Spring Break

The little boy that I take care of is on Spring Break because his mom is on Spring Break from teaching school. We still got together yesterday and took all the kids to a cute park close by. They played and picniced, and then we went to Johnny's grandparent's house where the kids played some more. After that, we took them to McDonald's for some ice cream where they played some more. They were very played out.
Tomorrow, Spencer and I are going to Myrtle Beach for a couple of days for our anniversary. It's going to be in a couple of weeks, but we won't be able to get away then, so we are celebrating now. Guess I'll be blogging more in a few days.
Until then...........Happy Spring.

Thought for the Day

God loves us no matter what we do.

What we do, shows how much we love God.

Where, Oh, Where Has My Sweet Tea Gone?

Being a born and bred true Southerner, my husband loves sweet tea. Being a south Texan, we did not drink sweet tea with every thing. Anyway, Spencer would love it if I made sweet tea all the time, but I hate to make sweet tea. It's not hard, it's just one of those things that I hate. Well, Saturday night we had Spencer's parents over for some turkey that Spencer grilled with charcoal and oak wood. I made sweet tea for the occasion. We had some left, and last night around 11:30 Spencer was really hinting that, "It sure would be nice to have a glass of sweet tea." I know what caffeine does when you're getting ready to go to sleep...It keeps you awake. When Spencer stays awake I cannot go to sleep until he does, and I wanted to go to sleep.
I told him "no" like a sweet, submissive wife. While he was getting the fire situated for the night, I went to the refrigerator and hid the tea behind a milk jug. You should have seen him looking for that tea. First, he came and asked me where it was, and then he went hunting. Have you ever looked in your linen closet for tea? How about under the bed? Under a decorative table? In the cabinets? I was laughing so hard. I didn't know he was that desperate! I finally broke down and told him to go back and look in the refrigerator again. He found it and swore it had not been there before. He got his drink, got in bed, and......slept soundly. Yeah for me! I'm glad he loves to joke around.

Sweet Tea

4 family size tea bag

or 8 little tea bags

4 cups of water

cook in microwave 5 minutes

pour in gallon container

mix with 2 cups sugar

finish filling container with water, stir, and refrigerate

Soccer, Shin Guards, and Scrapes

I guess it's now official. I've become a soccer mom. Zach had his first practice last night and absolutely loved it. Today, he and Brittany wore their shin guards and soccer socks and soccer shoes as soon as they woke up. After lunch we had to go outside and play soccer. Did I ever mention that I hate to run?
When everyone got done playing soccer, the kids got on their scooters and Brittany's scooter flipped and threw her face first on the ground. When she saw her bloody face, she really flipped. Hope no one thinks we did it to her!!!!!! Maybe I'll get a picture of her up here.
This is now a day after the first two paragraphs and Brittany looks really bad. One of her eyes is swollen almost shut. I guess the cement won that battle.
By the way, thanks to all who comment. I love reading them. I think that has been the most fun part about this blog.

Zach played T-Ball last year. Here's a picture of him in his gear, and the picture up top is of Brittany and one of her second cousins watching Zach play. It must have been a cool day and an exciting game.

They say a picture's worth a thousand words. Ever have a kindred feeling here? 

Love

This picture was taken when Sierra and I were waiting to be discharged from the hospital after she was born. I've always thought it was sweet.


Spencer and I went on a very cheap date the other night. Shared a small ice cream from Cold Stone and then went to Books-A-Million. Spencer found a book by Zig Ziggler that had a really good quote in it.
"Children spell the word love, t-i-m-e.

The picture on the left is Spencer's mom when she was little. The one on the right is Brittany. 

Bored?

No pictures for this one. I promise you that!

My brother-in-law Cameron will try just about anything. If it gives enough of an adrenaline rush, he'll do it again. So, here's the fun. Go from one end of a chicken shed to the other in complete darkness. Be sure you have a shovel in one hand and a flashlight in the other for when you get to the other side. When you reach your destination, turn on your flashlight and..........start swinging your shovel and jumping. Why???????? To kill as many wolf rats as you can. YOU DIDN"T THINK OF THAT? Don't you want to try? He said that the other night, he swung his shovel and missed but it was ok 'cuz he stepped on one with his foot. GROSS!! He also said that one jumped so high that it jumped into the chicken cage. Cameron got it out and swung it around by its tail til it flew across the barn somewhere.
He wants Spencer to go with him one Wednesday night after church. Don't you want to join the fun????
I know I don't!!

Diets and Housework

I think diets and housework are the same. They are things that never end. The other week, I decided to go on the strictest portion of the South Beach Diet to lose the my last four pounds. I know it is not a lot to lose, but when it never goes away after several months, you want to do something to help it get lost. Anyway, I went on phase one of the diet, and I usually lose about seven pounds in two weeks and keep it off. Well, after a week and a half, I had lost only two pounds. I was so mad, I just said forget it--much to Spencer's delight. (He says that I act horrible when I'm on a diet.) Anyway, I indulged myself in two chocolate turtles and two flour tortillas with potatoes and hot sauce. Those of you from the Valley will understand that one.

On a more serious note, my dad is supposed to be out of the VA mental hospital today. They are assigning him to an apartment in a facility for 55 and older. We are praying that he does not run away like he has several times before.

A verse that I saw differently the other day.

Draw nigh to God and He will draw nigh to you.
Sometimes God seems to be far away, but a lot of times it's us that has moved. The Bible says that if we draw close to Him, He will draw close to us.
It's one of those common sense things that I just jumped over. Maybe you haven't.

Watching Horses

A black and white of Zach and Brittany and their second cousin, Emily. I've added her to my collection of children to watch. At least it's supposed to only be only a couple of days a week.

Zach on Baby.

Zach and Sierra watching Brittany ride 

 

 

Took the kids for horse back riding lessons today. They had a lot of fun. They had to learn how to rub down and clean the horse first. Sierra fell asleep after she played with the dog. 

Another picture of Rakel and Rodney's baby Randy. 

Since people are getting Sarah and Rakel mixed up, I thought I'd show a picture of Rakel, her husband, Rodney, and their baby Randy. We don't get to see them much, since they live in Texas. I haven't even been able to see the baby yet. He and Sierra are a month apart. 

Cinderella

Brittany decided that she wanted to wear her Cinderella dress today. It's funny the effect pretty things have on little boys. When Zach saw Brittany, his eyes got really big, and he said,"Whoa, Bwittney, you look like Cinderella!" She got embarrassed at the compliment and said something that sounded just like her mother. "Zach, you cwazy!" She got over her embarrassment though. After she was done eating, she said, "Zach, do I look pretty?"

This is a picture of Brittany in the Cinderella dress-she was just a couple of years younger then.

My brother, Peter, and his little girl.

Mom, Sarah, Peter, his wife Amanda, and their little girl Moira at Zach's birthday party. 

Zach has the hang of it!!!!!!!!!! 

Two of the three Sarah Elizabeths at church. The one on the right is my sister. I guess Aaron is quite entertaining, wouldn't you think?

Have you ever seen a thumbsucking ice skater? 

Just Stuff

Everyone in our house except myself has been really sick, so I have not had time to write anything up here. There's nothing like cleaning up after four kids' nastiness. This last weekend was great though.
Friday night, Spencer and I ate at a Japanese steakhouse buffet. The only thing was, the food at the bar was all raw. You filled your plate with what you wanted to eat and then put it in a window for the chef to cook. It was really good. We went where else but Wal-Mart afterward and ran into one of my former student's dad. He said, "You know when you're an old married couple when you go to Wal-Mart on a date." That made Spencer want to get out of there so fast. While we were checking out, I ran into the dad and sister of another former student. I said "Hey" to the dad andwhen I walked off, I saw the sister ask her dad in disbelief,"Was that Miss McKinley?" Her jaw then dropped as she turned around for another look. Talk about feeling paranoid. I'm not quite sure what caused that reaction. I probably don't want to know. I don't think I look that different than I did six years ago.


Saturday, Spencer and I took the teens ice skating in Raleigh. (That's most of the girls and one flirt in the picture. The rest of the boys were busy skating.) We also took two teen want to be's. Zach actually was able to get around the rink by himself at the end. Brittany cried and screamed at first, but after a while, she would skate with someone's help.
Sunday, my mom invited us over to her house for lunch after church. It was good. The kids had fun playing hide and seek with her while Spencer and I listened to a sample of Sarah's voice teacher sing really high. Sarah is quite excited about going to college. She will be graduating from the A Beka homeschool program at PCC on May 15. She is planning on staying there and working through the summer. I know a lot of people here who will really miss her.

Wow, Spencer!

One of my chief irritations is when Spencer and I are driving somewhere and I tell him I need to go to a certain location. Take Wal-Mart for example. We get to Wal-Mart and drive right past it and keep on driving. Then about a mile down the road, he remembers that we were supposed to go to Wal-Mart and asks, "Why didn't you remind me?" Considering we were right at Wal-Mart when I told him I needed to stop there, I don't think I should have to be a repeating nag. Anyway, last night we were driving home from church and passed Wal-Mart. Right at the last second of going through the light, he started to turn in to the parking lot. He said, "I'm sorry, I forgot you needed to go to Wal-Mart." The thing was, I did not need to go anywhere that time. That was the first time he remembered to do something that I had not even asked him to do. I was really impressed. Since, we had been to Wal-Mart the night before, I could not even make an excuse to take advantage of the situation. Oh well.

Cameron

I got yet another complaint that the picture I posted was not a good one. So, Cameron, here is a better one of you........and your nephew and nieces.