I feel accomplished

I'm inept with html, but with my brilliant husband's help, we're getting our ministry website up and running. I have spent the last few days working on it. Go check it out.

Why I'm Not Voting for B.O. (part 2)

This might be getting a little redundant, but I wanted to clarify something. The number one reason I'm not voting for Barack Obama is that I believe when I vote, I should use my faith as my guide. I can't in good conscience send someone to run the country who seems to go against so many biblical, and common sense principles. My advice to you if you haven't really been paying attention, is to earnestly go and seek out information. Don't
"regurgitate" what you hear, but if you hear something you agree with, and you examine it, use it to make a decision. I believe most liberals want to do the right thing by helping the poor, but the way they go about it is the wrong way. But at the end of the day, If you can defend your opinion with educated thought, go for what you believe. That's why America is the greatest nation on earth. And men and women shed their blood so you can be wrong. :)

Top 10 Reasons I'm NOT voting for B.O.

10. Michelle Obama always looks cranky unless you're talking about her or her
husband. (important? No. Petty? Yes. A real reason? Heck yes.)

9. I believe in capitalism, not socialism.

8. I don't trust anyone who hangs out with Wiiliam Ayers (look it up people)

7. I am PRO LIFE. B.O. doesn't think anyone should be "punished with a baby"...

6. Universal Healthcare? Heck no. Ask anyone from Canada what happens if you
need a liver transplant...

5. Celebrity status. I don't need a rockstar for a president. Anyone who has
that kind of a hollywood following has a red flag tattoed on their forehead.

4. Lack of experience, lack of information about things he has voted on, lack of
any substance other than "fluff" on the People magazine cover.

3. The trance-like faces of the people at the DNC convention. It's just plain
spooky. Like, children of the corn spooky.

2. The unrealistic goals laid out in his "plans". Even some of these he has said
won't implement for another 10 years (after the tax money's already been
taken from us). Wait, did we change the president's term to 10 years
instead of 4 or 8?

1. I believe in the founding principles of our government. Less taxes, less
government intrusion, less reliance on the government to bail us out and take
care of us. We are Americans, we are STRONG. We don't need to be coddled.



*Let me just say that I also (as a true conservative) have serious issues with Senator McCain. But B.O. scares me. Really scares me.

Have I mentioned that I don't like being an adult?

Estrogen in the Park

The younger girls and I braved the humid and stifling 80 degree weather to go to the park this morning.

My girls are girly girls. T would not get dirty, and E turned a pirate cove into a dancing stage. Here are some pictures of the girls having a blast.

Can I get this for my minivan?

Worth a Thousand

2nd grade

Today, of course, was Kayleigh's first day of second grade. I cannot believe I have a second grade child. It seems like yesterday, she was still running around the house in diapers.
She however, is convinced that she should just skip this grade altogether.



I'm glad we're getting back into the school year routine. She's excited to be getting out of the house and socializing everyday.



Here she is, at 7:00 a.m. this morning, looking more chipper than she normally does until well after 10 o'clock in the morning.

A baby's best friend

A newborn baby that was abandoned outdoors by her 14-year-old mother during the Argentina winter was found safe Thursday after being kept alive and warm by a mother dog and her brood of puppies, Reuters reported.
Farmer Fabio Anze found the naked baby near the city of La Plata, Argentina, lying amongst his dog China’s puppies. The baby was taken to the hospital after Anze called the authorities.
Hospital officials said the baby was only a few hours old when she was found, and was in good health despite several bruises.
Temperatures at night around La Plata, 40 miles south of Buenos Aires, this time of year are cold, but not freezing.
Police have located the 14-year-old mother. It is not known whether she left her baby in the dog's pen or whether the dog found the baby outdoors and carried it in to join her puppies, Reuters reported.

A slow week

So this week has been really slow blog wise for me. I haven't felt like I had a lot to say.

But here's an update anyway.

Yesterday, I went and auditioned to be a trumpet instructor at a local performing arts school. I got the job! Yes! I'm looking forward to meeting my students and getting started. This is a part time deal, but I'm excited about spending some time with some musical kids (and earning some money to give to Visa.). This school is very Christ-centered, and I was impressed! I believe it's a God thing for sure.

I'm also hopefully going to be substituting some this semester. I'm working out all the details as far as when and who will be edifying and taking care of my kids during those days.

I'm still going to plug away at my book. It's going to be a busy season. :)

Here's to updates.

And here's a picture that proves why Baxter enjoys being a youth pastor.

Me and #1

It was a mommy and Kayleigh day out today. I've always dreamed of going and doing girly things with my daughters. Now my oldest girl is old enough to go. Kayleigh and I went and got pedicures today. We also went shoe shopping (yay tax free weekend), and went to Libby Lu's. We had quite the time.

Next weekend it's me and Taylor. Who knows what the weekend has in store!

Here are some pictures.

(sorry for the bad quality in the last one!)

(Yes, we have numbered our children according to the order of birth, it makes it easier than trying to remember their names all the time...)

one last picture

reconnected

As anyone who's been trying to call me knows, my phone died this week. I got a brand spankin' new one. (If you need my new number, email me, or leave me a comment.)

It's a camera phone, because we all need toys. Here are some pictures from today, when we actually spent time together as a family.

In a slump

Trying to survive the ins and outs of daily life right now with Baxter working so very much is starting to get to me. It's getting to him too. As I type this, I look over and see him eating sprinkles ice cream out of the bottom of the 1 gallon container. We're pushed, tired, and straining for relief. I know, I know, I posted a few weeks ago about how I wasn't that drained, and blah blah blah. (again with the flakiness). But just go with me here for a minute. I am pooped, wiped, haggard, etc... I don't know what the root cause of it is, because truthfully as I stated in an earlier post, the girls are pretty darn good, and I do get significant breaks for me, but I'm just wiped out. I'm getting plenty of exercise (but not too much), plenty of sleep, and plenty of "me" time. I've never had this much rest, but felt this deflated...

I'm going to post a list of the 10 most relaxing things I like to do, and hopefully I'll think of a really good one to do, and it'll fix me.

10. Get a massage-I love it, and the relaxed feeling lasts for about 2 hours after, so it's good for the short term relaxation.

9. Enjoy a good bible study. - I always feel better after being in the Word, especially when I have friends to bounce things off of. But sadly, this is truly lacking for me right now. (is there an *aha in there somewhere?)

8. Go for a quiet walk around dusk. - My grandmother used to take us for walks all the time. She didn't speak (she was deaf) so we just signed to each other and really enjoyed our surroundings.

7. Take a bubble bath in our jetted tub. -self explanatory.

6. Sit down with a good book.-I've been reading a lot lately, but nothing has really made me say "wow, this is good stuff" (any reccomendations?)

5. LIstening to good music. -Music is one of my passions. It's also something I've been missing out on for a while. I'm asking for an ipod for our anniversary (i'm about 5 years behind aren't I?). I haven't felt that I've had time to find anything new that I like as far as music goes...

4. Take a nap.-haven't done that (peacefully) in a while. There's always something that needs to be done, or someone pounding at the door when I try.(0f course Baxter has to be home when I nap, otherwise they'd kill each other...)

3. Get a pedicure-if you know me, you know that I believe I have hobbit feet. So if feels nice to have my giant toes painted and to have them pampered. But it's too expensive to get more than once a month. I do feel sorry for the poor nail technician assigned to me. My friend and I once made a bet about who's feet would make the tech gag first...

2. Exercise- I do that all the time and it's pretty much the only reason I'm surviving right now.

1. GO ON VACATION!!!!-Although now that we have three children, vacations have turned into more of a 3 or 4 day beating, it's still nice to enjoy the beating away from the setting of our home.
We haven't gone on a real vacation in a few years...

*aha-implies that I am a dummy and should have already thought of this, and that it's probably, no definitely, the best thing for my mind and spirit...

Countdown to class.. 14 Days.

Friday, the girls spent lots of time playing with their friends across the street. To be honest, we were so busy this weekend, I don't remember what we did on Friday. They also got to go stay the night at Gamma's house. (always a favorite activity for us all!) We crammed a lot of family time into one weekend, so I don't feel so bad about what happened today...

Today, I was layed out with a stomachache. Baxter worked from home , but the girls did manage to hang out with their friends and enjoy some "chill time" together in front of the television. We'll start fresh tomorrow, I promise.

For your viewing pleasure, Taylor had a quasi-sleepover with her best friend, Hannah (you may remember her as the miniature hairdresser from a few months ago.). She planned to stay the night, but got scared about the 10:00 mark. Luckily, they live right across the street.

Here's a picture of the best buds.

the baby step marathon

Here it is, 8:00 on a Saturday morning. The house is void of all shrieking and merriment usually reserved for the three musketeers, because they stayed the night with my mother last night. Baxter is out on a man date with a friend, and I'm here all alone. What do I do, What do I do? I blog of course.

After really considering my future, and spending some time in prayer about what lies ahead of me in the short term, I've decided to take this semester off of school. I've just really gotten in too late to the game with registration and it's too much stress on me right now. Baxter is working way too much for me to even comprehend spending time studying.

My career goals are slightly changing. Do I want to write a book? Yes, I still do. I'm going to keep plugging away at the book I'm writing right now. Do I want to be a Couselor? I don't know. The allure is fading a little bit for me. Having time this summer to chew on what I want to do is making me rethink it. I'm getting a clearer picture of my goals, and it seems like maybe I want to continue this whole writing thing. My short term goal is being able to do freelance work for a magazine, or a newspaper. I have no idea how to go about that. I want to be able to have a lot of flexibility when it comes to being with my family, and I want to have fun. I know for those of you who have gone through this decision with me, I probably seem flaky. I feel flaky. I feel like I'm supposed to have been clear on what I want for myself for about 6 or 7 years now. But I'm not even the same person I was in high school, when I got married, or even when I had my kids (even Ella 2 years ago!). I had lost myself along the way. I had given up on who I was. That's my biggest advice to newlywed women or new mothers. Don't lose yourself when life takes over. I'm constantly discovering new things about myself. Who I am in God's eyes, who I want to be, what my spiritual gifts are...etc. It's all very surreal, and I'm going to waiver. I'll just have to get used to that idea. Baby steps will lead me to the end of the race, so even though I'll falter and fall down, I will not lose faith.

after nap activities

Pudding Time..

Countdown to class.. 18 Days.

This morning, I watched my neighbors children while she went and had her wisdom teeth removed. The girls stayed home, but did get to play with their friends. Kayleigh earned $5.oo for helping me with the little ones. (including mine I had ages 7. 4, 2, 20 months, & 9 months)
I'm pooped.

Tonight I have a step class at the gym, so yeah, we're going there too. There's a possibility of a craft after Ella's nap, though. Anybody up for macaroni neclaces?

If anyone has any ideas for hot summer activities for kids, let me know.

Countdown to class series

I'm starting a new blog series that will last for the remainder of the summer. The girls are frankly, sick of me. Kayleigh is completely excited for school to start. She's my little acolyte. The other girls are excited to go and do different things too. The heat of the summer has put a damper on our activities. Ella has decided to spend her time entertaining herself inside by driving me absolutely nuts. You want an example? Are you sure? Today, she spent time in the bathroom cleaning the toilet for me. She also successfully opened her pudding snack (which I had taken away from her twice before) with the end of a screwdriver. She unfolded all my laundry (so, yeah I hadn't put it away yet, but it was 2 loads worth). She also thought it would be funny to terrorize her sisters by continuously turning the television on and off for 15 minutes straight. I swear, I'm on this girl like glue. And I'm trying to get her to play with me during this time (she runs away from me, and I get distracted). This is not idle time. She would simply rather be a heathen.

So in hopes of ensuring some accountability to take the girls out to places other than the pool, and the gym, I'm going to chronicle our end of summer adventures here, in our forum, the mommy's blog.

As noted yesterday I did try to take the girls to the pool, however, all of our pools were closed for cleaning due to that nasty illness circulating at some local pools and water parks. As Kayleigh put it, "we got all dressed in our swimsuits for nothing, this is such a rip off".

We did make it there today, and there was much fun all around. Taylor made all the adults laugh as she jumped in the pool each time shouting "cannibal!!!".

I know, I know, I said it needed to be places other than the pool. So, we'll see how tomorrow goes...

Let's get ready to rumble?

I've broken up no less than 7 fights this morning (we've been up about an hour). So, we're headed to the pool in hopes that the sun will drain them of some of their energy, and contempt for each other.

In other news, I'm trying to decide what to do about school this semester...blah.

Good times

Some of the best times we ever had in youth ministry, we spent serving alongside the people you see in these pictures. They got to be some of our closest friends.

We got to spend some time together a few weeks ago, and had a blast. (Hopefully soon, there will be many more times just like this!)