HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRACIE!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRACIE!!!!!!!!!

     YOU'RE GOING TO A TAYLOR SWIFT CONCERT

(8 rows up on the side of the stage)

(best seats I have ever had)

WHOOHOOOOOO!!!

     Her concerts may sell out in 2 minutes, but you're mama knows how to work the system. (Sort of... good story... don't I always have one?)

     Check back later for more info and possibly even a video of Gracie opening her gift... if I can figure that out.

     

     

Shelby's 11

     When I went to find pictures of Shelby for this post.... this is what I found.  I cracked up!  Apparently, in her free time, she makes use of the Mac's camera built into the computer.

     Last Wednesday, Shelby turned 11.  It's hard to believe 11 years have gone by, but I feel like I have really enjoyed her.  I have enjoyed all her ages so far.  Oh how I would like to say that for the next 11 years!  One of the things I pray for all my kids is that they would love the Lord their God with all their heart, all their soul and all their mind.  If this is true of them, then everything else will be taken care of.  

     I said  for each of my kid's birthdays I wanted to write down some things I love about them.  Here's Shelby's list:

     1.  I LOVE that Shelby is a performer.  She always has been.  She was made for the stage.  I haven't fully immersed her in any area of the arts because a) I want it to be for her and not for me and b) I am afraid once it starts, it will never end.  I know she is special and I have wanted to keep her all to myself for as long as possible.

     2.  She is very teachable.  She has been very easy to homeschool as far as academics are concerned.  In other areas, take soccer for instance, we will give her some advice before a game and she will go out and do exactly what we told her to do or give it her best shot anyway.

     3.  She laughs at my mom and I.  Who doesn't like to think their funny?  She thinks I am really funny.  Besides that, we have the same sense of humor.  It's good bonding to laugh at the same things.

     4.   She loves the Lord and loves to read about the Bible.  She is very sensitive to spiritual matters.

     5.  She can sing!!  And, I may be partial, but I think she is really good.

     6.  She loves to research.  If she wants to learn about something, she knows how to get it done.  She might enter a vocal contest in the area this summer.  So, she decided to actually like something her sister likes and pick a Taylor Swift song.  (By the way, have I mentioned Taylor Swift concerts sell out in about 2 minutes??)  She wanted to play the piano and sing.  She looked up some tutorial and can now play the song... with one hand so far anyway.  She sounds great too!!

     7.  She's a leader.  But, being a leader also means she's bossy.  So, we have to talk often about great assets being great weaknesses.  (I have told her on more than one occassion she'd be the first one kicked off Survivor.)  (We always have a good laugh about it!)  I'd rather her have to figure that out any day, than have her be a follower.

     8.  When I knocked the cup of hot water out of her hand in February and she received 2nd degree burns on 14% of her body, she calmed me down.  She wanted me to quit crying.  And, to this day, she reminds me it wasn't anyone's fault.  Character is like a tube of toothpaste, when the pressure is on what's inside comes out.  She's a pretty good tube of toothpaste:-)

     9.   She can keep a secret.  She has known about Gracie's birthday present for months now.

     10.  She is very creative.  She's always coming up with some kind of plan for something.  If she doesn't do something with music or acting, she will be some kind of event planner.  In the last week alone, she has had a neighborhood spa.  She conducted interviews for employees and hired people.  (There is always a lead balloon in her ideas... the kids who don't get hired are devastated.)   Anyway, there were pedicures, manicures and massages.  Jackson gave the massages.  He asked me if I wanted one.  Of course... I did.  So, he told me to lay down on a towel on our concrete driveway and he'd walk on my back.  Sounded more like Chinese torture to me.  I passed.  She is also working on a Friday night theatre in our basement.  She has a list of movies, prices for admission and prices for refreshments (that's another word I hate by the way... click for post about words I hate.)  I have to be careful how much I play along.  One year she told me she was having a Prom at our house.  The next thing I knew... all the kids in the neighborhood showed up.  They were in their best dress expecting dancing and pizza.  At that point, I had to go on with the show...

    With Shelby... their is never a dull moment...... and I LOVE IT!!  

    I am blessed to call her mine!

     

Memorial Weekend

     Memorial Weekend will be memorable all right, but not for great reasons.  

     We haven't had any air conditioning in our van since last year.  Thankfully, it was heading into winter so it didn't really matter.  This spring, when it started getting a little warm outside, I decided to have my dad take a look at it.  He took a look... it lasted 3 weeks.  It wasn't his fault.  Apparently, getting to the problem meant taking the dash apart and then putting it back together.  Thankfully a church in the area let us borrow their van for those three weeks.

    When I got it back, it worked on our way to Pittsburgh... even on Fort Pitt Road (See previous post).  On the way home, it decided it wasn't going to work again.

     I took it back to my dad Sunday night and he said he was going to put some dye in it and try to find a blockage.  What in the world?  Is this open heart surgery?

     It didn't work even after he added 3 cans of refrigerant.  He then proceeded to tell me that I needed 4 new tires, new shocks and a rack and pinon (Sp?).  

     This is a match even the Queen of Google is not cut out for.  I told him to forget it!  I am not going to put that much money into a 10 year old van with 130,000 miles.  He agreed.

     MEMORIAL DAY EVE 2009- YOU NEED A NEW VAN

     In the meantime, he told me to take it easy in the rain.  I have little tread on my tires and one could blow.  Ummm... excuse me?  

    So, we are in a quest to find a new van.  We have no idea what to do.  We have never even considered buying a new vehicle, but there are some great deals out there.  Clark Howard said that deals on new cars haven't been this good since 1979.  

     To be honest, I am not even sure we are in a great financial position to buy a car.  I HATE decisions like this!

     Therefore, I have totally given it to the Lord.  I have prayed for wisdom.  I have prayed for guidance.  I have prayed and asked for His provision.  Sometimes I HATE situations like these... but other times.... I LOVE them.

     I think it's pretty exciting to be dependent on God completely and then watch him work.  Afterall, if he own the cattle on a thousand hills, he owns all the Honda Odesseys and all the Chrysler Town and Countries, right?

     Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisors they succeed.  Any advice from all my friends and lurkers out there?

The week at a glance

     This has been a very full week.  So, I thought I'd give you a glance of it all.

    Last Friday, we went to Pittsburgh for my brother's wife's baby shower.  I love my brother.  He has a million good qualities: hard-working, polite, considerate, thoughtful, serving, giving... I really don't have enough good things to say about him.  I try really hard to only focus on people's good qualities, especially his, but he has one glaring fault that is very difficult to overlook.  It's difficult because it rears it's ugly head every time I want to see him.

     He can't give directions to save his life.

     I thought that problem was going to be taken care of last week because I have a GPS on my phone, but he lives in the middle of nowhere on a street that is has just been developed.  It doesn't show up on Mapquest or anything else.  Therefore,  I had to rely on him.   

     To make a really long story short, I ended up on one of the scariest streets I have ever been on.  There were no lights anywhere on the "main" road that was supposed to take us to his house.  Streets were not marked very clearly and my idea of straight and his idea of straight mean two completely different things.

     We ended up on a very narrow, pitch black road called Fort Pitt Road.  I can write the name of the road but I can not verbally speak it because it gives me the willies.  The road went on for what seemed like an eternity with a very slim chance that one could turn around safely on the road.  I was out of my very flat part of the country and in a place where roads were built between deep ravines.  Turning around in an area where Jason (Friday The 13th) lives and possibly ended up with my van sliding down the side of a mountain did not sound like my idea of a good time.  The only thing we passed in the middle of dense woods was an enormous power grid.  

                                  This is the actual Ft. Pitt Road... in the daylight.

     When we finally made it to the end of that treacherous road, we were in a neighborhood.  The only wa to get back to find my brother, who was now driving around trying to find us, was to head back down Fort Pitt Road.

      That sounded like the worst idea in the world to me, but I didn't have choice.  I need to mention that upon leaving that road and entering the neighborhood, we past a big red pickup truck.  The truck was pulled off the and facing the wrong direction and there was a guy who was relieving himself... probably from all the beer he had consumed.

     So, we head back down Fort Pitt Rd. and midway through, I see 3 cars  ahead of me that are stopping.  Remember, there is absolutely NO WAY to pass anyone on this road.  Since they stopped, I stopped.... a good distance from them.  Then, that same big, red pickup started to turn to come back toward me, but first he blocked the road for what seemed like an eternity.  I didn't know what to do.  When he decided he wasn't going to block the road anymore, he started headed back toward me.  I decided, I was going to fly past the other two cars, even if I sideswiped all of them and just get the heck out of dodge.  I mean... I am in the car with my mom and 3 little girls.  As I start to pass the two other cars pulled to the side, one starts to turn in front of me.  I layed on the horn and kept moving.  A bit farther down the road, a dear came bounding out of the woods.  Meanwhile, I was cursing my brother's name and listening to him and my mom argue back and forth about where we were.   She kept saying, "We see NOTHING!!  There is nothing but woods to see!!"  Then we came to the power grid field and he told us to pull over there and wait for him.  

     Not a chance in Hades am I pulling over in Jason and the red pickup guys territory.  I yelled, "TELL HIM TO MEET ME AT THE END OF THIS ROAD."  

     So he did.  I hated him for the 3 minutes it took to get to his new house.  Then I decided to just be really interested in looking at his newly built house... so I didn't kill him.  By the end of the tour, I loved him again.  

     My body took much longer to recover.   I think the adrenaline quit pumping at about 2am.  Gracie and Emme were up at 6am.

     The shower Saturday was really nice.  It was at a restaurant's banquet room.  The food was wonderful.  The place was decorated so cute.  There were 8 cakes decorated in different boy themes, one on every table.  The baby got lots of really nice things including a baby tub that has a whirlpool.  What's up with that?

     Sunday we were home in time to watch the Survivor Finale.  Yea!  JT WON!  The first important victory of the week.

     Wednesday, my Shelby turned 11.  It was a beautiful day so we headed out for lunch at an outdoor mall.  Then we did a little shopping.  Later on Shelby and I got haircuts.  It was a very girly day.

     We ended Shelby's big day by eating strawberry cheescake pie and watching the defeat of Adam Lambert on American Idol.  Yea Kris Allen!  

     Last night I went with my mom and the two birthday girls to a dinner theatre. (Her birthday gift to them.)  We had a great meal and watched a High School Musical... musical.

     Tonight Shelby is having a very small party, 2 girls.  They are going to see a movie, have pizza and then we are going to COLDSTONE.  (We have $65 worth of ice cream cards from Shelby's burn incident.)

     Have a great Memorial Day Weekend!!  What are you all going to do?  We have a pool in our neighborhood that opens tomorrow.  Somehow I think that's where we are headed.

      One more birthday for this month.... Friday May 29.  And, let me tell you... I have NEVER wanted a birthday to be here so bad in my entire life.  Stay tuned!!

WOOHOOO!!!!!!!

     YOU'RE WELCOME!  YOU'RE WELCOME!!

     For all you Kris Allen Fans.........  First of all, WOOOHHOOOOO!!!!  

     Secondly, you're welcome because... I put him over the winning edge.  I think I voted... um... approximately 1000 times.  Paul says my life motto should be: Anything worth doing is worth over doing.  (He thinks he is so funny!)

     Finally, I can now come out of mouring!  Reality TV is over and it ended on an awesome note.  Good triumphed over evil just as it will in the final days. (Please note:  I do not think Adam Lambert was evil IN ANY WAY!  On the contrary, I think he was a very kind, humble young man.)  The overall tone of his singing seemed dark to me... therefore good trumped evil.  I mean, you do have to admit.... Adam looked like an angel of darkness tonight.  What in the name of tarnation did he have on during that KISS song.  And KISS... between them and bikini girl....FAMILY SHOW, HELLO!!  That girl has no shame!

     So, I'll be back tomorrow.  I've got plenty to say!

     WE LOVE YOU KRIS ALLEN!!!!

Reality Bites

     It's been a tough week for me.  A tough week in the reality TV world anyway.  

     Hey, when you're a mom to 4 and you homeschool, it's a safe escape.

     It started going downhill Sunday night.  Margie and Luke didn't win the Amazing Race.  Instead a brother and sister team won.  They are both lawyers.  I really, really wanted the deaf young man and his mother to win.   Aside his being the Bionic Woman,  he loves his mother so much because she learned to sign so she could communicate with him.  (Can you imagine having a deaf child and not learning to sign?  Apparently, it's not the norm to learn.)  Despite a very large lead, they finished 3rd.  I cried.  Is that normal?

     Monday all of 24 didn't tape because our DVR was full.

     Tuesday, Helen won the biggest loser.  She's the only one I didn't want to win!  She sent her own daughter home off the show so she could stay.  She was always witch like to me after that. Now she's a svelte 117 and her daughter is still pleasantly plump.  Jerk!

     Wednesday on American Idol, Danny got voted off.  Are you kidding me?  I still haven't recovered from David Archuletta losing last year.  They should have just stopped the AI competition a couple of weeks ago.  They having been crowning Adam Lambert the winner for at least that long.  Adam and his screeching voice.  Makes my ears bleed.  Plus I feel violated every time he looks in the camera with "that look".  AI produces couldn't stand the fact that 2 Christians might be in the finale!!   GRRR.......  They have totally bent the show in Adam's favor. Don't get me started.

     Tonight, on Survivor, I am sure Coach, who named himself  "The Dragon Slayer" will somehow win immunity tonight and then take the million on Sunday night.

 

     I hate reality TV right now.

     So, tomorrow I am getting out of here and heading to Pittsburgh.  I am going to visit my baby brother.  Ok, he's 31 now.  And, he's a surgeon.  And, his first baby is due July 4.  I still can't believe he can put bones back together.  I still see this 6 year old little boy who used to break all his GI Joe men... on accident... because he was a bit rough.  How can he possible fix things like bones now?

                        My favorite picture of my baby brother, Damon and Gracie.

     A baby shower is being thrown for his baby on Saturday.  So, all the girls are making the trip.  I got the new little man several things, but these are my favorite things.

      My friend Jeni has a shop on line.  You should head over and look at her little shop.  I promise you will love it.  Http://carabellas.net  If you need a unique baby gift, she should be your woman.

     So have a great weekend!  GO KRIS!!  (You are my only hope!)

My New Name

     I will no longer go by my former name.  From now on, please refer to me as The Queen of Google.

    I know you want me to explain.  And, I am dying to do just that!

    This weekend I noticed our refrigerator was making a high pitched clicking/buzzing noise.  I had never heard it before.  A little red flag went up, but unless I have liquid running out of my freezer or something,  I can pretty much ignore things like that.

     It really didn't even bother me when Paul came up for bed Sunday night and said that the food in the freezer was thawing out.  It didn't bother me because a) what am I supposed to do about it and 11 pm? and b) he said he thought there was a box keeping the door ajar.

     The big red flag came at 8 am when he called me from about an hour away to let me know that the ice cream in the freezer was liquid, the chicken was thawed out and there was water on the floor.

    It was then that I thought, "Hmm... maybe I should do something."  (I am kinda bright like that.)

     So, I was home and Paul and 90 minutes away for the day.  I had some decisions to make.

     First, I thought, "Do I want to call and pay someone $85 -just to come out- and then tell me, 'Sorry Miss, there is nothing we can do, you need a new refrigerator?'"

     Sometimes repairs only cost a little less than a new one.  It's true.  They don't make things like they used to.

     I decided to do some research.  I googled refrigerator buzzing.  

     After a second of searching, I noticed a web site where you could ask appliance guys questions and you only had to pay if you thought they had given you an adequate answer.  On the site, there was a bunch of testimonials about the appliance guys.  $9 sounded a lot better than $85 dollars.  I figured I didn't have much to lose.

     So, I wrote my question:

     My refrigerator is making a buzzing/clicking noise.  What could it be?

     I had a response from appliance guy Tom in a matter of seconds.  He asked me:

     Is it still making the noise?  And, how often is it making the noise.

     I responded:

     About once every 10 or 15 minutes.

     Again, I had an immediate response.  He said:

     It sounds like you need a new relay overload.  It is on the side of the compressor.

     So, I asked him:

     How much is this type of repair?

      His immediate response:

     About $50 if you do it yourself.  If someone else does it... add $100.

      I thought his response was adequate so clicked on the button to pay him.

     I got off the computer, went to the phonebook, found a store that sold refrigerator parts and I called them.  I gave them the model # for the refrigerator and told him the part I needed.  He looked it up, told me they had it in stock and that it was $33.

      Feeling really cool, I got off the phone and texted Paul one of my favorite lines from a movie.  

      Have you ever seen City Slickers (really funny movie!)?  There are 2 ice cream guys in the movie.  I think they are suppose to be like Ben & Jerry.  They claim that they can name the perfect ice cream to end any meal.  So, they tell Billy Crystal to name a meal.  He says, "How do you know you're right?"  And, they respond, "400 ice cream parlors in 48 states!  WHOO!"

      So, Billy Crystal says, "Beans and Franks."  

      The ice cream guys say in a disgusted tone of voice, "Scoop of chocolate, scoop of vanilla.  Don't waste my time."

     My text to Paul: Scoop of chocolate, scoop of vanilla.  Don't waste my time.

     I clean out the freezer, tell Paul to get the part on his way home and I wait.

      He gets the part and arrives home.

     He gets the backing off, we clean the coils and everything else with the vacuum and begin looking for the part.

     We find it.  Make sure it's the right part.  I pull the part off because my hands are smaller.

      ONE HOUR LATER......

     We plug the frig in and wait.

      No noise.

      We wait some more.

     The liquid I left in the bottom of the frig starts to freeze and we start doing the Snoopy Dance while singing. "We fixed our refrigerator!  We fixed our refrigerator!"

      Scoop of chocolate, scoop of vanilla!

      We fixed our refrigerator for $42 plus a bit of tax!

      Just so you know, this is not the first thing I have fixed by googling.  Once our gas fireplace wouldn't light.  So, I googled.  They suggest scrubbing the igniter with a toothbrush.  I grabbed Jackson's (just kidding!).  I got an old tooth brush, scrubbed and then vacuumed the igniter and 

Hallelujah!  Hallelujah, Hallelujah!

      The moral of the story is:  you should google everything.  And, if it's an appliance problem, go to www.justanswers.com ask a question and pay your nine bucks... before paying an $80 trip charge.

Yours Truly,

The Queen of Google

P.S.  You're Welcome!

      

     The mess I have to clean up after replacing the relay overload on the refrigerator (I feel so cool saying that.)  And, we don't usually have that much pop setting around.  We had a family birthday party this weekend to celebrate Birthday Month.  14 kids and 9 adults........um boy!

Happy Mother's Day and Happy Birthday TO ME

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ME!!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!

     I just bought my own Mother's day gift and my own Birthday gift! (birthday Aug 29)  I am going to American Idol Live on Aug 25 with Paul.

Section 107 6 rows up!  Holla!!

     I hope all you moms out there have a great weekend!  Happy Mother's Day to you too!

Bidets=No Toilet Paper

      Bidets=NO Toilet Paper!!??  I THINK NOT (NOT with an attitude.)

     That's what an ad on my blog said yesterday.  I am not supposed to click on my own ads (you can though!  And you can help me earn money for things like..... um........ let's say........ toilet paper!!)

     This advertisement was saying if one were to buy a bidet, one would not have to buy toilet paper.  COME ON!!!  There is no way that something spraying a gentle squirt of water on my children's booties (not mine of course... I don't do things like that.)  ( I don't.) is going get all that "stuff" off.  NO WAY!

     I mean, don't get me wrong.  I wish it would work.  With 7 people living in this house, toilet paper is a scarce commodity.  It is VERY common to hear, "I NEED TOILET PAPER!!" coming from one our 3 bathrooms.  So, if I thought paying $89.95 + shipping and handling, for a bidet would cut down on the cost of buying toilet paper, I'd seriously get it.  But, they would have to insure me that the spray would be equal to that of a power washer.  Cuz, nothing else is going to get the barnacles off their booties. 

     And, what's up with all the toilet ads on my blog??  Are they trying to hint that my blog is crappy??

     So, what is your experience with bidets?  Would you ever get one?  Do you think this would ensure you would no longer have to buy TP?   

    Seriously, tell me what you think?!

     A bidet is not going to help me in a situation like this.  Yes, it is what you think it is.... and she is standing in a puddle of urine too... you just can't see it!

Bobwhite

     Something you should know about me.... I hate anything repetitive.  I am not even sure hate is a strong enough word.  Anything that is done over and over and over again, makes me want to run through a glass door.  It gets under my skin, grates on my nerves, and so on and so forth. Clicking the end of a pen, tapping a pencil, singing the same thing all day, repeating the same phrase, etc...  You get it, right?

     Kids are repetitive by nature and my husband is still a kid in that sense, so among the 5 of those people who live here, I spend a lot of time saying, "That's enough." " Quit doing that, please!"  "Stop!"  "Do that again and I am going to break your arm!"  "Or rip your head off and barf down you neck hole."

     Ok, that last one... I've never really said, but I have wanted to. 

     See, I walk in the Spirit!  Ha!

     You get the picture!

      Have you ever heard of the bird Bobwhite?  Well, a" bird person" will say the Bobwhite gets his name from his call/chirp/tweet (whatever you want to call it).  You have to use your imagination, but the call sounds like he's saying "Bobwhite Bobwhite!"  Click here and you can hear a clip of the sound.

     Well, my Gracie was watching some show on TV and this guy was imitating the Bobwhite.  So, for days and days Gracie walked around doing her own version of the sound.  She would say, "Bobawhite Bobawhite."  Somehow, she put a short a in the call.  Bob a white.

    She was getting on everyone's nerves with the whole Bobawhite Bobawhite call, not just mine.

     Well,  we were in the car heading to someone's house for dinner (a pastor from a local church and his wife who will probably be Shelby's 6th grade teacher should we send her to school next year.) and Gracie was repeatedly doing her Bobawhite call.  

     "Mom, please make her stop!", Jackson and  Shelby were yelling from the back seat.  

     I had had it too!  So, in a voice that can only be used by a mother, I said, "Gracie!!  I mean it!  Don't say it again!  If you say it again, you are not watching American Idol tonight!"  

     They know I don't make idle (idol) threats.  (haha!  That was so funny idol, idle...... get it!)

      SO, we rode along in glorious silence for a few minutes.  As we were approaching our destination,  it was time for a little speech.

     "Now listen, you guys need to behave.  Use your manners.  Say please and thank you.  And, eat what is put in front of you.  I don't care if you don't like it, don't say anything, just eat it!"

     Gracie asked, "What if it's fried Bobawhite?"

    Bwaaaahaha!!!  Hahaha!    Hahahahahahahaha!

     Maybe you had to be there... but we all died laughing!  

     P.S.  She was still allowed to watch American Idol that night:-)

     Bobawhite Bobawhite!

     

     

Birthday Month

It's birthday month at our house! All the children I gave birth to physically, were born in May.

Yeah, yeah, yeah... "what were you guys always celebrating in August?" I hear it all the time. To answer the question... I don't know. My birthday is August??? But, really, you can't plan something like that.

I thought it was really cool for awhile, all May birthdays. But, geesh, it's like Christmas around here in May. Add Mother's Day on top of it..... it is one expensive month.

Jackson's birthday was this past weekend, May 2. He had a couple of little friends spend the night. It was a pretty easy, low key celebration.

Since we celebrated him this past weekend, I thought I would share all the things I love about him.

1. He is very enthusiastic, about everything, and is not afraid to show it.

2. He hates to do things wrong. He's very sensitive.

3. I love that his little body is like that of a body builder. His pecs are so defined because he does pushups all day long. Pushups .... he pushes up onto my counter so he can climb on top of them. Apparently, it's a heck of a work out, look at him!

4. He loves me. He always wants to snuggle with me and no one else when we watch tv or a movie in our "little theatre" room. I am pretty sure he's never made it through American Idol.

5. He's the only one of the kids that ASKS to go to bed at night.

6. He is unbelievable coordinated and athletic. He rode a bike very early. He roller bladed and snow boarded the first times he tried.... like he'd done it his whole life. He's been going off the high dive at our pool since he was 2. He scored 5 goals in one of his first soccer games and a touchdown in his first flag football game.

7. I love that when he goes out to play he tells me bye 100 times. "Mom, I'm going outside."

"Ok Jackson."

"Bye Mom."

"Bye Jackson."

"See you later Mom."

"See you later Buddy!"

"I'm gonna ride my scooter."

"Ok, Be careful."

"Bye Mom!"

"Bye Jackson."

I'm not kidding! Just like that! Every time!

8. He wins everything... even when he loses. For example, one time his best buddy Andrew had him pinned when they were wrestling, Jackson held him arm up and yelled, "I win!!"

When he was 4, we put him on swim team. He came in last every time. He was too busy pulling his head out of the water, smiling at everyone who was cheering him on. But, since he was last when he got to the finish line, he didn't see anyone else. So, he always told us he got first place.

9. Every time Jackson sees a newspaper stand, he pushes the coin return button. 9 times out of 10, he gets money. Friday, he pushed one and got 8 quarters. The girls, well, they are 0 for 100 times.

10. I don't know what this says about Jackson, but he has a way of manipulating. For example, a couple of weeks ago, he kept asking me if we could go to Chuckie Cheese. I bet he asked me 10 times. And, 10 times I said "No".

Well, we were on our way home from some place that night and he asked me again.

So, I said, "Jackson, are we are to Chuckie Cheese?"

He said, "Well, if you're offering?"

11. I love it that he walks down the hallways of his school like a politician. He holds up his hand and waves, "Hey, Mrs. Cline" "Hi Mrs. Davis" "Hey Mr. Jones!" "Hi Miss Lambert!"

Enjoy some of my favorite pictures of The Jackman!

P.S.  No, I have never dyed his hair.  Do you think I have time for things like that?

    

Taking my arms off at night

     I wish we could take our arms off at night.  I never know what to do with them when I sleep.  And, whatever it is I do with them now... it's not working for me.  I constantly have a stiff neck/knots in my shoulder from the way I sleep.

     This would not happen if we could snap them off and them lay them neatly beside our bed.

      I just don't know how we'd get them back on.

     Have you ever wished you could take your arms off?

     P.S.  When I was looking for a picture to add to this post, I found this baby doll.  What is up with this doll?  Seriously, it kinda scares me.  This doll looks like she can take off all body parts.

Is that necessary?

     I want to say up front, I am in NO WAY making fun of the devastation and the hardships that Isra*li people face.  I am all for Isra*l and believe that part of God's protection of the United States is because of our alliance with Isra*l.  I pray that I never have to experience the pain and the loss these people face on a daily basis.  Really, this is altogether another topic.

     I just don't know of any other way to describe the way my daughter, the one with that sweet,

little face screams in the middle of the night.  At least once a night.  Seriously, it is like the shrill scream heard by one of those woman on the nightly news.

     And, the hands over the face, yep... she does that too!

     I just want to scream right back at her, "ASK YOURSELF!!!!!!!!  IS THAT NECESSARY???"

     Seriously!

     But, I have to be the adult.  So lately, when that murder scene scream goes off... I wake up with my nails dug into the ceiling, hanging on for dear life.  But, then, I fall back in bed, roll over and go back to sleep.

     It seems to be working for me.  She goes back to sleep too.