The sound "t" by Kutter - 2 1/2 yrs.

Check out this awesome tracing. I am so proud of him!!! Can you believe this - 2 1/2 years!

Anyways...glad to hear all is well for you that post. Hope that a few more family members decide to join in and become an active member. I love hearing all about everyones "stuff".

The boys and I went up to Granny's this afternoon after the kids left - we literally ran out the door, drove through Sonic - I know don't even say it - and ran in to eat with her. She was still eating when we got there, so we ate with her and then took her over to Wednesday night church service. She seemed to really enjoy that. She didn't eat very well, but she looked pretty good. Not as tired as she has been looking lately. She was very excited about Gaelan and Courtney's new little one. And her party Saturday - although she wasn't sure what time it was going to be. Anyone know when she is going to Mike's house - is she staying over like usual? I didn't know what to tell her, so I just said it was an all day sort of thing on Saturday.

I left some plastic utensils/cups and bowls in the closet as well as a few hanging paper lanterns and some "luau" garlands that I have picked up recently - please use to decorate however you think works best.

Well, it seems that we have 6 kittens not 5 - anybody know anyone who wants a kitten?

The kids and I worked very hard today and had lots of fun in the yard. I t was a busy day and non-stop I must say. I am tired.

I think I am getting a little sinus infection or something - that whole snot drainage/sore throat feeling. But I am staying positive that it is just the weather and will promptly disappear.

We are signing Kutter up for a toddler gymnastics class. Brian is going to take him on Monday mornings. I think he will love it.

Wait till you all see Kaden - that boy is a lug...and eat - ask Granny - she watched him devour a jar of sweet potatos and half a jar of bananas.

Friday - I plan to go to the church to finish the VBS decor and mom and dad are supposed to be up - so we may end up over there Tash, I am really not sure yet. I will see what I can do. Anything else we need - decoration/food/other that I can help with? Let me know.

Angela that Sadie is just adorable...oh my gosh, I want one!

Well, enough sitting on my duff typing...gotta get through so I can collapse into bed...

Till next time...love yourself and one another...we-

Here's our Sadie "helping" as we rocked the house this weekend! She's almost four months old. This is her doing what she does best.
 

Just thought this was cute. We read The Rainbow Fish today and all the kids made fish. Elizabeth's fish seemed startled when his air bubbles escaped from the wrong end!...

Today has gone swimmingly, pardon the pun. Tuesday is one of my busier days ~ today I had nine kiddos. We learned about Texas Wildlife (thanks, Aunt Wendy!) and wrote stories about our favorites. We found some frogs and tried to race them. We had our Rainbow Fish activity and had a beetle encounter. The beetle was not a planned part of my day...he was the size of a plum, very shiny, and shoved into the toe of my boot by one of the boys, either Braden or Luke. Did I mention the very thick, very large pinchy-thingies on top of his head? We watched Chicken Little to round out our day, which I realize is loosely connected...chicken, wildlife...work with me here. Trying to entertain nine children ranging in age from 5 months to 12 1/2 yrs is hard enough ~ sneaking in some educational activities to interest/involve them all is a whole other deal. I was feeling pretty clever suggesting the frog races because it took a while for them to figure out the frogs wouldn't cooperate. The next second, my 2 yr old was eating the frogs as if they were M&M's and my confidence wavered. All is well ~ tomorrow we try again!

The house rocking is underway and looking good. It is slow and backbreaking, but one day we'll sit on the front porch and be really proud of what we accomplished. We won't get to work on it again until Sunday. Maybe my arms will work again by then.

By the way, Oreo can and does jump the new gate on his pen. It is taller than me. Billy has decided he'd rather run with the horses and hightails it for next door every chance he gets. We're hoping the donkeys come soon and capture the hearts of both the goats so that they'll quit misbehaving. The rabbits continue to grow. Sadie is a sweetheart, even if she's a lot lazy.

Talk to you soon.


 

Well, it has been quite busy around here the past few days and I haven't been able to sit and type. By the time I have a moment I am falling asleep at the keyboard. haha!

Angela, what is this about an extra day off...what is a day off? :)

Saturday we had a great family day. We fogged our house (beginning of summer tradition around here) and we had to leave for at least 4 hours. We went to meet one of Brian's new singers to get some promo material and then went over to Lakeshore Learning Center. My favorite store next to Mardels. BJ got me a gift certificate for mom's day. How cool is that!!! I was able to find some really cool things to make new works. "Love it!"

Afterward it was so hot we canceled our picnicing plans and opted for the foodcourt at the nearby Valley View Mall. They have a carosel inside and bug rode it twice with Daddy. He chose a dragon the first time and then a huge chicken. It was funny...no pretty horses for him.

Kaden has been trying to eat us out of house and home this weekend. He must be hitting another growth spurt, that boy. Tonight he was throwing a real wall-eyed fit...kicking the highchair tray with his feet, throwing his hands around, red as a beat...the real thing. 5 months old - can you believe it! Lord please help me! 3 jars of food, a few crackers and water, a bath, clothed and ninny later the boy is out - hopefully for the night. Although he has developed a habit of "napping" for an hour and then waking and trying to stay up later.

My boys they are great!

Today we had a memorial day picnic in the park with all the kids and Ms. Amanda's family. The kids loved it, we got out there about 9:30 and by 10 we were pretty warm - then the sprinklers came on. It was funny. Kutter said "Yeah" and took off full speed. (The park has a great grassy area like a football field). I knew then I would never keep them all out of the water, so I called Brian and asked him to bring towels when he came up. He showed up a few minutes later - habachi in tow - to be "Picnic Grillmister". We had burgers and chips. It was great. Ms. Amanda's husband showed up and he enjoyed watching Nathaniel become "sand-laden boy". It was hilarious. He went directly for the sand after the sprinklers quit and immediately sat down. His jean shorts were brown instead of blue. But he had a great time. Kaden enjoyed lounging on a blanket until he literally passed out from exhaustion. The poor guy just couldn't hang, but wouldn't give up willingly. We wore the kids out - literally. When we got back to the house - everyone washed hands/faces and we read 2 books - then they laid down and within 15 minutes I had 4 sleeping children. Of course by this time Kaden decided it was time to be awake so I pawned him off on Daddy while I retreated to the shower. I was "smelling like a goat" as Angela would put it. I actually covered the bed with a blanket I could easily wash so that the goat children wouldn't stink up my hard to wash king size comforter. How anal is that!

But anyway - 2+ hours later I had hungery kids again, so we ate snack did some art and headed to the backyard. Needless to say when their mom came around 5 they were ready to head home. What a fun day!

Bug, Kaden and I stayed outside for a while longer - it was finally nice and not so hot/muggy. Bug helped me make spaghetti and meatballs - which he ate 3 plates of - while Kaden threw a fit in his highchair thinking he was wasting away. :)

I am going to bathe my bug now and get him to bed. Another busy day at Montessori Home School tomorrow. Talk to you all again soon. Can't wait to see everyone Saturday. Oh, anyone want a kitten or kittens or a big cat?

Trivia - everytime you learn something new you get a wrinkle in your brain...

love to all - say a prayer for a family member - anybody - just pick one - we-

Oh, you changed the name!

Hello all. Hope everyone is having a nice long weekend. Kris and Britney came Thursday night and stayed thru Friday. We had a really good visit with them. We just relaxed and played and laughed ~ it was good to see them both. Saturday we went and picked up two trailer loads of rock for the front of the house. I was really excited about that, because Michael has been threatening to just slap siding up to be finished quicker, but the front and part of the back of the existing house is white rock and I really wanted to keep it consistent. Actually having the rock here made me feel much better. It was after lunch yesterday before we started rocking, by the time we finished insulation and tar paper and getting everything ready, but we finally started and it's coming along great. It isn't a quick process, but you can't even tell where the old rock stops and the new starts. I love it! I'll try to post a picture later. Hope everyone is enjoying the extra day off. Talk to you soon.

Good Morning...I have just a moment and wanted to jot a few words...

Yesterday was a great day - had 5 kids - 6 for outside and lunch. We had a great working day and lots of fun!

Afterschool Kaden and I went to work on the VBS rooms - got the other mostly done. What a job!

Kaden bonked his head on the window ledge and has a line/bruise on his knot! He screamed bloody murder, scared me and Ms. Jo to death!

Kutter bug is a mess...we have been washing a lot of undies lately and last night I told him I had to again. With his head cocked to the side and each hand held palm up next to his shoulders he said "More finding Nemo underwear at the store." Our deal is he gets the finding Nemo ones when he poops in the potty. Little mess.

Did you know that you can float in the dead sea in an almost complete sitting position?

Quote of the day:

Elizabeth, after being told to go brush her hair and teeth before she went outside..."Nah, we're gonna race. I'm so fast I'm just gonna get bugs in my teeth anyway."

????

Hello all, how are you? Well here is what is going on. Matthew Allen Frazier blessed us at 12:45pm May 19, 2006. He was 5lbs 5oz and 16 inches. He wasn't breathing very well at first, only 50 heartbeats per min, but with in 2min he was up to normal; which was incredible. He was purple when he came out, it was a little scary at first, then they only let me see for a split second and they wisked him off to be taken care of. PRAISE THE LORD, he was not intibated!! He had to spend to spend a few hours under an oxygen hood. They thought that they would have to send him to Childrens Medical in Fort Worth if he couldn't maintain his oxygen level, but exceeded all expectations they had that night and since. He is such a fighter, the nurses said that usually premies just lay there and let them do whatever, but Matthew made them work very hard, it took 2 nurses to give him an IV. They decieded at about 8 or 9 that he would be able to stay here. Gaelan went in about 11:30pm to check on him and they let him hold Matthew. I was still recovering from the surgery so I couldn't get out of bed, I was a little jealous and sad, but I eventually got to hold him. Gaelan was and has been amazing in taking care of me and Matthew!!! God has really blessed me with an incredible husband, he is going to be an amazing father!! I was able to go and see Matthew later the next day, the nurses who came back from the day before where so amazed that he was still here let alone, maintain his oxygen level and temp. On Sunday he started feedings, he had a small set back and to be put under the oxygen hood for a little while, but bounced right back. Now he is breatfeeding every other feeding and doing great!! When started his feedings, they wanted him to take 20 cc, after one feeding he was taking 30cc. Tonight he took 50cc. He does have an feeding tube just incase he doesn't take the 20, but that has only had to be used twice. The goal for him to go home is for him to gain some weight so that they know he is feeding well. They say that if we are comfortable removing and reinserting the feeding tube he could go home friday, if not possible Sunday. They say that it might be possible that he might no longer need the feeding tube. That is our prayer request now, that he maintains his good feedings, gains weight, and the tube comes out soon. Matthew is a remarkable baby. He has quite a little personality. He hate being messed with. He has such long arms and legs. HUGE feet and hands and long fingers and toes. We jokingly call him our little "chimp" baby, because that's kind of what he looks like. He so cute!! but hey I am bias. I am healing from the surgery, I have been released but staying at hospital with Matthew, the hospital offers it as a courtesy. I still a bit of pain, but I can get around. Please pray for me, that I can heal and get over this pain quickly so that I can take care of Matthew when he comes home. Thank you so much for all your prayers throughout this entire pregnancy, God has answered them and more. Well sorry that this has been so long. I will let everyone know when we come home. I have attached a picture of Matthew for you to enjoy. Thank you and God bless.
Love In Christ, Courtney, Gaelan and Matthew Eph. 6:11

Well, just when you think it's safe to bad-mouth your own children...

After voicing my frustration with my pre-teen daughter a couple of posts ago and spending the better part of two weeks questioning my parenting skills and/or my daughter's mental capacity, the little sh*t comes home today with four medals for Best In Class (which means she received the highest average of everyone in her class for the whole year!) and Commended Performance on every single one of her Taks Tests. How exciting is that?!? She had the best grade in all of her curriculum courses - English, Math, Science, and Social Studies. Which proves that she DOES in fact own a brain and actually DOES use it occasionally. It also shows that Michael and I are doing something right in the parenting department - - well, at least we make them go to school... Anyway, she's very excited and we are VERY proud. We'll be celebrating tonight in some way.

Our Braden also came home with good news. Today was field day and his class won every competition they participated in. Braden himself won 5th place in the 50 yard dash, although his ribbon says 6th, because the judges eyes "don't work so good" - his words, not mine, Wendy! He also forgot to wear his really fast tennis shoes. Tomorrow is his awards assembly, so stay tuned for further achievements... don't hold your breath or anything though. This is the child that wants to be a truck driver when he grows up and is pretty sure he's learned all he needs to know. Being Best In Class isn't high on his priority list.

Elizabeth has yet another UTI and is in bed with really high fever today. Back on the double antibiotics - a strong one to knock out this infection and a lower dosage to take for the next month to try and prevent additional infections while her system is weak. Poor Baby. It breaks my heart that she struggles with this so much. She's just miserable right now. Pray for a quick recovery.

Tomorrow is our last day of school! Yea!!!! Wendy, the VBS rooms look great. I so love the penguins. I was thinking of names for the page and came up with "At the Fencepost". What do you think? I had another one, but it eludes me now. Congratulations on now being a multi-homeowner. Caly went home yesterday, with only minor damages to report. Things just weren't going...smoothly?...so we decided to cut the trip short. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Sorry this last paragraph is such a hodge-podge of topics. Adult-onset ADD. We finally figured out how the goats kept escaping. I put them up yesterday and was closing up the gate, but before I could turn around, Oreo smooth jumped over the darn thing. Braden fell down laughing, Haylie's jaw hit the ground and before I even fully understood what happened, here came Billy! I almost cried. I was so frustrated and I really don't want them to run away. Anyway, Michael came out and made the gate taller with some crude carpentry skills and a drill gun. And before HE could turn around, here came Oreo. "Bam!" Poor dumb goat didn't clear the gate that time! So I guess they are safe again for now...

Did you know red kool-aid stains white puppy hair?

A note on VBS - Angela, thanks so much for making the fish - what a job - I still have some to go! Along with bookmarks, crowns, etc.. Here is a look at one of the walls.

Have you ever tried manderine oranges frozen? I, by accident, or a brain lapse, did - they are really good!

Today was a strange day...I just couldn't quite make it all work this morning. I was running behind and just could not catch my tail for some reason. We started class late (thank goodness Max didn't come today) and Amanda and Nathaniel came late - they were having the same problem. But Kutter bug worked so hard today. He cut and stamped and painted and glued. He knows the sound for the letter "a" now. I am quite proud. It all seemed to even out by lunch time though.

After lunch - Brian and I loaded up the boys and headed South. We signed the papers on the new house today. So it is official, we have a new house. But we won't be actually moving until fall. I will have the summer school program here. Then we will move and hopefully sell quickly.

I haven't talked to Granny about it yet - I wanted to wait until it was all done so that I didn't get her upset over nothing. I don't want her to think I am deserting her. We will still be able to come up and do arts and crafts, but it will probably be on a weekend. Perhaps Sundays after church.

I think we will stick with our church here rather than changing. I just really love our pastor and can't see uprooting the boys from their church. We shall see. Pray for us to be able to make it on time! haha!

Kaden is quite the stinker - this morning at breakfast, Kutter was sitting on the floor next to him eating toast and Kutter puts his binky next to him. Well Kaden just scoots over and snags it. (He is quite the grab nabber these days.) Kutter doesn't notice right away - until Kaden burps and spits up all over Kutter's binky. It was hilarious - I am watching this seen play out and the look on Kutter's face when he looks down and see not only did Kaden have his binky but he had burped on it. It was histerical. Kutter was quite upset with Kaden.

Well tomorrow is another day - I will have all the boys tomorrow and then beginning Thursday I will have the girls as well. Summer has arrived!

Angela - how many items has hurricane Caly destroyed as of yet?

A note on Granny's party - I picked up a few luau lanterns and a tissue paper garland of palm trees.

Until next time...love one another...

She's baaaack! Caly is here this week. Those of you that know her know we'll have anything but a noneventful week!

Sunday we worked on the addition ~ running electrical inside. Light switches and plugs are in place. It took a couple of hours to clean up in there. That space has turned into the garage we don't have. On top of that, two wild birds built a nest in there and proceeded to start a family. There was dried bird crap on every flat spot out there. Gross! We did see two little baby bird heads peeking at us over the top of the nest. That was pretty cool.

Yesterday, I took the suburban to the shop for her makeover. I'm now driving a Mercury Mountaineer, which has lots of silver and reminds me of a spaceship. The back two seats are too close to the rear of the car for my comfort, but it gets good gas mileage and it's only temporary. Hopefully we won't need the back seats very often.

Well, aside from finishing my VBS fish, today we'll just be getting ready for our visit from Kris and Britney Thursday. School is out early every day this week (no school Friday), so the kiddos will be back before I can even get the floors mopped. Tate and Dade will be here soon; Nicholas is here already. Not too much excitement for now. It's early though, and there is that Caly girl to contend with...anything could happen.

Hope everybody is having a productive week.

Well, sorry to all that I didn't get in yesterday. I had quite a busy day and just didn't find the time to be at the computer.

I worked in Kaden's Sunday school class yesterday. I volunteered to help in Sunday school and Kerry told me she needed another worker in Kaden's classroom and if I could be there at 9am they would love to have me. So the boys and I went. Kutter loved his Sunday school room, he played and had a great time and ate donuts! :) In Kaden's class we only had 3 babies, so I played with Kaden and Heaven on the mat until they both got tired and wanted to be rocked. There were 3 workers, so we each had a baby. The other baby was a 3 week old boy named..."Braden". How funny is that. He was so tiny. Truly not to exciting, but fun to see Kaden playing along side another one near his age.

The morning service was awesome. Bro Rial preached about "What to do when your world comes crashing down". It came from Genesis 39:20-23. It was great. He talked about how to deal with life when "God doesn't make sense". How many of us have been there? It was very enlightening. I just love Bro. Rial, he is so straight forward and doesn't try to sugarcoat things or make them "softer". He is honest and just tells it like it is. I appreciate that.

After church, Ms. Jo and I gathered VBS craft/activity supplies to take to the classroom for VBS week, which will be here very soon!

After lunch and nap - the boys and I headed to wal-mart for a few needed items. It was funny, I told Bug that we needed to hurry so that we could get home in time for evening church. Well that was all the encouragement he needed, he kept telling me "hurry mommy, gotta go to church". He loves to go to church and play with the kids.

The evening service was regarding The Da Vinci Code - the book and recently released movie. Have you guys heard of it? I on the other hand am so out of the loop, I did not know anything about it - except the name - I had heard in passing somewhere. This is how out of it I am - I didn't even know that the Da Vinci referred to painted the picture of The Last Supper. I know I know - "Hello, Wendy where have you been?". It was very enlightening. He told us some of the lies in the book and showed us where to find the truth in the bible. He also gave us a q & a page that I am currently studying. He is such a smart man.

Anyway - no kids today. Nathaniel went to the zoo, and Max had a ill sister - so just the boys and I today. We worked this morning. Bug chose the "s" work and did quite well naming objects and remembering the sound it makes. He sometimes pronouces it with a "p" in front of the "ssss". We are working on that.

Any news on Matthew and Courtney? I saw good things regarding Nathan. :)

Well, till next time...take care...wendy

Well, I see that someone has got it! Yeah!

Sad to hear about the ball team...it is funny how the parents can get so obsessed and the kids are happy with the trophy...hummm...haha! Just kidding...

Did you stomp onto the field and kick the refs butt? How did they get someone from their team anyway...how fair is that?

Aren't we supposed to be teaching honesty?

Anyway, I will stop preaching.

Speaking of preaching...anyone for church tomorrow? We could compare sermons. Although I bet I win...Bro Rial is quite a pastor...hard to beat I bet.

I am going to work Sunday School in the morning...can you believe that? I actually asked about assisting in one of the classrooms. But the room they need someone is, is Kaden's class - the bed babies. Seems they have had an influx of babies lately. Wonder how that happened? :) It is sad I know I will teach whoever or whatever just to teach. I am trying to think of what sort of lesson I can do with this group...

Well, we have spent the day cleaning and such...nothing really special...been kinda a slow day.

Kaden tried green beans today...he didn't seem to impressed, but he ate them.

Kutter was "superman" for most of the day with his blue cape on...how cute is that!

Take care of each other...

Well, we lost our game 19-13. I'm sure it was because they were the better team and not because any given boy on their team could bench press at least 3 of our boys. It probably had nothing to do with the fact that the field ump was from their team and made 3 questionable calls at second base. Nope, we surely lost fair and square, so sadly, we're out of the tournament and our season has officially ended. The boys received trophies and that made it all ok.

I'm not bitter at all....

Well, what do you know... amazing what happens when you follow the instructions!

Welcome to the newest little member of the family! How exciting that he's here and healthy!

Just wanted to do a quick update on Braden's baseball tournament. We won last night 20-12 (woo-hoo!!!) and play again today at 1:30. The boys are so excited.

I'll work on getting that goat picture, Wendy. I probably already have one.

Testing, testing 1 2 3...

Well what a hoot, Auntie Angela and her barnyard clan! They keep me rolling. She is having some difficulties getting her blogs to post, but I posted the one she sent. Hopefully we will work it all out tomorrow.

Can you completely envision my crazy brother carrying the goat...oh gosh Angela you must get a picture of this to post...haha! We could probably win money somewhere! :)

Well, I am tired, so I will write more tomorrow...

Oh, update...Matthew has arrived...5 lbs or so I believe and 19 inches long...big feet, no hair is what I hear...I think he had to have some oxygen, but other than that was doing well. All I heard for now...perhaps Courtney or Gaelan or someone will soon join in and let us know more! hint hint!!!! :)

From "Auntie" Angela:

Hill Country info:

Alright, I'm going to try this. Can't have Wendy and Tasha looking like loons conversing among themselves. Can't promise any deep thoughts or earth-shattering revelations, but I will keep you up-to-date on the goings-on of our little family out here in the Hill Country.

Today is Friday. No extra kiddos today ~ Friday is my new off day from childcare. Liz and I start a new job today, however, and will be working at the local sign shop. I have no idea how this job roped me in or what is expected of me. I do know that I will soon be finding a book on "How to say NO!". Just kidding. We are doing it as a favor to a friend out here and I don't think it will be all that bad at all.

Braden has game 3 of his baseball tournament tonight. Since they lost Wednesday, if we lose again tonight we are out of the tournament. If they win, I think we play into next week. Slightly disappointing, as the season was to have officially ended Tuesday, but at least we're down to only one child playing as opposed to three. Michael and I are both tired of running from game to game every night of the week, but the kids have had a blast and that's all the matters. I'm happy that if we still have to play, Braden is the one still going. He shows the most potential and his games are definitely the most exciting.

The kids are all looking forward to school ending next week. This mom is too. I love summer time with them. School turns into mostly an inconvenience by about Christmas. At this point, I'm looking at keeping around seven extra little ones over the summer break on a weekly basis and rotating in at least five others. Add to that our plethora of furry ones and there should be around the clock chaos, I mean fun, at our house.At last count, our furry family consists of two dwarf goats, two bunny rabbits (which are quickly becoming the largest of our herd ~ you should see the ears on those things now!), three cats, and our newest addition...Sadie, a basset hound puppy who has quickly stolen all of our hearts. She is spoiled already and she's only been here a week. We also have two donkeys in the process of being born and/or weaned from their momma to soon add to our clan. Chickens will be coming as soon as we find the time to build a chicken coop, and I'd like to bring in a couple of sheep before all is said and done. We are really enjoying the different animals and they make us laugh a lot. I think they may also add to the entertainment of our neighbors, especially the goats, as we must make quite a scene when the whole family is required to corner them to get them back in their pen. It is often a 30-minute or better process and usually ends with Michael carrying one goat upside down across the front yard while the poor thing screams his fool head off. The other goat, wisely, then decides his best option is to follow promptly before the same fate befalls him. My dear husband bought an actual lasso to expedite the penning of the goats ~ anybody that's never witnessed this is surely missing a good thing. Wearing shorts and boots, my big ol' man marches out there and proceeds to lasso anything that doesn't move... I don't know if you city folks know this or not, but goats actually DO move. Therein lies the problem. I've offered to find fainting goats for our farm (these goats become paralyzed when they are afraid and fall right over ~ seems like the perfect solution!), but Michael thinks they don't exist and it's some sort of scam. Men!

This weekend we will spend working on the addition. This is the first time in a LONG time. Baseball, enough said. We have a few minor things to finish up and the front will be ready to rock. We are using wood siding on the side and back, in keeping with the look of the original house, so that part will go pretty quickly. We've been working on the house since about August. I, stupidly, was under the impression we would be living in it by Christmas. I have since learned that Christmas 2008 wouldn't be an unreasonable goal. In the meantime, we live all squashed together in the smaller house that we started in and build up more and more appreciation for the house that will someday be.

Ok, that's all for me. I didn't mention Haylie...hmmm, well, I can say that she is almost 13 and I have an all new appreciation for the fact that my mother raised two teenage girls. Mood swings and hormones are running amok around here. Anyone interested in fostering her for about 5 years, please be in touch with me. Serious inquiries only, please.

Talk to you soon. Angela

Well what a day! Nathaniel and Amanda came to work again this morning and what a great day we had. Bug worked on "using a ruler" and sea animals and the bead stair. What a great kid! Kaden loved watching his brother and chewing on everything he could get in his mouth.

We took some great pics of Nathaniel working...he is a nut. He is getting the hang of it though and really enjoys cleaning up! How funny!

All for now - again soon...we-

P.S. Any news on Courtney and Matthew?

I have also invited Aunt Janette - from BJ's family...she is a hoot and will give us some good laughs I am sure. And have a great time laughing at the rest of us...

From Wendy:

I heard on the food network that the color green reminds people of mold, so companies don't often use it in packaging food. What do you think?

I am with you...come on family...join in! What better way to nourish family communication!

Sorry to hear about the SA job...something will come up...pray about it. Prayer works. Have you heard that song "When Momma Prays" by Randy Travis? Even if you hate Randy Travis - just listen to the song...I think he wrote it about my mother. She is like that. She prays and things begin to move and change. I think it just takes faith - the believing no matter what.

Have you tried monster.com? What kind of job are you looking for? Oh, I just came up with something...the little boy I keep, his mom has this really great job and she would probably pass along your resume...Tracy you too. Her company is all over I believe. Email me your resume. I will pass it along to her. And anyone else interested.

I was so exhausted last night I didn't even check email, I fell into bed when I put Kutter to bed and didn't wake up. We decorated at church for VBS and it was terriblely hot because the air was not on. But we did get more done. We have a whole other room to do though.

Tasha what are you doing the first week of June? the 5th - 9th? Would you like to help with VBS - 9:00 - 12:30?

Today has been a good day... My friend Amanda brought her son Nathaniel (18 months) over for "work time". She is trying to teach him to sit and work with her on lessons and such. He did really well for his first time. Bug had some trouble with a new person and all, but for the most part the day went smoothly. The boys all seemed to have fun and outside time was even more fun with another person to play with.

Starting next week I will change craft time to 6pm on Tuesday evenings...anyone free and in town is welcome to join. Since I will have more kids during the day, I won't have a way to transport them all. But we have such a great time with Granny, I want to continue craft time.

Well, I here little people stirring, so I will go for now...have you noticed the crazy time...I can't find the right time zone...

One more thought...we need a better name...something that encompases everyone...

Oh, Tasha have you heard of backpage.com? It is a free site to list classifieds too. Another is dallas.craigslist.com. Free as well.

Well, glad to see Tasha has decided to join...What are you doing pushing over a port o pottie girl!

I understand the incredible busy part. The boys and I have been running like chickens all day. How does a chicken run you ask...I will leave that to your imagination...

The boys and I spent the entire day running - doing errands and such. We began with Granny and craft time at her home. We made spinners or "snakes" as Kutter calls them. We colored paper plates and cut them in a spiral pattern to hang in the residents rooms. They seemed to enjoy this activity and came up with some really nice ones. Granny was feeling quite "spry" today and did a great job with her spinner. She is so creative...

We left around lunch to go get Bug's haircut. Which took so long...We had to wait forever, but he needed a haircut so badly that I just waited it out.

The boys were real troopers hanging in there for all the ins and outs of the truck. I think by the time we made it in this afternoon they were both pooped. I know I was.

Kaden tried sweet potatoes tonight...

Kutter bug is still avoiding pooping in the potty...We got Finding Nemo undies as a prize if he goes...He tries to convince me they are for peeing in the potty...To smart for his own good.

We are going to go decorate some more for VBS tomorrow afternoon. I plan to finish the snowdrift and the snowwall behind it. This will involve hanging white paper, snowflakes and icicles. I will also put out the rest of the "ice blocks" and "snow bags". And another tree for the forest. I will try to remember to take pics so you guys can see what I am up too. The boys will be with me, so it should be interesting.

For Granny's birthday party - -Texas Luau theme - I picked up a few garlands of Hawaiian shirts and flip flops and pink flamingo and parrots today. I am on the lookout for other theme related ideas. The dollar tree has "lays" 7 for a $1. Anybody have these or should we get some? I will also be making sugar cookies for the party. Any other ideas are welcome.

Well I may have acquired myself another student for the summer months. Sonya (the activities director at Granny's home) has a 6 year old son (Joshua). She is looking for a tutoring program for this summer. She asked me about what I offer in my program. I told her a little about the program and cost and such. She said she would like to have him come at least 3 days a week. She will get back to me, so perhaps I will have another student to mentor this summer. I am excited. I have 3 so far plus my two, so it will be a jam packed summer but much fun!

Oh, Tasha, if the boys would like to - our church is having VBS (as I mentioned earlier) the first week of June (5th - 9th). They are more than welcome. It is the Orchard Hills Baptist Church at Saturn/Kingsley in Garland. VBS goes from 9:00 - 12:30pm each day. 4 years to 5th grade...all free of course.

Well, I better get my hinny over to the mountain of laundry I need to fold...neverending diapers...augh!

From Wendy: Well no response yet from the family about joining...I hope some of you do...What a great way to chat and stay in touch.

You should have seen my kaden tonight, what a nut. He was being big loud kid and so noisy big brother and I had to tell him to hush. It was hilarious. We have discovered he is allergic to carrots...What joy...We are back to squash...Yummy...We shall try sweet potatoes in a few days when his rash clears up.

Kutter bug has had a great day...We went to Wal-mart after Max left today and he did great. We picked out some "Finding Nemo" undies...If he poops in the potty...They are his prize...We are working on it. Ignorantly...I thought once he got the tee-tee it would all fall into place...I know I know...It will. Just frustratingly slow. Anyways...He wanted pizza for dinner, so I made pizza when we got home...With kidney beans...What a great meal...The child is a bean fanatic. He loves them any kind (except green beans) he will eat. He picked out kidney beans...Funny I know.

I on the other hand had bbq meatloaf...I made it myself...Rachael Ray's recipe...Sort of...haha! No cheese for me so I am left out of the pizza round.

tomorrow is Tuesday...Granny's day...The boys and I are headed up to Granny's house to do crafts. I haven't decided what yet. I thought about popcorn flowers, but Wal-mart didn't have dry tempera paint and I didn't make it to the teachers store. So I will come up with something else. I will try to get some pics to post...

Well I gotta finish cleaning up and gathering all my stuff for tomorrow. We will be decorating for VBS as well. Have to squeeze lunch and naps in there to though...augh what an exhausting day! I think we'll have lunch with Granny...Kutter loves that. I know Granny does too.

Oh for those who haven't heard, Granny's party is the 3rd of June it is a Texas Luau theme, so party decorating ideas and supplies are welcome. Aunt Shirley has come up with several great ideas, so contact her with others or supplies.

again soon...we-

What a great day! We are having a great day around here, I hope everyone else is too.

Bug has worked very hard this morning. He was like a little machine, just working and painting and pinning his work on the bulletin board. It was precious. He did a brand new lesson on "living and non-living". Which was fun to get him to understand the difference. (I think it will take a little more work!) Then he chose a shape work and wanted to sponge paint the shapes on his paper. I am quite proud to say he has long since mastered the shapes and is so funny when he names them in that "duh" voice! :) Then he worked on the sound "b"...and dot markered a huge B and stayed in the lines so well...I have included a picture of his excellent "b" that he did today. I am so proud. Max worked hard on rhyming words, Texas wildlife and the geometric solids. What a great morning. Kaden slept for a good part of the morning after waking very early for breakfast. He played in his highchair and watched his brother paint until outside time. He was a hoot, being loud and talking. :) Well that is all for now...

Wendy's Page
Okay I have invited all the family that I have emails for to be a part of the blog site. I think it will be loads of fun to post and "chat" this way.

Happy Mother's Day to all "MOM's" out there! I hope everyone's day went as well as mine!

Wendy's Page

Well, change of plans...no pics on here...didn't think about internet you know who's...ummm, perhaps we can just share info or something. Or maybe a cedar creations blog...

Well look at that...I have a blog...sounds sorta bad huh? What can I do with this...hummm...show off my precious boys? Okay...twist my arm!