Christmas!

I hope everyone had a great Christmas! We did! With the way the economy is right now we knew Christmas would be tough, but God truly blessed us! Why does Christmas always seem to come down to money when it is about so much more, JESUS! Our kids asked for very little and got everything they wanted, and received all their gifts with excitement!

I was so very thankful that my kids have a thankful heart! They were truly pleased! It is sad to say but some kids don't have a thankful heart, and just seem to be greedy! I pray with all my heart that my kids will never become one of these brats! It was a true blessing watching them open their presents with looks of surprise and never thinking "this is all I got??"! Because in reality they did get all they wanted, and thank God for that!

We enjoyed a Christmas Eve at home watching Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe Chronicles of Narnia! The kids each had their own bag of popcorn (a treat in this house), and had a plethora of blankets laid out before the TV. Good times. We also enjoyed a few Christmas books, and the most important the story of baby Jesus! It was a great night being at home with my family!

Christmas day the kids opened their presents, and then we headed to the hill, my in-laws. The weather was nice, finally, so the kids enjoyed a lot of time outside. They received many great presents from their grandparents, and Elke out did herself again on a great Christmas meal. It was a good day.

Elke watched the girls for a couple days, so the boys and I have had a good time together. It has been a great week, and now the real world of work comes back. I enjoyed every minute I had with my kids, and will treasure it! Hope you all had a great Christmas, and enjoy your New Year!

Just a quick share to show some pictures of the Deaton gang doing our annual Christmas cookies. It is always such a pain in the butt to clean up the mess, but well worth it! They get so excited, and get more creative each year. Devyn is now 10 and her cookies were well decorated, she liked to try to lick the frosting more than anything (true sugar freak)! Mom and I had to send her into the bathroom to wash her hands a few times:)! Sadey is 7 now and her cookies were quite the creation also. I just give them each their own frosting, knife, sprinkles, and this year used writing frosting. Sadey used barely any of her frosting (to my disappointment, that's the best part), but they turned out pretty. Lukas just cracks me up. His nickname is Turtle for a good reason! It took him 10 to 15 minute to decorate one small cookie, but it did look good. Really good actually the child did a good job, and took it serious! Nate, well what can I say, he is Nate. I think he broke one or two of the cookies while decorating, and then gave up after a couple because he was too concerned with wanting to lick the frosting bowl. I just gave up and didn't let him have any more cookies, so we wouldn't have Nate germs all over the cookies!! It was fun and always an adventure. As I say I love holiday traditions!

Christmas at Mom and Dad's

For those who do not know my dad works off shore on an oil rig, and is gone a lot. So due to his absence at Christmas (usually) we have our Christmas celebration with them a little early when dad is home.



It's always such a wonderful time with family! Last year and this year we did soups with mini-sandwiches and lots of snackie foods and LOTS of dessert! Always way too much to eat in such little time, so we come together the next day for lunch and try to finish it off. It is so good. So good to the point that you are miserable after the feast! (extra workout time needed after that weekend!)

Anyways Friday night mom and dad watched all the kids, and Sam and I enjoyed an evening together. Mostly we went into Branson and finished our Christmas shopping, but it was just nice being together. The score of that evening was a new book store called Books-A-Million. I could have spent so much time in there! It was a heaven to me.

We went to my parents on Saturday around 1pm and started our now annual celebration. I hate the fact that dad is gone most Christmas's but this early celebration has become one of my favorite times of the season! It also seems to help with the over stimulation of the kids getting so many presents at one time from two sets of gparents and us! This gives them time to enjoy the presents from mom, dad, u.Dan and a.Andrea.

We all got wonderful gifts, but a few I want to write about in particular.



1.The American Idol game the young Pullans got the girls. It is so much fun. You can plug your own Mp3 player into it and dance away. It is hard, but I just put it on a slow pace and dance away. We all tried this Saturday, and I believe we worked out our stomachs as much as our legs from all the laughing!

2.This gift wasn't even to my family, but it has to do with that Wii I love. Mom and Dad got the young Pullans the Mario Kart game. WHOOO HOOO that is fun! Oh how I love the Wii.

3.Mom and Dad got all the kids a Scene It game. We played it yesterday because the kids had a snow day. It was so much fun! It's a Disney one, so the kids are pretty educated in that department! Great way to pull all of us together!

But like I said all gifts were great these were just a few that we have had time to enjoy together!

The best dog ever got a little present too, but he destroyed it in less than 5 minutes. Oh how I love that Chocolate Labrador Retriever! I could never own a dog that sweet and who seems to know every thought I have. He is a precious, precious animal! Sometimes he seems more human to me, and I believe he himself thinks this too! Sorry about going off about the dog. We lost our cat this week, and I'm having a hard time with it! We will miss that silly crazy cat that blessed our lives for just over a year!

Enough of the sad stuff! I'm so very thankful to be blessed with a wonderful family, and it was another fascinating Christmas holiday at the Pullans! Thanks for the good times! I just love traditions!!!

Thanksgiving

I can't believe that Thanksgiving already passed us. The older I get the time really does just go so fast!

Dan and Andrea invited mom and us up to their house for Thanksgiving and we had a wonderful time. Good food, good company and great weather! Kuddos to mom for the gravy and dressing and to Andrea for the party potatoes and ham! It was delicious!

We enjoyed a great time outside playing baseball and throwing the football around! A great way of working off those extra calories I piled on during our yummy dinner! I think the best work out was the Wii though! I tell ya, I love that thing! It is so much fun and an awesome workout! You don't even realize how much your body is being worked because you ARE having so much fun. My body always KNOWS the next day, getting old! Plus the fact that the two times I have played we end up playing for hours!! It is such an awesome way to get everyone involved in ONE thing! The kids loved it, and played it well. I didn't expect them to get it, or at least not Nate! But once again I don't know why I ever doubt any of my children's abilities, they are amazing:)!

So, I'm not much of a shopper, but yes mom, Andrea and I went out on the dreaded Black Friday! It wasn't too bad. It was nice getting a break from the kids and being with the ladies! It's rare that I get girl time! And I did score on a few good Christmas presents! Friday night we relaxed at home and watched Kung Fu Panda which was outstanding. If you have kids give it a try!

Saturday we visited Sam's parents, and it was nice! Then we came home and watched the Gators kick some bootah! Really crossing my fingers for the next weeks game against Alabama! Go Gators! Also did about 10 loads of laundry Saturday, no joke!

Sunday we put up our Christmas decorations, which is a few days later than I usually do it. But we were so busy running around that was the first chance we got! I absolutely adore watching the kids put up our many many ornaments. Because there is four of them it only took them about 5 minutes, but they had a blast! Devyn is tall enough to get the ornaments on the top of the tree, so I just have to hand them out! Luke and Nate are so very excited and are expecting Santa to come at any moment! So hard explaining time to little beings!

All in all it was a great holiday weekend, and enjoyed it all!

Priceless

OK let me start off by saying that it is rare that I come up with a good idea. Most of my ideas are "hand me downs" from other intelligent people.

So last weekend was my sister-n-law's birthday. Kelly is a very special person!! She is 10 years older than me (you can do the math I'd rather not at this moment), and loves Hannah Montana, Jonas Brothers, and most of all High School Musical.

So as most of us that have young girls know High School Musical 3 was only in theaters! This is something that really gets me!! Why in theaters?? The first two movies were premiered on the Disney channel! Like these people don't make enough money on their backpacks, jewelery, sunglasses, clothes, DVDs, Cd's, ect......!! It just ticks me off! Anyways, moving on...I knew how much Kelly would love to see this movie. So here is my good idea, I wanted to be the one to take her...a big surprise. The movie has been out since the end of October and last weekend I was busy visiting family, so my prayer became a reality when it was still showing THIS weekend.

The movie was showing at 11:30, so the kids and I spent the night out on the hill (Galena where my in-laws live). It just made it easier because Elke watched the boys so I could take the girls to the movie. They had no idea what I was up to, or so I thought! We got ready and headed to Branson. Let me just say that it was absolutely priceless to watch Kelly's face as we pulled into the movie theater and she realized what we were doing! That smile, that grateful look, it just meant everything. It made it entirely worth sitting through this MUSICAL! Her smile wasn't directed at me it was just like she was surrounded by nothing but pure happiness!

To my disappointment Devyn had figured out the surprise the night before, go figure! Which I didn't know until after the movie was over, and she hinted Kelly in on what she thought! "But mom I told her I didn't know for sure because you hadn't told me anything", blah blah blah!! It pisses me off because it reminds me of myself. No surprises just figure it out! I hate surprises, but I have gained a whole new respect for someone who wants to surprise me now.

The movie was OK, I mean I caught myself laughing a couple times over the ridiculous times they chose to sing a song, and just the idea of the whole movie. But I have to admit I probably watched Kelly's reaction to the movie as much as I watched the movie itself. And believe me I know what it feels like to be completely obsessed and taken over by something, TWILIGHT!! So I did understand to an extent on where she was coming from. I loved watching her smile, cry, and laugh to the movie. She felt everything that HSM hopes for a person to feel! It just felt so good to do something like that for someone you love!



So the Bible is so right on about when you bless others it is really YOU that will be blessed in the end! I teared up a couple times just watching her, and THAT my friends is what it's all about! Giving, loving, sharing and experiencing things with the ones we love! Thank you Kelly for giving me today, it truly was priceless!!

By the way stupid me forgot my camera AGAIN!!

Obsessed

Sam was reading a Time magazine that was explaining appropriate books, TV series, and movies for teen girls to be involved with. Having 2 young girls he was interested in this! While reading it he came across a book series called the Twilight Saga. He went to the authors web page, read an exert from the book, and decided that I would love these books.
I tried to get them from my local library but the first book was out so I put it on hold. Before it became available Sam bought me the first two books.
My journey began on a Friday night. I wasn't thinking to much about it. I mean come on I'm not much into sci-fi stuff. Vampires?? The only reason I even liked them was because of that great movie The Lost Boys I saw growing up!! Remember that? Anyways I say "journey" because these books took me on a great ride. I read all four books in 3 weeks. I've read people saying they read them from 2 days to 3 weeks. I could have been that 2 day person, but I do have a family to take care of! These are not small books, Breaking Dawn was 756 pages, but they read like they are only 100 pages!
I was beginning to worry about myself. These books are meant to be for teens and I'm 31 years old and loving it. I mean loving it to the point of any free minute the books were in my face and I hate to admit this but I had several Twilight dreams. I didn't sleep well for the 3 weeks I was reading them. Due to my insecurities I found people that have enjoyed the books from the ages of teens to 65 years. So yes I do feel better about that, along with the fact I found several people in their thirties that had children that became obsessed also.
After finishing the Twilight Saga I couldn't stop thinking about it, so I went to the authors web page and found Midnight Sun. Which is Twilight from Edwards point of view. She only has a partial draft of it on her web page, and I will not go into detail why, you can check it out on stephaniemeyer.com.
The movie comes out in 14 days. I know it won't do the books justice, movies never do, but I am so excited to see it. Sam will be taking me!! I believe they did a really good job picking out the cast. My only problems were I considered Rosalie and Carlisle to be "prettier", but come on no one could come up with the people I created in my head. They did a great job with Bella and Edward (love those names) I could get really vulgar in the way I explained Robert Pattinson but I will spare you:)!

I guess my point is if you have not read these books, and are looking for a great romantic escape then I completely recommend the Twilight Saga. Become another obsessed freak. As one of my friends said..."I believe Twilight is a cult and I am happily drinking the kool-aid"! I love it! And for those who understand...TEAM EDWARD even though I believe the books would have never been the same without Jacob, I'm one of his fans also!!

My Birthday...A Couple Great Weekends.

Well another year has passed for me, and to be honest I am NOT good at getting older! Very depressing for me, but I had a great birthday this year! It started a couple weekends ago with a surprise call from Elke (Sam's mom) telling me she wanted to watch all 4 of my kiddo's for the entire weekend! UMMM how could I say no to that? That's right you don't!!

So my brother and his wife got a new Wii and I have never played one, so I pretty much invited myself to their house for the Friday night! They took me out to dinner for my bday, which was nice...thanks. Then we went home and enjoyed some good times on the Wii! Before I knew it it was 1am. I'm old now and don't ever stay up that late...my bedtime is about 9pm!! Anyways that just shows how much fun it was. Being with Dan and Andrea and the Wii! Bowling was my favorite, and pathetically was sore the next day! It's like your really playing! I WANT A WII!!!

Saturday night Sam and I enjoyed a nice evening at home with great food and no kids. I could actually sit on the couch without having to get up several times and hearing "mom" from 4 little different voices. Not that I mind hearing my babies call for me, it is just nice to have a break.

Halloween was great for the kids. They had a blast at the church. Devyn was a pirate, Sadey a angel, Luke a dog, and Nate a power ranger. They didn't get as much candy as I wanted but it's not about me right?

Saturday mom took me shopping and out to lunch. It was so nice. Got some cute clothes and really enjoyed my lunch at a restaurant called Blue Olive. Yum Yum. When I got home we enjoyed a good dinner and then Sam surprised me with a Dairy Queen ice cream cake. I had told him last summer that I had always wanted one and never gotten one. Learned later from mom she did get me one for my sixteenth birthday. Sorry I don't remember much from those years! Anyways my ice cream cake was fabulous and a great surprise. Sam also got me my Gator shirt with the Tebow superman on the front. I have been wanting one of those and he remembered, so he really out did himself! It was a wonderful time with family! Thanks to all!!

Pumpkins

Hello All! Well a few weeks ago mom gave me a Family Circle magazine that had pumpkin ideas in it. They suggested painting them. I thought that would be so cool. So Saturday we piled up and headed to Walmart for the essential items! We decided on spray paint, and acrylic for the detail painting. We head home with a lot more than needed (that's one reason I can't stand Walmart) including our paint, 3 big pumpkins and 5 small.

When we get home our friend from Colorado, Jake, came by with his daughter and they began their fun. They each had a small pumpkin to do whatever they wanted with. Then Sam had a big pumpkin that he painted black and carved out a tree. I had in my stubborn head that I wanted a white pumpkin with stenciled on black bats. UUGGHHH! Why do I plan things like that? More than not they never turn out how I had them to be in my mind. It so didn't work this time, that instead of bats I have a pumpkin painted 3 times in white (to cover many mistakes), and now there is just a black painted on face. Ohhh well. That's the way it goes sometimes, but lets note that Sam who didn't even really try that much but had the confidence his would turn out the best... it did. The picture doesn't justify it, but it's pretty cool. Especially at night. He bought this light that has 4 different colors and it streams through the branches. Very nice. The kids had a blast with the spray paint. You should see my yard. It's quite comical! But ya know who flipin cares when my babies had a blast?!?

Also another share, Sadey is currently a 1st grade cheerleader for the Wolves football team. Of course, this team consists of pre-k through 1st grade. They look like little ants out there running. Very cute! Sadey does a great job! Not so sure she knows all the cheers that great, but let me tell ya she looks good and has a lot of fun!

Ponder on This

First of all I want to mention what a beautiful weekend it was! The weather was marvelous! That's the kind of weather that you never want to go inside, you sit there and wonder why am I not camping this weekend!?!

OK so during this beautiful weekend I have been thinking of a few things!

I am NOT a touchy person, actually sometimes when I'm being touched it feels like ants are crawling all over my body. Most of those times come when I am in PMS! I hate this about myself. Why do I have to be like this? I work on it because I don't want my kids to be this way! I grew up with my parents always showing affection towards one another and towards my brother and I, so I don't know where it comes from. Are people born this way? Is it a defensive mechanism? Wow, I did NOT mean for people to ponder on this subject, but oh well gives us something to think about. But this my friends is something to ponder on...How come my mom always knows that right time to touch me? The times I need it most! I don't even have to say anything and she knows! Is that just because she is my mom? Is it because we have such a close friendship that we are that tuned into each other? Are all moms and daughters like this? My mom is always going to hug on me whether I want it or not, she will pat on my leg, shoulder, and I wonder is this to fill her need of touch? I'm glad no matter how I feel about touch, she will continue on touching. People need to be touched! Can you tell I'm trying to convince myself of this? My family hung out with mom and dad on Saturday afternoon and my mom gave me this hug that seemed to be the exact squeeze and length I needed! Also one more thing about touch, was this hug so good because it was from my MOM? Would it have been what I needed if it were from someone else? Or is it that our MOMS give us the best hugs? Hugs of protection, of friendship, of unconditional love? Thanks mom!! By the way I can't stand this picture of me, but it is a good representation of "our hugs"!

Go Gators

Well we went to Arkansas this weekend to watch the Gators play. It was a blast. It sucked getting up at 6am to get ready, but once we started getting close to Fayetteville and started seeing all the gator fans going to the game, I was pumped!! I just love the entire atmosphere. The fans, the dedication of some of these people, the love they have for their team!! It's indescribable!

The only thing that really sucked was for Alisha (Andrea's sister), she is very scared of heights and we were VERY high! One bench from being at the very top.

This was a first game for me to see my favorite players...Tim Tebow, Percy Harvin and Brandon James so that was an extra bonus! It was not the experience of being in "The Swamp", but I will take it! I'm just thankful I got to see them play! As I said the whole college football scene is unreal.

It was also great having this experience with Andrea, Alisha, Dan and Sam! Thanks for the good times, can't wait to do it again!!

GO GATORS!!

phrases

OK I have a few new phrases that my kids have come up with...Most of them are from Nate.

When Nate and I had our beautiful day together, we were sitting there eating ice cream and he said "OHHH MY God". I tried to inform him that we shouldn't say that word, let's try to say gosh instead. He told me that his dad says it. I explained we all say it and shouldn't!! He then told me that "Dad shouldn't say bitch either". How the heck do ya not laugh at that word coming out of a 4 year old mouth??

It reminds me of when Luke was taking a bath one night and I asked him if he washed himself, and he told me " Mom you need to wash my asshole". I'm laughing at that one just typing this. Funny. Not appropriate but funny. He informed me a couple weeks later that I needed to wipe his asshole, so I had to put a stop to that word!!

This story you have to know Sadey. She is the sweetest hearted child but half the time is on another planet. Maybe that's how she deals with life, which isn't such a bad idea. Her Grammie tells me she is up with the clouds. Anyways...she has to bring 50 cents for Awana dues every Wednesday (a kids church program), and I always tell her to put it in her pockets so she won't lose it. Last Wednesday her teacher said that Sadey had claimed to bring her 50 cents but couldn't find it. The teacher looked through every bag and had no luck. As I'm standing there her teacher told her to put the change in her pockets from now on. And Sadey looked at her as if she had NEVER heard that before and said " OHHHHH" like she finally got it. We still haven't located that money. She probably gave it to somebody so they could have their dues.

Nate was just whining and complaining that he isn't a super hero. There is no leaf or tree that can make him one. I mean seriously upset about it. I told him that he was a super hero to me, and that of course was NOT good enough. He then informed me that his daddy told him that he is old fashioned. What?? I asked him what that meant, and he told me that he isn't old but he isn't as good as new either. Where this kid comes up with this stuff I will never know. Like a few months ago mom told us that he was jumping on a book and she asked him why. He told her that he thought by jumping on the book that he could get IN the book. Oh the joys of childhood. How cool would that be to jump into a book. He has also had an imaginary friend for a few months now...mysteriously it is called the other Nate who does all the bad things....hmmmm smart I know.

It's sad that most of these are about Nate because I never wrote the other ones down. That's why I'm doing it now before all these treasures of laughter are lost!! I know Dev was a funny kid and said lots of things that blew our mind. They all did. Amazing.

Monday was the dentist day again. The girls got their sealers in and it went well. I had a lot of work prepping the boys for trying this again. I told them both if they did well that I would take them to McDonald's, and if they did it without crying they would get ice cream!! Boy Nate loved that...he literally got the all overs and started his dance. It's a funny dance, his back is scrunched over and he starts jumping on his tip toes. I don't know...you would have to be there but I love that dance. And yes I love just about everything my children do. Sick I know.


The boys did really well. They were so brave! Nate didn't cry at all, and Luke started to but it was because something wasn't explained to him in detail. They dental asst. did such a great job with them, she was so patient. Thank God for people like that!!


It was a little early for lunch, but for going to McDonald's that is perfect. You beat the rush, and don't have to deal with that many other children in the playground! I order them what they want and each a sundae. Of course, DD piles down her food and is on to her sundae before I'm even done putting dressing on my salad :)! Only kidding but it seems that fast. They all are working on there sundae when Nate informs me that he didn't want his..."you have it mom...go ahead...give it to Devyn...you have it." So I didn't even have to use that bribe!! Ohhh well, my other babies enjoyed it and Dev got to enjoy 2! They couldn't get it down fast enough because they were dying to get on that playground. You would think they have never played outside before. If I would have known that McDonald's had a playground I would have used that bribe instead of ice cream. At least I know for the next time.


When we got home and we went grocery shopping where this precious lil' old man bought candy bars for each of the kids just because he wanted to. I sure hope that made his day. It was so sweet, I just love lil' old people (except for the grouches). Keep in mind this is right after we went to Walmart and mom bought them each a candy bar also. Boy they were in heaven. I bet the dentist would love to know about all the chocolate they ate!


They had plenty of energy due to the candy, so I was thankful when Sam came home and said he wanted to take them to the park. They enjoyed water balloon throwing and then some football time. Bronson (my brothers dog that I'm dog sitting) enjoyed the park time also. It was a great long day, but as I say I always enjoy those days with my family. Thanks mom for coming with me to the dentist...it would have been hard without you.




By the way Devyn got her orange belt last night she is awesome. Her instructor told her that the judges liked her and had many good things to say about her. How exciting!!

The Butterfly Palace

Well I began my day doing my normal routine. Tuesday is housecleaning day. About 8:30am I received a call that the baby I watch wasn't feeling to good so he would not be coming today. I finished going about my duties, and finished cleaning the house. About 10am I found out the little girl I watch was spending the day with her grandma so she wouldn't be here either. WOW!! A surprise day off. A day with just Nate. What a beautiful surprise!!

Ok so now the decision of what we would do. Money is tight right now, so I had to decide on something that wouldn't hurt the budget. After much thought I called the Butterfly Palace, and they informed me that Stone and Taney counties got in for $5. What a deal. The girls had been with school and loved it, so I knew I had hit the jackpot. Who wants to just sit at home when you have a day off??? Not me or Nate for that matter!!

We get ourselves dressed and head out. Of course it was about lunch time, so we ate at the place every child adores...McDonald's. That's the cheapest meal I have paid for in a long time. We get in the car and head to the Butterfly Palace or Butterfly Palish as Nate called it. This was the most question asked 10 minute trip I think I have ever had. All the while I am trying to make him understand that I have NEVER been there either, so we will find out about it together. We pay our $10 and start our adventure together.

First was a 3D movie. I thought this was the part that Nate would hate and never sit still for. Personally I don't even know why I try and think what Nate will do because it is never accurate. He sat through the 15 minute movie without moving, except to say WOW. It was neat. Like watching a discovery channel show about butterflies except it's 3D.

Next we got to enter the area where the butterflies were. How beautiful. I thought it would be bigger, but it didn't need to be. There were birds that came very close to you, and the butterflies fly either above your head or right on your clothes. They loved Nate's bright orange turtle ninga shirt. Then I put a little perfume (the chances of that being my purse was a miracle within itself) on his shirt. He would be really still and they would sit right on his shoulder. It was awesome. Perfect.

Then they had an area of where they kept aquariums that had centipedes, turtles, frogs, and all kinds of lizards. Boy did he love that. We went through that section a FEW times. It never got boring, at least not with him.

The final area was a dark maze that had mirrors, and you had to find your way out. He did NOT like that. To be completely honest neither did I. I felt lost and all I could see was myself in all these mirrors. But I did a pretty good job of not letting him know mom did not like this either. Next came the tears...."NO I don't want to go...I want to stay here!!". So I had to use my secret escape plan of ice cream. We went to Andy's Frozen Custard and each enjoyed a custard cone. Yum Yum.

My only disappointment in the day is that I forgot my camera. Boy did I cuss myself! But no one can ever take this day away from me. When you have kidS, it's rare that you have a one on one day with them. It was a memory that will not fade quickly. I'm so blessed!!

Sadey and Nate's Bday.

Well I have been meaning to write a blog since Monday, but this is the first chance I've had. Busy Busy Busy.

Saturday we had Sadey and Nate's birthday party, and it was great. I have to say that I out did myself on their cakes this year. I'm not that great of a cake decorator but it is something I love to do for my kids. A special made cake from mom. I always search my ideas on the net, and decide on the one that will not make me insane. I usually add my own twist to it too. I personally thought they turned out pretty good, and they tasted really good. So I was happy with it. Of course there was drama in the whole process of the cake baking, there always is.

Sam hates that I just don't buy a cake for them, he just doesn't get it. I baked both cakes and the HSM cake went smoothly, and when I pulled the TMNT cake out of it's cooling pan it broke in half. Fun. Thank goodness Sam was at the grocery store and picked me up the eggs to make another cake. So I just baked another one and greased the pan the "correct" way and it came out nicely.

The kids had a great time and got lots of toys and clothes. So blessed. Thanks to all. And they really enjoyed the cake. Nate got a huge piece and only licked the frosting off of the top and sides. Sadey doesn't eat much of anything, but she did her best and enjoyed it.

Saturday night was the night of the huge wind and rain storm, and we were one of the lucky ones who didn't lose power. We had a yard to pick up, but we were so blessed not to have any damage or flooding.

Monday was a BIG day for the Deaton Gang. All the kids had dentist appointments for the first time. Well except Dev, she had been before. As I was getting all of us ready for the day, Sam walked in the door, NO work due to no power on the job site. At first I was stressed about it, but by the end of the day I was thankful for his help. We got to the dentist office and Nate was the first one called back. As soon as that kid sat in the chair he started freaking. It ended up the dentist didn't even look in his mouth due to Nate's protest, and told me to bring him back in a month. Next was Sadey and Devyn, they did great. No cavities, great teeth, and learned a lot about caring for their teeth. They will be returning in a month for sealers. Finally was Luke, he was great until they went to put the napkin around his neck. Don't ask me why but this completely freaked the child out. So yes, I had another child that wouldn't let the dentist look in his mouth and will be returning in a month. Very dramatic. Everything seems to be so dramatic in my family, WHY? It drives me crazy.

Anyways, Luke's cough had become increasingly worse, and we decided to try and get him into his Dr. while he was out of school. They had an opening and we had a few hours to kill, so we had lunch together and then walked around at Branson Landing. It was such a beautiful day. The weather was perfect and it was just great being with MY family. It's rare that we are out somewhere with just us. So I lived it up and didn't want it to end. The kids enjoyed walking by the river. It was gorgeous, relaxing, and created a great memory for me.

We get to the Dr., and he informed me it was good I had brought him in because Luke was headed for bad news if we didn't start treatment. We had been doing his breathing treatment for a few days, and the Dr. said he sounded tight and very congested. So he told us to continue the breathing tx and start him on a steroid syrup. He also wrote him for an antibiotic but told us not to fill it unless he started running a fever.

I feel so sorry for him that he has to do the tx and steroid. It makes him crazy and me crazy. He turns into hyper child with super powers. Along with a big attitude. I kept him yesterday, I'm sure his teacher will be thankful for that. We did his breathing treatments with much argument, and he didn't get a fever all day. So he went to school today. To be honest it wouldn't surprise me if I get a phone call to pick him up. Ohhh well. His cough is just terrible. Poor little guys has had to deal with this crap since he was 6mo. old. He has gotten so much better due to singular, but it still sucks for him.

So anyways, it has been an eventful few days and I hope I get to relax a little today. Who am I kidding at least the thought was nice...........................

TEN YEARS

On Saturday Sam and I have been married for 10 years. WOW. We have been through plenty of rough times, but all in all it has been a wonderful 10 years of marriage. I think probably the roughest part is we didn't do it the "right way", and had a child when we got married. So not only did we have to learn each other but also had to learn to be parents. But obviously we don't mind being parents...4 kids later. I truly adore being a wife and mother.

Sam and I usually like to have a weekend together for our anniversary, but I don't believe that will work out for us this year. So instead we had Dev's friend spend the night Friday and took care of 5 children. Friday night was nice. Our kids get along pretty well, so they just played in the room and it was extra exciting due to DD's friend who stayed over. The kids had McD's for dinner and Sam made us grilled steak with stuffed pepper...yum yum. He is such a good cook. He also got this spicy humus dip, and it was awesome. I enjoyed a bottle of wine and he had his usual beer, but he did find Flying Dogs In Heat Wheat beer which is so good. It was just nice to be at home and enjoy a good dinner with him. It would have been better without children, but I will take what I can get.

We got up Saturday, did our yard work then got dressed and went into Branson. We had promised the kids the night before we would take them to the new PetCo in Branson...yes that is what is fun for this family:)!! Plus we had DD's friend all day, so we wanted to get out of the house instead of listening to them in a bedroom all day. Anyways, the pet store was nice, and we got to shop at Kohl's (which I love). We went to the Walmart, yes another exciting adventure for us Deatons, and I didn't like it. It was too big. We took Dev's friend home and invited mom over to watch the Gator game and enjoy another great dinner. Mom and I had so much fun watching that game. We just got goofy over our Gator boys. It was a very exciting game. Loved it.

One of my favorite parts of the weekend was watching HBO Sunday night. It was the new season for Entourage, and True Blood is a new show this year. It was awesome.

So it was a nice weekend. It's always crazy to me that I have been married this long and have a child 10 years old too. Time flies by. I'm so thankful to have my family, and hope that we enjoy the next 10 years together too.

Labor Day Weekend

Labor Day Weekend....the last great weekend of the summer. Makes it great for so many reasons...the greatest is you know to live it up because it is the last holiday weekend of the summer. Kind of depressing for me because the last couple of years it has also been the last weekend we go to the lake and swim. We all know the dreaded winter will be here before we know it so of course my family spent our time at the lake.

We started our weekend off by going to Sam's parents house Friday night and spending time with them. It was nice...Sam made the best grilled hamburgers I have ever put in my mouth. And I am not lying here, they were done perfectly and had feta cheese all through it. YUM YUM. I also tried a new Moscoto wine that was very good.

Saturday we had to get up early because we got a new garage...YEAH. This house had the same wood garage since the 70's, and it finally gave up the fight during one of our many rainstorms this year. The wood got so heavy that it disengaged itself from the motor and tore apart in a many places. We got a steel back door with a new motor and even a key pad...the extra security:)!! It's great. Love it.

They got done with the roof around 3ish, and we packed up for our weekend at the lake. The nice thing is mom lives right on the lake...it's perfect. Of course we had a cooler packed for a week, and no food in it:)!! Our car seriously looked like we were gonna be gone for awhile, but that's what it's like when you have 4 kids. Anyways...after getting to moms, Dan and Andrea got there shortly after. Always good times hanging out with them. We headed down to the lake. It was beautiful...a little windy so the adults stayed out of the water and hung out on the dock enjoying our beverages. The kids don't care what the wind is like they just want to be in that water. They love it.

We had a great dinner, and enjoyed some card playing. I truly thought my boys would sleep in...that's what I get for thinking. They got up before 8am. We watched some sponge bob and then took Bronson (my brothers awesome lab) for a swim, and then hung out at the pond for awhile. Truly a way you want to wake up if it has to be early. Beautiful is the only way I can explain it. We had a late breakfast because all the other lucky people got to sleep in. We enjoyed looking at some pics of when Dan and I were little...fun. And then we packed up our stuff and spent the entire day out at the lake. It was PERFECT. The weather was sunny and warm and the water felt perfect. Dan and I had a diving competition and I hate to admit it but he did a lot better than me. Only on the "no splash" mine was prettier!!

We got home and enjoyed a meal and fell asleep early. Thank goodness I had Monday off because I really needed some sleep. We all (except Sam he had to work) slept in until 10am...it was soooo nice.

Our weekend was great...being with family and on the lake. We missed you dad. Just glad you made it through Gustav!!!! Thanks again Dan and Andrea for the gifts, and mom for the food and hospitality!!

the wasp

Since school started I only have 3 kids to watch during the day which is so nice. We get to go places, which is odd for me because I haven't been able to do that in the 4 years I've been doing this in my home. Crazy. Anyways, yesterday I decided to take the kids to the park. There is a little park close to my house by the library, and is perfect for the age group I have right now.

What a beautiful day it was, I grabbed my book and put the kids in the van. When we get to the park we are all walking up the hill and I noticed some bugs flying around. I saw one flying by the Landon's head (18 mo. old) and he started rubbing his face after it flew away. I thought to myself that it couldn't be a wasp sting because he would be crying. I grabbed my book and began to read and the next thing I know Nate is screaming..."the bug bite me". Then it all clicked in my head... it was a wasp and it stung both the baby and now Nate. I took off my shoe and began to swing at the thing and all of the sudden there were what seemed to be a thousand wasps. I'm sure now that I look back it was only 5 to 10. Too many in my opinion. But anyways one of the wasp stung me on the leg. This was a first for me. In all of my 31 years I have never been stung by a wasp from what I can remember. And I believe I would remember that pain.

I have made fun of my husband for years because he is deathly afraid of wasps due to being stung several times as a child. I mention wasp and he starts to get chills all over his body. NEVER again will I make fun of him. Wasp suck. After realizing that there was no way I was gonna kill all those wasps and before we got stung more I started grabbing the children and running down the hill. In the process I was putting back on my flip flop and a wasp got stuck between my shoe and my foot...stung again. It hurt!! I was scared. Not necessarily of getting stung again, but the kids getting stung again. Allergic reaction was my concern.

We made it back to the car and I looked at there bites. They were both a little swollen with a red dot in the middle. I called Landon's mother to inform her of what had happened and to ask if he has had an allergic reaction before, and she notified me he had never been stung before by a wasp. OHHH great now it's the wait and see game. Nate had never been stung before either and as I wrote above neither had I. Corinne (the little girl I watch) lucked out and didn't get stung at all. How I don't know.

The boys were OK. By this morning they just look like little red dots. Thank you God. I had the worst reaction which really wasn't that bad. I just don't handle pain at all...how the heck did I have 4 children and 2 without drugs?? I probably had what they call a mild allergic reaction. It swelled up and was painful. It still is painful. I woke up in the middle of the night, and tried to scratch off my foot. My body was achy and I was tired, but I feel better this morning. They are still read and swollen but I'll get over it. As I said I'm not to good at handling pain. The picture gives no justice to what this wasp did. Now I will be the one to get chills and run like a baby when I see a wasp. Awful creatures!!

School Started

OK. First of all an update on Sam...he is better. Hopefully it lasts this time. His blood tests came back normal and had a slight infection. He is going to be on that expensive antibiotic for a total of 10 days, and he was finally given pills for his itching. So that is AWESOME. Some relief and answers in that part of our lives.

My babies started school yesterday. It is always hard for me the first day. Even with Devyn being in 5th grade now. But this year was extra hard because my first son went to kindergarten. This was a hard decision for us to make due to his age. We had the choice and I truly don't wish that upon anyone. It may seem a little decision to some but to me it was big. He went to summer school and after speaking with his teacher and being screened through parents as teacher we came to the decision that he was ready. It's always hard to let go, but I'm so glad he went to summer school because I believe this prepared him so much more.

I met all there teachers and really like Devyn and Luke's...no comment on Sadey's yet. And I might add I have never disliked any of there teachers...that's why there is NO comment yet.

It was such a long day. You would think after watching 9 kids this summer that I would enjoy the break. And I did but I did get a little bored also. The kids were in my thoughts all day, and I was much relieved when they got home and had such a great day. Luke is a big thumb sucker and he informed me that he didn't suck his thumb all day, but boy when he got home I thought that thing might fall off from him not letting it go!! He made a friend the first day too, which is great because he knew no one in his class! Such a big boy. Sadey loves her teacher, and Devyn is so excited to be back in the motion of the busy school year. She adores both of her teachers!!

So yes it was a little nerve racking with my kids going back to school and having the normal worries of my children being away from me, but I am truly blessed that they LOVE school. They look forward to it, which I know won't last forever but I will be grateful for these days and pray they last. I will also be enjoying the break I get even if it isn't for long!!

The illness continues.

OK. So Sam has been home from the hospital for over two weeks. Things were going OK for about a week. But our or his problem is that he is STILL itching. WHY? This should be gone. Of course, I have done a lot of research on MRSA, and it's probable that the staph is still in his system. The poor guy broke out in what looked like acne all over his back last week. Only it was acne that itches...I don't think so. His face itches him so bad that he has scratches all over his cheeks due to the uncontrollable itching at night when he is trying to sleep. And notice I said trying...the man hasn't slept well in over a month. I mean this is getting "old"...I can't imagine how "old" for him. The rash on his back is now going all the way down his legs to his knees...don't think that is acne!!

He was supposed to have a recheck with a Dr. a week after getting out of the hospital, and his mother and I urged him to do so. But what do we know. It took my mom watching a show about MRSA that scared the pooh out of her and she demanded in a nice way that he go back to the Dr. I believe by this time he is realizing things aren't right, so he agreed. He went Wednesday and of course pretty much got the run around AGAIN. All we really found out is his white blood count was high when he was in the hospital, so if he is still itching by today (which he is) then he needs to come back to have his blood taken again. He may have a skin disorder...what is staph???? A SKIN DISORDER!! We have heard the words "come back" too many times. That's the problem with seeing so many different Dr.'s they all have a different opinion and all say if it isn't better come back...to save there ass. The Dr. wrote Sam for some more of the antibiotic Zyvox that cost over $1700, but thank God we only have to pay $5, and a prescription to help him sleep and stop the itching. Sam goes to get his scripts filled, and the pharmacist tells him that he can't take the itching pill with the zyvox because of a BAD reaction.
OHHHH come on!! When is this going to be over...??? He went last night to get a new medicine, and the Dr. hadn't even called the pharmacy back to verbalize a new script. Sam still isn't sleeping.

I am still concerned, and believe he needs to go back to the Dr. for continued blood tests. Not only to see what is wrong, but also the Zyvox can cause problems and it is requested you take a complete blood count after using this med. I will keep you posted.
I ask that you please continue to pray for my family during this time!!

Just a quick share. Devyn received her yellow belt. We are so proud of her!! She worked really hard and deserves it. You wouldn't believe all the stuff they have to memorize!! It is also a good teacher of respect, honesty and discipline. We just love her teacher he doesn't put up with much and seems to really enjoy the kids. Now she will be working on getting her orange belt...Go Devyn!!

Yellow Belt

Just a quick share!! Devyn recieved her yellow belt, and we are so proud of her. She has worked hard, and deserves it!! You wouldn't believe how much they have to memorize! It's also a good teacher of respect, honesty and discipline. We just love her teacher, he doesn't put up with much, and seems to really enjoy the kids. Now she will be working on getting her orange belt....Go Devyn!!

School Supplies

It was Saturday morning and I had been telling Sam's sister, Kelly, that she could spend the night with us for a long time. With all the craziness and busy of the summer I hadn't had her over yet, so I thought this weekend would be the best. Sadly summer is almost over and school will be starting soon.
To give you a little history Nate didn't eat his dinner Thursday night and to my discovery he had a fever of 103. Friday I took 5 children and myself to an urgent care where we waited forever and found out he had a throat infection. The Dr. wrote him for a medicine he was allergic to, this is a whole different story within itself, but anyways we get the right medicine and started it on Friday night. The poor guy still had a high fever this Monday morning, but I believe we have finally broken it now!!
Anyways back to the story...
Saturday morning I pile all the children in the car and I needed to go to walmart to buy birthday presents for two parties that I needed to be at that day. How much fun that was...one at 2:00pm in Reeds Spring and one at 2:30 pm in Lampee with it being 100 degrees outside and 10o% humidity!! Once we arrive at walmart I remember that it is the tax free weekend for school supplies. This year I will be buying school supplies for 3 of my children, so I needed all the discount I could get. OK so you see it right...Saturday at walmart with 4 children and Kelly, and all other parents wanting to take advantage of the tax free weekend. Oh so much fun.
I started down another school supply aisle and stepped in something wet, and realized after it not coming off my shoe it was a pile of glue. Whatever, so I walk on and step in another pile of glue. By this time I'm irritated!! What kind of parent lets there kids just pour glue all over the place?? Why isn't walmart picking up the mess?? After what seems forever I get most, not all due to many things being sold out of the school supplies.
So we move on to the toy department for a birthday present. I look at Nate and my baby has an empty glue bottle in one hand and the lid in another. WHAT??? IT WAS MY KID THAT MADE THAT MESS?? WHERE WAS I?? I'm not a crier, but that's all I could do. I started crying, picked up Nate and yelled at the other kids not to move. I dragged his bottom to the bathroom and spanked him. Yes it may have been a bit dramatic, but I didn't know what else to do, and dang it I felt better. So we march back to the cart, and I look through the school supplies to see what is not savable due to the glue. Well thank goodness most of the glue fell on the walmart floor and not all over the supplies. We just ruined a few folders, so I stashed them in an aisle and went to get more.
So yes, it was me that was the mother who let the child pour glue all over the walmart floor. So moral of the story is be sure you know who is causing the problem before you start pointing fingers because it may be YOU!! Kids are always so much fun!!

MRSA and cellulitis

Hello friends. Been awhile since I have written. It has been one crazy week, close to two weeks. Sam was bitten by what we believe was a spider on his bum about three weeks ago. It caused severe itching and just irritated the crap out of him. Then it started to grow. That next Monday I started caring for it at home by peroxide and antibiotic ointment. It started to look better, but then turned into a monster. By Wednesday he said he needed to go to the Dr. He went to an urgent care and they told him that it was probably a spider bite (not a brown recluse) that bite him and now was becoming infected. And me cleaning it only made it worse. Now instead of a little bite his entire bum was red and swollen. She put him on an antibiotic called bactrim and some steroid cream to put on the area. By Friday night it wasn't working. It was getting worse and the itching was driving him crazy. So he went to the ER. They doubled the dose of his bactrim and put him on some pain pills. And once again telling him if it gets worse come back, and they would probably have to admit him into the hospital.

The poor guy came home and followed all of there instructions, while me and the kids went swimming for 2 days. I was just trying to keep the kids out of his way, and of course wanted to be at the lake:)!! He layed on the couch and took his meds as directed. By the time Sunday night came around I looked at his lesion, and it seemed a lot worse. His leg was swollen. I have a little medical experience, and to be completely honest I was scared. This freakin' thing kept growing and nothing seemed to help at all. The man was miserable!! And he was now breaking out in a rash on his stomach! I told him he needed to go back to ER, but he was hesitant because they would want to keep him. We have NO insurance on Sam. He woke up Monday morning and went to work. My stomach kept on twisting telling me something was really wrong. I called him and urged him to come home. He didn't listen..."Someone needs to drive the fork lift"!! By noon he was so miserable with uncontrollable itching that he came home. He ran in the house and took a hot shower. He says that the hot water on his leg and bum was such a wonderful feeling, close to an orgasm as he explains.

So by now we know he was bitten by a spider, which became infected and has cellulitis. And is only getting worse!! The antibiotic is NOT working. So he is finally convinced to go back to the ER. We decided for him to go to the urgent care first because if he did need to go back to ER then they would call ahead and tell them he was coming. MISTAKE. They did tell him that he needed to go the ER but wouldn't call ahead.

Both set of our parents must have heard the concern in my voice because my mom came and got my brothers dog that I was babysitting and my 2 girls! Sam's parents came and got my 2 boys, so when I got off work I could go automatically to the ER without having to worry about them. What a blessing!!

He sat in the ER waiting room for a couple hours and when the triage nurse finally saw him, they realized this guy wasn't joking around. They started by saying they were going to give him a couple shots, and Sam informed him he's had shots they didn't work and he was sent to the ER believing they would have to start in IV. The Dr. actually listened and started and IV with medicine of adrenaline and something else for the itching and allergic reaction to the med. By this time Sam's entire stomach and arms are ate up with a rash. NOTHING seemed to help.

A spinal cord injury came in and we didn't see a Dr. or a nurse for 3 hours, and when we finally did they realized Sam was only getting worse. Basically to make this story a little shorter, we got to speak with a great Dr. that spoke to us like we were human instead of a complete annoyance. He was just going to hospitalize Sam over the allergic reaction he didn't even know what was on his bum. After seeing that he told Sam he would be spending at least a couple days in the hospital. They ran a bunch of test, and took him off the the bactrim.

Sam spent Monday night through Thursday afternoon in the hospital. He has MRSA that staph resistant to antibiotic, cellulitis, and had a severe allergic reaction to the bactrim. They have him on three different antibiotics and several different meds for the allergic reaction. He was discharged with 6 or 7 prescriptions, and will have to go in for outpatient care of IV abx treatment. Crazy story. We are completely exhausted, but so relieved that everything is starting to look better. You always realize how much friends and family care in a situation like this. Thank you all for the help and most of all the prayers. We have such a wonderful church family that has been there the entire time!! Also we are having help from a charity to pay for one of the meds that cost over 1,000 dollars for a 10 day supply. We only have to pay $5!! What a blessing!! We are also filling out paper work to see if we qualify for financial aid to help pay half or even all of the hospital bills. I pray this will work out for us!!

VBS

OK. So my kids have gone to vacation bible school ever since they were old enough, and I have never volunteered to help. So the head of the children's department caught me off guard and asked if I could help. What is my first response, SURE. AHHH but wait I have a bunch of kids to young in my daycare. She informed me that workers could bring their kids to there nursery. So I gave in and did it.

I started the morning off at 6:30 am, and began my normal duties. Got the kids up around 7:30, got them dressed and fed them breakfast. Miss Shirley informed me that the bus would be there to pick up my kids around 10 after 8:00am. Due to me watching so many kids and not driving a bus myself I needed help hauling the children around. So I take the older ones outside and began the 40 minute wait for the bus. Yes 40 minutes!!! We finally see the bus and he drives right on by...what is going on here? I noticed he was picking some kids up from up the hill, and then he drove by again. Only this time he looked at us, and pointed his finger as if to say "one minute". He began backing up in the middle of the road and noticed someone behind him, so he drove on. We waited another 10 minutes and I said forget it, so I piled up the kids in my van. Thank goodness one of the parents took her 3 boys to VBS, so I did have enough room in my van. That bus never did come back, he was sitting there in the parking lot when I got there.

I will skip some other irritating issues I had!! Sometimes my over organized anal characteristics get in the way.

After informing Shirley of what had happened with the bus. She told me she had forgotten to let the bus driver know to stop at my house. That's great. I thought that was the reason she called me and woke me up from my Sunday afternoon nap. But anyways, lets move on.

So there is 15 minutes left until VBS is over for the day. Shirley lets me know that my kids need to be on the red bus. OK "is the bus the color red", I ask her. NO. They need to have red bands on their wrists. OK "so where do I find these red bands", she responds that she'll have to locate them. OK when will that happen while she is closing out VBS? By this point I am on the verge of going OFF!!!! The next thing I know my kids don't have red bands and have no idea they are even supposed to be on a RED bus. And Shirley starts telling the "red bus kids" to go to there room. Now I've hit it...that place I don't like to be...I'm about to lose my mind!!! I run all over the auditorium and try and locate 5 of my older kids to get to this room. The poor kids were confused and scared. Devyn was trying to help me find everyone, and thank heavens she knew were all of them were located. So I get them to this RED room and the guy says, well they don't have red bands....ARRRRRGHHHHHH. I don't care if they have them or not, Shirley didn't give them to me and will you PLEASE take them my address!!??

We all made it. 9 of us back home safely. I guess when it comes down to it, Shirley did make sure my kids got on a bus, maybe not the organized way I thought it should be but it happened. I can't stand chaos, and that's what the entire morning was!!!! But I am happy to say today was much better. I really loved it. I've taught most of the kids I have in Sunday School, and they are so precious!! Ester and I have 12 boys and only 2 girls in our group. They keep us busy. But what a blessing to watch them sing to Jesus, do crafts and learn a story about the bible!! I'm so glad I volunteered!!

God is Good!!

Tired

I've always loved my nap times, but lately it seems to be getting out of hand. WHY AM I SO FREAKIN' TIRED? I barely finish that sentence to myself when it hits me duuhhh I watch 9 kids (including mine) during the day. Along with trying to keep up with the laundry, dishes, straightening of the house, ect. All the while I am saying NO NO NO. I hate that word, and it seems to be the only one I say. Summers are so hard. They should be the fun and relaxing times, but for my family it goes into overdrive!!

But then again I am so thankful that I do get to have a nappy time. I am very thankful I am taking care of my kids and I don't have to pay someone to do the job I want so much to do. YES, there are times I would like to be alone and relax, but then I would miss so much!! For example the frog this morning they found. That poor frog, it endured over an hour of abuse from curious children. They built it a pond, made sure he had food to eat, and lots of rocks for him to jump on. By the time I said outside time is over that poor frog was pretending to be dead, do ya blame him??

Or all the times Nate tells me when he is peeing outside, "nobody wants to see your pickle". I came to find out his grammie told him this one day while he was peeing on her yard. I would miss all those funny sayings, and they aren't even trying to be funny. Just the greatest innocence in our world!

I remember one time when we went to the Discovery Center, Dev and I had to go to the bathroom. She informed me she couldn't get the napkins out to wash her hands off. I'm thinking what??? I look at her and realized she was trying to get "napkins" out of the tampons box. As I am dying laughing she is asking me what is so funny..."it says sanitary napkins".

Now I that I look back my kids have said so many funny things in their short lives, why didn't I write it all down? I will try to from this point on.

One more funny one before I leave, one day Nate was playing outside and told Jesus, "Jesus turn off your fan, it is way to windy down here".
These may be the most tiring days of my life, but so worth it.

I love my babies!!

Old friends

You know with my past I'm not to keen on seeing any of my "old friends". Due to a lot of them being more of drug buddies than friends. Also having the demands of my own family there is little time to keep in touch. Which in some cases is bad, because I did have some great friends. I guess what is bringing this all up is I just had a 5 hour visit with a great friend. Jake, he lives in Colorado now but has to come here to pick his daughter up for the summer. Boy, times change, it was really a good time visiting with him. I always get a bit nervous when I know I will see someone from my past, but this seemed so natural. He has really grown up, he has changed so many things. I am truly proud of him!!
Mom always reminds me that not everyone from my past looks at me and only remembers who I was, and today I felt like that was true.
Cheers to old friends and new lives.

our fourth

My sister-n-law started a new blog page, and I thought it would be fun to try. I've done a couple on myspace but I like this better. I don't know how often I will be able to do this, but I'm going to try to often. This is the blog I posted on myspace today.

Hello friends!! Hope everyone had a great Fourth of July. We had a wonderful and busy time with our family. You know the older I get, (which sucks) I realize I just can't do the stuff I used too. Of course, there are a few things I would never want to do again, but staying up late having a few drinks is one thing I don't mind doing every once in awhile. Only my body does mind. It takes me a couple of days to get myself back to normal. Sam can go go go, what the hell is wrong with him!?! I learned this even more last weekend. Dan and Andrea came down to the lake on Sunday and we enjoyed a nice relaxing afternoon out there with a few drinks. Before we knew it, it's midnight we're back home with a lot more than a case of beer gone. It seriously took me until Wednesday morning to feel back to normal. But no matter how many times I deal with this, I still don't stop trying. Like some miracle will happen, and I will suddenly be 18 again.
Friday night was my night to stay up late, so I tried. I was actually smart enough to stop drinking awhile before I went to bed though. I went to lay down and of course Sam is still going..."ya wanna go swimming?" I decided what the hell it's not every weekend you get to spend at the lake. We go down the dark trail to the lake and who gets in the damn water??? ME and only ME! Kind of pissed me off...he dragged my ass out of bed to go swimming is this muddy, tree infested lake (due to the water being so high)!! Well then he drags my brother out there, and he decides we should all go to the dock instead of behind the house. The dock isn't even on land, you have to take a row boat out to it. We do this, and then we remember the boat dock has no electricity and we can't see to open the lock. How annoying!! So we take the boat back to shore and forget it. All the while we think Andrea is reading in bed thinking we are idiots for even attempting this. OHHHH no she is trying to be sneaky...I'm gonna hide in the woods, and try and scare the shit out of them. HA HA your sneaky shit didn't work with us!! I didn't even realize she was out there. Sam and Dan did, but the MEN didn't get scared! Too funny.
I thought I would be suffering the next day, but I am happy to report we enjoyed another long and beautiful day out on the lake. Now I did have to have a nap on sunday, which didn't work out to well for me...Nate kicking me the entire time. But now that it's Monday I feel much better.
What a great weekend. Being with Mom, Dan, Andrea and my family. My girls learned how to dive (really good actually), Nate attempted the dive but did more of a belly flop. Hey kudos to him for even trying, and Luke enjoyed swimming and relaxing at the lake. Family, lake time, food, beer...what more could ya ask for...Ohh well safety and God blessed us with that too!!
Hope you all had a great Fourth.