Ten on Tuesday

1. It has been twelve days since the tornados hit..the little kids everywhere to include my own are used to hearing talk about it now. When they are playing you can hear, "take shelter the tornado is coming" "you'll have to go to your own shelter, this shelter is full" "look at all the damage the tornado left"

2. After several rides with the Red Cross I never, thought I would ever look at a house with tarps nailed to were the roof used to be and think..well this damage isn't so bad..

3. After every ride I took with the Red Cross Bella would ask me when I returned, "Did you help Mrs. H tonight? Did you make it to her house?" Every night I would answer, "not tonight baby." and she would say, "well there's always tomorrow night."

4. On my last and final ride, on the very last street we turned onto the very first house was Mrs. H's..and I couldn't stop the tears. After we finished the route, I got out of the truck and stood in that front yard and just cried..for Mrs H and for all the people of Alabama.

5. My children have seen enough pictures of the devastation that they want to give away their own belongings to help some of the other children. Bella would single handedly sponsor little Luke. And I would second the nomination..

6. The past fourteen days has given me a new perspective on things and what is important. Family, friendships, material things, and people in general. People always say if you lost everything what would you try and save. If you were faced with disaster what would you do?

7. Bella had field day today in the toasty 90 degree heat. She has enjoyed every second of kindergarten and hasn't realized that she will be leaving soon.

8. I have 7 days of school left. I love it but yes, I'm counting. The pool is calling my name and Amelia's and Will's. We are ready.

9. Two days until Nashville. I'm looking forward to a weekend away with some of my favorite girls.

10. Jason is really looking forward to being home alone with four kids this weekend. To top it off - 8AM soccer game. Fantastic. He's super dad..he's totally got this.
10.

Ten on Tuesday

1. My bathroom conversation with Amelia.."When I get bigger I'm only going to have one baby. I don't want my belly to look like yours." Lucky for you sister #2, I was willing to sacrifice my six pack.

2. I think the only person more excited in our house for me to get my hair done is Amelia. She knows that when I see Miss Kris I will return to the house with straight hair and for a little while she and I will have the same hair.

3. When we arrived in Ohio, from our tornado damaged state we didn't know how long we would be here. My mom gave Will a huge hug and said "I am so glad to see you and I am so happy you are here. What happened?" and this is what he said, "Alabama is broken."

4. I have to admit that my brother's "siren" ring on his cellphone wasn't the least bit funny last Thursday night. The first three times I heard it I literally scanned the area for my children and looked for an escape route to the pantry. And I'm not kidding.

5. The boys are no longer afraid of the 5 pound attack dog Tinkerbelle that terrified them when we arrived at Nene's. Will walks her around on a leash now and Drew says "NO". Amelia bosses her around like she is the queen of England.

6. My niece is an only child. Obviously my children are not. Parker was greatly offended when Will told her she was "stinky Parker". In true Will fashion, once he found out it bothered her, he told her again.

7. School begins on Wednesday. Please keep these children and the teachers in your prayers..especially Bella's teacher.

8. I am amazed by this little community that I now call home. You haven't read about or heard much about us on the news but BIG things are happening here. The people take care of one another and it is a-ma-zing.

9. The death of the most wanted terrorist is a victory for our MILITARY.
It is a win for the men and women who have fought this war, with their hands and with their blood.
It is not a victory for a politician, who voted against this war and just three weeks ago thought it was okay, under the stress of the budget for the same Navy Seal team 6 and their family to go without pay.

10. If #9 becomes the saving grace for said politicians relection campaign I'm going to have a heart attack.

Ten on Tuesday

1. When you repeatedly tell someone how awesome you are, you're probably the only one that thinks so.

2. I am thankful for true friends that keep me grounded, make me laugh and always give sound advice and are just here for me whenever I need them. You know who you are and I love you girls.

3. My first week of teaching my own actual class went very well. I love it there and hope I stay for a long time. I love those kids and it was a great week.

4. We took the kids to the gardens for the annual egg hunt and their quest for a new pet continues. Will is interested in "goosies" and Amelia had a thing for turtles or ducks. I had pet ducks as a child so don't get any ideas Popstar.

5. My children do not like Mascots and only Bella would go near the Easter bunny. Amelia admired from afar and Will made a run for it as soon as he saw that Easter Bunny. He said, that Bunny man better not come over here.

6. This week I wore a pair of pants that had a very small hole in the leg. Bella said "why do these pants have a hole in them?" I answered, "These pants are older than you. I even wore them when I was pregnant with you." Bella thought about it for a minute and said, "How old are they 10,000 years old?" At least she's learning her numbers.

7. And out of no where Drew is back to sucking his thumb. I'm serious when I say we're going to need a "thumb sucking patch" to break this boy..

8. Drew is talking more and more. One of my favorite words he says is, "Wheel". We're staying in the south so I might as well work on the accents.

9. Jason downloaded a new version of IE for the laptop. Now to publish to the blog, I have to type of the posts and then log in through the Ipad to publish. Honestly, not a fan of this new process.

10. This ones for my MZBC friends..hopefully you'll enjoy the new section in the church magazine because someone, who reads here - and I will find you, recommended me to write a column there.

Ten on Tuesday

1. So Will tells us last week that inside his underwear are some Pomegranates. And proceeds to ask if everyone has pomegranates in their underwear? Oh by the way, he's talking about the purple man on his Fruit of the Loom tag.

2. It was 85 degrees here and sunny today. Woohoo. Summer is a comin'. After all the snow this winter, bring it mother nature. We're ready to hit the pool.

3. Amelia is now not only afraid of the cat she's also afraid of a crow. I'm telling you we are animal people here. And the animals can feel it..

4. Last week I received a text from one of my best friends..Will's girl Chloe was at the eye doctor getting her eyes dialated and this is what she had to say, "I don't love anybody. I don't love anybody but Will."

5. Come August you're going to have to pick a certain 3 year old boy out of a great big puddle in the floor when his future wife pulls outta town. Amelia and I will probably be laying down beside him..

6. I feel like we've gotten more than our fair share of disappointing and stressful news lately. Best friends leaving, surgeries, medical procedures, unspoken prayer requests, dealing with the uncertainty of Jason's job. I try so very hard to be a positive, encouraging person for the people around me but lately I feel like we are being smothered from all sides. The smile on my face is getting a little tighter and inside my heart is almost breaking.

7. I know that God doesn't give us more than He thinks we can handle but I keep asking him to lighten up a little. And I'm asking you "my people", if you've got sad, disappointing or bad news for me..see me in 2012.

8. Isabella/Nene and Amelia/Granny had an art contest on Saturday. They had to make a sky/nature scene completely out of construction paper. I will try to post pictures of their finished masterpieces.

9. Today at school Amelia caught a ladybug on the playground and carried that thing around for 15 minutes. She said is anyone allergic to ladybugs? Can this ladybug please be our pet?

10. And oh the budget. I pray that this mess is taken care of and our country can get back on track. I pray it is a country that I can once again be proud of. A country that will pay the soldiers protecting it's freedom regardless of what's going on in Washington. Our soldiers sacrifice enough..they don't need to give up their paychecks too.

Ten on Tuesday

1. Will's favorite color is orinch not to be confused with orange. He loves to wear orange as often as possible and you can usually spot him from across the room - or parking lot - the shirts are so bright. His shoes are also "orinch" if I haven't mentioned that before.

2. In the morning, after prayer meeting he gets two skittles from his Mrs. Laura. Every day he gets orange and on the really great days he says gets excited and says "Hey they match my shirt. Or hey they match my shoes." I love that Mrs Laura knows that my boy will ask for two orange skittles every day.

3. The point of the orange shirts.. One of his shirts has a very large Phoenix on it and a a bunch of stars. I didn't go for design, I went strictly for color. Will and Jason have had many discussions apparently about this bird and Will can tell you that it's a Phoenix on his shirt. Last Wednesday, he told my mother in his most serious voice: This bird on my shirt is very angry. This is a mean bird on my shirt. I seriously almost cried laughing.

4. It was a beautiful weekend here. Sunny and 85..everyone in the neighborhood was mowing their yards to include Will. Everyone else was swinging and sliding and Will was mowing.

5. Drew woke up in the middle of the night last night hysterically crying. The kid could not be calmed down and screamed for 45 minutes. We offered him water, tried to get him to go back to sleep, pulled out all our best tricks. Finally, desperate Jason set him down to see what he actually wanted and he ran into the kitchen for one specific sippy cup. I'm telling you this kid is stubborn.

6. I realized yesterday fall break and spring break have both been spent on my couch. My next break better be somewhere with a better view and ocean waves and not a pitstop at the hospital.

7. This was my morning conversation with Bella yesterday. Names changed to protect the innocent.."Mama, did you know Sally and Suzie are BFF? They are BFF. And Frank broke up with Jane because she was too flashy. Frank doesn't like girls that show off."

8. The girls are coming to Nashville in just under a month. I am seriously beyond excited as I haven't seen them in over a year now. These were my best friends for years. We went everywhere together every single weekend and most days through the week. I know that laughing will be done until we cry and I can't wait.

9. Amelia was sitting on the deck eating her popsicle when the crazy cat lurked into our backyard. Amelia doesn't trust nor does she like the crazy cat. It jumps on our deck and poops on her toys. She's out there minding her own business and at this point so is the cat. She opens the door and says "that cat is bothering me". We really aren't animal lovers here. I don't know why that cat doesn't understand he's not welcome.

10. We are now a gate free household. We decided there wasn't really a point to having the gate up when Drew was climbing over them to get to what he wants. Or the girls were lifting him over them. This boys is growing up and it's making me sad.

Ten on Tuesday

1. These have not been the easiest two weeks for me - hence the lack of posts. Last Tuesday I had an unexpected colonoscopy. It was absolutely horrid and miserable.

2. Poor, sweet little Will was really worried about me and told me as I sat gagging and fighting back tears on the floor, "Just ask Daddy to get you some new juice Mama so you don't have to drink the yucky juice anymore."

3. Along with drinking the delicious gallon jug of juice, I got the added bonus of puking too. The nurse told me as I was waiting for the procedure and about to have another nervous breakdown that no one had ever thrown up before. I hadn't eaten 9 hours prior to even starting the "juice"..by the time of the actual procedure I was at 22 hours. I was sedated before I even entered the procedure room.

4. Hernia surgery was up next on Monday. It has been just about as much fun. I got sick coming out of the anesthesia and they admitted me. Apparently my insurance only pays for 24 after surgery and they discharged me at 4:53AM. You gotta love Tricare.

5. Up next in the long line of fun I'm having this week..an allergic reaction to the 14 steri-strips that are covering my stomach. I have hard, blistered welts all over.

6. Just when you think things can't get any worse, one of your best friends calls and tells you they will be moving by the end of the summer. I took the news in a medicated stupor and was just thankful I didn't start crying on the phone.

7. My friends don't move away from me. I move away from them. For me personally this is going to be miserable and I am going to miss my friend like crazy. And I will cry because I can't see her every day anymore. But deep down I am happy for her and I know that this is what they need right now.

8. Drew is enjoying his time with Nene and Granny. He is a little bossy with Granny and is always telling her "NO".

9. There is no use putting up a gate anymore, Drew climbs right over it and up the stairs.

10. Bella's reading is improving every single day. She gets off the bus most days reading her library book and still enjoys reading to her brothers and sisters.

11. Please pray that a budget is passed soon. Our family, along with countless others, livelihood depends on this.

Ten on Tuesday

1. The girls returned with a ginormous Bullseye for Will. I'm talking 2.5 feet tall for him to ride around on. Just what everyone cowboy needs.

2. Drew also thinks this Bullseye belongs to him. He yells "Mine" as he grabs Will and drags him off the horse. I guess when you're the fourth child, there isn't much you're afraid of.

3. The girls returned from Nene's house with a box of books and 13 pairs of new shoes. Yep, you read that right. Thirteen.

4. I told Nene before she took the girls not to send them back with any "junk". I guess shoes and books do not qualify as "junk" to Nene. We don't call her NeneClaus for nothing.

5. Drew woke up at 5:50 on Saturday morning. Drew. The same kid who we wake up Monday - Friday at 6:20 and rolls over in his bed giving us the skunk eye and says, No, no, NOOOOO.

6. He was less than pleasant and I was ready for him to go back to bed at 7:15AM. When he unloaded the dirty dishes in the dishwasher for the second time he bought himself an early nap at 12:20.

7. Spring Break!!! Panama City!!! is in full effect here.

8. Jason returned from class last week and told me he offered one of the college girls our guest room. She's looking for a new place to live and apparently wasn't so excited about rooming with a 20 month old..that now wakes up at 5:50.
I mean what doesn't sound appealing about that?

9. I was cursed with rolling veins. While I am aware that I'm not a nurse, these veins have been rolling around for a good twelve years. I assure you they aren't going to sit still for "the one stick wonder". I also can tell you that everytime someone tells me they are "one stick wonder" I'm assured a good three sticks just for fun. Three if I'm lucky..

10. I found out on facebook yesterday that my cousin has colon cancer. He's in his early 40s and he's pretty optimistic about it. I have huge family and we don't see them very often anymore. When I was explaining which cousin it was to Jason, his response "oh the really nice, quiet one". It kind of made me laugh because we are a lot of things but my family is not quiet except for him.
Cancer doesn't discriminate. Cancer sucks. Praying for peace and strength buddy.

Ten on Tuesday

1. "We're all indians Mommy and you can be the cowgirl." - Will age 3

2. Bella's reading is improving every single day. She reads her library book when she comes home from school every day and she is now in charge of reading the bedtime stories to her brothers and sister.

3. Bella is on spring break this week and took an impromptu trip to Nene and Poppy's house. They found out Saturday she was out of school for the week and drove down Sunday to pick her up. I'm sure she's having a great time being an only child for the week.

4. It's spring break and I sent my kid to her grandmother's house with homework and books to read. Hopefully she's doing it every single day :)

5. Amelia was so hysterical about not being included in the week long get away that we sent her too.

6. We're back in a man-to-man defense for the first time since 2006. I think we could do this with one arm tied behind our back and half asleep people.

7. Amelia's beloved Bear-bear did not make the trip to Nene's house. Ugh-oh. Seriously, Amelia hasn't slept without Bear-bear since 2006 :) It might make for an interesting night for Nene and Poppy.

8. Will has asked several times to go to "the Ohio" maybe a we do have a future Buckeye on our hands.

9. Drew loves to be outside. If he wants outside, he brings you his shoes and your own and stands, beating on the back door yelling "side, side".

10. Drew also finally made huge progress last week and asks for a drink rather than just crying until he's blue in the face and we have followed him around the entire house trying to figure out what he wants. He now simply says "drink". Communication is an amazing, wonderful thing!

Ten on Tuesday

1. Before you send out the search dogs, yes I know it's Wednesday and I am a slacker.

2. I believe that Joy is a choice. You may not choose when you're going to get promoted at work, or the current state of our economy, or enjoy paying $3.49 for one gallon of gas. Buy you wake up every day and choose whether or not you are going to be happy. I choose not to be friends with the Drama Llama's and Negative Nancy's of the world.

3. When you start feeling sorry for yourself read this story of survival:
http://www.beinthemomentphoto.com/blog/
and remember to be grateful for the things and people in your life that you do have..


4. Will has gotten a little bit fancy with his dancing in music class. Last Friday he danced around the room with his little friend Miss K and decided to actually dip her twice.

5. I knew eventually Will would take the departure of his favorite Sunday school teacher, who just had a baby, kicking and screaming. He woke up ready to see Miss Robin, only to be told for the 6th week in a row that his buddy would not be greeting him. His response "Is that baby NOT bigger yet?"

6. I've got two words for dance pictures on Friday night. Hot mess. I pulled Amelia's costume out of the bag and she threw and ever-loving fit. It has tights, a bowtie, sequins, ears, fur, gloves. She told her teacher Monday morning, I have to wear that thing one more time and I never have to see it again. My thoughts exactly sister.

7. Drew continues to blow kisses by clicking and clucking his tongue really loudly. I really need to get it on video soon because when he actually starts kissing people it's going to be a sad day for Mama.

8. Jason's spring break is in two weeks and he put "SPRING BREAK PANAMA CITY!!" on our calendar. I'm thinking he can work on that tan by landscaping those flower beds or something equally as super.

9. Bella lost her second tooth last week and it took me several days to find it. In case you're wondering, Amelia is still terrified of flying fairies.

10. Last week for Dr. Suess week at school Bella had to dress up like her favorite word. She chose apparrel and the only thing I could think of was Joey Tribiani and an episode of friends where he said "could I be wearing anymore clothes."