Thompson Family Tales

WHO is that cute little girl???

2012-02-01T22:25:00.001-05:00

Well......it's meeeee! It's my birthday! Let's talk about me for a change, shall we? From humble beginnings in Anchorage, Alaska.... I do believe I gave myself that haircut in the top picture. Shoulda been a hairstylist! I can't believe that hair in the middle picture! Good golly! It was taken in Texas, after all. It has been a great day! Spent the evening with my lovely family, wouldn't be anywhere else. Thankful for all my blessings and for all the wonderful people who are my family and friends! Yep, 39 is a great age!

That's my baby.....

2012-01-27T08:02:00.001-05:00

A little late but let's celebrate the birth of middle child syndrome in the Thompson house. He did get to enjoy being the youngest for 2 years before Emily arrived and killed all his dreams of remaining the youngest forever. I can't believe he is FOURTEEN years old!! It seems like just yesterday I was climbing into the playground at McDonald's to help him find his way out! He is a thoughtful boy with a tender heart, who quotes movie lines, loves to tell jokes, and yell at the TV to help his football teams out. We call him the Great Debater. He would argue with a fence post! In that way, he reminds me so much of John's dad. (It's like having a little bit of Tom with us still.) He's an awesome kid! So glad he's ours! (Picture me tearing me up here and dabbing my eyes with a tissue!)

The Nutcracker

2012-01-27T07:29:00.001-05:00

Emily loves dance and theater. We went to see the Nutcracker this year. What a grand place. It's such a beautiful place. It's fun just wandering around admiring the building, the beautiful architecture, the grand staircase, all the pretty dresses. We even had a driver! Let us out right at the front door. Who's the best daddy in the world? Emily does! We shared a BIG cookie during intermission. Good memories. And now Emily has her own Nutcracker so she can daydream about her prince charming. Can't wait to go back again this year!

Hear ye hear ye.....

2012-01-12T21:32:00.002-05:00

There will now be law and order in Thompson Snow Village. Da dum. Did you just do that noise in your head from the Law and Order show? That is the first thing I did when I pulled this cute little Police Station out of it's box. We have warned all the residents of Snow Village to keep their noses clean or else. I LOVE getting these little houses every year. Love setting them all up every year and looking at them when all the lights are out. It puts me in a happy place. I have had a hard time making myself put them away this year.

I have been so bad about posting the last couple of months. Christmas was fantastic for us. Everyone loved their presents and we had great family time. We had sea food for Christmas dinner this year. It was fun to try something different. I have started my new job and that has been a bigger transition than I realized it would be. Nothing too traumatizing....just no fun being new at something. New Nurse Practitioner graduate, new computer system, blah, blah, blah.... But enough about me. Let's talk about the kids. I actually don't have too much new to report. John is doing a fantastic job driving us around. And an even better job tolerating me being in the car, having a panic attack over every little thing he does while he's driving. If he wrecks the car, I'm certain it will be because I distracted him by panicking. Ethan has started football practice already. HOLY COW! Already?? But it keeps him busy. He has had an easy schedule at school this semester. The next one will be more challenging. Emily is busy dancing around and singing. Her Christmas concert was fabulous! Oh wait....did I post that Emily had joined the Honor's Chorus?? I'm not sure. Well, if I didn't....she did. And she sounds like a beautiful little bird. She may be TOO busy. John is doing a bang up job carting everyone to and fro since I have started working. Making dinner, doing laundry....well, he did all that anyway....I am a lucky girl.

AND....AND......we are going to Texas this summer. Hippy, Hippy! (Emily used to say that instead of hip hip hooray and we have all said it ever since) We are going to spend some time in Palestine and then head down to South Padre Island for some very VERY much needed beach time. Looking forward to it, I am.

Emily and I just read the sequel to Oragami Yoda, so I have Yoda stuck in my head today. It's called Darth Paper Strikes Back. And, sadly, not as good as the first. Still fun to read.

This.....

2012-01-12T21:08:00.001-05:00

.....is how we start the week at the Thompson house. Or I should say this is how Kathy starts the week at the Thompson house. I should be ashamed.....

It's so fat.....

2011-12-03T14:53:00.001-05:00

..... We ran out of lights. So there it sits half wrapped in lights waiting to be all dressed up.

A gift?? For me???? You shouldn't have.....

2011-12-03T14:47:00.001-05:00

.... No really..... You shouldn't have. Bad kitty! And he just looks at me as if to say "What!?" Just like a teenager. Poor little bird. In this picture of Clyde, it was a very cold day. He was sitting on the vent to warm himself. He stays in trouble. We are all tired of what a pain he can be but no one can get rid of him.

Who's Ready???

2011-12-02T21:29:00.001-05:00

Well, I guess it's not decorated yet, but Isn't it beautiful? It was the biggest one I could find. Love it!

This from Emily......

2011-12-02T20:16:00.001-05:00

Sometimes I feel like a child. I'm still laughing. Hahahahahahahahaha!!

This a test.....

2011-11-24T18:12:00.001-05:00

This is only a test.....I see that others are struggling with blogger. So, before I put too much effort into making a huge post, I want to make sure it works. Look at that lovely young couple....were we ever really that young. It's funny, I don't feel much older than that picture, but I sure look it. HAPPY THANKSGIVING y'all!

All Hallows Eve.....

2011-11-10T08:18:00.001-05:00

The TRICK was definitely on us!! It started raining in the afternoon. I did not get to take my scene and win first place. I think first place for that little ordeal should have been for endurance! After we got there it really started raining. We had one little umbrella. I got the umbrella. John stood in the rain. We handed out candy to kids by the handful so we could get rid of it as quickly as possible. The kids all stayed under the pavilion having a good time. Every so often they would run out and get candy and then go back to the pavilion. I think for once the kids were wiser than the adults. I didn't even get a picture of Emily or John. John went as.......John. No surprise there. He is not really into all that stuff. Just went to socialize. Emily was a gumball machine, which was adorable. I need to put her back in it and take a picture. A shout out to Carol, John's mom, for sweating over Ethan and Emily's costumes. Handmade by her---FROM A PICTURE! She is so creative. Ethan is a character from a video game. We did not last all that long. An hour, maybe a little longer. Even the kids were ready to go. But ya know, we still had a good time. Looking forward to a dry Halloween next year, so we can win first place. I really loved the tree. It was fun.

Sour Grapes

2011-11-08T19:08:00.001-05:00

Here's another sour note about wrecking my car...... I got a ticket. I have a "court date". It just sounds so criminal. Wreckless driving. The state trooper said if I don't plead not guilty the judge will likely reduce the ticket and allow me to take a DRIVER'S IMPROVEMENT course to keep from getting points on my drivers license. Looking forward to that, I am.

Don't ya just HaTe it when something like this happens and kicking yourself becomes your favorite past time????

STAY in YOUR homes!!

2011-11-08T11:44:00.000-05:00

STAY OFF THE STREETS!! SAVE YOURSELVES!!!!

JOHN THOMPSON has a learner's permit! Does John look like he's praying over there??? Brave soul! Really, he's doing very well. He has been driving his Gator and the tractor for so long, he really just needs a little practice and he will be ready to go solo......when he turns 16 and 3 months. Next summer! I am so looking forward to it. He has only driven with me once. My nerves are still raw from wrecking my car so it's hard on him to drive with me. Panic much??? Yes, I do. John and John went to the Punkin' Chunkin' in Delaware and after they dropped their trailer off at the rental place, John let John drive all the way home. Over interstates and all. And he did great!

This is a gift from my sweet little boy, John. We were eating at the Cracker Barrel on the way home from getting my new car. And I mentioned that my new smelled like a man. Not in a bad way, like cologne. A clean man smell, thank goodness. And we bought it from a.....MAN...so I guess it makes sense, right?? Back to the story....John wanted to go looking in the store part of the Cracker Barrel and he bought this for me. Knew that this is my favorite Yankee Candle smell and picked it out just for me. Love, LOVE that boy! Yes, I do.

Tired, I am.......

2011-11-08T11:29:00.001-05:00

Midnight release of Modern Warfare 3, BABY!! And also I am having Yoda Talk Syndrome. We just read a book called The Strange Case of Oragami Yoda. Very funny book. Like choke on your drink funny. I am really looking forward to the next book: Darth Paper Strikes Back.

OK--so I should have Greatest Mom in the World status today. Sadly, though, when I asked Dear Little Ethan to do his chores this morning (they are out of school due to voting) he was still a 13 year old boy. Too bad for me! Thought it would take until 3am to get to the front of the line, but it went pretty quick. There were 300 games pre-ordered there and we were number 300 in line. I can't believe I didn't take pictures. We took one of Ethan's friends with us and they really had a good time. Makes me smile. And now before you all start saying what a bad mom I am for letting my child play an M rated game, let me just tell you that it has a graphic control setting that lets you tame the game down to a T setting. So there!

Look at the proud owner of the newest.....most exciting.....game.....EVER!! He needs a nap!.....but not until after he does his chores.

My Poor Car

2011-11-02T13:26:00.001-04:00

I'll tell you the funny part first.......I was on my way home to take John to the DMV to take the test for his Learner's Permit. Hahahahahaha! Murphy's Law reigns in the Thompson house. And sooooo......I was driving down the road, minding my own business (those of you who have heard stories of my experience in the ER will appreciate that), looked down for one second, and found myself in the ditch on my side of the road. Over-corrected and ended up in the ditch on the opposite side of the road. I hit the ditch straight on, which is what killed my poor car. It really doesn't look that bad from here does it? ....Heavy sigh....

This was all I got to take home with me. Sad, I was, yes, yes.

It just doesn't look all that bad until you look way up under there. Then it looks ugly. I loved that car. Was going to drive it for a long, long time. And furthermore, can you see that those tires are brand new? Another thorn.

Let the festivities begin......

2011-09-19T13:51:00.001-04:00

Decorating for Halloween. We are gearing up for the Trunk or Treat contest in our neighborhood. And if we don't win.....heads will roll!

MWAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!

Shopping

2011-09-19T07:09:00.001-04:00

Say it like you're singing in a high pitched voice. Wow! After a hectic first couple of weeks at school we needed a break. A day full of shopping fit the bill perfectly. We found new furniture.......

.....new shoes. Don't they have great taste?? We found a book that may describe the Middle School experience perfectly by the time summer rolls around again. Can you see that title? (Although, they both are having a very good year so far.)

And what better way to unwind after a day full of shopping???? A facial. A deep cleansing mask with eye puff removing lettuce. No cucumbers today kids. What a fabulous day. Spent the whole day out of the house and touched everything we saw.

Smellavision

2011-09-18T16:54:00.001-04:00

Don't they just look so cute???? You'd never guess by looking at those cute faces how bad they smelled after the game. I so wish you could all have shared the moment with me. Maybe it wouldn't have smelled so bad if there were more noses there recirculating the air. The bleachers were very close to the field at this game and we sat almost at the top. When the whole team was directly in front of us the collective smell wafted all the way up. It was not that great.....really. Really.

These guys have been friends since the 3rd grade. In Ms. Ellis's class. She was not much taller than them. It is fun to hear them tell stories about when they first met.

Dinwiddie Football

2011-09-14T19:42:00.001-04:00

Ethan is #65 and his BFF Dakota is #22. We are playing South Hill and we are beatin the pants off em. John just looked over my shoulder and reminded me that football players do not have BFFs. They have TEAMMATES. So Dakota is Ethan's teammate.

My new home away from home

2011-09-14T14:11:00.001-04:00

What a perfect day. John took the day off since he had to go to the dentist in the middle of the day. I took a nap after I got the kids on the bus. Went to the dentist with John-so maybe it wasn't his perfect day. Then we went to Carytown in Richmond. Cute little area with lots of cute little shops. Got some chocolate and then had beer battered french fries..... with Diet Coke. Have to keep it balanced.

Is Someone Missing a Brain??

2011-09-11T18:49:00.001-04:00

A mushroom in my yard that looks just like a brain. Well... it doesn't really have all the wrinkles like to real brain, but still. It's been fun to look at today.
Blogger has an app for my phone now so I can blog everything I see. Isn't that fun???

Meet the Teachers

2011-09-09T07:35:00.002-04:00

This entry and the next one are out of order. Don't know how that happened. Crazy blogger. At any rate, these are pictures of attempting to leave the house for Meet the Teacher Night. 6th Grade. MIDDLE SCHOOL I cannot believe it. Emily is wearing lip gloss this year. She has been able to wear it on special occasions, but never at school. So, this year she gets to wear it to school and even take it with her for "touch ups". Went to Sephora, and had one of the helpers try several different colors on her. It was a special event. She has been looking forward to it all summer. The color she picked: Aruba. Sounds exotic, doesn't it. She feels so grown up.

She is very excited to be getting back to school. School was delayed two days due to Hurricane Irene. The schools were without electricity for several days so the teachers could not get into the schools to get their rooms ready. Emily loves school. A must during the Meet the Teacher event: touring the library.

Emily and her BFF Lauren. They cannot wait to get to the school to see if they have classes together. They already know they get to ride the bus together and they go to the same dance school.

Trying to get rid of the preMeet the Teacher jitters. Silly girls!

And as it turned out....they don't have a single class together. Too Bad! :( They are on completely different teams. But hopefully they will be able to say hey to each other in the halls and at lunch. The poor kids in our school district don't get to sit where ever they want at lunch until.....guess when....the 10th grade. Is that so ridiculous??

Emily has fabulous teachers. Emily loves them all. They all seemed very friendly and helpful. There was only one pitfall during the night--Emily's locker didn't have a lock on it. Hopefully they will get that fixed by next week. And if that is all we have to worry about, it was a successful night. The librarian is lovely. The library met Emily's approval. The chorus teacher, as it turns out, is the same nice lady that gave Emily voice lessons when she was getting ready for Oliver!. Made Emily so happy. So, we are looking forward to a fabulous first year at grown up Middle School.

John--Meet the Teacher--did not allow pictures. He is WAY too grown up for all that. He has a full, hard schedule this year. For the first half of the year, we will be deeply involved in Algebra 2, Biology, Writing, and World History. Really, the 9th grade schedule was not so full. You'd think they could come to a better balance. We REALLY like his writing teacher and his biology teacher. They are those above and beyond kind of teachers. We are going to love them. Algebra and history teachers are still lovely. Seem knowledgeable and approachable. So, John will be busy studying this year. Will keep him out of trouble, right?

Ethan--Meet the Teacher--also did not allow picures. Ethan has an EASY schedule for the fall. EASY!! He will pay for it in the 10th grade, though, just wait. Adv Civics, Adv English, PE, and Technology. His civics teacher is a little different, but by the end of the semester Ethan will like him. His technology teacher has one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel. He taught a lot of the teachers that are currently teaching there. Ya....he's old. But still a good teacher. English teacher is one of those types of women that you just picture if she puts her hands on her hips and gives ya a dirty look, you'll either wet your pants or melt, but loves ya if you're behaving.

So, in summation....I guess it has turned out to be a wordy blog entry....we are all set to have a great year. So, we could just embrace it or it could make you think something is bound to go wrong. Afterall, how many times does it go perfectly right out of the gate? I think I'm just going to embrace it and just deal with it IF trouble comes along. The glass is completely full.

First Day of School

2011-09-09T07:35:00.001-04:00

Doesn't she look so happy for it to be that early in the morning. They have to get up at 5:30, bus runs about 6:30. She is ready! AND....She had a wonderful day! Not too many familiar faces in her classes, but enough for her to be comfortable. No hiccups. No homework. I need to upload a picture of her in her gym clothes. We have to buy them from the school. They are HUGE!! Shorts go down to her calves, shirt is like a dress. Very funny when she put them on. We decided she is going to have to wear spandex shorts underneath, just in case she loses those shorts while exercising.

Doesn't Ethan look so happy about school starting?? No...no, he doesn't. He was very tired. Poor guy! And he is a little nervous about the schedule...lunch, lockers, etc. He is new to the Junior High this year. And he had a football game after school. Now that was exciting! It was a scrimmage game. It rained. And the ground was already wet. They were a nasty, muddy mess. We won! He had a good day. Was aggrivated that his english teacher gave him worthless homework. I, actually, agreed with him on that one. It was a packet of "back to school" worksheets.....wordfind, crossword puzzle, and word jumble. Come on...if you're going to give them homework at this age, can it be something relevant please?

John had a great first day of school. A lot more freedom at the high school. They have a lot more variety at lunch and can sit anywhere they want. Likes all of his classes....except writing. No surprise there. The golf team has not been practicing since we are getting so much rain. Hopefully, they will be able to get back to it soon. John really enjoys it and he's getting better with every practice.

Who's a happy boy?

2011-09-01T09:04:00.002-04:00

Because we are on our way to the beach! Didn't think we were going to get to go at all this summer. I feel like the certification exam stole my summer. Thanks to Irene the schools are still without electricity and school has been pushed back a few days and even football practice is on hiatus. So we are on our way to the beach! LOVE the beach!

For love of Irene.......

2011-08-28T09:32:00.001-04:00

Ok, ok, I will finally add some text to these pictures. We got a LOT of rain on Saturday. Was raining at 7am when I woke up and did not stop (no kidding, not even any breaks or slowing down) until about 9pm. You'd think the lake would be at my back door, but it barely came up a foot. Lost electiricity for 3 days. NOW we have a generator. And it won't run everything. NO AC. And some things have to take turns. Can't run everything at once. Like the well pump and the water heater. Well, nothing and the water heater. If you want hot water, you must do without everything until it heats up. But, let me just say this. If you are going to have a storm. There are several things you MUST have. A generator. WATER.....lots of water. (Feeling fresh and clean can go a long way to improving attitudes--mine especially.) Paper products...plates, bowls, cups, and utensils. I remembered everything but the cups. Hey, I'm not perfect. Cereal bars. Did I say water? Soup.....well, if you have a way to heat it up. Diet Coke and chocolate.....almost as important as water. Those flashlights that are rechargable are fantastic! And you will be just fine. Good to have a strong laptop battery and lots of movies. We watched Nim's Island by the candlelight. That was fun. We had some good family time while we watched the storm pass by.

We were very lucky. No damage to our house or property. There is one picture here of our driveway littered with leaves and sticks. A pine tree fell from the neighbor's driveway, but, really it was small. Several trees down in our neighborhood. It was just amazing to see these HUGE trees completely uprooted. Crazy! But we are thankful that we only had to be inconvenienced. Feeling bad for all those who have had to endure far worse.

.....

...eh hem....take 4

2011-08-22T17:05:00.001-04:00

Last one, I promise....

Pollypal
Are you having cake?

New Shoes

2011-08-16T23:33:00.003-04:00

Haven't even bought "real" school shoes yet and, already, I'm broke! Ethan has fancy new football cleats. Even made me take a picture of the bottom. And if you are a cleat connossieur, you'd know that those cleats can be removed and replaced because he will be working so hard, they WILL get worn out. AND he swears, his feet will not grow for another 3 years.

John, also, proud of the fact that his cleats (not sure if that's what they are called on golf shoes) can be replaced needed a picture of the bottom for dad to oo and ah over since he is in Germany and can't see the shoes face to sole. (Now that was funny. Admit it.)

Here is what I can guarantee you. At the end of the season, Ethan's shoes will look used. Very used. John's will still look brand new. Not because they won't be used. And I guess Ethan is at a disadvantage because he is in a dirtier sport. John just doesn't seem to get anything dirty. It always makes me sad giving John's shoes away. Even though he has worn them every day and his foot has grown, the old shoes still look brand new. He is a very organized and tidy boy. His room used to be pin perfect clean. Not so much anymore, but it's still organized.....John style.

Poor Emily's flip flops broke while we were in town so she had to have something new. She was not very happy. A little uncomfortable being barefoot in the store. The boys did a good job cheering her up and giving her piggy back rides. Way to go fellas! Good brothers! And we had to have a picture of the bottom of her new flip flops just for good measure. (Although we had take it off her foot to get that shot after 50 gazillion blurry photos. Silly girl can't be still!)

Look at that swing...

2011-08-15T21:34:00.002-04:00

Woohoo! John made the golf team. We are so proud and excited for him. There are 15 students on the team and they have to claw their way to the top 4 to have their scores counted. He was the underdog to start with so there is no telling how far he will go. Way to go John! You're awesome! Perseverance and hard work! That's what you're all about!

Thompsonisms, take 3

2011-08-15T21:07:00.003-04:00

OK, OK, I know you are getting sick of them by now, but I feel like I have to put them in so I can come back and read this years from now and have a good laugh. I don't want to forget.

Pancakes, I want some

We get to pack the swimming suits

Shiny things

Nice hair, chair, mare, lair (....anything that rhymes with air)

That should just about wrap it up.....for now.

World's Dumbest Presents.......

2011-08-14T19:29:00.004-04:00

World's Dumbest Exterminators.......

John, Ethan, and Dakota decided to "exterminate" the bees. Well, before I get ahead of myself.....we have an underground nest of bees on the left side of our house. We have tried covering the hole to encourage them to move away, but it didn't work. So, the boys decided today was the day to send the bees packin'. Dakota, lead dumbest exterminator peed on the nest (boys!!????). Smart Move! John and Ethan then tried to flood the nest with the water hose. John got stung 7 times, Ethan 2 times, and Dakota one time. It's been an eventful day! It was quite a site seeing them run in the door and through the house. Bees 1, "exterminators" 0.

El Thompson Restaurante

2011-08-14T19:06:00.002-04:00

Dinner was terribly fun tonight. The boys decided they were going to make quesadillas. Dakota is the guy in the middle. He is practically a Thompson. They even fried their own chips and didn't burn the house down. Emily was the entertainment. She was a standup comedian (she had one good joke). And Ethan said (in response to Emily's very bad jokes) "What smells rotten and puts people to sleep?" And without missing a beat Emily said "John's farts". That's our graceful, petite, little Emily for ya. We could NOT stop laughing. It was SO funny!

So, here is Emily's one good joke---Emily--Do you think you will remember my name tomorrow? Me--sure. Emily--Do you think you will remember my name in two days?.....next week?.......next month?.....Me--sure, sure, sure. Emily--knock knock. Me--Who's there? Emily--see, you forgot it already. It really was funny.

Kathy Jo Thompson, RN, BSN, MSN, FNP-BC

2011-08-14T09:51:00.003-04:00

I PASSED my certifcation exam!! Woohoo!! I am a Family Nurse Practitioner! And I have 13 letters I can add behind my name. (Wonder if that's bad luck??--Nahhhh!) That was a HARD test!

AND I got flowers!! My sweet parents in Oregon sent me flowers! I never get flowers. What a treat! They smell so good and I keep them in the fridge at night so they will last as long as possible.

AND my mom gave me shopping. Can't wait to go and have a day out at the mall. AND John has mailed me chocolates from Germany. REALLY looking forward to that.

With all this special attention maybe I will just go BACK to school.....no. Nope. I am done! And I think my family would disown me.

It is good to be loved! I am a lucky girl.

Thompsonisms, take 2

2011-08-13T23:32:00.004-04:00

Some I forgot....Emily helped me remember.....

I love you, I love you, I love you ( you have to say it like Buddy the Elf)

Buddy the Elf, what's your favorite color?

Can I offer you a cup full of shut up?

Whatnot

Shut up, no you shut up, no you shut up, no you shut up

Congratulations, the world's best cup of coffee (seeing a trend here?)

Have you seen these toilets, they're ginormous (what family doesn't say this over and over?)

Put that in your bubble gum wrapper and chew it

I had these rolling through my head last night so I had to get 'em down before I forgot them and I had one on the tip of my brain but it left me before I could get it typed out. So, look out for Thompsonisms Take 3.

Thompsonisms

2011-08-07T22:55:00.002-04:00

Penske

Open minded, cooperative, and decisive

Custa, custa, custa

Tree

Workouse, ow's ya mum (or fill in the blank)

Workouse

Outback, I hear they have really good steaks

Dufenschmirtz Evil Incorporated (you have to sing it, and some people may know this one)

The things we say in our family that only we really know about. I'm sure there are more, but I can't think of them all right now (I'll add them when I think of them). They're fun. They make us giggle. It's good to be a Thompson.

Grumpy Gusses

2011-08-07T15:00:00.003-04:00

Nobody wants to go back to school shopping. These were the only pictures I got out of them. They wanted new clothes but they wanted to me magically know what they would like and what would fit and they get to stay home. Hmmmm........nope.....if I'm going to fight the back to school crowds we are going to go suffer together. Family time at its finest. But, I gotta say....once we got there and got started, they were open minded, cooperative, and decisive. Three words that we all say together every time we go shopping. It's something that they will lagugh about when they gather together for holidays as adults. Do you remember when mom said.....every time we went shopping. Good times.

Just when you thought she couldn't get any cuter....

2011-08-04T19:38:00.004-04:00

Glad we had the eye appointment in the summer so she will have to really get used to them before school starts. Thank goodness for good insurance.

We have had such a boring summer. I feel like preparing to take my certification exam has ruined everyone's summer. I have a test date, but I cannot tell anyone or I will surely fail. I don't really believe that BUT no one else tells their test date so if I do, I am surely inviting bad karma, right? Everyone will know when I pass though. I have all sorts of medical tidbits running through my head. I have a gazillion flash cards that I read all the time. I can't go to sleep at night for going through them mentally. And I am driving John nuts. I am whining all the time about how stupid I am and then when we are in bed at night and he is TRYING to watch TV I am sitting beside him mumbling through my flash cards. HE will need a vacation when I pass. He has been a full time breadwinner, cheerleader, and psychologist while I have been preparing. The wait is almost over......IF I pass (there's the whining--didn't want anyone to feel left out).

A simple little email

2011-07-25T17:06:00.002-04:00

I got a simple little email today that let me know I have been "deemed eligible to test" for FNP certification. Not a big deal to them or anybody else probably, but it made me very happy. I am so anxious to take the test and start doing something. Alas, I have to wait for the actual paper to be snail mailed to me before I can schedule a date, but at least I have chipped away at the mountain that this process has become. What an archaic system. BUT I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Happy day!

This from Ethan

2011-07-21T16:26:00.002-04:00

to a character on his game......"You're so stupid, you're stupid!"

He is cute. And I know what you're all thinking......why can't that be my kid?

Our Trip to West Virginia

2011-07-18T19:46:00.001-04:00

I hate living in the sticks. ONE DaY I will have fast internet. One day......

Anyway, went to West Virginia last week. John's mom had surgery so we wanted to be there to help take care of her after she got home. She did well during and after surgery. A couple of good bruises, but looks like an pretty good recovery.

We got to see one of the Google cars that takes the pictures you see when you search an address. That was fun.

I am getting to be a bit of a homebody. If I can't go to the beach, I just want to stay home. Old I am getting.

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A little break from being in the car for too long

2011-07-18T19:45:00.002-04:00

Stopped at a fun looking waterfall in Lexington on the way home from West Virginia. It was a nice break for everyone. Too much close quarters. And Emily still brings rock souvenirs home from these types of adventures. I love it. We still have all of her rocks. We are going to start a rock garden in the front yard for her collection.

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Going to West Virginia is a little bit like........

2011-07-18T19:16:00.000-04:00

..... going back in time.

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Hydrangea Update

2011-07-18T19:10:00.000-04:00

Doesn't it look so pretty?

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After weeks of sweat and hard labor....

2011-07-12T14:01:00.007-04:00

....it's almost finished. Only a drain to fix and put the caps on the wall and the stairs. We love it. Spend much more time outside now. When it's not too hot or we are getting eaten alive. There aren't enough citronella candles in any store to fight the bugs off this year. They ARE cRaZy! We all worked hard on the patio. It was hard work. "Slave labor" if you ask the kids. We all wore holes through the fingers of our gloves. And those little paving stones are heavier than they look. We went through 9 pallets. We were dreading cutting the stones to finish off the borders but that turned out to be the easiest job of all. Always go for the big tools. Rented a wet saw. It was amazing to watch the blade cut right through the stone like a loaf of bread. We already can't wait stuff to it.....furniture, plants, a fireplace, some lighting.

Well...pictures will follow since blogger is not cooperating!

Ahhh....day 2 of trying to get pictures loaded. After 3 tries....finally.

A Flower

2011-07-11T16:54:00.000-04:00

A Hydrangea!! It makes me very happy. I planted Hydrangeas and Hostas and they look lovely. Well except for the Hosta that got eaten back to the stalks by the deer. It's nice to see my yard finally coming together a little.

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Our engineer

2011-07-08T12:39:00.004-04:00

John is planning to be an engineer. And look what he has made at school. He has amazing skills! That car started off as a big triangular block of wood. They had to make a design for it and then carve it out. They made holes in the back for CO2 cartridges and raced them. And he also built the house. Doesn't that look like fun? Had to design the plan, know the scales and whatnot. He is very good at this kind of thing. You cannot believe the classes that he is going to have to take in the next 3 years to prepare him for engineering school. Wow! He may change his mind next year. He has to take Algebra 2 in the fall and PreCal in the Spring. Then 2 more years of calculus. 10th grade year is going to be nasty. With all that math he also has a full schedule. If he survives, senior year will be a cake walk. You'd think they would just spread out the classes so that they don't have such a burden in the 10th grade. ???? Well, ya know, it will keep him out of trouble in the 10th grade, right? I hope! ;) We are so proud of all our kids. They are amazing!

Again with the tissues....

2011-07-08T12:08:00.003-04:00

Awards day for the 7th graders. One special 7th grader in particular. Won every award they had except for math. Had the highest grades on his team (got a special honor for that). Which means, out of about 250 students, Ethan was among the top 8. Got one point away from a perfect score on his math SOL. We will have to wait until later in the summer to receive the other SOL scores. Why it takes them all summer to let us know the scores is beyond me. It is a computerized test, so you'd just think..... He really put forth a lot of effort this year. He studies every day after school (even when there is no homework) without being asked (for the most part). Plays football. Plays the PS3 (WAY too much). Loves history. Very level headed for someone his age. Still got a little bit of Mr. Magoo in him. Saying that he wants to be a surgeon right now. Or a lawyer. ???? Good to have choices. Heading off to the Junior High in the fall.

Where ARE my tissues?????

2011-07-04T20:37:00.004-04:00

Emily graduated from 5th grade this year! Can't believe it! I didn't think I would get so emotional. Didn't really hit me until the middle of the ceremony. Oh my! And isn't that dress so cute? She tried everything in the store on, really wanted that one from the start, but I was thinking I wanted something a little more 3 year oldish. Eh, well....sue me. She won a medal for honor roll, got perfect scores on Reading and Math SOL tests. And the Linda Glass Reading Award. No surprise there. She can read 4 or 5 books at a time. She keeps them all opened and stacked on top of each other to hold her place. HOW does she keep up with the stories? That would be so confusing for me. School has been out for about 3 weeks now and she has already read about 12 or 13 books. The blonde woman is her teacher, Mrs. Whitt. The woman in the purple shirt is the librarian, Mrs. Gilley. Emily has decided that she is going to be a librarian. And I didn't even get a picture of her receiving her big reading award. My camera has a love/hate relationship with the auditorium at that school. It was in hate mode when she posed on stage at that moment. So she won almost every award they were giving out that day. No child of mine will ever win perfect attendance. I firmly believe in mental health days. Everybody needs one every now and then. And there was a little girl who got recognized for perfect attendance from Kindergarten through 5th grade. Wow!

So, now we gear up for middle school. Will we survive???? We'll keep ya posted.

Oliver!

2011-06-30T21:58:00.003-04:00

At long last, here are pictures of Oliver!. Emily's acting debut. Ran for 3 weekends in May. She did awesome! She had 3 parts. An orphan, a vegetable selling villager, and the cute little daughter of a well-to-do villager. This was the first time that Emily has even auditioned for anything. She took 3 private voice lessons. Thank you Claire! She was so excited when we found out that she got a part. Although, we had no idea what to expect as part as practice. Wow! She had dance on Sunday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. And she had play practice on Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. It was quite a balancing act! All the while having to do school work and get ready for SOL testing! And STILL made perfect scores on Reading and Math SOL! Way to go Toots! AND she won the Linda Glass Reading Award! Oliver! was so much fun! We have gained a greater appreciation for what goes on before a play is performed. They all worked so hard and seemed to have so much fun doing it. Emily can't wait to do another one.

Ellen Jackson

2011-06-25T22:23:00.003-04:00

Ellen Jackson.....a very good friend of mine. Haven't talked to her in many years and still consider her a very dear friend. I met her in 1996 when we lived in Waco, TX. Eleven children, 17 grandchildren, and 5 more expected by the end of the year. Ellen won't get to welcome those 5 new babies this year, but hopefully she will get to send them off. Ellen has cancer, been battling for two years. She is at home on hospice and will likely not be alive on earth for much longer. Not fair. She will be dearly missed. She's the kind of woman who can raise 11 children, handle a big job at church, run the cub scouts.....all with grace and ease. Always knows the right thing to say, a soothing, calm voice. She lives a life of great deciation to her family and her beliefs. She was such a great mentor to me as a young mother. Got to talk to her today for a short while. Just hearing her voice gave me great comfort. If anyone ever deserved to live to be 100...... Ellen Jackson, you are a beautiful spirit. You will be sorely missed. One of God's true and faithful servants; I know He can't wait to have you back.

Can't Stop Dancin' 2011

2011-06-22T10:52:00.004-04:00

Let me just say really quick that I am using Internet Explorer for the first time in a long time. Have been using Google Chrome, which I love, but it is not working right. So, I'm looking at my blog in Internet explorer for the first time in a long time and it looks funny. All the spaces between the pictures and the words. What is up with that? Doesn't look like that in Mozilla and Chrome. Weird. Anywho.....on to the dance recital. You all missed out if you didn't attend. Emily did AwEsOme! She is an amazing little dancer. We had a great time. It was the most fun that I think I've had at a dance recital. We had great girl fun together. I have many more pictues to add of other costumes that we didn't have time to take pictures of at the recital. She really did a great job being graceful and happy considering she had so much going on. Big tests at school, Oliver! was showing for two weekends prior to dance recital and dance recital weekend.

Her facial features have really started to take on the look of a young lady in the last few weeks. I feel this summer is the last summer I will have with my "little girl" so I am going to hand onto every second.

Errand boy

2011-06-14T14:40:00.006-04:00

I have one now. It's fabulous! When I need some something I forgot to pick up at the store, I can just send him to the marina to pick it up for me. All it costs me is a soda and a candy bar. It's even earth friendly. Love it!

Happy Birthday John

2011-06-02T08:31:00.005-04:00

I got so busy towards the end of the semester I did not post John's birthday pictures. Shame on me! And so.....let's talk about John's 15th birthday party. Had some friends over. The boys went to Buffalo Wild Wings, came home, presents and cake. A fun party. John got a kayak for his birthday. N.E.V.E.R. take a child with you to buy his/her birthday present. You will A.L.W.A.Y.S. return home poorer than you imagined. Just a quick tip to parents. We took him with us to let him pick it out. So, between John and the salesman, we were doomed. We had a small catastrophe on the day of the party. John was cleaning his fish tank before friends arrived. When they started coming I called, he came out of his room to talk to his friends. They got all excited, ran outside to do something, and John forgot that he left the water running to refill the tank......can you see where we are going here. What a mess. EVERY towel in the house was soaked. It was bad! Had to pull the carpet out. Yikes! No focusing on the bad stuff though! We had a birthday to celebrate. He is such a wonderful child. Funny, loving, cute as pie! He's going to be such a wonderful grown up. I'm so proud!

John Thompson, author

2011-05-18T09:27:00.002-04:00

John had to read a book, called Speak, in his English class. It was a sad book. It was very disturbing for him to have to read how the main character in this book suffered so. Stupid book! The main character of the book had a safe place that she would go to. So, one of John's assignments related to the book was to write about his sanctuary. So, if you know John, his first response was....."I don't have a sanctuary". Men don't have sanctuaries. Period. The end. Couldn't talk him into anything. And, honestly, if he was associating a sanctuary with the main character of the book, he was never going to be able to equate sanctuary with a good thing. So, he had to make something up. And he did such a good job, I wanted to share it with you. He remembered a tree that we saw in Florida. I will have to go look for a picture in a minute. And he wrote this story about that tree. Hardly had any help at all, just grammatical.

My Sanctuary

BY: John Thompson

My sanctuary is in an unlikely place. It is at my hunt club underneath a mammoth tree. The tree is so big that it makes an island in the swamp surrounding it. It has limbs growing into the ground from other limbs like a child too tall for the monkey bars. And I rest in a hammock just thinking, and relaxing from school. I am a withered flower; being forced to read a sad, depressing book called SPEAK.

It takes a good minute to get to the tree. I am a boat plowing through four feet of marsh and swamp. As I walk to the island I can feel the splotches of sun warming my back. When you finally get there you have to climb through limbs and small spaces. One last tight squeeze and there’s my hammock and I’m home. It’s not much but it works for me.

I like going there when it rains. The sound of rain droplets on the leaves above soothes me. The tree has large leaves that protect me from getting wet. The tree is my personal butler that holds up my umbrella for me while I rest. It is very peaceful. It is like white noise except you see it and hear it rather than just hearing it.

As soon as I get to the area where my hammock is it takes all my concerns and worries away from me. I feel empty in a good way, like a cloudless sky. I feel like there are no problems happening at that time. I have no troubles. The tree speaks peace to me.

This is my sanctuary. It takes a while to get there. It sounds and looks peaceful. Everything seems to disappear when I’m there. This is my sanctuary.

One......two......three.........

2011-05-18T06:06:00.004-04:00

if bad things come in groups of threes, I should be able to jump out of a plane today without a parachute on. Enter bad thing number one--ran over something in the road on Friday the 13th and now my car needs new tire rims. Winner number two--slipped on a plastic bag on Ethan's floor and fell over his weight bench. I cried like a baby. It hurt so bad. Like Satan stabbed his fiery pitchfork right into my leg. John got to be my favorite child for the afternoon because he came and checked on me. Hugged me and told me it was going to be ok. What a kid! I love moments like that. When I feel like I can see into their future for just a split second and see what a good spouse/parent they are going to be. Enter contestant number 3........the rental car.....yes, the rental car. The DAY I picked it up, which would be yesterday....driving to Richmond. A strip of tire from a big truck was in the next lane over to my right. (I would just like to point out that I am very aware of items in lanes now.) OK, so it was not in my way, it was not really in the way of the van in the right lane, but I guess it spooked him. SO, he swerved towards it....why? Totally took over my lane like I wasn't even there, ran over the piece of tire anyway, and sent it flying in the air towards......my rental.....yes. It struck the car on the right side and left black marks all the way down the side. So, there, now I get to jump out of a plane without a parachute.

So, now let me rave about the Magic Eraser for a moment. There is just nothing those little things won't clean. Got all those marks off the rental car. Couldn't believe it. I use 'em everywhere. Clean the nasty soap scum from the shower, the oily stains from the stove, and the black tire marks from the car. Amazing! So, stock up folks, they're magical.

Emily is having a BUSY week. She is taking SOL tests this week. That would be Standards of Learning. She is having dance recital practice every night this week. Dance recital Friday and Saturday night, and final showing of Oliver on Sunday. Whew!! She will not know what to do with herself next week. She will probably take naps every day after school.

It was Friday the 13th after all.......

2011-05-14T06:53:00.003-04:00

So, I was on my way home from the spa, you see, and I want to point out right now that I was N.O.T. texting OR talking on my phone. So, something long and black was in my lane, got no idea what it was, except that I hate it. Stupid thing!! I tried to swerve to miss it, but no luck. It flattend BOTH of the passenger side tires. And John noticed that something was leaking from the car when they put it on the tow truck. Maybe antifreeze. And, of course, it was Friday afternoon, so the best information that we got was that it was ok to have to car towed to a repair shop. Can't wait to find out how much we get to shell out for that little experience.

Great way to recover from a day at the spa. Maybe I was just too relaxed. It was not a pleasant experience. But John brought me a Diet Coke. Who's a lucky girl? Came and made me feel better, admired my pedicure, and gave me a Diet Coke.

The better to hear you with......

2011-05-12T22:29:00.000-04:00

A present from dad and Ann. Such a thoughtful gift and a wonderful surprise. I will think of you guys every time I pick it up. Thank you! Thank you!
I finished my review course today. Tomorrow I get a day of pampering and then Monday I get to start cleaning out all the clutter that crept in over the last couple of years. No kidding..... I'm kinda looking forward to it. And so is John.
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Oliver!

2011-05-07T15:33:00.001-04:00

And also Oliver! Opening night is tonight. Break a leg, Emily. Can't wait to get some pictures.

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D. O. N. E.

2011-05-07T15:26:00.001-04:00

I can't believe it. I'm all done. Finished. I keep checking my email to make sure someone is not telling me I'm not really done. Going to an interview on Monday. Review for licensing exam Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. Red Door Spa on Friday.

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A little pampering.....

2011-05-04T17:34:00.005-04:00

have had my appointment booked for a few weeks now and I am SOOOOOO looking forward to it. It is going to be fabulous. I only wish they could come to my house so I wouldn't have to drive myself home. I need a chauffeur. I do...really. At any rate.....back to studying....I'm almost done kids. Test tomorrow. Presentation (my least favorite) on Friday. Test on Sunday. Then D.O.N.E. Done.

180 hours

2011-04-25T08:26:00.002-04:00

What can you do with 180 hours???? Let me tell you what I can do.......I can finish, complete, and be D.O.N.E. with my practicum hours for this semester. And that means......drumroll please......I am DoNe with ALL my practicum hours! Wow!! Who's excited?? It's me!! So, the next time I lay my hands on a patient, it will be all me. No preceptor standing over my shoulder. A little unnerving, but very exciting. I still have a couple more classes and a couple more tests. Will be done with everything, everything on May 8th.

Now, Easter.....what a great day. Great dinner with friends. Easter baskets for the kids. Still do 'em. I can't stop myself. The boys won't admit to liking it, but they do. But here is what we did different this year. The kids had like 3 pieces of chocolate--and small pieces, at that--in their baskets. And it went over well. I thought there would be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. We are trying to be healthier. Trying not to eat out so much. I think we're doing a good job, so far. So far.....

A Christmas Flashback

2011-04-12T09:38:00.003-04:00

My little Christmas village. It gets better every year. The Opera House is the new one for 2010. It is so much fun to plan it out and set everything out. And it is especially fun now that the kids are older and they can help without breaking anything. As we are putting them out, we talk about what was going on the Christmas we got a particular house. Good times.....good times. They have their own closet and this is what they look like all packed away. I shouldn't run out of room for 4 or 5 more years. Then, watch out! I'll be taking over other closets. John will going to college in 3 years, sooo........ I already can't wait to start window shopping for the next new house. BUT I don't want to wish summer away. I'm soooooo looking forward to it. I think we can finally say Spring is here. And thank goodness. It feels so good to be warm.

AND....just in case you're interested....just made an appointment for John to see the doctor on Friday....his BIRTHDAY. Nothing more fun than going to the doctor on your birthday......the pollen is taking over his poor little body without mercy.

Emily's Birthday Party

2011-04-12T08:19:00.006-04:00

I do not post pictures fast enough. I'm under the gun if I want to get some posted. John's birthday is Friday and I haven't even posted Emily's bday pictures. I still have some pictures from Christmas to post. Ridiculous, I know. OK, ok, on to Emily's bday party.

We had 4 friends over, went to Swaders. It's like a putt-putt, laser tag, go cart, game room kind of place. Then we came home to pizza, chips, soda, and cake. Well, we, actually, did cupcakes this year. It was very fun! Love to watch the giggling, screaming girls having fun. Can't believe Emily is going to be in the middle school next year. ****heavy sigh****

John's First Formal Affair

2011-04-10T22:42:00.003-04:00

He went to a dance held at the Junior High. NOT with a date, I am happy to report. Just to have fun. He can start dating much, much later. He looked so handsome. Not really enjoying me taking his picture, though. It is fun to watch him spreading his wings a little and going off to have fun without us.

I can't believe he is almost 15. Just days away, really. What were you doing 15 years ago today?? I was hugely pregnant, trying to go into labor because I couldn't wait to see this precious boy who got the grave task of being our first born. It has to be a rough life to be the first born. They are such guinea pigs. I have to practice all my parenting skills on him first, then tweak them a little and apply them to Ethan and Emily. The pressure!!

He is at an age where we are really considering all that he will be as an adult. Talking about drivers ed, which I totally cannot wait for. He is 30 years old, really, when it comes to that kind of stuff. When he gets his driver's license, I will have a chauffeur. Looking forward to it! I hate driving. Talking about what he will study in college and which one he wants to go to. It's all very exciting!

Where has all the chivalry gone??

2011-04-06T15:31:00.001-04:00

Or just good manners for that matter. Had a flat tire yesterday in the parking deck of the university. Seven men walked right past me. And that's not even counting the men who looked like they couldn't break a pencil in two, never mind loosen lug nuts on a tire. I could not believe it. It's not like we were in a dangerous part of town and they needed to be in fear for their lives. For shame! I already had the car jacked up and everything. I just needed a little muscle power to loosen the lug nuts. I even asked one guy as he passed. He wouldn't even acknowledge that I was talking to him. And as he drove past he honked his horn and set off all the alarms in the cars around me. Niiiiiiiice! Moron! So I called road side service and that guy yelled at me because I couldn't understand what he was saying. And poor John drove an hour to come save me from all the misery and pulled up just as the road side guy was finishing. Fun times!
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Monument Avenue 10K

2011-04-03T14:44:00.002-04:00

John came home early from his trip to Mobile to run with me. We made it all the way to the finish line without keeling over. We ARE tough! Do not mess with us! Also do not push on us too hard because we are likely to fall over. It was hard work! I bet the shoe tag is supposed to double as a toe tag for those who don't make it. We only saw one person being taken off in an ambulance though.

Already thinking about signing up for the 5K mud run in May. How much fun will that be? We're going to make that a family participation event. I wish I had taken a better picture of us before the race. We look like we are preparing to enter the witness protection program there. It was a fun day. Lots of high energy. Lots of bands to help motivate you and push you along. The Blue Grass band didn't do much for me though. Not good running music.

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You are all cordially invited.....

2011-03-30T21:13:00.007-04:00

to my graduation!! Love saying it! I particularly love my invitations. Emily helped me out with that. I will not be participating in graduation, though. Just being done with it all is enough for me. I will be doing something much more exciting. Emily's dance recital.

It's hard to believe I'm almost done. Just a little more than a month. I will finish my last class on May 12th.

Too much time on our hands

2011-03-22T22:42:00.000-04:00

So this is what we did while waiting for Emily's dance class to finish. Play with phones and figure out what they can do that we didn't already know about. What on earth did we do before smart phones??

I am more than half way through my last semester. I only have 6 more days of practicum left. It will drag out through April but then it will be all done. My last class is May 12. We are all very excited. May 13 is my first real free day. And it's a Friday. Go figure! It will still be glorious. I can't wait!

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Where have the years gone????

2011-03-22T10:18:00.002-04:00

Today is Emily's 11th birthday. Can't believe it! She has several nicknames, which I swore I would never do because mine was so horrible. She goes by Emily, Emilytha (sounds like Emileetha), when she's in trouble it's Emilytha Gayle, she also goes by Smelly Gayle (not because she smells bad), one of my favorites is Toots (sounds like Tootsie Roll without the ie Roll part) and Petunia. I think that's all of them. There is only one she REALLY doesn't like and I think you can probably figure out which one that is.

So, back to the birthday part--It feels like we've had her forever, it feels like she just got here. Due on the first day of Spring. She could have been born on St. Patrick's Day or the first day of spring. Either one would have been lovely. Nope, she wouldn't have it. Had to have her own day. I remember bringing her home from the hospital. The boys wanted her to sleep in their room so bad. Now I think they would like it if we sent her to boarding school. Not always. She is lovely. Always singing or dancing or both. Loves life. Loves to play outside. Very funny! Being her mom is one the best things about me. I love her so much! Happy Birthday Toots!!

Lazy Saturday Night

2011-03-12T20:26:00.000-05:00

Had too much to eat for dinner (quesadillas and chocolate cupcakes) and now all we can do is sit/lay around and watch tv. Emily is under that blanket somewhere. She has been sick. Fever and headache. We went shopping today and got some very cute outfits for Emily's bday. She is at an age when I don't dare buy anything without her picking it out first. It's fun to see what she will pick out but it cuts down on the surprise factor. Ethan was being way to contrary to get a picture. The only picture I could get made his eyes look like the devil. Right that moment it was fitting. John and John went to a car show in Richmond today and had a lot of fun. John had a great time daydreaming about his 16th birthday next year. He found a $90000 Escalade that he would take if he just had to. They took a sample of our yard dirt to a lawn center to be analyzed. You have to have scientific help to get grass to grow here. And I'm not holding my breath on that even.

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Emily on a total sugar high before dance

2011-03-09T21:42:00.000-05:00

Emily and her BFF Lauren foolin around before dance. Silly girls! Getting ready for recital in May. She picked up the first costume tonight. The ballet costume. An orange and yellow tie dye outfit with lots of sparkles. We are also getting ready for her birthday. Can't believe she is getting so big and grown up. Bitter sweet!
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The Biggest Loser Night

2011-03-08T20:28:00.000-05:00

My good friend Mim. We have a standing date every Tuesday night to watch the Biggest Loser. I'm so glad Arthur got kicked off last week. It was past his time to go.

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Trouble

2011-03-08T08:24:00.000-05:00

Now that is a dog looking for trouble. If Emily had witnessed that he would be a 3 legged dog.

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The Slide Show

2011-03-06T21:09:00.002-05:00

I will add more pictures tomorrow. I'm so tired. I just wanted to get it up and running tonight. Mission accomplished. Now off to bed.

Emily's Acting Career

2011-02-26T19:00:00.007-05:00

Emily auditioned Monday to be in Oliver in a community theater. AND SHE GOT A PART!! She is so stinkin' excited! And we are so proud! 69 people auditioned and 25 were chosen. She will be an orphan work girl and part of the chorus in a street scene. She had to sing 16 bars of a song and learn a short dance to audition. She chose Favorite Things from The Sound of Music to sing and sounded like an angel. Shows are May 7,8 and 14, 15 and 21,22 if you are interested. Saturdays are at 8pm and Sundays are at 3pm. She is going to be a busy girl between now and the last show. She also has dance and a dance recital. And you know.....school.

Fresh from the Brenham Blue Bell Creamery

2011-02-11T11:40:00.005-05:00

Nana, You ROCK!! Blue Bell ice cream does not exist in Virginia. (say that like you're crying) We have been deprived for four long years!! (say that like you're indignant) When Nana came to visit and we told her how much we all longed for Blue Bell ice cream she decided that her "little people" should suffer no longer without REAL ice cream. She sent us 4 delicious containers! Which we have savored so sslloowwllllyyy to try and hang onto it. It is all gone now. We drug it out for about 5 weeks. Talk about restraint. Ahhhh, it is (was) soooo good. I did not even know that you could have ice cream shipped. Of course, it gave us another opportunity to play with dry ice. We are so easily entertained. Had to take about a thousand dry ice pictures. Nana, thank you for sending us a taste of Texas, the best ice cream in the country.

I am so ashamed....

2011-02-06T21:56:00.006-05:00

I cannot believe I haven't posted in so long. It is almost Valentine's day and I have not even finished posting my Christmas pictures yet. And I still haven't fixed the post for Ethan's Christmas. And it's late now so pretty much I will fix Ethan's pictures and that's it, but I promise to catch up, not tomorrow, but probably the next day. How's that for commitment?

Ethan's room looks much better. But how on earth did I miss putting the cover on that outlet when I painted Ethan's room? It is replaced now. There was something in front of that outlet before. I probably put it back after I painted and said to myself "I'll fix that later". What do they say about the road to hell??? Anyway back to Ethan's Christmas present. He loves it. And he is such a good brother. Emily could not lift even the smallest of weights, so Ethan put toilet paper rolls on the bar so she could get the idea of it. Doesn't it just warm your heart?

Grandpa Bill and Nana Ann, see that shirt Emily is wearing? That is the SpongeBob shirt that you guys helped her earn when we lived in Neches. Still wearing it. Still one of her favorites. And after all those washings, it still glows in the dark.

Emily's Crowning Jewels

2011-01-03T14:29:00.004-05:00

Emily was so easy to shop for this year. I had to keep slapping my hand everytime I picked something else up after I declared her Christmas to be all finished. Emily loves toe socks! Loves them. And penguins. So, I found these cute little socks to go with the cute little penguin jammies I found. See below. Emily had a beloved ring that she got from Nana that got damaged and has been longing for another one ever since. So, Santa heard her cries for a new ring and thought he would get her something really special. She got a ring and necklace set of her birthstone with DIAMONDS (very small diamonds, but diamonds nonetheless, right?). Ooooo! Ahhhhh! It was so much fun to buy. So much fun to go back to the jewelry store and have the ring sized to fit her tiny, tiny size 4 finger. Cute little thing. She was soooo happy! And the icing on the cake?? She got another American Girl doll from MawMaw. WITH pierced ears! The surprises just don't stop! And extra earrings!

Ethan's Christmas

2011-01-03T13:27:00.008-05:00

Ethan got a weight bench and weights, which have already caused a trip to the emergency room. (No details now. You will have to wait for the pictures.) And among the little presents was this Dallas Cowboys book, which I just stumbled upon while shopping on the internet. Ethan is a die-hard Cowboys fan. This is a big, big book of Cowboys history with lots of good stuff inside. It has replicas of tickets and important letters. He has spent a lot of time pouring over it. It was a good find. A.N.D. it was on sale!! And here is the big present just waiting to be put together. Why did I not get a picture of it put together?? I'm crazy. And now Ethan is working being the strongest, toughest football player on the team. Never going to have the cleanest room, though. Don't even daydream about it. He is a happy boy! Declared that he had a great Christmas and guess what....we did not buy ANY electronics. None. No game systems, no games. Notta.

I took Ethan's pictures off for now. His room was really hideous. Embarrassing. Not completely his fault. We had to do some rearranging to put his weight bench in and there is always the stuff behind the furniture you have to clean up. Anyway, I will post another picture soon.

Christmas 2010

2011-01-03T09:51:00.017-05:00

We have been in OnE house for 4 Christmases! UnBeLiEvAbLe!! The longest we have been anywhere. Time to move! We say that to the kids, joking, of course. They absolutely do not think it's a joke. They get quite offended by it. I love it. The up side of moving so often is that you don't accumulate so much junk. You get to go through everything every time you move. So stuff

is starting to pile up around here. Good th

ing Spring cleaning is around the corner.

Christmas was fabulous! So relaxing and laid back. I started shopping early this year which gave me time to think about great and unique gifts and allowed for some unexpected surprises. Didn't have to rely on commercials to help me shop. Even John got some great surprises. John got a new aquarium, Ethan got a weight bench, and Emily got jewelry. John (spouse) got a Gonzales flag replica. John is getting old enough now that I feel like I have to distinguish between John (spouse) and John (son). That may get quite annoying. Back to Christmas.

John (son) bought a small aquarium shortly after we moved into the house and put two goldfish in it. I have to admit, I was quite the naysayer at the time. In my head I was saying that it would never get cleaned, the fish would starve and die, tears would be shed. Shame on me! The tank has hardly ever been dirty and John is fanatic

al about feeding the fish precisely. When he has to go somewhere overnight I get a very strict feeding instructions--"twelve flakes in the morning, mom, twelve". Or is it fifteen. Well, you get the point. He has the same two goldfish all this time. They started out as little fish, about two inches. Now they are about six or seven inches. Pretty soon they will have to be donated to an outdoor fish pond. So, John got a 36 gallon

tank from Santa. It has been a fun experience for the whole family. Everyone bought fish. Fun to stand around the tank while the new fish get released. We have 14 fish now and still need more.

And now I will publish this for an experiment to see if my pictures are loading right. And they are not. Dang it! So, I will make separate posts for each child.

Christmas Eve and the Family Present

2011-01-01T23:59:00.003-05:00

I wonder why this dumb site posts all my pictures backwards????? And I can't ever remember to attach them the way that it would show them in the right order. And, sorry, I'm too lazy to delete them and put them in the right way. We usually do a family present for Christmas Eve. This year we got a family game that is very interesting. You don't play against each other. All the players work together against the game. It's very fun. Very confusing at first, but very fun.

Monument Avenue 10K

2010-12-31T20:53:00.003-05:00

Ok, so I know you are all anxiously awaiting Christmas pictures, but I started playing and just had to post this funny photo I made of myself crossing the finish line of the 10K I signed myself up for. April 2nd. I was looking forward to it. After weather got colder I had been running on a treadmill and then at Thanksgiving I took a little break. I am now back at it. It was even warm enough today to run in the neighborhood. I did not get to see too much of the neighborhood though. I have a lot of work to do before April.

The best Christmas Ever.....

2010-12-25T18:03:00.002-05:00

Sing it like SpongeBob does on the Best Day Ever episode. Youtube for those of you who have the luxury of never having been accosted by SpongeBob. Wow! What a day!! It is 605pm and I am STILL in my pajamas. They are beautiful new pajamas that I got from Santa, but I have, indeed, worn them all day. Everyone loved their presents. Took tWo naps. Everyone is so happy! It snowed. Could not have had a better day! More to follow.....

Outta school again....

2010-12-20T09:28:00.005-05:00

didn't get to go to school on Friday either. John and Ethan were thrilled. Emily was NOT happy. Poor thing. I tried to make up for it. Said we would have our own pajama party at home, but apparently it is NOT the same. Maybe they will get to have one in the spring.

We finally got our tree up. I have had my houses out for a while. We did a really good job of putting them up this year. We get a little bit better every year. John and John made me a nice table. I need to add some to it next year to cover up the cords. I love my houses. They are fun to put up. Fun to look at. The cat hasn't even tried to break any this year. The cat has officially earned a permanent spot in the Thompson family, albeit against John's will. He hasn't broken any of my houses and he hasn't knocked the tree over. Not like last year. He liked to lay in the middle of my houses. And he knocked the tree over about 5 times. I don't know why we got that cat in the first place. I caved. Shouldn't have. BUT I did. I, actually, tried to give him away for a while. I had no idea how many people don't like cats. So, that was unsuccessful and we are stuck with him. As far as cats go, though, he's a good one. He doesn't really mind being dressed in doll clothes. Pretty tolerant. He will do anything for a treat.

Most of the Christmas shopping is done. Feels good. I got started early and had time to think of some really good presents. They are going to be so excited! Can't wait!

We enjoyed the snow. It was the best kind of snow. Snow and then melt. At least on the streets. It looks pretty in the yard and the trees. Just don't like to drive on it. There is snow in the forecast for Christmas Day. ....except that I ordered sleds. As soon as they arrive, you can bet that there will not be snow in our area for years.

Well.....

2010-12-15T23:14:00.002-05:00

I did put a Christmas theme up. I can't believe it's been so long since I posted. Shame on me! Been a little stressed. The end of my semester was a huge creshendo. BUT I'm all done. And I will make a long boring post tomorrow. The kids missed school due to snow already one day this week and now they will be out tomorrow too. John--WOOHOO!! Ethan--slightly disappointed because he has a math project due that he really worked hard on and he is anxious to get his well deserved pat on the back. Even did it in Power Point. Emily--devastated. tomorrow is the big Christmas dinner. They get to dress up and have a special lunch. They sit down and they are served by the teachers and other staff. AND it's her last year in elementary school and she has been CHEATED by the weather. "It can snow every other day of my life...just NOT tomorrow. .......or Friday." Friday is pajama day. Carol, you will be able to hear her screaming all the way out in Nevada if they have to miss Friday.

What the......Second Place????????

2010-10-30T19:34:00.002-04:00

We just got home from our neighborhood trunk or treat and got second place for our display. That contest was totally rigged. Not one display there was better than ours. (If I do say so myself!) And, I can't offer proof of that because I....um....forgot my camera. But I'll tell you all about it. It was Emily's idea. And what a great idea! She thought we should have a haunted dinner. So, we used our two skeletons, black flowers, black candelabra, a torn, ratty looking tablecloth, and even a brain for their dinner. We found a brain mold and froze pink lemonade so it would look like a real brain for their dinner. It was a very romantic affair for two skeletons. We had purple and orange lights and dry ice. It could not have been more perfect. Well, they started before the sun set so you could really get the real affect of the lights, but it was still great. Who coulda beat that???? And so, there is our medal for second place. We will not rest until we get first place. We will spend the whole year planning. BUT--we will be ready and we will win first place in the Waterford Landing trunk or treat and we ShAlL rule the WORLD!!!!! Bahahahahah!!!!!!!! (Someone get my pills and straightjacket, I may need them soon.)

Pumpkin carving....

2010-10-29T21:18:00.004-04:00

was not without its challenges. Sometimes those darn pumpkins just won't be carved the way we envision. Emily worked very hard to get her pumpkin just the way she wanted it. She carved and carved and, with a little help from Ethan, it turned out beautifully. When Emily was most frustrated with her pumpkin carving she drew a picture on the back of a dog that I just LoVe. And after Ethan helped her with her pumpkin she wrote a very lovely sentiment on her pumpkin that I'm sure she doesn't want anyone to see, but I had to have a picture of it. It just warms my heart when I can see them love each other. Ethan wanted to see Emily with her bonnet on this afternoon, so when she finally consented to put it on for him, he actually said "ahhh". Good times. Good times. Now it's John's turn to have a lovely moment. I'm gonna say.....don't hold your breath, he IS in the throes of puberty. He was not in the mood to carve tonight. Ethan was not in the mood to have his picture taken.

Emily's pumpkin is the cat. Ethan's pumpkin is the A&M thing. I actually dabbled with some paper mache pumpkins. It was really fun. Carving was a little precarious. I will have to make it a little thicker next time. Wondering how I can translate it into a Christmas project.

Little House on the Prairie

2010-10-29T10:12:00.005-04:00

Emily has been reading these books for a while now. It really surprised me that a modern little girl would be interested in those books. I would think she would see them as dated. But she loves them. Even wants the whole set for her own. Not just to be borrowed from the library. You know, another piece of Emily trivia.....she won't watch the show on tv. We have seen it on a couple of times flipping through the channels and she absolutely won't watch it. Says it ruins the book. So, she is Laura Ingalls today at school for Halloween. John's mom made the costume for her. It's very cute! She even let me braid her hair today, which I could NoT believe. Really, I never get invited to fix her hair.

And Emily made those cupcakes all by herself. She is a very independent, assertive girl. Not afraid of a little extra work when she wants to get something done. I'm very proud of her.

FFA Way

2010-10-26T15:30:00.004-04:00

John is home from his trip to Indiana with the FFA. He had a great time. He even bought me a shirt that says "My son went to the National FFA Convention in Indiana all I got was this lousy t-shirt". I love it! And it was the right size. What a great husband he is going to be. They all look so nice all dressed up. We got to watch some of the convention on the RFD channel. Rural Farm Something TV. Anyway, some of the speakers were really great and motivational. It's hard to believe they are all so young. So, he learned some things and did a whole lot of playing---and shopping. He went to Boston in September to a youth leadership conference sponsored by the Army. We encouraged him to buy a souvenir and he barely spent a dime. Well.....he was completely over all that when he went to Indiana. Completely. He was in the mood for shopping. Bought himself some shirts, an FFA hoodie, a new John Deere wallet, and presents for everyone at home. He succumbed to peer pressure and tried a blazing hot wing at Buffalo Wild Wings and it made him sick. Mrs. Bishop and Mrs. Blaha did such a great job taking care of them. Saturday they got up at 3am to make it to the airport in time for their flight. He looked tired and glad to be home. I'm glad he was glad to be home. It was good to have him home.

Just some lame thoughts.....

2010-10-20T13:02:00.007-04:00

John is at the FFA National Convention this week. He is having a good time. They left last night. The word potential is in the title of every single session title. Infinite Potential, Maximizing our Infinite Potential, Empowering our Potential... It sounds like a speech I give on a regular basis. It goes something like this "you have so much potential, I know you can do anything, let's empower you so you can achieve your full potential"..... I should take this little gig on the road, I think. Kathy Jo Thompson, Professional Motivational Speaker. I do believe my kids would encourage me to keep my day job. I hope he is having a good time. He just texted his dad to report that he is eating at Cinnabon. wonder how many vegetables he will have while he is gone???

I just realized that there is only half a bottle of Diet Coke left in this house. That, my friends, is bad news.

It's raining. I think this will be good news to Ethan. I think he is wanting a little break from football practice today. They haven't cancelled it yet, though......we'll see. He has been sounding like an old man at night after practice. "Oh man, my hip really hurts." or this joint or that joint. It's pretty entertaining. We like to make fun of him.

I am anxious to see the lake all the way up. Our dock is looking pretty good. We were only two feet low the other day, which doesn't sound bad, does it? I would think the water would be pretty close to the shore line at "only two feet low", but nope. It's still about ten or twelve feet from the shore line. Maybe we will get lots of good, drizzly rain today to help out. Except that I don't want Ethan's game cancelled tomorrow. It will be the first one I will get to go to this season. They have been on Tuesdays and I have a class on Tuesday evenings. So, finally one on a Thursday. Hopefully, they won't have to cancel.

I am supposed to writing a paper, but I don't want to. Listen, evidenced based treatment of community acquired pneumonia is a wonderful thing. Writing a paper on evidence based treatment of community acquired pneumonia is NoT. Just not. I am making all kinds of excuses to avoid it. Like.....I need to update my blog. It sounds very convincing, doesn't it?

Emily has dance tonight. Another good reason not to write my paper. She loves dance. She had an awards ceremony last night. That I did not get to go to because it was Tuesday and if you'll recall, I have a class on Tuesday evenings. She made perfect scores on her SOL tests last year and they celebrated yesterday by taking all the kids who made perfect scores out for pizza before the awards ceremony. John did not even get to go. We need more hands. Actually, what we need is more drivers. I can't wait for John to be able to drive. (Ethan and Emily are another story) Anyway, John had to take John to the airport, pick up Ethan from football practice, and try to make it Emily's ceremony. Wow! What a dad! Sadly, he got to the school just as the kids were walking out of the auditorium. Poor Emily! We ARE SO proud of her! Perfect scores on BOTH tests. Cute, smart, and funny! How often do you get all that in one person??

Our 20th anniversary is coming up on the 27th. Not sure what we are going to do to celebrate. It seems like a really big deal, but we are soooo busy. I think we will go to DC and do something fun. 20 years?!?!?! It doesn't seem possible. What a great time we have had together. Well, I won't get too neck deep into that right now. That should be it's own post, shouldn't it.

Alright, alright....I will go back to paper writing. Love to all.

Mwahahahaha........

2010-10-18T09:21:00.003-04:00

Picture #1--what Halloween usually looks like in our house.

We have added some new additions this year. I decided to go with a little darker theme this year, but couldn't bring myself to do really scary. It's just not in me....I'm a wimp. Even my skeletons look like they are laughing instead of trying to scare visitors. I made the Happy Halloween blocks out of left over wood from the dock. Who's clever? It's me! They have glow in the dark paint on them so they are are really fun at night. And, sadly, you can see, in the background, that I have decided to repaint all the trim in the foyer and the piano room. I painted it brown, not even a whole year ago. Thought I loved it. What was I thinking??? That may be the REAL fright scene in our house. How long is it going to take me to sand all that and repaint it white????? John really wants to know.

Here's another scary thought--I have, actually, put sutures into a REAL person. Not just pig's feet. I was very proud. I thought they looked very nice. School is going well for me. Hard to believe they are going to turn me loose in May to do this all by myself. I don't feel smart enough. John is leaving Tuesday for an FFA conference. Be home on the 23rd. We will miss him. I DOUBT he will miss us. The kids are doing well in school. John is doing well at work. We are sooooo boring! Surely there is something exciting going on here.......John is going to put new outlets in on the front porch for me to keep me from burning the house down with my 16 extension cords all plugged into one outlet. Hopefully, hopefully, that will be boring as well, right? And.....I think that's it for now......y'all stay out of jail and have a wonderful day!

Youth Leadership Camp in Boston

2010-10-04T12:01:00.015-04:00

I don't know when John grew up, but it must have happened when I wasn't looking. It seems like just yesterday, he was following his dad around the yard with a bubble mower. They were all sent to a YMCA summer camp this year by the Army and John was chosen by their camp counselors to go to a leadership training conference in Boston in September. He flew on a plane all by himself. Stayed in a hotel room without an adult. He did just fine and had a great time. I think these opportunities are good for all of us. It was good for him to go away and know he can have fun away from home. I learned that he is

smart enough to take care of himself and that I will not fall to pieces when my kids all leave home. Although, I do plan to have several small dogs that I can dress in doll's clothes. or maybe cats.... Anyway, back to John's trip. They did some sight seeing. They went to the JFK Library and a walking tour of historical Boston. Part of the conference included some photography classes. You'd think he could come home with some pictures of himself, right? Nope. Not one. He took some great pictures....and some 14 year old boy pictures. What a great kid! I'm so lucky to get to be his mom.

The curse is over.....

2010-10-04T11:49:00.005-04:00

........the water is returning. Still not perfect, but getting better. If you stand on the dock and look at the water at just the right angle you can fool yourself into thinking the water is right up to the top of the dock where it should be.

Cold here today. Good grief!! I do like fall and spring. Perfect temps of 70s and 80s. It feels like we have gone straight from 90 to 60. It is supposed to be in the 70s at the end of the week. I will be looking forward to it.

Got Halloween decorations spread out all over the living room floor. I am feeling extra spooky this year. Don't know how I am going to fit that in with all the happy pumpkins and ghosts I already have. We shall see.......

2010-09-30T10:58:00.003-04:00

Here are some pictures of the lake we took last Sunday. This is the lowest it got. Y'all like that outfit I'm wearing??? I hate to even post it, but it's the best picture that shows just how far down the lake really is. So sad. Not the outfit....the lake! ;)

The dock is finished

2010-09-28T16:16:00.006-04:00

Well, actually, it has been done for a while. It's funny how we were in such a hurry to get it done while the lake was down. Well....by the time we finally got some rain which was just last Sunday, we coulda gone out another 30 feet and still not have touched the water. Crazy!! BUT, it's done and it is raining. We just needed the State Fair as it turns out. It has been raining all week. A beautiful drizzly rain. I love it. Can't wait to see our new dock with water under it.

I only have one back to school picture. The boys just looked at me like I was crazy. Don't you just Love Emily's new hair style. We really like it.

Shame on me!!

2010-09-02T09:07:00.007-04:00

I have had some great things to post about, but haven't done it!! The kids all had a good time at camp. John and Ethan wanted to come home in the middle of the week, but ended up glad that they stayed. Emily had ball! and was mad that we picked her up! Still talks about how much fun she had a whole month later.

Right after I finished my pediatric practicum we all went to Florida..........I CANNOT believe what I just did......had a whole paragraph written about our Florida vacation and accidentally deleted the whole thing!!! How did I do that??? I don't even know how I did that. Dang it!!! Alright...back to Florida. It really was a fun vacation. West Palm Beach. The water is that beautiful blue you want to see when you go o be the beach. We took one of Emily's friends with us. Our flight left Richmond at 5:35am. Wow! Herding 4 kids through the airport at 4am! It wasn't too bad, really. I guess they were too excited to be grumpy. Only one hiccup in the airport and that was on the way home. Emily got new bubble bath from Bath and Body Works while we were in Florida and accidentally put in her carry on. I was more worried about the security agent's safety than anything else. Emily was H.O.T!!! Did not want to leave her new bubble bath behind. And you know, that's hard to explain to a 10 year old.....potential for explosive devices and whatnot. Poor thing! I coulda stayed on that beach forever. I am definitely going back! Way too many pictures to post them all. They are in a slide show to your right. We did kayaking, snorkeling, duck boat riding, shopping, and beach sitting. It was great!

And when we got home, did we sit back on our laurels and enjoy the summer???? Noooooo......we decided we needed to put in our dock. The lake is so far down this summer we didn't even have to hire anybody to pound the posts in. John just drove his tractor right across the lake bed and used his auger to drill holes for all of them. And we didn't even have any help. I am so proud of us! Just me and John and 3 kids. And they all helped. Even Emily. She hammered nails and helped carry boards. It's not quite finished yet. We got all the foundation in. Now we just have to finish the decking.

And now I am back in school. Focusing on adults this semester. Hallelujah!!! I am doing my practicum in an ER this fall. I am so excited! I have already learned how to drain abscesses. Exciting stuff!! The kids go back to school next Tuesday. Went to meet the teacher last night for John and Ethan. Happy with their schedules and teachers so far. Ethan, once again, got separated from all his friends. But he was able to branch out and make new friends last year, so I'm sure he will be just fine. John's classes change more so he never has a class with the same kids. We will meet Emily's teacher tonight. We already know who she has, and we are very pleased. So, we are off to a good start.

And the best news of all......John is home full time!! Again....Hallelujah!! He started back to his regular job this week. It was a normal week. And normal is f.a.b.u.l.o.u.s!!

I'm experimenting with putting a bunch of pictures in one blog...we'll see if it works.....and you can tell by lookin at us that none of us were feelin very fashion conscious!!

My Emilytha

2010-08-13T05:27:00.002-04:00

I am the luckiest mom in the world to be so loved!! I woke up this morning missing Emily. She has such a generous heart. Always wanting to do something nice for someone else.

Camp Silver Beach

2010-07-28T12:32:00.003-04:00

The kids are all at camp this week. We actually only intended to leave the boys, but once we got there the camp staff and Emily talked us into leaving Emily too. Unfortunately (or fortunately if you're are looking at it from Emily's perspective) she had nothing she needed for camp and we to buy her all NEW stuff. New sheets, new towels, new clothes.....blah, blah, blah.....a brazillion dollars later, she is happily at camp. John and I are broke and exhausted. You can't believe the number of stores we went to there looking for a bathing suit. I know that I used to rough it in Palestine where there was only a Wal-Mart to shop at. These people have NOTHING! The closest Wal-Mart was far. And NO Target. After all that effort, she BETTER be having a good time. John is home this week, so I am not at home all by myself, thank goodness. It is actually easier than I thought it would be to have them all gone. A little glimpse into what life will be like when they are out of the house. Highpoint--when we don't have vegetables for dinner I don't have to feel guilty!! Lowpoint--the cat, Clyde, and the dog, Trooper, must be feeling at odds without the kids because they cannot be still. The cat runs from one end of the house to the other, mostly at night when I am trying to sleep, and the dog follows him around. Another lowpoint--I miss tuck in time. I know John and Ethan are really too old for the tuck in time, but it is a nice moment at the end of the day just to sit with them for a minute and talk one on one. Good times. But it is Wednesday, the week is half over. I will be picking them up Saturday morning, can't wait to see them!! John got everything packed before we left, very organized. Ethan decided some stuff wouldn't fit in the suitcase and lightened his load. What did he leave out--shirts and towels---crucial items in my opinion. When we helped them get all their stuff to their cabin, it already smell like adolescent boys, so I can only imagine what their laundry will smell like when they get home.

Myrtle Beach

2010-07-09T10:56:00.003-04:00

What fun we had!! I didn't expect to really enjoy it because there wasn't a boardwalk in front of the hotel. That's my favorite. The hotel and the boardwalk. The pool was way too fun for us to be at the beach. The kids just wanted to play at the pool. It had a slide like a water park. What a quandary.....the kids wanted to play at the pool...I wanted to sit on the beach. We compromised and got a little bit of both. It was a great hotel. One night they had a movie poolside and another night was smores night. You can never have too much chocolate.

And now I'm sitting in my psychosocial class being forced to watch the movie Up. And if you read my post after I took my kids to see that movie you would know how much I HATED that movie. Sad. And I have a great fear of heights. In almost every scene someone is about to fall from a great height! It kills me. Why are we watching this movie you ask.....to study the psychosocial concepts that exist in it......coping, grief, social support, you get the picture. Someone please save me. I really need one of my kids to call me and report that they have a mild injury that will require me to leave class. Terrible, isn't it?

4H Camp

2010-06-30T10:06:00.002-04:00

John the morning after the camp out. They did not sleep the entire night. And he was FILTHY when I picked him up. He was so funny. I picked him up at 3. No, I'm not tired at all, he said. He took a shower and had something to eat, was asleep by 5.

Ethan on vacation

2010-06-30T09:52:00.003-04:00

Ethan went on vacation with a friend of his right after school ended. It was the first time he has ever been away from home like that. It was very hard to let him go, but he had so much fun. I'm so glad. It is going to be so hard to let them grow up and leave home. Well.....I say that.....but there are times..........we call Ethan The Great Debater. Always has to have the last word and enjoys it!!!! It can be exasperating. What's a good career for someone who enjoys arguing so????