good times and poison ivy

We have had such an awesome Labor Day weekend. Donald's twin brother and his daughter came in Friday afternoon. Their other brother lives here so we were able to get together with Doug and his wife. Their two sisters were in for a couple of hours also. We laughed and ate, and ate and laughed...well you pretty much get the picture. It's always so much fun to listen to Donald, Ronald, and Douglas. Each of them have their own version of how the story took place!

I only have one younger brother and when I first met Donald I was pretty much flabbergasted with all the noise and laughter and kidding and commotion. It didn't take long to get used to it though and now I love to sit around listening to their stories. It doesn't matter that they've been told and listened to numerous times. They are still just as funny as the first time I heard them. We also had a VHS of clips of movies when the kids were growing up. It's fun to listen to the commentaries on those also.

The boys went camping and the girls went to Frisco shopping and we went out to eat twice on Saturday. I cooked brisket, baked beans, buffet potatoes, and fried okra for dinner Friday night. We had coconut pie and Chocolate Delight and Lauren brought cookies, a pie, and pastries from Central Market. They were delicious along with the guacamole that she makes. It is the BEST guacamole I have ever had! I was sad to see them drive away and wish they could come more often.

Today Donald is taking me to Sherman to eat at Jalapeno Tree. I want to run by Lowe's (of course) and more than likely Sam's Club.

I got into poison ivy while cleaning the wisteria off our fence in the back yard. Of course I was wearing shorts and flip flops so it's all over my arms and legs and feet and I am going CRAZY itching and trying not to scratch. Some of the places are better and others are still breaking out and oozing and it's so gross!!!! Really gross! Of course I don't suffer in silence so my family has heard how miserable I am many times the past week. I think because I continued working in the yard all day afterward and not bathing until after 8:00 p.m. it made it much worse than it might have been. Lesson learned...the hard way!

a merry little Christmas

Here's part of my Christmas stash. These are the BEST smelling candles! Do you see my iPod shuffle? It's a gift from Bethany and Daniel and they said, "Welcome to the family!" when I opened it. Donald set it all up for me on our itunes account and named it Ruby Red Delight. The lettering above the apple says "We love you mom." Rebekah got me an iTunes card so now I can buy some of my own music. You can bet there will be some "oldies" once I make a purchase. I also got old navy gift cards, shoes (which are pictured below) and lottery tickets! Ben bought each of us two tickets and I won $2.00. This was my first experience with them and I must say it was kinda exciting looking for a win. I also got a picture frame from Hannah that says "I (heart) my dog" and it has a picture of Bright and me in it. I forgot to set it with the other stuff when I took the picture.

Bright opened the first present cause he's always so excited on Christmas morning. Bethany decorated him with bows once he finally took a breather.

Christmas punch!

This isn't a gift, but a picture of my favorite salad dressing...Briannas Blush Wine Vinaigrette. It does look rather Christmasy though.

I enlisted the boys and Donald's help yesterday and took down the Christmas tree. It's always rather sad to take it down, but I was ready to get the book shelf out of our hall. As you can see it's rather crowded with the shelf, and Christmas boxes, and Ben who left the table after our Christmas meal moaning and falling in the floor. Either the meal was very good and he ate too much or else it wasn't and it made him sick. I'll leave that up to your imagination. Anyway it's nice to have the hall cleared once again. Ben recovered by the way and was ready for the next meal.

Mavs Talk

The kids got Donald tickets for the Mavs season opener against Houston. What a great birthday present! What was really great about it was that they bought me one also! We went over early and ate at El Fenix. It is such a neat restaurant. It is close to the American Airlines arena. We just stumbled across it when we went last time. It was the first one to open and smack dab in the middle of Dallas. There are cobblestone streets and the atmosphere is great. The food isn't so bad either, especially the chips!

We got to the arena early and went down to the section where the Mavs give autographs before the game. We were so close to Jerry Stackhouse and I so wanted to get his autograph for Connie but he didn't linger long enough. :o( He had a huge diamond stud in his ear and I thought of how much debt we could pay off if it was mine! I don't really get into diamonds unless it's the one on my engagement/wedding ring. But that has nothing to do with this.

I have been to a couple of games but it was against teams that were easy to beat. This was a really exciting game even if they did lose. My only disappointment was that Dirk had cut his hair short again. I like it long and it is so easy to recognize him on the floor when it is longer. We had great seats even if they were in the higher section. We could see the game and tell who was who without looking at the big screen in the top of the arena. I actually watched the game and if I did look at the screen I missed the "real" thing so I didn't watch it very much.

It was a great time, kids, and thank you so very much for including me!

happenings

Life is definitely being lived to the fullest at our house this month. Donald's sister and two sons were in for several days. We had a good time with them and his other brother and his wife who live in town. It seems we never see Doug and Patty unless someone is in or the family gets together. We do run into each other occasionally but that's about it. We really ought to do something about that.

They left Saturday morning and I had to get busy preparing for Ben's graduation party. He didn't want a ceremony or anything, just a get together with a few friends. The Franklands graciously hosted it for him and it was absolutely perfect, even down to the weather. Thank you Lord! You are good!

The Heins are in for a vacation. It is always good to see friends, especially the kind you just pick right up where you left off.

Sunday was church and Seekers and a CR meeting after that. I did manage to squeeze a nap into the afternoon though. The downside was I wasn't able to go to sleep Sunday night until the wee hours of the morning.

Yesterday was Ben's birthday! I make whatever the birthday person requests for their birthday dinner. He wanted meatballs and mashed potatoes and lemon and apple pie. He called and asked if his friends he was hanging out with could come eat so I put out some extra meat and peeled a few more potatoes and made some homemade mac and cheese. Andrew, Amanda, Joseph, Meagan, Noah, Josiah, Jeffrey, and Aaron joined our family for dinner. Ben opened his gifts and then they had a great time being together.

Today is Rebekah's birthday! I actually have her birthday dinner in the oven as I start my part time job today. At least I've been too busy to think about it, the job I mean. I made her cake and salad yesterday and have the chicken dish she requested in the oven. I'm not sure what time I'll be home and it takes two and a half hours to bake. We'll have her meal and gifts tonight.

How time flies. Our baby, er.... youngest, (sorry Hannah) will be sixteen in a few months. It seems I've turned around a few times and they are grown. sigh

I'm grateful for what God is doing in each of their lives. I've often told people that He has blessed them in spite of us. Parenting is a hard job sometimes but so worth the rewards.

I love you Ben and Rebekah. Happy Birthday!

take me out to the ball game

We had a wonderful family reunion this weekend in Houston. Kudos to Mike and Glenda for hosting and arranging the weekend. We stayed at a really nice Comfort Suites and had a microwave and small refrigerator in our room. I wish all the places I'll ever stay at are as nice as this one!

We arrived a little after 3:00 p.m. Friday. We actually made it without a bit of trouble. Well, I invented a bit of trouble for myself. We took two cars as it is hard to seat seven adults in my minivan comfortably for six hours. So three of the kids were in the jeep and I was frantic about them. I could see losing them in Houston somewhere along the tollway (hopefully) and never being able to find them. I revert back to my "old nature" quite easily in some situations. I should have just prayed and trusted God, but I didn't. I realized I am quite a control freak.

Mike and Glenda fed us Friday night and Mike played and sang some old songs for us. He used to have a band in the "old" days. He played some country and some CCR so it was well rounded. Donald's sister, Glenda, sang "Crazy" by Patsy Cline. She did a really good job. Mike tried to get the rest of us to come up to the microphone and sing. I really didn't want to clear the room and ruin the start of something good so I didn't even contemplate singing. Maybe the others had similar feelings or were just too shy, but he couldn't get anyone to cooperate.

Saturday part of us went to the Galleria mall and ended up spending our time there waiting and eating at the Cheesecake Factory. It was fantastic. The Key Lime Cheesecake that Annette and I shared for dessert gave new meaning to the word "superb." Then we met the guys and Mandy and went to Minute Maid Park to see an Astros/Chicago Cubs baseball game. Now I do not like baseball, but it really was different being at the game. I might could become a fan if I could see them live. Oh, the Astros won 4-1. After the game we had reservations at Cafe Adobe. It was late, but the restaurant was humming with activity. I suppose life doesn't stop in Houston just because it's late.

Sunday morning we all went back to Glenda and Mike's to visit a while longer and say goodbye to everyone. Tammy, Lauren, Trevor, Courtney, Michael, and Landon couldn't make it and we missed them. It was also good to spend time with Doug and Patty who live close to us but whom we never see. Ronnie always keeps us laughing and I hadn't seen Cody or Brian in years. We really have to get together again.

When I first met Donald I didn't know what to make of his large, noisy family. I have one brother and we were a relatively quiet family. I love it and them!

flabbergasted

Yesterday Donald was in the living room with the kids. They were laughing and cutting up. Hannah came into the kitchen, looked at me rather seriously and asked, "Why DID you marry him?" At a total loss for words I just started laughing. Even Donald laughed; hopefully I didn't offend him by not having a ready answer! I hardly ever am at a loss for words~! It was absolutely the funniest thing I have heard in a long time. Gotta love that girl!

(Thanks to Shiela for the picture of us.)

August Rush

I actually cooked dinner last night......meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and steamed broccoli. Then after the tornado warnings Ben and Hannah went to rent a movie and to get cokes from Taco D. None of the stores had what they wanted to rent so Ben ended up buying the last one at Hastings. If you haven't seen "August Rush" and want to see a good movie please consider it. It was awesome~! I love movies that end right~! It's one of those I could watch again immediately.

It's dark and cloudy and supposed to rain all day. It's a good day for sleeping in since we are on spring break, but Ben has an orthodontist appointment. He lost his splint and his jaw is hurting so we are going to get another one. We have a super orthodontist if anyone needs a recommendation.

I guess I need to get dressed so we can leave in a few minutes. I wonder if anyone would notice if I just wore my robe?

day of surprises

Yesterday was my birthday. Our family loves birthdays. The presents were set out on the hearth with great care. The cheesecake Rebekah made was prepared lovingly and chosen by me. The girls took me out for lunch and Ben took Daniel to work so I could go. Little did I know. After lunch we ran by Rebekah's work because she needed to do something; later I found out she was stalling. My friend Nancy had asked me to come by her house because she had a treat for my birthday. I should of known something was going on when Hannah, Bethany, and Rebekah all went inside with me. I wondered why they were going in, but Nancy is such a gracious person I knew she wouldn't care. Imagine my surprise when the sun room doors were opened and a roomful of my friends begin singing, "Happy Birthday." There were balloons and cards and two cakes and pie and cookies and crackers and dip and diet coke.

Guess who didn't cook dinner because she wasn't hungry?? Yep, that's right.....me! We had cheesecake and I opened my presents from my family. I received a collage picture frame, DVD "Out of Africa," a can of cashews, Crunch and Munch, a bag of bath stuff with a bath pillow and dino-fizz stegosaurus egg, and some face wash and day creme that promises to make me look years younger. You probably won't recognize me after I use it! I'm not sure if I'll look quite like the lady in the picture, but she looks great.

Rebekah made Donald go to Wal-Mart Monday night to get me a birthday card. It wasn't "exactly" what she had in mind, but it made me laugh and I loved it. Maybe Hannah can take pictures of my gifts later.

When Donald and I got in from Celebrate Recovery Jeffrey jumped out and surprised us. He is on medical leave from the Air Force and it was just great to see him. Jon and Johanna's Josie was born on my birthday also. What a perfect day~!

long ago and not so far away

When Donald was a little boy he had to be hospitalized. He lived in a very small town and the same nurse who helped deliver him took care of him while he was in the hospital. She had a reputation of being very gruff, yet had a very tender heart. She gave Donald his very own chocolate Easter bunny as a gift! Now Donald has a twin brother, an older brother, and two sisters. I don't imagine they got very many chocolate bunnies.

Donald's mother took the chocolate bunny home (huge mistake) and put in the refrigerator. His two brothers got in the refrigerator and ATE his chocolate bunny while he was still in the hospital. I guess it was a very traumatic time in his life because he told me the story quite a few times.

Fast forward many years and Donald is married with his own five children. Being the wonderful caring wife that I am, I found a huge chocolate bunny on clearance after Easter. We were on our way to our parents' and I gave my scarred for life husband a chocolate bunny. He didn't have to share it with anyone, not even his own deprived children. They only received candy Easter eggs, not ever a chocolate bunny. :o(

He gave me a huge smile and started eating the chocolate bunny. I think he bit the head off first, if I remember correctly. It is so funny to hear him tell the story. Short version he got very THIRSTY from all the chocolate.

Of course his account of the story varies slightly. He said I threw the rabbit in his lap and told him to shut up about it because I was tired of hearing about it. Funny I don't remember that. I like my version much better anyway.

Yesterday Ben bought him an early Easter gift. Can you guess what it was?? "Was" as in past tense because he has already eaten it. I guess he knew better than to put it in the refrigerator.

chauffeur anyone??

Where to, madam??
Bright simply adores Bethany!
Who says dogs don't grin????
No, I haven't just asked him for another dog! (See entry below.)

Sad puppy

Rebekah, Bethany, Ben, and Daniel just left for San Antonio. It sure is quiet around here. Donald had to go back to work, and Hannah, Bright, and I are going to run some errands. Bright hates it when someone is not home. He knows when someone is about to leave and he get depressed while they are gone. I kid you not. So we will have to give him lots of attention the next few days. A few car rides will make him happy also.

I guess I'm just about as bad as he is. I'm glad they are getting to go, but I sure hated to see them walk out the door. Of course, Ben came back in a couple of times before they drove off as he forgot some things. He had a class this morning, so when he got home everyone was ready and waiting.

Our computer monitor wouldn't come on this morning. Ben hooked up my new flat screen TV to the computer and we can get Internet access so I'm sure the problem is the monitor. I started to get upset, but then remembered to thank and praise God. It sure helps beat the stress. I'm going to see if I can get it checked out this afternoon before we buy a new one. Maybe it's something simple.

I told Donald I am NOT losing my TV to the computer though. But it is nice to have it work as a backup. Guess I better clean up the kitchen and be ready to leave in a bit. I did ask Ben who I would cook for while he's gone. (He always gives me hugs and tells me he loves me while I'm cooking!) He said since he was gone I didn't have to cook. Wasn't that nice of him??

A Must Read

We had a really nice Christmas this year. We broke our "traditional" tradition of opening presents Christmas morning and opened them Christmas Eve morning. Everyone had to go back to work the day after Christmas and we decided together to go ahead and open them up so we would have more time to enjoy them. It's a good thing also; for with all the books and DVDs that were received it will take a while to get through them all. Christmas day everyone was sitting around with a book in their hands and Donald announced, "Guess this is what we get for teaching them how to read."

Our kids are simply amazing. It is so wonderful to see all the love and thought that they put into gifts for each other. Everyone has jobs this year so there were lots of gifts under the tree. It was the norm for them to have three or four gifts for each other. Donald and I were talking about it. Neither of us remember buying presents for our brothers or sisters. I don't really remember even being that nice to my brother. I wonder if being home-schooled has anything to do with their love for each other. By that I mean all the time spent together as a family. Now they fuss and fight occasionally, but usually work it out among themselves. They also stick up for each other if one of them are mistreated. Once a kid called Daniel a name and Bethany chased him down the street and told him he better never do that again! I guess he could tell by the look in her eye that she was dead serious. It didn't happen again.

Christmas Day we slept in and had "Bubble Bread" for breakfast and later read "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" by Barbara Robinson. If you haven't read it you really must. It's only seven short chapters and always makes us laugh and cry. When the kids were younger I would read it to them on the last day of school before Christmas. Somehow we quit doing that and Bethany decided we needed to read it together as a family. Seven of us and seven chapters equaled one chapter each. It really makes the Christmas story and the meaning of Christmas even more special.

Preordered Kids

(I was messing around on Picasa and did this collage. At the bottom is a picture of a sign Bethany had taken at the zoo on a family outing. The kids are standing by an old barn at my mom's house.) I love these kids so much~!

Psalm 139:13-18 (The Message)

Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother's womb. I thank you, High God - you're breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration - what a creation! You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you, The days of my life all prepared before I'd even lived one day. Your thoughts - how rare, how beautiful! God, I'll never comprehend them! I couldn't even begin to count them - any more than I could count the sand of the sea. Oh, let me rise in the morning and live always with you!

Happy Birthday Donald~!

Happy Birthday Rebekah~!

Of all our children, I seem to remember your birth more clearly. I suppose it is because you are our first born. Or maybe it was because you were almost born in the car while your dad was trying to delay my going to the hospital. In his defense that was what our Lamaze instructor recommended...........not going to the hospital too soon (she didn't recommend having you in the car). I couldn't sleep at all that night, your dad and I just talked and talked.

You are a beautiful young woman and such a blessing to us~! Happy Happy Birthday~!

Happy Birthday Ben~!

Apple, Coconut, or Pecan?

Summer has finally arrived at our house. We are finished with school and the kids are scattered. Bethany and Ben are in San Antonio visiting some dear friends. Rebekah and Donald are at work, Daniel and Hannah are sleeping. I have let Bright out and fed the cats and should be doing some things around the house. However I'd rather be blogging. I really do need a digital camera. I have never felt the need for one before I started my blog. We have lots of photos thanks to the kids and Donald. I will be doing something and think what I could write about if only I had a picture to go along with it. I think the saying "A picture is worth a thousand words" perfectly describes my thoughts here.

We celebrated Father's Day yesterday with brisket, potato salad, baked beans, and three kinds of pie: pecan (Donald's request), coconut (for Rebekah) and apple (for whoever didn't want the other two). Ben if you read this they were really good; I'm sure there won't be any left by the time you get back from your trip~!

As you can see I really don't have any inspired thoughts at the moment. Not that I ever do, but one can hope. If we had an IHOP here I'd wake Daniel and get some breakfast. That kid loves IHOP. Right now it sounds pretty good. Maybe I'll go see if there's any pie left.

Favorite Things

In Re: "The Sound of Music" and the song Julie Andrews sings. I can't think of the name of it, but several of the words are "these are a few of my favorite things." Donald can tell you the name of the song, most of the words, who sings it, etc., etc.......

Not me, but I may be able to get a phrase or two out of it; and if I'm really lucky I'll know who sings it.

Maybe there's a song out there with the phrase "a few of my favorite people." That would be more appropriate for this post, but I can't think of one. Too bad Donald isn't home~!

My Two........uh, Four Sons

These are my four boys. Actually two of them are my

"adopted" sons. They live with their parents, but they are mine also. Sam and Josiah have always been part of our

family. Our girls are their adopted sisters. It's such fun to see all of them together. There's always lots of laughs and happiness when they are all here. The sad thing is that Sam isn't around as much as he used to be. That seems to happen as they get older and have jobs. He is graduating from high school Friday night; it's so hard to believe.

Josiah and Daniel were actually in the nursery at the hospital together. Daniel was born early and he was so tiny. About three weeks later Josiah was born. He made up for Daniel in size though and it was so neat to see them side by side in their nursery bassinets. Maybe that's when they developed such a friendship.

I hope they all realize how blessed they are to have each other in their lives.

Never Say Never

I used to be adamant about no pets in the house. I also said I would NEVER homeschool and other things.
I have learned to never say never.

We bought Bright over four years ago from some of our good friends who raise registered Golden Retrievers. Bethany had always wanted a Golden Retriever. Years ago she bought me a small poster with two baby Golden Retrievers on it. It said, "Lord help us keep our eyes on you wherever we go, whatever we do." I still have it taped to the back of our bedroom door. Good advice by the way.

Rachel had brought over one of the puppies and of course we all fell in love with him. I asked Donald if we could get one from them. They had several left that they hadn't sold. I'm still not quite sure what happened that day or if something unusual was in the air, but he said YES~! Bethany had fallen in love with "Owie" days before. We decided a dog would be the perfect Christmas present for her. I will always remember her face when we presented him to her a few days before Christmas. We were off for Christmas break and couldn't see any point in waiting for Christmas Day.

So we have become a family. Bright stays in the house and adores everyone of us. He protects us from strangers and watches us attentively as we eat. Occasionally it pays off and he gets a bite, especially from me. He takes part in birthday and Christmas celebrations, gingerbread competitions, pumpkin carvings and whatever else we happen to have going on.
The other day I took him with me to McDonald's to pick up lunch for everyone. He proudly sat up in the front seat as we drove through the drive through. The lady at the window commented on how beautiful he is and I proudly agreed. Bethany has told me when she has kids she isn't going to let me keep them because I will spoil them. You betcha~!