Everything

Something I think I omitted in the last post is this: Last Tuesday we had to have Ladybug put down. :-( I bawled the day before, the day of and the day after almost non-stop. We knew we were going to have it done...she was just getting way too bad. And having a 115 lb dog (who had lost weight) get so bad that she can't get up from her bed is not what I call fun. Her hips were getting so bad that I was afraid that I'd be stuck at home alone with her and she couldn't get up. I can't carry that much weight to the vehicle to take her to the vet. So we decided to end her misery, because she really was in a lot of pain from all the arthritis and all she had wrong with her. She had a wonderfully fun year and a half with us though. At least her best years were her last ones.

Still working on the house, it's much prettier than it was before! Haven't gotten to the painting yet. Still trying to make sure everything else is done first. The last coulple things I'll do is finish the painting and clean the carpets.

I'm really excited and nervous all at the same time. Tonight, I'm the "special" at church and I'm going to play my own music on the keyboard!!! AAAAUUUUGGGGHHH!!!! I've been taking lessons from Sis. Smith and they're going really well. Truly, I've only taken 2 lessons from her and one from Sis. Harry, but who's counting?!?! Well, just got online to pay some bills and check some stuff, so I'd better get to checkin' my e-mail, then back to workie. Love y'all!!!

Oh, P.S. :-) I've made the announcement at church about the Spanish classes, so if you're going to want to take 'em you'd better come see me soon!

So much to do, so little time!

Ok, ok...so I'm being hounded again. So, here I am. I've been working my buttoocus off trying to get my house up to par so we can pass our "home study" for the kids. We found out from Fostermom that the permanent custody trial (the one that was supposed to take place July 26th, is now going to take place January 14th (?) I think. So, it'll take up to 3-4 weeks after that before we hear the verdict. We could feasibly have the kids in our home by March if things go right. But we have to pass "inspection"!!!! Aaaauuugggghhhh!! I'm really stressing, because I've gotten "slothful" as the pastor preached about on Wednesday...yes, he may have been preaching to you, but he was also preaching to me. It's called L-A-Z-I-N-E-S-S! I lost all motivation and really didn't want to do a thing. Talk about selfish! So, here I am, getting caught up. I started last week on Thursday and spent Thursday and Friday cleaning and scouring the kitchen in any way that I could find. Rearranging some furniture and things and just redoing all that I had the fancy for. Monday I moved to the master bathroom and did the same thing and began on the master bedroom. I spent all day Tuesday, Wednesday and finished early yesterday working on laundry and cleaning the bedroom. In the meantime I also got boxes together to take to Goodwill. That's what took me so long on the bedroom...I had to sort through all kinds of stuff...clothes and all the junk that ends up in a bedroom. It's kinda the "catch-all" room, if you will. So, I started yesterday afternoon on the livingroom and that's where I am today. My momma called me earlier and practically ordered me (per one of my faithful readers) to at least put one entry on here. So, here I is. I took time out of my busy livingroom-cleaning day to let you all in on my busy doings. So, that's what I've been up to. Superhubby still hasn't been hired on yet at Big Bank Corporation, but God is still in control. I'm going to start up my Spanish classes for homeschoolers and adults here in the next few weeks, so stay tuned for that. Well, gotta get to scourin' again. Love y'all, even though I haven't posted lately. I really do! God bless!

Well I was wonderin' what it would take!!!

Seriously! I was getting kinda tired of the very small amounts of comments, so...I call my self a "loo-hoo-ser" and everyone applauds!!! :) Just kiddin'!
Ok, so I realize that I haven't talked about Ladies' retreat. I did come back and it was awesome. I got to meet Sis. Karen Harding who happens to be a wonderful Pentecostal lady and she sings and she has a cd out called "Holding on to faith". It's actually in gospel supply stores everywhere! But seriously, she is one annointed lady of God. Sis. Claudette Walker spoke also and she was astounding. It was like she was speaking directly to my heart. My life was changed, my faith was raised, my faithfulness to God was renewed in many ways...I just can't say enough. Superhubby had an "awful" time while I was gone. He decided that he wasn't going to stay at his mom's and watch the F-troop all night and have a mini par-tay...he decided to come home...late...and sit around doing nothing. He said he was so bored because I wasn't there, that he didn't even want to sleep! Now that's boredom! But I came back and he was fine... I really want to go to the national one next year, but he would die!!! 3 or 4 days without me there...oh my! You might as well just cut his feet off and tell him to run across broken glass. We'll see what happens...
This Sunday is the Singsparation (did I spell that right???) at church. I'm in the choir, hands of praise and I've finally signed up to sing a solo on my own. I sing all the time, so every year I don't sign up for it because I figure everyone hears me enough. But nonetheless, I get chewed out every year by many people because I didn't sing a solo. So, there weren't a whole lot of people signed up, so I did. I'm going to do "How can I keep from singing" by Chris Tomlin. I love that song! When Tiff was in the hospital and things were not looking up, I woke up on the morning that she passed away with that song on my heart and I sang it all day. So, I'm literally in 5 of the songs that night. 2 for H.O.P, 2 for choir and one for me. Sheesh! The things I do to keep people happy! ;-)
Tonight, before H.O.P practice, I'm beginning piano lessons with "Algee's wife", Sis. Harry Jr. I'm looking forward to it very much. The only problem is...I'm afraid that it'll turn out like college did and I won't be able to do much of anything. However, she is teaching me a whole different way. In college, they taught me by note and reading music, where she's going to teach me chords and how to read lead sheets. That'll be much, much easier considering all that is written in lead sheets anymore. So...wish me luck. Maybe I'll be able to do my own music for a special one of these days! :)

Oh wow...I'm a lame loo-hoo-ser!

So, my mom "yells" at me because I haven't been keepin' up with my blog! Get your bum in gear! my mind says...what on God's green Earth have you been wasting your time on?!? it says... So here I am. Doin' the bloggy thingy again. :)
So, SuperMomma went into the Hospital this weekend! We're still not entirely sure what's going on, but they think it's her gall bladder. We took her in on Saturday afternoon and they moved her from the ER to a real room around 6ish I think. She stayed the night because they had to keep her on pain killers and they let her go Sunday afternoon (around 4ish). They need to do another test, but she's calling in today to schedule that. We're praying that she doesn't have to get it removed. We are wanting to do a camping trip this weekend. My dad's and dad-in-law's birthdays are this week and we wanted to do something fun. So, if mom's up to it...we're going to take a shot at it. Pray for her please?
I got an e-mail from one of my former students! Jen W-H! She's now in California doing the college thing. Pray for her too if you would...her hubby is being deployed soon. I haven't gotten the details yet. But just pray for his safety and her sanity.
Well, I've gotta get goin' for now. I gotta head to MtV to help the church send out the Apostolic News Magazines for the district. So, I'll talk to you soon!
¡Hasta Luego Mis Amiguitos!

So many things...

Superhubby woke up this morning not feeling at the tippy top of his game...headache, indigestion and sinus trouble all in one. Yucky! Nevertheless, he went to work, being the strong, brave Superhubby that he is. I hope he gets better before lunch time, if he doesn't he probably won't eat much.
Monday was Superhubby's birthday! Now we're both 27! Woo-hoo! (*sarcasm!*) He wanted the Bible on CD in mp3 format so very badly, so I got it for him. Mom-in-law gave him his present about 3 weeks ago because she's impatient like that! ;-) She got him one of those yellow "wagon" carts for the garden from Lowes. It's big! I can't lift it on my own very easily and it doesn't fit in the back of the CRV without the back seats down. I've got so many things that I want to get him, but the lack of money kinda kills that idea in its tracks. I'll just have to spread them out over the next 60 years of birthdays, valentine's days, anniversaries and Christmases, should the Lord tarry. :-)
The trees are ALREADY starting to turn!!!! It's August, people!!! I'm tellin' ya! Winter's gonna hit before we're ready for it! I was just thinkin' the other day. Our church was going to have a camping trip to Mohican last weekend. They said that they're going to try and reschedule it. BUT, here's where my thinkin' came in...They're not going to be able to schedule it until the 4th weekend in September (there are 5 this year)! Weekend #1: Labor Day weekend (this next weekend..not enough time to plan and we're having a partay that weekend)...Weekend #2: Ladies' Retreat...Weekend #3: Men's Retreat. It's going to be cold by the time that fourth weekend comes around. I pictured the Annual Hog Roast and Hayride that is always the first weekend in October...snowing! It's just scary!
I'm really looking forward to the Ladies' Retreat! I guess I'm going to have to pack for that next week, huh? It's closer than I realized. I have in my room: Sisters Jaquie, Jaimi and Andrea. We'll have fun, but we're actually going to be able to sleep! WOO-HOO!!!! :-) I'm no good if I don't get sleep! Well, I'm off for now. Too many things to do 'round here!

Pleased...

#1 - Superhubby's boss asked him to stay for 2 extra weeks after his temp assignment was supposed to be up. Maybe they're looking for a permanent spot for him. PRAY! :)

#2 - Last Sunday's Sunday School lesson went well. The kids realy enjoyed seeing all of the pictures, foreign money and stuff that I have from Latin America.

#3 - Hands of Praise (our church's "mime" team) had our first practice Tuesday. I was to teach the first song that we're doing this season. It went very well for the first practice. I even had some compliments on my teaching and my "choreographed" signs.

I'm so excited about this H.O.P. season. I think it's going to be really good and annointed. I never thought that I'd get into it this much! I used to be scared to death but really wanted to join. I've now jumped into wholeheartedly! It's exciting to be a part of such an annointed group.

Well, we're not watching the kiddos anymore. We'll only get them on weekends now because school started and I'd have to go into town (30 minutes one way) three times every day I'd watch them. So, we're not going to have them as much. The day that sis-in-law went into the hospital, I found out that their "permanent custody trial" had been cancelled. All because they are kids and really have split loyalties. They love Fostermom, but they have a connection with Realmom to whom they feel the need to be loyal. So, everytime the person that was supposed to speak for them in court talked to them, they'd say something different. (they wanted to stay with Fostermom or they wanted to go back to Realmom) So, they (the state) has to hire the kids an attorney and they are now (this month) filing for another trial. They say that it can take 2-4 months from the time of filing to get the actual trial scheduled. So, the waiting game continues...

I need to talk to the pastor first, but I'm thinking about getting a class started for Spanish for homeschoolers at the church. I'm also throwing around the idea of a "Spanish review" class for adults who would like to brush up on the Spanish that they took years ago. I'm not sure yet what days or how much I'm going to charge. I think, if nothing else, it would greatly advance our ministry with the Mexicans that live on the property.
Well, got so much to do! Superhubby's b-day is on Monday. I've gotta get things together.

It's coming!!!

I've never felt this before...but I have this looming feeling that fall and winter are coming soon! For some of you, it really doesn't matter when it comes. But for us, we got our garden planted a little late this year because I was still in school and it's really hard to get a garden planted while you're making exams and grading final assignments and everything else that goes along with the end of a public school year. So, that also means that our crops are just beginning to produce. We're just now starting to get our tomatoes and beans aren't quite ready yet. This is going to be part of our income this year, and if fall (frosts) hit soon...we're in trouble. I have this feeling that we're going to have a pretty bad winter too. I can't explain it...it's just one of those, you know...premonitions.
Since Tiff's passing, I've not really had that bad of a time "mourning" for her. I've, since then, felt like it won't be long before we see her again. With all that's going on in this world...if you're a christian and believe what the Bible says...we're living in the last days. All the prophesies are coming true...our church family in Peru has had a huge devastation from the earthquake last week. 10 out of 15 of our Apostolic/Pentecostal churches have been destroyed in Peru alone. The Yucatan peninsula of Mexico is being pounded as I type from hurricane Dean and it's pushing a category 5! The natural occurences that are prophesied about in the Word are becoming more and more prevalent every day. It's been weighing on my mind quite a bit lately. Who knows but God what's in store. But I hope that all of you are "ready" to go...because our time is short on this earth. God bless you all.

Sorry....

I really hope I haven't lost all of my loyal readers. Since Tiff's passing, emotions have been running rampant. Everytime I'd sit down to type, my mind would go blank and that's all I could think about. So, instead of writing about sad things, I didn't write at all. I do want to let you all know how much we (the family) appreciate your prayers! You are all so wonderful!
I've been trying to get the housework caught up and was doing quite well until beets and corn had to be done. It's been really busy. The kiddos are coming out tomorrow afternoon and Sunday. The house is a wreck from being put on the back burner. There are most likely green beans and tomatoes that need to be done that are waiting impatiently for me in the garden. The lawn still hasn't been mowed because our mower went on the fritz again. And I'm trying to get a Sunday School lesson together for Sunday morning to teach Superhubby's class about Latin America (it's a missionary unit). I'm really stressing about that because I've never taught a S.S. lesson before. So, all of the previously mentioned stuff gets put off until I can get this lesson done. AND I'm going to the farmer's market with my mom tomorrow morning. So, really, there's not much time to do anything. I'm really looking forward to doing the farmer's market...I've never done it before. But my only issue is...I wish we had some produce of our own to sell. We've only got enough right now for us because the garden got put off for the 3 weeks that all was going on with Tiff. So, I'm still overwhelmed. Keep praying for Superhubby's job situation...nothin' yet. I love you all! Thanks for praying!

Oh how I loathe housework!

Trying to get caught up from your house sitting practically abandoned for about a week and a half is not fun! There's so much laundry to get caught up on, dishes that sat there for the same amount of time, carpets that really need cleaned now and who knows what else. With Tiff being in the hospital for those 6 days, we only slept and showered here. All other time was spent at the hospital. Then the 6 days after she passed away, we stayed the night at the in-laws...it was good for all of us. We'd come home once a day to make sure all fishies, kitties and the piggie had food and we'd get packed up again for that next night and day. Laundry really piled up, so the last couple days we made sure that there was something in the washer and dryer as we left the house. But that really didn't cut into it that much! Ladybug, being an English Mastiff...has quite a bit of grossness that comes out of her mouth....slobber. :-( Yuck! And she lays down and rubs her chin on the carpet cause sometimes it gets itchy. Well, The bedroom carpet isn't it's normal greenish tint anymore. In spots (about half the carpet) it's more of a brownish tint....so I just got done steam cleaning the carpet in the bedroom and got a lot of it out. But I'd have to be a miracle worker (which I'm not) to get the carpet to be its normal self again. So, I'll have to live with dingy looking carpet until we get money to get new I guess.
Ok, on to a different matter...pray for Superhubbie and I. We're going to need financial providence soon. If he doesn't get hired on where he's at now as a temp, we're soon going to be without income. My last check from the school comes next week and he's only supposed to be working there until the end of the month. Just pray...please?
Well...back to the housework...YIPEE! *Sarcasm!*

What could be better?

I'm living in the days ahead
I'm already dancing on the streets of gold and I can't stop celebrating in my soul cause
I'm living in the days ahead
Nothing on Earth could ever compare I can't wait for the day that I get there
When I see Jesus face to face
Tell me what could be better?

This song lets me know that Tiffany is much, MUCH happier there than she was here. But it's not helping me (us) cope with her absence. Last night it hit me hard. I think I've been trying to be strong for mom-in-law because I've been over there most of my time lately. But we really don't have any plans for today, so I didn't have to go over there. So, right now, she's home alone and so am I. I'm really thinking about going over there anyway. I think, if for nothing else, it'll help me to keep it together. We're supposed to have the kiddos this weekend. I hope I'm out of this slump by then. Please, keep the prayers going upward...we still need it. Thanks for all your support and prayers. You'll never know how much we appreciate it! Love you all! Missy

Tiffany...

Tiff passed away on Tuesday around 4pm. We praise God that she received the ULTIMATE healing and God got the victory and all the glory! Please, all of you...don't be mad at God. We're not. We know where she is. I'm sad that I only got to spend the time that I did with her, I wished that time could have been saved...but I'm happy for the memories that we had. Yes...it's going to be tough...it already has been. But God is our strength when we are weak, our comfort, peace and strong tower when things aren't going our way. Please join us at the viewing and funeral. All of the info is on http://www.mvacc.org If you're across the country or world, you can leave us messages at www.snyderfuneralhomes.com Thank you for all your prayers and support! You are all such wonderful people!

Not out of the woods yet...

Blood pressure: too low
heart rate: normal (high end)
oxygen level: 100%
right lung: collapsed twice
heart: fluid drained, catheter in place

going to get food, more later...

More specific and very up-to-date updates on sis-in-law

If you want them...go to the church's website at http://www.mvacc.org . I was just showed how to update it with specifics. So, you'll probably find what you're looking for there. There is also a link to e-mail her.

Cool things I found out today...

Ok, so mom-in-law tells me today that she asked sis-in-law during the 5-6 visiting hours if she remembers Bro. Sciscoe coming in and praying for her today. She nodded her head. M-I-L asked, "Do you know that there are angels in this room?" She nodded her head. M-I-L asked, "Do you see them?" SHE NODDED HER HEAD! M-I-L feels so much more comfortable leaving her at night now because she's not alone! We knew God was there, but it was just a confirmation to hear it straight from her.
The nurses and doctors keep saying that sis-in-law's mid section is filled with "tumors"...we haven't had ANY confirmation that these "tumors" are lymphoma. They can't do a biopsy because of her weakened state. But IF they are "tumors"...God is our HEALER. So, anyways...the nurses insist that she should be in excruciating pain and she keeps telling them that she's not in pain at all. God is good!
Her heart rate and blood pressure went up quite a bit while we were visiting during the 5-6:00 hour, but I'm sure it was because of all of the family members that came in that she hasn't seen in quite some time. We all only had an hour to see her and we could only be back there 2 at a time. She is also worried about how this is affecting us all. Her aunt left her room sobbing and I think because she so worried is why she was so "bad" this afternoon. We stopped going to see her early during that hour because they had lightened up on the sedative and she was very aware of what was going on, so naturally she would be affected by that. She's worried about her family. We left around 7ish because we figured the 9-10:00 hour she really needed the rest. They are going to try and see if they can take off the ventilator again in the morning. She's still at 45% (at least she was at 5:30 today) oxygen. They said that she had an absolutely wonderful afternoon between the 1-2 and 5-6 visiting hours. So we're holding on to God's promise that she is going to have an awesome testimony and ministry through this.
Another cool thing that I heard today was: the first night that she was in KCH, the doctor didn't expect her to live through the night. He came into her room that next morning and checked her ventilator and was absolutely amazed at the progress she had made! The fact that she made it through the first night was a MIRACLE in itself! That would explain why all the hubbub about death and the "end" on Thursday night. He thought she was going to die...but God has a master plan and I believe that she has a GINORMOUS part in it! :) We're clinging to God's promises and God's word that her "health will spring forth speedily". Keep praying and we'd love to see you at the prayer service tomorrow night (see http://www.mvacc.org/) You can also e-mail her at PrayforTiffany@hotmail.com . We will print off all e-mails and read them to her, if you want to send a prayer through e-mail, we will gladly read that to her too...Thanks for all your prayers!
Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. - Isaiah 58:8-9

Sis-in-law---PRAY HARD---GOD IS GOOD!

On Thursday early afternoon mom-in-law called me and told me that they were going to take sis-in-law to the ER at KCH because she said that her throat felt like it was closing in on her. So, I followed them to the hospital and they took her in very quickly. I think they felt like they were getting more than they had bargained for. In the ER, they told us that her chest x-ray showed that her lungs were full of infection which they were referring to as pneumonia. They said that her swollen lymph glands were swollen because of this infection. We all rejoiced as they took her up to ICU because we knew that God had made "a way of escape" so to speak. On her way up to ICU, they did a cat scan and a while later the doctor came into the waiting room and shut the door and basically told us that it was the "end" in his words. He said that her lungs were surrounded by swollen lymph glands that were lymphoma. That without treatment, she would have 2 weeks max! With treatment, we may be able to keep her around a little while longer. TALK ABOUT A LET DOWN!!! So, we go from pneumonia to lymphoma! HUGE difference! That night, many people came to see her. We had half the church there and many family members were there too. She has a lot of prayer cover right now. Dawn called all the people that she could think of and asked for prayer, Bro. Specht did the same. LJ put it on the church website (http://www.mvacc.org/) and many, MANY people are praying for her. The entire church campground, our entire church, both of our families, churches all over the country that have a connection with our church and families, people who listen to WNZR, people that my mom used to work with at the Naz, and who knows who else! So, we were faced with making something of a decision Thursday night: 1) give "comfort measures" and just let her have antibiotics to try to get rid of the infection or 2) begin "aggressive treatment" which at the time just consisted of giving her prednesone (sp?) which is a steroid to help shrink the swollen lymph nodes so that she could breathe better. So, we began option #2. When we came back on Friday, she had improved drastically. Thursday night her oxygen on the ventilator was at 60%, when we got there Fri. morning, it was at 50% and as I was reading her scriptures on Friday morning, it was put down to 45%. They had done a chest x-ray again and said that her lungs had greatly improved also. Her white blood count had come down too. So we got a lot of good news Friday morning. On Friday afternoon, they decided that KCH couldn't do much more for her than pump her full of antibiotics and keep her on the ventilator. So, they decided to move her to OSU medical center and we got there at 8:30pm on Friday. They began her oxygen at 55% because of the move, but it's back down to 45% now. We left OSU at 10:30 last night after we got to see her and went home and crashed at 1am until 7 this morning. We headed back down to OSU at 7:30 this morning to make it for the 9:00 visiting hours. When we got here, they said that they were going to go down the ventilator tube and take some samples of the fluid in her lungs but they decided not to do that because she was doing so well. They also did another cat scan and they found that there were "infected lymph nodes" in her stomach area as well. So, essentially they are saying that her whole torso is filled with lymphoma. Now, I know that my God is good and He's a healer and a deliverer! Bro. Sciscoe, came to pray with her earlier today and he said that his church had a prayer meeting this morning. They had focused prayer for her and after that, he felt like God had dispatched angels to her room and that God had the spirit world under control. I know that God is in control of all that is going on and the Enemy doesn't want her to live because he knows that she has a huge ministry and testimony that are going to affect so many people's lives and souls! So, here's what we're going to do. Tomorrow night, at our church, we're going to have a Faith-filled Intercessory Prayer Service for her. Anyone and everyone is invited. My mom is inviting people, mom-in-law is inviting family and friends, it'll be on the church's website, on WNZR and everyone is calling everyone. Please feel free to come! It'll be at our church (see above website) at 6 pm tomorrow night. God's going to do a great work with this!
Currently she is on the 11th floor, 1140, room 1140G (G as in God!). She's allowed to have 2 people in her room at a time over 12 yrs old. The visiting hours are:
5-6 am & pm
9-10 am & pm
1-2 pm
She is not allowed to have flowers in her ICU room, but she can have cards and pictures and things like that. Thank you for your prayers!

Thursday Thirteen #4 Long Time Comin'!

13 Things About Fair Week

1) Trash pick-up at 6AM every morning.

2) The sweaty hands INSIDE the latex gloves at trash pick-up leading to a pool of sweat that falls out when you take them off...yes...absolutely grody, discusting and absurd for me to put that on here, but oh so true.

3) The totally awesome breakfast that gets served after we've worked so hard picking up trash. THANK YOU LADIES!!! (Yes, ALWAYS make sure you wash your hands and arms thoroughly before touching anything at this wonderful breakfast!)

4) Thank God for Wednesday and Friday mornings because it was only harness racing the previous night and that really doesn't pull that big of a crowd and that crowd isn't near as rude in ignoring the trashcans. So, we get done picking up trash early those mornings! Woo-Hoo!

5) The "Dear Heavenly Father" look on everyone's faces on Thursday morning when we see what a crowd of PIGS are drawn to Tuff Truck on Wednesday night. To quote Jaquie this morning "It looked like someone just vomited all over the track, you couldn't even see it!"

6) It ALWAYS rains during fair week at some point in time. At the beginning of this week, the weatherguy was calling for NO rain ALL week long...and somehow, miraculously...it's raining!!!

7) After it starts raining during fair week, parking cars is always so much more fun *SARCASM!*

8) After it starts raining, the mud runnin' that goes on during parking. Especially by those testosterone-filled overgrown BOYS that swear up and down that they have a real truck when it's just a 2-wheel drive TOY!

9) The laughter (by us) when the TOYS can't get up the hill and they are sliding everywhere!

10) The crashes and dents and dings that happen when a TOY slides down the hill into another unsuspecting customer.

11) The screaming and hollering that goes on when the unsuspecting customer comes back to the crash, dent or ding and it hasn't been reported because there are so many that we don't see happen.

12) The dreams that you have every night and you wake up quite often feeling like your arms are still waving the cars on down the aisle. Sometimes you find one arm straight out poking your husband/wife in the face and the other rotating at the elbow in a circular fashion, waving the darn car on...

13) The way your body feels at the end of each day and you don't know if you can go on. But somehow, God gives you energy and strength the next day to keep you going so you can do the work of the Kingdom...again.

It's Fair time again.....Boo Hoo!

Ok, first of all..I realize it's summer and a super-duper busy time of the year...but comment people! Comment!!! Maybe my life isn't all that interesting or something, but some of you have found it to be because I have 400-some on my counter thingy. Ok, I'll stop crying about that.
So, it's fair week. I knew I was going to have to get up Monday morning at 5:15 to pick up trash, and as much as I'm not a morning person, I committed to it, so I went. Problem was...Sunday night I went to bed at 10:30ish and laid there for I know at least 1:30 before I fell into a good sleep. And even after that, anything and everything the dogs did woke me up. I got somewhere between 4 and 5 hours of sleep that night, and if you know me...I don't function on that little sleep. Lady started scratching her side at 5:12 and woke me up, so I stayed up and got ready to go. When I got home at 8:30, I took a shower (thank God!) and went back to bed at 9:00. I "slept" until 11:00. But I really only got one hour to MAYBE and hour and a half of sleep (NOT the full 2 hours that I was in bed). >:-( I got up at 11 out of pure discust because I knew I had to get things done (which I didn't...) At 3:15 until 3:45 I went back to bed because fatigue had really hit me hard at that time and I was supposed to leave at 4 to go park cars at the fair. I just laid there...no sleep for me. So, when we got back home last night, we ate and hit the sack at 10:45. I zonked out! When my alarm went off at 5:15 this morning, my body wouldn't get up. I hit the alarm and slept for another 9 minutes (why don't alarms do 10?!?!) and dragged myself into the livingroom to call the pastor and ask him if it was okay if I didn't come this morning. I knew that if I would've gotten into a vehicle, I wouldn't have made it there...they'd have found me in a ditch somewhere between here and there probably. I felt bad, but the only thing that was taking the guilt away was last night Sica and Ren were talking about how they were both going to be there this morning. I'll definitely be there in the morning, but I'll have the kiddos. So, I'll have to get up earlier...closer to 5ish. That'll be fun! I get to pick them up after parking cars tonight. Fostermom works Wed and Saturday this week. Saturday will be crazy because of their visitation being the first half of the day, then someone's got to go back over there to pick them up again afterwards.
Update on Superhubbie's sis...she's slowly getting more energy back. But the air quality is absolutely horrendous. She's still having trouble breathing, but most "healthy" people are right now also. Her detox ends next Wed! She told mom-in-law that she thinks she has gained back some weight, but she really doesn't know where she started. On Wed, we're cooking a speacial dinner for her. I really think that once she gets through the detox and can eat what she wants we're going to see a very speedy recovery. I went over today and hooked up the ol' Super Nintendo and we played Super Mario, she seemed to loosen up a bit. It was fun. Well, I really need to get some things done before 4, so I gotta get goin'. Until next time...

I have no clue...

Here I sit with the purpose of blogging, but my mind is blank. So, I'm not responsible for the randomness of what is on here today. The first thing on my mind it GOD SENT THE RAIN! Hallelujah! It rained last night for the first time in what seems like 4 years and it's a gloomy rainy day outside and I'm not really minding it. Praise God for the rain!
I have so many things to do around the house today but feel no motivation. We dropped the kids off again last night because Fostermom had to work yesterday. She also has to work tomorrow, so we're going back up there to pick them up tonight. They may be going with the Dennison bunch to camp tomorrow night, but that's unsure yet.
Oh, my good Lord, it's Thursday! I haven't done a Thursday Thirteen yet! I'll have to get on that. Problem is...I don't feel creative today, so it may not be great....
So anywho...I really need to at least do dishes and laundry today before we go pick up the kids tonight. I'm hoping that I'll get motivated sometime soon.
Please pray for my grandpas, on both sides. The one on my mom's side has prostate cancer and they are going in today to place "markers" for future radiation "treatments". I'm a firm believer that all radiation and chemo do are kill people. Please pray for his healing BEFORE he takes the radiation. He's not a christian either. On my dad's side, my grandpa has leukemia. I don't think he's doing anything about it though. He's just dealing with grandma's dementia right now. I haven't heard anything else from that side. He is Apostolic, he's got the Holy Ghost and he's okay as far as that's concerned...it's just hard to take.
Sis-in-law (Superhubbie's sister) is on her step 2 now, which is boosting her immune system. Step 1 was getting the toxins out of her system. She's on a slow hill up, but she's working on it and she is doing better even though she still looks frail, she's not going to changer her appearance overnight. Well...I really oughtta get going....too many things to do...

Woo Hoo!!!

Ok, first of all...Jana has my black kitten now! His name is Lucky and the kids love him! I'm so happy I don't have 5 cats, only 4 now. Although, Patches was around on Saturday the 7th and when she came back last week I was going to take her to the vet to get her rabies shot, well...she never showed up last week! She didn't show up until midnight this last Sunday night! So, I took her yesterday. I can't believe she left for that long! I thought maybe she found a new home, but she came back skinny. Poor thing.
Saturday, we went to the Farmer's Market and one other place to shop and then came home. On Sunday morning we found that Joe's wallet was missing. Dear Lord! I was really, REALLY worried. He thought he had left it at that store we went to, but they didn't open until 10 am on Monday. We searched high and low, looked at his mom and dad's and in all the vehicles. We couldn't find it. I called the store Monday morning and she said that she didn't see it, but she wasn't the one there on Saturday and that she would have someone in the afternoon call me back. So, I went online to check the checking account and it was okay. So I walked back into the bedroom and low and behold...the first place I look, THERE IT WAS! I worried so much about that stupid thing and here it was on MY dresser instead of his under my guitar books! But, OH what a relief!
The kids are coming out tonight, Fostermom's got to work tomorrow and Friday. I'll have all three this time. The wall for their bedrooms still isn't finished, the siding on the house is getting there, the electrical issues haven't even been touched yet. I hope that we can get these things resolved soon, I'm tired of stressing over them.
Welp, I've got to go get some things done that I won't be able to do tomorrow because the kids will be here.
BY THE WAY JANA...I have no clue where your new blog is!!! I didn't get the message.

¡hasta luego!

Really just MISC...

Saw sis-in-law today. She's doing a great deal better. She's on step 2 of her detox (a few days early by doc's orders!) and well on the way to recovery.
Check out these cool lookin' moths that we found over the last couple days. The green one's just plain purty and the other one's just sweet!

See the cross?!?! Cool huh?
Also, Superhubbie and I were driving the other day and saw this bumper sticker. It kinda has that "Whoa!" effect to it doesn't it?

The Dolan's are getting the black and white kitten tomorrow! Yay! I only have one extra cat and I kinda want to keep her (the white one). So, we're good.

We dropped the boys off last night at camp and can I just say...I really don't like taking them to a chaotic place. There were so many people and the kids just wanted to run! It was really stressful for me. Well, Superhubbie and his dad are working on the siding of the house. I got done mowing the grass and I probably ought to hit the laundry now.

the kiddos...

We're going to camp tonight and we're dropping off the boys. I've really become attached and they act like they still don't want to leave. They love Fostermom, but it seems that they love being around here more. I do have to admit that 2 is easier than 3, but these last 2 weeks has been good for me because I have been able to ease into "motherhood" a little more easily than having all three dropping in my lap all at once. Really, the transition into "it" hasn't been as painful as I had expected. Yes, a lot of things are changing, but it's not really all that bad. They love me and I love them. It's weird really...how people can walk into your life and hold your heart in their hands in a short period of time. They need stability and I hope the court gives it to them on July 26-28, we find out if they go up for the big A word. Please be praying, many kids' lives are at stake here. Well, this weekend's going to be full of work. So, I'd better get the kids' stuff packed up and ready to go back to Fostermom's. Later!

Sister-in-law update...

I found out yesterday that they also did a test on Monday at the doc's for any kind of hodgkins or non-hodgkins lymphoma to see if anything like that is in her body. It came back NEGATIVE!!! Just thought y'all would find that tid bit interesting....Praise the Lord!

Happy 4th Anniversary Baby!

Ok, so I know I haven't done a lot of blogging as of late, but I've got 2 very young boys running around my house. Do you blame me?!?
So, last night on our way back from camp, we dropped by Meijer's to get some things for mom-in-law and I ran off and got Superhubbie a card, I can't go shopping without him apparently (well, I can, but haven't had the chance). He knew I got him one after I rejoined him because he saw it in my hand, but I went over to the self check-out and the boys were like "Missy, what are you doing over there?!?" I said, "being sneaky" and after I got done, I decided that for some reason, the lady at the desk for the self check-out was the person to talk to. She was around our age and looked friendly, so I talked to her. Told her why I was being sneaky so she didn't think me suspicious and then she said, "Cute boys" I told her about their story and how they weren't ours, yet. She seemed excited for us. As we left she told us Happy Anniversary. It was nice, because I've learned that nobody really tells you that after your first year anniversary. Until you have kids, but then they have to be old enough to be aware of all that stuff. So, it seems like it's just another year...
BUT, since I've resigned from my teaching job, I've got much more time to do things that I enjoy. I began doing our Wedding Scrapbook a couple weeks ago and fell upon my journals from then. I have 3 volumes: The Courtship, The Engagement (which is MIA at the moment) and The Marriage. I was reading the first volume and it reminded me of all the reasons I love Joe. The things that my job and life seemed to have taken away from me. I told him the other night that I had practically forgotten who we were. We, are Joe & Missy Potter, the two that everyone was pushing for to get together. The two that would put a smile on every one's faces when we came into a room together. The two that are absolutely and totally in love with each other and it shows. I hate the way life gets in the way of relationships. It has even tried to get in the way of our relationship with God at times too. I love being married to Joseph Potter, he IS the love of my life (besides Jesus) and I will love him forever. Happy Anniversary Baby! And MANY more to come! :)

Thursday Thirteen #3

13 Reasons Why I LOVE having the kids around...

1. The way Middlechild strokes my back or arm when he's sitting beside me. Even though he hasn't said "I love you" much, he says it every time he does this.

2. The way Oldest has attached to Superhubbie so much that while we're watching a movie on a Sunday afternoon, she climbs up on his lap and they both fall asleep sitting in the recliner before the movie is half way over.

3. The way Youngest is so smart! He usually learns his lesson the first time he goofs up.

4. The way Middlechild is just like Superhubbie so many ways.

5. The way the dogs (mostly Woody) plays with them - it's a sight to behold!

6. The way they lit up when I cleaned up and decorated the guest bathroom, put a dresser in there, put their clothes in it and told them that it was theirs. It gave them even more of a sense of belonging.

7. The way they keep me on my toes! I can't be a couch potato like I enjoyed in summers past. I like this!

8. The way I don't eat as much when they're around. I've lost 4 lbs. in the last 2 weeks!

9. The way Youngest goes to comb his hair and only combs over the front 2 inches because that's all he sees in the mirror.

10. The way Middlechild woke up from his nap and pulled a tooth all by himself.

11. The he woke up the next morning and I saw such a smile on his face when he found a dollar under his pillow from the Tooth Fairy.

12. The way they love coming out here and never complain, wanting to go home.

13. The way they know in their hearts that we belong together without anyone saying anything to them about what we want to do.

I HAD NO IDEA!!!!

I knew I was getting into a lot with trying to get 3 kids. I've got 2 of them this whole week, it's only Tuesday and at some moments I think it's time to pull all hair out of my head! I had them quite a bit last week except for maybe 2 or 3 days max. Those 2-3 days were used to get caught back up. We got all three on Saturday and had them all until Sunday afternoon. Now I've got the boys all week until Friday night. Fostermom's nursing church camp this week and Oldest is there too. Youngest tried to drown the white kitten last night. He got to stand in the corner while we watched David and the Giant Pickle (Veggietales if you didn't know...) He hated it! We have found that making him sit in time out really doesn't hit him like it should. So, we're experimenting to find something else that works. He's also not to even touch the cats today, even over at mom-in-law's house.
Some of you don't really know what's been going on with sis-in-law. She's been kinda sick for a while now and I know many of you have been praying. She's lost a lot of weight and she's had trouble breathing. She went to a doc yesterday to basically get a computer eval on different things in her body. The lymph system test came back normal. PRAISE GOD! The lump on her neck (which I figured was just an inflamed lymph node because she's been sick) could have possibly been filled with the C word and that was the fear. But since that test came back normal...it's just inflamed and not the C word! I've been sure that God healed her all along, but the Enemy puts doubts and fears in our minds sometimes and it really makes us wonder. So, the doc put her on a detox for a month because her body is filled with toxins (obviously from the one chemo treatment that she took over a year ago...did you know that chemo will stay in your body for a year and a half?!?). So, her diet is limited, but other than that we're praising God for his answer to prayers. We've had so many people tell us that God already healed her and that God told them so. I HATE the Enemy for making mom-in-law worry so much. It's been really hard on her lately. But HALLELUJAH, I knew she was healed!
We're going over there today to can some beets. Yummy! The boys will have fun going over to Mamaw's.
Oh, one last personal note...Jana: The black kitten isn't all black, it's got a lot of white on it. You could call it socks or something. So, tell Pat not to worry. Also, are you going to the Ladies retreat thing in September? I have thoughts of going, but I thought it would be cool to room together. If you're thinking of going, let us know and we can add you into one of our rooms we have set aside. We'll have a blast! Well, that's all for now....Adios!

Wow! It's been busy!

Ok, you know the kittens I found last week? Well, I got to to know them better and look at them closer and look:

Do you see it??? Look at the eyes! One's greenish and the other one is icey blue! Isn't that sweet?!? Mom-in-law said that from the looks of its markings, it's got siamese in it, as it gets older it'll get more points and markings. That's pretty neat too.

Then, my hummies (aka: hummingbirds) have multiplied and are eating like CRAZY! I have officially counted 6 now, but I think more have come just in the last few days. I had Superhubbie buy another feeder a couple weeks ago and he bought a much bigger one. Well, I filled them both up yesterday after I had filled them BOTH up the day before! It's become a ritual to fill up the smaller one (pictured) every morning, but the bigger one is depleating much faster now too. I can't believe it! I told SH that it's more like a swarm of hummies than a flock (you know...flock = birds, swarm = bees). The way they sound, it's like this HUGE swarm of bees flying around. You wouldn't believe how much they are fighting over those two feeders. Plus mom-in-law got me a snapdragon hanging basket for "mother's day" and (I've actually kept it alive!) they love it too! They sit on my (sp?) bugamvia (another plant, native to Costa Rica) and use it as a perch. So, they've become like my little 'pets' too. So, I've got all kinds of animals running around here. Here's a pic so you can see my cute new friends.

And the boys were out yesterday. Oldest is at camp this week and next week. So, we took the boys home after church Sunday night and kept them until last evening. We've got church again tonight because of the holiday, so we're taking them home again tonight and we're going to see fireworks after church. I think we're going to have them through to Thursday morning. Then we'll have all three on Saturday and Sunday, then Oldest is going 'home' to pack for church camp for next week. We're going to keep the boys all next week because Fostermom is nursing at camp. I got some really cute pics of the boys yesterday blowing bubbles. Here's one for your enjoyment.

IT'S FRIDAY!!!!!!

Ok, so you couldn't hear that "Good Morning Vietnam!" sound in my voice, but it was there, I promise! The kittens got kicked out on their rears today. They are officially outside cats. Last night when we went to bed, lights had been out for MAYBE 10 minutes and I heard stratching at the door of our master bathroom. I told Superhubbie to stop talking and listen and sure 'nuff...they were scratching at the door. You see, one of our other cats accidentally got locked in our guest bathroom once and scratched the drywall all up and it was really bad. We're still going to have to fix that little goof-up. So, we were quiet for a few minutes and the sound stopped. So, we went to sleep. Sometime in the middle of the night, I wake up to the sound of one of the cute little kittie toys I put in the bathroom for them to play with rolling across the floor making all the noise I thought that it wouldn't make. For some reason, when I put them in there, I thought they'd play with them during the day....WRONG! So, this little plastic ball that has little pegs on the outside and little plastic balls inside was making all kinds of racket in the middle of the night. It quickly stopped and I very quickly fell back to sleep. I vaguely remember hearing it again some time later, but it wasn't so bad that I couldn't sleep through it. But Superhubbie, I think (sleep is so vague many times), got up and grabbed the toy and put it on the carpet in our bedroom to stop the noise. You see, I wasn't coherant enough to get up and do that...sometimes he's not either, but he sleepwalks...so, things happen sometimes and he doesn't even realize it. I don't sleepwalk, so when I'm asleep...I'm asleep!

So, I got up this morning, introduced them to the rest of the family (animals) and put them out back with their bed and their food. Luna doesn't like them, like I knew would happen. She just sits there staring them down and growling like she did with Punkin. And Punkin (who I haven't posted his story yet, but will today) is trying to befriend them. Patches is her own woman and just pretty much ignores them. Woody stands on the ground as they have taken the top of the doghouse as home and looks up at them and whimpers like he wants to play, but can't get to 'em. The black kitten just puffs up and looks mean. Molly and Lady pretty much ignore them too for now. We'll see what progresses as time passes.

Punkin' is a male orange tiger bobtail (by force). He's not quite a year old yet. Joe found him last fall (early October) at the orchard that he worked at. He was only a few weeks old (maybe 6 wks) and had his tail mangled. Joe thinks one of the apple bins got put down on his tail before he had time to get out from underneath. So, Joe found him inside a Pumpkin bin, in October and he's orange. So, his name was obviously going to have to be Punkin'. We took him home that weekend and the following week took him to Dr. Price to have him looked at. He decided that his tail had to be bobbed off and he'd go head and neuter him while he had him there. So, this was definitely our most expensive cat venture thus far. Luna still doesn't like him...he's been around for almost a year and she's still evil towards him. So, our final (until this last Wednesday) rescue of cats. Here's Punkin':

Punkin's names:

Punkin' (official)

Punk (short)

Punkie (cute)

Punkster (cuter)






So, I got to spend some time with my mommy today! We went to the most wonderful Mexican restaurant ever! Fiesta Mexicana, duh! And we got to talk about all kinds of stuff, like we always do. I just thought it was nice and that I should add this in too, HI MOM! Then I went to the Health Dept. for a physical and to get the stuff to do a water test. Yup, it's all for the foster thing. Woo-hoo! All the hoops are not fun! I'm tired of jumping...it's only the beginning though.

New kittens...I didn't want anymore cats!!! Wwaaaahhh!

Ok, I must say...I love the end result, but I now loathe uploadage of pics! It took me FOR-EVA to finish the Thursday Thirteen! Well, I have some news...I'm mommy again...to 2 kittens. I took Superhubbie's dad home last night from church and on a back road I found 2 kittens. I tried getting them on the way over there, but couldn't get the black and white one to come to me. So, I didn't want to leave one alone, so I let the small one go. On my way back home, I saw them again...sitting in the middle of the gravel road (same place) and the black and white one ran off into the grass. Once again, the little white one just sat in the middle of the road. So, I parked the vehicle, got out and picked up the white one and the other one came right to me. So I put them in the vehicle and called Joe to let him know what's going on. The little white one is so skin & bones. The black and white one was really hungry too. Joe & I had gotten milkshakes on our way home from church and the black one was trying to suck on the straw of the milkshake cups! So, when I got them home and gave them some milk and dry cat food and some cut up fish that we had made the other night for supper. The poor little white one almost drowned itself trying to get to the milk! Needless to say...all of that food was gone by the time I went to bed at midnight last night. (Yes, that late...I was uploading pictures!) So, I don't know what to name them yet. I'm pretty sure the black and white was is male...I haven't got as sure of an idea about the white one. But here's a pic just to show you...yup, I'm a sucker! (Oh, I hate uploading! Dial-up is so slow!)

Thursday Thirteen #2

Thirteen things the kids did yesterday on our "first day" alone w/Missy (no Joe!):

1)Walked in the door and ran like wild children with the dogs for quite sometime.

2) Ate lunch (ravioli...mmm, yummy!)

3) Got into Joe & Missy's cowboy boots and wanted to take pictures!

4) Played with playdough! Every kid's favorite!

4) Played with the dogs...

5) Watched Nemo (to give Missy some time off!)

6) Loved on dogs while watching Nemo...

7) Played with the dogs...more...

8) Ate milk & choco chip cookies that Missy made fresh for us.

9) Played on the broken down John Deere that is sitting in the back yard because it's cool to play on a tractor! 10) Colored and cut construction paper into BEAUTIFUL things that were unidentifiable once we got done with the scissors! 11) Played with....well...you know... 12) Crashed for 45 minutes until Joe got home (the dogs did too!!!)

13) Ate supper (grilled cheese & tomato soup)

Then we got ready and went to church.

Kids and cats...

This'll probably be a quickie. I've got to go get the kiddos today and I've got to go shopping for lunch & supper today too 'cuz I wasn't planning on cooking for five. Fostermom's got to take one of her kiddos to the dr for her leg. She really didn't want to go with five kids, so I'm picking them up after Middlechild's summer school is over at 11:30 today at the school. It'll be my first day with them without help from the Superhubbie who always knows how to entertain these kiddies! So, pray for me?!? I'm pretty sure I'll be okay, they listen to me pretty well and they love coming out here. So, I don't think it'll be a problem. I just don't have a million things for them to do. They could play in the sprinkler, play with the puppies, hey! I do have some playdough they could play with, I'll see if I've got anything else. I'm sure I'll be fine. Just kinda nervewracking being "mom" by myself (no "dad" involved for the day) for the first time is all. So, I'll quickly introduce you to Patches then I gotta run.

Patches is a calico cat who used to be skin and bones. She is no longer skin and bones, I think she's saving up for a famine or something. I have no clue how old she is, I can just guess that she's probably around a year older than Luna. So, she's about 3-4 years old. I'm pretty sure that she's been fixed because we've not had the problems that we did with Luna at around 8-10 months of age. (Liz, you know what I'm talking about!) That gross, perverse problem of having a female cat in heat. YUCK! So, anywho...I can't really say much for Patches other than she's a princess that kills everything! Lately our animals have made our yard into a killing ground for birds, mice, moles, you name it...groundhogs, oppossum, rabbits, chipmunks. NOTHING is safe in our yard! So, I've caught Patchie with mostly birds, but a few mice. I don't know how she's keeping her shapely figure! We got Patches from Aunt Madge & Mark (that's Joe's side). They had found her and tried to keep her, but she was so skittish that they couldn't take care of her. So, we took her. She has s-l-o-w-l-y warmed up to us and now she loves us like crazy. But she hates it when "strangers" are in the house. She hides. So, here's Patches because I've got to get going...

Patches' names:

Patches (official)

Patchie (short)

Patch (even shorter)

Apachie (Joe thinks it's cute???)

And I forgot to add Luna's names the other day,

Luna/Loona (officials)

Lunie/Loonie (shorts)

Lunita (that's mine, with a Spanish flare!)

Lune/Loon

More than one of me?!?

I do have to admit...I got sucked into the weird thought that popped into my mind of searching my name in Google. Come to find out, there are many of me. There's one that has my entire name, the only difference is that the Ann is spelled with an 'e' at the end. She's like my evil oposite! She's a little younger than me and she's into that book series that has my last name in it and she's not very pure in thoughts. There are other me's (that looks weird) that are big people in companies and stuff like that...but it's just weird! So, my thoughts got tired of looking at all of me, so I looked up my Superhubbie. Come to find out, he was married before (early 1900s) and he's already been dead and resurrected! He's been in multiple branches of military and he's also a professor at some univeristy in Texas! (He'd LOVE that!) He's been trying to get me to move to Texas since we got married! Probably the absolute most weirdest thing of all is that there is some book out there about the red hatters ageing or something and there is mention of a Joe & Missy Potter's decorated spruce tree getting run over by an old lady named Aggie. It's really one of those odd-ball things that your brain leads you into and then you're sorry you did it because now you're kinda freaked out by other people "stealing" your identity. Y'know? They're not really "stealing", they've been given it fair and square...it's just weird.

Ok, now that I'm done with that (did I say WEIRD?) thing...I think I'll introduce you to a one of the 3 cats that we have. Loona (aka Luna) was named by Joe and I didn't like it, so I call her Luna instead. Same pronunciation and all...just different meaning. You see, Joe called her Loona because she's a loon...a lunatic...a crazy one. I told him that if he named her that, she'd live up to it. She did. I call her Luna, which means "Moon" in Spanish. I believe it was almost 2 years ago at the county fair, Superhubbie's mom found her whilst parking cars. Luna came bounding out from underneath cars toward mom-in-law and she was just a little baby at the time. So, she brought her to us. She's a gray tabby and she's very hyper at times, although she's slowing growing out of that. So she's almost 2 years old now. (once again...a rescue!)

Things to do this weekend...

It's such a beautiful day again! What have we done to deserve such wonderful treatment, God? I just got done mowing the backyard a little bit ago, and knowing my Irish skin tone...I'm probably going to be feelin' it tonight and tomorrow! I dunno...we'll see.
So, I'm pretty much going to try (again) to lose this extra baggage (weight, not my husband!) that I've been carrying around for so long. The good news is, I haven't gotten any bigger for a year and a half...I've actually gone down some. But I've pretty much been at a plateau since around Thanksgiving time. You know all that good food...especially what my mother-in-law makes. The problem is...I live only 3 miles away from her and her doggone good cooking. She's been making baked goods for the Farmer's Market and whatever she doesn't sell, we've been getting some of it. That's not helping this body of mine one iota! But man is it good!?!
This weekend is going to be pretty busy around here. Tonight Superhubbie's cousin is getting married in Reynoldsburg. Then tomorrow, Superhubbie and his mom are doing the Farmer's Market until noon. That'll give me a little more time to get things done around here...work on more laundry, straighten up the house a bit, etc. Then, when they're done, they're going to come home and his dad is coming over to help work on the wall again for a while. At 4:00 I'm going to get the "kids" and we'll have them until Sunday night church service. They want to stay longer, but the middle child has summer school until next week...so he's kinda ruins it for them all...for now. That's okay though. We'll have fun! I think we're going over to mom-in-law's for pizza Saturday night because of the wedding tonight. (We usually have pizza on Fridays, but this week is messed up.)
You should see the kids with the doggies! The youngest tries to give Woody hugs and because Woody is so small and it's hard for him to trust people, every time youngest leans down to give him a hug, Woody growls a little. Youngest looks at me and says I'm just trying to hug him! But this last time they came out...we had a breakthrough! I wish I had my camera! They didn't know I was watching and he leaned down and hugged him for a long time and Woody just sat there like he had gained a new friend. It's adorable! Ladybug slept with Oldest and they both loved it and Molly just doesn't know how to calm down with kids around yet. I'm sure she'll learn. Middlechild just keeps trying to play like Molly does but it's after everyone's done playing. It's cute! So, everytime we have to take them back to Fostermom's, (keep in mind that they LOVE Fostermom to death!) they say in the cutest voice, "Nooo....I want to stay here forever!" It breaks our hearts everytime they have to leave. After the first time they came out, Oldest went home and cried her eyes out because she missed us so much. We love 'em all dearly. This is all in code obviously for security reasons, but you can at least get a look into what we're doing. Well, plenty to do, not enough time to do it all in...later!

THURSDAY THIRTEEN #1 (sorry so late)

I know, I know...It's FRIDAY MISSY...NOT THURSDAY!!! I just decided that I'm going to take a shot at this fun little doodad I've seen on others' sites. I didn't realize it was such a big thing until I saw on Theresa's site the official Thursday Thirteen site. So...here goes...

Thirteen things I need to do before August begins:

1. Finish foster care paperwork (Yes, foster care...kinda gives you a look into the stay-at-home mom thing...)


2. Clean my house...entirely. (Big job for me!)


3. Paint the guest bathroom in blues and purples. (It'll be the kids' bathroom...yes, I said kids.)


4. Finish painting my bedroom in greens and browns (It's 75% complete at the moment)


5. Finish paining the livingroom in browns and tans. (It's half way done now.)


6. Take Patches in for her rabies shot. (That's one of the cats you haven't met yet.)


7. When I take Patches in, I must get the vet records for the foster thing.


8. Help Superhubbie get the gutters back up after we finish fixing the roof.


9. When the guys finish builing the wall between the kids' rooms, I need to paint them. (colors?)


10. Help Superhubbie take care of electrical stuff around the house.


11. Help Superhubbie finish tiling the kids' bathroom floor.


12. Help Superhubbie trim around doors and windows that aren't trimmed.


13. I'm sure there's more...but #13 is: Take all the "junk" to Goodwill so I don't have to trip over it all anymore.

My kids - part dos

Molly is (roughly) a 3 yr. old boxer mix. We think she's mixed with some kind of hound...maybe beagle. This pic is a little older...she's most likely about 65 lbs now. We got her a month after we moved in to our previously mentioned home to give Woody some company while we were at work all day. She was a rescue too. You see...Superhubbie's aunt used to run a rescue and that's where we've gotten all of our dogs. Molly was found wondering the streets at 10 weeks of age. Mrs. Aunt took her in and asked if we wanted her...we met her on Memorial Day and took her home that night. (Obviously the answer was a resounding YES!) Molly and Woody are truly bro & sis at heart. They play and fight together all the time. Something I didn't mention in the previous post was our nicknames for Woody. So, here they are in no particular order:

Woody (official)

Woodrow (Wilson)

Budrow (pronounced Boo-drow)

Bood (shortened version of Budrow)

Boodie (nick for Budrow)

Molly's names:

Molly (official)

Molly Wally

Wally (short for the above)

Marly Warly (when we want to be goofy)

Marly (short for the above)

So, here's a picture of Marly and Bood hammin' it up.

Since I've got the time now...I'll talk about our latest addition and last doggie - Lady. We got her in March of '06 from the same aunt of Superhubbie. She (the dog...not the aunt) is an English Mastiff. Sweetest breed you'll ever meet! We really don't know how old she is, we think anywhere between 3 and 7 years old. The doggiedoc tried to tell, but she had had such a terrible life before we got her that she is aging a lot faster than she should. Lady has a long story attached to her. I guess her original owner bred her a lot and she was really attached to him, but he died about a year and a half before we got her. So, this guy's son took her and mistreated her. He abused her and starved her. He even threw her down some steps which broke her leg and she had to have surgery. He almost got the humane society called on him, but he gave her away to someone that he knew just so he wouldn't go to jail. The people that got her next were druggies and didn't find the money to feed the dog that they had, but could find the cash to kill themselves with their addictions. By this time, Lady was down to 75 lbs (she should've been at least 150, maybe pushin' 200. So, when we got her, she was in bad, bad shape. She loved everyone that she came across though. Sweet, sweet dog! Lady has, after 15 months of being in our home, she has made it back to 120 lbs and I doubt she'll get any heavier. The doggiedoc said that we're basically just making her life bearable at this point. She has a lot of health issues. But we love her...she's like a great big teddie bear.

Her names are:

Lady (official)

Ladybug (Joe came up with this)

Buggie (short for the above)

Bug (short for the above)

Buggie-Wuggie (just goofy-woofy)

So, here's a pic of Buggie layin' in the sun and havin' a great day.

Well, those are my puppies! Now you'll know who I'm talking about when I say something about Budrow, Marly and Buggie.

My kids...I mean - My pets

Yes, this is the second entry today, but I'm just getting started...so gimme a break, huh?!?
Ok, I talked about all of my pets in my profile. I should probably introduce you to those I'll most likely be talking about throughout my little bloggy thing.
Firstly, I'll introduce you to my doggies. Since it takes a while to upload on dial-up, I'll do different pets each day so I'm not wasting my entire day doing the up-loadage.
We got "Woody" shortly after we got married, but shortly before we moved into our "owned" house. (Y'know the bank still owns it...we just got to put our name to it is all! That's how those things work!) Anywho...Woody lived with the in-laws (that's my in-laws) for a few months before we actually got to have him because we were renting at the time. (Liz...I know how you feel about the pet and rent thingy...doesn't work) Before he came to our house, he had already been in nine other homes in his 10 months of living. He didn't really know how to trust people until long after we got him because he didn't know when the next time he'd be passed along to the next house. Woody is a (roughly) 4 yr. old Jack Russell Terrier. He bounces off the walls...but we luv 'em anyhow. So, without further adieu...HEEERRRE'S Woody!

Beautiful day's thoughts...

It's such an absolutely gorgeous day today! It's not too hot like it has been the last few days and it's nice to be able to leave my windows open and let the breeze blow through the house. I love days like this!
I started last week on EC and quickly ran across the lizness and discovered that many of my own "loved ones" are on here doing this bloggy thing. I finally talked myself into creating my own bloggy thing and joining the par-tay. Becky (the muffin) was right! It sure is addictive!

So here I am...I figure I'd probably better explain myself on my choice of bloggy titles. Some of you may remember my mom's choice of "theme" for my surprise 18th birthday party. It was "the Spanish-speaking leprechaun". The reason for that is, well...I speak Spanish AND I was born on St. Patrick's Day (the best thing about the latter is that I am part Irish me-self laddies and lassies!). Therefore I AM the SPANISH SPEAKING LEPRECHAUN!!! *as I do a little jig around my pot o'gold* (I really don't have one y'know...leprechauns never tell their secrets!)

....when Irish eyes are smilin'....