Five Unrelated Pieces of Information

1. We finally got our bathroom done.
Well, sort of.
Remember the toilet box that had become a clothing shelf?
That box is gone now.
And a vanity is in it's place.

And we have a shower!
The tiling turned out cool, I thought.

Eventually we'll get a door.
For now, we're using a shower curtain.

The floor is tile that looks like wood.
I LOVE it!

We just need to get a mirror,
a light for over the sink
and baseboards.
Who knows how long that will take?

2. I did not get a poinsettia this year.

Mostly because it took me months to throw it out last year.
(See same post I already linked to.)

3. I'm subbing.
I've forgotten to mention that.
I subbed 4 days before Christmas break.
It was...exhausting.
Not so much physically.
I'm up on my feet almost all day at home.
But mentally.
And my voice...
Especially when I subbed in Jobie's class.
I had to talk.
All. Day. Long.
I'm not used to that.
Maybe I should talk to myself more at home.

I've subbed in Ezra's class also.
They are a busy little group of kids.

Having your own classroom is very different from subbing.
(Going to have to work on my management skills.
It's been over 10 years since I had my own classroom.)
Now I know why I taught junior high.
Elementary kids have so many questions.
And need so much help.
And always seem to need to go to the restroom.
I like junior high soo much better than elementary.
But I'm only subbing in the little boys' school right now.
Just to simplify our family scheduling.
Besides I'm getting 2-3 days a week as it is.
That's all I need.

4. I really want to change the look of my blog.
But I don't know a thing about that stuff.
My hubby set this blog up to begin with.
It's actually a miracle that I can even do a post on my own.
I don't want to pay someone to do it, either.
So, for now, I'm stuck.

5. I just found 5 Christmas cards stashed away in my cupboard.
All addressed and ready to go.
Sorry to 5 of our friends who are getting late cards.

We took our pictures for the card on our roof this year.
I hate heights.
But I bravely climbed up the ladder.
I took pictures while Ryan was taking the official pictures.

Our neighbor came out while we were up there.
Brookelynn was so embarrassed.
She thought he was looking at us like:
That's the stupidest thing I've ever seen.
Ryan and I read his look as:
How fun and cool.

Teenagers are funny.

Fourteen and Driving

My girl is now 14.

My girl got a dwarf gerbil.

My girl earned her learner's permit.

My girl.
Is changing into a young woman.
Right.
Before.
My eyes.

My girl.
I love her.

(But I'm leaving most of the driver's training to her dad.
My heart is not ready for her to be this old.)

Our Sick Christmas

Christmas was...
different...
unusual.

Christmas Eve is our day at home.
The kids wear their pj's all day.
Watch movies.
Relax.
Whatever.
Snacky stuff for lunch.
Same meal every year for supper.
Then presents in the evening.

About 10:00 a.m. Brookie says:
I don't feel so good.
An hour or so later,
into the restroom she runs.
Yippee.
You know what that means.

We went ahead with our plans and traditions.
So while we enjoyed our hummus,
fatoush salad,
grilled chicken,
fruit salad
and special Christmas drink,

Brookie stayed on the couch.
Looking miserable.

We debated waiting to open presents.
But the boys weren't too crazy about that.
She can just lay right there on the couch.
We'll bring all her presents to her.

We took our traditional pictures.
They always turn out perfectly.

 Finally convinced Brookie to get in the picture.

As soon as I was done taking this picture,
she ran to the bathroom.
She looks a little pale, huh?

We opened presents
right after she was done in the restroom.
Because, you know, there's a small window
after you loose the contents of your stomach
when you feel a bit better.
We took advantage of that window.

What is this?

 Oh! Hahaha!

 Mustaches.

Sweet lips.

That's me.

The boys giggled.

Brookelynn found it disgusting.

We made it through the unwrapping.
And I even got a few hours of sleep.
Before Jobie was up.
And making frequent trips to the restroom himself.

So Christmas morning I called my parents.
Not sure if we could do Christmas at their house that evening.
My dad was not feeling well either.
And we rely on him to grill our Christmas steaks.
After several phone calls with my brother's family,
we all decided to just do appetizers and open presents.
As long as no one else got sick later in the day.
And enjoy our steaks another day
when everyone felt a bit more normal.

Jobie had been fine since mid-morning.
But as soon as we got to my parents,
he started acting blah.
And fell asleep on my lap
before we had even eaten.
We let him sleep for about an hour.
Then attempted to wake him up.
The others were anxious to open presents.

He finally perked up.
About half-way through opening gifts.

Ryan got sick 3 days later.
On Brookelynn's birthday.

Then we were at his parents the next day for another Christmas.

The little one, in the middle on Jobie's lap,
was very stinky.
No one wanted to hold him.
We decided this picture captured our family pretty well.

So far the rest of us have avoided getting sick...

Thankful for family.
Thankful for health.
Thankful for flexibility.

But most of all,
thankful for Jesus.

Christmas Card 2012

Merry Christmas!

Mowing, Art, Holidays and Trees

I mowed about a month ago.

(Real current I know.

But I haven't blogged for a month.

So bear with me.

Did you miss me?

I missed you all)

The bugs were crazy.

I swallowed two.

One went up my nose.

Another one tried to fly into my ear.

Plus there was a fly.

Buzzing.

Buzzing.

Buzzing.

Around my face.

I'm certain it was all fun for the neighbors to watch.

We went to a pumpkin patch this year.

This picture makes me laugh.

Halloween was fun.

Ryan and the little boys did some painting recently.

Ezzie painted a turkey.

I loved it.

And wanted to hang it up.

But he wanted to give it to a friend

who had broken her arm that night.

So we took it to her.

 Thanksgiving was fun.

Ezzie made a teepee at school.

And gave a speech about it.

His class also had a feast.

He was so excited he invited both grandmas to come too.

Jobie drew a thanksgiving feast.

We usually don't make key lime pie on Thanksgiving.

I did this year.

The house is decorated for Christmas.

Mostly.

I'm still changing a few things.

I let the little boys 

put the ornaments on the real tree this year.

That was hard for me.

Control freak.

Ryan doesn't like our real tree this year.
It's not big enough for his taste.
He likes to let it be known
that I'm the one that chose it.
The kids asked if we could return it.
Alright, so I'll admit it's not the best tree ever.
Next year I'll keep my mouth shut.
We'll see how they do without my input.

We have 4 trees this year.

Stupid?

Yes.

It's a long story...

Before Jobie started school,

he never drew pictures or colored.

Now he will disappear into his room

and come out with pictures like this.

He said this is mommy and daddy.

Daddy says I look hot.

I think we look crazy in love.

In the Middle of a Burger King

(I feel like I need to set up this post 
with some info on our Saturdays.)

Most Saturdays are spent at the soccer fields.
With 3 kids playing and one those kiddos reffing also,
we are there all day.
(Brookelynn will ref games before or after her own game.)
So we usually are leaving the house no later than 8am.
And getting home between 5 and 6:30.
The soccer fields are about 35 minutes from our house.
With gas prices the way they are,
once we leave home,
we don't come back until we are all done.

It gets a little old.
And the boys might complain a bit.
But she's earning some money.
So it's worth it.
I guess.

Which brings me to our little story:

This weekend was our last weekend for the fall season.
Brookelynn reffed a game at 9:00.
Since none of our kids had to play in a game until 12:00,
we had some time to kill.
If it's nice, we typically just hang out there.
But it was cold Saturday morning.
And Ryan needed to get some work done.
So we went to a nearby Burger King
for some coffee, orange juice and free wi-fi.
They also happen to have a play place
that the boys love.

So, there we are.
Sitting at a booth.
With our coffee.
Ryan with his ipad and phone.
Me with my phone.
(I left my book at home.
So was reading one of 
Francis Chan's books on my phone.)
Still with our coats on.
(It was cold in there.)
The boys running around the play area.
For nearly 2 hours.
Are you getting a good picture in your head?
We look like...moochers.
And I was feeling a bit conspicuous.

Oh, but it gets better...
The boys, after drinking their oj,
naturally need to visit the restroom.
Often.
Jobe, also naturally, is holding himself.
Every time he heads to the restroom.
After one of those trips for both Ez and Jobe,
Ezra comes out of the restroom without his brother.
Walks to our table and says:
Jobe pooped his pants.

He was in the men's restroom.
So, guess who got to go help the boy?
Not me!
I'm just sitting in the booth thinking:
what are we going to do with those undies?
I sent Jake into the restroom to get the car keys from Ryan.
Went out to the car.
Got a Dillon's sack.
Stuck my head in the restroom door.
Handed the bag to Ryan.
Then went back to the car to drive to the nearby Kmart .
To buy some undies.

When I got back,
Ryan was back in our booth (ha!)
with the Dillon's sack sitting at his feet saying:
What do I do with this?
I handed Jobe a new pair of undies.
Told him to go put them on in the bathroom.
Picked up the plastic bag.
And threw it away.

Jobie comes out of the restroom.
Happy about his new dino undies.
And goes back to playing.
While I just look at Ryan,
put my head in my hands and say:
I feel so redneck.

A bit later, a gentleman,
who had been sitting alone nearby,
came over to our table
and introduced himself as a pastor of a local baptist church.
He gave us a brochure for a basketball program they have.
And told us he would personally scholarship 2 of our boys.
So sweet.
But also, further evidence of how we looked.

We had a wonderful visit with him.
And found out that his son
was actually engaged to a girl that I know in our little town.
It's a small world.

It was a humbling morning for me.
I'm a proud girl.
Appearance means too much to me.

Thank you, Lord, for teaching me little lessons.
In the middle of a Burger King.

Happenings

A week goes by fast.

Still waiting for my sub license.
The checks have all cleared.
So they liked my money anyway.

Jobe was sick Wednesday and Thursday.
He actually wanted to go to school
And I actually wanted him to go to school yesterday.
Already not used to having kiddos at home during the day.
That didn't take long.

Thursday was superhero day for the older kids.

As is typical, I had to force Jake to pose for the camera.
His friends...not so much.
They are both hams.

 Super Jayhawk, Auqa Man and Newton Knight Bat.

The girls got into it too.

When I asked my niece what her superhero name was,
she said: Woman, Woman.
Ok, then.
She and Brookie make me laugh.
All the time.
Brookelynn is, obviously, Batgirl.

You also might be wondering
why there are so many kiddos at my house.
Before school.
Well, we double the number of children in our house
every school day morning.
Two of Jake's friends.
My niece.
And one of Ezra's friends.
Crazy, huh?

And lately, somehow,
we've even had time to do stuff like this in the morning.

 Candyland with Daddy.

And reading books.

Captain Underpants is a favorite right now.
I don't understand the appeal.
But he's a boy.
And he's 8.
That's probably enough said.
Plus he looks so cute in his glasses,
I just love it when he reads anything.

Tuesday I let my hair dry naturally.

And then put a little gel in it.
It's got a little wave to it when I do that.
And I thought it looked ok.
I was waiting outside of the school.
With 5,000 other parents.
At the end of the school day.
When Ezra walked out, he said
(in a not so quiet voice):
Mom, what is up with your hair?

Hmmm.
How did I respond to that?
I ignored it.
And then, did the same thing again Thursday.
Just for fun.
And then, didn't comb my hair this morning
before taking him to school.
(He always wants me to walk him to his classroom door.)
He didn't even notice.

So here's what I've learned.
Bed head is acceptable.
Naturally dried, gelled hair is not.
Well, according an 8 year old boy
whose favorite book series is about a
tighty-whitey and red cape wearing boy anyway.

And that would be precisely why
I still pick his clothes out every morning.