THE RHYMER FAMILY

Happy Birthday Riley

2009-08-08T14:37:00.000-07:00

Today is Riley's 13th Birthday. It seems like only yesterday that we brought that precious bundle of joy home with us. When I found out that I was pregnant with Riley, I just knew that I was having a girl. I already had Dakota, so I thought that having a girl next was just how things went. I didn't have an ultrasound to tell me the sex of the baby, so I went through the entire pregnancy referring to the baby as "she" and "her". Physically I had an easy pregnancy with Riley, however, it was my emotions that were painfully out of control. I just couldn't figure out how in the world I could ever love another baby as much as I loved Dakota. Dakota was my life and I was so afraid that I would not love this new baby as much as I loved him. I wondered if my heart could love that much, and I worried that I did not have enough love to give to another child.

I had the perfect delivery with Riley. I was the only one on the entire Labor and Delivery floor that night, so I had lots of attention from everyone. The epidural was heavenly, my doctor was a saint, and before long, I had this perfect, beautiful, dark-headed, pouty-lipped, angel. Kieth will tell you that when the doctor said "it's a boy" I had a look of puzzlement on my face. Afterall, I was expecting a girl. But that lasted for about as long as it took the nurse to lay Riley on my chest and I saw him for the first time. All the months of worry and stress about loving another child were forgotten and my heart completely melted. I loved this baby more than life itself and I was so happy that I got to be his mother. Riley was the best baby anyone could ask for. He never cried, which was such a blessing.

Riley is the most compassionate child I have ever known. He cares about others and their feelings and is always concerned when someone is hurting. He has always loved animals and when he was younger, I would find him sneaking the dog or cats into the house so he could take care of them. As Riley gets older, he is especially good with little kids. He is like a kid-magnet. All the kids gravitate toward Riley and I know it is because they can feel his love for them. Hunter has a special bond with Riley that is heart-warming to see. Riley spent a few days at grandmas house recently and after the third night, Hunter was so upset and told us that he needed his "Liley" to hurry up and get home to him.

I am so proud of the young man that Riley is becoming. He is strong, loving, compassionate, smart, genuine, devoted, brave, and an extremely important part of our family. Thank-you for giving me hugs when you know I need them, and for being the best son a mom could ask for.

Somewhere in the middle of Happily Everafter.....

2009-07-31T13:49:00.001-07:00

**Disclaimer** So, I started writing this blog entry exactly one month ago. But then, I started looking through pictures to go with it, and that turned into a long walk down memory lane, and then I got busy, and then I procrastinated, and then I got overwhelmed, and then I finally decided to sit down and finish the entry. So here it is.

Today, Kieth and I celebrate our anniversary. Sixteen years ago on that sweltering day in July, many people thought we would never make it. People were crying, but somehow, I don't think they were tears of joy. Perhaps worry; definitely not joy. I was too young......he was too old, we didn't have jobs, we didn't have a place to live, we had very few possessions, and we didn't have a plan. Just about every card was stacked against us. However, the one thing that we did have was undeniable, unconditional, and unending love for one another. So, we found a house, we got jobs, we gathered possessions, we outlined our goals, and we started a life together.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying we have lived a fairy tale all these years. In fact, quite the opposite. We have had many obstacles and bumps in the road on our journey. I'm pretty sure at some point throughout the years he hasn't liked me very much, and I certainly have not liked him at times. But through the years we have learned some very important truths that have sustained us and have brought us to the place where we are at today.

Foremost we love our children unconditionally and we believe that raising them in a loving, happy, secure home with both of their parents is the greatest gift we can give them. We are also learning to put each other first. When his desires come before mine and mine come before his, then someone is always first, and it works. We have learned to love each other even when we are being unlovable and to give respect even when we are not acting respectable. Choosing to love and respect, even when it is difficult, creates a deep and fulfilling joy in our marriage that can come from no other place. And because we are imperfect, we strive daily to strengthen our commitment and remember what truly matters most.

I have a picture in my mind of Kieth and I when we are older. We will be that little old grandma and grandpa rocking on the front porch, holding hands, sipping lemonade laced with fiber-lax, reflecting on our journey with joy and contentment. We will turn to each other fifty years from now and lovingly smile through our dentures and say "now which one of us has a doctor's appointment today"?

I love you Kieth, and I happily look forward to growing old with you and tackling whatever life throws our way. Happy Anniversary.

July boys embrace each day, celebrating life in every way.

2009-07-09T19:56:00.001-07:00

Happy 15th birthday Dakota!

I really can't believe my first baby is 15. His birthday was the 8th, but I started writing this post on the 9th and here it is almost the end of the month before I am actually finishing and posting it. I think I get the award for super procrastinator. Or maybe I'm just busy, yes, that's it, I'm busy. (Justification is guilt relieving). Anyway, back to number 1. It's amazing how it seems like just yesterday that we brought home this little bundle of crying, pooping, nursing, crying, pooping, nursing, crying, and did I mention crying, bundle of JOY. In fact, to illustrate just how much this child cried, below is a picture of my sister Gina holding him at my baby shower. Here, Gina is vowing never to have children, my sister Kerri is in the background nervously laughing, my friend Jill is wondering when he will take another breath, Elizabeth is looking for her ear plugs and Dakota is wailing like it's his birthday. Good times, Good times.

Even though I read all the child-rearing books from cover to cover multiple times, nothing could quite prepare me for the insanity and noise level that Dakota brought into our simple, carefree, and very quiet home. If he wasn't eating, he was crying, and if he wasn't crying, he was eating. It was an exhausting cycle of white noise, tip-toeing, and praying for peace that thankfully only lasted about 3 months.

Here Kieth is enjoying a rare moment of quiet time while also rocking a sexy mullet. Yes, he used to have hair.

Bath time

Dakota was a curious and mischievous little guy.

Ready for church.

Dakota with grandma and grandpa, one of his favorite places to be.

Dakota loved to play in my bathtub.

Here is a good shot of his rooster cal lick.

Three cheers to an incredible 15 years and a lifetime of adventure ahead.

Sandy Toes and Salty Kisses

2009-07-02T05:52:00.000-07:00

Kieth and I decided to take a vacation this year. With the exception of traveling to North Carolina to visit family, we have never been on a long trip all together with our kids. Dakota will be 15 in a few days and before I turn around again, he will be graduating high school. So, I thought we better take a little family vacation. The kids and I have never been to the ocean, so we decided to go to Gulf Shores. We got the van all packed up and had intentions of leaving at 2:00 on Saturday morning, but somehow we overslept and didn't end up leaving until around 6:30. In all the confusion, we left without getting map quest directions, so we had to stop in Memphis and call Lesli to get directions. We were told that the trip should only take about 9 or 10 hours. But after 5 bathroom stops, 3 food stops, 2 Wal-mart stops, and 1 minor detour, we finally arrived almost 13 hours later. Hey, that's how we roll.

On Father's Day we went to the beach bright and early in the morning. It was everything I hoped it would be. The sand was cool sugar white, the waves were crashing on shore, and the seagulls were soaring overhead. The boys went wild. They loved playing in the waves and discovering all the sea life. I didn't enjoy discovering the sea life too much because it kept touching me. I ventured out to my knees, but that's as far as I could go. I'm scared of sharks in the lake, so can you imagine when there really are sharks somewhere. My level of fright was in the red zone. The boys on the other hand had no feelings of fear or reservation. They were really good at catching the hermit and sand crabs. I had to caution them many times about going out too far, but eventually I gave up and took a chill pill. But, I did watch for shark fins like a hawk.

After we got finished at the beach everyday, we would go to the pool at the condo. Hunter loved all the attention he got from the little girls. He would scoot up next to them in the pool and ask them their names. Then he would come running to me and say, "mom, how old I am"? Then he would go back and tell them his age. He was trying to teach them how to do a cannonball and they would whine, "Hunter, is this how you do it"? He would say "no" and then show them for the hundredth time the right way. One lady that was there the week we were commented that other people may have had fun this week, but no one had more fun than Hunter.

In the evenings we would go back to the beach and look for crabs. They mostly came out at night. The boys would use their flashlights to spot them and then catch them in the net. Hunter ran all over that beach after the little sand crabs. They were fast, but not too fast for him. We let them all go, but I guess people were catching them to eat them. One word. GROSS. The boys loved playing in the sand too. We had such a great uncrowded portion of the beach. There were a couple of people farther down, but no one even close to us. The boys took turns burying each other and then making sand castles.

One of our favorite parts of the trip was looking for seashells. We finally learned a good technique to grabbing them before the waves took them off again. We found some magnificent shells. They are mostly small, but still beautiful. On our last day there, we were at the beach as usual in the morning and we saw a group of dolphins playing about 30 yards away. I was trying to get to my camera when one decided to put on a show and jump up out of the water and twist around 3 or 4 times. By the time I got ready to take a picture, he was finished playing. Oh well, we will remember it forever in our minds. We had such a wonderful time. The entire trip completely exceeded my expectations, and I have high expectations. It was fun to get away, but it was equally as fun to get back home. We missed our family and animals and were glad to see that none of our fish died. Here are some of the 200 pictures I took. I hope you enjoy them.

Birthday Boys

2009-05-14T13:05:00.000-07:00

So much has been happening lately that I have really neglected my blog. Here it is the middle of May, school is almost out for the summer, and I am really not prepared, mentally or physically. I wanted to post a few pictures of our March and April birthday boys before their next birthday rolls around.

Jordan's Birthday at the park.

We had donuts instead of cake.

Ten squiggley candles.

It was cold that day, so Jordan was not too excited about the snorkel.
He will be happy he has it on our first lake trip though......if it's not lost.

Everyone enjoying the donuts.

We went to Silver Dollar City the day after Jordan's birthday also.
The first thing we did was take the cave tour. The kids absolutely
loved it; especially Hunter. Here are some pictures of us inside the
cave.

Here are some pictures of Hunter's birthday. Hunter made sure EVERYONE he saw that day knew that it was his birthday. Kieth and I asked him where he wanted to eat for lunch and he very enthusiastically shouted Chili's. Not only did he want to eat there, he also wanted a steak. The kids menu does not have steak so we had to order a man size plate for him. He is an awesome eater and he ate nearly every bite. The waiter said he could have a free sundae, but when the meal was over, he brought out a huge molten lava cake instead. Hunter's cuteness is hard to resist. Here he is enjoying his meal. I will let the pictures do the talking.

When the boys got home from school, we had a little celebration. Hunter loved his Cars cake, but yet again, I could not find the candles, so we used tealites. Hunter wanted a pet bird so bad that he cried about it for days. I do not like inside birds. I think they are nasty at times. So Lesli told me they had a new line of FUR REAL pets at Wal-mart. I happened to find a baby parakeet that needs fed with a bottle and chirps and moves. Holy Cow! What a life-saver. Hunter also got a new bike, but I guess I didn't take a picture. He is holding his plate up for it. Hunter still wants it to be his birthday. He had more like a birth-month instead of just a day. Actually, I think we may still be celebrating his birthday in the middle of May. He just won't let it go.

So that's the first two birthdays of the year. The next two come in July and August. I just don't know how the boys keep getting older and older and I look younger and younger.......yeah right.
Until next time.

April boys show they care; with gentle souls they are rare.

2009-04-20T18:38:00.000-07:00

Today is Hunter's 4th birthday and even though he has only been part of our family for four short years, we have a hard time remembering what life was like before him. Kieth and I were pretty much finished having children after we had Dakota, Riley, and Jordan. We were blessed with three wonderful boys and we felt like that was enough. In 2004 we decided to build a house, which kept us very busy for over a year. The boys were also growing older and somewhere along the way my longing for another baby began to emerge. Actually, my aching desire for a daughter resurfaced. I told Kieth that I wanted to have another baby because I was sure it would be a girl. How could it not be? We already had three boys. He thought it would be a good idea, but we were both anxious because it was like we were starting all over. We finally had all of our kids potty trained, off of bottles, out of our bed, in school......and life was good. What were we thinking?

When I had my ultrasound, I could not believe the lady said it was a boy. I asked if she was sure, and......she was sure. I must admit, at first, I was sad. I knew that as I approached 30 years old that this would indeed be our last baby. I longed for a daughter of my own so deeply. I wanted to have a mini-me that I could dress up and go on mommy-daughter dates with. I wanted to paint her nails and brush her hair. I wanted to talk about boys with her and one day plan her wedding. I wanted to be the "mother of the bride" and be in the hospital room when she had my grand baby. And I wanted her to call me her best friend when she got older. But as sad as I was that I would never have a daughter, I was equally as happy about having another son. Boys love their mommy's so much. How could I be sad when Heavenly Father was giving me his precious child to nuture and love as my own. So, even though I may always wonder what my daughter would have looked like, I have faith that I have been given what I need.

We were almost finished building our house when Hunter arrived on April 20, 2005. We were partly moved in, but we had no running water yet. I told Kieth I wasn't coming home from the hospital until he had all the plumbing finished. So Kieth and dad worked 24/7 for 3 days to complete the task. Jordan had just turned 6, Riley was almost 9 and Dakota was almost 11 when Hunter was born, so needless to say, he received copious amounts of attention. Someone always wanted to hold him, and change his diaper, and feed him, and play with him. Life was all about Hunter, ( and still is), which I now attribute to his spoiled ways.

So here we are 4 years later. Hunter has been one of the highlights of our life. I love seeing his older brothers take care of him. They are, for the most part, gentle and kind to him. Sometimes they get annoyed or angry with him, but Hunter has a way of getting back in everyones good graces with his endless kisses and I love you's. He is an extremely affectionate child and you never hunger for attention in his presence. He readily and happily offers love to everyone in our family. Hunter has a strong sense of purpose and I believe he knows exactly where he came from. One day last year when Hunter had just turned three he told me a story that I will never forget.

I was ironing clothes one Sunday morning for church and Hunter approached me. He said, "mommy, when I was a baby I lived in the water". Since we had been going to the lake quite often, I thought he was talking about his newly acquired swimming abilities. So I just dismissed his statement as if he were recalling a recent lake outing. But then I got a strong feeling inside that Hunter was not talking about the lake. He was telling me something more important. So I turned to him and said, "what did you do in the water, Hunter, swim"? And he said, "no, I was waiting to come". And then I said "waiting to come where, Hunter"? He then looked up at me with his big blue eyes and said, "I was waiting to come Home". I can not help but believe that Hunter was revealing to me a small part of his pre-existence. We almost did not have him. We were done. But this precious child of God waited for his earthly mother and father to get ready, and finally, he got to come to earth after a long wait. I love this child so much. And I am so thankful that he waited to become part of our family. Happy Birthday Hunter.

March boys are filled with courage, strong and wise they don't discourage.

2009-03-25T18:27:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that 10 years ago today, Jordan joined our family. Where did the time go? My pregnancy with Jordan was somewhat uneventful. I had all the normal check-ups and ultrasounds and my two previous pregnancies prepared me for most of the ups and downs. This was the first time that we actually found out the sex of the baby. When the doctor said it would be another boy, I was upset at first (I can't lie). After all, I already had two boys and I desperately wanted a daughter, and this was going to be our last baby (Or was it?). I eventually came to understand that I had been given what I was supposed to have. Snips and snails and puppy dog tails, I would embrace.

I gained around 40 pounds with Jordan and because I was bigger than a houseboat, I was scheduled to be induced on the 25th of March at 7:00 a.m. I was happy about the possibility of induction because even though I had given birth before, I always second guessed myself about if I was really in labor or not. This way, there would be no second guessing. What I did not count on was the fact that babies come when they are ready, not when you are.

I remember March 24, 1999, like it was yesterday. I got up that morning and felt really energetic, like I could conquer the world, or at least conquer the mounds of laundry that patiently awaited me. Kieth worked 12 hour night shifts at that time, so as me, Dakota (4) and Riley (2) would get out of bed, Kieth would retreat to bed for the day. I ran errands and got caught up on things I needed to do. I also hands and knees mopped my entire kitchen and dining room floor which was a day's work in itself. That was in the days before swiffer made it easy.

Kieth had taken off work that night because we would be going to the hospital the next morning. It was getting late in the evening and I was a little anxious about having the baby. I decided to go to bed around 10:00 and as I layed down I remember thinking that the baby was being extremely active. It felt like he was doing flip-flops and having a party. To say it was uncomfortable would be an understatement. All of a sudden Jordan kicked me really hard and I felt a pop in my stomach. It seemed like I heard it too, but I couldn't be sure. I thought to myself that it was really weird and a little concerning. Especially since Jordan immediately stopped moving.

I forgot to mention that I had a really bad cold at the time and I would have periodic coughing fits. Well, I started coughing and then I thought I was peeing on myself. I was thinking give me a break, I'm not that old! But, it turns out that Jordan's kick broke my water. I hollered to Kieth in the living room and told him that I thought my water just broke. He said there was no way and that he was pretty sure I was just peeing (Who gave him a PHd.) I got up and walked into the kitchen (on my newly cleaned floors) and water started gushing everywhere. I was more upset about the water on my floor than the fact that I was in labor. That's when Kieth got worried and called my mom. She arrived with babysitters in tow and we headed off to the hospital around midnight.

Jordan arrived with a full head of coal black hair at 5:19 a.m. He weighed 7 lbs.11.4 oz. and was 20 inches long. Kieth wanted to name him Jordan Michael but I vetoed that and named him Jordan Clay after my older brother Clay. Jordan was such a good baby. He never cried and mostly slept. Life was an adventure with a 4 yr old, a 2 yr old and a brand new baby to say the least. Here are some pictures of Jordan through the years.

Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

2009-03-08T05:57:00.000-07:00

Which came first; the chicken or the egg? Well, in our household, it was the chicks. And hopefully in about 5 months we will be enjoying lots of farm fresh eggs. At least, that's the plan. It took us, well me, quite a while to decide to actually get chickens. Every since Lesli got chickens a year or so ago, Hunter has been relentlessly begging and pleading to get some as well. You would think that since I was raised on a farm, riding a pet Brahma bull for fun, that it would be a quick and easy decision to raise chickens. Well, it was not, and I have had to work through some insane phobias the last few weeks in order to come to this decision.

I wouldn't trade the way I was raised for any thing in the world, however, farm life is just not my idea of a good time. I'm pretty sure that I'm a city girl living in a farm girls world. It's just too much work (I don't know how my sister does it), and besides that, I don't really like animals, well except for my dog and cats and the ones at the zoo and on the Discovery channel. I also really hate dirt and mud and well, don't even get me started on poop! Also, I am a self-proclaimed germaphobe. I can't even stand the thought of someone walking through my house with shoes on. I think of all the things they may have stepped on throughout the day that are now deeply embedded into my carpet. I have been known to pull out the industrial sized steam vac and clean carpets in the middle of the night.

And then there is the issue of my food aversions. Simply put, I am really picky about my food. I could almost be a vegetarian if it weren't for bacon and the occasional grilled burger. And, did I mention that I hate eggs. I can't stand anything about them. I think they stink, cooked or raw, and I would never eat one, not even to save my life....maybe my kids life, but not my own. And, as if all these irrationalities were not enough, my biggest phobia of all about farm life and chickens originates from the chicken killing rituals of my childhood. I'll never forget the times my family spent the day killing, boiling, plucking, and gutting harmless chickens (some of them were my friends) just so we would have food to eat. Imagine that.

I'll never forget it, how could I, the sight of chickens running around without a head(yes, it's true, they really do that) is etched into my crystal clear memory and the smell of boiling chicken flesh and feathers is burned into my nostrils to this day. But this story has a happy ending. I set aside all my phobias and for the love of my little Hunter, we now have chickens. I have to admit, they are pretty cute. We had to put them in the dining room until they get bigger (breathe in, breathe out), and for the most part, they have been pretty easy. I look forward to this new adventure (kind of like the way I look forward to getting a root canal). I'll keep you posted. Until next time.

Boy Meets Girl

2009-02-14T19:28:00.000-08:00

Boy meets girl. Girl plays hard to get. Boy doesn't give up. Girl falls in love. The end. That would be the short version of how Kieth and I met, but the long version is much more unique and interesting. So in celebration of Valentines day, I thought I would blog about how we met.

In the summer of 1992 I got a job at Dairy Queen along with a few of my best girlfriends. I was seventeen, self-absorbed, preoccupied, and thought the world revolved around me. It did, didn't it? Throughout my teen years I never had a serious relationship with anyone and aside from many crushes and a couple cases of severe puppy love, I had never met anyone that had that "he's the one" quality. That is, until a certain Navy sailor came b-bopping into my life one day in a shiny red pick-up truck. Well, there's more to it than that, so let's back up a little.

One of my co-workers at Dairy Queen was a guy named John. John had a twin brother named Joe who was in the Navy stationed in Memphis, Tennessee. Joe would come up to Mountain Home and visit his brother on his days off. On one of his visits Joe asked me to go out with him to a concert. I originally said that I would go, but when the time came, I backed out and stood Joe up. Concerts weren't really my thing and neither was Joe. Apparently Joe was pretty hurt by this so he went back to Memphis and told one of his friends all about this girl in Mountain Home that broke his heart. Joe and his friend devised a plan that went something like this. The friend would come to Mountain Home with Joe and meet this girl. Then the friend would get the girl to like him and then dump her, thus getting revenge for the scorned friend.

A week or so later {late October 1992} I was working one night at Dairy Queen when I saw Joe pull into the parking lot. I noticed he had someone with him, but I was not interested enough to find out who it was. Joe introduced me to his friend but I did not remember his name. After they left, my friend told me the guys name was Kieth. {I talked to Kieth about his version of this first meeting and he verified the fact that I blew him off and he was not happy about it.} A few weeks later Joe and Kieth came up to Mountain Home again to try to get my attention, but I was even more disinterested than before. I was actually pretty mean. I did not like Kieth, but it seems that he felt something for me. {Plan backfired} He would write letters all the time and send them to me. He was falling hard and I did not even give him the time of day. Kieth sent me a final letter and told me that he was never coming back to Mountain Home again......that is.....unless I wanted him to. I didn't really know him that well, but the thought of never seeing him again made me anxious and sad and more anxious, so I told him to come up one more time and I would go out with him to see if there was anything there. This is when Kieth decided to really step up his game. Up until this point, he had always come with Joe in his car to visit. But he told Joe that this time he would bring his red truck to visit me because it was a proven chick-magnet. {Whatever}

Throughout this whole time frame {about 6 weeks} I had been semi-dating another guy. I went to a couple parties with him and rode around town a lot and also took him to a church activity.
I was not exactly sure when Kieth would be coming to visit me, but I knew it would be soon. So here's how the night in question went down. I was working at Dairy Queen and the guy I was semi-dating drove by and asked me to go out with him after work. I told him sure and to wait in the parking lot after I got off work. Then, during the course of the night a perfume salesman that I had met before came by and asked me if I would ride around town with him after work. I am not sure why I said yes, but I did. Then, if you can believe it, that was the night that Kieth decided to roll into town! I did not know he was coming that night, so when he showed up, I was floored. Now my shift was over and I had three guys waiting for me in the parking lot. I was so nervous and confused and mad that I had gotten myself into this situation and I did not know what to do. I pleaded with my girlfriend to tell me what she would do, and utilizing her interestingly innocent seventeen year old wisdom, she advised me to choose the one with the nicest truck!

So my girlfriend went out and told Kieth to drive around the back and pick me up. I could not face the other guys and to this day, I do not know what happened when the DQ lights went off and I was no where to be found. I choose to believe that they are happily married and do not even remember that girl who stood them up over 17 years ago.

Kieth and I drove around town and got to know a lot about each other. I found out he was 26. I was only 17. I also found out that he had just gotten divorced after being married for 4 years. I was just a senior in high school. He was a war veteran and a Navy sailor. I was a blizzard and dilly bar maker. He had traveled the world. I had a map of the world. He was stationed in Memphis and I lived in Mountain Home. However, even with the multiplying obstacles and differences, there was just something about this guy that intrigued me......and I was falling.................

So that's it. That's how we met. Kieth and I have been talking lately about how we met and I asked him what his feelings were when he first saw me. I won't tell you what he said about that, but he did say that he loved me even before I knew that he loved me. He completely melts my heart and I know without a doubt that we are soul mates that were lucky enough to find each other. Three cheers to a Happy Valentine's Day and to finding the one that melts your heart......Until next time.

Time Flies

2009-02-10T08:24:00.000-08:00

Holy Cow!!! Where did the time go? I would first like to apologize to anyone out there who may follow my blog on a regular basis. I have really dropped the ball on posting often. I don't have time today to fill you in on everything that has been going on in my life these past few weeks. I just wanted to change my Christmasy background to something more Valentiney. (Okay, I'm making up words now) And I also updated my playlist. I had fun doing it. It is a compiliation of most of the songs Kieth and I listened to when we were dating. Listening to them brings back awesome memories of a great time in my life. I wanted to write a little about that this month since it is the month of LOVE, but I will do it another day. Anyway, my family is just now getting things back in semi-order after a huge ice storm and I have laundry piled high, so I will leave you with a hello, new background, and different songs to listen to. Until next time......

Reflections and Resolutions

2009-01-05T13:33:00.000-08:00

Looking back, 2008 was a phenomenal year. We celebrated 15 years of marriage as well as Kieth finishing his Bachelor's Degree. He graduated in August after two long and difficult years of college. Kieth's diploma was definitely a family accomplishment. We sacrificed many things during the time Kieth was in school, but the biggest sacrifice was family time. The courses were so intense that he and I would spend hours and hours in the office studying, writing papers, and doing homework. I helped him a lot with his work because I love him and he needed it. And besides, helping Kieth with his work made me realize two things, #1 I'm smarter than I thought I was and #2 I love to learn. I should have taken better advantage of learning in high school, but unfortunately I was preoccupied with other things. One day I may go back to school, but for now, I am satisfied helping the boys with learning the ABC's, 3rd grade spelling, 6th grade science, and 8th grade Algebra.

Looking forward, 2009 holds promise. In the past, I have never really made and kept resolutions. Well, I've made plenty of them, it's just the keeping part I seem to have a little trouble with. So this year I decided not to sabotage myself with a lengthy list of resolutions that I know in six weeks will be long forgotten. No, this year I am giving myself a break. Instead of making a list of resolutions, I am just focusing on a few areas of my life that need a little strengthening. I am working on putting things into perspective better. I think it's called "not sweating the small stuff". I tend to let small things just rock my world, when in reality they are completely insignificant. I am also practicing greater patience with Kieth and the boys. Things do not always have to be done my way or in my time frame, so I'll let a few things go. And last, but not least, I will try to show more kindness to my family. More often than not, we are nicer to, and more accepting of strangers than we are our own family. I may even let Kieth be "right" a time or two this year. ( I said MAY). Until next time.......

Christmas 2008

2008-12-31T20:14:00.000-08:00

Christmas this year was a great day. It was the first time in many years that we stayed at home all day. The boys woke us up at 5:45 in the morning ready to open gifts. I cooked dinner for us and we enjoyed watching the kids play with their toys. I bought matching sports suits for the boys to wear and Hunter's was a little big, so his brothers thought it would be funny to put a fake necklace and a crooked hat on him and make him pose for the camera. The boys have also got Hunter into dancing. Any time he hears music he busts out in full dance mode. He had us laughing all day at his moves.The boys are growing up so fast that it was nice to be able to spend time with them and not have to go anywhere or do anything for at least one day.

Twas the night before Christmas

2008-12-23T10:22:00.000-08:00

A good friend of mine sent me this poem today and I just wanted to share it with everyone. I know that especially around this time of year, I seem to get overwhelmed with to do lists and I forget what is really important in life.

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the abode
Only one creature was stirring & she was cleaning the commode.
The children were finally sleeping, all snug in their beds,
while visions of X-Box & Ipod's flipped through their heads.

Yes, and dad was snoring in front of the TV,
with a half constructed bicycle propped on his knee.
So only the mom heard the reindeer hooves clatter,
which made her sigh, "Now what is the matter?"

With toilet bowl brush still clutched in her hand,
She descended the stairs, and saw the old man.
He was covered with ashes & soot, which fell with a shrug,
"Oh great," muttered the mom, "Now I have to clean the rug."

"Ho Ho Ho!" cried Santa, I'm glad you're awake."
"your gift was especially difficult to make."
"Thanks, Santa, but all I want is time alone."
"Exactly!" he chuckled, "So, I've made you a clone."

"A clone?" she muttered, "What good is that?"
"Run along, Santa, I've no time for chit chat."
Then out walked the clone - The mother's twin,
Same hair, same eyes, same double chin.

"She'll cook, she'll dust, she'll mop every mess.
You'll relax, take it easy, watch TV and rest.
"Fantastic!" the mom cheered. "My dream has come true!"
"I'll shop, I'll read, I'll sleep a night through!"

From the room a above, the youngest did fret.
"Mommy?! Come quickly, I'm scared and I'm wet."
The clone replied, "I'm coming, sweetheart."
"Hey," the mom smiled, "She sure knows her part."

The clone changed the child and hummed him a tune,
as she bundled the small one in a blanket cocoon.
"You're the best mommy ever. I really love you."
The clone smiled and sighed, "And I love you too."
The mom frowned and said, "Sorry, Santa, no deal.
That's my child's LOVE she is going to steal."

Smiling wisely, Santa said: "To me it is clear,
Only one loving mother is needed here."
The mom kissed her child and tucked him in bed.
"Thank You, Santa, for clearing my head.
Sometimes I forget, it won't be very long,
before they'll be too old for my cradle and song."

The clock on the mantle began to chime.
Santa whispered to the clone, "It works every time."
With the clone by his side, Santa said: "Goodnight.
Merry Christmas, dear Mom, you'll be all right."

Sometimes we need reminding of what life is all about.
Especially at times when the Holiday season shouts,
and all we do is clean, bake, and procure.
You get the picture -- I'm sure.

So stop for a moment and hug that little one so dear,
whether he is 2 or 22, or even older this year.
For they are the gift that God gave us from Heaven above,
and what a special gift to be treasured, with endless LOVE!

Merry Christmas to all of my friends and family. Hold your little ones tighter and love them even more, for that is what life is truly about. ~Toni~

All Things Christmas

2008-12-23T09:47:00.000-08:00

Trimming the tree, decorating ginger bread houses, baking goodies, wrapping gifts......We have been busy enjoying the season of Christmas. Decorating the tree is one of the highlights of my year. In years past we have had different themes and color schemes for our Christmas tree, and this year I wanted red poinsettias. The boys are pretty good about letting me get my way with the tree decorations. It's about the only thing I get my way with in a houseful of boys. I did give in one year and let them decorate it their way, with every ornament we ever purchased and all those handcrafted goodies such as macaroni and construction paper ornaments from many years of school projects. But after that year, I decided to buy the boys their own tree and let them decorate it so I could have my "pretty" tree back. Don't get me wrong, handcrafted Kindergarten ornaments are precious memories to me, but I just don't want them on my tree. Tis the season.......

Gratitude

2008-12-05T10:59:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving is another one of my favorite holidays. I love this time of year because it gives me the opportunity to take time out and reflect upon all of my blessings, and to acknowledge and express gratitude for everything I have been given. Often times I get so caught up in day to day life that I forget how truly blessed I am. My blessing list is quite lengthy so this year I am focusing on my children. I am so thankful for my boys and I love each of them with all my heart. I could not have imagined 15 years ago that I would be the mother of 4 amazing, awesome, incredible, enjoyable, extraordinary, magnificent boys. They keep me sane and insane all at the same time. They teach me about unconditional love and they inspire me to celebrate every moment no matter how insignificant it may seem. They help me remember how to truly laugh and are my source of eternal joy. For this, I am grateful.

The Surgery

2008-11-12T12:07:00.000-08:00

This is the final post in a 3 part series. So if you are reading this first, I suggest going back and reading "the campout" and then, "the injury" and then this one. Otherwise, you won't really know what I am talking about. Hey, I don't know what I'm talking about either so just go with it.

So after the campout, we get home and Kieth continues to go to work everyday for two weeks. He is in a tremendous amount of pain, but he has to wait until he gets home after work to take any medication because it makes him kinda loopy. In the mean time, the lump on his shoulder is getting bigger and we don't really know what else to do. Finally his appointment with the family doctor arrives and it's time to see whats going on with his shoulder. Me, always the optomistic one, goes in thinking he will have to wear the sling for another few weeks while his shoulder continues to heal. The family doctor immediately refers us to an orthopedist because the x-ray's do not look good. Fortunately, the doctor that fixed Riley's knuckle about a year ago was available and ready to see us. We went right over and he took one look at Kieth's shoulder and the x-ray's and started scheduling him for surgery. He confirmed that Kieth did in fact have a shoulder separation, but that it was much worse than the ER doctor had identified. Thanks to a rookie ER doctor, Kieth walked around for 2 weeks with the top of his shoulder blade not only separated from the joint and the collar bone, but basically just being kept in place by a small amount of tissue and his outer skin. That explains why the bump kept getting bigger. Oh Holy Cow!

Anyway, he had surgery Monday November 10. The doctor took out all of the joint tissue and drilled 3 holes into his shoulder bone. He then sutured his bones back together with 3 fiber wire sutures. He said he should be able to play ball again and regain full use of his shoulder within 6-8 weeks. He had to stay in the hospital for the day and night so the kids had fun in his room after school.

Hunter was curious about all that stuff on his dad's hand.

Hunter had breakfast with his dad the next morning. Kieth was so ready to get home because the beds are not made for tall people. His ankles hung over the end and kept falling asleep.

And here I am taking advantage of the morphine drip. He hates pictures and never smiles without alot of grumbling, so I snapped as many photos as I could while he was doped up. Speaking of doped up..... Now he is at home convalescing and boy is this another adventure. Kieth has never taken many medications so he just gets nutty on these pain meds. He is letting me read him the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer, and for the last day and a half, he has been hollering from the bedroom for a credit card and the phone. I finally had to ban him from watching any more QVC, HSN, or any type of infomercial selling the next greatest invention or products you can't live without. Oh well, at least he is healing now and able to take off work. Things could always be worse. Three cheers to a day in the life.......

The Injury

2008-11-12T11:36:00.000-08:00

After we got our tent set up and the fire started, Kieth decides to organize a football game with the kids, because after all, he is the biggest kid of them all. Everything is going great until Kieth tries to intercept a pass and inadvertently introduces his shoulder to the rock hard ground at full force.

He knew right away that he was hurt. He started getting nauseous and turning pale and green all at the same time. I was so upset that I couldn't even remember where we were. (Mostly I was upset that he was ruining my campout, but I've since apologized) Then I realized that we were a long way away from any kind of civilization. A couple of people offered to take him to the E.R., but he really wanted me to take him. So we left the kids with Wendy and Chad and headed off to the hospital.

Our E.R. experience was like most, I'm sure. There was no one in the waiting room but us at 7:00 on a Friday night and it still took 4 hours. The doctor came in and took one look at his shoulder and immediately said he had an Acromio-Clavicular Separation. She gave him a sling and told him that these injuries heal over time and to go see his family doctor in two weeks.
He is laughing here and I think the pain meds had already kicked in because there was an anatomically correct picture on the wall that he found hilarious. So after we went to Walgreen's and filled a pain med prescription, we went back to the campout. I was determined to have my hot cocoa by the fire, so at 11:00 at night I heated up water and made cocoa for everyone that had waited up for us. We finally went to bed in the tent around midnight. I did not have a sleeping bag, so Kieth and I tried to sleep in the same one. It would have been fine had he not gotten injured, but he had to sleep on his back and couldn't move or snuggle. So needless to say, by 3 am we had enough. It was uncomfortable and we were freezing. So we got Hunter and went to the van to sleep for the rest of the night. We woke up the next morning and had breakfast and took the kids on a nature trail. Then we broke camp and headed home. In my next post titled "The Surgery" I will tell you the rest of the story.

The Campout

2008-11-12T11:07:00.000-08:00

Camping in October sounded fun, so we decided to pack up the kids and go camping with our church group to the Fred Berry Conservation in Yellville. I really wanted to go and so while Kieth and the boys were at work and school, I worked hard to get everything together that we might need. By the time I finished packing up the van, the muffler was dragging out of the driveway. (Not really, but we absolutely did not have room for one more item)
The temperature was supposed to get down into the 30's overnight and I wanted to be extra prepared. In fact, it got so cold that night that we had ice on the inside of our tent the next morning.

Kieth and Hunter worked on getting a fire started in the fire pit when we got there. Hunter wants to do everything his dad does.

Here we are very happy because I was having visions of hot cocoa, smores, and scary stories by the fire. Little did I know that the fun was about to come to an abrupt end. In my post titled "The Injury", I will tell you all about it.

Halloween 2008

2008-10-31T19:19:00.000-07:00

Halloween this year was a ton of fun. We went to the ward trunk or treat and chili supper. It is always a great event because the kids get to safely trick or treat up and down the entire parking lot either until the candy runs out or the bags bust at the seams. I'm sure my kids collected at least 10 pounds of candy between them. It's a good thing we have dental insurance. This year I went as Cleopatra, Jordan was Dash Incredible, Riley was an outrageous Cowboy, and Hunter was Elmo. Dakota was all dressed and ready to go as Dewayne Wade (NBA Player) but decided to change at the last minute and go as himself when he saw that his dad did not dress up. When I got home, I realized that I did not take very many pictures. I guess I was sidetracked watching the boys have fun. Hunter was so precious tonight. Halfway through the trick or treating he looked up at his dad and said, "dad, this is so much fun, thanks". But his thanks is more like phanks. He can't quite get the th sound. His lingo is pretty funny, but I'll save that for another post.

This is my favorite of Elmo and Cleopatra. Isn't he adorable!

This one is too cute. His face says it all.

Riley loves being a Cowboy.

Elmo is ready for candy.

Halloween Fun

2008-10-31T10:09:00.000-07:00

I love Halloween, and I guess I passed this love down to the boys because they love it too. I have been sorting through old pictures lately and found some of past Halloween's. I know I have more, but they will have to wait til next year. This first one is last year at our Halloween Party/ Baby Shower for Gina. She also loves Halloween so much that she wanted to have it as her baby shower theme. (I know, I know, we're all a bit loco).

The top two pictures are 2003 at the trunk or treat. I think this was one of the last years I could get the boys to participate in a family type theme. As you can see, Jordan and Dakota were Dorothy's tin man and lion, while Riley, forever the defiant one, insisted on being the Hulk. The next picture is Halloween 2006.

This was Halloween of 2001 at Lesli's garage party. This was one of my favorite years. The boys made adorable dwarfs for Snow White. I love Jordan in the first picture. Although he was only 2, his personality was captured quite accurately.

Getting Prepared

2008-10-15T07:49:00.000-07:00

It looks like winter is right around the corner. The leaves are falling, the nights are cool, the days are getting shorter, the spiders are weaving Taj Mahal webs, and the persimmon seed reveals a spoon, which according to folklore, indicates a heavy winter of shoveling snow. Our family motto this season is to "be prepared". Unlike in years past, when we found ourselves foraging for kindlin and sticks of firewood in the snow and ice, we have been cutting and splitting firewood like busy little ants this past week. Everyone took a turn operating the log splitter, even Hunter.

Jordan is a worker. He ran the log splitter most of the time.

When it was Hunter's turn, he had to make sure Dakota was doing it to his specifications. He just likes things to be done his way.

Riley ran the chainsaw and helped cut up the huge logs. This is his kind of work, rather than splitting and stacking.

Hunter was hamming it up for my camera, so I just kept taking pictures. Right after these shots, Riley accidentally rolled a log over on him and gave him a nice goose egg on his forehead. After the crying was over, he needed an icepack and a drink break. Poor kid. All in all, we got a lot accomplished and if all else fails, we will have a cozy fire to sit next to this winter.

Milestones

2008-10-07T06:49:00.000-07:00

A milestone can be defined as an achievement, a successful completion, or a significant moment. Throughout our lives, and especially as mothers, we will personally experience, witness, and perhaps even record many milestones. First steps, first words, trading the bottle for a cup, finally giving up the pacifier when the kindergarten teacher takes it away, a bike ride with no wrecks when the training wheels are removed, the first visit from the tooth-fairy, feeding the pets without being nagged, the first girlfriend and the devastating first break-up with said girlfriend, and, well, the list just goes on and on. However, there comes a time in every mother's life when certain milestones are more monumental than others.

I had my first baby when I had just turned 19. Coming from a family of 10 children, I thought I had it all figured out. My mom made it look easy, in fact, I never hardly heard a baby cry in our house. So when I gave birth to this crying, colicky, 24-hour breast-feeding, alien-looking bundle of joy, needless to say, my world was turned upside-down. Kieth would drive back and forth down the street in front of our house in his old broken down pick-up just to get him to calm down. The motor in our vacuum cleaner eventually burned up from running so much, and we would purposely put the television on the wrong channel in hopes that the fuzzy white noise would give us a much needed moment of sanity. In the end, the only thing that really worked was putting the baby in bed between us and snuggling. Kieth also worked the night shift, so it was much easier to have the baby in the bed. Little did we know that the decision to create a "family bed" would stay with us for the next 14 years. When Riley was born 2 years later, he secured his position in the bed. Dakota eventually moved on to the couch in the living room. At this time we lived in the long mobile home and the kids rooms were all the way at the other end. Kieth also still worked the night shift. So, it was just more convenient and safer to have the kids nearby at night. When Jordan came along precisely 2 years later, Riley found his sleeping arrangements moved to the living room as well. Most of the time, however, I found myself waking up next to a newborn, a two year old, and a four year old in bed with me. And so it was. But somewhere along the way, Kieth went to the day shift, and now we had him home every night, and we also had 3 kids in our bed every night. So when we decided to build a house, the first priority was making the kids bedrooms so awesome that they would want to sleep in their own bed. In fact, we built the entire upstairs solely for our kids. They have huge bedrooms with comfortable beds, a bathroom, and a playroom. But, do you know where Riley and Jordan sleep about half the time......on the living room couch! We are working on getting them to sleep in their rooms full time, but life is a work in progress.

Now, I realize I got off track a little with my original story, but I felt like I had to give a little background so that everyone would understand the significance of the milestone our family has just experienced. After Jordan was born, we thought we were finished having children. After all, we had three boys, what more could we ask for. But for some reason, about six years later, we felt like we should have one more baby with the hopes of having a daughter. That's when little Hunter came along. And, as if he knew exactly what to do, he claimed his place right in the middle of the family bed. So for the last 14 years, Kieth and I have both clung on to either side of the outer edge of the mattress while our 4 children have blissfully slumbered away in the middle. Even when we were able to upgrade to a King-size bed, somehow it just made more room for the kids, not us. I don't even put my gum on the nightstand anymore because that's where I always seem to have my head when I wake up. Especially if Hunter has had a dream. But, this is where milestones come in.

Last night Hunter put himself to bed. He was falling asleep on the couch and suddenly got up and said he was tired and went to his own bed. We bought this bed last year and I have been trying to get him to consistently sleep in it for a long time. We have moved the bed all over the house, in many different rooms and configurations to determine what location would do the job. In the end, my bedroom was the winner. (Hey, I'll take any victory, no matter the size). This is the second night he has slept in his bed. The night before last as we were getting ready for bed, Hunter crawled into his own bed. Kieth, not being used to this new turn of events, said, "hey buddy, come up here next to daddy and sleep". Hunter turned to him and in his delightfully husky three-year old lingo pronounced, "that's okay dad, we can still talk to each other". We were floored. After months of reassuring him he could sleep all by himself, he turns around and reassures his dad that he is right there and they can still talk to each other! What an angel.

So even though we have experienced the milestone of successfully getting children out of our bed many times, the accomplishment of getting the last child out of the bed is much more significant. It means that, except for the occasional bad dream or illness, Kieth and I can reclaim our bed. No more sleepless nights with cricked necks and sore backs. No more tossing and turning and somersaults and waking up in the middle of the night with feet in your face. It will take some getting used to, but this is one milestone that was 14 years in the making and I'm enjoying its outcome.

Annual Yard Sale

2008-10-05T06:20:00.000-07:00

I love shopping at yard sales. But more importantly, I love having a yard sale. Sure, it's a lot of hard work, and most times the monetary payoff is not what you put into it; but there's just something wonderful about getting rid of stuff you don't want anymore and seeing someone else be able to put it to good use.

Here is what Lesli's front porch looked like. We had clothes hung up the entire length of her front porch and half-way down the other side. You will also notice two large tables sitting in the yard with clothes piled high on them. We had another table of treasures in the yard and miscellaneous stuff displayed on every surface imaginable. It was quite the production.

Jesse, Hunter, and Harley had a great time playing dress-up. They all took turns being batman.

They also made lots of beautiful music with the drum set. Too bad we sold it at the end of the day! Sorry, there are just some things you wonder why you ever bought. All in all, we had a great week. The weather was beautiful, we met lots of interesting people, and best of all, we got our houses uncluttered. (Well, I actually just made room for more thrift store treasures and finds, but don't tell Kieth, I'll just have more stuff to sell at next year's yard sale)

Fun Times At The County Fair.

2008-09-15T19:39:00.000-07:00

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I have a love/hate relationship with the county fair. The love comes from fond memories of the fair as a little girl, and the hate comes from the harsh reality of present day madness. I remember going to the fair as a little girl and loving every sight, sound, and event that took place. Back then, ride tickets were a quarter, cotton candy was $1.00 and we always ate at the taco booth manned by our church. Back then, my parents could take all ten of us kids and have a grand time even on a very tight budget. Back then, times were more simple. Then as I got older, I loved walking through all the buildings and gathering up candy, fans, popcorn, pens, pencils, trinkets, plastic crosses, note pads, hundreds of business cards, and whatever else was being given away for free. Ride tickets slowly increased to 3/1.00, and cotton candy became $2.00, yet, it was still reasonable. But somehow over the years, insanity has run rampant and my love for the family fair tradition has been turned into downright disgust. Present day ride ticket prices are $1.00 each. Now, that doesn't sound too awful bad, I mean, we have to expect inflation. However, when you consider that it now takes upwards of 3 tickets to ride one ride, simple math dictates that I am spending $3.00 for a 2 minute whirl in the air. Give me a break! And, don't even get me started on the $5.00 cotton candy. But, the thing that sends me completely over the edge and off my rocker is the endless row of GAMES. If there is one thing I despise in the whole world, it is carnie games. Huge stuffed monkeys, giraffes, teddy bears, you name it....all dangling strategically just out of reach. You think that with one pop of a balloon, two knocked over milk bottles, three rings tossed perfectly, an exact guess of your throwing speed, you will be able to win one of those prizes. But no, you get to choose a plastic seahorse necklace made in china.....unless......you want to go one more time and upgrade...and then a few dollars more....and just one more time....and a few more dollars.............and 17 upgrades later....ding...ding...ding....you just won a giant stuffed gorilla!!! Despite the fact that you just spent $75.00 *winning* it. Now, this story has no validity. I do not play carnie games, but I see it happening and I can't stand it. I did get suckered in to letting Hunter play the shark fishing game. He fished out a small shark, and we were almost conned into 'upgrading' for 3 more dollars, but I recognized the ploy and quickly picked out a plastic trumpet and got the heck out of there. He didn't care about the toy anyway, he just wanted to fish.

All in all, we had a great time at the fair this year, all except for Hunter's emotional and physical meltdown when I told him no more games. In the slide show, I captured a picture of it. Thank goodness Kieth was there to help. I guess one day he will have to learn the hard way, when he *wins* a pair of fuzzy dice for $50.00. Oh well.

The slide show is pictures from the fair parade and the fair. As I was looking at them, I realized that most of them are of Hunter. The other boys don't like pictures too much anymore. Hunter brought his own candy bag and then sat back while people came up and filled it for him. Riley and Jordan helped him gather up candy in the street also. It was a fun time. Enjoy.

Fall is in the air.

2008-09-10T09:04:00.000-07:00

I must say that I love fall. I love the crisp feel of the air, the turning of the leaves, the opportunity to open the windows and enjoy the weather, the smell of gingerbread, eating pumpkin pecan pie and also the Halloween and Thanksgiving holiday's. But, most of all....I love decorating for fall. As you can see, Hunter and I have been busy getting into all of my fall decorations. We are headed to Wal-mart to buy some mums for planting outside, so for now, enjoy the pictures of our home.

Summer Fun at the Lake

2008-09-03T19:45:00.000-07:00

Because I have just started this blog I am going to back track a little and fill you in on some of our summer fun. Even though the lake levels were extremely high this year, we managed to go quite often on either our ski boat or Lesli and Tommy's pontoon. There were no shorelines to pull up to and stay the day, so we fashioned a swim area out of fun noodles and made the kids all stay in sight. Last year Hunter was a little scared of getting in the water, but this year was a whole different story. He watched his brothers jump off the boat with interest and then started out jumping into the water from the pontoon doorway, but after that was not dangerous enough, he quickly graduated to completely jumping off the back of the boat!!! As you can see, the back of the boat has a platform (which is pretty high up from the water) and he would get a running start and just jump as far as he could, eyes open and all, and land in the water. He would bob up out of the water with his eyes still open and say "that was fun, I go again". It was the funniest thing you ever saw! He absolutely exhausted himself jumping off over and over. Hunter is quite a swimmer too. He loves his Diego life jacket and knows just how to maneuver in it to swim quite fast.

Jordan surprised us this summer as well. He has always wore a life jacket until this year. He decided to take it off one day and to our surprise, he swims pretty well. He loved jumping off the back of the boat too. The boys would all have diving and jumping contests to see who could do it the best, craziest, or make the biggest splash. (Winner of biggest splash goes to Kieth) Riley and Dakota are great swimmers as well. They love to have contests to see who can swim to a certain point the fastest. They also like to wear their goggles and dive for things.

As for me, well, I am still afraid of the water. Especially after the snake incident. It happened on one of our last trips to the lake this year. Lesli and I were floating on fun noodles and visiting when we realized that we were pretty far away from the boat. Kieth, Tommy, and all the kids except for Harley (who was with us) were on the boat. Anyway, we were just talking and all of a sudden Lesli looks to her right and staring her in the face is a water snake flickering his tongue! She turns to me and yells SNAKE!! I looked over and sure enough, it was a snake swimming right next to us. At that point we both freaked out and started flailing around like wild house cats and tried to swim towards the boat. We abandoned the fun noodles and swam like we were in the Olympics (well, maybe it wasn't that graceful). We must have looked like idiots because everyone on the boat was laughing hysterically at us. We never stopped screaming until we actually reached the boat and got on. I have never swallowed so much lake water in all my life!! (That happens when you swim and scream at the same time) So much for saving a damsel in distress, by the time we reached the boat, our husbands needed CPR from laughing so much. Needless to say, this event added to my list of reasons to be scared of the lake, what with sharks, dead bodies, human-size catfish, and now anacondas!!! Thankfully, I have a full winter to stifle all my irrational fears because come next year, the kids will be ready to spend another summer at the lake!!

To Bowl or Not to Bowl??

2008-09-01T08:46:00.000-07:00

Lesli and I always seem to get ourselves in the craziest predicaments with our hair-brained ideas. The latest occurred when we recently saw an advertisement in the newspaper for fall/winter youth bowling league sign-ups. Our children have been involved in most every sport and we have spent countless hours cheering at rainy football games, scorching hot baseball games, wet soccer games, and stuffy basketball games. Considering that our family likes to bowl occasionally, this seemed like the perfect opportunity for a new adventure. So, we get to the bowling alley on Saturday morning. The kids were fed donuts and chocolate milk and allowed to bowl for free. They were having a blast and Lesli and I could not believe that the sign-up fee was a mere $12.00 per child. We were very eager to get our paperwork completed and turn in our money. The one drawback was that we would have to get up every Saturday morning and take them to the bowling alley from 9:30-11:00. But this seemed hardly a sacrifice compared to all the fun Riley, Jordan, Sydney, and Thomas would have. After we turned in our money, Lesli came up to me and said that the lady in charge told her it would be an additional $9.00 per child each week just to bowl. We quickly calculated that it would cost us $72 a month to join this league. I knew it was too good to be true, only having to pay $12 for a fun sport!! What were we to do, we had already signed the kids up and they were having such a blast. We also learned that the league continued on until some time in April and then they started attending tournaments all around the state! What!! This is not what we signed up for. So, needless to say, in the end we sent the kids to the car with their dads and graciously asked for our money back and explained that this was more of a commitment then we bargained for. Nevertheless, the kids had fun bowling that day. My camera battery died on me mid picture taking, so you will only see Riley, Jordan, and Hunter. Also, Lesli and I have determined that when something seems too good to be true, it usually is. We have resolved to continue braving the cold bleachers and dusty fields, and stick with the sports we know and love.

First Day of School

2008-08-20T07:28:00.000-07:00

Finally, the first day of school has arrived!!!. As you can see the boys were all bright-eyed and bushy tailed, well, except for poor little Hunter. He wasn't sure what was happening. All he knew was that someone ripped him from his bed about 2 hours too early (gotta love that lazy summer schedule) and now his "boys" are gone for the entire day. Now if we could just get him potty-trained so that he could go to pre-school.....

Dakota is 14 and in 8th grade.

Riley is 12 and in 6th grade.

Jordan is 9 and in 3rd grade.

The Beginning

2008-08-19T19:09:00.001-07:00

Well, here goes....I have decided that since I simply can not commit to keeping a journal, I will give blogging a try. The straw that broke the camel's back was the recent discovery that I had not written in my journal for almost three years. I think my last entry was when I was in labor with Hunter, who is now three, and I promised that I would write soon and tell all about his birth and what the other kids were up to. Give me a break!! Here it is over three years later and I still have not kept up with a journal. Where did the time go? Let me tell you , there are a lot of feelings that get tossed around when you discover that you basically have not taken the time to express and record your thoughts and daily happenings. Guilt, anger, shame, just to name a few. So this leads me to a new venture. I hope you will enjoy reading about my family as much as I know I will enjoy writing about them. We're busy, we're stressed, we're happy, but most of all, we're family. Here's to a day in the life......