Angie 的个人资料The Shaffer Family照片日志列表更多  |  工具 帮助 |
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8月30日 Come on OverFor reasons I am sure noone cares to hear  , I have changed the location of my blog. You can now join me at www.shafferzoo.blogspot.com. So come on over!8月28日 Allergies and lawsuitsI had a miserable night last night with my allergies. I was up most of the night. I made sure to take an allergy pill before I went to bed, but it just isn't working for me anymore. So I called my doctor 1st thing this morning but they had NO openings. I wasn't about to suffer through another night so I went to the urgent care place. I was there for over 2 hours. So many times I just wanted to get up and leave cause they wait was driving me nuts, but I knew that meant I would be misrable again tonight. So I stayed. The doc prescribed nasal spray, a different allergy medication and an oral steroid. Maybe now I will feel better.
So our house in PA was settled on back in May. We found out over the summer that although the deed to our house was transferred, the mortgage on the house is not paid off, and is still in our name. We have been trying to get to the bottom of it but have not been getting any answers. BAsically what it comes down to is someone did something illegal. Well, guess what....in the meantime the current owners of the house decided to stop paying on it. So I am getting calls every day from the bank. I explain every day the situation, but it doesn't get me anywhere. Last week, I hired an attorney and I got the Attorney General in PA involved. Today, after getting yet another late payment phone call from the bank, I decided I had enough. We aren't waiting anymore for their attorney to reply. We are going to have to file suit. Our credit is being ruined and we are apparently dealing with dishonest people. I was in tears today after the bank called. So I called the current owner and left a very long, not-so-nice message on their voicemail. I get so tired of everything in our life being so complicated. Nothing ever seems to go smoothly or as planned. We don't have money for an attorney, but he said he would try to get our attorney's fees reimbursed to us in the end. We can pray that happens.
I have been trying to sell all kinds of stuff around our house this week in an effort to bring in some more money. Our one couch will hopefully be sold over the weekend. I know these are tough times for everyone so I will try not to complain too much about that
 . We had planned on taking the kids to a hotel that has a water park in it on Monday but I cancelled those reservations this week. I just couldn't see spending all that money on one day. We would have paid more to go there than we would at a regular amusement park. And it helps me to breathe a little easier knowing that money is freed up on the credit card. Sean's boss gave Sean some more tickets to go see the Indianapolis Colts play tonight. So he took Colby, who is a huge football fan (though his favorite team is the Eagles). They won't stay for the whole thing but I think it is so neat that he has the opportunity to go to something like that. 8月26日 My personal trainerI started my Wii Fit today. I am so impressed with it! My trainer keeps track of my BMI, my weight, my goals, my strength, and even how often I work out. I have set a goal for my weight loss (Can you believe the chart said I am overweight???
 ), but I don't want to share it right now, because I am afraid of failure. But if and when I get there, I will be sure to let you all know. and who knows, maybe even sooner. I am just amazed at this program. It is so much more than a "game". Now I can go running through the countryside (which I did today in my living room), do yoga (which I have never done before and apparently I am not that good at it), hula hoop more than one at a time (who knew I was that good?) and all kinds of other activities that had me working up a sweat today. I am so excited about this! Over the weekend I developed a sore shoulder from playing so much Wii. In fact Clay came home from school yesterday and was concerned that his shoulder was hurting again. Since my same shoulder was sore, I said no Clay, you are sore from playing the Wii. He was like, OH. Its kinda funny that a video game beats us up so bad.So when Colby got home from school yesterday, I heard from his brothers that he and his "girlfriend" broke up. So I asked him about it. This is how the conversation went....
Me- Did you break up with her or did she break up with you?
C- She broke up with me.
Me- Oh, how did she tell you?
C- She wrote me a note.
Me- Are you sure it was from her (thinking a friend could have been playing a joke because what girl would be crazy enough to break up with my son
)?C-Yes
Me- How do you know?
C- She handed it to me.
Me- Oh.
 Well what did it say?C- That she wanted to break up with me.
 Me- Did it say why?
C- No.
Me- Well where is the note? (I wanted to see it for myself and inspect it for hidden messages
 )C- In the trashcan. I didn't need it anymore so I threw it away.
Me- Oh (DARN!)
Boys are so different from girls. Us gals would have held on to that note for a LONG time and read it and reread it and tried to put more into it than was actually there. Colby just is like eh, its done, move on. Guess I have to too. 8月24日 HAving fun on the WiiMy Wii got here on Friday. I set it up in the afternoon before the kids got home from school. I was playing tennis and bowling and golf. It was tons of fun but I don't know if someone as competitive as me should be allowed to play
. I was yelling at the tv, and jumping up and down, and doing all kinds of things that one would do when they are passionate about something. It was fun. The kids came home from school and did their Friday chores and homework. By the time they were done, I was running kids to friend's houses to spend the night and then there was no time left to play the Wii for the ones that were still at home before Sean and I were to leave for dinner. So the kids didn't get to play at all on Friday (I told them they weren't allowed to play it while we were gone because I want to be here to monitor it). Sean and I went to a Chinese buffet to meet some people from church who were in our new dinner group. The food was awesome as always. After dinner, we went to get some groceries. So it was a late night for us.The kids finally got their first taste of our Wii on Saturday afternoon (the morning was spent running errands and bringing kids back home). It is hard to manage taking turns between 6 kids. And I still insist on being home when they play. It is too expensive of a toy for it to be mistreated, or for them to be fighting over who gets a turn, which I am sure would happen if I am not here. And I tell them it is mine, just to eliminate any argueing (it is my birthday gift to myself since Sean was too busy to take me out like he was going to....thats my story and I'm sticking to it). Anyway, its a ton of fun, for all of us. Well, except Dalaney who I think it is too young to do it. After the kids went to bed last night, Sean and I bowled, golfed and played tennis. I actually work up a sweat doing it...and I haven't even hooked up the Wii fit yet. I am waiting to do that till tomorrow while the kids are at school so I can take my time and figure it all out without distractions and others fighting for it.
A friend had asked me at church today if Callah would be interested in doing Girl Scouts. I said yes, I am sure she would probably love to, but I am not looking to add one more thing to my schedule. She is already wanting to do volleyball, whenever that oportunity arises...not sure if they have it in her grade yet. I have been putting off karate for the boys ever since we moved here cause I just don't know how to fit it all in...and a friend here would teach them for free!
We had meet the teacher night on Thursday night for the kid's that are in Elementary School. So our whole family loaded up and went to the school. We went to each of the 4 younger kid's classrooms and got to see what they are doing and all that good stuff. The kid's love to show us their desks and classrooms, etc.
I forgot to mention that the instrument Colby is going to play will be the trombone. He seems pretty excited about it. He will get his rented instrument this week.
I think that is all for catching up right now. 8月20日 ApplesauceA friend from church told me on Sunday that they had an apple tree that had lots of apples and to come get some. So today I decided I had time to run up there. So Dalaney and I had fun going up and picking apples off the ground and tree. I decided I was going to attempt to make and can applesauce with them, for the first time ever. I have the jars, but needed a canning pot. So we ran to the store (plus I needed chocolate chips for cookies that I needed to make for Clay's Court of Honor tonight and cool whip for the jello that I made this morning) and I saw that you can't use canning pots on glass-top stoves which is what I have. Well, does anyone know WHY? I was pretty irritated. SO I had to spend alot more money on a pressure canner, which says I can use it on a flat top stove. SO I am now set up for making applesauce, which I hope to start tomorrow. I am excited, I love projects and especially ones that I can see immediate results/accomplishments. And I am in the homemaker mode right now. So its all good. I love being able to make something my family loves (I however, do NOT like applesauce).
So this morning, prior to running my errands, I managed to make the jello, make rice crispie treats and clean out one of our pantry's. I ran my errands, came home, made the chocolate chip cookies, and laid down for 30 minutes before the kids got home. Then we have the normal paperwork, homework, argueing with Clay, and dinner prep. I had to drop Tucker off at his soccer practice then take Colby to his school for a band meeting. Sean took the rest of the kid's to the scout Court of Honor. Sean had to leave to go pick Tucker up then we met back up at church so I could get a key from Sean that I needed in order to go pick his car up that was getting fixed and return the rental. Whew! Another day down.
About the band thing.....Colby had to choose an elective this year and the only thing that sounded somewhat good to him was playing an instrument. We are not a musically talented family. We are sports people. We don't possess much talent in the way of music. But I am supporting Colby is his new endeavor, and I'll wait to see if it is something he will stick with. I guess that music gene is a possibilty as my dad has a gift of being able to play by ear, as does my older brother. Sometimes Tucker will sit at the piano and just start playing and it actually sounds pretty...and I am not just saying that because I am his mom. So maybe a couple of my kids will have some sort of music talent. 8月18日 Oh......my......wordSo we are getting thrown into crazy schedules full force. I knew school would bring craziness, but it seemed to all hit me in the last 24 hours. We now have at least 2 things scheduled every night this week except for Friday, and I didn't even get Q's soccer schedule yet. Every week will be this busy from now until the end of soccer. And then of course we move on to basketball and other things. Then on top of it all, Sean has had to work later than normal. So tonight I had to drop off Clay at his practice, go home, finish dinner (then my oven door broke and I couldn't get the dinner out of the oven!) go pick up Colby at his friend's house, take them both to Tucker's soccer practice and drop them off, go back up to pick up Clay. On my way to pick up Clay, I get a frantic phone call from home saying that Copper (Colby's beloved dog) is bleeding and has holes in him (I assumed another dog bit him). I give them instructions on how to handle it until I can get back home. They call about 5 more times. One was to tell me that his guts were coming out! I know kids can get freaked out by things that aren't as they really are, so I didn't panic too much....until I got home and saw him for myself. His guts were not coming out, but he had a very big hole in his stomache and we could see intestines among other things. (Sorry Gwenda, I know how you love those details
). He had some other puncture wounds but none as bad as the belly one. Anyway, I call my vet's answering service and wait for them to call me back. In the meantime, a friend of ours shows up to offer help (I called them on the way home to ask for a phone number). It was a comfort having him here. He said even though it looked bad, it just needed some stitches. The vet called back after what seemed like and eternity and told me where to meet her. So we packed Copper up in the car and drove a few miles to meet Sean, Colby and Tucker (Sean had picked them up on his way home from work). We threw Copper in Sean's car with Colby and off they went to the vet. I came back home and sent Randy home, who offered to stay here with the kid's while I was gone.ANYWAY.....so I tell Q we need to work on his homework. He says, "can't you do it? I want to watch TV." That boy. Clay heard him say that and we both just laughed.
Sean called and said that the vet is going to keep Copper over night so they can sedate him in order to stitch him up. Poor baby. 8月16日 Football... or notSo Tucker and Colby both wanted to sign up for football this fall. I took them to school on Thursday evening for sign-ups, I start filling out the paper work and then I ask casually when the games are. Sunday. Um, what? Darn. I say that and they are like, well, they are in the afternoons so they don't interfere with church. I appreciate that but we really try not to do those types of things on Sundays (the whole keeping the Sabbath day holy thing). Ugh, so I make the decision to not allow them to sign up. They were both very disappointed, and mad that the games are on SUndays. I felt bad for them, but good knowing that this is one of those life lessons that they will hopefully not forget.
Weeeeeee, we are getting a Wii. I am so excited. I am not big on video games, though we do have 2 systems, both of which other people bought for the kids. They only have a handful of games and are limited to the time they are allowed to play. ANYWAY, I finally broke down and started WII shopping as I have been hearing really good things about them and how they help people lose weight or get into shape. Plus, it isn't a video game where they just sit and lose brain matter. It keeps you active, and would be suitable for our entire family. So I searched and searched and searched some more. Finally I realized that the best price I was going to get would be on Ebay. So I stalked Ebay for a few days and decided where my best deal was. I finally made the purchase today. It should be here next week, with the Wii Fit game, and I am super excited! I rarely get this excited about anything. So it better be all that I have heard it is.
I forgot to post about my endocrinologist appointment a few weeks ago. It turns out that my TSH level was a little high and so she retested it and it is the same, so I am to start taking thyroid medicine. She said she doesn't think it would be the reason I have gained 30 pounds, but hey, I can hope she is wrong, right? Or maybe it will be easier for me to lose the weight once I am on the meds for a little while. I don't know, but at least I am starting to get some answers. She also said I was a little anemic, so maybe that had something to do with my fatigue. I am always dealing with anemia, and it didn't seem like I have ever been that tired before, especially since my levels weren't THAT bad. 8月14日 Quintin and OtisSo on the Monday night, the kids were to be in bed but Q comes downstairs with Otis. I reminded him that he needs to be in bed and told him he needs to stay there. He says Otis needs a drink. I said "no he doesn't now go to bed". Quintin says very matter-of-factly, "Yes he does, he told me." And walked into the kitchen so Otis could get his drink. Then he went to bed. I guess there is no argueing with a dog, now is there? 8月13日 SchoolI sent 6 kids off to school this morning. Quintin's 1st day of school ever! My baby boy is growing up! He was excited. I took the kid's over to the school again yesterday because I wanted to make sure they all knew where they were going and the older ones had their locker combinations down, etc. (Ok, so I worry more about it than they do
). Anyway, the teachers were there, so they got to meet some of their teachers. Quintin got to go in his classroom and play for a little and he loved it. They have a playhouse loft in there and his teacher's room is all decked out with frogs. After we left the school, we got breakfast at McDonalds and then went to the chiropractor for Clay. When we were done there, we went to the mall so I could get the kid's a few more school shirts. We went to Old Navy first as I had an extra 20% off deal there. Then we went to Sears, but by the time we got there, they were done. They normally behave pretty well, but after we are out a while, they start to act up. They were really being louder than I liked, and they were picking on each other, running around clothes and all that stuff. So I told them they were all going to their room's when we got home (except for Callah who acted human). Clay wante dto stop at the bookstore and so as we are leaving, and I am just mad at this point, Clay says, what about the bookstore. I said, "you have got to be kidding me if you think I am taking you guys in there." To which Clay says, "but I wanted to go look around" and I say, "then you should have acted better". To which that little stinker replies, "Well, you didn't tell how to act". Are you kidding me???? That boy is 13. I know he was joking when he said it, but I was not in the mood to joke.
We went home, they all sat on their beds for 20 minutes while I sorted the clothes we just bought. When they were done, I took Clay to get his follow-up bloodwork done and I had blood-work I needed done as well. Came home, took a nap. Woke up, cleaned up the living room, installed some protective paper in the spare bedroom that goes under the bird cage, moved the bird cage back in there, and got ready to go to the Sugarland concert. I tried to sell my tickets so I could be home with the kid's the night before their 1st day of school, but wasn't able to, so I went and took Colby. I was really looking forward to seeing them as they are one of my favorite groups. So when Sean got home from work Colby and I left. Joe Nichols played first and I enjoyed his show too. He has a lot of songs out that I really like. Anyway, Sugarland put on a great show. I left before the last song so we could beat the crowd out of there. It worked, we were able to get out quickly and make it home before 11:00. 8月11日 2 more days...until school starts. No more sleeping in. Back to BUSY schedules. I so enjoy summer vacation. It just doesn't last long enough.
I am leaving to go pick Clay up at the airport in a little bit. Then he has an 8th grade meeting tonight at the school.
Thanks to everyone who sent me Birthday wishes over the weekend. Since I share my birthday with Colby, it wasn't too spectacular of a day for me. I work to make the kid's birthdays special for them. The kids gave me various homemade cards and recycled gifts. Callah and Tucker went through their stuff and found things they didn't want any more and wrapped it up and gave it to me. It was pretty funny, but sweet that they wanted to make sure I had something to open.
Colby chose to go to Golden Corral for dinner. Afterwards we took him shopping to spend all the birthday money he got. He bought an electric scooter. He has a little money left over but hasn't decided what else he wants to buy yet.
8月9日 August 9Today is my sweet Colby's 11th birthday. He is one amazing kid. I love that he makes me laugh so much. He is a pure joy. He is caring, sweet, loving, FUNNY, entertaining, an all-around good kid. Happy birthday son!
Thursday night was his birthday party. My kids normally get friend parties for their 5th and 10th birthdays only but since we just moved here last year, he didn't know many people yet so we told him last year that he could have his big party this year instead. He chose to have it at a bowling alley. So I had pizzas delivered, we got some cakes from Wal-Mart, and had a great time. Colby has really come out of his shell in the past year. Its good to see. Anyway, the kids bowled 2 games each. The party lasted 2 hours.
Colby's card from my mom came yesterday. She always sends money and a piece of gum. The kids love that. She also sent a package of goodies for the kids including the prizes from cereal boxes, and a small bag of candy for each child. They were thrilled. Colby hasn't opened his gifts from us yet, I saved them for today.
LAst night was the Carrie Underwood concert. We were originally supposed to go with some friends but they ended up having to send their son on a mission right now and are out of town so we bought the tickets from them and took Tucker and Trent (it was supposed to be Tucker and Clay but Clay gave up his ticket so he could spend more time in Idaho). It was both boys first concert experience. I love experiencing things like that with my kids. I get so excited for them. Anyway, it was a beautiful night last night and it was a great concert. The fair guys told Sean that the night before was Jessica Simpson and half the crowd got up and walked out halfway through the concert. How embarrassing for her.
I miss Clay. I know he is having a blast with his grandparents, and I know this time away does him good. It has been nice for me to talk to him while he is out there. I gave him my cell phone to take with him (which is a HUGE deal for me to go without it) so he would be able to call from airports and such. When I got his school schedule for him on Wednesday, I hurried home to call him to talk to him about it. I know the kids get excited about those things and so I get excited with them. Anyway, there has been a lot less argueing without Clay here, but I do miss him alot.
8月4日 Indiana DunesWe left around 2:00 on Friday to drive up north to Indiana Dunes. We had reservations at Jellystone campgrounds, which we had never stayed at any of them before but I have always wanted to. It was not all it was cracked up to be. We were disappointed. It was right between a highway and a train track, and a train went by at least every hour! Not what I call a "getaway". We figured out that alot of people that stay there are from Chicago so I guess that the noise doesn't bother them. It bothered me! Anyway, the campground did have miniature golf, a small lake, several swimming pools and tennis courts, etc. It would have been fantastic if it weren't for the location.
When we got there on Friday, it was a rare hot and humid day. We walked around the camp and made our hot dogs over the fire and played mini-golf. On Saturday, we drove to Lake Michigan which was about 10 minutes from where we were staying. We planned on a hike that morning, and attempted a sandy trail, but then gave up and went to the beach. It turned out to be rip tides that day and noone was allowed in the water. We stayed for a little while and let the kids play in the sand and let the water touch them. Then we headed back to the campground and had lunch. Then we took the kids to the little lake at the campground so they could swim. I attempted it but then the fish got way too close for my comfort so I was done pretty quick. After the lake, we walked over to the swimming pool and stayed there for about 2 hours. It was good, clean water, and even Julie got in to swim
. The rest of the day we hung out at the camper, the kids played cards with Julie, I took a nap....That night Sean made bbq ribs for dinner on the fire. Little did we know that would be Julie's first time ever having ribs. Clay loved to tease her about how to eat them. She tried hard not to get messy. But in the end, she got a little bit of sauce on her face.
We also made Smores both nights and that was Quintin's favorite part. When all the other kids were inside for the night on Friday, I closed the door and went to lock it when I realized Q wasn't in there. I looked outside and he is still sitting at the fire, roasting marshmallows. I think he would have sat there all night. It was so cute to look out and see him in his little chair just as content as could be.
On Sunday morning we got up and went for a real hike. Though we forgot to put on the bug spray so we were getting bit alot. Not sure how far we ended up walking, maybe 2 miles. We headed over to the beach, had lunch, got changed and headed for the beautiful water. It was so awesome! I am not a beach person at all, for many reason. But Lake Michigan is better than any ocean. No salt water, no stinky smelly water, no huge waves, no jelly fish/sharks, etc, warm water....I even got in. I went way out, which I have never done in the ocean. Another nice thing about the Lake is that you can walk way out, and it doens't get very deep. I never wanted to take the kids to the ocean because I am a basket case trying to keep an eye on all the kids, with the monstrous waves, it is so stressful for me. But I didn't have to worry much at all there. It was so AWESOME! The waters were pretty calm. We spent several hours there. Now I can get how people can spend so much time at the beach. After experiencing this, I don't know why people would ever want to swim in an ocean. This was paradise. Amazing!
OK, so when we got back to the camper it was time to pack up and head down the road. Julie got sunburnt on Saturday and more on Sunday. I got burnt on Sunday, but just on my back. We got home around 8:30 last night. We had some friends stay at the house and pet sit for us. They were happy cause they got to use the pool. Anyway, it was a very nice weekend.
We had to leave at 9:00 this morning to take Julie to the airport. After we dropped her off, we had a few hours to kill before Clay needed to be at the airport so we went to the Children's Museum, which I have never been to. It was so neat. The kids loved it. We couldn't spend a lot of time at the exhibits since we had to get lunch and head back to the airport but they enjoyed themselves nonetheless. We had to sit and wait with Clay until he was on his plane and it was airborne. It was tough for the kids to sit and wait. It was a long day and we didn't get back home until 4:30. I crashed in my bed.
I will post our pics from the weekend later.... 8月1日 Quick updateGot Clay's tests back. Everything is fine except his Sed Rate so they want to recheck him when he finishes the antibiotic to see if it goes back to normal. I am worried since I researched what that can mean, but I am trying to just lay low about it until we know something for sure.
I had a 2 hour scratch fest the night before last with the hives. I heard from a few of you who also had bouts of hives in the past. Good to know that they can last months
. Well, I took some benadryl when I went to bed last night and I haven't had any more itch attacks. We'll see if they stay away....Picked Julie up at the airport today. She is awesome. When we got home, she went to bed for a nap, and I went to my bed for my nap. Gotta love it! I love that I can have friends here who have no issues with sleeping in the middle of the day. In her defense though, she only slept for one hour the night before. So she needed to try to catch up on some sleep. When I woke up, I ordered pizza and ran out to get it. When we finished dinner, we just sat around and all watched tv together. It was a nice relaxing evening.7月29日 Medical mysteriesI took Clay to the doctor yesterday and thank goodness the doctor is taking this serious. She is running a bunch of tests (blood tests and x-rays). She is thinking he may have rhuematic fever, but is checking for other things as well. We won't get the results back till tomorrow, and even then, I don't know if we will have a diagnosis quite yet. He was in a LOT of pain yesterday. He does have a double ear infection but he never even complained about his ears...even though they were REALLY bad. His shoulder blade area is what hurts him the most. She is having him take motrin every 6-8 hours for 10 days to deal with the pain. He is also on an antibiotic for his ears. I will post when I know more.
I have had a few breakouts of hives. I had no idea why so I researched it and read that many people get them but never have a reason for it. They go away on their own and can take up to 6 weeks. They are so incredibly itchy when I get them. They drive me nuts. I scratch and scratch and scratch some more. I get huge welts all over my body. Fun. 7月27日 Weekend festivitiesYesterday morning I had to take Tucker to get some new church shoes and so I took him with me in the morning to run some errands. When I got back with him, Sean and I left to go run some more errands in town. When we got back, it was time to get the kids ready to go to church for our friend's (Dee and Connie) daughter's wedding reception and ring ceremony. Callah and Dalaney were the flower girls. We go there about an hour before it was all to start. I did their hair identical to each other and they looked so pretty! They got through everything so well. It was a fun night. After the ceremony, we danced (well, not me...I was too busy taking pics, plus I don't dance), ate, socialized and had cake. The kids had so much fun. I was proud of how much they got out and danced. And let me tell you, Callah is going to be something else when she gets older. That girl is so stinkin beautiful and then she is out there on the dance floor just livin it up. She amazes me with how she just gets out there and has fun. She amazes me period.
Anyway, when we got home, Colby and Clay had their friend's over (the ones that are brothers) to spend the night so they could go to church with us today. They have never been to our church before and the boys were excited to share it with them. When we got home from church, I took a nap and when I woke up, it was time for the friend's to go back home. I ran them home and then as soon I got back, we all piled into the van to go to a friend's house as they were having an open house for their son who is leaving on a mission. We visited there for more than an hour and then moved on to our other friend's house as their daughter and new son-in-law were going to be opening their wedding gifts and we were invited to go watch. We packed their house as they had their extended family there as well and watched them open gifts, we ate more food, and looked at wedding pics from last night. Good times.
Tomorrow we are having Clay and Colby's friends over again so they can go swimming. We are also having Dee and Connie over to swim along with whatever family they still have visiting. The pool will be full! Then Trent and Tucker are going to another friend's house to spend the night tomorrow night.
I am going to call the doctor about Clay tomorrow morning as he is still having pain in his back and neck, and he has been suffereig from a sore throat as well. I am worried about him so time to get him checked out. I dread going because I don't like the pediatrician and am sure she will just tell me its nothing. 7月26日 Adios Clay....We have made arrangements for Clay to go spend a week with Sean's parents in Idaho. He will be leaving in 9 days....he flies out the same day that Julie leaves us. Anyway, we weren't going to be able to fit it in, but Clay gave up his Carrie Underwood concert ticket so he could stay more than 4 days. He needs the alone time, and we need Clay to be away so we can appreciate him more
. He was really meant to be an only child. We love him, he just makes life a little more difficult for us than the other kids do (he knows it, in fact he is likely proud of that fact). He is an awesome person. We realize, however, that he needs time away from his siblings. And vice-versa. When he gets back, he will only have 1 day before school starts. Why, oh why does summer have to be so close to ending already????I have been keeping busy with cleaning out the kids dressers/closets and organizing their new school clothes. Also, figuring out what everyone needs still. I have been working on cleaning the garage, mowing, cleaning carpets, spraying weeds, making zucchini bread, swimming with the kids, ripping out carpet with Clay's help, shopping for school clothes, and attempting to keeping up with the house. Yikes. Oh, I did take the kids to the free movie this week. It was HOrton hears a Who and only 3 of the kids have seen it so we went. I spent $11 on popcorn and sodas and since we got free refills on both, that was all I had to spend. 7月21日 I now remember why....I never stuck to no eating sugar. Because I give it up and I don't lose any weight! Grrr. I am pretty frustrated. But this time I am still going to keep with it (other than my occassional snacks) because I know the health risks associated with that delicious sweet treat. It is just annoying that I have made such a drastic change and I have nothing to show for it.
I was so happy to find last week that the only plants in our garden that our animals didn't eat were actually my zucchini plants. I was jumping up and down with joy when I saw that because one of my favorite things to make in the summer is zucchini bread. And by some MIRACLE, the yellow squash plants grew again, even though they were eaten down to the dirt. We were amazed to find that. And I was so happy, so we do have a little to show for all of our work. I am so happy that the kids are able to see a result. 7月20日 King's IslandYesterday was Sean's company day at King's Island in Ohio. Other than the gas, it was a completely free day for us to go there. They even provided a catered lunch for us. I had some reservations about going on a Saturday, as the weekends are always so busy at those places. Well, yesterday was no exception. I can't say we had a fabulous time as the ride lines were just so long. There were many rides that the older kids and I would have loved to get on, but just couldn't wait for 1-2 hours to get on. I am not a teenager anymore, and those long lines are just too much for me to handle. Not to mention, I don't feel it would have been fair to our other kids to wait all that time and do nothing. So it was not an ideal day. We did have fun at the water park side of it. There were just way too many people there. And I never knew so many people out there have tatoos. Holy cow! I probably saw 200 people with tattoos. Unreal. We believe our body to be a temple that the Lord created for our use. To be desacrated in such a way is just sad to me. Also, with the bikinis came lots of skin...skin that I didn't really need to see. Clay even said to me one time, "Mom, I think there should be a weight limit for girls to wear a bikini." Hahahaha. I agree. I don't like looking at my own blubber, so I certainly don't care to look at other peoples. Know what I mean? I have never understood the women/girls that just let it all hang out. Blech.
Our lunch there was awesome. It was buffet style with sausage sandwiches, AWESOME hamburgers, mac and cheese, dinner rolls, vegetables, and fried chicken with ice cream and popsicles for dessert. Good stuff. we are so blessed for Sean to be able to work for such a generous company. I doubt we will take advantage of the free day next year because of how busy it was, but it was nice overall.
We were going to go to Holiday World again this year but when I went to make reservations at a campground nearby, they were all booked up. The H-World website also said that the day we were planning on going was expected to be very busy, so we decided to forego it for this year. Instead we will be camping up north at the Indiana Dunes. I am excited to get back to nature, I am happiest hiking and letting the kids play in a lake, or a waterfall that we may come across (don't know if they have little ones here in Indiana, but we will find out).
We didn't get home until 1:00 in the morning and since I neglected to get a sunstitute for my class at church, I had to drag my butt out of bed to go. Sean had to go in earlier as he was asked to speak today and when he agreed, he forgot that we weren't planning on going today as we knew it would be a late night for us. So he had to go in for that.
A little over a week ago, I was cleaning my office and found some letters that I had forgotten I had. They were from my beloved Grandpa thathe wrote to us when we lived in California over 10 years ago. This was before the days of email.
I was so excited to find them, I just sat and read every one and cried and laughed. He was not short on words, and they really showed his personality. He tried to make me feel loved and really reached out to me when I was homesick. I love my Grandpa so much and can't wait to see him again on the other side. I am so happy to have these letters in his handwriting. It is such a blessing to me. I also found some letters from Sean's Grandma. Her and I used to be pen pals. I was a good letter writer back in the day of pen and paper. I haven't read through her's yet as I was going to do it with Sean. He is excited that I have those as well.7月16日 An amwesome 24 hoursWe just had a visit from my "little" brother and his family. He has a month off from the army and they are traveling all over the country visiting people. I was so happy to have them here! They are the first of my family to see our Indiana home. They gave us only a few hours notice of their arrival, so we swung it in high gear to get the house in order. They got here around 7:00 on Monday night. They have two awesome little boys, ages 3 and 4. Monday night we just sat outside on the back deck and talked while the kids played. When it started to get chilly, we came inside. Their boys slept with my boys and Chad and Jamie slept in the spare bedroom. The next morning I made pancakes for breakfast (Sean had to got to work) and the people we dog-sit for dropped off their dog in the midst of cooking pancakes. After breakfast was cleaned up, we went outside and got the 4 wheeler out. Then Chad played baseball with the boys. We hung around the house all day. Let me tell you, those boys are so sweet. I would be upstairs and hear William yelling for me, "Aunt Angie?" Yes? "I love you". Aw, how sweet is that? He was constantly giving me hugs and telling me he loves me. They would both cuddle with me when we sat down to watch a movie. They stole my heart, thats for sure. I hate to think how grown up they will be when we see them again. I told Jamie if she ever wants a break, ship them out to me for a few weeks. I would love that!
Anyway, I made acake, threw it in the oven, and Jamie and I ran to town to get stuff for dinner. Sean was home from work by the time we got back. I cut up some potatoes and onions, threw them in the oven, and then Sean grilled some chicken outside while I cut up a watermelon. Add some green beans and we were done. We didn't eat until 8:00 last night which seems par for course for us in the summer months. We just get so busy outside, I hate to come in and cook dinner. Anyway, after dinner, we had ice cream sundaes (I did NOT eat any ice cream, I ate some more watermelon, yay me!) We never did eat the cake I made. Chad and Jamie hung out until midnight last night and then left for their next destination  . I would have loved it if they could have stayed longer. I will add all the pics in a little while.7月13日 BAsketballSean's boss gave him 4 free tickets to the women's professional basketball game again in Indianapolis. The game was last night. The seats were awesome! We were told the tickets we had were $200 tickets (a piece!). Since his boss gave him 4 tickets, we invited some friends of ours to go along. The friends we invited are the ones we get to watch our pets when we go out of town... they also came over when we had our Father's Day cookout, and they are the ones I went to pick strawberries with a few weeks ago. Anyway, we had a blast. The tickets are in the special club section where you get free food. They had pulled pork sandwiches, potato salad, cole slaw, and a nacho bar. It was so good! I stuck to water for my drink, though I REALLY wanted a Pepsi. After half time, they replace the food with desserts. While everyone else went up for goodies, I managed to keep my butt in the seat. They had chocolate chip cookies and brownies! Two of my favorites! I wanted a cookie so bad! But I asked Sean to get me strawberries that they had also put out. I knew if I got up and went to the desserts, I would not have been able to resist the sugar. It was hard enough as it was. But I know the more I am able to overcome these temptations, the easier it will be. RIGHT?????? Oh I hope so cause it was so hard for me last night. But I am very proud of myself for not eating or drinking any sugar. That is a huge thing for me since I lack willpower entirely. We are told that the Lord can help our weaknesses become strengths. So I guess I need to pour my heart out in prayer over this because I am sure I won't be able to do it alone. I am a true sugar-addict.
I started to read another blog that I got off a friend's blog. It is an amazing, uplifting blog. This family has been through the unthinkable and their faith remains strong. PLEASE go check it out and start from the beginning so you can go through the heartbreaking journey with them (though at the beginning, they had no clue what lay ahead for them in a few short months). They are living everyone's worst fear. http://www.adailyscoop.blogspot.com/
In less than 2 weeks, Julie is flying out here for a visit. I can't wait. She will be here for 5 days...not long enough! But she had to work us in between college classes, so we are grateful to get that time with her. Our family loves her so much. Can't wait to see you Julie!
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