its me, not you.

I have been away from the blogging world for quite some time now.  I have had a super filled up life lately.  Four super cool and busy kiddos, attending school and being a wife.  So believe me when I say it truly is me and not you!  But here is a little bit of what we have been up to!

talking the day away.....

dance recitals

letting the heat get to us

Just being silly

We are really looking forward to this falls cooler temps, apple picking, fall festivals and pumpkin patches.  We have taken a break from all of life's extra curricular activites this fall.  No dance, no fall softball/t-ball, no tumbling, no nothing.  We are focusing on whats important. These girls are going to grow up so fast that we will turn around and not know where the time went.  Geoff and I want to be able to look back on these times and know that they were not wasted!

Mother's Day 2010

Wow.  What a day.  It is almost over.  Another Mother's Day.  I wish that I had a picture of the beautiful day that we had, but I don't.  I have been so busy with school that I have let everything go. The house is a wreck, my pile of laundry is the size of Ocracoke Island, lighthouse included!  Could not tell you the last time I dusted.....you get the idea.  All I wanted all week was to plant some flowers in the front yard.  It needed some color.  Normally I would of been out there by now, but school has kept me from a lot of stuff.  Okay, so have my kiddos.  3 ball teams, 1 tumbling class, 1 ballet class, Destination Imagination and something else?  Oh yeah, homework!  I guess that there will always be something that keeps me away from housework!
Back to today.  I got up, girls had made cereal and that made me happy.  The husband had to work in the am (2nd job).  So we started cleaning house!  Oh yeah!  It was a mothers dream to clean house on Mother's Day.  But I tell you what!  I was so happy after it was done that I even smiled a little! Geoff came home from work just in time with a load of annuals.  An answer to my prayer!  I got my comfy clothes on and went out with my coffee and planned it out with him.    It was relaxing and exactly what I needed.  I needed to get my hands in dirt!  I never thought that I would ever say something like that.  I guess that I am getting old.  But I felt more accomplished today then I will on Wednesday after I finish a 15 credit hour semester.  I have 3 finals this week!    eeeeekk!
My girls were somewhat nice to me.  They really just went about their own way after the house was clean and I 'released' them for the day.  We did go to Grandma's and let the girls fish for a little bit and then we had hot wings and salad for dinner!  Then we played Uno.  It was a great day and I am so Blessed to have such a great family to share it with!  I thank God everyday for pairing me up with a man that knows me inside and out and has not run away yet!!

Baby Anna

Check out this cute new addition to the clan!  My neice,  Anna

shheeeeesh

Ever just have a few days there were you have no idea what you did or who you saw or where the time went?  I have been feeling that since January!  This school semester is knocking me on my butt.  I have consumed myself with school, my husband & kids, my kids activities and there is no time left over for laundry.  If you could only see the pile.......
I am feeling just a bit overwhelmed. In desperate need of a break.  Just for one night with my husband. 

Please. someone. rescue. me.

Spring Break!

Here are a few pictures of the kiddos last week during Spring Break!  We went to the Butterfly House and the Zoo.....it was way too much excitement for me!  But the kids had a blast and thats all that matters, right?!

Sophie was super happy to be surrounded by cock-a-roaches.

 

Orchids at the Butterfly House

Kae and the Boys inspecting the butterfly on the ground.....

Emma, Kae and Sophie at the Zoo

Kaelyn and Sarah making sure that we don't get lost...

Sophie, Emma and Gabe

The whole crew!

Romans 408

I started keeping a Bible in the car. It was kinda by accident, but Sophie (my 3 yr old) likes to thumb through it while we are waiting for the twins to get out of school for the day. Well one morning last week Emma wanted to read it on her way to school. Half way there she says Mom, "I can't find Romans 4 zero 8."
I was puzzled and humbled at the same time. I figured that she meant Romans 4:8 since there is not a Romans 408. She is only 6. So Kaelyn is telling her, "give it to me and I will find it!" Emma would not give it up and then they argued. So when we got there I pulled into the parking lot and found Romans 4:8 and read it to them.

Romans 4:8 (New Living Translation)
Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.

After I read it, Emma looked at me and said, "Yeah that's it. Now can you please drop us off so we are not late for breakfast?"

How amazing is it that she just seemed to need to hear the words of God before school? Did she need to be reminded to follow Him throughout her day? I was totally analyzing this little morning drive convo? I am totally amazed by my girls everyday and they make me smile. I kept thinking back to the scripture and could not figure out how it was supposed to 'tie' into my day, but then again Emma is the one that wanted to hear it so I just figured that maybe it tied into her day somehow.

WELL....when I picked up the girls from school, Emma asked to see the Bible again. As we pulled into the driveway and started getting out of the car, Emma walked up to my seat and shoved the Bible in my face, opened to the Table of Contents and said, "Mom, this is it Romans PAGE 408. I couldn't find the chapter!" You should have seen my face! I knew that I was over analyzing our morning chat! But it was still a blessing to be able to share the Word with her and the other girls at a unexpected time and it made me smile every time I thought about it all day. God is Good.

Team River Runner

So my husband bought one of these this week!!

He is joining this group called
Team River Runner . It is for Veterans. Its a very cool organization. I told him that as long as he wore a helmet and did not run off to the Grand Canyon to kayak without me that I would support his latest endeavor!

poop deck

So I got an A on the first 2 papers that I had to write! I think maybe my teacher accidentally gave me someone else's grade?!?
So we were attacked by winter weather this week. The girls finally went back to school today!! I am so glad that we can resume normalcy. I surely enjoy my girls being home but man am I happy when we can get back to the routine.
I made chili the other night for dinner and we sat down to eat dinner and Macy innocently asked why sailors refer to their boats as 'she'. Geoff made up some lame answer and we all laughed and then I am not sure how but the convo went from pirates and boats to the 'poop deck' and the girls could not contain themselves. It did not help that we were eating chili. The uncontrollable laughter, giggles and snorting were something that I will never forget.

Food Fest

So I am now sort of adjusting to school. 5 classes and 4 kids, etc. I can do it, right? Like I said before, it will be like going through child birth. I will forget how hard it was when its all over!
So since when is it okay to eat in class? I can understand a drink or gum, geez....it is college. BUT how about a Subway sandwich? Oh better yet a box of animal crackers?? Last week one guy brought in a package of saltines?? Its not like this is *quiet* food. Chex mix, Cheetos, deli sandwich from QT. I just don't get it. First of all its gross and second of all its rude! So after dealing with the crazy parking lot daily, I also have to endure noisy foods and rude people that don't know how to eat with their mouths closed!!!!! I don't understand why the teachers are not offended and ask them to not bring in entree's to eat during class?? Am I over reacting again?

Weekend of Nothing

So we started out to Branson around noon on Friday. The winter storm warnings meant nothing to us, I just pretended like I didn't know what was going on with the weather. Geoff had a Yellow Ribbon Event that he was attending for work and it was just during the day. So of course since I was able, I tagged along. Driving down there was nice. Half way there we hit some flurries, but nothing serious and then right before Springfield the snow was getting bad. No one was plowing or salting the roads and there were cars everywhere on the side of the road. I was doing some serious praying and it must have worked because we arrived without incident and about 5 inches of snow on the ground.
If you have ever been to Branson then you know its full of people, traffic, lighted signs. {i figure if anyone wants a Vegas fix (minus the gambling) and needs to see lighted signs and a show they can always substitute Branson}. The town was DEAD! Every other hotel was closed for the season and what was open was closed due to the weather!! Thank goodness our hotel was open and the restaurant was serving food. Even the Subway was closed due to the snow! Since we disconnected our cable, I watched Food Network as much as I could and got my fix on Reality TV. I should be good for another 6 months! It was so nice to get away and know that my kids were in good hands. Well actually they were spoiled to the core and I am now having to 'fix' it all, but it was still worth it!
So now I am back to my reality. School work out the wazoo and super busy kiddos!

Praying For Sydney Grace

Please keep the Fodrie Family in your prayers today as they deal with their loss of lovely Sydney Grace. She was born with Trisomy 18 and was expected to only live a few hours. Her family was blessed beyond measure to spend 20 whole days with her. You can check out her blog. And there is also a FB page.
Praying for Sydney Grace

Whew...

Let's see.....

Pitching practice
Tumbling
Ballet
Play date at the Hippo place
Destination Imagination
Guitar practice
3 haircuts
Slumber Party
Softball practice
None of this includes my daily activities such as....CFO, event coordinator, personal chef, interior designer, taxi-driver and housekeeper!!

Oh and I have homework. Lots of it! Think that I can get it all done by Friday? Cause the husband and I are disappearing for 2 and a half days!!!! Whoo-Hoo!

Gettin' Started Again.....

So I did it. I started back to school this week and I am going to start blogging again this week too. I can't begin to tell you how it feels to 'return to school' at the age of 33. Its not like I am the 85 year old man that I saw carrying a NorthFace backpack yesterday, but I really think that I am old. I have 4 kids and they are the only ones that are supposed to be in school, right?? I am the mom!
So putting that silly thought behind me, it has been one hell of a week!!! It started with a 3 day weekend! Lots of stuff going on around here. One sister and family moving back into town, the other sister sold her house! My girls are each in activities now. Ballet, tumbling, softball, Destination Imagination, guitar lessons and t-ball signs-ups are next week! MOPS is in full swing for the semester and I am loving the Esther study we are doing in Bible study. Ask me how I am going to juggle it all. I have no idea. I never wanted to hear the word syllabus again, but its being said all around me!
So the last time I was at the community college, ummmm 15 years ago. Yep, I said it. It was a long time ago. Anywho, there were only 4 bldgs and I could easily find myself where I needed to be without incident. So in the 15 years that I have been away from the community college they seemed to think it would be a good idea to expand. I am not sure who told them this, but I don't like it. There are now 12 bldgs and its so spread out that I have no idea where I am going. Does sense of direction go with age too?? I was really stupidly nervous that I would be the oldest person in my 3 on campus classes since they are during the day, but I am not! That has made me very happy!!!! But that doesn't say anything about the stupidity of the retards (yes'm I said it) that don't know how to drive in the parking lot. They all have lead feet when it comes to the gas and the brake. They gun it and then see you trying to walk in the crosswalk and then they slam on their brakes.....Its like they opened the lot for the drivers to play chicken with the people walking. Its very nerve wracking!! Then there are the kiddos that don't know how to park. I am not an expert parker but when I pull into a space I like to make sure that there is enough room on either side of my car so the person parked next to me doesn't need a can opener to get into their car. Oh, and I think its polite to park straight too.
My husband wants to try and find me a GreenDale Community College t-shirt. You know, from the show Community with Joel McHale (my current Mr. Hotness).
Well its Thursday and I have been up since 4 am with a sick kiddo. I gotta catch my bearings before they run off with out me! And I need some damn coffee!!!
Be back soon!

Merry Christmas!!!!!

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Holiday Traditions

This year we are downsizing the load that appears magically on Christmas morning. But isn't most everyone? We are trying to take the time to remember what Christmas is about and not what the media and mega-stores portray it to be. I hope that everyone checks out the video below and then checks out www.thisinsteadofthat.org and that it may make you bring Christmas into perspective too.......

Merry Christmas!