This Life

A Little Something......

2010-10-23T15:22:00.000-07:00

to brighten your day!

Haaaaaa haaaaaa!!!
That's Emma!

Just a quick side note .......

2010-10-07T19:37:00.000-07:00

I SWEAR....
I am sitting here, on my bed...
{{Editing till my eye balls are about to fall out of my head}}

Emma is on my iPhone, playing some flash card app...??
{{in a tutu that she fully plans on sleeping in}}
A diamond comes up on the screen
she says...

"oooo, Mommy...that pretty.....what is it?"
{me} It's a diamond
{Emmie} Ooooo, I like it. ********long pause******** can I have one?

THAT'S my Girl!!!

{side note: She's THREE}

She is by far, the most fabulous three year old I've ever known!

xxxx

Love......

2010-09-22T18:41:00.001-07:00

{{{{{{{big sigh}}}}}}

I love them!!

My very wierd, very strange child!

2010-08-28T18:59:00.000-07:00

I wrote this blog last week or something..... never posted it for no good reason.... but it's kinda funny.... sooooooooo.......

................................................................

I just told Emma that she was my best friend....
she puts both her hands on my face....
looks at me and smiles....
turns my head to the right ......
and licks me in the face!
She's so weird!

I also just told her to say... "GLENN BECK!!!!"
{you know, there's the "Restoring Honor" rally in D.C. today?}
So... she looks at me and smiles and says "Glenn .... Dookie!!"
So..... yeah.... she's strange!

I love my little Emmie Gracie Poo!

OMG... I swear... as I am sitting here... she just climbed up on the couch with me
wearing Purple sunglasses and long johns style, pink, flowery pajamas.....
Looked at me.....
grabbed my face and said...
Mommy.....you're dead!!"

.............................................................................................................
Here's more ...

Mom ~ "Trace...you are a child and you have to obey me!" Anz ~ "Ummmmmm, Mimi, he's a human!"

Haaaaaaaha!!

Mom ~ "Trace.... you are not a wild animal!!" Trace ~ "Sometimes we are!"

Keep in mind... all of this is from today!

I love my little family. I love the random craziness!!

I love how when we were in the boutique/antique store today....

Emma was sitting on an antique highchair ....

Singing.....

"Our God is greater our God is stronger.
God you are higher 'dann' any other. Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, little bird.... "
The rest was inaudible.
But I am sure it was pure awesomeness!!

{{{{{{Big Sigh}}}}}

I love them!!

I Can't Think of A Creative Title For This Post!

2010-08-12T20:03:00.000-07:00

Behind Every Successful Person Lie A Pack Of Haters.... *unknown*

{{Stole it off someones FBstatus}}

That's all I really have to say about that!!!

Moving on........

So, two days ago.... Brandon... my brother
was, once again, allowed to see his son!

Lets do a quick re~cap...

His crazy baby~mama
told him A YEAR AND A HALF AGO
that he had a son with her!!

That was in February 2009.....

The kid was 5 at this time.....

Three months later.....
she's like.... "ummmm, ya'll are weird... you can't see Jacob anymore!"

I swear, I'm not exaggerating.

Then Brandon goes over there, unannounced, for Christmas....
See's him.... but she still won't allow him to visit or call or write or anything.....

Until 2 days ago!

Ummmmmmmmm, Yeeeeah!!

Whatever!

She moved out of her parents house and says that now he can see Jacob whenever he wants...

?????
{{{** crickets chirping **}}}

She makes absolutely no sense!!!!!
I mean..... I really should not elaborate....
if I do....
it may involve curse words so I'll refrain!
So we have spent 2 days with Jacob this week!
He really is a doll baby!!!

Even with a frog on his head!!

AND this is why Brandon may cease to exist ..... if he touches my kid again!

That is my Trace!! And my mentally challenged brother!
Today he did that in my pool and Trace's head actually hit the bottom of the pool!!
I thought Tony was going to kick his you know what!

Anz loves animals... no matter if they're gross or not!
She's actually chased boys bigger than her with worms....
the boys cried!!
HAHAHAHAAAA
Really, they did!!

Anyway

Went to Ashley's Matilda Jane Trunk Show last night that she hosted!!
It was fabulous!!
Spent lots of dough!!

But it's all so beautiful!!!

And I worked hard for the green, so.....
I don't feel bad!!

I hope she did good so that she can become a Jane!!:)
She'd be the best in the whole~wide~world!!

Oh, yeah....... there is a meteor shower tonight!
Me and the kids and Tony were all in the back yard laying down watching the few that
sparked across the night sky!
Venus, Mars and Saturn are also out and visible!!!

I took a really crappy picture......

There they are....
the brightest is Venus and the one to the right is Saturn and the one to the left is Mars!

After looking at this picture..... I was kinda sorta floored!!

I did not see all these stars!
I don't know if you can see them bc of the quality... but I can see them on my end!!

There are a few bright ones you know that you see regularly...
but geeeezzzeee.... I took up the exposure to see what would happen...
and
***viola***
A billion, million, gazillion stars!!!

And think....
God says that he calls them by name

EVERY NIGHT!!!

Psalms 147:4-5

My God is greater!!! My God is Stronger!!! My God is Higher than any other!!
My God is Healer!!! Awesome in Power....MY GOD!!!

Thank you Mr. Tomlin, for such wonderful music
that my kids adore and love to sing!!

And thank you God for people like Mr. Tomlin!!

Anyway..... my baby boy is asleep at the bottom of my bed!!

Tony is snoring.... like always!!

My dog is sprawled out on his back on the floor
next to the bed!

Oh, and this is how I found Trace and Anz sleeping this afternoon!!

I am going to go outside and see if I can see anymore "shooting stars"!!

Nighty night peeps!!:)

Creeping.......

2010-08-09T19:46:00.000-07:00

That's what is happening to me.

Anxiety is creeping up on me and I can feel it.

I am completely overwhelmed.

There are so many things that I want to do and I have no idea where to start.

I have not got all my curriculum stuff in or my supplies.

I am kinda running off what I have and trying to review skills they are already familiar with.

Today was our "first" day of school.

It was fun!

Anz and Trace are seriously math geniuses.

They just get it. No sweat. And they love it.

Anz actually gave me a lesson with her AIMS Spacemen (Manipulative's).

She laid them out and explained to me that 6 purple girls were going to the movies.

3 blue boys wanted to go too and that meant that 9 kids were going to the movies.

Oh, their mom was going to, she's red, and that makes 10.

YEAH

I want to record her next time so that you people don't think I am lying!

Her mannerisms while "teaching" me are off the chain hilarious!

Trace wanted recess at 9:40 am. We started at 9am!!

Yeeeeaaah!!

Not so much baby boy!!

Emma roamed most of the morning. She's not interested in structure right now.

And

I'm not to hip on trying to enforce it right now...... so we're good!

I actually find it more fun to aggravate her!! I like it when she giggles!

On another note.....everyone of my sisters are at the Justin Bieber concert right now.....

I got a text that reads...

"OMG this is so fun. It's kinda like sober clubbin with your kids!! It's AWESOME!!"

~ My 29 year old sister....Crystal!!

I am kinda sad I'm not there. I haven't clubbed in so long.

Haaaaaaha!

..............................................................

Here are my babies.... my first and my last!

{{{{{big, deep, sigh}}}}}

......................................................
Emma.....doing her chill monkey squat!

...................
P.S.
This is what those little inflatable, plastic balls do when you put them on the air conditioning unit........

and this is what Emma Gracie looks like collecting them while running..... :)

Hahahaaaaaa... it's so wonderful to meeeee!!!!

~ Gnite homies!!

Field Trips and TRIPS!

2010-08-07T20:31:00.000-07:00

So..... I have been telling the kids that we will be taking all kinds of trips this year as we homeschool. I have been naming places and talking about all the things we are going to do and learn. I told them that we were going to a certain Georgia swamp later in the fall and Anz is in the back seat and says "Mommy, ain't we goin' to the Hokie~poe~noe~kie??" Ahhhhh, I love it when they say things like this. I just smiled and said "yes baby, we are!". Trace calls it the Okie~poe~noe~kie!! At least they have the number of syllables down!! Emma could care less. She has no idea what's going on. She's just along for the ride! Bossing people around in the meantime!

Oh, and by the way.... before people start talking about my random dumbness (blonde moments you could call them)..... this afternoon..... I had a shoot and Lindsay was with me being my little side kick, helping me out and all...... well.... she hollers at me and is like.... "Christi!! Come over here... get this shot of MJ!!!" So here I come... running around to the other side ...... no one informed me or my poor leg that there was a massive hole in the ground!! Buddy, my leg hit that thing I went straight to the ground!! I fell so hard..... I though my shin bone snapped in two!! EVERYONE starts laughing.... Lindsay!! And I look at her and I'm like.... there's a freaking HOLE!!!! Quit laughing!! Then everyone gets real concerned when they realized that the gaping gorge in the ground aided my face first dive to the ground! I told her I am going to video her telling the story! I laughed so hard on the way home listening to her describe my folly! She said that I just ate the ground all the while holding the camera up in the air in an attempt to spare it from hitting the ground!! {{{Big Sigh}}} I am so cool! Really, I am!! Anyway..... I have church tomorrow!! Maybe I can find a long dress to cover up my purple bruise that runs all the way up to my knee!! Lovely, just lovely!!!

Love~Love!!:)

There's Just One of Me...... Just One......Mmmmmmk?

2010-08-06T19:44:00.000-07:00

3 shoots to process + computer crashes + more shoots scheduled + 3 kids + setting up homeschooling + deciding on curriculum + researching curriculum + other peoples advice + haters of homeschool + USPS delivery schedule is re~freaking~tarded + 110 degrees every day for a flippin' month + me and my crazy, unpredictable, unscheduled, frazzled self = pure H.E.Double~hockeysticks!!! Yeah..... like.... I feel like I might need a trip to the alter this Sunday!! If I make it..... without getting a few tall cold ones in before then..... HA! Then I'll really need it!! I won't do the cold ones.... I promise! Unless we're talking about THE Cold Ones!!! Only my true friends at heart will get that one!!! I'll take one of those.... Fo Sho!!!

So.... yep.... I am homeschooling this year.... and every year after this. I have done more research than necessary. I've even spoken with a child psychologist!!! On accident..... but I did!! And I am glad!! I have chosen to do several different things and implement "non-traditional" methods of teaching into what I am doing. I am in love with a woman who lived and taught in the 1840's. She was AMAZING. Her name is Charlotte Mason. This woman is unbelievable. Seriously.... every parent should know her. Homeschooling or not. Charlotte was a believer in that a child learns best at home with the parents. She did not believe that a child should be in front of a text book all day. That a child should explore and discover the world around them while learning. Everything is hands on!! Everything. I have chosen to use the Amanda Bennett and Apologia unit studies for this year. They pretty much cover everything. Science, Bible, Language Arts, Latin, some Math, Art, Journaling/Writing, and History. It's something that takes a lot more work than just giving your child a worksheet. But I am up for the challenge! They give you a lot of information.... but how and what you teach and implement is up to you. I am not worried about it. I mean.... I have my mom.... Mrs. PhD in Early Childhood Education and Leadership! {{Whoop Whoop for Mom!!}} The Amanda Bennett one looks kind of basic from first glance.... but I think that I am going to like it. I ordered it and printed all my studies out and I think that we are going to have an absolute blast doing it. I chose RightStart Mathematics for our math studies. Another unbelievable, hands on, manipulative based study! For our spelling, which I believe should be learned from the roots up, I chose Sequential Spelling. I've seen the first 8 lessons..... I think Ima gonna like it!! Oh..... I could keep going.... but I won't!!

Trace and Anz have decided to take horse riding lessons. I am so stinking excited!! We went over the the horse farm the other day with my bff Lindsay to check it out and everything..... I loved it and so did they!!

My little man!! Gosh he's so cute!

Of course.... I do not have a picture of Emma that would be satisfactory!! She likes to start crying, immediately upon the camera being pointed at her!

Aside from all this.... we are very busy. It's 11:28 pm and Emma is next to me eating ice! Ice that has already fallen on the floor!! Barrrrrffffff!! Anyway..... now you know 1/100000000th of the scoop around here!!

Shoot tomorrow.... pray we do not die of heat exhaustion! Lindsay is going with me. We are taking lots of ice water!

Later people!!:)

Mega Randomness!

2010-07-28T17:17:00.000-07:00

It's been a minute since I last wrote. Sorry! But I thought I'd do an update.....and for all my haters....{**whisper voice**....I do not care what you think} I am homeschooling this year. Anz will be in Kindergarden and Trace will start first grade! Yep...I'm doing it and I know that it's going to be crazy wild around here {as if it isn't anyway}. But it may give us more structure. I need a schedule and this is for sure giving me one. I was such an organized freak when I held a job and since I had kids and having been trying to learn how to raise three people..... it's been no less than chaos sometimes. They all snuck up on me so fast!! I wasn't prepared for three kids back to back. I was literally, at some point, pregnant in every year between 2003 ~ 2007! Now...it's been three years since Emma was born and I feel like I am coming to a plateau of craziness. I am okay with craziness, as long as I know how much and when its coming! I think that it's going to be really good for us! I am really excited and I thank my Jesus that I have this opportunity to be with my kids and raise them in this fashion, without daycares and babysitters and yes...even public schools! Okay....anyway... enough of that! I have also, over the past 7 months, been working on building my business. Most of you know what that is and so I'm not going to reiterate what you already know:) But it's been difficult and scary. But I am becoming more confident with each session and I have been very blessed with extremely high interest in the last few months. I am booking and shooting an average of 2-3 a week. I'm behind on that and should really be working on processing some shoots but I need a mental break from it. Thank you to all my friends, you know who you are, for your support and encouragement. You guys mean the world to me and I love you soooooooooo much!

Okay.... anyway.... I made another dress today....it's the bomb...to me anyway.... it's for Emma and I **lurve** it to pieces!! Please excuse the quality...I took it with my phone!

Sometimes, I just get random urges to sew. I could have just bought a MJ dress or something....but whatever....I enjoyed it and I like it and I get bragging rights!

I literally have 752.5 kabillion pictures. I want to post some.... I just do not feel like going thru them like a madd woman and trying to decide which ones to use. Soooooo..... I won't! Maybe later!

"No....I Emma!"

2010-06-12T08:28:00.000-07:00

Happy 3rd Birthday to my sweetness, Emma Gracie Poo! I love you baby girl!

So, yesterday I began telling Emma that she was 3 years old. She begged to differ. She let me know very quickly that she was not three years old....... It went something like this.....

{me}: "em&em {her alias}, you are three years old... it's your birthday today!"
{Emma}: "No, I not three, I Emma"

Fine by me, I kinda like the thought of her not growing up!!! When she does agree that she is three, she hold up two fingers, very proudly, and say "I THREE!!!!"

I LOVE HER TO PIECES!!!!!!

Potty Break

2010-05-19T19:06:00.000-07:00

As I am rounding up all the kids and bags and letting the dog out and making sure he has water and making sure doors are closed and lights are off and finding my keys and searching for "blankets" {aka: life support for all three of my kids}. I am filling up sippy cups, my mom is yelling "lets GO!!", the front door is open, kids are out in the drive way....... I am ready.... ready to go, finally!! I walk past the bathroom.................................

Guess we weren't as ready as I thought we were!! Oh well, better than in her pants!!:)

~~

2010-03-29T10:30:00.000-07:00

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small doesn't serve the world.
There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
~ Nelson Mandela

I needed this.......

Just thought I'd share!

~xoxo~

Cheeks!!!

2010-03-05T19:28:00.000-08:00

I know that some of you people on my facebook have seen these but I thought I'd share it for the ones who haven't seen it........ this is my baby girl...... I love her to milky way and back!!!!

Check out the cheek!!!;)

Ahhhhhh, I love her. She's so wonderful!!!! Think about how much fun I am going to have with these when she gets older!!!:)

xoxo ~ C

Lovin' This!!!!

2010-03-05T13:29:00.000-08:00

Check out this picture that Beth Jansen did!!! OMW!!! It is so wonderful! I am envious on all levels here. Anyway...... just thought I'd share!!:)

http://www.bethjansenphotography.com/blog/wednesday-photo-of-the-day-oklahoma-city-newborn-photography/

Anz~a~di~anz~anz!!

2010-02-22T18:59:00.000-08:00

Yep, that happens to be her nick name.

And this happens to be her way of getting me
to stop taking pictures of her!!!

Crazy? Yes! Beautiful? Most definitely!!!
She's my little boo and I love her to pieces!!!

So, Trace's birthday is March 21st and I am trying to come up with a really sweet/"cool" for a 6 year old party!! He is obsessed with boxing right now, so I thought that it would be appropriate to go with boxing. This is what I am going to be working off of. I googled this image so I am not really sure what it's source is. I just saw it in a thumbnail and copied it. But I love it to the moon and back!!!

I told him tonight that I was working on getting his party together and he did the whole balled up fist, arm bent, swing down the side and said "Oh, YES!!!!". Haha.... I love him!! He's growing up and doing weird little things like that. Things that we did when we were kids that now we wouldn't be caught dead doing......that's a shame. Kids are so cool. We should be more like them!!:)

Like Emma.... she's so flippin' awesome. This is how I found her, outside, alone....... yes, I know..... dear Lord Jesus, please give me a sign to assure me that she's normal! Please!!

This is her being sweet!! Gosh, I just could eat her up!!!
My beast!!

So, I guess that's all for now.
I am not up to par on blogging for my chiren' like I should be.
I'll try harder!

xoxo ~ C

Finally...

2010-02-13T13:56:00.000-08:00

Finally the weather man got something right. Geeezzzzzeeesh!!!!! I do not have an elaborate or entertaining story to tell you about our day in the snow. I am sure that it was just as fun as yours. I mean....how much can you possibly do in 30 degree weather. These pics should tell our story....enjoy!!:)

*You have heard of the Gingerbread man tale....???.... that once they are kissed by a snowflake...they come to life!!! We just couldn't call it a true snow day without them!!!

Today......

2010-02-04T10:25:00.000-08:00

I left my house
with my girls
both in panties
................................

Ate lunch at Chick Fil A

Went to Target
.......................

Emma Grace did not pee in her pants.
Matter of fact,
she peed in the potty at Target!!

Pretty awesome for me!!!!

BUT
then...
She dumped out 750 pieces of
Lucky Charms
in my back seat!!!

LOVELY, eh?

But hey,
it's raining &
we got to use the sweet, little girl umbrellas
and rain boots
and we jumped in puddles in the parking lot
and it was freezing
and it was fun!!:)

The only thing missing was pee~pee and diapers

and I am SOOOO okay with that!!!

~ xoxo ~ Me

((BIG SIGH))

2010-02-02T12:35:00.000-08:00

Don't you just love that feeling...
the one you get when reality slaps you in the face
and you realize that you know nothing??

Yeah...

I use to be comfortable knowing that I don't really have anything "under control".
I believed that God was the master planner of my life.
I believed that nothing happened outside His will.
Now, I think it goes something like.....
Nothing happens outside His will *As long as you're in His will*...
Again, I could be wrong, but it just makes more sense that way.

I think about the horrible things that happen in our lives...
death, sickness, derangement *at some degree*, pain,
divorce, human trafficking, child abuse in all forms,
mothers who abandon their children for men & vice versa,
war, famine, meth, alcohol, homelessness,
Sudan, Chad, North Korea, China, Bosnia,
terminal illnessess and the suffering that goes with it,
temptation of all degrees, a life without love.......

these are examples of how I know that
every thing does not happen through His will.

I think about these and then I get angry at the people who say
"But it was God's plan".....REALLY???
Hummmm, you know I really like this one too.....
"God doesn't put you through something that He knows you can't handle"
..................................
Hummmm, yeah....did anyone ever think it possible that maybe you're
in a horrible situation because you didn't listen to God
in the first place?

So.....
Maybe I will focus my prayers on
"God, teach me to be in your will"
I refuse to be one of the self-righteous
the ones who claim that because
"I have God in my life and I pray and I go to church and I sing in the choir,
so, I am in God's will all the time, every time I open my mouth, nothing
but pure heavenly, divinely inspired words proceed from my mouth
& my actions are those that are only lead by the Holy Spirit! "'

I mean, if that were the case..... (excuse me while I barff)
What is the need for *daily repentance*?

The bottom line is...
People do stupid things
I am a person, a human...
I am not good....I am not worthy....I am not Holy....I am not righteous
I am a sinner by nature
I was born a sinner
I will die a sinner
but I am saved by His Grace

And yes.....I sin on a daily basis!!!
And I am okay with that..
that's what the cross was for..
because He knew!!

So, when y'all hear bad things about me
and you want to point fingers
and you *gasp* at my actions....

Just remember.....

My Little Scary Monster

2010-01-09T11:06:00.000-08:00

So Anz was taking a bath this morning and I heard her in there making all kinds of noise and screaming and what sounded like growling. Yeah, so...... I go in there and this is what I found her doing........

Y'all don't even act like you didn't do the same thing when you were a kid. What is it anyway with that bath tub thing. It was always my mirror when I was little too. I loved that thing. It made your face all contorted and crazy looking. I love it that she shares the same quirky interests as me. She is so awesome!!! I love you Anz, you are the best!!

Inspired!!!

2010-01-01T12:37:00.001-08:00

I have been inspired by this website that I found. It's Storyboard Narrative Photography .com. It's the bomb. You can pay these people to come out and take your pictures and then they do this whole storyboard thing for you. Well, I figured that I have a pretty decent camera and I have the tools to do this myself so I decided to do a little research on how to accomplish this in Photoshop CS4 and..... Viola....... This is what I came up with. I know that it's not the best or whatever.....but it sure is cute for a first timer!!! These are my little sisters!!!! They are so special to me. I love them more than anything. They are very close and I thought that this shows very well the "little girl" still in them and the bond that they have.

I love you Sophia and Peyton!!!!

Anz

2009-12-16T07:33:00.001-08:00

Beautiful
Nurturing
Sweet
Lovely
Fabulous
Fashionable
Love's Babies....real ones!!
Love's Pacci's....(sneaks them all the time)
Loves Hair Bows and "swirly" hair
Loves Jesus
Sassy
Smartie Britches
Loves Finger Nail Paint
Loves Make up
Love's "Spray" (Perfume)
Mother Hen is her nickname
Thinks that Emma is her child
Watchful
Aware
Sneaky
Cry Baby
Helpful

These are some of the attributes that make up my Anz. I love you more than the whole wide world Anz!!!

xoxoxoxo ~ Mommy

And this is the "dressy" that I made for my sweet baby girl!! She loves it:)

Steinbach

2009-12-15T18:14:00.000-08:00

This is a post about my unique obsession (shared with my mother and grandmother, must be the German in us) with wooden Christmas ornaments. My personal favorite are the Steinbach brand of these little creations. When we were kids, my mom had nothing but wooden ornaments on our tree. They weren't Steinbach, mostly because we were too poor to afford them, but I just have a love for all things wooded on a tree. These are just a few of the collection and the little man on the truck with the missing wheel is one from our tree when we were kids. I love them and I just thought I'd share them with you. the quality of these pics are....HO-ri-bble!!!! I had to compress them like ..... too much for them to upload..... anyway.....Merry Christmas if I don't get to tell you before then!!!!

I bought this one for Anz when she was born!!!

My mom bought this little Santa in an airplane for Trace while he was in utero!!! :)

I love this Rudolf picnicker....he's sooooo cute and he's packing a Seltzer water, sausage, and bread.....so German!

This guy is a bee keeper, if you can't tell.......

I know that these aren't very "American" traditional for Christmas decor, but...... I have a little more culture in me ..... Georgia is just where I live........ Europe is where I belong!!!!:)

Pasci's, Kitty Cats & Rain Puddles!!

2009-11-22T16:05:00.000-08:00

Before I begin and post any pictures.....yes....my 2 1/2 year old still take a pacifier and I really do not want to hear anyone tell me that "she's gonna have buck teeth" or "she's too old for that"....... I am perfectly capable of making decisions on things that I decide to do or not to do with MY kids....mmmmkk....???? (oh yes, and she still takes a bottle at night!!!:) Now that the disclaimer is out of the way......

I think that I have addressed the issue before of Emma Grace thinking that she was a cat. Well, the trend has not ceased. She is still going strong. Again, I have never seen imagination on this level before with a 2 year old but I guess it could be a good thing (if tamed a bit)...??? Anyway...she loves little animals. The kind that fit in the palm of her hand. *Emma using baby kitty to count her toes.. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,9,8,10......*
She will choose one toy and carry it around for days. It's so sweet. She is so protective over it too. Today, Ella was here for a while and Ella took the cat from Emma and you would have thought that someone tried to kill her. It was so sad. You first have to understand that Emma and Ella have a rivalry of some degree going on. It's kinda hilarious. They will purposely stand on each others blankets just to see the other one cry. They will steal pasci's and lets say that Emma and Ella are drinking out of seperate sippy cup's. If Ella sees that Emma has one....she'll throw hers down and scream bloody murder for Emma's. As if her's wasn't good enough, when both of them are exactly the same. I know, they're weird. We took them to the mall yesterday and it was so funny to see them kicking each other in the stroller and screaming for what the other one had. They are the same and I know they will be like BFF's when they get older. But back to the whole cat issue. If you speak to Emma as if she is a kitty her whole demeanor changes. She is sweet and comes and cuddles with you and will actually lick you straight in the face. I caught her licking the window today.....yeah...ummmmm.....not real sure what intrigued her to preform that weird act. I love her so much though. She is so wonderful when she's not being a beast!! (which is more often than I'd like to admit)

It's been raining and it's so cold and foggy outside....kinda feel like I could be living in Forks right now...the only thing missing is something sexy and sparkly!!! (I knew Ashley and Brandi would enjoy that) BUT back to my point.....Trace and Anz got to put their rain boots to good use today. They were headed out to get some lunch with their daddy and I caught them jumping in the holes (that were suppose to be Tulips that never grew, only left gapping holes....go figure...I guess I am not one for horticulture) out in the what is suppose to be flower garden that nothing grows in. Anyway, it made for good rain puddle jumping.

Anywho....I have been reading my Twilight .....I have sat down to read it twice and both times was up until the middle of the night. That stupid book drives me crazy. I'm like "one more chapter, and I'll go to sleep"...I never knew I could read three hundred pages in one night!! I did watch the movie...Twilight....and I have to say that compared to the book....I was highly disappointed. I was really upset that so many things were condensed that were so important to building the chemistry and passion that was so vitally important in the book. But whatever....I guess whoever watched it, or at least the majority, has read the book. So....I am not going to get all overly emotionally involved with it. Also, I have to say that I know of a few people (and just to be specific...I am not talking about you Ashley) that are absolutely over the top retarded about the whole Twilight...Edward love thing or whatever. I didn't find myself, while reading the book, to really wish that he was real. Or wish that I had a love like that. Now it is a beautiful love story. A fabulous read. It was everything and MORE that I hoped it would be, but dang..... I loved the entire story. I loved every aspect of it. But I did not find myself wishing I was married to Edward, not that I wouldn't marry him, but it taught me a lot about how to experience love and almost how to put those qualities to use in my own relationship. Anyway....that's a whole other blog. I guess I am trying to say that some people seriously need to take a dang chill pill on the "in love with Edward" factor.... Anyway.....I am not dogging the book or the movie, I'm just sayinn'.

Sorry for the ranting....I'll close on that note. :)

God Paints and Random Animal Imitations

2009-11-09T07:14:00.000-08:00

This morning, as Trace was about to leave for school, we went outside to wait on Mimi to come pick him up. He yells....."Mommy, come here, it's all pink outside!!". Then Anslie goes running outside to see what he's talking about. Trace asks, "why is it pink out here?". I told him that it's just how God made it. He painted the sky. Anslie says, in her little sweet voice, "When I was asleep, God came and painted the sky pink for me to see when I waked up!". I thought that it was so sweet!!! She is such a fabulous little angel!!! I love her sweetness to the moon and back!!! They were so happy about the pink sky. The littlest things that we sometimes just over look are the most important things in life. Who would have ever known that a pink sky could make a little girl and a little boy feel the love of God more than ever before?? They are the most wonderful babies ever and I thank God for the painting this morning. It made our day!!!

On another note......I guess I should inform everyone and anyone that will be hanging with us any time in the near future, that my youngest child believes that she is an animal. You pick....she's all kinds...cats are her favorite. You should see her. She meows for attention and licks her hands like a cat. She's a dog sometimes and actually will sniff your hand if you try to touch her. She will put her food on the ground and eat it like a dog or a cat or whatever she is at the moment. This morning, while laying on the couch chillin', she was a Bird, fluffing her feathers, a Rooster, crowing.....a tiger with sharp nail, scratching everyone.....she was a cat (of course)....she is major "special"!!! I do not quite understand the behavior, but whatever!!! She even eats better if I refer to her as an animal...like...."Here Kitty, eat your oatmeal"....she just meows and takes a bite. Otherwise, she won't eat!!??? Go figure!!! I've never experienced this stage of development on this level before. I know that it is a wonderful thing for a child to pretend play but dang....she's taken it to a whole new level!!

I guess that's the gist of the update for now. I did take my sisters pictures yesterday....we are to broke for professional ones!!! haha!!! No really, I cannot afford $800 for good pictures and neither can she, so we settle for mine!!! But they are cute for...(as Ashley says...) free pictures!!! These are from yesterday!!! Jacob is so dang cute and he weighs like 10 lbs. He's a shrimp!! Emily is the Jolly Green Giant. She's only 7 and tall as all get out. But she is beautiful!!!

And I want to make a public apology to Candi.......I seriously did not ignore your invite to Emma's birthday bash....I just forgot!!! Sorry.......I need reminders for everything!!! I am horrible at keeping dates and remembering where I am suppose to be. And, I am late to everything, I really need to work on that!!! But we are super happy that Emma had such a wonderful party without us!!! Happy First to Emma!!!!

Road Trips, Cold Weather, Mothers, Kids & Camera's

2009-10-26T19:27:00.000-07:00

Saturday we were planning on going to Helen. I wanted to go and check out all the Ocktober Fest festivities. So, we were suppose to get up and get out by 8:30 am and Mom see's a Big Red Barn off the road in Emerson and decides that we need to stop and trespass on these people's property and get some pictures. So we did.....

You will notice a trend through out this post. My Mom is shutter happy!!! We were in Carterville still at 10:30 am and Trace starts complaining of a head ache. So......I have to stop and get Motrin and by the time we start to head out again, the desire to go is fading and fading fast!!! So, I talked my Mom and Tony in to going to the Petit Creek Farm Zoo thing. And we head that way. Well, as soon as we pull in, there is a dude standing off the side of the drive (that works there) peeing in the bushes. Yeah, he had the whole Pee Stance going on too. My mom starts screaming...."He's Peeing!!! OMG He's Peeing in the bushes!!!". Well, we get down to where you pay and the girl says that, basically, it is going to cost us $70 something bucks and I am thinking......REALLY??? Then I asked about feeding the animals, she tells me that I am more that welcome to BUY some feed to feed the animals. Okay, ummmmmm, NO!!! Well, the Lord decided to bless me right then and there when out of no where it starts to rain. I tell the kids...."We can't stay, it's raining and we'll get all muddy!!!". It was a super scape goat for me!!! On our way out, we pass like 15 trailers that are not even habitable but are being lived in. If they are charging that much....why so dumpy??? Just wonderin'!!! Anyway, after we leave we head into "town", downtown Cville and have lunch at the Swheat Deli. I think that's what it's called. That was really good. Emma even ate. And that's a miracle. We rummaged through an antique store, that had nothing interesting. As we are leaving, my Mom says....
'Let's take pictures by the train tracks and that red Coke wall"!! Ummm, I am not in the mood at this point. Plus, I did not think that it was a super great idea to have my children playing around very active train tracks!!! Well, I lost that argument. Turned out she had a good eye. And this is what I got out of it.

Then Tony takes us down some back road by the river. Coopers Furnace or something. Not really pretty but kinda interesting. The kids had fun.

There was a really strange guy out there who was ALL alone and just moped around making me really nervous and creeping me out. Mom took pictures of him and his truck so that we would have it if "anything happened"!!:) Then we decided to go on over to the Etowah Indian Mounds. I didn't want to get out at first because I thought that it was too cold for the kids. But, mom talked me into it and it ended up being really fun, and really cold.

Just so you know, he really did climb this thing.....all the way up....all alone!!!

Emmie hiding from me in the tall, tall grass!!!

We were sitting on a tree stump. It was like 4 ft across. It was huge!!!

After that escapade, we leave and you must understand that my mom thinks that we should get out at every single interesting looking place and take pictures. We pass this IMMACULATE "barn"....this thing was more beautiful than my house and about 4 times as big!!! She's like.....Lets get out and take some pictures.....I am saying NO the whole time thinking that these folks are going to call the police on us for being extra weird. But, she talks Tony into walking up on to the FARM where a Mexican is pressure washing a John Deer Tractor and asks if we can get out and do the deal. The man says yes, and I loose the battle......again.

After that.....we pass a cotton field....and guess what.....Mom has another conniption fit and we have to get out and take more pictures. This time I was okay because I thought that it'd be a great "learning experience" for the kids. Well, it was, I guess. They swiped about 5 lbs of cotton, shoving it in their pockets and ripping it up by the roots to take home and plant (MOM!!!)!!!

By the way, what the heck are we going to do with cotton plants??? I mean, King Stephan burnt all the spinning wheels in the early 1400's in Sleeping Beauty!!!! No, really, what I am suppose to do with a cotton plant???? Okay, so after all that, we head home.....and guess what....Mom sees a chair on the side of the road at a meth addicts make shift yard sale and has Tony turn around to get the dang thing so that we can "get on the internet and get some really funky fabric and reupholster it." #1, I do not know the first thing about reupholstering anything. #2, What the heck is she thinking?? When we pull up in the "drive" or dirt road that goes through the grass because these folks are too lazy to use the real drive way, two interesting men come a walking up. One didn't have teeth and one was just lost!!! They said $20 obo!!! Hummmmm, NO!!! We can't even get it home if we did want it. Riding 6 deep!!! Anyway,anyway, anyway.....it could be a pretty chair, IF it was reupholstered, but I am not that talented!!! So, that ended the day of wild, unplanned activities. Later that night, Trace ran a high fever and had a headache and his throat was swollen as ever and he had white blisters in his throat that we VERY visible. We did not make it to church Sunday because of that. I took him to the Physcians Medical in Hiram and they did and Strep and Flu test and both were negitive (Thank you Lord). I did give him a mixture of Honey and Cinnamon during the night and I did pray over it and him.....sooooo.....Thank you Jesus, that was greatly appreciated!!! He never ran another fever and the blisters were gone by Sunday night and he never complained of a sore throat again. Weird, hu? He didn;t go to school today because I didn't know if his immune system was suppressed a little still or what. I am all about preventive maintenance people. I took them to a little, side of the road, Pumpkin Patch today. They picked out their pumpkin and then we ate a little lunch at the park.

This is Emma, she is allergic to the camera!!! That's why she's never looking!!!:)

We went to Target and got Trace some Rain Boots. Optimus Prime Rain Boots. We are Transformer fans!!:) Then we came home and Trace carved our pumpkin!!!

It's been a good 3 days!!! Halloween is Saturday and it's suppose to rain. BOOOOOOOO!!! Booooo on the rain!!!! I have to get Anz something to wear??? Don't really know what she's going to be. Anyhow....that's all for now!!!! Sorry for all the pictures and the overload of information. It's a weekend to remember for us and I don't do journals. Oh, and sorry for any grammatical errors....it's 12:30 am!!! xoxo

Geeeeeezzzz Louise!!!!!!!!

2009-10-23T20:27:00.000-07:00

And 4 1/2 weeks later...........I have tons of catching up to do, so let me get started. Trace is doing great it school. He is in love with a little girl named Bethany. She is the WORST kid in his class. The child took her clothes off because she was mad about something.....go figure...??? But, he has this attraction to her. I guess because he knows she's different. He takes up to her and I have actually seen him go and pick her up and give her a kiss. Yeah, so..... is this the part where you reap what you sow??? I always did have a knack for the bad guys! Anyway, he loves art. It's his favorite. This is a picture of the owl that he drew & painted this past week.

He's such a smartie. There was another little project that they were doing for Reflections a few weeks ago. It's something that the whole school does. The idea of it is that you are given the phrase "Beauty is........." and then the child is suppose to finish it with a drawing describing what beauty is to them. Well, this is what Trace said Beauty is to him..........

I don't know if you can see what that is but....it's God. And that's him, on earth, happy picking flowers. (His own words) He said that God is in Heaven watching over him and keeping him safe. That's why he's happy on earth with the flowers!!!! This picture was entered into the competition, apparently not for the art, but for the depth of the response. So, we'll see next month what happens with it. We are so proud of him. His favorite thing right now is "Huntinn'".

I tried to write it as country as he says it, but I think that it's not doing his slang justice. Just try and say it as country as possible in your head. He actually went to school and told a teacher that he went hunting and killed a deer and "took my knife and cut it's guts out of its belly!!". Yeah, lovely hu? They must think that we live in the woods, in a double wide, painted camouflage colors with Merle Haggard blazing from a boom box on our make shift, held up by cylinder blocks, front porch!!! He's a trip. I love him!!!

I have also taken on the crafty side of my personality. I made, yes made with a sewing machine, these outfits for my girls.

I first saw them on Etsy and I loved them so much but was NOT going to pay dang $60 + for the whole get~up!!! So, I bought the pattern from a girl off Etsy and I did it. It was pretty easy. I mean, I was real confused to begin with because it was all measurements, besides the bodice, but after consulting my all knowing, wonderful mother.....all was good!!

Emma is talking, well better than before. She still speaks Mandarin Chinese most of the time but it always ends with what she is trying to say. Her voice is soooooo squeaky and sweet. And she NEVER looks at me when I try to take her picture.

She'd rather play with gum. (that's what she's doing in this picture). I am trying to potty train her and she is not at all interested. She pitches fits and is emotionally attached anything that resembles a cat or an elephant. If we leave it in the store, oh Lord......she has a major emotional melt down. She cries with the whole jerk and can't catch her breath kind of cry. It's kinda funny. Not really, because it's embarrassing. Hopefully, she'll out grow all this. Anslie was never like this. She's so good and sweet and helpful. She is my BFF!!! She has been painting and drawing and learning to write. She can write and spell Kitty, Anslie and Mommy. She loves the camera. Always ready and willing to just perk up and smile. I love her personality.

She's like me and her style is funky. I love her!!!

I will try to be better at keeping this thing updated. I am sorry that it's been so long. But you guys aren't too on top of it either. Well, except Candi. She does like 2 blogs a day:) I love them though, so don't stop Candi!!!!

We are going to Helen tomorrow.....whoop whoop for Oktoberfest!!!! Maybe a story or two to share, if time permits!!!

Love, love......xoxoxo

Anslie Turns 4

2009-09-19T20:25:00.000-07:00

September 19th, 2005...the most beautiful baby girl was brought into this world. She's perfect in every way. Caring, sweet, loving, & nurturing are all qualities that my baby girl possesses. She is amazing in every way. I love her laugh more than anything. She has this laugh that even when whatever is going on may not be all that funny, you'll always get a laugh out of Anslie's little chuckle. It's awesome. We call it the "Fat girl laugh!!". She is forever trying to be the little Mama Hen around here. She wipes noses and makes sure that everyone is in or out of the car. She takes "dangerous" things away from Emma or Jacob. She shares everything. She is the least stingy kid I've ever known. She completes my world. She is everything that I could ever want in a daughter. She's my best friend and I love her more than the world. Today we celebrated her 4th birthday. Her first question was..."Mommy, when I wake up tomorrow, will I be 5?"!!! Ha...She wants to be 5 because Trace is 5. ???? I don't quite understand it myself. But hey...whatever floats her boat!!! Last night, Sophia, Peyton, Alexus, Emily and Anslie all had a little birthday slumber party. We took them to Best Buy at like 9pm. They played Guitar Hero Beatles, or whatever that thing is, while Tony and I shopped for computers. Their exact words were "Best Buy is like a castle"!!! It was tiring, but fun!! This morning Mimi and Trace came home and brought Ans all kinds of paint stuff, Anslie is an artist, if you didn't know! (no, I am not kidding) Then Papaw and Suzy showed up with her little gift, a flashy pink Sleeping Beauty Jacket with a super flashy Tutu!!! She loves it. Then Mimi surprised Anslie with a trip to the "Tea Party House". (by the way, the hats come with the tea party service....she picked it out herself...God bless it) We had the best tea party ever. It was the sweetest thing to see her in there with her Mimi having a "real" tea party. Although, when it came time to order what kind of tea she wanted, she chose Hot Chocolate..... go figure!!! It was great though and we really appreciate Mimi for the treat. You're the bomb Mom!!! Then we headed off to Mamaw and Papaws. Ans got all kinds of goodies and we had dinner and they had cake and it was great!!! So, all in all......we have a really fabulous day (aside from all the dang rain). A note to Anslie..... Ans, I love you more than life. You are so precious to me and I could never imagine my life with out you in it. You have been such a blessing in my life. I love your innocence and the way you know how to, just, love!!! You are an amazing little girl. No one can compare to you. I get up everyday anxious to see what wonderful thing you will do next. You amaze me more and more everyday. I am so proud to call you My Little Girl!!! Kisses forever and ever!!!! I love you forever, I like you for always!!!!! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxo:)

Trace Also participated in the "Tea Party" (Hence the Cowboy hat). Dietrich said that I am NEVER allowed to take my SON to a tea party again, as long as I live.....really, I am sure that he is not suffering from any kind of identity crisis because of it. He was the little man who took his "women" to have tea!!!

This was Trace and Anslie's lunch!! Or whats left of it.

My sweet girl sipping Hot Chocolate at a tea party!!!

I have so many more pictures. Maybe I can do a follow-up tomorrow. I must write about Trace loosing his first tooth today!!! So, ....... for now, I have to sleep, church is in the morning and I CANNOT be late!!!! Nighty Night:)

Kindergarten!!!!

2009-08-17T18:59:00.000-07:00

So, today, August 17th, 2009, was my sweet baby boy's first day of school. I cannot believe that I made it out of that building with out having a full blown anxiety attack. It's not that I am afraid that he will get hurt or anything like that. I have a major control problem with my kids. I think all mom's do, or should. I am more worried than anything about influence. But, I am not going to divulge all my issues on this blog about that. He had a wonderful first day. We got up this morning and had breakfast together and drank some chocolate milk and watched Little Bear. We walked him to his class and he just went in like he's been doing it his whole life. No reservation, at all. I was surprised. I thought that he would at least give a little whimper. But, nothing!!!! He just went in and barely said bye to me. So, I turned around after watching him from the door for a few minutes and I cried. Just a little though. I don't like to cry in front of all kinds of people. But I figured, I had the right!!! I didn't really know what to do with myself. No one was here to aggravate Anslie, so I thought. Emma did end up getting Trace's METAL baseball bat out of his closet and hit Anslie in the head with it. Yeah, that kid is out of control!!! Anyway..... I did get a call around 10-ish or so.....It was my mom!!! She said..."Christi.....Why didn't you feed him breakfast???!!!!". REALLY???? Are you kidding me. My kid went to school and told his teachers and his Mimi that I did not feed him breakfast!!! We are going to contribute that to a lack of memory on his behalf. He just had a lot going on and somehow forgot about me MAKING him eat!!! Anyway, the day was a little weird without him. After school, we picked him up and took him to get an Ice Cream. I asked him if he wanted an ice cream cone or ice cream with chocolate, he said with chocolate. So, that's what I got and then he didn't want it because it wasn't on a cone!!! GOOD GRIEF!!!! I can never win!!! So, all in all, I think it was a pretty good day, besides the rain. I think I am still in shock over it all. I never in my life thought that this day would come. I remember when he was born, I thought....... "He will never go to school. He's so little." Well, I was wrong. I'll have Anslie with me for two more years and Emma for three. After that.....who knows. But, for now, I am very proud of my little man!!! He's so smart and sweet!!! I love him and I can't wait to see what he will learn. (I mean, I am the best teacher that he has....so, I shouldn't be too worried!!!) Hey, maybe he will go to Sunday school now without crying...???? He always makes a fuss at Sunday School...????? It must not be as fun or something. Who knows. Ta taa for now!!!

Pirates of SeaShell Island, Arrgg Matey!!!

2009-07-29T19:02:00.000-07:00

(You must read this story with Pirate Slang!!)

There's a tale of crew of shady pirates who, long ago, sailed the seas of the deep blue called Ye El golfo de México. These shipmates came upon an Island out in the middle of no~wheres. They landed on this here spit of dry ground by chance when the great sea goddess, Calypso, brewed up a storm that threw'em ashore. Captain Bootstrap Mac was here a leading these fine sailors, shipmate Tracer and the little lady, Princess Anslie (who was kidnapped by pirates at birth and raised to be a scalawag). Oh, and we dare not forget about the beast....the littlest one... Shrimp Mate Emmie Geecie.

These here pirates were on a hunt for treasure. This wasn't just any kind of treasure. This was Mermaidopia treasure. You see, there was once a Mermaid who was married to a prince, Prince William was his name. She had an awful spell put upon her by the Captain of the Black Swirl. Captain Smoke Dogg!!!!!
He was a fearsome beast. He had the strength of 500 men and was deeply in love with this beautiful mermaid. When Mermaid Christina went to see the Sea Witch, Versula, to beg for a human body so that she could be with her Prince William, the Sea Witch agreed. Princess Christina lived on the dry land with her prince and this angered the Smoke Dogg. He put a spell on her that if she was ever to step even one foot into the deep blue, ever again, she fate was that she was to be joined with the dead in Davey Jones Locker!!!!

A storm was a brewing on the horizon and the crew knew they didn't have much time. That Sea goddess, Calypso, had it out for Bootstrap and his gang. She was ripping the ocean apart with a vengeance. You see, it was Calypso that loved Captain Smoke Dogg. She got wind that he was sailing these parts of the ocean and that his true love, Princess Christina, had just been thrown over board, and now, his heart was truly broken. At this, she could take no more and the whole ocean was in an uproar and at the mercy of Calypso. Captain Bootstrap Mac and his crew happened to be thrown on to this here island

where, out a bit in the waves, they saw something being tossed about by the angry sea.....what be it??? Why, lo' and behold..... it be a... GIRL??? When they got aground they came to find out that it was indeed the treasure they had be searchin' for. It was Princess Christina. She'd been thrown off her ship in the storm and washed ashore. Because the love of Bootstrap was so strong for her, the curse could not lay hold the pretty Lass!!! The little lady lived.... Captain Smoke Dogg's curse had not come to pass. And here she be....

re-united with her little ladies. She and her little pirates, Captain Bootstrap Mac and even Versula lived out their days,

here on this island. They can still be found there to this day. If you be finding yourself looking for adventure.... just climb aboard ye ship and sail out into the Gulf. You will find these pirates living the life of hermit crabs amongst the saltiest seas!! I tell you for the depths of the oceans, they never have been a group that could produce finer rum than these!!! They re-named their island.... Fantasy Island. There is where all things good can happen!!!

Okay, really.... these are the pictures from the best day that we had our whole vacation. This really was an Island in the bay. There was no one on this part of the island that we were on. It was the most beautiful piece of land I had ever stepped foot on. If that place was as beautiful as it was.... I cannot wait to see what Heaven looks like. There was Spanish moss growing everywhere and the sea grass was amazing. There were hermit crabs and little crabs that walk sideways everywhere. The lumber on this place looked like it had been strategically placed there to look even more beautiful. It was nothing less than amazing.

The Bed!!!

2009-07-28T18:50:00.001-07:00

This is Anslie in a picture with her "new" headboard to her "new" bed. Okay, let me tell you about this bed. I walked into this boutique in Florida and in the back of the store was this beautiful bed. I wasn't sure if it was real or not. The woman had somethings laid out on it and I wasn't sure if the bed part was just like some kind of display for those items or something. It was just so beautiful. Well, the woman walks back there to me while I am looking at it and says... I have to tell you about this bed. I asked her if it was real. She says yes, it's real and it's like 150 years old and all the carvings and woodwork is hand done and it has been hand painted by herself. So, I called my mom over there and showed it to her and she, of course, loved it. Well, we left the store without it and that night and the next day, we talked about it and thought about it. Well, my wonderful, giving, gracious mother called the lady and left her AMEX # with her and purchased the bed for me!!!! I told her that I would give her the money and that was our agreement.....until today. She's standing in my kitchen and tells Anslie that she bought the bed for mine and Tony's anniversary. Whatever, I am giving her the money for it. I love her for her kindness and generosity but she has done more for me than I ever deserved. Okay, back to my story. So, we bring the bed home. We get here around 12:15 am Saturday morning. Anslie and Trace slept on the couch because I just didn't feel like moving them. We propped the bed up against the closet door in the living room and left all our luggage in the floor and went to bed. Well, Anslie comes into our room at about 9 am and says....There's a girl outside...I asked her what she was talking about and she instisted that there was a girl outside. Tony said... oh, you're talking about across the street??... she said "no". I asked her if she was talking about out front or our back and she says "no, not where boots is (out back), there is a girl outside the window.....(long pause)...she wants her bed back." And she turned around and walked out of the room. .... We looked at each other and were like "WHAT THE CRAP???". I got up and asked her where she saw her and she pointed to the front door window. Well, let me say that I do not believe in "haunting's". I do not believe that an object can carry a spirit in it. I do believe in demonic spirits and Heavenly spirits. If there was a spooky girl who wants her bed back standing outside my front door, intimidating my child....there's a reason it's OUTSIDE!!! I have pleaded the blood of Jesus Christ of this home and my family. Nothing can enter my home without our permission. NOTHING!!! I didn't say anything else to her about it and she didn't talk about it again wither. I really don't believe that Anslie saw this the way we think she did. I did find my mail outside my door later that morning. Perhaps my neighbor was dropping it off and Anslie just saw her and who knows what was going thru her mind to say something about the bed. I just thought that it was so funny and such a good story for us to have to go along with this "new" family heirloom that we've just invested in. I took this picture of her with the bed so that when she has kids, her girls can see her as a child with the bed they will be sleeping on. The head board and foot board are identical, so I can actually have two twins if I wanted. One for Anslie and one for Emmie G!! Anyway, that's the short story of "THE BED". I hope it was as much entertainment for you as it was for us.

1..2..3..4..5..6..And Counting!!!

2009-07-25T17:48:00.000-07:00

6 years! Yep, Tony and I have made it to our six year mark!!! We were married by some random judge in the lame town of Cartersville, one night after Tony got off work!!! I wore a pair of flip flops and capri's and I have the ONE Polaroid to prove it!!! He came home and said.... do you think the court house is open....I remember my heart fell into my stomach... I knew what he was thinking. Even though I knew I had to marry him, I was flipping out inside. I was 2 months pregnant and I was not about to have a child without being married. I know... I shouldn't have been having pre-marital sex...but whatever....I did and here we are!!! So, let me give you the low down on how we managed to make it this far. It's quite an interesting story, to me anyway! So.... let's take it waaaaaaaay back....I was 17 and I was in a bar, yes, a bar.... I will not reveal who took me to this bar or who let me in b/c I don't want to be the cause of something like defamation of character or something!!! Anyway, I walked in this place and it was nothing other than hilarious. These people were the biggest losers I had ever seen!!! I was asked to dance like 5 times before I got all the way in the door. Needless to say, I WAS the prettiest girl in there. I said no to anyone who asked me to dance. Good grief, I didn't know how to dance. Well, there was this guy who came up to me and said "...blah, blah....something, something....do you want to dance?" I said no, I don't dance so he walked off. (this guy was Tony) Well, his little buddy (aka: Bo) was pretty persistent and would not leave me alone. About 30 minutes into being there, my cousin, Billy, bought me my first Long Island Iced Tea....I had about 4!!!!! (Porcelain express, here I come). So I drank it. After that...hummm, not real sure. I learned how to dance real fast though. I was dancing my tail off. I had moves like a black girl!!! (So I thought anyway.) Well, I didn't know any of these guys that I was dancing with and I surly did not know their names. It came time to leave and all I remember is being carried out, bare foot, piggy back style out of the club. The guy who carried me asked me for my number and I know I said no and I didn't have a phone, but the chick I was with gave it to him anyway. This guy became my first fiance. We were together for about 3 or 4 years. So, one day, about 5 months later after the bar night, Bo takes me to his friends house. The friend who owns the house is not there but the room mate, Pokey, was and we were all just hanging out and getting some sun out back. Well, next thing I know, the little hottie (owner of the house) from the bar comes out back where we are and says hi and greets everyone and goes back inside. They tell me that his name is Tony!!! Well, the years go by and Tony and I become friends. I was always the youngest out of the whole group and most of the time, I didn't get to go out with them. I would just stay at Tony's house while all of them went out and I would sleep in his bed b/c it was the only bed in the house that wasn't on the floor. Well, my fiance never came back home with them. He was a cheater. Anyway, I would just end up sleeping with Tony. NOT LIKE THAT!!! EVER!!!! I just didn't want to sleep on the floor. Tony and Bo were room mates for a while. Then Bo and I moved to TN. I will not go off on that rant!!!! About a year and a half after Bo and I broke up I was living with my sister and I was about to break up with my current BF, Austin, when Crystal and I watched this movie called..."Sweet Temptation". OMW!!! The guy in that movie was so dang hott we watched it two times in a row!!! Well, that night I went to bed and I had a dream about Tony! In this dream, he kissed me. It wasn't anything sexual or anything, he just kissed me. Well, the next day at work I was freaking out. I wanted to see him sooooo bad and my friend Kim was there telling me to call him. But, then I remembered that he was married. But I had heard that he was getting divorced. So, I called up the court house to find out. The woman on the other end said that the divorce had been final since November 8th!!! WHOO HOOO!!! So, I knew where he worked, so I called. And guess what..... he wasn't there!!!! I was really sad!!! So, I called him the next day and he answered. And lo and behold, he invited me over!!!!! So I jumped on the opportunity. Our first official date was in March. Then we broke up and then we dated again and he dumped me on my birthday for some strung out, drug dealer, hippie wanabe chick and then on May 1st 2003 at Cowboys... he asked me to dance to Good Morning Beautiful and there, with his blood shot eyes and beer breath told me he loved me!!! I told him to take two aspirins and call me in the morning. He insisted all night long that he loved me and he was so sorry for all the crap and that he knows he let a good thing go. Well, I fell for him, again. And on June 28th, 2003, little Trace was brought into existence and on July 18th, Tony asked me to be his wife via text message. He said "I want to be a father to our child and I want to be your husband, will you marry me?". So, on July 25, 2003... I became Christina Maria Mulkey!!! And after six (long, hard, and sometimes, painful) years & three kids later......we made it. We made A LOT of mistakes and we've done some really messed up stuff. But, I can write this to you knowing that the Grace of God and our Faith in Him has brought us through things that 99% of marriages would not survive!! God has been so great to our family and He has blessed us beyond belief. I do love Tony. No matter how bad it gets, I love him and I will always be his wife. I am so thankful to have a man who will provide for all of us. He makes it possible to raise these children the way we want to. He prays with them. He tells stories and plays with them. He cooks for them when I don't feel like it. He gives baths. He changes dookie diapers, even though he doesn't really know how. He is such a wonderful father. And this last week at the beach.... he has proved what a wonderful husband he can be. If these last 6 years didn't break us, nothing can. I love him and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with him. I was actually thinking of having a wedding next year. A major throw down of a wedding. Since I didn't get one. OMGosh, it could be like a 3 day wedding bash or something. Okay, that's another blog!!! So, that's part of the story of how Tony and I became the Mulkantors (Name compliments of Lee Mitchell). Hope you enjoyed my story. I know it sounds horrible but in the scheme of things.....it's apple pie!!!!

Just Beachy

2009-07-23T12:23:00.000-07:00

Well, we are on our 6th day here at the beach. It has been so fun with all the kids. Emma was quite terrified to begin with. But goodness, now I can't get the kid out of the water. She is all about it. She'll just walk right up to the shore line and let the waves hit her. She thinks it's great!!! Anslie loves it too. She's always loved it though. Trace likes it. He'd much rather be in the pool. He has learned how to use the skim board. He looks so little out there catching himself some waves. He is very talented. He picked it up with in 5 minutes of being out there and he LOVED it. He fell a few times but it didn't phase him or his confidence. Mom and Mark left Tuesday night. I thought that I was going to have a heart attack being left here with three kids and a husband all alone. I really thought about sitting down and crying at first. But it's been good. They are really good kids and they are making it easy for me. We are having so much fun. Tomorrow is our last full day. I think I am going to leave at like 5am on Saturday morning. There are millions of stories that I want write you about and post pictures but I downloaded all my pictures to my mom's computer and well, she had the computer. So, when I get back, I'll write my stories and post the pictures to go with it. Here are some pictures that I have taken since they left and maybe some from before. Enjoy

Anslie's "Sea Shell Pie"

My Trio!!!

Emmie's Beach Sucker!!! I wanted better pictures with it, but they couldn't wait to eat it....so......

Emmie's 1st little sand dollar.

Our little "almost" sand castle. It was sad. We had no tools or know how on what to do to make a sand castle. They didn't care:)

My little surfer dude!!!

Oh Goodness!!!

2009-07-22T14:19:00.000-07:00

Okay, I really don't have the time or energy to post a whole lot. I have a million pictures I would like to post but I won't. I posted 7 pages of pictures on my facebook so far. Go on there and look. I have blocked out certain people from seeing those pictures so if you have issues getting in there, let me know. I will take a nap and hopefully tonight I can do a really good 5 day catch up blog.

Busy Summer Days

2009-07-10T12:02:00.000-07:00

Well, yesterday we headed out to the movies to see The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything at about 9:20 am. We met up with Lindsay, Braden and the baby! The kids watched about a half hour of it and were ready to go. So, we shopped a little while Lindsay fed to baby and I got the two cutest sun hats for the girls. Oh mi goodness, they are the sweetest things I've ever seen. One of them is bright yellow with a big ol' brim with lady bugs all around it. The other one is super bright blue with white polka dots and a big yellow ribbon tied around it. it has a really big brim too. I thought that they would be perfect for our trip to the beach next week!!! Well, from there we left and went out to Mamaw and Papaws. Trace and Anslie wanted Papaw to take them on a four wheeler ride. Look how they hold on to each other.

It's so sweet how much they care about each other. Trace thought he was something else when Papaw let him drive the four wheeler. They went for a long ride and Trace "drove" the whole time. He was trying to learn how to switch the gears and use the breaks. I think it is so awesome, Trace is such a boy!!!

Me and Trace and Papaw all took a ride together too and not only did we got lost but we got rained on. Papaw thought that it would be a good idea if we tried a "new" way......... yeah, not such a good idea!!! It was a fun adventure though. When Trace realized that we were really lost, of course he started crying. But we tried to tell him that we were just kidding. It didn't work for very long. It was funny!! Anyway, we hung out there all day and had a blast. Came home about 4:30 pm or so and I was pooped. That's about all worth writing about right now. Although, Emma did take special interest in Papaw for some reason. She just went around saying "Papaw, Papaw!!". Oh, and they got this crazy massage chair and Emma Grace thought that thing was great. She sat in it and just went into a blank stare for the longest time. It was very cute the way she acted, like a little adult. Okay, I am done. Trace just woke up and wants a waffle and to watch Little Bear. Ta Ta!!!

Too Much To Write About!!!

2009-07-06T18:04:00.000-07:00

Well, Tony was off Friday through Sunday. The kids really enjoyed having their daddy home with them and I enjoyed it too because I kinda got a break, some what. I did manage to get Anslie out early one morning and take some pictures of her. See, I know that these pictures are not great quality, but I am uploading them to Picnik and then saving them to my computer after editing them. I know I am loosing major quality through that process, but until I can get a new computer to run my CS4 on (and until I learn how to use it....) this will just have to do! But, I love these pictures. She is such a natural. She's not all fake and cheezy looking when I take her pics. I didn't have to coach her on any of these, she just does it!!

Trace has a new fear.... yes, a new fear. See, Trace is afraid of a lot of things like, fireworks, his room, rain, thunderstorms, tornados, warm milk, that kind of stuff. Well, he has a new one to add to the list and it is Michael Jackson. He is straight up terrified of him. It is so funny. Like for instance, last night I gave him a new kind of sleepy time tea. I was telling him that this tea will relax his body and give him good dreams and he says, "yeah, this tea makes you have good dreams, not dreams about Michael Jackson, cause this tea don't know Michael Jackson.". You just have to see his face when he says these things. It is hilarious. Today I was telling him that when we go to the beach that we are going to rent a boat and dress up like pirates. He says..."is papool (my step-dad) going to dress up like Michael Jackson?". Another night, I think like Friday or something, he starts crying ay like 6'Oclock and I ask him why he is crying and he says that he can't quit thinking about Michael Jackson and he's scared that he is going to have dreams about him. I know that it may not be funny to y'all, but it is flipping hilarious to me. So, anyway, I had to tell him that MJ is dead and buried in the ground and he can not have dreams about dead people. He seems to believe me so far. We let him watch the movie Moon Walker and now he wants to listen to Billy Jean all the time. He says "Mommy, I wanna listen to moon walker". He loves it when he moon walks. Anslie thinks MJ is great. She thought Thriller was something else. She pretends to be the werewolf and pretends that her nails are growing really long and acts just like a little monster. She could care less about it being scary. Trace thinks that he is a break dancer and he just made up this little thing that he calls the "inch worm". I promise you, he looks just like an inch worm when he does it. Well, he did it several times on Saturday and well, this is what happened. It's carpet burn.

Anyway, we went and seen fire works in Villa Rica on Friday night. It was a fun, spur of the moment thing. We weren't going to go but after I got the kids dressed for bed, they were kinda rowdy so we took them. As you can see in this picture, their crazy!!!

Here is Anslie enthralled with fireworks. She thought that they were grand!!! Her words were..."What in the world" said with the most exciting little girl scream on the planet. She's great!!

And here is Trace and Emma Grace crying about the fireworks. They are little worry warts!!!

Okay, I know that I have written too much for some of y'all so I'll hang it up now. Ta~taa!!!

Trace Has A Bad Day!!!

2009-07-02T19:53:00.000-07:00

So we were at my mom's today swimming and eating lunch. Here, let's do roll call..... Me, Crystal, Mom, Emily, Trace, Anslie, Emma, Jacob, Ella, and Charity! We are all sitting outside eating a 100%, to the core, German lunch. (My mom was in Germany too long). It consisted of some Rye bread with liverwurst and olives, ham, salami,and Tomato, Cucumber, Olive oil, and vinegar salad. I think that's it. Oh, and some of these German wieners with hot mustard. It was really good. Well, Trace was eating nicely and after sitting there for like a minute after we got started, I look at Trace and he's gagging. I asked him if he was okay and then he spit out some ham. So, for a split second I thought that he was okay. Well, he started to slowly get out of the chair and bend over a little bit. Then I realized that he was still choking. Crystal and I start freaking out. She picks him up and turns him upside down and starts hitting him on the back. Still nothing comes up and his little lips were blue and around his lips was turning colors. All I could think was "Oh God, no, he's gonna die" Well at that time my sister starts screaming (I mean SCREAMING) IN THE NAME OF JESUS, IN THE NAME OF JESUS over and over. I saw her stick her hand DOWN his throat and all I am thinking while I am beating the crap out of his back is.... "she's going to push it farther down!!". Well, my mom come running and I really don't know what happened after that. Crystal pulled of some ham that had been lodged in his throat and he was fine!!! I picked him up and just started crying and thanking God that he was okay!! Crystal was crying and hyperventilating and saying "oh God, oh God" over and over. By the time I looked over at her my mom says, "Crystal, you're as white as your shirt" and buddy she was. I told her that she was almost as white as Michael Jackson. HA HA HA!!! Whew, it was scary. And it happened so fast. So needless to say, Trace won't be eating ham anymore, or any other tough meat for that matter. He has choked so many times. It's crazy!!

Well, later, we let him watch Thriller. Not a good idea. He was scarred to death. He was sitting in Tony's lap and was frozen stiff from fear. So I told Tony to turn it off. Well, Trace walks over to me and says..."Mommy, my legs are shaking". God bless it's soul. He was so terrified that his little legs were shaking. So we had to explain the whole process of how it's not real and there is nothing to be afraid of. I took him outside and showed him the moon and told him that same God that we pray to is the same God that hung the moon and if He can do that, then there is nothing for us to be afraid of. I put him in the bed and he went right to sleep. He's the bomb~diggity!!!

Then, yes there's more, I took him to the mall to exchange the clothes that we ordered for him b/c they were entirely too big. The shirts looked like dresses on him. I bought 5's, because he's 5, but he needs a four like something serious. Well while we're in the store, he's hanging from the little shelf thing at the register and falls flat on his face. He was okay, but do you know what the woman asked me??? If I wanted to fill out an incident report. I mean, he cried, but only from embarrassment. Good grief. No I do not want to fill out a form because my 5 year old was acting like a 5 year old!!! I know that they do it to protect themselves but it's just horrible that people have abused the system so bad that if your kid acts like a kid, they want you to fill out a form. PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY for parents people!!! Here we go again. Do not blame the store for your kids behavior.

Anyway, I know tomorrow and this weekend is going to be much better than today!!! Thank you Lord Jesus that Trace is okay and we were there when it happened. God is good!!!

That's all for now. Enjoy the random pictures.

I walked into my moms living room, and this is what I saw. I couldn't resit the little bare booty!!!

How to Spell Love

2009-06-24T18:39:00.000-07:00

Just a little picture from about 2 years ago of Trace and Anslie. They love each other soooo much!!! Now to my point........

Today I read something that struck a chord with me. It was talking about parenting and how to spell the word love. It said just this..... Love is spelled.. T-I-M-E!!! When I got to thinking about this it kinda made me do a self check to make sure that I am spending ample amount of time with my children. I am with my kids 24/7. I need a babysitter once a year, for Lee's sisters Christmas party. That's it. That's all I have time for. These kids are my life. They go every where with me, including the bathroom. All the mom's with 3 or more kids know that a bath alone is a lost dream from long ago!!! For goodness sake, they were with us at Emma's birth. Trace's words were.... "Mommy said."aaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" and had a baby!!!" We do library trips and go shopping together and do parks everyday almost, and swim everyday and watch movies and play on the slip n slide and all kinds of other activities!!! But this isn't the time I interpreted this phrase to mean. I want the time with my kids where there is no tv, radio's, portable dvd players, computers, company..... nothing, nada... just us sharing what limited time we have together. Getting to know each other on a whole different level. Really getting involved with them and teaching them everything I know. And realizing that Trace is going into Kindergarten, yeah, putting a damper on the belief that I once had, that was, "I have all the time in the world with them, they'll never grow up or start school, that's years away!!!". I honestly remember thinking when I had Trace that he would never grow up!! Boy was I wrong. I guess I am on a mission to keep the TV's off and stay off the computer until they are sleeping. I want to make sure that my house is in order before I go to bed so that when I wake up, we can have the WHOLE day together. If I can make this change into a lifestyle, I know that when they do grow up, which hopefully will be never, I won't have the problem of "not knowing my children" like so many other parents do. Not to be mean, but how do you not know that your teenager is addicted to porn or child porn, or suicidal, or addicted to meth or alcohol or being molested, or have been raped or some other tragedy. I want to be involved in every aspect of my child's life. I want to be their teacher. I refuse to pawn that job off to some public or private school employee. The Lord God gave them to Tony and myself and I take full responsibility for their education. That doesn't mean that they aren't going to school. Trace starts in August, at a public school. But, if he isn't meeting expectations, that's my fault and no one else. If they are over weight or unhealthy, it isn't McDonald's fault or Coke's fault or Little Debbie's fault (by the way, we DO NOT consume any of that crap) it's my fault as his keeper and parent and protector. If I get the inkling that something isn't right, it's probably not right!!! The only way to have that intuition is to know your child. I know every look that comes from each and every one of my children. It's like they are an extension of myself. It's crazy. I want my kids to know God. I want them to know God like they know me, but even better. I want them to be obedient to the Holy Spirit when it moves them. I want them to understand, fully the Holy Spirit and His power in their life. I don't want them to "believe" in something just because they are accustomed to it and have been around it all their life. I want them to have knowledge about it. I want them to not just memorize verses but actually know who said it and in what context and why and who they were speaking to and about what!! I want them to know the history of the Word of God. I want them to know everything there is available to know through God. The only way, I think, to nurture this kind of behavior is to model it. That is what I am going to do. From this day forth, I will "time" my children and love them while I'm at it.

The End!!!

http://thislifeandalittlemore.blogspot.com/

2009-06-22T20:10:00.000-07:00

This is my other blog, for those of you who don't follow it. It's random things, but most of the time, very interesting, if you have time to read. They can get lengthy!!! But it's all in good fun!!! Hope to see ya there!!!

Welcome Silas Crews Whited

2009-06-22T18:18:00.000-07:00

Okay, since Lindsay hasn't time for a blog, I will do the pleasures for her.

Lindsay and Brad has a baby boy on June 10th, 2009 & Braden became a big brother. His name is Silas Crews and he is so beautiful!!! Here is a little picture that we took of him last week. I hope to get some really good ones of him here soon, like maybe the weekend or something.

Congrats to Lindsay and Brad!!!!

The Little Man!

2009-06-17T12:31:00.000-07:00

Doesn't he look just like a little man!!!!

We went to the park yesterday and snapped this picture of the little cutie!! I know that I am no photographer, but I love this picture!!!! It shows his little personality so well. He knows he's cute!! We took off his onesie and sat him on it and put Trace's little tie on him!! I think that it turned out so cute!!! This is my favorite picture of him! Here are two of the others that we did yesterday! Crystal doesn't have a blog, so I thought I'd do her the favor of making a debut post of Jacob!! Hope y'all liked it!

Happy 2nd Birthday To My Sweet Emma Grace

2009-06-12T13:14:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that my baby is 2 years old already!!! My little 8 lbs & 6 oz of pure love is only about 14 lbs bigger and a little taller than she was the day she was born. She is my little squirt, just like her brother!!! I was so, so, so sad when I found out that I was pregnant again. Even though there was always something in me that said I would have three, I never thought that it would happen so quickly, you know, three in a 4 year period! 2005, 2006 & 2007!! Okay, get this.... I got pregnant in 2003, was pregnant in 2004, got pregnant in 2005, got pregnant in 2006 and was pregnant half way through 2007!!!! Oh, my gosh. So it went from June 28th, 2003 - June 11th 2007 that I was knocked up at some point in all of those years!!! No wonder I am a flippin' basket case!!! I've never done the math until now, but now I see where my issues lie! It's all good though. Emma Grace is not worth a million years with the other two alone. She completes my little trio I've got going on here. She is my little baby girl and she loves on me all the time and lets me hold her and rock her and sing to her and sleep with her. My others never let me do that. They always wanted to get up and go get into something. Emmie is my love bug.

Some of the little things that she does now is she'll repeat what I ask her to say. She can speak after all!!! Today in the store, I ask her to say Whole Wheat and she said it perfectly. She hollers for Trace all the time and says Sissy for Anslie. I love it. Today, Lu was trying to hold her in the store and she didn't want her to so I said "Lu, just leave her alone". Emma turns to Lu Lu and points her finger and says ... "No, no, no....(baby talk, points at me...and says..) Mommy.. no, no!!!!". She was telling her that I said to leave her alone!! It was so cute!!! She still takes 3 hours naps. it's quite lovely!! She is pretty much crawling in her bed at about 7:45 pm every night too! Yes, she takes a nighty night bottle before she goes to sleep, I will be weening her off of it! I just believe that the sucking reflex is very important for babies to be able to exercise. My mom has a lifetime of experience in Early Childhood Development and a PhD to go along with it and so, I'll go with the info that I get from her, not the M.D.'s!!! She loves her purple blanket, it's the lifeline around here. Last night, I had to wash it b/c it was filthy. Well, she woke up at around 4 am and would not go back to sleep. I had to get her wet blanket out of the washer and give it to her and she went right back to sleep, with a wet "dank"!!! (that's what she calls it). She will pee in the potty if I take her. If I don't she'll pee ONCE in a diaper and then take it off. I'm thinking it's time to get serious with the potty training. She HATES the pool!!! Screams bloody murder when put in. The child will not even get in the baby pool. She'll sit on the side of the baby pool and splash in it but will not get in. That's gonna have to change before we head out for vacation! Anyway, here are some pictures of our sweet baby girl. I am so sad that she is no longer a baby but at the same time, sooooo glad!!!! It's major bittersweet!!

Dead Animals & 2 Year Olds!!!

2009-06-07T15:24:00.000-07:00

So, I really haven't anything to write to you of interest. A few days ago I told Jennifer that I was going to write a blog about a conversation that we had. It was going to be titled Dead Animals & Dookie!! Yes, Dookie! See, called me and was telling me that her cat, who has OCD with bringing dead animals to her, (which is a sign of love and affection toward the owner - be thankful your cat loves you Jenn!) brought her a half dead or half alive, which ever one you choose, chipmunk to her. She said that it was still breathing but that the cat had pretty much gave it a death sentence! So, in the mist of her freaking out over what to do with this poor, incapacitated animal her husband tells her to "smack it with a shovel". Yeah, I'm thinking, not so much!!! Like, are you serious, smack it with a shovel? He wants this woman, who mind you is already shaken in her boots, to preform a euthanize~ation on this poor animal. I agree, it needed to be put out of it's misery or fed to the cat or something but lets not ask the one person around who is already terror stricken and while her 6 year old is a witness to all this. I really do not know what happened after that because at that point my beautiful two year old comes around the corner with a baby doll that looks like it's holding a Hershey Kiss in it's hands. The only reason I thought this is because Tony had just bought two bags of the little kisses and she's been eating them all day! She hands me the doll and I am looking at it thinking, "it better be chocolate!". Well, much to NOT my surprise it surely wasn't a Kiss!! Nope, it was dookie!!! She had taken her diaper off and pooped somewhere and used her poor baby doll's hands to pick it up and bring it to me. Is that the same as an animal bringing you a dead animal? You know, your kid bringing you a turd?? Yeah, I didn't think so! Anyway, I take her and put her in the bath and give the doll a bath and put it in the washer and off I go looking for poop! Guess where I find the poop?? Right smack in the middle of my bathing suit bottoms. Yep, looks like I straight up took a dump in my britches!!! No joke, I was so happy no one saw it. They for sure would have thought that I was a skid-mark kind of girl!! Anyway, as far as what happened to the chipmunk, I really haven't a clue!! Maybe Jenn can fill us in. Anyway,

Other than that, I have a huge week!!! My sister is turning 11 on Tuesday, which I have a chiropractor appt at 12:30 too. Emma will be 2 on Thursday, have an appt then too with the spinal professional. Then, Saturday is Brittany's Grad party and Reggie's & Amy's wedding my Mom and Mamaw are leaving for Germany & then Church again on Sunday! Oh yeah, I am watching Emily and Jacob on Wednesday and Friday!!!! OH CRAP, I forgot.... Sophia, Peyton and Alexus are spending the night tonight!!! OMGoodness, thank God T.D. Jakes is coming on tonight!!! He is my hero on Sunday nights!! He supplies me with the Word I need for the week!!! 7:30 pm people, check it out!!

I have to go now and make a grocery list, 6 kids to feed!!! Whoo Hoo!!!

PRAY FOR ME!!!!

Here's a picture of Emmie and my Mamaw!!

Oh, here is a picture that Sophia had fun with.... this is Anslie passed out on my bed taking a nap. Home girl is serious about her naps!!!

You Want Pictures & All I Have is....

2009-05-29T20:29:00.000-07:00

Back of the head..... it's the # 1 reason why I don't have good pictures of Emma G or Trace!!! Here let me illuminate you a wee bit on what I mean. These pictures are from the park yesterday..... I thought that I would get some really cute pics to post and well, this is what happened.....

See, every time I say, "look at me!!" or "look this way", it's an automatic reflex to run the opposite direction or just simply ignore the crap out of me. I know that I am not the only one who has this dilemma. So, I know y'all know what I'm talking about. Now Anslie is a whole different story. She always looks or at least gives me her face to get a shot of. But the other two.....not having it! You know, I am not all that into the cheesy look at me and smile kinda pictures anyway, but dang, cut me some slack and at least look in this direction. No matter how hard I try and chase them around, it never seems to fail that I get pictures of them that look awful. Boogers and drule and crossed eyes and closed eyes and just straight up random retardedness!! (if that's even a word & no offense to the mentally disabled, I am just saying!) Anyway, I will try harder to get posting worthy pictures of my trio, but until then, enjoy these!!!!!

They are fighting over a purse. This is also another favorite picture perfect pose for them. They practice this one all the time!!!

She's not smiling at me, she's smiling at Little Bear!!!

Blowing Kisses!!!

Stupid Dr.'s & New Phases

2009-05-28T17:35:00.000-07:00

I am such a procrastinator!!!! I promise I mean to write a blog every night. Obviously, I never do. By the time I get done doing what should have been done hours ago, being done now only because I keep putting it off, it's late and I just don't feel like it. But, anyhow......

Today:

We got to the Chiropractor this morning at 9 am. Trace has officially been diagnosed with Mild Scoliosis. His spine pulls to the left, very apparent in the x-rays, his shoulders are very uneven and his hips are also very uneven. I am no radiologist but all of that was extremely apparent from the picture they took. He was born with Spina Bifida Occulta. That is where this problem has originated from, if your wondering. You know, it really disturbs me that for the past 5 years I have had at least 6 different doctors look at him for the Spina Bifida issue and no one took it to heart that maybe we should look at this whole little person and make sure that there are no other problems going to stem from this. But, no. Modern medicine tells us to only treat the affected area and prescribe drugs that are suppressants or treatments for the symptoms. You know, my son has suffered, and I do not use that term lightly, from chronic constipation since the day he was born. Do you also know that the lower spine contains all the nerves and functions of bowel control and functionality. Yeah, so why the blank-i-ty-blank did these stupid doctors hand me a prescription for laxatives for the past fives years, when they knew my son had this spinal condition. Are they really that ignorant???? Let me get this straight, you went to school for how many years and spent how much money on your education and you can still not put two and two together. Something as simple as this could have been corrected at birth through adjustments to the spine, the problem. But, nope, they've ordered x-rays after x-rays and ultra-sounds and all kinds of ridiculous tests when the answer was so easy and assessable. Do you know that his last pediatrician basically boiled it down to this.... and I am not joking..... "Some children bodies with hold water from the intestines and therefore the child suffers from constipation, here, let me give you a prescription for some drugs to give your infant son and this is okay to use long term." Notice that they NEVER EVER addressed the cause. They are prescribing drugs to treat the symptom. Another Dr. told me .... "He will suffer from lower back pain when he is older, he will need surgery to correct the problem if it is severe." Are you flipping kidding me. What is wrong with these idiot Dr.'s????? All I want is someone to treat the cause!!! That's it, is that too much to ask??? Now, here we are with a little boy who has scoliosis and does at times have back pain all because a bunch of ignorant Dr.'s who refuse to refer anyone to a chiropractor b/c .... for whatever reason!!!! I thank God that his pediatrician saw this and referred me to have it looked at. Although, I did not seek out the orthopedic surgeon she asked me to go to, I did find a Dr. who is qualified, a specialist of the spine. Why would I go anywhere else and why has it taken me this long to figure it out. I am a moron too. I should have known and I should have taken him a long time ago. But, I give praise and thanks to God for protecting him while I was pregnant and he wasn't born with a severe case of this abnormality. We go back in the morning to go over the Dr. study of the info that he acquired today. He'll give us a schedule of how often he will be treated and we'll go from there. Trace is by no means a sick child. He is extremely healthy and very out going. I didn't write this to gain sympathy from anyone, I am just annoyed that it took this long to figure out and get a solution to the aggravating side effects that this junk has caused. I want Trace to "poop with ease"!!! Anyway.......

Today was also my little sisters 5th grade graduation/awards ceremony. I swear to you, she must have gotten 20 + little awards or recognitions for her involvement and achievements through out the year. She did get the Presidents Award. She was president of the Beta Club for the school this year and she just starred in the 5th grade play as the "Ditzy Bride"... she played it good too!!!! She is so wonderful. I love her so much. It's just amazing to me that Sophia is going into middle school and Trace is going into Kindergarten. That could only mean one thing, that I am old and time flies!!!! Gosh, I remember I was 15 when Suzy told me she was pregnant. My dad called me and said, "you need to go wake Suzy up, she has something to tell you." I was 16 when she was born and I loved her more than anything. She was so special to me. For a while, she was the only sibling I had. My brother and sister had moved out and it was just me left. I was the good child!!! :) (till later on...then it got real fun). I just cannot believe 11 years ago I was in high school babysitting every weekend for my parents. Now, here I am watching this same child go into middle school. Just 5 years ago I gave birth to the most important person in my life and now this little soul who I love more than life is growing up and going to school. I never want to loose them. I want to keep both of them little forever. I guess I am just afraid of what will come into their life. There is a part of me that just wants to keep my kids at home with me and home school them all their life so that no one can ever hurt them. But then I wise up and think "if there is never anything thing for them to battle, how can they ever have a victory? How will they ever learn about life for that matter??" I will put my trust in the Lord. He protected me through school and I know he will protect them. Letting go is a hard thing to do. And it hurts! It's a bittersweet hurt though!!!

Let's see, anything else.....????? Well, I have been working out this week. Doing an ab workout and some aerobics and walking everyday. 3 days down, the rest of my life to go..... You know, I don't weigh a whole lot, but the thing some folks need to understand is that Skinny don't make pretty. I need to tone up the 117 lbs flabby booty like something serious. I am leaving for the beach on July 18th. Lux's birthday pool party is July 13th (I think) and I have to do something with all this extra slack hanging out on my arms and legs and belly. It's kinda gross. But you know what???? After 3 kids, I am doing real good. But that doesn't change the fact that I need to work it out!!!!

Uggh, enough for now, I know that I am rambling. That's what I do when I get on here. Ashley is always complaining to me about it. So, sorry Ashley!!! I hope this one wasn't to boring for ya!!!!

Playing Catch~Up!!

2009-05-13T17:33:00.000-07:00

Well, we have little visitors and they are so cute. They are staying in our bushes out front. Here's a little picture of the darlings for you....

Aren't they sooo sweet??? Anslie thinks that it's the greatest thing ever to happen. My mom also has two nests at her house where the little birdies hatched over the weekend and Anslie thought it to be the most fascinating thing she's ever witnessed. She knew the eggs were there and she's watched them over the last week or so. So when they hatched and she realized that there really were birdies inside of them, she was in heaven. I am taking pictures of them every day and doing a little montage thing-y for the kids. Spring is so wonderful. Even though I am 27 I still get all excited about things like this. It's so sweet. I really wanted to get them a caterpillar farm and let them watch that whole process. That would be so cool. My mama bought one for me when I was little and I loved it.

Anyway, besides that.... Emma is still talking more and more everyday. When I am cooking, and mind you it does not matter what I am cooking, she is forever yelling.."Coooookie". She thinks everything in the oven or on the stove is a cookie. It's so sweet. So today, I made cookies so that she wouldn't be let down. Although, she did scream all the way thru the store once she saw the cookies in the buggy. I should have out them back, but I am a big ol' sucker I guess. Or just real dumb, one or the other, heck, I may be both!!!! ??? A dumb sucker!!!! Ha Ha!! We took a walk and she saw some birds and I said "birdie" and she shakes her head yes and says "tweet!". Not bird or birdie, just tweet. It's like that still for most animals besides a dog. She is doing pretty well with the potty, as long as we are home. She tinkled a little bit on the rug while I was making her bath but I put her on the potty and she finished there. She does not like to pee on her self. She cries!!!! Let's see, what else is she doing..... oh, yep, just being a little bossy pants, crying all the time and beating folks up!! I had to put her little behind in the 2 year old class this Sunday at church because she felt the need to fight with her little cousin who is like 17 months old. They were fighting over a truck and Bob the Builder and she got the truck and she grabs Bob the Builder and throws him up over her shoulder like she's going to knock Will out, so I put her in the class where she can't beat anyone up.... but we'll see. She may be little, but that girl has my 4'11", German Oma running all through her. She's a pistol. But, on the other hand, she's so sweet. See, caught in the act of kindness, she really loves him!!!

I sat on the swing with her this weekend at my mom's all alone and we sang every song I could think of. And she sang right along with me. Didn't know a single word but she meant every thing she said. She is so precious. She does know the "I know you" from Sleeping Beauty but that's about it. I am going to try to film her singing and put it up on You Tube. She has the tune down to an art, it's just the words are in a foreign language. Here are some pictures of her pitching a mini fit at the picnic, I really don't know why she was mad. But this is what she does ALL THE TIME!!!!!

Anyway........

This weekend we went to my mom's spring fling thing at the park for her school staff and we busted out the parachute. Do y'all remember the parachute from elementary school??? Oh mi goodness, it is the bomb!!!! Here are some pictures... the kids thought that it was just wonderful.

Mother's Day was alright. It was kinda tiring. You know, with three kids, you can NEVER get anything done like what you want. I wanted it to be perfect for my mom but, I never get perfect around here. by the time it was over and done with, I just wanted to go to bed. I did get to chill with my mommy and mamaw. I don't have a good picture to give you because my husband is not even close to being a photographer (neither am I but at least I can use the camera) and kept taking pictures of us and was wondering why half of it was lit and the other half was dark. After about 9 pictures, I looked at him and said..... take off your hat dummy. It was dark and we were using a flash and well, yeah..... his hat was partially closing the flash and so by the time we were ready for pictures, we were all sick of smiling and then it just went down hill from there.... here, I'll prove it.......

We have so much fun together. I love them!!!! They are my Boo's!!! :) Ha Ha (mom)

So, other than all that, I am working on finishing my book, Power of a Praying Parent. Very useful book. Gives lots of tools and ideas on how to pray for your kids. Every mother should read it. I checked out every book on photography that the library here had. That's the other thing I am reading. I really love taking pictures of my kids and I want to capture their whole childhood. I just can't imagine how priceless these pictures will be to me when they are grown and gone. I could almost cry thinking about it. Anyway, I've already read them and they were more like on how to use your camera and understanding exposure and shutter speed and aperture and ISO and all kinds of other things that are quite useless to you. But, I am heading to the bigger library tomorrow to see what they have. Maybe one of these days I'll get it!!!

Last but not least.... I can't divulge details right now, but my mother has been offered a job on another continent that would and will blow your mind when I explain all the details. It is an unbelievable and out of the blue opportunity that she may be taking. I am so excited for her. I just love her so much and I hope she knows how proud I am of her. She is everything that I want to be "when I grow up". No body can do it like her. Rock on Mama, and Rock Hard. Show'em what'cha workin' with gurl.... you da bomb digity!!!

Okay, I am going to stop now!!! So, for now.... nighty night!!!

Painting Toe Nails

2009-05-05T13:03:00.000-07:00

I am sure that you've seen my previous post of Emma in the middle of the night, up putting on mascara.....??? Right? Well, this is just another incident that just happened due to her obsession with the lash amplifying product.....

She's crazy for make up, mascara, nail polish and Barbies. It's kind of odd for an almost two years old, do you think???

Note: Do you see that it's all over her stomach? Her face, hands and my bath tub all got hook up too!!!! So much for my Maybelline Stiletto, best mascara on the planet. Hair is all wrapped up in it now!!! Life is grand!!!!

6 Years...

2009-05-01T18:59:00.000-07:00

First off, I know this pictures is horrible, but I for real can't find another one right now. I don't know where my file went with the pics in it that I need, so......

Today, or more like this morning at about 3 am, was me and Tony's 6 years of being "together with out breaking up" anniversary!!! This is the first day 6 years ago that he told me he loved me. He told me on the dance floor of Cowboys, drunk as all get out!!! Yes, for those of you who are shocked, we met in a club (3 years earlier). Those were the good ole days! Anyway, back to my point..... we were dancing to Good Morning Beautiful and he looked at me all red eyed and half asleep and said "I love you Christi!". I told him to call me in the morning and tell me when you're sober!!!! I can't help but giggle about it now. It's so funny. I can't even imagine being in a club dancing much less being lit!!! Wheww, three kids later and it doesn't sound as fun as it once did. See, I wasn't even planning on going to Cowboys that night, it was a dang Wednesday!!! His sister and this guy I was dating "peer pressured" me into going. So we get there and I am not even thinking about Tony, AT ALL. He previously "silently" moved his ex back in with him and never called me again to tell me anything. Yeah, it was great. I didn't care much though. I was having way too much fun to worry about him. Anyway, we ended up running into each other and he said that he was moving Heather out and that he was sorry and he didn't know what he was thinking and that he loved me so much.... blah blah! Well, I guess that proved to be true. Here we are and after all we have been though and are going through, we somehow seem to make it. It's been a journey and a half with him. I am sure we have a lot more traveling to do down this winding road, but we'll make it. Just look where we come in 6 years. Oh Lord, only some of y'all know. I never seen myself at 27 sitting around with three kids. I planned to have my first child by 27. Life does not have ANY intentions whatsoever to go along with anything you plan. But, thank God for Cowboy's and Peer Pressure or I wouldn't be here writing this to you! Our Anniversary is in July, so we'll catch up then. And yes, we only dated 2 1/2 months before we got married, at the court house, in flip flops!!! It was great!

And She Speaks.....

2009-04-29T13:13:00.001-07:00

Emma has decided to talk. Not all that much, but definitely more than ever before. It is sooo sweet. Day before yesterday we were at the park and walking across the parking lot and Emma grabs my hand and says in her skweaky little voice..."Mommy...RUN". Run sounds like "Waann". She says words like... mimi, mommmy, daddy, sissy, duck, NO, water (wawee), eat, boots (our dog.."doots"), doggy, tweet means bird and "raawwl" means any large animals like bears, eye, nose, ears, hair, teeth, She says Trace but it's real weird and I can't spell it. Oh, and she sings the Sleeping Beauty song ALL the time "I know you..." she sings ABC's and they are all jacked up but it's still cute. I know that it's not a lot for a 22 month old, but she has everyone at her beckon call so she has no real need to talk. Trace spoke sentences at 18 months. He started talking at 10 months so this is for sure a big delay in what she should be doing. But, oh well! Right now, she has a little fever but seems to be fine. I went to check on her a minute ago and she was walking around the backyard naked, all alone! Yeah, I am not sure what the deal is. I believe she would go naked everywhere if I let her. She is a character, that's for sure. We attempted the park today, but she cried nearly the whole time. She's teething her back teeth and that makes her a monster. She refuses to take any medicine. I tried to give her some last night and she nearly threw up for screaming. She spit the Motrin out, so whatever. The last few weeks she gets in the middle of the night. A few nights ago, she was up and I was a sleep on couch. I was awakened by the smell of Dove deodorant. I look over and Emma is standing there just smiling and smelling like deodorant. She can climb out of her bed. It's lovely. Two nights ago, I heard some tinkering in my bathroom and this is what I found..... She's the greatest. I love her little mischievous self. Thank goodness she was using a bottle of dried up mascara. But hey, at least she knows how to use it, right? Anyway, there are so many other things that I need to write to have later in her life. I am going to try and make it a point to do this everyday. I think that I've said that before, but oh well. I try. Here are some other pictures from this week.... enjoy!!

Just Another Weekend with Us!

2009-04-20T09:10:00.001-07:00

This weekend was crazy to say the least. I'll try to be short in venting about it. Friday the kids and I went out shopping and to eat Mexican with Crystal and ended up going out to my Mamaw's with my Mom. My Mamaw was having a little family get together with her side of the family. Some people flew in for a few days and everyone was hanging out. Tristan and Savannah are my little cousins and live in Wisconsin and were here too. Trace and Anslie get along with them so well. They are their ages so they all play without fighting. After going out there to eat dinner with everyone, we loaded up and drove 40 min to get home and changed into pajamas and went to Marissa's birthday party. We were about and hour and a half late, but the party was going hard when we got there!! Something is bound to be going on when you have 12 or so little girls running around having a sleepover. We left there I guess between 10 and 11 pm. So our day was pretty packed!!! Oh, are you wondering where Tony is in all of this??? Hummm, oh, yes.......he was out with his buddies. What was suppose to be an hour turned into about 5 hours. Lovely, eh? Anyhow, let's move on to Saturday. I get up and get everyone fed and dressed and ready to go. Tony is leaving too.....wow....he's going off with is friends again. Mind you, I didn't get invited. Honestly, I don't care. It's just another reassurance that our marriage is over. It's been over since our wedding night!!! Anyway, moving on..... my mom came over and we went out and ran around with the kiddie's. She ended up taking them to my Mamaw's again. Emma and I went to Ross and Target alone. It was nice to get to chill with my little girl all alone. I wish I had more time like that with the kids. They need alone time with me. Anyway, I met the whole 60 party family at the Mexican restaurant around 4:30 pm for my uncle's birthday party. That was fun. I didn't get the drink that I was well deserving of, but that's okay!!! I had a huge piece of cake that almost put me into a diabetic coma. After that was done and over with, we headed over to my Aunt Karin's house. We had so much fun. Except the part where my mom lost Emma. That was horrible. There were some other kids there that were not very good listeners and kept leaving the gate to the back yard open. Well, little miss Emmie G escaped. I literally had thoughts of me being on the news with choppers overhead and dogs sniffing out my little girl. We could not find her anywhere. There were at least 30 people that we looking and she was GONE!!!! I am freaking out and cussing my mom out. You have no idea how scared I was. Well, Emma was found in an upstairs bedroom, playing with two little ceramic dogs, in the dark. How she got upstairs is still a mystery. So, I still haven't had the alcoholic beverage that I am well deserving of. At this point in my weekend....well, lets just say that it is a real good think that I am not a drinker or a substance abuser. I have had all that I can handle, oh but wait... my sister doesn't know that. I get a call from her flippin' out because her ex-lover-who was-married-while-they-were-having-an-affair called her HOUSE. Yeah, and you know what???? Guess who's with this whore-monger??????? My husband. (deep sigh)... So, Michael and Tony are together and Michael is calling Crystal, while Robert is at home, telling her how much he misses her and he loves her and fa la la la B.S.!!!! Robert hears it all. He gets on the phone and asks Michael not to call back and well, he calls back. 3 times!!! I wonder where he got her number...oh, that's right, my husband is with him.... that's how! At this point, I am thinking which attorney I should call Monday morning to draw up my divorce papers. Well, I decide to leave the party on account of all the craziness and my kids are beyond tired. So we head home and it's like 9 something and Tony is still not home. I put them in the bed and he comes in the door. His phone rings and it's the crazy girl who is married to Michael. (uhhggg) First off, do not ever call my husband blaming him for your husband being a whore!!! I know Tony is stupid for hanging out with that idiot but I am sure that Michael WANTED to call Crystal and it took no persuasion on Tony's part. Tony said, "I don't know how he got the number, I guess he was going though my phone". Okay, let me get this straight, you are a 39 year old man and you can't control or you don't know who is going through your phone???? Do I look like a stupid head? I have an I.Q. of like 150. Don't give me that crap. Men are sooooooo freaking retarded! He is telling this girl how sorry he is and that he will always be here for her and that he loves her and all kinds of crap. I've got an idea..... why doesn't he go and live with Michael and Tanya??? I'm game for it. Shoot, don't let the door hit you on the way out buddy!!!! Oh mi, I really shouldn't be like this but I can't help it. Moving on.... Sunday is Emma's baby dedication. It is something I wanted to do as a commitment to God that I would raise her in any and every fashion that he would have me do! I love my God and I trust him with everything that I have. I guess going through that made it a little harder for me to go a file for divorce this morning. I had a right mind to do it too, don't think for a second that I don't have the guts. It's not fair to my kids and I have to depend on God to fix this. I refuse to carry on the dysfunction of my family's history into my childrens life. It's going to be a long haul but in the end, if it works, it will be worth it. Blah.....I am tired and I want to go to the beach. I know that this post has been way off base in every way but that's the beauty of blogging. Here are a bunch of pics....mostly of Emma but enjoy anyway!

Lindsay Blogged!!!!!

2009-04-18T08:05:00.000-07:00

Everybody, Lindsay finally blogged. Follow her so that she doesn't get bored with it. Her blog address is http://lindsayandtheboys.blogspot.com/. We love you Lindsay and we are super proud of you!!!! xoxoxoxo

Where to start?????

2009-04-08T17:09:00.000-07:00

The kids have found a new really loud hobby....the harmonica!!!! Need I say more?? I think this expression tells it all.

Yesterday we went to Mamaw and Papaw's. On the way out there we took a back road and found a pasture of cows that all happened to be hanging out by the fence. So of course we pulled over, in the snow and got out to see them.

Later on the way home there was a different little pasture where all the horses were out. We got out again in the 30 degree weather and ended up hanging out with this friendly horse for about 15 minutes.

He was so sweet. He was very curious and had no reservations about us. He ate grass clippings out of our hands and let me rub his face. I loved it. The kids loved it too. When Anslie was feeding him, he kept lipping her hand. You can see it in this picture. The horse got a little touchy with Trace, he was nudging him on the head a few times. He was gentle though. One day, I will have a horse or two.

When we got home I was getting into my usual routine and Tony comes in yelling, "baby....look, look!!" so I am looking around like "what"! Then I notice this little puppy come hauling A through my kitchen. Apparently, this animal has been outside hanging with Tony for sometime. So, Tony opens the door to the house in the garage and the dog runs right in like she's been here forever. Well, she's still here. She was so hungry and cold. We asked some people if they know who she belongs to and no one knows. I think she's here because Tony has turned into Dr. Doolittle between the Movie and Boots, the geese and now the lost puppy. What next......a lost elephant? I'm just saying!!! Anyway, FF to today.... Trace, Anslie and Emily went to their first Tae Kwon Do class. Trace wouldn't do it. He said he was scared. The girls did every bit of it. They love it. We'll try with Trace again on Friday. He WILL do it. He has no choice. So, anyway..... We'll talk soon!

A Woozie of A Weekend...

2009-04-05T17:40:00.000-07:00

Okay, I have a few really funny things to go over here. This weekend has been crazy from the get go, I don't even know where to start. Let's see, Friday when Tony got off work we were trying to figure out something to do. Something fun and away from this house. I don't have a vehicle because Tony sold his and I had been home all week long with 3-5 kids everyday and it rained all week on top of it. So, we decided that the park would be a good idea. It was a bit chilly, but okay. So we went to the Ben Hill Park off Hwy 92 in Hiram. See, the thing about this park is that they have rabid geese taunting every person that walks past their territory. These crazy animals are madd!!! If you've ever been there, you know what I mean and you're probably laughing. So, we get out and start to walk the trail. We notice right away there is little spat going on between rival ducks. There is a huge goose, bigger than Emma G, on top of a little brown duck biting his neck and pushing him to the ground. We watch them for a minute trying to figure out what's going on. I told Tony to pick up something and throw it at the Goose. So he gets some pebbles and starts throwing them, that's all that was around. The goose never feels it. They are like 2 feet from us. So, after a few minutes I told Tony to pick up the goose and throw it. I swear on my life, HE DID!!!!! Feathers went everywhere!!!!! The first time he grabbed it he only grabbed it with one hand so he had to go back in with both hands and pick the rabid thing up and throw it further. Of course I didn't have my camera. But if you can imagine it, you'll be LYAORITF!!!! The goose never left the little duck alone. So, the kids and I went on to play at the playground and walk the rest of the trail. Tony stood guard and as long as he stood there, the mean evil goose left the little one alone. I'm telling you....that movie Marley and ME did something to Tony!!! He stood watch over a little duck while we played, how sweet....:) After we walked away you could see the mean goose going in for more. It was horrible. At one point, he was on top of the other duck in the water and holding it's head under water trying to drowned it. Anyway, we went and played and ran into some friends from church and went to Jim and Nicks to eat. We thought that it would be a good idea to eat on the patio, as it was not so cool when the sun was up. Well, as soon as the sun set, it got way chilly. Trace and Anslie had fun with Blake. They get along really well. Saturday, my mom came over to pick up Trace and Anslie to take them running around with her to see Abby's "Place" (aka: Grave) and put new flowers on it and clean it up. Well, we ended up chilling in my driveway watching 3 police cars, an ambulance, & a fire truck park outside my house. My neighbor is a LUNATIC. She is crazy. I couldn't possibly tell you all the things she's done but this one is just as crazy. See, Friday night, she got WAYYYY drunk and popped a couple dozen pills and started having seizures. So,the ambulance and all were out Friday at like 11:00 pm. They were back by 11:00 am Saturday. It was lovely. She was wheeled out of her home on a stretcher. We sat in my drive way with my other neighbor, Mitch....he's the bomb. I think he might be gay or ultra feminine. One of the two, I don't know. He is ultra conservative and an Obama hater, so he's cool with me!!! Him and my mama and Tony all drank one for Ginger while watching her take a ride to be detoxed!!! Later that afternoon, we went and looked at a van....I hate that word!!! It was U-G-L-Y!! If I am going to have to drive a mini van, it better be as pretty as me!!! Then we went to my mama's and had some ummy fillet minion and salad and baked potato!!!! It was wundabah!!!!(wonderful in German). Well, tonight I have Peyton and Sophia spending the night. I had to put Trace and Anslie in the same bed tonight so that the girls can sleep in Trace's bed. Well, Trace is notorious for NEVER staying in the bed. So, I came up with a clever little plan. I put him in the bed and as I was leaving the bedroom, I pretended to push a button right outside his door. I told him that there were invisible lasers that would cut him into 30 pieces if he passed the thresh hold. Then I changed my mind and told him that it probably wouldn't cut him into 30 pieces because he's not big enough to get 30 pieces out of. Maybe it would just get the top of his head or something. I know that it sound brutal, but I was kidding and I didn't think that he'd believe me. Well, he took it seriously. He started to pout and didn't even attempt to come out, until about 20 minutes later and now he knows I am a liar!!!! But, I just thought that it was funny because he really believed me. Anyway, that's a glimpse into the crazy life we have around here. Hope y'all had a good weekend and watch out of the blizzard tomorrow night..... ha ha ha!!!!

For the love of a dog.......

2009-04-01T17:26:00.000-07:00

Okay, so Tony and I and the kids watched Marley & Me last night. The movie was super cute and sweet. What I do NOT understand for the life of me is how a man, my husband, can watch a movie about a dog and have a life changing experience out of it. The movie is basically about a guy and a girl who have a dog who they treat and love like their child....so on and so on.....that's not my point. The point is that it all started last night. Tony felt, after watching that movie, that Boots, our dog, is unfairly treated and deserves more attention. So he starts buttering up to the dog and is talking about how much he loves him and he's going to spend more time with the dog. Today, I swear to goodness, he called me from work to talk to me about how that movie makes him want to spend more time with Boots. Whatever, right? Then he comes home and for the first time he brushes the dog. He is TALKING to the dog all extra sweet and loving up on the dog like he's in some twisted romance or something. All the while I am sitting here thinking, what the crap!!!!???? Are all my girls thinking what I'm thinking??? Are you???? Why is it that he'll watch a movie based on the love for a pet and have a miraculous change of heart and admit that he's wrong for not giving adequate love to the dog???? GOD FORBID he watch a movie like, I don't know, The Notebook or Australia or some other love story between and man and a woman and get all heart felt about it!!!!! To tell you the truth, it really is quite compelling to watch his behavior change like it has. Does he love the dog more than me. People like Annie and Ashley are going to know exactly why this has me all bent out of shape. I've been trying to get his attention for 6 years and I've gotten nothing. We'll watch the Notebook or some other love story and he has every excuse as to why he doesn't act like the MAN in the movie. And I tell you, it's always my fault. He has actually told me that I am the mean, pretty girl in movies who everyone ends up hating and always get's left. No Joke!!!!! Anyway, this is all have have to say. Maybe one day it'll be my day! Maybe not;)

My Mommy!!

2009-03-22T18:55:00.000-07:00

My beautiful, intelligent, perfect mother has started a blog!! Check it out and follow it! She's going to be very interesting, I think anyway!!!!

http://vedamaria-ethoslogospathos.blogspot.com/

5 Years!!

2009-03-21T19:23:00.000-07:00

Today is Trace's 5th Birthday! He's 5 already?????? I mean, when I gave birth I remember thinking that him starting school was like a million years away. I honestly thought that the day would never come. Well, here we are and he will be starting school this year. I remember the first time I laid eyes on him. I know it is cliche to say, but it was truly love at first sight. He was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I saw him & this love, that I'd never known, burst inside of me. I became terrified in an instant. I remember thinking that something is going to happen. I was always scared that something was going to be wrong with him. I guess it was that thing .... "if it seems to be to good to be true, it probably is...". Whatever it was, all I know is that I was scared. I loved him so much more than I could ever put into words. I know that all you mom's know the love I am talking about. He is my life. He is everything that I could ever want. He loves me and I can not imagine my life without him. I love it when he wakes up in the morning (or even in the middle of the night) and comes into my room and gets in the bed with us. He doesn't even try to wake us up, he just silently gets in the bed and goes back to sleep. I love to watch him laugh when he gets all tickled about something. I love to watch him get involved in something. He'll be so consumed with what he's doing and the way he holds his little mouth is so adorable. I love going into his room after he's gone to sleep and just laying beside him, kissing his little face, praying over him the things of God. I am so blessed! He is my everything! Trace is all that you could ask for in a little boy. We gave him a mini birthday party yesterday with Crystal and Dietrich's kids. All I did was give them cake and it was wonderful. There was no mess to clean up, no cooking, no nothing. Just simple little pleasures, us as a family hanging out! I really didn't have the heart to ask a bunch of people to come over and bring gifts and all. I mean, we are in a depression, thanks to BHO!!!!! He received all kinds of goodies though and it was more than he needed. I took him to Kmart to get him a gun. That's all he wanted. He wanted a shot gun. Really, he wanted a Beebe gun and we had to scratch that idea for now. But, he got a little shot gun with shells and all. He loves it. Mom got him all kinds of stuff including a bow and arrow that he wanted and Crystal gave him a Transformer. He got all that he asked for and so we are all happy! Today we went to the Silver Comet Trail and let him ride his bike. We took off the training wheels and he did pretty good. Anslie rode her little tricycle that is entirely too small for her. Emma fell twice and scraped up her hands and knees. Poor baby:( Well, here are some pictures from today and of Trace.....enjoy! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TRACE MONKEY!!!
This is a picture of Trace and I when we were babies. I did this to Trade's hair and took a picture and when I showed my mom she busted this picture of me out where she'd done the same thing to my hair. It was pretty freaky. Great minds do think alike!!!:)

I know that these pictures are all out of order, but you get the gist!!! This is my baby boy:) He's the greatest!!! I'll post the pictures from this weekend tomorrow!!

Perfect Day!

2009-03-17T18:15:00.000-07:00

Well, today we spent most of the day at the park. We had a picnic and played a while. We came home around 2 pm and everyone took naps. It was great! Later when Tony came home, we went back to the park. Lindsay and Braden came over first and then we all went together. We met Tracy and her crew there and then Crystal and Robert showed up and we just had a grand ole' time! As soon as the sun was setting, the temperature dropped like 20 degrees, it felt like! Robert was taking pictures of Jacob with my camera and he didn't know that it was on manual and all the pictures he took were dark, real dark!!! So, so much for the 50 pictures that he took that are no good! It's alright, we got some cute ones though. Emma had found a new love for puzzles, except that she likes to put them back together with her mouth.?? Tomorrow is going to be super nice too, so I guess we'll be hittin' up a park somewhere around here. Ella is spending the night...... it's Tuesday!??? And it's 9:28 pm and they are on their way to bring her over here??????? Whatever, I guess you can do that when you only have one kid! They're young too. My night should be quite interesting. Emma is a sleep and my other two are about to hit the sack themselves. Here's Trace new favorite place.... the big sandbox aka: The Volley Ball sand pit!

Ramblings....Literally!

2009-03-15T17:55:00.000-07:00

First and Foremost....... whoever is from Nevada....Get off my page. I don't know you. You stalk my page like 6 times a day..... get a life!!! I mean it!

Well now...... there is not much going on here. We went to church this morning and Trace complained that he wasn't feeling well. I was kinda getting aggravated because I didn't believe him. He did not look or act very sick. Well, on the way home, he spewed all in my car. Everywhere!! I had to strip him in the parking lot of the gas station and Tony had to go in and buy some paper towels to wipe it all up. It was grrrreat!!! But, that was it. He never was sick again. It was weird. Emma Grace did the same thing I think it was Thursday night. She got sick all in my bed about 3 times and was fine. No fevers or anything. Weird, hu? Next time he tells me he is sick, I'll believe him! I have been busy trying to plan our vacation in July. I want to go in June, but my mama is going to Germany (I know, I hate her for it too!!!) in June so I have to wait on her to get back. She's going with us. I can't wait. Emma has never been to the beach. She was 3 weeks old the first year she was born and then last year she had just turned 1 and I didn't think she'd enjoy hot sun and sand. So, this will be her first trip to the beach. I can't wait. I guess I need to get on my Slim-in-6!!!! I know Annie, Lindsay and Jennifer CAN'T WAIT!!!! I swear, I think I am going to shoot my TV this go around. (But then, I want to shoot my TV every time I see Obama's face on it, so..!!!) Anyway, that mess is so hard to get started. It works miracles though. Heather is suppose to get over here and start it with me.... we'll see about that one! Jessica, Brandon's "baby mama" is doing it too. I know she will be so happy when she see's the results. She's never done it before. Maybe we should start a Slim-in-6 revolution. That would be fun:) Kinda like Glen Beck's "You are not alone" or "We surround them" thing that he is doing. Oh mi goodness. I love that man. He says everything that I am thinking. Go to www.the912project.com and read about what he is doing. It's amazing. Anyway, I have a lot of things to say, I just don't feel like talking about it!! I am tired and I need to go to bed! Y'all please pray for Brandon and Jessica. They are going through some things right now and we need the intervention of God on Jacob's behalf. Neither one of them know really how to handle the situation at hand (parenting Jacob between the two of them) and need to come to common ground, civilly! I am staying out of it as much as possible. But, no one is guiding either of them and I just pray that they would seek God's face at this time, for Jacob's sake. Anyhow.....I am going to shut up. Ashley said that I write too much. Nighty-Night!

He's fishing, not peeing!!

Love Story

2009-03-06T12:51:00.000-08:00

Trace and Anslie are quite obsessed with Taylor Swift. Trace is by all means, in LOVE! They have actually came up with their own outfits and skit that they preform whenever the song is playing, or not! Trace has a white dress shirt, linen khakis, and brown boots that he puts on. He is obviously Romeo! He came to me the first time and I wasn't sure what or why he was wearing the little outfit. I asked him and he said that he was the prince of Taylor Swift. Then he proceeded to show me that his shirt was unbuttoned so that his chest would show (like the guy in the video). At this point, I am rolling in the floor at all the thought he's put into this. So, I turn the song on and he starts pretending to run across the living room in an effort to recreate the scene in the music video. Anslie come walking around the corner in a white wedding dress, for little girls, that Emily wore in Lyndsey's wedding when she was like 2!!! They play out this whole music video together. They know every word and I just look at them and I want to drink up every moment and keep them this age forever. In know they drive me up the dang wall, but I love them so much and it makes me so sad that one day I won't have them here to entertain me with simple, pure, beautiful little things like this! They are my everything!! Trace picked me a flower today and put it in my hair. He is my Prince, my Knight in little boy's clothing! He will be 5 on the 21st of this month. It's very surreal! I cannot believe that I was 185 lbs and grossly pregnant with him 5 years ago. If you didn't know me then, you can't possibly imagine what I looked like at 185 lbs. Wheew, it was NASTY! Praise God after 3 kids I am just where I was when I started, weight wise..... mentally and emotionally, that's a whole other story. I was watching him sleep last night and it just hit me so hard that one day, he will be grown and in my mind I was so scared that I was going to damage him in some way, through my own weaknesses or allowing something into his life that would take root and destroy him later on. I pray against those things very often, every day! I have witnessed so much destruction in so many people's lives. I wonder at what point was it that they "got off the train"? What went wrong. What was it that took roots in their lives that caused such calamity to come upon them. I look at my brother and one of my (use to be/still is) best friends and I know that they grew up in families that were loving. I know my brother had every opportunity to get back on track and turn it around, but there was always that lingering, invisible force that was hard at work, keeping him just at bay and never allowing him to truly make that change. It's still there. Some folks think it's taboo to call it a spirit, but that's just what it is! I want to protect my children and family from the things that I know are real and present dangers. Trace is going to be 5 and in the next 5 year interval, he'll be 10. God give me the wisdom and knowledge to raise him to be a strong soldier for the army of Jesus Christ. I know he's still little and y'all are thinking I am crazy for sweating this stuff, but it will be here before you know it and I'll have to let him go with just the principals and values that he's been taught. I dread that day, for all of my babies. It gives me that knot in my throat and a fear that I've never known. I know that I've been just rambling, but that's my thought's for now and as for what's going on around here....... I have all 5 children here tonight. My three and Crystal's two. This ought to be quite interesting. We do this 2 nights a week. Ella will be here in the morning, if my lovely, intelligent, sweet, beautiful, fabulous, perfect mother doesn't want to have her for the morning. Which after she reads this, I'm sure she'll call me and tell me what a manipulator I am and even though she wants to be at home alone with her dog, she'll have Ella over in the morning, right Mommy? For those of you who don't know, my mom reads all of y'alls blogs and mine too!!! Tony will be here soon, so I have to get off before he accuses me of not taking care of our children and then I'll have to choke slam him for insulting my wonderful mothering skills. Later~Alligator!!!

New & Seperate Blog

2009-02-27T20:33:00.000-08:00

I made a new blog to be my "brain dump". I need a place to just write all kinds of junk. Check it out, if you dare! Nothing has been posted yet, but I assure you, it is coming.

www.thislifeandalittlemore.blogspot.com

A Parents Dream........

2009-02-20T19:29:00.000-08:00

My Mama and I went out to eat tonight and had a blast! We went with "aunt" Betty, Nannette, Megan, & Morgan. This was the first time I had ever met Megan and Morgan. They were sooooo super sweet! I loved them!! See, my Mama and Betty were best friends when I was little. My dad and Betty's husband grew up together. So, I've known them all my life. It has been like a decade since I've seen Aunt Betty though. Except for at my Dad's Birthday party like a month ago. But, it's been forever since we've actually got so sit and hang out and talk!! I love her. It was really nice. Megan and Morgan know my Uncle who lives in Wisconsin and Pastors a church up there. Their dad is best friends with my Uncle. They grew up together too. What's weird though is that I call their Aunt, who is not mine by any relation, Aunt Betty. I always have, since I was a kid. And they call my Uncle & Aunt, Uncle Danny and Aunt Dede, even though they are of no relation to them. We got to talking and these girls are "Tha Bomb", for lack of a better term! They are 18 and 20 years old and have traveled all over with their parents who are Evangelists. Morgan is 20 and she is a full time Au Pair. She and Megan live in their own little house in Douglasville and are independent young women. They are super sweet! They help their Nana, Sister Dudley, with house work and buying groceries and taking her to church or home from church. They are such loving and outgoing girls. I just looked at them and thought of how blessed Tim and Lois are to have such well rounded, independent, God fearing girls. They are so real too. Their not self righteous, "your going to Hell for being human" kind of girls. They are the girls who you look at and say, I pray that God gives me the wisdom and knowledge to teach my children to love and live for God like these girls do. Not that I envy them, I just know how things can turn out. I pray for my children's future on a regular basis. That God gives them wisdom and discernment at a young age. That their walk is first in their life and that their desire to know God never fades. I applaud the parenting of Tim and Lois and hope they know how their obedience to God has given them a parents DREAM!!!! I know what it's like to be 18 and paying your own bills and living out alone. I did it. But, I don't think I was my parents DREAM child. I was more like their nightmare. Ha Ha!!! I was really, super impressed with them and I can't wait to get to know them better. If only all our kids could turn out to be so smart and responsible!! It's a huge reflection on behalf of their parents and I think they need a huge round of applause!!! "clap", "clap"!!!!! That's all for now though. Nighty~Night!!!!

Me, Mommy, and Aunt Betty!

Nannette, Morgan, and Megan

Reno, Nevada

2009-02-20T13:07:00.000-08:00

Who the heck lives in Reno, Nevada that is on my page 20 times a day? Say who you are or get off my blog!!!

This is Jacob

2009-02-16T18:32:00.000-08:00

Today Brandon and Jacob met for the first time. For Brandon, it was love at first sight. He is a beautiful little boy and so smart. His personality is great!!! I met him at the park with Brandon and Jessica. They were fishing. Brandon & Jessica wanted it to be comfortable, for Jacob, as possible. And I believe that was accomplished. He followed Brandon everywhere and then when it was time to go home, Jacob said he was going to Brandon's house to eat dinner. It was so sweet. Jessica said that when he got home he walked in the house and said "Hey everybody, I met my daddy today and we went fishing, but I didn't catch any fish!!". He is so excited. Here are some pictures from their little fishing trip.

This is just something that I thought I'd share with you guys. My mom got up the day after we found out about Jacob and was engaging in her morning prayer. She always gets her Bible out and reads scripture while she's praying and just tries to find her inspiration from God for the day through His Word. She opened her Bible and started reading, unaware and not looking for anything specific and just being led by the Spirit, and came across Psalm 53. This Psalm talks about the denial of God's existence and how that often comes with the moral decay of a person. My brother has faced an insurmountable amount of opposition in his life. I am fully aware that he created most of the calamity. With everything he's put himself through and the evil things he's been apart of, it has reeked havoc in his spiritual walk and relationship with Jesus Christ. In verse 6 of this Psalm, the author says that the salvation of Israel shall come out of Zion and that Jacob will rejoice and Israel will be glad. For her, this scripture sent her confirmation that though the "fool" (aka: Brandon) may not acknowledge God in their lives, the righteous (the ones who pray for him, his family) find in Him (Jesus) the object of Hope and through prayer, deliverance of Brandon. But the most striking of it all was that the Lord will bring back the captivity of His people and Jacob will rejoice. It was as if God is giving Brandon, yet another push to become the soldier that God created him to be. A sold out soldier for Jesus Christ. Brandon is at another point in his life where he can choose which road he will take. Will he take the same lonely road he's been traveling for so long? Or will he step out of his comfort zone and make a move toward God? He now has a son. What will he do? I hope and pray to God that he makes that move in the direction of Jesus Christ and becomes a father to this boy. God has given Brandon Puckett more "get out of jail free" cards than anyone I've ever seen. I have never seen anyone walk away from things like Brandon has. That's because my God has a promise on Brandon's life. He made it to my parents long ago in a church in Lithia Springs. Ga. God does not break promises. He will not let Brandon go. And anything that is done in Brandon's life will be for the Glory of God and Him only. I believe that with all my heart. Brandon knows God and he soon better realize that God is going to do whatever it takes to get Him on his knees. God would rather us suffer that we would know him, than have us live in comfort and go to hell. The Bible says that it was good for me that I was afflicted, for if I had not been afflicted, I would have never known the power of God!!! I know that Jacob has brought a whole different element into Brandon's life. Maybe this will be the one!! I hope and pray in the name of Jesus Christ.

Three's a Charm, eh?

2009-02-15T19:51:00.000-08:00

Hummm, well last I heard your third of anything was suppose to be your charm! Right? This is a post about Emma Grace!!! My "Charm"! I love her more than anything in this world. She is my baby and I cannot get enough of her. I miss her when she sleeps & I cannot wait to spend my days with her......most of the time. I just want to post a few pictures of our adventure today while eating yogurt! She is Miss Independent and will not let me have any part of her feedings. She simply will not eat if I try to feed her. It's very frustrating for me because I am having to clean up after her all the time.

Here she is inspecting her food.....

Lovely, eh?......

Burst of silliness or just being 20 months???? Pick one!

And it just wouldn't be complete without some form of unruly behavior at the taking away of the yogurt!

So, I just hope and pray that her little disposition changes into a sweet, loving little girl. I don't know how much more of this I can take. I'm going bonkers!!!

Weekend....What Weekend!!!!???

2009-02-15T16:27:00.000-08:00

Okay, so it's Sunday night and I'm thinking "you've got to be kidding me!"! What happened to Friday and Saturday??? Tony has been sick all weekend, moping around like a little puppy!!! We were suppose to be at a wedding yesterday at 3pm and did not make it. He was sick and it was Valentines Day and I just didn't want to leave him alone after the fabulous V-Day gift that he got me!!! Wednesday night he ordered me the Canon Rebel XS!!!! Yep, for those of you whom that means nothing too, that's okay. Just know that I love it!!! It was on my doorstep Friday morning!!! I don't know how to use it, but I am going to read every piece of literature that I can find to make sure that I do know how!! Also, Friday morning I get a call from Jessica, who is now known as the mother of my brothers 5 year old son, to tell me that she received her papers on the paternity test and all came back that he is Jacob's father!!! I can't wait to meet Jacob!! He looks just like Brandon. I could care less about the circumstances, they don't matter anyway. I just want to be a part of this sweet, little boy's life. He is my Nephew and I love him, even though I don't know him. Is that weird? Anyway, Friday night I had my sisters kids and Emily was running a high fever and ended up going home early. Then Tony went out with his sister to.... I am not even going to say where, but he was gone all night! Saturday, I had NO CHILDREN!!!! I was suppose to be going to that wedding and I commissioned my family to take care of all my little peep's!!! So, Tony and I just hung out and ended up going to my mom's later to eat and get the kids. Today, I took my babies to church ALONE!! It was good though. Tony stayed home because he still didn't feel well. On my way home, I picked up Sophia and Peyton (my little sisters) and they are now spending the night until Tuesday! Yah, what fun we're going to have, hu? Not to mention Jacob and Emily are coming over tomorrow too!! 7 kids will be here and I am going to need some serious help!! Mental help, that is! Needless to say, I did not really get a weekend! That's okay though. Wednesday, I am planning on meeting Jessica at the park to see Jacob for the first time. We aren't going to explain to him who I am. We're just going to make it a casual little outing. I can't wait!!! Here are some pictures that I took today of everybody!! Enjoy:)

This is a picture of Sophia Grace (my little sister). She was my little camera hog today! I'm still trying to learn how to use it and what it will do!

Anslie being silly for the camera. More than likely, she's just sick of it being in her face!!

Mimi bought Trace and Anslie a million little garden tools and a spray bottle was one of them. They though that it'd be great to drench each other with water!! They had a blast!

This girl is beautiful no matter what!! Trace got her good, eh?

Peyton and Sophia being crazy girls. They are so pretty! I love my sissy's!!!

Excuse me for being honest!!!

2009-02-11T18:57:00.000-08:00

So, the weather has been quite nice to us lately. Except the threat it threw at us today of tornado's. But other than that, we have been able to get out of the house and spend a few days at the park. Over the weekend we hung out with the best Mimi in the world, my Mama! Hold on, let me give her a shout out.....I love you Mommy!!! I always think of good things to blog about, but by the time I get to sit down and start writing, I just don't feel like it. I am pooped by 10pm and can't sit here and ramble on about my outrage with Obama or the church I visited with my sister 2 weeks ago!! That was a debacle. Talk about "dry".... ummmm, like I told Jennifer, I can't talk about it without cursing. So, I won't!!! But just so you know, I'll give you a few details and you guys tell me if I am wrong. Okay, we walk up in this joint and the "Praise" singers (hence the " ") are women. Women in JEANS and T-Shirts on a Sunday morning. The Pastor busts out in Jeans and an un-tucked shirt. I tried to be non-bias, but I couldn't help it. I am sorry, I know that folks don't go to hell over what they wear(in general). But everyone with half a brain knows that out of respect, you put on you Sunday Best when gracing the doors of a Church on Sunday morning. See, I come from a church where you "BRING IT!!" Not that Church is a fashion show, which sometimes it seems to be, but that when you are going to the house of God, you put on your best. Maybe I have tunnel vision because of where I come from. I have been at the same church since 1982, when I was born. I have never been a "member" of any other church. My parents were raised by their parents in the church that I go to now/still. 27 Years of the same church. But I have also traveled this planet with my grandparents, who were missionaries for the UPCI for nearly 30 years, and NEVER seen anyone come to church in the clothes they went to bed in. I don't even know how many churches in the states I've been to and as far as Europe goes, Germany and Austria were the countries where they had established churches. No one ever came, that was in Leadership, in Jeans and a T-Shirt. I guess it is part of this new mentality that you "come as you are" New Age Movement, no conscience, no conviction, no nothing church!!! I believe that you come as you are to Jesus Christ. But I also believe that there is a level of disrespect to coming to church to lead others with NO RULES!!! There are rules all through out the Bible. What makes them think that they don't need ANY!!!! Here, let me say it like this.... the women who were leading song service would have been dressed up, decked out, hair fixed and nails done if they were going to prom or on a date or to have a night out with their husbands or to a wedding or to any other celebration, right? So, why do they think that it is okay to roll out of bed and slap on some ugly jeans, throw on a casual shirt and shoes and head to church? To me, it's not okay. I know some of you are going to say, "well, they may not have had anything else to wear..." Yeah right. I don't believe that for a second. And if they didn't, their church should supply them something if they are going to be on the platform. There is a certain responsibility that you take on when you become involved in Leadership. You are to be a role model, a Representative of your boss. Which in this case, Jesus Christ is their boss and they are suppose to be working for Him. If one were to read the Bible, they would clearly see that Jesus Christ, God Almighty, Creator of the Universe has taste and desires beautiful things. I think that we, as His vessels, should represent Him accordingly. If those women or the Pastor went on an interview looking like that, they would not have been hired. You see what I'm saying....??? I am by no means judging their relationship with the Lord, but I think that it's rude and disrespectful, and tells a plethora about the Pastor. Being there made me realize, yet again, how much I LOVE MY Church!!! I know that there are going to be things that I don't 100% agree with, but I'd rather be a part of something that is 10000000000% SOLD OUT of Jesus Christ than to go somewhere where all that's being done is the appeasing of the people. I like the conviction, it keeps me straight and keeps me and my family safe. God is great and has kept me through things you can't even imagine. He has held this family together, at times it felt like only by a thread, but it always worked out. He is in everything!!! If I would not have been brought up and had the information that I received as a child through the work of God and my parents and My Church (AWPC) I Never Would Have Made It (Marvin Sapp, anybody??? Ha Ha). God is always keeping me in check. Going to church this past weekend was such a reminder of how wonderful it is to abide in His love. Our Pastor's message was fingerprinted for me. It was a reassurance that my God is in all things and I thank Him so much for that. I love y'all and I am sorry, but I just had to let loose for a minute. Just be glad that I didn't have you on the phone when I told you.... right Jennifer??? Here are some pictures of my babies from this weekend with Mimi. Enjoy!

Daniel 12:4

2009-02-09T13:53:00.000-08:00

This is a really "cool" (as Jenn would say) clip! Just thought that I would share! Enjoy:)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL9Wu2kWwSY

Comrades!!!!!

2009-02-05T07:55:00.000-08:00

I could not help myself but to share this. Maybe some of you aren't are politically roweled up as I am, but this is a must see. I love GLEN BECK!!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuwgHNtyD54

The Sky Angel Cowboy

2009-02-03T17:11:00.000-08:00

I emailed this to some of you guys, but this is the sweetest, most innocent, & most pure example of faith & belief in Jesus that I have ever seen! I just wanted to share it so that everyone could be inspired by this child like I was. God is amazing and He is in EVERYTHING!!!!! I love my Jesus Christ!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0r_FbARIn8

20 Months & Emma Grace

2009-02-03T16:16:00.000-08:00

Emma is sparing no time for getting into the "terrible two's" stage. She will not leave one stone unturned in her never ending battle to win first place between her peers in getting there. She has her mind made up that no one will get in her way or stop her from getting what she wants. Oh, and if you try to stop her it's an all out tantrum using no less than all her energy in making sure that you are miserable. She is a mad woman. My Mamaw was over here today and for Emma's entire life she has always had this thing for Mamaw. Today, not so much!!! She is just straight up mean. Mamaw was trying to kiss her while Emma was watching Dumbo and she started swatting her hand at her and cried to be left alone. Later, I had put Emma at the table to try to get her to eat some lunch. Mamaw was, again, trying to be playful and Emma grabbed her hand and dug her finger nails in to her hand!!!!! I CANNOT believe that she would act like that. Everytime Mamaw would talk to her, she would come running to me and hide her face in my legs. She was no better at my Dad's birthday party. She was a nightmare there. Cried the entire night. If anyone even looked like they were going to talk to her she would bust out crying and whining. No one could touch her or she'd cock and attitude. if I put her down, she cried. She would not have anything to do with Tony either. If I tell her "no" about something she is sprawled out in the floor pitching a fit. The child will not eat unless she can hold the spoon or fork. She will not open her mouth, period!!! I have to hold her face before she'll let me feed her. And when I do let her feed herself, you can only imagine the mess. Let's say, she's got a hold of something like the phone or a glass, when you say "Emma, put it down, no, you can't have that." She hacks it across the room and takes off running. Now, I know that some of ya'll think I am exaggerating, but please, let me show you......... This is her pitching a fit because I will not let her get in the frig! I mean, I remember Anslie being pretty pushy as a baby, but she was on all kinds of meds too. I just thought that the steroids made her mean, now I am beginning to wonder. ??? Hopefully Emma will chill out like Anslie. Ans has such a sweet little spirit. She is so good and helpful. Emma is sweet too, to me!! But this is for sure going to be an exciting year with her.

Sneaky Sister!

2009-01-29T19:56:00.000-08:00

Well, I just wanted to write right quick and tell you what I did. I took the movie, Fireproof, over to Brandon and Heathers last night at like 8:30 pm. They NEED to watch it. I told them that it was about a couple who were always fighting and they were going through a divorce and that it was really funny. I never mentioned that it was Christan based. I just made it sound like a comedy! I know they are movie freaks and that they would watch it if I told them it was funny. Okay, so they watched it and I talked to Heather this morning and I didn't ask her how it was. I didn't want her to think that I was being pushy about it. A few minutes into the conversation, she says, "we watched that movie last night, it was really good.". Whoa, are you serious, I'm thinking! We talked about it for a minute and she said that after it was over that Brandon said, "that's just like Christi to trick us into watching a movie like that!!!". Maybe I am the only one who thinks that's funny, but you have to know my brother. He is like this Mr. I am the coolest cat around, use-ta-be #1 drug dealer of Paulding County, 9x felon, 6'2" tall, foul mouth, punk of the south!!!! He would have NEVER watched that movie if I had told him what it was really about. We laughed so hard at him. You know Heather was all about it because she thought that it was going to "show him" that he needs to treat her better. She wouldn't let him up to smoke a cigarette the whole time the movie was on. But it really put her in her place too. I know it put me in mine. It's almost embarrassing because it's like watching yourself!! She said, "you know when that girl keeps getting mad at him even though he's doing all these nice things for her? That's what I do!" I was amazed that she actually related herself to it. I give her kudos for that. Stepping up to the plate and acknowledging that she is just a big of a jerk that he is. Well, maybe not as big of one, but still. Anyway, they are fighting again tonight, so I'm not real sure how much of it actually got thru their skulls!! Just keep them in your prayers and remember to check yourself the next time you start fighting with your spouse:) Nighty~night people:) Love ya!

Let's Start A Fire!!

2009-01-27T20:37:00.000-08:00

Okay, so we just finished watching the movie Fireproof! It was really good and funny at times. If you are experiencing any kind of dysfunction in your marriage, this is the movie for you. It's so true, all of it. I know that Tony and I have been at the point of divorce. Not just the brink, I'm talking, we were talking about arrangements for our kids and what to do with the house. I never let it go because of my kids. They were and are our glue. And there was always, in the back of my mind, the lingering thought of breaking a promise I made with God when I married him. I am enlightened by the information and perspective that this movie gives on our covenant promise that we made to each other. It isn't just a promise made to each other but to God too. I thank the Lord Jesus Christ that Tony and I never went through on our promises to divorce. I loved him enough to marry him and I can love him like that again. I will be guided by God and His Holy Spirit to grow old with my husband and our children. No one ever said that it was all easy. But the Bible says "...It was good for me that I have been afflicted, for if I had not been afflicted, I would have never known the power of God..." Just watch it and you'll see what I mean. I can't wait to get the literature for myself, my brother & Heather!!! Pray that they will be accepting of it and that God will move on their hearts, lives, & marriage. They will never make it without Him. Ya'll go get the movie and watch it and then posts your thoughts. No one ever comments anymore. What's up with that???? Nighty~night ya'll!

January 27th!

2009-01-27T14:37:00.000-08:00

So, today was good. We went to get a few things at the store. That's always fun. I should remember to take Zanax before I go to the store with all three of them though. No really, it was okay. We went and picked up some lunch and went to see both the Papaw's. We went to my dad's and my papaw just happened to be there. I had to give Brandon an outfit that I bought for Ella. Poor baby girl, she's so big. She is 6 months old and I had to buy her 12 month's size. Hopefully that fits. Heather may need to go up to 18 months though. Anyhow, we came home and put the girls to bed and Trace and I vacuumed out my car. It so needed it. After the girls woke up we went to the park. Believe it or not, I actually talked Crystal into going too. So we had 7 kid-o's at the park today. It was so nice. Perfect weather compared to what it's been. I got some really cute pictures. I can't wait until it gets really warm. Spring is just around the corner, whoo hoo!!! Tonight we are going to attempt to get all of these babies in the bed by like 8:30 pm. We got the movie Fireproof. Hopefully it's as good as everyone says. I'll let you know! Other than that, I guess I'll try to write later on some other really interesting things. I know how ya'll love to read my blog, so no worries, more craziness is coming.

???? Confusion ????

2009-01-25T16:45:00.000-08:00

Okay, so one of my besties called me the other night and was telling me about her visit to her Mother-in-law's church up in Tennessee. It was a Pentecostal church. For those of you who know me, I attend a Pentecostal church. I do not consider myself "Pentecostal". I am a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ and I believe in the divinely inspired Word of God. I am not one for legalities and labels. I, personally, feel that sticking a label of denomination on your self is like putting up a barrier against the rest of humanity.

She was telling me that the man who was preaching was an Evangelist from out of town. First, he started reading a verse, on which she thought that he was going to preach from. She said that she really liked the verse and the 5 minutes that he spent talking about it. But, after a few minutes she said that he just kinda got off track and was kinda just rambling on about other things.
Then she said that as he was preaching, that he began to, what she thought, speak in tongues. She said that he was saying the same thing over and over.
It was exactly the same. She said that she was praying to God to give her understanding and insight into what was going on. She had never heard it before. She believes in the in-filling of the Holy Spirit like the Bible teaches, but in this instance she was VERY confused. She said that other people around the church started repeating what this man was saying.
They were all being loud and there was no order to it. She said that all of it sounded the same to her. Now, I do believe in the Holy Spirit and in the speaking with other tongues. I also believe that it is to be done in order and with purpose. My God is not the author of confusion, but of peace.
This girl was confused and scared. There was no one in the building that even attempted to interpret. In I Corinthians chp. 14, I think, Paul is writing the Corinth church and addressing their abuse of the tongues. He said that if 2 or 3 speak and no interpretation is given to be quiet and don't speak in tongues again. He says that it is to be done decently and with order and that it is a sign for the unbeliever and for edification of the church, not the individual. It really frustrates me that here I have a friend who knows I go to a Pentecostal church and she's probably thinking we are a bunch of nuts. Even Paul says that if the whole church is come together and speaking in tongues and in walk some unbelievers, that the unbelievers are going to think you are mad/insane! He also says that he'd rather speak only 5 words with his own understanding , that by his voice he might teach others than to speak 10,000 words in an unknown tongue!! That's a pretty powerful statement and proves that all things, especially tongues, are to be done orderly. The preacher, in her opinion, was not being lead by the Holy Spirit. Given God's words, my friend would have been at peace with the on goings but she wasn't. She called me and asked me what I thought and I told her that if she was confused and felt uncomfortable that it was not of God. I can say that because of I Corinthians 14:33. She said that people started going up to the front and he started saying things to them and then every person he laid his hands on fell out "in the Spirit". Her words were, "I felt like I was at a Benny Hinn service." I know that being "slain in the Spirit" is an old school term and is not used very often in your more up to date charismatic churches. But, I have never read in my Bible where God or any other apostle condones wallering around in the floor or laying out in the middle of the floor at church. I know that there are references to people falling before the Lord, but they were conscious. They fell before the Lord as a voluntary act, not because God slain them and knocked them unconscious.

****Instances of voluntarily falling before the Lord to worship or pray is found in Genesis 17:3 and Joshua 5:14. References to voluntarily falling as the result of feeling overwhelmed by a divine presence are found in Numbers 22:31, Judges 13:20, Ezekiel 1:28, Ezekiel 3:23, Ezekiel 43:3, Ezekiel 44:4, Daniel 8:17 and Matthew 17:6. However, these verses seem to imply falling forward in humility, and it would seem there are no verses to imply falling upon being touched by someone. But there is one passage in the Bible where people "fall to the ground" just by hearing the words "I am He". That is when Judas has betrayed Jesus and the soldiers come to get Jesus. This is what it says in John 18:4-6; (4) Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them "Whom are you seeking?" (5) They answered Him, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus said to them "I am He." And Judas, who betrayed Him, also stood with them. (6) Now when He said to them "I am He," they drew back and fell to the ground. (NKJV)

Instances of involuntarily falling before the Lord as the result of feeling overwhelmed by a divine presence are found in 1 Kings 8:10-11, Daniel 8:27, Daniel 10:8-11 (possibly implied), Acts 9:3-4 (also Acts 26:14) and Revelation 1:17.

Both voluntary and involuntary falling before the Lord can also occur as the result of a power encounter-a person feels that the power of God is overtaking the power of a demonic force that has sought to control or oppress him or her. References to falling in the context of power encounters are found in Mark 3:11, Mark 9:20 and Luke 8:28**** (Wiki)

So given the information in the Word of God, falling out "in the Spirit"
Is
not a practice or a teaching. At least not the kind that a lot of people practice. I am sorry, and God please enlighten me if I am wrong, but the Lord God almighty does not make someone scream bloody murder, roll around in the floor, speak languages that do nothing for anyone, push people around while "shouting" or dancing. This kind of dysfunction in our churches has got to stop. It is not a reflection of God or the Spirit of God. The creator of the universe has nothing to do with such affairs. If you feel the need to speak with other tongues and you have a mic in your hand, MOVE IT, it is a distraction, even to me, when I am in church and people do that. It's almost like they are saying, "look at me, I am Holy and I can do this***". I know for a fact that some people have the ability and gift from God to speak in an unknown tongue while praying, but they do it alone and away from the public so that it is intimate and a special time with God. God says that you should pray in your closet and the things that you ask of him and do for him will be rewarded to you openly. But by going up on a platform, in front of possibly hundreds of people, and talking in tongues as loud as you can for an extended amount of time, is your reward.
I understand the occasional outburst by a preacher when the anointing falls on him heavily, but I do not agree with the abuse of the gift that I see going on in many places. I have never experienced the gift of speaking in other tongues. I know that I have had a life changing experience from God though. I know that I am filled with His Spirit. I have prayed to God to please give me whatever gift he wants me to have. I have prayed for the gift of tongues, but I have never received it. I cannot make it up, nor will I. If I am going to receive it, it will be because God is going to give it to me. Not because some preacher man forced it on me. And I assure you, you will never find me passed out, unconscious in the back of a church somewhere. I am sorry that Lindsay had such a horrible experience at this church. But I know she loves God with all her heart and she walks with Him every day, and that's all that matters. "Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven."

Life is Full of Little Surprises

2009-01-21T19:17:00.000-08:00

I am going to try and give you the short end of what's going on. This morning around 8:00 am I get a phone call from my brother, Brandon. If any one knows my brother, you know that getting a call from him at an odd hour will send chills down my spine. He never calls early or late unless something MEGA MAJOR is going on. SO, here I am barely awake answering the phone to hear a dazed and confused Brandon on the other end of the line. He starts out by saying "Hey, ummm....................(long silence)..." I am like "What?"...... He says, "I just got a call from this girl...)(then he mumbles about something else and I have to say "what" again). To make a really long conversation short, because my brother is #1 winner in the world of people that can take a 4.5 second conversation and turn it into 4.5 minutes, he is being required by the state to take a paternity test for her 5 year old son. He is quite frankly, freaking out! Not over the child so much as to what his wife is going to say. Heather is a strong woman and mother and I know that she will be okay. I talked with the mother of the child and she seemed very honest and explained her reason for not contacting or telling Brandon. I have to say that, I agree with her on her reasons for not telling him. Brandon was NEVER aware that he had a child. He had heard rumors but nothing was ever brought to him directly. He is going tomorrow to take the test. I know that God can take something that people might think is a disaster and turn it into something more beautiful than we ever could have imagined. If this is Brandon's child, he will be a father to him. He has already said that he will and that he wants too. This story is too long for me to write all in here, but that's kinda the gist! I wish that everyone who reads this prays that God's will be done in that child's life. The child is our main concern. I pray that God gives Brandon the wisdom to be a Godly father to him and that they can be a family who builds the foundation of their home on the principals that will sustain them through all the uncertainty that lies ahead. Those principals will only come from knowing God and knowing His Word. Here is a picture of Jacob Daniel. He is 5 years old. He is beautiful. Maybe I am speaking too soon, but this child's face is almost a positive paternity test in itself.
It has been an awful long day, and I am beyond tired. You have no idea! I will post tomorrow about all the other fun things that are going on here. Like our 4 hour visit to the ER Saturday night with Anslie!!!! Can anyone say... DEBACLE ???? Paulding County should be forbidden to have hospitals. I'll also write you and tell you about the wonderful, intelligent "Christians" that I have come in contact with lately. People..... it's not about your denomination/religion....it's about your relationship. Religion and legalities DO NOT, whatsoever, have ANYTHING to do with your salvation. So, thanks for dropping by to read my crazy life. I love all of you'ens!! Nighty~Night!!

Faith

2009-01-19T16:12:00.000-08:00

I know that this is lengthy, like all my other post's. But I thought that it was wonderful and amazing that I received it when I did. My mother called me this morning and told me to check my email. She said that it was something that I really needed to read. I read it and it it was beautiful. See, I have been doing a bible study on doctrinal foundations and I am in the beginning of it where it goes into the faith of a person and the different types of faith. This story really shows the power of God through faith. I love my God and I thank Him so much for all that He has done! Also, before I posted this, I did look up to see if it were true or not. It is!

THE HOT WATER BOTTLE - A True Story By Helen Roseveare, Missionary to Africa

One night, in Central Africa, I had worked hard to help a mother in the labor ward; but in spite of all that we could do, she died leaving us with a tiny, premature baby and a crying, two-year-old daughter.

We would have difficulty keeping the baby alive. We had no incubator. We had no electricity to run an incubator, and no special feeding facilities. Although we lived on the equator, nights were often chilly with treacherous drafts.

A student-midwife went for the box we had for such babies and for the cotton wool that the baby would be wrapped in. Another went to stoke up the fire and fill a hot water bottle. She came back shortly, in distress, to tell me that in filling the bottle, it had burst. Rubber perishes easily in tropical climates. "...and it is our last hot water bottle!" she exclaimed. As in the West, it is no good crying over spilled milk; so, in Central Africa it might be considered no good crying over a burst water bottle. They do not grow on trees, and there are no drugstores down forest pathways. All right," I said, "Put the baby as near the fire as you safely can; sleep between the baby and the door to keep it free from drafts. Your job is to keep the baby warm."

The following noon, as I did most days, I went to have prayers with many of the orphanage children who chose to gather with me. I gave the youngsters various suggestions of things to pray about and told them about the tiny baby. I explained our problem about keeping the baby warm enough, mentioning the hot water bottle. The baby could so easily die if it got chilled. I also told them about the two-year-old sister, crying because her mother had died. During the prayer time, one ten-year-old girl, Ruth, prayed with the usual blunt consciousness of our African children. "Please, God," she prayed, "send us a water bottle. It'll be no good tomorrow, God, the baby'll be dead; so, please send it this afternoon." While I gasped inwardly at the audacity of the prayer, she added by way of corollary, " ...And while You are about it, would You please send a dolly for the little girl so she'll know You really love her?" As often with children's prayers, I was put on the spot. Could I honestly say, "Amen?" I just did not believe that God could do this. Oh, yes, I know that He can do everything: The Bible says so, but there are limits, aren't there? The only way God could answer this particular prayer would be by sending a parcel from the homeland. I had been in Africa for almost four years at that time, and I had never, ever received a parcel from home. Anyway, if anyone did send a parcel, who would put in a hot water bottle? I lived on the equator!

Halfway through the afternoon, while I was teaching in the nurses' training school, a message was sent that there was a car at my front door. By the time that I reached home, the car had gone, but there, on the veranda, was a large twenty-two pound parcel! I felt tears pricking my eyes. I could not open the parcel alone; so, I sent for the orphanage children. Together we pulled off the string, carefully undoing each knot. We folded the paper, taking care not to tear it unduly. Excitement was mounting. Some thirty or forty pairs of eyes were focused on the large cardboard box. From the top, I lifted out brightly colored, knitted jerseys. Eyes sparkled as I gave them out. Then, there were the knitted bandages for the leprosy patients, and the children began to look a little bored. Next, came a box of mixed raisins and sultanas - - that would make a nice batch of buns for the weekend. As I put my hand in again, I felt the...could it really be? I grasped it, and pulled it out. Yes, "A brand-new rubber, hot water bottle!" I cried. I had not asked God to send it; I had not truly believed that He could. Ruth was in the front row of the children. She rushed forward, crying out, "If God has sent the bottle, He must have sent the dolly, too!" Rummaging down to the bottom of the box, she pulled out the small, beautifully dressed dolly. Her eyes shone: She had never doubted! Looking up at me, she asked, "Can I go over with you, Mummy, and give this dolly to that little girl, so she'll know that Jesus really loves her?"

That parcel had been on the way for five whole months, packed up by my former Sunday School class, whose leader had heard and obeyed God's prompting to send a hot water bottle, even to the equator. One of the girls had put in a dolly for an African child -- five months earlier in answer to the believing prayer of a ten-year-old to bring it "That afternoon!"

"And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear." Isaiah 65:24

Helen Roseveare a doctor missionary from England to Zaire, Africa, told this as it had happened to her in Africa. She shared it in her testimony on a Wednesday night at Thomas Road Baptist Church.

Sleeping Children

2009-01-14T10:54:00.000-08:00

I know that this is not something typically blogged about, but I just wanted to let you guys know that ALL of my babies are a sleep ....... at the same time!!!! I feel weird. I don't know what I should do first. Our day has been busy and as soon as we got home, I just told them that we needed to rest and they fell a sleep. No one even pouted about it. Amazing! I took them to the library this morning. They did rather well. Emma Grace is a little on the loud side, but what do you expect from an 18 month old? Trace and Anslie sat at the little kids table and read some little books. It was so sweet! They were just making stuff up to go with the pictures. The walls are painted like a forest so Emma G thought that was great. She was making all the animal sounds for whatever animal was painted! We went to the grand opening at the Publix up here and bought some chicken breasts for $1.98 a lb. Pretty cheap, hu? Their pork chops are on sale too, but pork is not really on the menu for folks trying to drop a few lbs. Tony is on a diet from junk food and food high in fat. He has been working out trying to eat healthy-"er"! We went to my dads and dropped off a load of really nice clothes for his secretary, Tammy! Well, they're really for her daughter. I love Tammy. She is "Tha Bomb". Heather and Brandon called this morning and said that Ella took two steps last night. She is 6 months old. I believe it though. That baby is gargantuas. She is so beautiful!! I love my smella:) Tony has nick~named her. He says that if her last name was Vader that she would be "Ella Vater" like elevator. So now he calls her Ella Vater. I know, it's retarded but still funny! Anyway, I hope that I will get the chance to go get my make-up tonight. Bare Minerals all the way bay-bay! Jennifer is suppose to go with me to the Avenue, so we'll see!

0.15 Cents

2009-01-13T12:35:00.001-08:00

We went to the store and as I was strolling through with all my children I noticed a lady, maybe in her early 30's. She looked rather shoddy and rundown. She had two little girls and was pregnant herself. I never really thought anything right out about her. I don't think that I profiled her in any way by assigning a social status to her. I just noticed that she was not well kept. When we got done with our shopping we headed for the check out area. We pulled up to the self check out line, I again noticed her, she was in front of me paying for her items. She was maybe 7 - 8 months pregnant and weighing in at about 135 lbs and about 5'7" tall. Her hair needed to be re-colored and was very stringy. She looked as though she may have needed some new clothes for her and her girls. They were about 3 years and 6 years old. Very pretty girls. She had just a few little things and to be real honest I wasn't really paying much attention to what she had to purchase. I was trying my best to keep up with my three. Trace was begging for candy and Anslie was wanting to get out of the buggy and Emma was trying to stand up and jump out of the buggy. It was truly lovely. After about 7 minutes I began to wonder why this woman was still at the register. She didn't have much at all to buy. When I looked to see what she was doing, I noticed that she was paying with change. And she was looking for something. She was talking to her oldest daughter about something. I couldn't tell. I saw her pick up the whole contraption that the bags are attached to and run her hands back behind and in between the machine and cracks of the register. I knew that she was getting anxious and uneasy about how long she'd been there and I was waiting behind her. You know how you get when someone is waiting on you to move? The little girl who was standing in the buggy was looking at Anslie and had a bleak look on her face. She never smiled. I smiled at her maybe 5 times and the child never broke the look on her face. Her hair was dirty and her clothes were too small. She was beautiful! Very well behaved. You could tell that she wasn't a brat. You could tell that she had not an abundance of anything. Very humble. The mother finally looked up at me and with a look of a long, hard life and in humility she says that her dime has fallen and she can not find it. She said that the dime is all she needs to get her groceries but it fell and she can't find it. She starts to gather the small bag of items that she had planned to purchase and heads toward the customer service lady, maybe to get her to take off something that would make her total a little less that she might afford it. Before I could think of anything to say, I just played it off like it was no biggie and got out my little change purse and told her to wait that I had some change. She hesitated, out of embarrassment, and leaned it and took the quarter. Her oldest daughter, I heard her say, "Mommy, that was so nice, wasn't it?" She put the change in and gave me the .15 cents that was left. I did not want to embarrass this woman any further so I did not tell her to keep the change. I thought that it would be an insult. The littlest girl was watching me take back the change from her mommy. I saw the little look in her face and I asked her if she wanted it. She shook her head yes and I gave it to her and told her to put it in her pocket. She did. I never made eye contact with the mother again, I guess I did not want her to think that I felt sorry for her. I didn't want her to have to say thank you. I knew she was thankful. But I did see her try to look at me and get my attention, but I never looked at her. She was almost in tears. She walked out of the store with her three kids and I paid for my things. When I was walking to my car, I began to think of how beyond blessed I am. I am in need of nothing. My God has supplied all my needs. I learned a lesson from that woman. As she searched for her dime, in humility and embarrassment, I learned that I am not invincible. I am not exempted from suffering and poverty. No matter if I loose all that I have I am so thankful that I will always have my God. I hope that in this time of our country's suffering and downfall that Americans will remember who we are. We are a giving people. We are a God fearing people who principals are derived from the divinely inspired Word of God. We are not a great nation because of the people who lead us. We are a great nation because God leads us. I will give all that I have from now on. A spirit of frugality and humbleness had fallen on this house. It is no longer about "keeping up with the Jones'". It is no longer about when can I get my next $300.00 purse or when will I be able to get new furniture or new clothes or new cars or new homes. It is about family and God. That's it! If I loose all that God has given me, I can never loose my peace about knowing my Jehovah Jireh. I hope that through all this distress we are now facing that God is revealed to millions of people who desperately need Him. I pray that this woman with the dime finds peace with God, with Jesus Christ. I pray that there is someone who crosses her path that leads her to a life full and abundant with God's blessings. I hope that all of us take a look around and the people who we share this planet with and ask yourself, what can I do to show someone the love and grace that I have been shown!

Christmas 2008

2008-12-26T19:31:00.000-08:00

Oh, how I do not feel like writing. All I can think about is chocolate milk with ice!! Yummm!! I will tell you that we had a wonderful Christmas and everything was perfect. I have so many things I want to write about, maybe later though. I hope that these pictures give you an idea of how things went. It was wonderful. I hope yours was too!!!

Emma thought it would be great to eat diaper rash cream!! Lovely, lovely!!

This was the first time we ever curled her hair.....

This is what it looked like when I got done! Then, I had no idea what to do with it!!!

She liked it soooo much! She loved the camera for a minute because she thought she looked like Taylor Swift... no joke, that is what she said. Taylor Swift and Sleeping Beauty......

Papaw and Emma Gracie

Trace learning to play the guitar that Papaw got him for Christmas!

Now, this is my mothers "human" dog. He really thinks he's human. He is wearing the king costume that Trace got for Christmas!

You have no idea what we had to do to get him to do this. He was scared to death to get in this things face. This bear, my papaw shot with a bow and arrow in Alaska/Canada last winter. Trace has seen the DVD of him shooting it at least a dozen times. I guess it came a shock to him to actually see it "for real".

Ahhh.... it wouldn't be Christmas without Emma G's trademark "smile". She is a crazy little girl. But, this is what you get when you ask the girl to smile.

Anslie with her music box, Trace (aka: Hugh Hefner with the new robe from Mamaw and Papaw, named by none other than Brandon) with his Guitar, and Emma with her Trumpet (aka: Voice Box). She is the loudest of the three and must be in the mix at all times!! my little Trio:)

Brandon and Heather and Ella!

Our Family (a few of them) Christmas Eve 2008!!!

Pictures, Reading, & Clothes.... OH MI!

2008-12-17T17:21:00.000-08:00

I know that I have a ton of pictures up this time but, I love them all and I could not choose which ones to put up, so.... just deal with me and it'll all be okay! Ashley showed me a new program to do all kinds of fun stuff to your pictures and I am just getting a little OCD about it. Anyway, one of my besties, Ashley, hooked us up with the Your Baby Can Read DVD. Long story short, your child is suppose to be able to read within weeks by following this series of DVD's and other activities. I've seen the infomercial and I was sold the first time. I just don't have $200.00 bucks to drop on something like that. Well, we have it now and we've been watching it since Friday. Anslie and Emma love it. Anslie always asks to watch it. We have been averaging about 3 times daily that it is played. Well, Monday, Emma Grace is sitting nicely in her chair in the kitchen and watching the DVD and it says "WAVE, can you say Wave?" Emma says as plain as day... "Wave". I was washing dishes so I turned around and looked at her in amazement, she was looking at me like I was crazy! Well, about 1 minute later the word TIGER come up on the screen. The narrator has not said the word tiger yet and the picture hasn't popped up either, so she hasn't heard it or seen it. Well, little miss lets out a big roar, like a tiger. Just by looking at the word, she recognized that it was the word TIGER. I was dumb-founded. You know, you always think stuff like this works but you never really expect it to work like they say. Well, this program works!! I guess it doesn't really matter if your child can read super early or not. By the time their 10, everyone will be on the same reading level anyway. It's just nice to be able to say that my 18 month old can read!!! Anyhow, Ashley has not sent me ANY pictures from this weekend and that's why I have nothing up. Although the party was fun and even though I got stranded by my "friends", I lived to tell about it. I forgive them. No, really, it was fun and I so need a night like that like once a month, at least! Tony did act out, again, and try to jump out of my car. You would not believe what we were arguing about this time. RETARDED!!! Anyway, Ashley, Lee and Lux came over Sunday after church and ate dinner and stuff. It was nice to just chill and have adult conversation. Ashley did some tricks to some pictures of Anslie that she took back in September. They are posted below. Anyway, all is good here and no one is sick and I am so thankful to God for that. I am broke and cannot afford Dr. visits and meds. Praise Jesus for the health that is floating around here. Oh, and let me give a BIG THANKS to Katie. You are so fabulous!! Thank you so much for all the WONDERFUL clothes for Trace. You have no idea how much that means to me. And Jennifer too. She has given me the most amazing clothes for my girls. I feel like I have my own little community of hand me down friends. I love it. THANKS THANKS THANKS!!!

18 Months!

2008-12-12T19:32:00.000-08:00

Emma Grace is now 18 months old. Does that mean that she is still a baby? It's wierd because as soon as yesterday morning, the exact date for the 18 month of her age, she started saying words that you could understand. She says "teeth" for brushing her teeth and "bwinkle bwinkle" for twinkle twinkle. I sing it to her every night and now all of a sudden she feels as if she must remind me to sing it to her. She say Tree for our Christmas Tree. She shook her head "Yes" for the first time today. Well, for the first time and actually knew what she was answering to. I ask her if she wanted to get out of the bathtub and she shook her head no, like always. So I asked her if she wanted daddy to come get her and she shook her head yes. It was so sweet. But then she pitched a fit when he came and got her out. I love my baby girl. I cannot believe that she is a year and a half old. I have never went this long with out giving birth to another child. It's sad but relieving at the same time. Do you think that Emma is really my last baby? I do wish I had another boy. I love Trace. He is such a little man. He is my hunter/football player/Iron Man/ Sonic the Hedgehog/ Olympic swimmer/Tract star and all kinds of other things that he pretends to be daily. I just love it all. He get along with Emma so well. He picks her up and runs around her and gets her all worked up and crazy. They have so much fun together. Anslie is just the chill monkey out of the whole bunch.

Well, we went and seen Santa today and everyone sat on his lap and talked to him, except Ella. She just chilled in the stroller. Yes, I did take four babies to the mall and they were all 4 years old and under. I am super woman!!! It was so sweet though. But, see Santa obviously doesn't know that we are in a depression and was charging $49.95 for a package of pictures. Yeah, the cheapest set they had was around $23.00 and that was just for 8 wallets!! BULL CRAP!!! So, needless to say, we didn't get the pictures. That's okay though, we'll live with just the memory. Anslie baby bed that my mom ordered her for Christmas came yesterday. It is so cute. That is what she asked Santa for today too. She is going to be so excited. I can't wait. Well, Tony is off all weekend and so we get to hang out with him. It's going to be nice. At least I'll have some help. Maybe I'll get to hang out with my mommy too. I miss her so bad. I feel like I don't even know her anymore. Her and her dang home~wrecker of a PhD!!

Tomorrow night is Ashley and Lee's Christmas party at Lee's sisters house. These pictures should be fun if their anything like last year. Poor, poor Reindeer. Hopefully Tony keeps his composure and I won't have to push him out of the car this time! Anyway, here are some pictures from this week.

Happy 18 months to Emma Grace!

He thinks he's such a man!

Bat~girl! I love it!

Emma Grace holding baby Jesus

Mimi and Smella Ella

Jacob

The Spirit of CHRISTmas & CHRISTianity!

2008-12-05T11:50:00.000-08:00

I know that this post has nothing to do with anything besides my OCD! So, please bear with me. I am sick of these ignorant atheists out here attacking Christmas and everything that represents Christianity. I know that people inside the "Christian" religion have different views on theological issues, but where is the unity? It's seems sometimes that we are more divided than united. Where are the "Christians" when the very foundation of our belief is being attacked! You know, in WA state, there is a Nativity scene on display in a Government building. Well, some atheists have decided that it would be a good idea to put a sign up next to the Nativity that reads

Humm, yeah, sounds to me like somebody has been drinking a bit too much kool-aid! Although someone did steal the sign and throw it in a ditch, that's just weak. I am telling you, I wish that I lived up there. I would have went into that facility and lit the hell bound piece of "art" sign on fire and sat and waited to be arrested. Why is it that we are so silent? I guess I am a little stressed out and maybe over reacting but, I don't care. Why are these people getting away with such vile acts? You know, it's cool now to get a Christmas tree that hangs upside-down! All it is is a subliminal way to demean the power of everlasting life (Jesus Christ). That is what the Christmas tree represents, you know? It is an evergreen and does not die (or go dormant) in the winter. It survives the coldest winters and remains green. Some of the other subliminal messages that have crept into our culture are the skull and cross bones. Those are nothing more than an ancient symbol that represent Mary Magdalene, the "mother of Jesus Christ's children". A cult called the Knights Templar used that symbol for ways to tell your association with that cult. They believe that they are the keepers of the Holy Grail, which in their minds, is the bloodline of Jesus Christ. The Skull and Crossbones is on nearly every piece of clothing in every department store. The peace sign that we are all aware of is nothing more that an upside~down cross. Another vile symbol to denounce the power of the cross and what Jesus Christ did for us! Here's one more. In the Disney movie Sleeping Beauty, there is an emblem in the back ground in the scene where the two kings are talking in the banquet hall where all the food is. It is a picture of an Eagle, aka: Phoenix, holding a snake in it's claws. When Jacob, son of Issac, was on his death bed, he gave to all 12 sons a blessing on their tribe. The one given to Dan was quite interesting. He said that... Genesis 49:16-17 "Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. 17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward." See here he says that Dan will be a serpent. Well, Dan was not real happy about that and changed his symbol the predator of the serpent, the Eagle. That is where the Eagle holding the snake in it's claws came from. As we all know, Dan is a lost tribe and has some serious roots with the occult. Oh, and here is a topic that I ran across a few years ago....

The Greek word “pharmakia” literally means “drugs”, and appears five times in the New Testament: in Gal 5:20, Rev 9:21, 18:23, 21:8, and 22:15.

“Pharmakia” is translated into our English Bible as either “witchcraft” or “sorceries”. We also get our English word “pharmacy” from the Greek word “pharmakia”.

In each of the above five passages, “pharmakia”, or “drugs” is listed as a work of the flesh of man as opposed to the Spirit of God working in us.

Here is a link to the whole text! http://truediscernment.wordpress.com/2007/07/09/on-the-greek-word-pharmakia/

So my point is that all these little symbols and subliminal messages are making their way into our culture and desensitizing our children and it well, makes me very upset. Sorry if all this is of no interest to you. I just needed to vent. I just get angry when there is no one taking a stand for what we believe in. I wish I had a platform to get on and speak to the Nation. We are, as a Nation, falling so quickly to the pleasures and promises of Satan. I don't care how silly I sound. I will protect my children from any and all forces of evil at work in our society and I pray to God every day to give me the discernment of these things. It's every where. In every new teen sitcom, cartoon, books and blockbuster movies! America deserves judgment and I just hope that our God finds one righteous to spare us from the judgment we deserve. Stand up for what you believe and stand strong. Be aggressive, I know Jen won't have a problem with this, and fight for what God has given us.

Autum of 1621

2008-11-27T15:35:00.000-08:00

Thanks to a bunch of English people who decided that they should be able to worship God in their own way and some Indians who taught these Pilgrims how to Sow and Reap a harvest, we now celebrate a day each year designed to remind us of how thankful we "should be" for all that God has blessed us with. I just want to say that I am so very Thankful for the life that God has given me. I am thankful for His blessing and His reprimanding, when I needed it. He is a perfect balance of all that I need. Today was a good day. I didn't have to go anywhere. Everyone came to me and it was wonderful. My parents were here together and their spouses and their kids. My grandparents and Tony's family. Nothing real exciting happened. It was extremely peaceful and I love it!!!! Although, Brandon and Heather showed up nearly two hours late and didn't even bring the ice that I asked for. I mean, all I asked for was ice! That's it! Whatever. Somewhere in the back of my mind, no actually I knew it all along, I wasn't going to get any ice! I am glad I wasn't counting on them for anything important. Anyway, it was a good day! Here are some pictures and I hope that all of you had fabulous, beautiful, peaceful, blessed day! Me and my beautiful Mommy!Me and my Daddy!!My sweet little sister!!Brandon, Heather and Smella (Ella)

Who's the fool?

2008-11-27T14:08:00.000-08:00

Okay, Tuesday night Tony's sister calls and says that she is going to bring her daughter, Savannah, over to spend the night and stay with us until Thursday. I am like, okay good! She is a sweet girl and she is very well behaved an fun to be around. Well, they call us before they leave Cartersville to tell us that they are leaving. They called twice more after that before they got here. So, when they get here, Tony's nephew walks in and says "hey ya'll, this is my friend Collin, Tony, I think you know him." Okay, before I tell you who Collin is, let me tell you that Tereasa, Tony's sister, doesn't know that I know who this kids is. I guess that is why Dillon, His nephew, announced him like he did saying, "Tony, I think you know my friend!" THINK!!!!????? This child is Tony's EX-WIFE'S son who use to be Tony's STEP-SON!!!! She never thought about telling Tony she was bringing him the 3 times she called while in route here. No heads up or anything. Now, I don't care that the kid is here, he's a nice kid, it is Tereasa that I have to giggle at a little bit. I mean, I don't know how bored you have to be at 35 years old to try and pull some retarded stunt like that over on someone but oh mi, she must have no kind of life. And that goes for Sunny too! (His Ex) I know that their two lame self's thought about how funny it was going to be to bring him over here and make me look like a fool. See, Tony's divorce with this girl was NASTY!! She made accusations that Tony raped girls with GHB, that he beat the crap out of her and even went as far to say that he was gay!! Sunny told my Mom and Mark to their face that Tony was abusive to her. If all that's true, then why would she allow her son to come and be in his home? So, who the fool? All I have to say is that my husband is not gay, as we all know, he is not abusive and SURLY not a rapist!!! If this was some lame attempt to piss me off, it didn't work and just know that when I see you, I can't help but give a little giggle at your jealousy!!

7 Days of Peace, Love, & WHAT!!!!

2008-11-24T08:35:00.000-08:00

Well, Tony will be staying with us for the next 7 days and so far it is turning out to be quite an adventure. He has been a nice help around here for the most part. He has been making fires, cause it's so dang cold. That's nice because it smells good and it keeps us from having to turn on the heat! (which in turns saves us money:) He is a little messy and I guess it must be a guy thing. From what I hear, all the girls I know have issues with their husbands being quite the little piggies!! Well, not only is he messy, but he is also very dangerous. I guess him being at work, all the time, he doesn't realize how easy it is for one of these babies to get hurt. Like for instance, this morning, he took the seat off the chair in the kitchen to see how we would need to recover them. So, to see what brown would look like he puts a brown pillow from the couch right on top of the chair hole (where the seat goes). It is just a disaster waiting to happen. Okay, so the pillow is just sitting right up there with no support under it when Anslie walks up to it and leans in on it to lay her head down on the pillow and falls right through. Her head slams into the side of it where there is some kinds of hardware object sticking out and this is what happened.....
So, it's just another exciting day in the lives of the Mulkanators!!! I am sure that through the week I will have super fun things, like this, to tell you about. Until then, here are some other pictures from yesterday!

Everything I need is in that name!

2008-11-20T19:24:00.000-08:00

So, where should I start? I guess we'll start with around 11:30 pm last night Trace says to me "mommy, my leg is hurting". I just thought he was saying it to get out of going to sleep. He said it a few times and I didn't think anything of it. So, this morning I notice that he has an upset stomach. As I was helping him practice his good habits of good hygiene... I noticed that he has a huge, bulging knot coming out of the backside of his knee. So, I went to my mom's school to let the nurse up there look at it and tell me if it was something to see a doctor over. She says yes, definitely take him to the Dr. So, I drop off the girls with Crystal and we head to the Dr. Dr. Melamed says that he needs to go to the hospital have X-Rays immediately. He is not sure if he has developed some kind of infection or something but his lymph nodes are swollen and he needs to know asap what the deal is. Needless to say, I am freaking out. I am literally having to take myself and do breathing exercises just so that I don't have a panic attack and pass out. I am sitting in the corner of the Dr. office room talking myself out of a full blown anxiety attack. I am thinking the worse. I am not even going to write it because I am not calling that kind of stuff into our lives. Trace and I prayed on the way to the Dr., in the Dr. office, on the way to the hospital, in the hospital, while waiting to be discharged, and all the way home. Annie and my mom were praying and it wasn't until 4:45 pm that they called me back to tell me the results. He said that there was no mass in his leg and nothing on the x-rays were of any concern. He put him on Amox. for 10 days and that should take care of it. If not, he will do more tests. But, he doesn't know my God apparently. These antibiotics will do the trick and there will be no further complications or tests needed. We are claiming it in the only name with any power in the universe...Jesus Christ! So, now, after a long and stressful day I can sit here and write this to you knowing that my baby is perfect and fine. He is a little soldier in God's army. Goodness, you know when something like this comes at you, you really realize how much you cherish your children. I can't imagine my life without them or a life with them in any sort of pain. They are the greatest gifts that I have ever been given and they are the glue that holds this family together. Without them, we would be nothing. Each and every one of them make up such an important part of our family and I thank God for giving them to us! I thank Him for protecting Trace and keeping his body free of disease. I guess I just wrote this not to tell you of our woes today but to really magnify Him and give God all the glory for the healthy children that I have. You never know how fast your life can change and I am so blessed to know Jesus Christ and know that all I have to do is call on His name and all of the darkness flees. I guess I just want you guys to know that I love Him and I am so very thankful for His protection over my family and friends.

2008-11-19T06:56:00.000-08:00

This is Emma's new "silly face"!! She is such a funny little girl! She is doing some of the funniest stuff lately. I hope I will have time to blog on some of the little things that she is busting out with here recently. I'll post later if I have time.