house picked up as we have our Christ Care group at our house next weekend and this coming week will be just as busy as last. Pray for energy and the ability to stay focused to get things picked up.

500th post

Wow! Hard to believe that this is my 500th post. And, for post 500 the topic is snow. We have been looking at new snow for the past 24 hours. We have about 6 inches of new snow on the ground. The temps are in the high teens and low 20's with wind chills close to 10. Thus, it is not too good for packing. The kids did have a snowball fight though. Then this afternoon, the kids wonderfully went out and shoveled as I have a bad cough, congestion, and just feel bad. Of course, I told them that I would pay them if they would do it, now I have to figure out what their pay will be. Luckily we had today off for Presidents Day. I hope we have tomorrow off so I can have another day to rest - but then again, I don't want to make it up.

Sick...

Michael woke up this morning with a stomach ache . Lots of stuff has been going around - so I was not surprised when he had to make a mad dash to the bathroom. So... I ran to school to get things ready for my aide to teach today and now am home with Michael. What a way to spend Valentine's Party day. I pray my students cooperate with my aide - and hope Michael has the short version of this stomach stuff.

Colts Fans

Here is a picture of Michael and Emily ready for the Super Bowl - They were very spirited and ready to cheer!

Snow Day!

Today we are off school due to 6 inches of snow. It started snowing around 11:00 last night and snowed through 11:30 or so this morning. It was beautiful when it was falling. I am sure glad I did not have to drive in it though. I went out and shoveled around 10:00 and then again around 12:00. The kids built two snowforts in the front yard - and have had a snowball war. Now they are in the backyard building snowmen and just playing in the snow. It is wet and sticky - so it is great to build with.

We started off our day with a breakfast of pancakes - yummy! Then we had fresh chili and cornbread for lunch. Trying to think of something to make us all warm for dinner.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

Super Bowl Fun

Michael is all ready for today's super bowl between the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints. I will be honest, I usually don't know who is even playing in the super bowl, much less attend a super bowl party. This year, we are heading to a good friend's house for a super bowl party. Michael is very excited - and has been talking about it all week. He is ready to watch the Colts win!

Emily is excited that she will be able to entertain 3 little girls - and be the highlight of their day. It should be a good time - no matter what team wins - but for Michael's sake I hope it is the Colts.

He let Emily borrow one of his shirts that he got for Christmas. He then said, sorry mommy, I don't have one for you to borrow. He then said the same thing to Doug. Funny!

Go Colts!

attic stairs

On Sunday afternoon Doug tackled getting the attic stairs out of the attic and into our dining room in preparation for new stairs. We got the new stairs up in the hole, and then I was not strong enough or tall enough to help. Our friend Greg came over and helped Doug get it into the hole and in place. Yeah! For a while there I was afraid we were going to need another emergency room visit - due to the new stairs falling instead of old stairs breaking. But - with help Doug got them in.

That meant the Christmas stuff could finally be put away. While he was working on the stairs - I was busy filling boxes that he had brought down. I finished on Monday evening and then we put the boxes away too. Of course we found a few stray items that should have been packed away - they will get there soon enough.

I thank the Lord for good friends who can help one another out with home improvement projects. I also thank the Lord for a project safely completed - and no more injuries. We now have a strong, metal ladder where a wooden, old one was. I will feel safer going up with things - since I have something sturdy to step upon.

Go Colts!

Michael just finished watching the Colts game with Doug. Doug set up the screen and projector so they could watch it on the big screen. Michael was all decked out for the game - and enjoyed the whole thing. They won 30 - 17. Now on to the Super Bowl. I guess I will have to watch it or at least pay attention to it this year so I can talk to my Son about it. Go Colts!!!!!

busy weekend

On Friday we started our busy weekend by going to the boat and RV show. We saw lots of pop-ups that we would love to have - but ours will have to last longer before we can do that. There are some things we like in the new ones - but some things we actually like better about ours. The highlight of the trip was watching a dock dogs competition. That is when dogs jump into a swimming pool after a toy - and they see how far they can jump. It was amazing to see dogs jump over 25 feet into water, as well as jump over 7 feet up into the air. Wow! We wondered how well Boo would do at it as he likes to jump up and down. After that we ran to Graters to get some ice cream - the kids wanted to get their free scoops for good grades - so we just had to pay for mine. Then it was home and to bed.

On Saturday we had a lazy morning. Did not do much - athough there is lots of picking up around the house that should have happened. The boys left around 10:00 to sign Michael up for baseball and to get haircuts. Emily and I went to our mom/daughter Christ care meeting at 2:00 and then we stayed at Church to take down the Christmas tree that the youth had put up. It did not take long as we had Emily, Michael & a friend taking down the ornaments. It is a good feeling to have that down. After the tree there was a fellowship event at Church - a gospel choir sang, there was a chili cook-off, and then the kids watched UP while the adults visited in the back. Was a fun evening for all.

Today we are off to Church and Sunday School in a little bit. There is only one service today, as there is a congegational meeting & pot-luck after service. Then we are coming home to do a little bit of picking up before the boys sit down to watch the Colts game at 3:00. I will likely work on school stuff at that time - since I am not a big football fan. I want the Colts to win - because that would make Michael happy, but I don't have the interest to watch the game.

Hope you weekend is/was good and productive too. We had lots of family togetherness in ours, as well as Church events. Growing two different families - which are actually one when you think about it. I praise the Lord for the gift of my family and my church family. Both have really been a blessing to me in many ways.

back to school

We started back to school on January 4th. We then has last Monday off (January 18th) for Martin Luther King Jr. day. Getting back into routine is good - but hard.

Farm and Pasta House

Emily and I had a good time while the boys were at the Winter Warm-Up. on Saturday we went down to the farm with mom and dad. I had made a pasta dish that I just had to heat up. Mom brought beans, salad, and bread. Bonnie made a cake. So - we had a good lunch without much work. We spent time helping Grandma put away her quilt frame, get out some more quilt squares, talking, and walking down to the creek. I helped Grandpa get his CD player and VCR on the right settings for him to watch and listen to his favorites. It was a good time to be down on the farm. Both Grandma and Grandpa were very talkative.

Then on Sunday we went to Church and then headed to Pasta House for a lunch with the whole family. Dawn, Craig & Leyna, Kirk, Kathy & Erika, Rachel & Jordan, Aaron, Katie, & Riley, John & Jamie, Mom & Dad, and Emily and myself were all there. We got together to celbrate Aaron's birthday. We ate lot of yummy food - Dad and I split Linguini and chicken livers, Emily at a whole order of fettichini alfredo.

On Monday we headed down with the boys and went to the arch. We were going to do some more sight seeing, but Emily forgot her backpack from Gayles, so we had to go back and get it before the guys were ready to hit the road.

Aunt Gayle and Uncle Lawrence were a great host and hostess. We appreciated staying at their place -and being able to see their new house, as well as catch up on life. Thanks for Everything!!!

Winter Warm-Up

For Doug's 40th Birthday I got he and Michael tickets for the Cardinals Winter Warm-Up. It is a weekend of autographs, Cardinal speakers, and lots of things to watch and listen to. Basically a big Cardinal convention. Doug had wanted to go the past few years, but we always had something going on. It was last Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.

The boys got autographs of past players, tried to win autographs of Pujols or Holliday with some scratch-off tickets, but did not turn up lucky winners. They also heard the General Manager, Mark McGuire, the PA announcer, What's New at Busch stadium... A deluxe stadium tour was won by Michael - who answered a question correct in a question and answer session. The boys got to go in the locker room - and Michael got his picture taken in front of Pujols locker.

Michael already asked on Saturday sometime, if they could come back next year. He was having a great time!

The pictures are not the greatest as we forgot our good camera and we had gotten Michael an innexpensive one (which is not worth much and takes awful pictures) to use - so that is all the boys have. Then, to make matters worse, Michael accidently hit "delete all" on the camera. Doug was able to recover some of the pictures with a program he found on-line - but not all of them.

OOPS...

Mom and Dad with their frame we got them for Christmas
Emily, Michael, Noah, Andrew, Mom and Dad with their family of snowmen

Michael with his Cardinal and Colts gear that he got for Christmas

Emily with her Cardinal stuff she got for Christmas

Wow, almost a month has occured since I posted last. Christmas at mom & dad's, New Years, back to school, the Cardinal Winter Warm-Up, a visit to the farm and to St. Louis have all happened - and I need to catch up.

The kids and I headed up to mom & dad's on the 29th of December to spend some days there, while Doug headed up on the 31st. We celebrated Christmas on New Years Day, after watching the Rose Bowl parade and naps. It was a great time to be with Holly, Gene, Andrew & Noah, Mom and Dad - as well as just be away and out of our routine.

We got lots of fun presents - lots of spoiling .

When the kids and I arrived, there was some snow, so on the 30th they went out with Noah and Andrew to build a snowman. The snow was very sticky - and just right to build quick snowmen. Building with to mom, Grandma & Grandpa and their cousins made it extra special. It is the only snowman the kids have been able to build this year so far. We have had some snow in Louisville, but it was too cold to stick - and then it warmed up very quick and melted.