Our Special Day with Luke!

Luke is now 6 years old and Sam and I have never had a special day with just him! Well it worked out just perfect last Sunday to where we had him all alone. Sadey and Nate were with Elke and Devyn went with mom to the C of O 4th of July celebration!

To start off our day together we went to the Butterfly Palace. As a previous blog noted, I really enjoy this place, especially with the discount locals get! Luke had a blast! They have a new exhibit that's called a coconut tree. They strap you up in this bungee looking thing and then you climb a "tree". When you get to the top you let go and the bungee slides you down to the ground. Pretty cool, and really cool that Luke did it. He is our child who kind of shies off from "scary" things. The only time he freaked out was when he had to let go at the top, not to much of a fan of that! A few tears but he did it...we were proud!

Then the boys had the grand idea of miniature golf. NOT A FAN!! First of all I suck and second of all it's a rip off! None of us were very good, we had to finally give Luke a limit of 6 tries or less we would have been there all night! We ended up having a fun time. It was something he wanted to do, so we did it.

Finally we went to his favorite Mexican restaurant, and then went to the lake for a night swim. We had a great time together. It's always neat to watch the kids be with us alone, just their time! Luke is such a neat kid, and very well mannered when he isn't competing with his brother! It was his day to shine and he did! We love you Lukas!

Many Things

I hope every one's summer is going well. Of course, ours has been busy and fun! I have many things to tell you, but don't want to sit here all day so I will do this quickly.

1. We went on our annual camp trip with the family a couple weeks ago. It was very eventful! First off, we brought some neighbors of mom and dads. This was the first time they had been to the Buffalo, and we really wanted it to be great for them. When we arrived on Friday, you could tell storm clouds were rolling in. The rangers told us that a hail storm was expected in 30 minutes. So what do we do? Put up are tents? Wait it out? Is there really going to be a storm or is going to roll on by? Well we went with going ahead and putting up the tents. I have to say this is the first time Sam and I have put up our tent so smoothly. I mean it took us maybe 10 minutes with NO fights...amazing! As we were putting up the rain flap Sam said, "Boy this looks like poison oak!" STAY AWAY!! Sam and poison oak have a very bad history and I will not go into this right now...for the sake of his esteem. So no storm yet...we are doing good. Almost everyone has their tents up and the boys decide to go ahead and get our canoes for the next day. This is where the trouble began. Right as they pull off the thunder starts, light sprinkles, but no big deal. Mom, Jean and I go ahead and decide to put up DD and Sadey's tent. We are are almost to putting on the rain flap when the rain starts pouring. Nicely enough mom and Jean helped me quickly put on the flap, and then we all ran to our cars. Lighting and thunder makes Sarah very nervous! Anyways, it passed, and then we all proceeded to putting our "homes" together. The boys arrived back with the bad details of how the canoe rental place was all filled up for Saturday! They did have a 3 hr trip for us though. We go to the river mainly to float ALL DAY Saturday on it, so this was a bit disappointing. Our 3 hr trip ended up being more like 2 hrs! It was beautiful though! NO storms and the river was perfect temp! Saturday night about 2am it starts lighting! Sam decides to go to the girls tent and sleep with them, and I stay in our tent with the boys. I believe he just made it to the girls tent when the storm started in full force! From 2 am till 5 am it stormed! It was NOT fun and no sleep was involved during this time! It rained so hard that our tent got pretty soaked! I was exhausted Sunday morning and wanting my bed so badly! The good thing is that the rain did stop long enough for us all to pack our stuff and go home Sunday. All in all it was fun and I can't wait to go again! Oh and by the way that was poison oak that Sam got into! By Wednesday morning his eye was swollen shut! He is much better now after a shot of steroid, a prescription, and a $40 soap that helped a lot!

2. Got a wild hair and gave the boys Mohawks! They are too cute. I think it really shows off their personality.

3. For DD's bday she got shaving equipment! So yes, my 11 year is now shaving! Such a big moment in her life! Last Friday night she got in the bathtub and I taught her how to shave. It was a special moment between us and I hope she doesn't forget it! I also hope she doesn't get lazy about taking care of her legs! We shall see!

4. Last weekend we were at our usual favorite place, the lake. But this time it was more eventful because the kids tried to ski! First they all tried the tube, except Devyn! Too scared! Sadey had the most fun, she is a dare devil out there! I was surprised! Then they got brave enough to try the ski's. First Sadey, of course, I sat out there with her and Sam held the rope from the boat, so when she falls the rope doesn't keep pulling her! I remember this as a kid, dad sitting in the water with me teaching me to ski! This was an important moment between me and the kids also! Sadey, Luke and Nate all got up on the ski's but not for very long, once again Devyn did not try! I was so proud of them, and can't wait till they try again! They will be able to do it next time! No pics, sorry!!

Crazy May!

When I think of a crazy time of year, the holidays always come to mind. Thanksgiving leads right into Christmas, which is always crazy. But now that I have 3 kids in school I KNOW what the crazy time of year is...May!
May is the time of year when people are crawling out of our hole of hibernation, and wanting to feel the warmth of sunshine on our bodies. It's the time of year that children are getting excited because school is almost out for the summer. What I have learned the most though, it is the time of year for field trips!!
Let me give a run down of all the activities my children have encountered so far this May, and I'm sure I will miss some.
6 school field trips, dodgeball tournamentssss, ice cream parties, reading celebration parties, teddy bear parties, beach days, 2 spring school programs, after-school reading celebration, tae kwon do practice at a farm, t-ball practices, Sadey attended a b-day party, Dev is having a b-day party tomorrow, GA's sleep over, Splash country field trip with the church, and a church spring program. I think that's all.
A calender has become my new best friend. Why? Well everyone of these activities either requires money sent to school/church or I need to remember a list of things they need to take for each trip. Example? Beach day...towel, swimsuit, extra clothes, snack and drink, balls, and most important sunblock. Field trip...please bring $3 for the field trip, and then IF you want let them bring an additional $2 for some snacks and to feed the animals at the zoo.
It's crazy to have 3 kids doing 3 different activities. I mean crazy, and Nate isn't even in school yet!
You have to have some sense of organization! I feel like I have notes scattered every where!
Well enough of poor me! They only have one day left and it's just half a day. So, yes together my kids and I have made it successfully through another May. I couldn't have done it without them helping me through, they are such good kids!!

Need Energy?

I just love this time of year. Warm days, lovely nights, flowers blooming, tree's getting their leaves back, and the general fact that you can spend an entire day outside without freezing! Plus you know lake time is just around the corner!
So this is what our family has been doing on the weekends, spending time outdoors. One weekend we took a hike behind our house that leads to the lake... eventually. Very steep. It was so much fun that we went into Branson to continue hiking and take the kids to the hatchery...again. Last weekend Sam worked our a**es off in the yard. He borrowed dads chainsaw and decided he was a timber man. The yard looks so much better. It will be a long process, but one day we will have a landscaped yard. Take note though that while Sam was sawing down trees, me and the kids were the ones who had to haul the wood to the wood pile or burn pile. I sound like I'm complaining, but I actually really enjoy working outside! I remember growing up helping work outside a lot with my parents, and now I'm working on my own yard and love it. Very rewarding. Plus it's good to get the kids involved in outdoor activities instead of sitting on their butts watching TV or playing video games. It's funny to watch 4 different kids work in the yard. Devyn is all eager the first 10 minutes, then gets bored and "acts" like she is doing something. More like controlling what the other kids are doing. Sadey is a very hard worker, she doesn't stop until told! Like the energizer bunny...she keeps going and going and going! Luke is another hard worker! He had such a good time. It was fun to watch him be such a boy and try to pick up the biggest logs, he also didn't stop! Nate...well here we are again at Nate. Let's just say he got bored! He worked hard, and then came up to me and said "I wanna help, but not with wood anymore." He walked around with a stick pretending he was a knight most of the day.
Well this weekend was another busy one. To make a long story shorter I will just tell you what we did Saturday. First off we didn't go the hill Friday night, so we got to sleep in and I made us a big breakfast around 10ish. I encouraged the kids to eat a lot because we had a special day planned! This was hard for Sadey and Nate because they don't eat much of anything! We had decided to go to the zoo. The last time we went was when I was pregnant with Nate and Luke was under one. I went on the Internet to see how much it costs, and learned that St. Johns had a clinic going on at the zoo, and admission was free all day. What a deal...we were going! Sam called his mom to invite his sister Kelly, and she was very bored so was glad for the invite. Devyn and Kelly talked the entire way to Springfield without shutting up. This is actually the longest period I have heard Nate go without speaking for a long time. So in that way I am thankful because they were talking to one another and not asking me 20 questions about stuff I don't know how to answer! The zoo was nice. Busy but the kids had a blast.
We dropped Kelly off and went to the place we can never seem to stay away from...Walmart. While checking out Sam noticed the 5 hour energy drinks. And yes that seemed like the perfect answer to our lack of energy at the moment. It was not even 5pm and we were both ready to go to bed. 4 kids at a busy zoo, and the boys wore flip flops that hurt their feet, so Luke complained about his feet most of the time and I carried Nate around most of the zoo...so yes we were pretty tired! We got home and the kids had their gourmet meals of Kids Cuisine, while Sam and I downed our energy drinks.
Let me just say this. Now that I have 4 kids, and know it is impossible to sleep in, I go to bed early!! I was thinking 5 hour energy (comparable to one cup of coffee-that's what the bottle says) so take it at 5 go to bed at 10 or 11! HA HA! One cup of coffee my buttah! I was up past 2am and had to be up at 7 to get ready for church. This stuff is good. Gets the heart a pumpin'! I stayed up late enough to enjoy my husband outside of our children. It was so nice! I was tired Sunday, but I took a nap after church and felt much better. Good times! So if you are ever in need of a energy boost...try the drink.
Hope you all are enjoying your spring and are reminded of God's wonderful beauty!!

Ohh I have a new comment from Nate. On the way home from the zoo, he was telling everyone how he rides a bus. Devyn, "NO you don't!"
"I ride the church bus you FREAKS!" I guess he told them!

Easter Weekend

What a great weekend it was!

The week didn't start off to great with first Nate getting the stomach flu, then me and by Friday Luke. Poor Luke. The kid spent his entire spring break sick and missing out on all kinds of fun. So mom thought that since he had Good Friday off she would have him spend the night Thursday night and then take him to the Butterfly Palace Friday. Just him, something that never happens. Unfortunately being in the middle of many children does suck sometimes! He was so excited, but that all ended Friday morning with mom calling saying he had been puking since 6am! So yes my poor big man had to miss out on another day of fun! One of these days he will get his break!!

Amazingly the sickness held off the entire weekend. It came back with a vengeance starting on Monday. Luke again, Sadey then Sam and Devyn got it! Just 24 hour episode, Thank God! Ohhh one funny thing about it! The older Devyn gets the more she seems to fight me over EVERYTHING. I guess I should understand this since I did the same thing to my mom, but it doesn't help to know this! She got up yesterday releasing fluids from both openings, and then insisted that she HAS to go to school. "We are having Map Testing, and I can't miss it!" Persisted on and on to the point I was ready to throw her out of the house! So I woke up Nate, made her get dressed and drove her to school! Making sure she understood that I would NOT come and get her! This was her decision and I hope she made the right one! I went to see her before church started that night, and she told me that she got sick at school a couple times. But she DID NOT make a mistake by her decision to go...she was fine. "I'm Fine, I feel good"! Blah Blah. Sometimes I wonder why God gave me girls, I just don't seem to be to good at this stuff!

We were blessed with my brother and his wife's presence on Friday night! They hadn't been down in a while so they decided to come down earlier than they usually do. I'm so glad they did! As always I really enjoyed their company. Andrea helped me with the egg decorating, and Dan and Aj both helped with the egg hunt! The kids enjoyed their Aunt and Uncle tremendously!

The egg decorating was adventurous, as always! My kids always go to church that week with stained hands that look like they have not had a bath in a while! The girls did pretty good at keeping their hands clean, but Luke an Nate used their hands to dip their eggs in and out of the dye. Nate washed his hands when he got done decorating (more like breaking) his eggs, and was upset that the dye didn't come off of his hands. He couldn't understand it!

We decided to have the egg hunt on Saturday since the weather was going to suck on Sunday. Easter should be a holiday that is required to have nice sunny warm weather!! The kids had a great time hunting their eggs at Nana and Poppa's! We had a great dinner and more important a great time together as a family!

Sunday we went to church as a family to celebrate our risen Lord, and then we carried on the celebration at mom and dads with a great lunch! It was such a great time! I always enjoy those long weekends with family, this one was especially nice since dad was home! Plus I really enjoyed watching the kids bond more with their Aunt Andrea and Uncle Dan. Dan couldn't really get away from Nate, he demanded most of his time. I loved watching them!

Lots of things Happening!

Well once again it has been awhile since I have blogged, so I have many things to tell you!






1. Devyn got her green belt in tae kwon do! She is so awesome! She excels many of the kids in the class! Devyn can do just about anything if she puts all she has into it. If she is not interested watch out...it won't happen! But she loves tae kwon do, and it shows through her performance, it truly is beautiful to watch her!































2. I got my hair cut! When I decide to do something different with my hair, I never seem to do it in a small way. I figure it's hair it will grow back. I have this philosophy only if my mom or Kristal does my hair. I trust both of them completely! I have NO luck with anyone else. I cut off about 8 inches and took all the blond out! It was killing my hair. I haven't had healthy hair in a long time. Now it is brown with red highlights and very healthy! I'm loving it! Sam likes the blond of course (most men do), but he likes my new cut!

That's an up close pic, but you get the idea, I hope.

3. Our project. We have lived in our home for 6 years, and all of those 6 years I have wanted to pull up the carpet in the living room. Sam protested until this year when the carpet started pulling away from the tile near the fireplace. I pulled it up to reveal the beautiful hard wood underneath, and he went for it! This was not a small project! It took 2 full days of hard work! Plus the tile that we changed by the fireplace took another few days because of all the layers of work. It turned out awesome! We live in a very different house now. The living room is transformed! There are a few scratches and wear on the floor, but that brings character! The carpet was so nasty, Sam thinks there was black mold on it! So we are hoping that it will help our children's allergies to have it gone, and most of all Luke's breathing problems. We went to spend the night at Sam's parents house last Friday and when we came home it was the first time our house didn't smell like mold! It was amazing!

4. Sadey received an award for being Character of the Month. Those who know Sadey will enjoy this story! If you don't let me just say this...Sadey is a very very smart little girl, like she is in first grade reading on a third grade level and her writing is even better, but Sadey tends to be very ditsy sometimes! Anyways I was so excited for her and even more excited that I would be able to attend the breakfast with her! They have all the "character of the month" children and their parents come together for breakfast and give them an award. I had asked Sadey what the character word was, and she told me commitment. I asked her what she did to show commitment and she replied that she had no idea! Ok that is funny within itself, but it gets better. Nate and I get ready, go to her school, and start enjoying breakfast. Her principle gets up and explains the program and that we should be proud of our children. She then explains that the character word of the month is........drum roll please...........Cooperation. I'm laughing too hard to even type! Sadey looked at me with her huge blue eyes and said...OPPS! OHHH ya it is cooperation! She still has no idea what she did to show this character though! But as her mother I can see her showing cooperation a lot more than commitment! That's my Sadey!!

Wii

Wow. Its been awhile. I just haven't had much to write about. Many things happening in my life, but not some I want to share with the world:). But now I have something I want to share. From my past posts most of you will know that I love the Wii! I mean love, it is such a great way to pull the family together and exercise without even realizing it because you are having so much fun. Well, Sam and I made the splurge and bought one.

I have had so much fun, along with so much frustration. Right when I think I have perfected bowling , I seriously scored a 300 game...perfect, my next game is 170 something. What?? Then there is tennis. I love it, thought I had it down, and then Sam decided he play me. He is good. I mean GOOD! I have to admit as mad as I get because he is beating me I have a lot of fun. It is such a challenge. I start just thinking I will play him a game of tennis and then it ends up 8 games later, sweat pouring down my back and face, and I have maybe won a couple games. It's such a work out. I'm one of those Wii players that fully gets into it. Sam barely moves and I'm all over the place. It has to be pretty funny to watch!! I definitely follow the strap to wrist rule. A couple days after we got it I was so sore that I couldn't even turn my neck...it was one of those entire body turns! Started feeling better last night, so I whipped Sam in bowling and he whipped me in tennis!

One more note on the Wii, the kids have really enjoyed it also. It amazes me that a 4 year old can play the game. They are all great! We have really had a blast as a family with our new Wii!

Spongebob

OK. So once again I am not a cake designer, but I had to share my latest work.

One of my daycare moms asked me to make a Spongebob cake for her sons second bday. I had made a Elmo cake for his first, so I thought why not take on the challenge. I love the research and ideas I find on the Internet. I always choose one that is easy but cute. I learned this method after driving myself and my husband crazy with hard cakes. My perfectionist attitude didn't help in the matter either. I have also learned what is special about a homemade cake is mistakes. It is done with caring, loving hands. Or this is what I try to convince myself! Spongebob is pretty easy with him being square and all. This is all frosting. I don't know how to do the fondant stuff. All the talents of the hands. Only kidding. I'm NO artist, but I sure do enjoy baking a cake and seeing the final product.

A game and more...

OK. Mrs. Pullan, I'm not too much of a fan of these "computer" games and this is a good example of why. This is a game where you are supposed to paste the picture from your fourth folder and then the fourth picture. Then your supposed to explain the picture and tag four people. Well here is where people are lucky because I don't know 4 people who blog, and out of my empathetic heart I will not make you post a picture like the one above. It is pretty funny, and I will try and do my best to "explain" it.
First of all, notice the snot dripping out of my sons nose, the slobber out of his mouth, and what is that on his cheek?? Looks like a big zit to me! He looks like a child with a swollen head, I'm sure it was just one of those times he was recouping from pneumonia. OK so no I'm not a photographer, thank goodness that is something Sam is really good at! This is during a time in my life where I had quit the nursing job, decided I wanted to be at home with my babies, and to make ends meet I decided to start babysitting. I thought I had made a huge mistake at first because the first couple of kids I watched I didn't really care for. I think the little girls name was Cara. I took care of her and her little brother, and not for very long. It was a sad situation that I have seen too many times over the past 5 years of my job, a torn apart family. I won't go into detail but I didn't take care of the kids for too long, which was probably a good thing. So, the above picture was of Cara and Luke preparing to go outside and play! They both look kind of "dirty" don't they??

Let's move on. Last weekend I filled out a survey called "My 3's". Basically it was one of those surveys that ask you to write your favorite foods, 3 places you've been, and so on. One of the questions was to write down 3 things you want to see happen. Well I wrote something like, I want summer time, lake time, and I wouldn't mind seeing a good snow before winter leaves us. If you know me, then you know I'm not a fan of winter. I hate being cold, I hate being stuck indoors (Sarah doesn't go outside if it's cold), and there just isn't much to do. But if winter must come I enjoy a beautiful snow. Well I got what I asked for...well kind of. More like a big ice storm. Kimberling City got like 1 to 2 inches of ice and about 2 inches of snow on top of that Monday night through Tuesday. Now I will admit that when the snow finally came Tuesday night it was gorgeous. Huge white snow flakes, and they fell at a glorious pace. It was stunning! We have been pretty much stuck indoors since Monday. The kids haven't had school all week, and it's not the kind of snow you can play in. At least I don't think so, more like the kind of snow you fall and break your neck in because the majority of it is ice. So my poor babies have been stuck inside for days. It always reminds me how good my kids are in a situation like this. They get along so well with each other. They play for hours and hours because the TV is limited in our house during the day time hours.
We all have a case of cabin fever now, but hopefully by tomorrow we can get out for a while. My kids have been sick one at a time starting about 4 weeks ago. Sadey first, then Dev, then Luke, he got it worst of all and turned out to be strep throat, and now Nate has it. So not only do we have the cabin fever but the kids have literally had fevers for the past month also. It has been a pretty long month, and I can say I am truly looking forward to spring and summer now. Only a couple months to go!!

Go Gators!

I say it's Great to be a Florida Gator! Who won that 08' National Championship?? That's right the Gators! I'm so excited! What an intense game that they pulled out! Thank God for our defence, and then finally our offense! Tebow is my superman!!

You can just add 08' to that picture above! Whooo Hooo!

The Shack

I have found a book that everyone should read! The Shack.

To be completely honest this book was hard for me to read. I'm at a point in my life right now where I am having some issues with anger. And as the average human that I am I try to find blame with my anger. I have many sources but one of them is God. Watch out I may be struck down by lightening! It is a hard thing for me to admit, to be angry with the One who created me, how absurd! It may be absurd but it is my truth right now. Or at least was my truth. I believe God puts a book in your hands with His meaning when you need it, and he did that with me through The Shack. This book has lightened my heart, taken away some of my anger, answered some questions that the human race has had for a long time. It may be WM. Paul Young's answer to these questions, but I believe God spoke through him. It is so hard to realize sometimes that I am worth God's love, but I do believe He loves me. Crazy, to love me!

This book has opened my eyes and changed my heart forever! For those who doubt the existence of God, it may open your mind to Him a little, or at the very least it will be entertaining for you. Those who do believe in God must have an open mind. It all makes perfect sense to me! It is a book of fiction but as Willie said at the end of the book, "Do I think it's true? I want all of it to be true. Perhaps if some of it is not actually true in one sense, it is still true nonetheless--if you know what I mean. I guess you and Sarayu will have to figure that one out."

If you read one book this New Year, give The Shack a chance.
It is not just a chic book, men will love it too! Actually I could see where a man may be touched more by this book than a woman.

Also, this book has phrases at the beginning of every chapter. Oh, how I love little tid-bits of knowledge written down in a way that makes you ponder for awhile. Some of my favorites...

Nothing makes us so lonely as our secrets. Paul Tournier.

Two roads diverged in the middle of my life,

I heard a wise man say

I took the road less traveled by

And that's made the difference every night and every day

Larry Norman (with apologies to Robert Frost)

The soul is healed by being with children. Fyodor Dostoevsky.

Let's pray that the human race never escapes Earth to spread its iniquity elsewhere. C.S. Lewis.

Growth means change and

change involves risk, stepping

from the known to the unknown. Author unknown.

Even should we find another Eden,

we would not be fit to enjoy it perfectly nor stay in it forever. Henry Van Dyke.

Two more....

Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully

as when they do it from a religious conviction. Blaise Pascal

Falsehood has an infinity of combinations,

but truth has only one mode of being. Jean Jacques Rousseau.

Happy reading!

theshackbook.com