Oops!!

     Oops!  Didn't mean to take a blogging break.  Just sorta snuck up on me.  

    Gracie has been sick.  Fever on and off.  Headache.  Stomachache.  Really tired.  She was even sick on her birthday.  So, if I can get this video posted, you will be able to see that she didn't go as crazy about the tickets as I thought she would.  I also think she was in shock when she realized she actually got tickets to the Taylor Swift concert.  I mean, I only told the poor kid 1,000 times that the concert sold out.

     As the day went on and as this week has went on.... she has become increasingly more excited.  Sometimes, I will say to her, "Gracie."  What mom?  "We are going to a Taylor Swift concert."  Then, later on in the day, she will say, "Mom.  We are going to a Taylor Swift concert."  She just beams. It's our little thing.

     The blog has also been on hold because a)I dropped my iphone in the toilet and b) we have been on a mad hunt for a van.  I immediately put the phone in a bag of rice and let it set on the dryer for 4 days. (Rice to absorb water, dryer for heat and shaking the water out??).  So, it works now... sort of.  It needs to be plugged in to work and it won't turn off.  Anyone have any Apple connections out there?  Someone who would be willing to exchange my phone?  Anyone? Bueller?  Bueller?

     I'll tell you about the van tomorrow.

      Before I try to get this video posted.  You should know what I went through to buy these tickets.  

     First, I bought tickets for a concert that she wasn't going to be at.  I thought she was touring with Keith Urban all summer, so I bought tickets for Keith Urban.  Turns out that when it says something like:  Keith Urban with Jason Aldean .... it means Taylor Swift won't be there.  I thought when you toured with someone... you toured with them.  Geesh!  Why does this have to be so complicated?

    Thankfully, I have a good friend who is a Keith Urban groupie.  She didn't have tickets for this particular concert, so she took pity on me and bought them from me.  After watching Keith perform with Kris Allen on Idol, I think I am going to try to buy them back.

     Ok.  I'm not.

    To get the Taylor Swift tickets, I scoured the web.  Got the Taylor Swift password and bought presale tickets.  The morning they went on sale, I sat in my room armed with my computer and Darja's computer (she lives with us).  I worked both computers until I got the best tickets I have ever had for a concert,

    I know!  I am such a good mom!

     P.S.  After I bought the tickets, I immediately put our names in for the meet and greet.  Is it wrong to pray that Gracie would get to meet Taylor Swift?  

  

        And Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's People.

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!)