TIME

The time is going by, quick! As I look back at our pics to see what we have been doing I can see why. There is so much going on, planned and unplanned that we are staying busy. Working but having fun too. Joe is off for the holiday so we have been able to make the most of the weekend.



Are you ready to hear about what we have done in the last week?! Hold on to your seat, it has been wild. It was Levi's last week at school so they tried to fit it all in. Monday started with Pioneer day. My friends Stephanie and Stephen are into the history re-enactment with him playing Daniel Boone at Fort Boonesboro. So when I was ask to volunteer I thought about them immediately. Stephanie was gracious enough to let me borrow her Rebbecca costume and had one for the teacher too. I brought flint for all of the kids from the farm and got to show them weaving. Levi looked the best! He was so into it. I can't believe I don't have pics of that but it was early in the morning and I never dreamed I would forget my camera! One of the moms there took a pic of Levi and I so you might get to see it sometime. None of the kids recognised me, my costume was so good! The teacher had ask us to make this as authentic of a day as possible. Start with the costume for them, pack unprocessed lunch and they would re-enact the day. We have my Grandmothers butter pail that she said was used to take lunch to school and with much talking I packed it for Levi. The lunch was a challenge. He had a plain peanut butter sandwich wrapped in a cotton cloth a apple and three unpeeled carrots. On the way to school Joe slipped a piece of jerky in. I wrapped his belt around his books and sent him off to school. Everyone at school loved his look and wanted to know where I got it (goodwill)! He was excited!!



Later we got the dirt bikes out and Elijah took them for a spin. It has been so hot that you won't last long on one in the sun. We have not had to mow our grass in so long that the clover is up and beautiful. Elijah was off all week so him and William got to hang out at our pool. We have a routine on Thursdays that I pick Elijah up and get his allergy shots while Levi is in choir. Well we have been going so much that I get in the car line at school and don't figure out that I don't need to be there (BECAUSE HE IS ALREADY OUT OF SCHOOL) until everyone is almost out. I felt REALLY silly but I was stuck and had to drive by all of the teacher that must have known I have finally lost it! So I drove home, got him and off to the doctor we go.



The last day was only a half day and Elijah had to go back for choir after school because they were singing at the Legends ball game that night. One last practice and they were ready! They sounded great singing the National Anthem and then we got to watch the game with friends and eat funnel cakes and ice cream! Then off to another Birthday party for our friend Chris. It was late but we felt like we needed to show up.



Saturday we had another party to attend! My client/friend just moved to a new home and wanted to show it off. It was her friends birthday so once again we were off! We met some great people, got to ride the horses and see some sheep. Joe got an open invite to come and fish in the creek that runs beside there home and of course we could ride the horses anytime. Their neighbors have 4 kids ranging in age from 13 to 2. They were very outgoing and would get along with our kids great. We ended up staying long enough to have a bonfire even though one of the host goes to bed at 9. The birthday girl wanted us to stay and how can you pass up a good fire!



Now it's Sunday, the weekend before the big church fair. Now I'm not talking about just any fair, this is the biggest know fair next to the Bluegrass fair! So because it is so big they need LOTS of volunteers and we don't mind. So after church we stayed for 3 hours and helped unload for the rummage sale. I was completely exhausted because of the heat and had not dressed to stay, but it was fun! We ended up getting some tap shoes for Naomi,a tennis racket for Levi, a shadow box with a sea creature in it and some NICE cowboy hats for Joe and I. All for about $10. There are perks to helping out! We came home, Joe took a nap and because the kids were so great about being patient and helping I called some friends and invited them over for Naomi. Georgia couldn't come but invited us to the drive in to see SHREK the third. We have been wanting to see that since it came out but hadn't found the time now we had to make the time. It was so much fun! We got to watch that and Blades of Glory and got to spend time with our kids and friends too!



Not quite sure what's in store for us today but the pool is calling my name.



I hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day! We have so much to be thankful for. We can never forget the past and all of the people that have served our country to make what it is today!
Elijah on the 23o. Seton choir
Naomi on Jeronamay with Vickie's nice.
Naomi, walking the sheep.

Vickie, the birthday girl.
Donna blowing bubbles for Naomi.
The three amigos, Naomi, Georgia and Veda.
PJ and Greg and the rest of the gang.

WE'RE READY FOR SUMMER

Our new pool is up and ready! The water is cold but with the hot weather it has been nice. (That and the fact that I have these really cool floats.) We hope to have lots of company this summer and this always makes it more fun!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GEORGIA!!!

Georgia's 7th birthday party was this weekend. She is the daughter of our good friends Greg and PJ. There were about 10 kids there and they all moved so fast that I was not able to get a close up of Georgia. Here is one of her and Naomi from the other night when her dad was preforming.

Her party started out great. The weather was perfect, all the girls were getting along, she had lots of presents and the food was GOOD! This is were the party took a turn for the worst. (I don't know if I can even tell it and give it justice.) Joe had left to get Levi at another party so he missed all the action too.

Apparently PJ is known for (I don't know how to say this) accidents? So I am sitting by the door and I look over and see PJ trying to get through the door sideways with the cake. It was such a big cake that it stopped her. Of course those of us that saw her started laughing so she readjusted and started through again, thinking it was funny herself. Well, on her way back through she tripped and the cake started coming my way (at this point everything is in slow motion) but I was able to catch it. Did I mention I had a little girl on my lap that had just got to know me? She was only 3, was tired and having a little bit of a hard time being the youngest one there. So I lock eyes with PJ and we both rejoice that the cake was SAVED! Then it happened, she fell right into the cake!! The little girl peed on my leg, Georgia started bawling and people started taking pictures once we made sure PJ was OK. Since Joe was already out, he stopped by and got a replacement cake and the party continued without any more problems. It made a lasting memory for a lot a people, we only wish we had it on video so we could have won $10,000!
Tis was only half of the cake on her back!
Dad to the rescue
Clean up crew! Icing was everywhere, the carpet the door on clothing and the dog.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Georgia!

GRADUATION

I am a little slow on the draw. They have already announced Elijah's name when this starts. It's almost like being there.

Some things that I thought were special. THE LIST---what the classmates thought of each other. It was in a sealed pack of papers that were given out along with there autobiographies. This is what his classmates had to say about him.

outgoing

funny

nice singing

fun to talk to

funny

great sense of humor

funny

you are very funny

good personality

you have a very good sense of humor

hilarious

good singing in choir

you are a good singer

goofy in a good way

funniest person in school

good taste in cars

a good class clown

funny

make me smile whenever i look at you

funny

makes everyone smile

funny

entertaining

funny

always makes me laugh

kind to everyone

nice funny, fun to talk to

knows that the Pittsburgh Steeler's completely DOMINATE!

nice person

I think the idea is great and something to look back on with good thoughts.

The other thing is what Mrs. Bell had to say about his Autobiography.

"I can hear your voice in your writing-this is a wonderful skill. You have done a very good job on this project. I loved reading every chapter-especially 'My brothers' and 'Singing'. Be sure to share this book with your parents-I know your Mom will love it!"

And that is the way she has been all year. Tells them what they need to fix but reassures them along the way. I couldn't have said it any better.

Looking back at the pictures I can tell I wasn't thinking ahead. I didn't get to take so many of the pictures I wanted to!!! Once me made it to the church Elijah was off with his classmates and didn't want to take any formal pictures with us or his friends. What I do have is most of the ceremony and the excitement that goes with it.

Father gave a wonderful speech to the kids reminding them to put Jesus first in their lives. We heard stories from two of the children on how being at Seton changed their lives for the better. During the sign of peace Elijah brought me a single white rose and gave us a thank you letter. They got their diplomas and shortly after that they were gone. It was really special, as I have said before I am very happy to be a part of this family.

The reception was dark and too crowded to take pictures but the 7th grade did a great job of decorating and hosting it. The class made a slide show of pictures the kids brought in. They also got to voice record the one thing that made 8th grade special or what they had learned. It was really nice. Thanks Meme and Pop for the card and cash!!!
We were so glad Pop could make it!!! We missed Meme though. She was where she needed to be even more.
Micheal and Elijah waiting their turn to go up the isle.
Checking out "THE LIST"
The teacher that worked so hard on Elijah this school year, Mrs. Bell. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Your patience and understanding paid off.

MOTHER'S DAY continued

OK, I must admit this was the real mother's day post I was going to do for me. It doesn't have Elijah in it so it is just as well. The truth is when I tranfered my pictures onto the computer this on got left off. The battery on my camera was down and I thought one of my kids had erased it! Now I feel bad for thinking they would do that but with strong willed kids I never know what to expect when they get the notion to do something.

We spent most of the day enjoying the beautiful weather but I had gone in for a few minutes and when I came back out this was the surprise they had waiting for me. I thought it was really sweet!!!

MY FAMILY

This is taken before we went out for Mother's Day. I can't believe it is so hard to get a good pic of us. I wish Joe was in the picture too but someone had to take it. Levi is obviously not happy but the rest of us pass so here it is. We were going out to see a friend of our play solo for the first time. It was a good time, I will post on it later. Just wanted to put my Mother's Day on here. I'm so blessed to have a sweet loving family.

FIRST COMMUNION

Levi's BIG day. He has been preparing for this for the past year. He was really nervous and really excited to finally get to receive the body and blood of Christ. Meme and Pop came to see the big event and Mamaw and Papaw made it too. He felt really loved and blessed to have so many of his family members there with him! Levi and Father John
Naomi, never one to miss out on the action. Father like her tattoo.
Levi's class with his teacher Miss Rickets. She has been awesome this year. I think she is a great teacher and a good example for them to follow.

MOTHER'S DAY

This is for our Moms. We got to spend some time together this weekend and had a really good time. It makes us want to get together more as always. Thanks for everything you do. Life would be a lot harder if you weren't here to help us out.

Now, I thought it would be fitting to have a couple of Mother's Day quotes to finish of the day.
" When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child."-Sophia Loren, Women and Beauty

"Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body."-Elizabeth Stone

"A mother is the truest friend we have. When trials, heavy and sudden, fall upon us. When adversity takes place of prosperity. When friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine, desert us. When trouble thicken around us, still she will cling to us. An endeavour by her kind precepts and council to dissipate the clouds of darkness and cause peace to return to our hearts."-Washington Irving

Of course I could go on. But I won't. I think you get the feeling behind my post. I am so thankful to have you in my(our) life.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY, we love you!!!

IF ONLY IT WAS THIS EASY part 2

Being a good hairstylist has always come easy to me. I try and listen to the client and offer suggestions when I can. Some of my clients have there own ideas when they come in and if I think that is the best option I will gladly make it happen. My daughter is one of those. The latest was done yesterday. When fixing her hair for the day she came in with 2 BIG pink ribbons attached to pony tail holder and 3 more plain pony tail holders. The look she ask for was a part down the middle with the ribbon pony tail on either side. The three other pony tail holders were to be placed in the back. Being the good hair stylist I am I could see her vision and set out to create "the look". Of course I like to know what my clients think so I ask her to look in the mirror. She goes bounding to the mirror and says, "I LOVE IT, I look like a dog!"

Another satisfied client.

IF ONLY IT WAS THIS EASY

TODAY'S HOROSCOPE for Joe and myself (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)
If you wish to raise your standard of living, you must associate with those who are a bit higher up on the ladder of success. You are know by your friends.

It's all clear to me now. Sorry friends and family, I'm ditching you now! How could I have let our relationship go on for as long as it has?! Or, I guess I could take you with me on my new journey to success. But things are gonna hafta change.

JUST A little, tiny BIT OF OUR LIVES

This is the second time I have set down to blog. I was not successful in my first attempt once I realized I had bills to pay, dinner to cook and serve and kids to put to bed. Oh, the carefree days! So here I am once again, eyes drooping ready to go to bed myself but I'm on a mission. Must blog, must blog....ha ha ha.

As you can tell we have been busy as usual. Now that the end of school is near it seems everyone is trying to fit EVERYTHING in at the last minute. Of course I was really intelligent and scheduled several doctors appointments in all the mix too. It just takes lots of planning and getting up WAY to early, WAY to many days. Hopefully I will survive, If you don't hear from me you know what happened. I definitely think I am more of a carefree, spontaneous girl stuck in a scheduled girls life. I must make the best of it so here I am sharing my life with you!

This is the big Choral Concert for the school. The one for the Church was the Sunday before and it included piano and guitar solos. Both of them were SOOOO GOOD! I didn't realize there was so much talent in such a small community. I know the director was really proud as she should have been. This school is only in its second year and yet it has grown so much I am proud to be a part of it! Mrs. Black, the music teacher that gives so much of her time without pay. I can't thank her enough for encouraging my kids to never give up and making it fun for them.
Elijah and William (his best friend) singing a duet for the first time. They were the only boys in choir until the one in back joined this year. I know Mrs. Black will be sad to see them go.
Levi's class at Fort Boonesboro. The rain held off for the most part but we did end up getting a little soggy. The kids really learned a lot. Now when they have pioneer day at their school it will have a little more meaning after visiting the fort.
Time to move on. It was a sad day the pool had to come down. We have had it for close to 7 years but it was dry rotten and going to come down whether we wanted it to or not. We have had so many good memories in that pool. It was small but the kids loved it, I loved it. So, now the plan is to have a brick patio in the middle where the sand is and get a new, bigger pool for another area of the yard. Once you have a small carefree pool like this it is hard to do without one. They are very inexpensive and great relaxation for me. I hope the weather is good this year so we can enjoy it. My mom said she didn't think I could fill up my yard but it has happened right before our very eyes.
Weeknight entertainment. With allergy season underway the boys ears have been "bothering" them. Every night they want me to "clean" them out so I had the bright idea to do it the old fashion way. As with everything there has to be a little drama. This is only one of about 20 pics of the same thing. (I picked the best one of my legs, ha ha)

There had also been a 1o chapter autobiography paper due from Elijah. First Communion practice and or study for Levi every week for the last month. You know about the termites. Volunteer at school, the steady of lawn maintenance and all of the other fun things that I am sure I have failed to mention. It is all good, here to enrich our lives and we will learn and grow from it. Everyday has its ups and downs but when I go to bed at night I feel safe, warm and full of life.

LOOSER!!!

The derby has come and gone and I'm not rich yet. I thought about buying a lottery ticket too, but because I am not in that habit it came and went from my mind. Of course I am rich in love and good health. I will take that any day!!

Back to the derby, I was torn on who to bet on. I always start the betting process on the names of the horses. Then I look at there track record, who has ridden them and so forth. Clearly my system doesn't work. I know people who always bet on the gray but I have never done the color thing. When I look at the horses I see beauty but there is so much more to it than that. I think a lot of it is the luck of the day (horse people gasp everywhere). So, my luck ran out yesterday but there is always hope for the future.

DERBY DAY 2007

Today is a big day. There has been so much talk around here about the derby for the last month and now it is finally here. In addition to Derby day it is Cinco de Mayo so there is even more going on.
There has been a plee for George Clooney to come to the derby. Lots of info to help you get dressed for the derby especially the DERBY HAT and all the rules. In our weekender section of the paper yesterday there was the top 10 list of suggestions for the Queen to take to heart.
1. Addressing proper attire.
2. Visit a infield port a potty
3. While in the infield see if you can score some beads from some of the under dressed ladies.
4. To ensure your "buzz" use duck tape to adhere a bottle of whiskey to your upper leg.
5. Eat a chipwich ice cream sandwich, chase with beer in plastic cup.
6. Get to know the celebrities.
7. Look for the young ladies preferably the ones that can swill a quart of mint juleps and eat a Red Hot Smokey.
8. Throw undergarments at the jockeys so you can get your program signed.
9. When concerned about your horse doing badly the media will overlook a little fuss.
Last, I will post word for word.
10. Lastly, there is the egress from the Downs, post the the main event. A truly seasoned soul knows that the public transport to the outlying car parks is your best option for a swift return to Lexington and the serenity of Lane's end. Do be careful to avoid those teetering onto the trolleys, as they tend to get a little overcome with bus exhaust and some can no longer retain their previously consumed libations. And, remember, if you choose to attempt the infield beer slide, go head first and wait until the end of the day!
I have never been to the derby but have always heard LOTS of stories. Most of them scare me. I have never been a fan of crowds and I can only imagine what the crowd there must be like. Especially when you add our fine Kentucky weather to the mix. The choice around here is much more simple, Keenland. The past few years it has gotten popular to enjoy the derby there. No live racing, just LOTS of big screen TVs and a party atmosphere. Any way you look at it, it's a party with the potential to win! or loose...

My picks for the Derby. Stormello and Liquidity both of them have 30-1 odds with Cowtown Cat at 20-1 odds. So my bet is a trifecta with #6, #9 and #17. I'm crossing my fingers today. I have never been lucky (with or without help) with the racing form. This year may be different, time will tell.
Joe in his derby hat!

HAPPY MAN

This was made at the farm this weekend. We have been taking advantage of the beautiful weather and getting out there for at lease of couple of hours. Most of the time Joe doesn't have time to throw the line but he made a point this time. The fish are small in the ponds but they were biting so it made it fun. Levi caught the biggest at 3 inches and the most. Joe just looks good doing it!

WARNING!!! Graphic pics

For those of you with a squeamish stomach, stop right there. You are about to see boy trying to eat snake, the biggest tong since Gene Simmons and lots of tonsils!!!

Saturday morning Joe had to be up early to help set up for Arbor Day. I have heard of these events in the past where they give out free seedlings but for a early Sat. morn I wasn't up for it. With Joe there to pick up the seedlings I didn't see any point in going myself. Then the call came. IT'S BEAUTIFUL, THERE IS SO MUCH TO DO, YOU NEED TO GET THE KIDS AND COME.
Ok, how could I resist that? The kids were starting to get up so I thought what the heck, we could use a little adventure. As soon as we pull up I see a friend that we hadn't seen in a while because her child has been REALLY sick. We joined them, the girls were so happy to see each other and off we went to the kids tent. There was a lot to see but the highlight was the reptiles! It took a minute for my kids to warm up to them but soon they would NOT leave the table. They had several big snakes and about 7 smaller snakes that you could handle. A toad, and 2 turtles that you could only pet. Naomi stuck with the turtles and Levi went with the snakes. He wasn't much on the big on but thought the small ones were cool. As you can see in the back ground of one of the pics Elijah is to cool for all of this kids stuff but I think he really enjoyed himself.
There were lots of booths for us big kids too. I learned about bees in our area, sampled a cranberry mix that I would have not picked up if it weren't free but it was oh so good and scored a nice tote! Joe got the free trees and purchased a few new plants that were to good to pass up. Not to bad for an unplanned family outing.
You can't have a kids tent without face painting! There were two girls there and they weren't busy so Naomi went back for more and more. She finally stopped at 4! I felt bad at first but if it was me sitting there I would rather be busy. Plus the more she has, better advertisement!!
Arbor Day would not be complete with out the local recycling girl? Her name is Rosie so she must be a girl. The kids loved it so I just had to take a pic.