The things kids say

The things kids say. I have so many I really should write them down as they happen because I tend to forget them then. But one cute one I remember just happened the other day:
Little Brad (2 yrs) was coming down the basement steps. I had just shut the big bilco doors (the kind that lays on teh ground outside to get in the basement you pull up). they were left open from the night before so there was snow on the steps and of course the door. When I shut the doors snow came all over me (boy was that cold).
I go over to the steps and said to brad, what happened to me, how did snow get on me. He kind of smiled and said you shut the door (he heard it).
I said, what do i do now? He looked thought for a split second and you could almost see the lightbulb go off and he said "I will go get you a towel", he spins around on the steps and goes to go upstairs. lol
I stopped him, there was so much snow on me, I had to get changed. But his thought process was cute.

Well, gotta go
Talk to you later

Winter

I am not much of a winter fan. I simply hate the cold. I looked out the window this morning and the roof to the shed was covered with white, frost I think. It makes me shudder to think it is that cold out. I am surely thankful for a warm house.
The dogs are outside playing right now. They are just like 2 more kids. They actually play tag, it is funny to watch.
Well, better get to work. Brad is not home for a few days, so I am holding down the fort here, so much different without him around.
Talk to you later

Shopping

Well, Tiffany and I went on a late night Walmart shopping trip. Did I just say that? Late night? I must be getting old. We left before 8:00 PM and was home before 10. It was fun. I was childless (which probably never happens, except when we go on the nursing home ministry), Brad was home, and 3 were in bed before I left-- 2 of those were sleeping, and Micah probably fell right to sleep, so he "watched" the kids.

Today we are going to do a lot of baking and doing the odds and ends for tomorrows dinner. We always have a big day on Thanksgiving (well, all holidays). I make my own meal, sometimes friends of ours join us. Then we visit my parents for a short time, and then we go and visit his parents.

My plans are to get 2 pumpkin and one apple pie done today, Macarooni salad, and deviled eggs. Will see if I can get it all done.

Talk to you later

Cold

Well, we are out of heat, out of oil, out of wood, and no time to get either. So we are all bundled up. It is right now at 68 in my house. Brrr! I am so not used to it. I am a cold person, 74 degrees is what I like or warmer. I guess I will get used to it. I put warmer blankets on the kids last night when I checked on them before I went to sleep, and I am glad i did. I did not realize we would run out of oil in the night.
Kayla is going to a craft fair with her piano teacher. Whenever she finishes a piano book she gets to do something special with the teacher. Something she looks forward to.
Well, I better get to work. TAlk to you later

Brads first fall season

Yesterday my two year old looked out the front window and saw the van covered with leaves. He made a little growl and said Mom, the tree fell on your van, can I get it off.
I thought that was so funny. This is the first fall he is actually experiencing and understanding. To him the leaves are a tree, and when they were laying on the van he thought the tree fell on the van.
It is neat to know what kids really think.

Last year- Driving to church the farmers were spreading manure in the fields. Josh (age 7 at the time) said, what are they spreading? I said manure. He thought for a moment and said- Ewww, I am not eating corn anymore. :0)

Well, better go for now.
Talk to you later

Visiting the Hospital

Well, yesterday my husband and I got to go up to the hospital to visit his dad again. (Brad drove this time:0)

Tiffany came to watch the kids-- nine kids and two dogs, poor girl. But by the sounds of it, It was loud but they all cooperated and had fun. Tiffany played pool (and won) although Josh tried to claim the victory. A few bumps and bruises, but what do you expect with so much going on.

I really appreciated her doing that for me, it was not easy I am sure.

My father in law (Jim) is doing better. He can't talk, or swallow or move really, but his condition is better. He does not seem to talk to anyone but Brad or I. When I say talk, I mean he grunts, or mumbles so bad you can't understand him. But we had him laughing so hard I thought he was going to cry. He does understand us. I let him hear a recording of Kayla playing the piano (it was on brad's phone). He listened intently. I hated to leave him. Things could still go wrong. Before all this happened, he was already chair bound, could not walk across the house without trouble. His lungs are almost to nothing. There is nothing they can do for him because they are too far gone. So while he is in the hospital getting better, he could still just stop breathing just because... So seeing him happy (even though not himself) was a great blessing to me. He will probably go to a nursing home for a while for therapy for everything. They say he may not get to 100% but he will make some recovery.

Thanks Tiffany for your great sacrifice.

Dumb mistake

Brads dad is in the hospital (he may not make it very long). So Brad went to visit him and I had to stay home. It is hard to find a sitter for six kids. But after a while I called Lisa to see if she could come here.
So off to Hbg. Hospital I go. Brad says be careful when you go in the parking garage it will be tight. (I am driving a chevy express 12 passanger van, it is pretty big).
so I pull up to get my ticket. the guy says I dont' think you will fit. So park right in here if you can find a spot. I say-- well my hubby is parked on the 4th floor, can't I go up there? He said if you can't find a spot in here you can try.
So off I go. I first scrape that sign that says 6'7", but who'd have thought that that is the REAL size of spots (you'd think they would give a leeway, maybe 4 inches or so).
so up i go, no parking spots where he said.. driving, hit the next sign that says 6'7". (I am driving slow). Scraping something as I go, but I thought it was just the antenea. Oh, by the way, I am ducking in the van the whole time I am driving, thinking Brad said be careful...
Then all of a sudden I scrape something. then bang! Oh, no I broke somethign off the van!!! So right away I pull out of everyones way (on floor 2). and call brad out of the hospital.
the top of the van is very dented and scratched up. Here, I was barely making it the whole way, but they put a water line throughout there I guess for fires, and I hit that metal pipe, and that is what dented it.

Well, brad comes down and shakes his head. He and his brother have to let the air out of the tires to get me out. People were stopping and asking how we got that big thing in the garage and laughing. Brad told the one guy he did not know me he was just being nice and helping. :0)
So out we go, but the van still does not fit under that one pipe (It hung down lower, that is why I did not stop sooner, It seemed like it was okay, just tight, until that pipe). so he backs the van up and lets the air out again. 20 pounds of pressure for a one ton vehicle is not good. So after we carefully got out we carefully drove to the next garage and it was tight getting in there too.(good thing the air was out of the tires).Each turn that we took the tires were squeeling.

After we left brad drove the van to the gas station (I drove his truck-- New Chevy Silverado 2008,,, this was against his will) No, just kidding he lets me drive his truck.
But we made it. All safe and sound. The van will need to be painted on top or it will rust, but it is okay (oh and the dent the whole way down).

So that is my exciting story. I am sure others have done that right?!
I think I will park on the street next time... what do you think.
Talk to you later

Is there rain in Heaven?

Micah, my five year old is just sitting looking out the window at the rain. He says "is there gonna be rain in heaven?" Well, I said "I don't think so" and he said, "I wouldn't think so since it is coming down from heaven."

what a thought. I love hearing the inner thoughts of my children. I love the fact that while sitting quietly their thoughts go to heaven and godly things. Not video games, movies etc.

And would I ever have thought of that, there is no rain in heaven because it is all coming to earth from heaven. I guess he thinks there would be none left.

Well, better get back to work. talk to you later

Too Heavy

My two year old was helping me to get the cereal for breakfast and he ran over to the fridge and said I will get the milk it is too heavy for you. Oh, good thing I have those 2 yr old muscles around to help me with the milk :0)

It is funny what kids do.
Timothy (Just turned four) does not know all his letters yet, but because when things get labeled around here they get a K, J, L, M, T, B for the kids. So timothy thinks that T (it does not say /t/) it says timothy. the other night when we were eating alphabet shaped noodles the kids were spelling out their names. Timothy kept finding T's and saying I found a timothy, and another Timothy. Later Kayla was looking for an I to finish our last name and I said to look in tim's pile I think he threw some I's in by mistake. He said no mom, these are all Timothys. I could not stop laughing. boy will I have my work cut out next year in school.

Micah, who is in first grade with most things (but still only five) does not know all his letter names. He knows what they all say, and can read some stuff, but he does not know that an I is called an "I". so he was finding his letters and he said, I am looking for the /i/ (short i sound). I have the "M" and "C".

Well, better go. I am supposed to be working.
Talk to you later

Stromboli

We went to eat with our friends again. Stromboli is the choice on the menu for our families (the adults). We have not gotten together with them for about a month (or so it seems, but that might be pretty accurate). It was fun catching up. Both Tiffany and I have been sick, hopefully we are both on the mend and working our way to being better.
I love how the kids are together. My 2 year old was calling their three year old to come sit with him. I like that they are close. Even as they are young, you can see their budding friendships. it is hard to find a family with the same goals in life as far as raising a family, so it is nice that we have one, and the kids are the same ages, so they will grow up with friends.

Crickets on the Loose

Okay, so we got a gecko the other week, and they eat crickets. I hate bugs, so I won't feed the gecko. Well, Grandma came over for Timothys birthday and she has never seen the gecko. So the kids want to show her the gecko and someone knocks over the jar that has the crickets in it. Lid comes off and out goes about 50 crickets!!!! Now we are all right there, but they disappear real quick, we got about 8 of them (well, mom did, I grabbed a bowl to throw over them), now all the rest of the day I will see a cricket hop across my floor and I am up grabbing my bowl again to take 5 minutes to get him into his jar again. So I have recovered about 8 more today, that means only about 36 to go!!!!!!!!!!! Argh, whose idea was a gecko anyway? My question is how did we miss that many getting by us when we were all standing in a circle, and where are they hiding and coming out from?
Talk to you later, (if the crickets don't get me)

Happy Birthday Timothy

Today is my son, Timothy's birthday. He turns four today. The countdown is finally over. I always tell them we should not have any more birthdays because i don't want them to get any older. It never works. Timothy is my smilie guy. Brad's mom has pointed that out to Brad and she is right, he is always smiling. It is funny how each of the six kids has a different personality. Still have to bake his cake today, and we have church tonight so his birthday will be cut short, but he won't notice I don't think, as long as I stay on top of everything else that needs to be done and it is done on time, we should be fine.

Babysitting

Today I got a call from a friend. She is sick so I get to watch her kids. We are having a lot of fun. They are right now building with the legos, well, my kids are, Julia is just watching, Mark is drawing with a dry erase board. He has had that thing since he got here. Christmas present idea for only 3.00. And Christy, well, she is being passed around from one kid to the next. They all love holding her. and she loves being held. The kids are getting used to my two boxers. They have not yet been introduced to the new addition to the family, the gecko. Although Mark did see the crickets in a bag (gecko food).

So this is the day in the life of 9 kids (today), what fun. Mine are actually not fighting and bickering, they are all trying to share with the new kids. I should have them over more often. I should get my camera and post pics. After lunch maybe.

Well, talk to you later.

Baptism

Yesterday, the 27th Josh and Laura were baptized. They were very excited and did well. I was nervous probably as every mother is with the kids being dunked under water, but not a problem, except because of their size, they wanted to float to the top instead of go under. :0)

It is such a blessing to see my children accept the Lord as their Savior. Three more to go, the younger the better, so they are not tainted by the world. I want to post pictures later.

My surprise supper

Today my 10 year old made supper for the family. She made manicotti and also pudding for desert. What a treat. I knew she was doing it of course, but I had no hand in it till her arm got tired trying to push the thing to fill the manicotti, so I finished stuffing the last few shells. It turned out well. Thanks Kayla (and Micah, he helped with the pudding) for giving me the night off with cooking.

My Songs

I changed the one song on the My songs thing, so it should be right. I did not listen to the whole 7 minutes or whatever but I did hit different points on it and it sounded right. If not feel free to comment.

Masters Club

Well, the kids started another year in Masters Club. Kayla is working on her second year getting crowns, Josh and Laura are in the third grade book (this is exciting because then next year they will be in Kayla's book and getting crowns and it is a thick book), Micah just moved to a small book (1st grade), Timothy will get badges this year for his vest, and Little Brad will be getting ribbons and he got a new vest too. It is funny how excited Brad and Little Mark (a friends son) were with their new vests. You could see the pride in their faces as they walked around with their vests and new books. I can't wait till they go up front for their first ribbon. How exciting. I love to watch their excitement learning verses, doing deeds, getting the Sunday school teacher to sign their book.

More later, maybe pics of last years awards (I tried to get each kid getting an award, but some are blurry).

Talk to you later

Friday!!!

I always look forward to Fridays, I don't know why, since in my case I work from home, and I work for work mostly 7 days a week. But still Fridays are something I look forward to.

We did actually get in one full week of school this week. I am so happy, I am starting to realize that i need to slow down, I do actually have time for it all. When I feel stressed and rushed then I don't get much done. Isn't it weird how that happens?

I got to go to my friend Tiffany's house today on a way back from an appointment. We got some violin practice in and got to chat with just 5 kids around instead of the usual combined 9 (I only had 2 with me today). So that was very nice, and I got to see first hand Mark and Julia's new room! Wonderful. I love it.

Brad and the kids that stayed home cut the grass and weed wacked the yard. Boy it looks so nice.

Micah is reading a little faster now (a little), boy it is definately a slow process with him. I think it depends on his mood though. Some words he looks at and barely sounds them out. Then after 5 minutes he does not even know what the letters are anymore. He gets bored easily. So out we pulled the Bible and read some easy words out of there too. He likes that, and we can call that devotion. He is doing his own devotion (even if it is just one verse). As long as we talk about the verse that works. Goodie.

Now we are grilling. Filet Mignon (is that spelled right) for me and Brad and burgers for the kids. Boy they can't wait till they become a dad and mom (I hear that a lot) :0)

I am also making macarroni salad (as another friend calls them Jackie's macci's)

Well, better go, I should be working while supper is grilling and the kids are out helping dad!

Talk to you later

Well, got a phone call this morning, hubbys mom has a problem with her eyes and needs to go to ER or maybe an eye doctor. So, here goes our day again, nothing can ever be planned around here. So off he takes her to the doctor, and I am filling in for him and taking the kids to the office for the daily meeting. It is now 1:21 and school has not started yet, and for the past 3 hours we have been on the road. Now I have work to catch up on while the kids sit at the table and do school.
Anyway, one paper is now done that was due the beginning of the week, 3 more to go!! this week every month is definately deadline days, so it is run, run, run. Most times I don't mind.
My 8 year old son wants to play the cello. I told him if he learns the violin first and shows his want to practice, than we will get a cello.
Well, I better go, school is not getting done while I am on the computer.
talk to you later

Busy Week

Well, I have a BUSY week this week. I am trying not to stress out, and of course I have to read my Bible in the evening (or so I think), so my day does not go so well. And then by the evening I am drained.

The kids have been keeping up with school this week which is good. Sometimes on busy weeks we don't do well with school, then the next week we play catch up.

Just can't wait till October and then things should settle down with deadlines with work.

The kids have been keeping up with thier rooms, they still look pretty good. My bedroom is still clean!! I need to redust, but no clutter!

Well, I can't take too much time to write.

Talk to you later.

Happy Birthday

Well, today after church we went and helped celebrate our good friend Mark's birthday. We went to the usual place so he could have his fix of stromboli (chicken) and Mt. Dew no ice. :0)
we had a good time. Our kids enjoy being together, and I think it is great that we are able to make memories for the kids.
So, happy birthday Mark, I hope you enjoy your day!

Rainy Friday

Well, the birthday went well yesterday. I have to get some pictures put on here. Laura got a harp and a recorder and a book on how to play the recorder, and kayla got a recorder, (they can share the book). The harp is a lap harp, small but cute.
Today it is raining. That is good and bad. I have a bunch of kids that want to go out and play and a lot of work to do. The go out and play would sound good today with my work, but instead we are trapped in the house, no carpet to help quiet the noise. when I am busy with work, especially with a deadline, I get cranky. So just took a break to read my Bible, and what did God show me? Well read my other blog :) No, he said a gracious woman retaineth honor... Oops! I needed to hear that. Isn't that amazing?

Oh, one good thing, today is one week since the BIG bedroom clean and guess what! It is still clean, no clothes piles, no clutter on bureau! I am so happy. The kids rooms are looking good still. I have not gotten to my kitchen yet, but I will, soon?!

Please pray for my mom. Her back surgery is a no go, her bones are way to brittle -0 and -1 whatever that means. It is all from the chemo she had done. So she is wearing a very expensive brace and has to go to a special clinic to see what they can give her to strengthen her bones.

Well, i better go
Talk to you later.

Birthdays

Well, Today is the girls' birthdays. They have not woken up yet. Hopefully I can get this done and start baking a cake before they get out of bed. Thursday is always sleep in day because of Wednesday church being so late. I wanted to try and post some pictures of the two girls on here. There I got it, anyway, Kayla is ten today (she is the one with the dog) and Laura (little baker in training) is seven today. (These pics were taken in spring and Lauras was Christmas Day)

Happy Birthday Girls!!!

Violin playing

Well, the day is just about over for me. I am going to bed early. But we practiced the violin today in church for the strings group. Sorry Tiffany and Zach, but I am really nervous about this song. It is "easy" they say-- Sweet Hour of Prayer. I think I miss more notes than i hit. Oh well, practice, practice, practice.

Some of the kids are not feeling the greatest today, but we all must be well because it is Kayla and Laura's birthday tomorrow. Ages 10 and 7. They want to go to Hoss' for dinner because they sing happy birthday and give you a cake, the kids also eat free when it is their birthday. I must return my exercise machine so I have to go that way anyway. I guess we will see what we are doing.

Good night, until tomorrow.

House cleaning

Well, today is a new day. I am not feeling the greatest. I told my husband that Tiffany and I are officially bloggers :0) He rolled his eyes at me and smiled.

Well, my bedroom is cleaned and the master bathroom (did that the other day) and guess what... no clothes pile on the floor or chair yet!! Yippee!

The kids rooms have been kept after, so that is well. Next thing to tackle is the kitchen. But where should I start?

And the basement, but i will save that for last.

School will be crazy this week. Monday was the holiday, yesterday i had work to catch up on, so no school for the younger ones, and today is Wednesday which is always hectic. Thursday, I HAVE to run to Selinsgrove to return my wonderful buy of an exercise machine (Fed Ex is out there). The guys are going on a big fishing trip Friday and I won't have a vehicle. Plus one publication is due next week, so busy weekend too.

Well, I better go. I will try maybe the 15 minutes a day in the kitchen, slowly but surely it will get done. Right?

Talk to you later.

starting the blog

Well, that was easy to set this up. This was always something I wanted to do but thought it would be hard to do it.

Today we are doing a catch up day. With the long weekend, and doing no work, well... lets just say, I really don't have time to blog, but wanted to take a break.

The 3 younger kids are playing a game of pick up to see who can pick up the toy screws the fastest. They have been at it for about 10 minutes and not tiring of it.

Kayla is practicing the piano, and Josh and Laura are eating mac salad from yesterdays picnic at Bubba and Kellys.

I found a good verse in my Bible in yesterdays reading, Psalm 6 vs. 1-2 (mainly 1). I think if that is the way we want the Lord to correct us, we should do the same with our children. Funny how we can read the same verse many times and just one day it finally stands out and has a meaning we need.

Talk to you later

Jackie