Losing Track of My Days!!

It's official, I have lost my mind!! I was trying to get my thoughts together for this post and realized that I had no clue what day it was, how many days the kids had missed of school or how many I had missed of work!! WOW...guess that's what happens when you're home and chill out too much!! I'm not used to this being at home all day and all night with not much to do! This is what I have been watching on my back porch since Monday. We have a birdfeeder out back and the birds just flock over to eat. Some birds will get up on the feeder and knock feed down onto the porch and the other birds will gather there. My cats have had a great time watching them from my back door. This was the start of our Tuesday. It was too icy and cold to play too much outside so Guitar Hero took the stage for a while! They are soooo competitive. I even got in on the action! You won't see a picture of that!! The kids wanted to go out and play when the sleet stopped and the snow started falling. It was such a beautiful snow. You must admit as annoying as it is sometimes, these storms sure make things pretty around us. We just have to stop and look. Take the time to know that God created this and it was good!! WHAT A LIFE!! The cats wore themselves out from sitting at the back door and watching the birds! How tiring!! All in all it's been fun being home with the kids. I would like to have the energy and motivation to just whiz through this entire house and throw away a bunch of things but, I am enjoying so much not having to go anywhere or do anything! Maybe tomorrow I can tackle some things!! I'm gonna have to!! Hope all are warm and safe this winter day!

ICE ICE GO AWAY!

I am at home today with all of my children accounted for! This may not make much sense but, by the time you read the rest of this post, you'll understand! We started out our weekend by having a game/movie night with our great friends, the McVey's. Sunday, went to church, drove Jeff to the airport for a business trip, took Caleb home and enjoyed great fellowship after evening church. Monday we woke up waiting for the "ice storm of Jan 09" to come in. Sent the kids off to school knowing that it would be moving in around noon and would have to get them early possibly. They did call school at around 2:00. I was in the middle of getting preparations for an upcoming board meeting so I couldn't leave work until about 3:00. When I left, I had to sit for a little while in the parking lot to defrost the ice from my windshields. I actually wound up getting out of the truck with a credit card (yes, Dave Ramsey, they are good for one thing!!) and scraping my windows. The 20 minute commute that I have took me an hour and a half!!! By the time I got home I was so tense from driving that I was hurting. When I got home I realized my son had not made it home. He was an hour late. Panic started setting in. I got in touch with the bus driver only to have her phone go dead in the middle of the conversation....where are they? Are they ok? Is he hurt? You know how it would be in your mind!!! My friend Michelle (who got her bus in a ditch & it fell over) let me know that they were stuck somewhere and that the transportation department was trying to find out where. OH NO!!!!!!!!!!!! Where is my child!!! By 5:45 I got word from the bus barn of their location! Super mom to the rescue!!! The ice??? Did I really want to get out and drive on this AGAIN? No but, I had to do what a Mom had to do! I drove (ever so slowly) over to where they were stuck. The wrecker was already there and had gotten the bus out of the ditch. A lovely couple had opened up their home in the neighborhood and let the children come in and watch a movie while they all waited on the bus or their parents to come and get them. I guess I was the first...call me anxious!! It was even hard trying to get in the neighborhood. I kept sliding when I would stop the truck. I finally backed into a drive way of a model home and prayed that it would stay in one spot while I got out and went to find my boy!! He was safe and sound and of course thought it was the coolest thing ever!! He told me kids were crying and their bus driver was in tears...I felt so sorry for her! Gotta get her a gift card to a restaurant to let her know how thankful I was to her for keeping my child safe!! What a hero! I finally made it home at 6:30. Three and a half hours from the time I left work until we all got safe and sound at home! I melted into a puddle onto the couch after all of that! I didn't cook, the kids ate cereal and I laid on the couch all night! Hannah felt sorry for me and massaged my feet for me. She also got a wild hair and started cleaning the living room, kitchen, putting up dishes from the dishwasher and doing whatever I needed. Why can't she stay in my home everyday. Tomorrow I'm sure I'll have my "normal" Hannah back!! ha-ha Here's what it is looking like outside my front door. This freezing rain/sleet started falling yesterday (Monday)about 2:00 and is still falling as I type this blog. We are in for it! At least, thank the Lord, we have heat & electricity this time!! I am thankful for everyone being home safe and sound and for food to eat and a place to lay our heads! The birds are all over my back deck eating the bird seed back there. The cats are crouching by my back french doors watching them, chattering at them and wishing they could get out there. It's the funniest sight!! I am working from home today. Have a lot to accomplish for work! The kids are playing the wii or watching tv and all is well & quiet here at home! I pray your families are well & keeping warm this winter season!!

I had this wonderful e-mail forwarded to me by my aunt. I couldn't help but pass it on through this blog. It really spoke to my heart about my children and my time with them. There was no person listed as the author so, I can't give kudos to them! I know first hand that struggling with spending time with my children has always been huge in my life! I work outside of the home. The kids are in school all day and it seems that at times I would love to be that SAHM again! Oh well, enough of my rantings....read this message below! POWERFUL! This is just too good not to pass on to all. Something absolutely positive for a change. I have repeatedly seen the breakdown of the cost of raising a child, but this is the first time I have seen the rewards listed this way. It's nice. The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140.00 for a middle income family. Talk about price shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition. But $160,140.00 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into: * $8,896.66 a year, * $741.38 a month, or * $171.08 a week. * That's a mere $24.24 a day! * Just over a dollar an hour. Still, you might think the best financial advice is don't have children if you want to be 'rich.' Actually, it is just the opposite. What do you get for your $160,140.00? * Naming rights. First, middle, and last! * Glimpses of God every day. * Giggles under the covers every night. * More love than your heart can hold. * Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs. * Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies. * A hand to hold, usually covered with jelly or chocolate. * A partner for blowing bubbles and flying kites. * Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day. For $160,140.00, you never have to grow up. You get to: * finger-paint, * carve pumpkins, * play hide-and-seek, * catch lightning bugs, and * never stop believing in Santa Claus. You have an excuse to: * keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh, * watch Saturday morning cartoons, * go to Disney movies, and * wish on stars. * You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect! spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, handprints set in clay for Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters for Father's Day. For a mere $24.24 a day, there is no greater bang for your buck. You get to be a hero just for: * retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof, * taking the training wheels off a bike, * removing a splinter, * filling a wading pool, * coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless. You get a front row seat in history to witness the: * first step, * first word, * first bra, * first date, and * first time behind the wheel. You get to be immortal. You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren and great grandchildren. You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality that no college can match. In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under God. You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits, so one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost. That is quite a deal for the price!!!!!!! It's the best investment you'll make! Hopefully someone gleams from these words written! I know I did! Have a blessed day and love on your children today!

What to Blog??

Well, I sit here trying to think of something....ANYTHING....interesting to blog about and I can't come up with one thing! I see all of my friends blogs that I follow and they have the neatest things going on. My life right now is really kind of boring....when it is ever?? I guess I am just being blessed with some "boring time" right now. I have been following very closely a friend of mine's blog. She has started blogging about her menu planning and showing pictures of what groceries and household items she has bought with the money she had budgeted. It has been so interesting and motivating for me! I have not yet started it but, I plan to very, very soon! I just have to find that time to sit down and put things on paper & make time to go to the grocery store. We had a really boring kind of a weekend. I went to our Monthly Saturday Mug & A Muffin get together at church. We have such a wonderful time getting together and enjoying a cup of coffee, some breakfast food and great lessons. This Saturday was exceptional because a lot of ladies showed up this time! We were kind of running small at the end of the year. I hope next month has as many (if not more) show up!! When I got home, we had guys over installing our new entertainment center. We decided to get the "BIG BOX" off of the floor in the living room and put a "BIG SCREEN" on the wall! It is so nice! We also added theater surround sound, a blue ray system and speakers on the back porch to listen to the radio! WOW!! It's amazing! We didn't get anything accomplished on Saturday after the guys left. We watched TV for about 5 hours. We were going to get some things put up in the attic & organize some other areas....oh well! We had to do that on Sunday instead. I am now ready to shop for a few furniture pieces to finish out the rooms that we've moved around. I am so excited about that! We're having our first movie night with some friends on Friday night! Can't wait! You know we'll have to get a great action packed movie to get the full effect of the surround sound! That was about our weekend. That was all the excitement at least. Sunday was a day of church, lunch, picking up kids from their dad and putting things in the attic. I didn't feel too great on Sunday. Monday came & Hannah started having her nose bleeds. That girl, when her nose bleeds, you can hardly stop it. I didn't feel that great either. I am fighting a head cold. I let her stay home from school because her stomach was upset from the nose bleeds. I thought it would definitely be embarassing for a middle school girl to have a severe nose bleed at school. She needed the rest any how. Maybe it was I that needed the rest?? Anyway, we did...all day long! Andrew went to his basketball practice and it was Monday, Pizza Night!! Easy meal for me on Mondays. Can't beat the $6.99 pizza that feeds the whole family! We ate, did a little talking, cleaned up things and watched TV. woo-hoo! We are the most exciting family around! Tonight we are going to work on moving furniture around in the bedrooms. Hannah is getting Caleb's furniture and we are turning Caleb's room into a "game room" of sorts. He will have a futon or a sleeper sofa in his room now. Hopefully he'll like it! He's not here much so, I figured he wouldn't care. He'll be one of the few 14 year old boys to have a 62" big screen in his bedroom. I think he'll enjoy that! XBOX HERE HE COMES!! Anyway, my babbling is enough for now. I hope all are well! We'll blog later!

Ever Wonder??

Ever wonder why some people in your life have this eloquent way of putting things down on paper and you want to be able to do that so bad, but can't seem to get the words out or put it on paper the right way?? I am at that point. I have been following several of my friends' blogs and enjoy so much reading them. I get a blessing out of everyone that I follow and yearn for the ability to write like some of these lovely women do! I was thinking about this last night and God laid this on my heart: 1 Corinthians 14:26 says, "So here's what I want you to do. When you gather for worship, each one of you be prepared with something that will be useful for all: Sing a hymn, teach a lesson, tell a story, lead a prayer, provide insight." (The Message)! Does that say it all? To me it does. If it's my friend Nicole teaching me a lesson, my friend Cylinda providing insight, my friend Lori telling a story or me singing a hymn....we are all ministers of God! I had to sit & really think about this last night. I have always wanted to have the right words to say. I have always felt so inadequate in a group with conversation. I have always yearned for the experience of saying those "perfect" words to someone to lift them up and help them out through their day. I did realize that I do that. I don't do it the way everyone else may, but I do it!!! My gift is in music. I minister through song. I have a feeling when those songs start that is so overwhelming that I want to share it with everyone! I can't even explain it. To feel the music and think about what the words are saying at that perfect time of worship is so overwhelming and hard to contain within myself! That must be how those with the gift of teaching and speaking feel about their ministry! WOW, what an awesome God we serve!

Looking Back

The year 2008 had many bumps and joys. I was thinking back on it today and realized how great it is to have a "fresh" start. It seems as if the previous year almost feels like it was just wiped clean. We all make resolutions to do things differently. Do we stick to them?? Some, I'm sure, do. Most, I'm sure, don't. I am one of the many who make the resolutions and do not stick by them very long! I WANT TO CHANGE THAT THIS YEAR!! My focuses for the year are going to be in the finances, dinnertime, house organization, time management and doing more as a family! I thought I would post some pics of the kids at Christmas. I made them get on their knees for this picture. Caleb is so tall that we wouldn't have had much of the tree in the background. He has grown up so much. Now has a "peach stash" growing. Hannah has matured so much even over the past month. She got her hair cut for Christmas. IT IS GORGEOUS!! That alone made her grow up several years. Andrew is still my goofy little gus!! Can you tell?? Always acting crazy and laughing at something! The kids had a wonderful Chrismas this year. We got out on Saturday after New Years and spent gift cards. They were burning holes in their pockets!! IMAGINE THAT! Jeff and I also had a wonderful Christmas! We enjoyed watching the kids and grandkids open all of their presents and just having the family around the dinner table to talk and carry on. It was such an easy Christmas this year for us. Seems like something always falls apart around the holiday time for us. It actually went smooth! PRAISE GOD!! I hope everyone had a great holiday season. Now it's back to starting our new year with a BANG! May peace and joy find its place in your hearts and home!

2009

IT'S HERE! 2009 came in such a hurry! Funny how you think about the past years and how slow it seemed to go when you were younger. Now that we're getting older (yes, I said the O word) the years are just flying by! Now I know what my parents meant when they said time was going soooo fast! We had such a wonderful Christmas. I will update all of that when I get my pictures uploaded to my computer. I am so bummed that I missed out on posting the first 2009 post on the 1st. Oh well, I guess the 2nd will just have to do! We spent our New Year's Eve at a friend's home. We had about 20 adults there. It turned into playing the Wii all night. My arms are still hurting today from all of that! It was so much fun! We rang in the new year with a nice friendly party and then took our time getting up on New Year's Day (except for Jeff...Mr Early Bird!). The kids and I cleaned the house, Jeff and I had hair appointments and we finished the day by going over to our friend, Linda's, for about an hour. So calm & no rushing...I LOVE IT!! Today I get off at noon from work and will be going home to do more picking up (Christmas things). Hoping to get things put up in the attic tomorrow (Saturday). We'll work hard to make that happen. Have been enjoying my time with Caleb. He's such a calm kid. He was telling me how nice it was to be home and have nothing to do. He stayed in his PJ's all day and really enjoyed not doing anything! I think sometimes that I am a very boring mother but, after you get that from a child, it makes you feel a little better! It's so hard to work all day & then feel motivated when you get home to cook a huge meal, take kids to games, clean the house, clean the kitchen, take a bath & whatever else may come along! WHEW, that got me exhausted just typing it! No, I do enjoy down time but, it is very hard to be motivated 100% of the day after stressful day of work! Well, it's time for me to get home! Hope all had a wonderful Christmas and hope all have the Hapiest New Year Ever!!!

Another week down in the books of history!

We have really had a great week! Sunday we went to church, ate lunch with friends and I took of to get kids from their dad. When we woke up Monday morning, we were iced in. Needless to say, the ice storm of December 2008 was a chilling reminder of the ice storm of 2007. It made me thankful to have electricity, heat & good food. Those ten days last year were miserable! Don't want to repeat that anytime soon. We were stuck in the house for 3 days. Obviously, I stayed home with the kids all 3 days. With them out of school and no family around I get to take a "mini-vacation" if you can call it that! I got to listen to "I'm bored" just about all day! Oh well, we actually enjoyed having that time. Wednesday was my first time out of the house since Sunday. I attempted to drive to church. Surprising to me was the roads & my driveway was completely clear of any ice remnants. I was soooo excited! That meant I could go to work and talk to big people!!! Thursday found us going (after work) to the oldest grandchild's first Christmas program. He did not want to participate in that. He cried and cried...poor guy! When they did get him up for his turn, all you could see was hands covering his face the whole time. Again, crying the entire time. He's so cute!! I got some great pics of the hands. Couldn't resist. We went out to eat at Steak 'n Shake after the program. I wish they wouldn't have closed where we live!! I really like their food. Friday - TODAY - we are going to attend Andrew's make up basketball game tonight. After the ice cancelling school, that also means all activities are cancelled. It's going to be fun! His dad & his Poppy are coming up to see him play. They will also be able to see him play tomorrow in a game. The team won 1st place last weekend at a tournament. He was so excited yesterday to call me and tell me that he got a 1st place trophy from that tournament! It's all about the trophies right now!! Saturday - as mentioned before....run-run-run with basketball games, finalizing Christmas plans, menus, cleaning & enjoying the hubby! I can't wait! It will be just the two of us for about two weeks. We actually need this down time! It's been stressful the past few weeks. Always seems to hit about the holiday time with us. Don't know what it is but, we always make it through! THANK GOD!! Hope all are having a wonderful and blessed Christmas season! Enjoy your family and God's love! Blessings, Tamara

Weekend Tales

Well, I designated Thursday of last week to be the night we got all of my fall decorations up into the attic & pull all of my Christmas decorations down to start the "official" decorating for Christmas. Between basketball practice, picking up pizza and a few other tiny things that popped up, we didn't get things decorated BUT we did get all of the fall decor up in the attic and the Christmas things down. They crowded our garage area for several days. (I guess they still are a little) Friday was spent doing running around in Tulsa and preparing for the second game of the basketball tournament. What fun it is to see those boys play. They lost again. Saturday was the 3rd game. This was a different story. They did lose but, WOW did they ever play!! They tended to learn that if they were going to accomplish a victory, they had to get a little more aggressive with that basketball. They did fabulous! Can't wait to see them grow even more.

After the game, we went to the High School for the choir's Annual Boar's Head Feast. That was so much fun! We got to enjoy the choirs performances, a great steak dinner, and a fun time with the "King, Queen and Court", with Jesters and guards and an executioner. They really put on a great show! In the rush of it all, I was the bad mom and forgot the camera to be able to take pictures. I pulled out my iPhone and took a few. They're not the best but, I guess it's the memory that counts huh?? Hannah was at the school all day long and on into the evening. They did two performances so, I didn't want to decorate without her. Wouldn't be fair. She was so excited about decorating! Soooo, I took this time to do a little cleaning and catch up on DVR shows. What a great invention!

I also spent some of my day looking for a crew to put lights on my home!! WOO HOO! I was so excited when my hubby told me that I could put lights up but, I had to find someone to do it & take care of it. He really has no business up on the roof himself so, I was very glad to hear that! I contacted a couple of places. I figured it was too late! Me & my last minute ways!! BUT, I found a company (actually wound up being a friend of mine) that would do it on Sunday....YES, the next day!! YES!!!! I was so excited. I have never had lights on my home growing up! This was just as exciting to me as it was to the kids! ha-ha

Sunday morning we woke up and went to my step-son's church. They had a sanctuary dedication and then fed us steaks from Joseph's afterwards. We came home so full! It was such a beautiful remodel! While we were there we got to play with the grandchildren, OF COURSE! Again, in the hustle and bustle of getting my house together, I ran off without the camera. I used my phone again to get a few cute pics of the grandbaby. Forgot to get pics of the other grandchild! My kids had her occupied so, there was no time to stop and pose. He's gonna so love this when he gets older! Just could not resist taking this cute picture. He is the best baby! This is his "I'm hungry" look! What an angel! We enjoyed him so much! As you can see by the picture above, he knows when the camera comes up to smile! What a smart one! He's been trained very well!

OK, so, I am going to attempt to take house pics tonight with the lights on. We'll see how it goes! Hope they turn out good! If not, you can at least see my yard ornaments that I got this year. Hope all have a blessed week!

The Snowball Effect

We are half way done with the week and still do not have any of my Christmas put up (there's another friend of mine that said the same on her blog!!)! It's not that I don't want to, it's that there are so many things going on that I can hardly find a night at home to do it! That's what happens to me when I go out of town for Thanksgiving. This Thanksgiving fell at such an awkward time with Monday being the 1st. It didn't give much of an opportunity after Thanksgiving to get things moving! Looks like I have to wait until Thursday to start. First I have to get all of my harvest things up in the attic.....YUCK!! Don't look forward to that!

Drew's first basketball game was last night. He sure enjoyed it. Unfortunately they lost 14-12 but, wow did those boys play a great game! I was actually impressed! I didn't think much would come of the points in this grade but, they sure held their own! It was such an exciting game! Forgot how much I like basketball! Especially at this age! Hannah thinks she wants to play basketball next year. We'll see. She doesn't strike me as the athletic type but, she may surprise me!

Monday night was a wonderful time with our Ladie's from church for our Annual Christmas Party. It was such good food and good fellowship! I enjoyed every moment I could! Last night was the ballgame, of course, and tonight is church. Another busy schedule!!! IMAGINE THAT! Like I stated earlier, I am hoping that Thursday we can get the decorations put out in the yard & in the house! Would be nice to sit back & enjoy that knowing the hectic schedule we have the rest of the week, weekend & weeks to come! Christmas just rolls on like a huge snowball!!

Hope all have a great time during these holidays!! Hope to see most of you!! Love ya!