Let’s just say it is 7 pm…and I am ready for bed. And probably will go to bed as soon as I am done writing. My mom is already asleep. Her test today went smoothly. They found a hiatus hernia, and ulcers in her esophogus, stomach, and duodendum. She will start being treated for those as well. I laughed in the pharmacy, because it seems we have our own pharmacy going on in our room. She has SOOOO many medicines to take. I need to buy a pill container to put them in. She is very naseated, very tired, weak, very sensitive to cold, her hands and feet are tingly. It has just been in general a LONG day. Tomorrow is a new day! The plan was to leave tomorrow, but since we got started late on the chemo, she will not end that till late tomorrow night. So they have changed my flight to leave on Sunday. Thank you for praying for us. I am praying for an easier night!
Archive for the Category »Family «
So we are homeschooling my oldest son for a variety of reasons. Soon I will post why we CHOOSE to home-school. We are using the Alpha Omega curriculum. I like it. I wanted to try ACE as well. Thinking about using it next year. So my question is what has worked for you? When do you home-school during the day? Do you keep a strict schedule? How do you do it? Do you use just one curriculum or several? Are you part of a home-school group? I know every family is different. And I am taking from others, what I feel will work for us. But would love some feedback. 
So any lurkers out there let me know what you think!
Krystina is 3! Can you believe it! She is such a sweet little girl!
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| From 2010-02-04 |
And we had Rainbow Cake.
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| From 2010-02-04 |
And it was so yummy! I forgot to buy candles, so we only had 1!
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| From 2010-02-04 |
We love you Krystina! We are so thankful that we have you back in our life! We have been through valleys and mountaintops with you, and we would not trade it for anything.
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| From 2010-02-04 |
You have captured our hearts and will forever hold a special place there! I hope you know how much we love you. How much Jesus loves you. That is the greatest thing in life, to know Him.
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| From 2010-02-04 |
You don’t need a spoon, just dive right in! It is YOUR birthday!
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| From 2010-02-04 |
These girls are double trouble! And the best of friends!
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| From 2010-02-04 |
I hope all your wishes come true!
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| From 2010-02-04 |
I know the friendship that has formed will be forever! We love you forever! Through thick and thin. We will always be here to support you. To hold you. Love on you. We cherish you!
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| From 2010-02-04 |
So this is the new member of our family: Maxwell. A Yorkie…isn’t he the cutest thing ever.
He weighs a whopping 2 pounds…
The girls excited that we have a puppy:
This is my oldest and all our kids and neighbor kids having a MUD fight. I do not know how long the water was running for, but I do know that they had a fun time getting completely dirty!
Hmmmm….I wonder how long the water was running in order to fill this up, and look at all the water draining behind down the ditch. I guess we will have to find out when we get our water bill.
The kids had a great first day of school. They were both so excited. And so cute. I love both there teachers so far. It has only been a day, but I am sure it will be great all year. They were so tired when they came home from school. We are going to have to start getting to bed earlier. Or we are going to have some grumpy kids!!! Okay I have to hit the sack, since Maxwell likes to get up early in the morning. He is so cute though I can’t be mad at him and he is only 6 weeks old.
It just seems like yesterday that Chandler was born. I went to the hospital to be induced and in 2 hours he was born. All 7 lbs 11 oz. He was such a good baby too.
He is the sweetest boy I know of. His little heart has so much compassion in it. He is kind. Loving. Caring. Gentle. Funny. Everywhere we go girls say, “Can you believe how long his eyelashes are?” and he says “I know, all the girls tell me that all the time!”
He has a great personality. He is a helper. He is very smart. (can you tell I am a little biased) His smile is contagious. He is detailed. A go-getter. And can you believe that he is 6. The years really do fly by.
I have cherished each memory that has been made with this little guy. I can’t wait to see what he will be when he “grows up”. I know God has a good plan for his life.
Chandler keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. He is the one who will sustain you through it all. He will guide you and be a light for you when you are having a hard time seeing. Mommy loves you lots!
Do you see what the picture is. It was hanging upside down in my tray, and then started moving. It is a NASTY SPIDER……IN MY FRIDGE! THAT IS SO GROSS! I promise I keep my fridge clean, I have no IDEA how it got in there. But after I saw that, I cleaned the WHOLE THING OUT!
MAGIC BARS:
Melt one stick of butter in a 9 by 13 pan.
Layer crumbled Graham Crackers (usually 6 graham Crackers, crumbled up small)
Layer ONE can of Sweetened Condensed Milk
Layer Coconut (about 1 cup)
Layer Chocolate Chips (about 1/2 a bag)
Layer Chopped Walnuts (about 1/2 cup)
Bake on 350 for 20 minutes. Let cool completely before serving.
NOTE: FOR the layers, you can add as much as you want for each layer. This is what works for our family.
Not much else going on in our house. We stayed home from church today because my back and neck have been hurting so bad. I have another appointment with the chiropractor on Wed. Friday night was the worst night ever, I was up ALL Night with incredible pain. The fall has really screwed my back up and I know for sure that I will not climb on one ever again. So I am just really laying low, trying not to do much that strains my back. Lots of sitting. That has been the hardest part for me, I had so many plans for the summer and I can not do them. And I love to be on the go, cant do that. So I am having to get used to a new normal for right now. It is hard. But I have loved watching my kids play. Listen to there conversations. And the occasional fight! It has made me appreciate my legs A LOT MORE! And appreciate my time. My time is precious.
Has been LONG. It is only 1 PM and I am exhausted. I have been very tired lately. I am SO sick of my cast. It itches. It is making my hip hurt from limping funny. I have had a headache. My house is a WRECK! My kids are not listening. They are like 5 little tornadoes running around, trying to get into as much stuff as they possibly can. My laundry…is there, undone, and wont get done till tomorrow. I have a stack of dishes to wash. I have dinner to start. I have so much on my mind. I feel like my emotions are flying high….and it is not even that time of the month where “aunt flo” comes to visit! I am frustrated. I just wrote Kim a letter and put some scripture verses in there that came to my mind, and they were supposed to be for her, but truth be told, I think God brought them to my memory today for me. Funny how he does that huh!? I would just like some peace and quiet. I would like my kids to be perfect! But then I think how boring that would be, because then they would have no personality. And I know deep down in side that he made each of them the way He wants them to be, and probably to teach me something too. But sometimes the “idea” of perfect sounds nice! And I also know that the grass is usually NOT greener on the other side.
I know it really sounds like I am feeling sorry for myself. AND I am. I think I need to spend some time with the Lord and get myself back into focus.
First start your rice….just make as much as your family wants.
Getting the Chicken Ready:
In a plastic baggie, put 1 cup flour, dash of salt and pepper, and 1 teaspoon of paprika.
Once you dice your chicken into cubes place in baggie, shake to coat each piece of chicken. Again dice up as much chicken as your family will eat. We usually use 3 large chicken breasts cut up into small cubes.
Once your chicken is done, heat up 3 Tablespoons of oil in a large skillet. Place chicken in hot oil and fry until it is all cooked.
Remove chicken from pan once done and place on a plate.
Cooking the Veggies:
Then in the remaining oil fry 1 onion finely chopped, 1/2 green bell pepper, 4 carrots finely chopped, 1/2 red bell pepper finely chopped. Fry until tender, and then place on top of your chicken, that is on the plate. If you need to add more oil for the frying, just add as much as you think you need.
Cooking the Sauce:
In the same pan, add 1- 10 ounce can of pineapple tidbits (including the juice), 3/4 cup brown sugar, 4 tablespoons of corn starch, 1 cup of water, 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar. Once you see that it is beginning to thicken add the plate of chicken and fried veggies. Let simmer for 5 minutes. Now it is all done.
Serve over cooked rice.
NOTE: if it is to sour due to the vinegar, add more brown sugar. I usually end up adding about 1 tablespoon extra. My kids like it more sweet then sour! This is a very easy recipe to make and the kids love it.
SECOND NOTE: If you don’t like chicken, you can just add meatballs to the sauce and veggies. My kids love that too. We go to Sam’s Club and get a bag of the precooked meatballs, and I just add as many as I want frozen. The rest of the recipe remains the same.
So on the way to the movie last night with the boys we found a baby blue jay in our drive way…the boys wanted to keep it and raise it.
As far as Wall-E goes….that was the dumbest movie ever. My little kids laughed a few times, but me and my oldest were so bored. And actually the little kids had a hard time focusing. It was not as good as I thought it would be. So it is not one that I am going to recommend to friends. There was no talking in the movie. This is just my opinion. I am sure someone else will say it is the best ever!
Be sure to stay on the look out for my oldest. He will be cooking dinner tonight with me and we are going to film it and put it up on my website! He is so excited. He says this is his break through to being famous!
Okay, we are off to the pool.
Is the word of choice for me lately. It has been a whirlwind weekend. My head is still spinning a bit! I got up to MO about 1 AM on Friday night…or I guess that would be Saturday morning. Had a nice breakfast at the most AWESOME cinnamon roll place. OH.MY.GOSH. It was so good. I could write a whole post about this lady getting up to make them fresh everyday, and they were incredible. ANYways, later that day I went to my friend Ruth’s house, and we cleaned up her babies room. WE went to ANDY’s FROZEN CUSTARD, and I thought I was in heaven! That place is soooo good. She lives a block away. It is a good thing I dont live a block away or I would weigh 500 pounds! That night my mom cooked an incredible dinner, and we had a whole bunch of folks over. Hhmmm, everything seems to be revolving around food for me! I slept with my little sister that night…did not sleep, because she TOOK UP THE WHOLE BED! Sunday morning, I had breakfast with just Hopey’s boyfriend. We needed to have a heart to heart about my sister. I was needing to see what he was up to with my sister! The oh so overprotective sister came out. He is a nice guy and we had fun. And then we were going to go pick up Kim in Branson. Well we got all loaded and oops…Heidi locks her keys in the minivan. So my mom drove with my oldest to pick her up and I hung out till I could get someone to come break in for me. Got that done, and then thought I should run to walmart to get some things for the trip for the baby…got a bit sidetracked at Gordmans…that place…let’s just say an hour and half later I still had not been to walmart, because I was roaming the store. Looking at all the stuff that I really dont need for my house. 
Got back home and we got Kim loaded. And the poor baby cried almost the whole way home. It was great birth control for my sister Holly and Kyle. We had some nice talks getting to know each other, in the midst of all the screaming. Today has been good. we set some goals, and we have a list of “to-do’s”. She talked about what she wants to go to school for, and I kept encouraging her to follow her dreams. She SMILED so big. It almost made me cry. I think she feels really loved by us. The kids have been loving on her all day long. This is going to be one BIG adventure. Again, I am so humbled that God is using us the way he is. I am excited by the generosity that we have seen in others for Kim. I am just amazed. She has already been a blessing to me in many ways. She is organized, and quite disciplined. So I am hoping that some of that rubs off on me! Iron sharpens iron. I know she has a lot to offer this world. And I am SOOOO excited to see how God is going to work in her life. Be praying for her. When she saw her room. The look of appreciation was worth more than money could buy. I know we are on the first day still. But so far, so good.
So I was at Starbucks with my kids getting hot chocolate the other day. Another lady was in there with her baby…probably just a few months old. She drinks some coffee, and then LEAVES the baby by a chair and then goes out to smoke a cigarette and starts talking to some guy. SHE never ONCE looked back to see if her baby was okay. I was so upset. I could not believe that she did that. I rrreeaallly wanted to say something to her. But because my kids were with me I did not.
So then we get in the car and I start talking to my oldest about some toy for Christmas. And he says, “That is so last year mom”…I was like it is what…where did you learn that from….who are you little Martian….why are you talking to me like you are Napoleon Dynamite. Where do kids come up with these things. Seriously.
Later on that night in Penney’s..the guy on the speaker says…” Attention it is 9 pm and the store is closed. Please take your final purchases to a counter..blah ,blah” Chandler starts crying…”oh no we are locked in here all night, where are we going to eat, where are we going to sleep. I say, “Chandler we are okay, stop the crying” Then my eldest wanted to help the situation by saying, “Chandler we are going to have to sleep on the floor and the bugs could get you, and we are going to be so hungry tonight, and cold.” Well thank- you son…now he is really crying. I got down on his level and reassured him the nice people in penny’s would let us out! Such brotherly love!!!! Will the teasing ever end. Probably not cause me and my sisters still tease each other.
