I'm baaaccckkk!

Thanksgiving was a fabulously fun! The long story short....I was woke up at 2:30 am Turkey Day. My mom, dad, brother, sister in law, and nephews all came and surprised me! I had *no* clue that they were coming. Brad kept it a secret and so did the girls!!!! It was the best surprise ever.

I hadn't seen John and Erin since July of '04. Erin and John are expecting their first baby the end of Feb. His name is Joshua Scott, but we call him Fred. hee hee hee. I think they should name him Froshua. *grin* (side note, Erin won't let him be named Froshua, so I'm going to get a dog and name him Froshua.) *grin*

We had so much fun! Mom, Erin, and I hit Wal-Mart to pick stuff up on Thanksgiving and then came home to EAT! We did watch the Colts spank the Falcons that night. I actually didn't watch the whole game though---Erin and I decided to join the crazies and go shopping Friday morning. We went to Target, JoAnn, HHGregg, Radio Shack, Starbucks, Chic-fil-a, Sears, The Christian Supply Center, and finally Kroger. We got back and were POOPED!

The kids had so much fun with each other. It was great watching them all. Speaking of kids...Justin and Benjamin discovered that Uncle John is a big kid and LOVED wrestling around with them. I have a video of Justin jumping off the couch on to John. Sometimes he flipped right off and others he landed on John and inflicted some pain. =)

Sunday we went to church and after we had Christmas. Mom and Dad bought all of our kids new bikes for Christmas and then filled their stockings with all sorts of cool things! THANK YOU MOM AND DAD!!!!!! They love their bikes. Justin is doing awesome riding his. The girls got beach cruisers and Gabe got a really cool red bike with handle brakes. =) The winter has not stopped the kids from riding their bikes either. They have had them out in the cold and in the snow. Justin tried riding his through the snow a couple weeks ago....silly kid! John and Erin spoiled the kids with a ton of stuff too. They got Haeley a MP3 player, some remote control cars and trucks for the boys, and Jasmine got 2 nice art sets with canvases and real paint! She is jazzed!

They stayed until Monday morning. I tortured myself though because I followed them out of town. We went to the gas station together and then to Starbucks so I could get one more cup of coffee with my Momma. I forgot to mention that they took Justin back to VA with them. Brad had to go to VA that week and so Justin flew back to IN with Brad. It was so hard watching him go. I knew he would be fine, but that didn't make things ANY easier! When I got home and walked into my empty house I felt terrible! I climbed the stairs in my foyer and just sobbed. I wanted to curl up in a little ball on the couch. My house had been bustling for the past 4 days with my family and everyone was having a blast and then they were all gone. =(

I did relish the one-on-one time I got to have with Benjamin though. He loved it! AND Benjamin decided to take the opportunity to poo poo in the potty for the first time that week! I was so excited when I saw what he had done!!! It was great! And he was so proud of himself. You've got to love that!

The kids were excited to see Justin when he came home and I think he was equally excited to see them---not me. Just them. Little booger!

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Brad's birthday was on the 3rd we had to celebrate it on the 4th though. I made him a roast, bisquits, and a homemade German Chocolate Cake. Mmmmmm......It was soooo good! Jasmine and Haeley did help some with the cake. He got a couple movies for his birthday. I think more than anything he just enjoyed being home with the family.

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I got my Christmas present from John and Erin on Brad's birthday. They bought me an 80GB iPod. I *love* it lots and lots and lots! Then, I got to open up all of the stuff from Mom and Dad. It was fabulous! I got a bunch of accessories for my iPod. There was a bluetooth stereo hook up and a iPod adapter thingy for the stereo and a bluetooth headset for it all!

I was so jazzed. Then I discovered a problem. I needed iTunes. Why is that a problem??? Hmmm....let me think. OH! WAIT! I remember now! We are on dial up and it was going to take me 14 hours to download it. Yes, you read right. 14 hours. I wasn't playing that game! The next day we went to my girlfriend Sarah's house for lunch and I took the external hard drive and downloaded it at her house.

Can you guess how long it took? Less than five minutes. GRRR! Just one more reason to STRONGLY dislike dial up!

BUT, I got my iTunes and it transfered all the music on my computer and I loaded my iPod and I'm loving it !!!!!!!! I even let Justin watch "Finding Nemo" on it. I'm such a nice Mom. =)

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There will be more to come later, but my pinky on my left finger is hurting...I'll put more up tomorrow night! Hope you enjoyed this!

Over and out.

The Name Game and other fun songs...

Benjamin and Justin love the Name Game Song. In fact they love it when we do Daddy…. "Daddy Daddy Bo Baddy, Banana Fanana fo Faddy (fatty) Fee fi fo Faddy Daddy!”

They really think it is hilarious and last night Benjamin was trying to do it. He would say, “Do Jamine! Jamine Jamine Jamine!” And then he would just tickle himself and laugh.

We also did “Ooey Gooey” For those of you who don’t know it…

“Ooey Gooey was a worm. Ooey Gooey liked to squirm. Ooey Gooey squirmed to far; Ooey Gooey got hit by a car. OOEY GOOEY!!!!”

They all cracked up on that one!

I hope these post okay!!!

I haven’t been able to access my blogger control panel to post because my internet connection has been so stinkin so slow!  Oh well.  I’m sorry that I haven’t posted in almost a month!!!!  I don’t know how time got away from me.  I’ll try to update in sections….I hope you enjoy!

 

Banner Banner Bo Banner...

Okay, so I'm trying to customize my banner and everytime I do, it comes out HUGE!!!! Hopefully I'll get it figured out and it will look the way that I want. =) =) =)

Grocery Shopping

Why is it that I go to Kroger and get the grocery cart that has the car on it for the boys, but they don't sit in it? I spent the last half of my grocery trip with Benjamin on my hip! I don't get it!!!! I got the couple things I needed, but of course forgot some things so I'll have to make another trip. WHOO HOO! I'm so excited!

God is good

Finances always seem to be tight the second week of the month. That's when we have one of our larger bills due and it makes for some creativity on my part. My girlfriend was coming over on Monday to borrow a book and she was an angel in disguise. She brought over a bag of frozen taco soup, some frozen honey lemon chicken, steaks, ground elk, and elk steaks. As she was unloading all of this I was in disbelief and shock. Just a couple hours earlier I was praying and asking God to provide for us---and He did. He is sooo good.

God still answers prayers!

Last night at church I was convicted by my lack of vision. We had a guest speaker, Dr. Davis. He said that if you are in the same place you were five years ago and not changing then you have lost your vision. Our Pastor had told us earlier that a lady at his 2nd church said, "Pastor, people do what they want to do." All of this hit me hard.

I sat there thinking about my quiet times and how often I have them. More appropriately, how often I don't have them. I thought about the last 5 years and tried to think of how many days I could say I actually had a quiet time. Forget the last five years, what about the last five weeks? The last five days? I already knew the answer, but it hurt me to think about how I've let all the little things of life get in the way of the important thing. Christ. His love for me.

So, I made a decision last night. I was going to change. I want my kids to see Jesus in me. I want others to see Jesus in me. I set my alarm clock on my cell phone last night for 6am. I never get up at 6 unless it's an absolute neccessary. I prayed before I went to bed and asked God to help me get up and to help keep the house (the kids) asleep so I could spend time with Him. My alarm went off and I didn't want to get up. But, I did.

I went downstairs and lit my candle, turned on my lamp and climbed into my chair. I wanted coffee, but I hadn't ground the coffee beans and I didn't want to risk waking up my "angels". I had a wonderful quiet time. I prayed for all of my kids, my husband, friends...the list went on. I've learned a little on the whole prayer front and I enjoyed praising God for who He is and all that He's done for me. I read part of Psalm 119 and prayed it back to God. God is so good.

I was able to shower and get dressed before the kids woke up. I made them breakfast, we got lunches packed and I read them the Bible and prayed with them before they went to school. They weren't rushed, I wasn't rushed. It was great. I've gotten a ton of housework done. I know that it is all because I started my day with God. I've gone back to Psalm 119 a lot this morning and I've been claiming my other verses (I'll share those later). I love being able to claim His promises! He is so good!

Renovations...

I have decided that I want to change the look of my blog. So if you come here and it looks all out of whack, have no fear...soon and very soon (hopefully) it will be how I want it! Wish me luck!

I HATE Wallpaper

I decided I was going to be stupid and start stripping the wallpaper in my dining room. It's terrible! I think I'm going to hire professionals to come in and do it. Okay, so I really won't, but the idea is definitely tempting. I was making the dining room my winter project and since I sold my computer desk from in there I wanted to strip the wallpaper from that wall before I moved the piano onto that wall. WHAT WAS I THINKING???????? Why did I even want to take this project on. Now that I've started it I can't very well stop, but oh how I wish I could. I know that once it is all done I will be pleased and happy, but Golly! I didn't think it was going to go as slow as it's going. Any suggestions? I'll take all the advice (and help if you want to come over) that you can give me! =)

Fisher Price Smart Cycle

I want this for my boys. Brad doesn't quite understand why I want this for them. But, he's also not the one with them 24/7. What parent wouldn't want to be able to let their child play a video game, but get exercise at the same time? And it's not just any video game---it's educational!

"It’s a stationary bike, a learning center, and an arcade game system—all rolled into one! Smart Cycle plugs right into your TV, ready to take kids on learning adventures like no other. As they pedal, favorite character friends guide them through learning discoveries, games, and even exciting races. Bring the arcade experience home, with multiple levels of play for different ages and stages! (TV set not included.)

Includes Learning Adventure game cartridge, with 3 ways to play:

1. Drive:
Pedal, steer and learn at your own pace—visit Math Mountain, Shape Lake, Number Fields, Letter Creek and other stops along the way.

2. Learn:
Stop and rest, but don’t stop learning! Use the joystick to reinforce important learning skills with plenty of games and activities—with different levels for growing kids.

3. Race:
Put the pedal to the metal as you race with cars on-screen, against the clock, or with another player!

Requires 4 "D" (LR20) alkaline batteries (not included).

Assembled cycle is approx. 25" H x 18½" W x 27" L.

Teaches:

• upper & lowercase letters
  
• numbers & counting
  
• spelling
  
• problem-solving
  
• shapes
  
• matching
  
• creativity
  
• spatial reasoning
  
• motor skills & lots more"

(From Fisher Price's website)

So, I say as long as this isn't made in China it would be a good buy! =) I've actually thought of calling Fisher Price and asking them if they can guarantee me that this product is completely safe for my child to use. Will all of the recent toy recalls impact your Christmas shopping this year?

He does his job well

We all know that it is the brother's job to annoy his siblings. Gabe has it down to a T. The girls can be content in the kitchen doing their homework and then Gabe walks in. He'll walk over to the table and take the paper that they are working on. Or he'll grab their bookbag or whatever he can to get the loudest scream out of them. He has mastered the art of annoyance when it comes to them. I sometimes just sit back and watch this unfold. As much as I hate the screaming I know one day they will be gone and I will long for the fights at the kitchen table again...

Benjamin's not a baby, KAY!!

Wednesday I was out running errands and when the boys and I got in the truck Justin started teasing Benjamin. He kept saying, "Benjamin's a baby...Benjamin's a baby." Benjamin was getting really upset and he said, "I NOT UH BABY BUBBA! KAY?!?! I NOT A BABY!!!!"

....It makes me sad that he says he's not baby. I want to keep him as a baby forever.

The Tooth Fairy goes broke

Haeley has yanked out 2 of her teeth in the past 2 days. Jasmine does not want to be outdone and is quickly trying to yank out one of hers. I got a memo from the tooth fairy...she's out of money.

Another Gem...

Justin has a bit of a problem with his temper...it must be the Irish in him. =) On Monday I had a brilliant idea and I decided that whenever he gets mad I would quote James 1:19 to him. "Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to get angry." I was impressed that by Tuesday he could say it on his own with little help. Today though I learned he knows it without my help. It was time for naps and this was our conversation.

Me: "Boys, it's time for naps."

Justin: "Evyone should be quick to lisen, slow to speak and slow to get angy." GRIN

Me: "Okay Justin, upstairs for bed."

Justin: "No." GRIN

Me: "Justin, do you know what else the Bible tell us? It says, 'Children should obey their parents.'"

Justin: "I don't have anny parents."

Me: "Children should obey their moms and dads."

Justin: "No, the Bible says, 'Parents should obey Justin.'"

At that point I looked at him and gave him a *STERN* look and said, "Justin, to bed Now." He grinned and ran up the stairs.

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Monday he was not speaking nicely to me and when I corrected him he told me, "I have fire ants inside me and they said if I wasn't mean to you they would kill me."

Monday night he says, "I can't hear you out of this ear because that's my bad ear and it doesn't want to listen to you."

---"Justin, do you understand me?"

---"Nope, I don't."

Friday Fun

Today my friend Dani called me and invited me to go bike riding. I couldn't get anyone to watch the boys so they went with us. While we were waiting for Dani to come back and pick us up with her truck I snapped some pictures of the boys at the park.

Benjamin was mesmerized by the water.

I told the boys to get together so I could take their picture. This is what my "angels" gave me.

Integrity and Justin. =) I had to laugh when he was standing next to the sign.

Dial-up Stinks

I know I haven't posted in a week, but in my defense it's frustrating trying to post when you can't connect at anything over 24.0Kbps. And for all you who don't know...24.0Kbps is SSSSLLLOOOOWWWWW. So, that's the reason for not posting. BUT, that's not to say that the Smith Household has not been bustling lately! Here's last week at a glance (I'll try to remember it)

Monday I had to drive the kids to school then take Brad his glasses at work. On my way home a friend of mine needed some help with a Lottie Moon computer thing so I picked her up, we got coffee and then headed to my house to work on it. Dani and I got the slideshow done just in time for me to take her home, pick up Lily and get her to school. Then it was back home to battle the boys for naps. I *finally* got them to sleep and had a little over an hour to try and get some stuff done before Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Dum, and Tweedle Weedle came home from school (aka Haeley, Jasmine, and Gabe). It was a busy day as usual.

Tuesday came and I don't remember too much of Tuesday except for my phone call from the school nurse. Gabe was running on the playground and ran into another kid and Gabe fell backwards and smacked his head on the cement. This was about 40 minutes before dismissal and the nurse was not comfortable sending him home on the bus because when he was brought in from the playground the teacher said that he was all over the hallway and not walking straight. SO, Ms. Barbara came down to watch the boys since they were sleeping and I went to pick up Gabe and the girls. The poor little guy had a HUGE goose egg on his head and a black eye (compliments of teasing his brother the night before). I got him home, kept an eye on him and then called our pediatrician because my mom felt very strongly that he needed to go into the ER or Urgent Care. I thought he was fine, but knew that my mom wouldn't be satisfied unless the doctor said he was okay. And as it turns out, Dr. Hensley told me what to watch for and he is fine. BUT, that night he was horsing around with Jasmine and she smacked her head into his already black eye and made it swell up all over again. Poor kid.

Wednesday a friend of mine watched the boys for the morning and I got to go get a cup of coffee and relax a little bit before I had to go get them. I did get to go to the school and watch Jasmine and Haeley's class do the egg drop. Jasmine's was by far the best one! That night we had church and then we went to the store and Brad bought me a new digital camera!!!!! My old one had been acting up for some time and I was getting more and more frustrated with it. I now have the Canon Powershot A720 IS. And I LOVE IT! It is fabulous. Wonderful....

Thursday was spent at home trying to get things situated. I made a yummy pot roast for dinner and my friend Corrie came over. We fed the kids and then waited for Brad to get home before we ate. I did make a very important discovery that day. A 2 1/2 pound roast is not enough for the Smith family anymore. It was a nice night. We watched Invincible and had some good conversation that night...then Friday I took 5 bags of junk to Goodwill. =) Yay for me!

Saturday Brad was at the junk yard getting an engine for his '71 Mercury Comet and I decided to take the boys to get their hair cut. What an adventure that was! Benjamin and Justin's hair came out looking great, but Gabe's "stylist" (I use that term loosely) used the clippers on his WHOLE HEAD!!!!! It is starting to grow on me, but I don't think we will EVER have it like this again!!!! Oh, there's a picture on here of Benjamin asleep in his Lightning McQueen chair. He fell asleep in hs chair watching Curious George...that's a man for ya. =)

Well, that's all for now...enjoy the pictures and let me know what you think of Gabe's hair (or lack of it). =)

Thankful Thursday

I'm stealing the "Thankful Thursday" concept from my friend Ainsley's blog....

1. A clean hallway

2. Gabe having a semi-good week

3. Getting to go on a mini-vacation with Brad and my kids

4. Listening to my kids laugh

5. Brad reading all of us Little House on the Praire

6. Audibles on Yahoo Messenger

7. My Bible Study

8. Free Kids Meal Gift Cards

9. My Coffee Press

10. My daily talks with my Momma

My baby is growing up

Monday night we were eating dinner and Brad had given Benjamin a little on his plate. Benjamin scarfed it down. He picked up his plate and said, "Maeeee, I unt moooree peas." (Mommy, I want more please.) I said, "BRAD!!!! Did you hear him??????" I don't understand why I get more excited about these things than he does. =)

Crack Head

"Mommy, my head is going to crack off."

"What?"

"My head is going to crack off."

"Why?"

"Because my head is cracked in the back."

"Oh...do you want to call and tell GoGo about it?"

"Yes."

"GoGo, my head is gonna crack off."

"What? Your head has a cough?"

Me: "No, his head is going to crack off."

"Oh....(laughing) your head is going to crack off."

Look at the time

My friend Corrie came over Tuesday night to bring me some medicine and I invited her to stay for dinner. We're sitting there eating and Justin says (with a big smile), "Oh, look at the time. I guess you better leave now." Corrie and I looked at each other and laughed. He definitely took me by surprise on that one.

We Survived

Okay, now that I have all the pictures up I'll do a little bloggin on the trip. First off, we had a BLAST! I know I needed to get away and so did Brad and the kids. Shades State Park was a little over an hour away which was pefect---far enough so we felt 'gone' but close enough for us to get home if we needed to.

Wednesday night was a little interesting. We got the the campgrounds and got the tent all set up right before the rains started coming down. All of us piled into the tent and I arranged the kids on one side in their sleeping bags and Brad and I on the Futon mattress. Benjamin did not want to be away from me so he was right next to us and Justin was being really "Mommy clingy" so he was on the other side of Benjamin where I could still touch him. The rains were really coming down and I could feel the rain shield leaking some, but didn't really think much of it. I couldn't sleep and neither could Brad. At about 4:45 am Jasmine sat straight up in her sleeping bag because she was WET. The tent had leaked all over her. Her clothes were soaked and she was cold. So, we re-arranged the kiddos and everyone tried to sleep for the next couple hours.

Unfortunately, when we all got up Thursday morning, I found that my tennis shoes were SOAKED. I went to the truck to get the bag with my flip flops and Brad's tennis shoes...but they weren't there. The kids were helping me pack the truck and forgot to give me that bag. I had no other shoes and Brad only had his dress shoes. Say hello to Wally World. We headed there and got Brad and I both some shoes and an air matress and some other odds and ends that we forgot. Once we got back to camp we all headed out on a hike. It was beautiful. The kids had a blast splashing through the water in the ravine. It didn't matter that it was super cold, they had fun anyhow. Benjamin got mad whenever we pulled him out of the water to dry land. The original plan was to have fish that night for dinner but since we hadn't gone fishing yet we pulled out the burgers and grilled those up.

Brad bought Little House on the Praire and started reading that to the kids at night while we were there. (It was a big hit and has continued on since we've been home. The kids are mesmorized by it!) We had put a tarp up over the tent with hopes to keep Thursday nights rain out of the tent and it worked! We did a lot of praying that night though, because the park along with most of Indiana was under a Tornado Warning...or was it a watch? Whichever one means that the conditions are right is what we were under. The kids were a little nervous and to be honest so was I. God kept us safe and we woke up to somewhat sunny skies Friday morning.

Friday we went fishing. It was a very interesting experience having 5 little ones out there and I was nervous about Benjamin falling in the pond. We started out at river (the picture that I took from the covered bridge) and I wasn't very comfortable there at all. There were no bites so we decided to try out the pond at Shades State Park. The pond was where it was at! Jasmine started us out by catching the first Bass and Justin followed soon after with his first fish! He was so excited!!! Jas wound up catching 2 Bass, Justin caught 3 and Brad caught one catfish. We had to throw them all back because they were all too small. It's a good thing I packed hot dogs because we were supposed to have fish for dinner Friday night too. =) On the way back from the pond I dropped Brad and the older kids off at some trails so that they could do a "little" hiking. We failed to tell the kids that the "little" hiking was actually a 3 mile hike. Ooops...guess we left out that detail. They came back exhausted but bustling with stories of what they saw.

Friday nights weather was clear and cold! It got down into the 40s Friday night. We were just a little chilled when we woke up. Benjamin did really good Friday night and fell asleep between Gabe and Justin and couldn't have cared less that I wasn't with him---my little boy is growing up! Saturday we got up and packed everything up before going on one more hike. It was GORGEOUS!!!! The leaves were beautiful and the air was so crisp and clean. I hated having to leave there.

The funnies from the trip though....

-Gabe saying he needed to go to bathroom and stepping out of the tent and into our screened porch to use the restroom. I think the whole campground heard Brad say "NO GABE!!!! OUTSIDE, NOT IN HERE!!!!!!!"

-Justin was half asleep and says, "Mommy, can I watch a movie when I get up." (Like we brought that)

-Jasmine getting mad at me when I laughed at her question, "Can I bring my gameboy?"

-We got some neighbors Thursday. Our little social butterfly started walking circles between our campgrounds....when asked what she was doing, she says "Nothing." But Brad and I both knew that Haeley was trying to get the attention of the little girls...it worked.

-Benjamin "hiding" behind the little tree.

....I could probably think of more, but that's enough for now...

Justin is a mess. We were getting gas so we could hit the road.
=)

Justin "caught" himself

Justin "caught" himself

All of my "babies"

The girls were getting ready to kiss Gabe and he was pushing them away.
You know that he is loving the attention from them!



I was up on an old covered bridge when I took this. It was beautiful view.

This was Justin's first time fishing

He caught his first Bass...before the afternoon was over he had caught 3 Bass.

Jasmine caught 2 Bass
Benjamin was fishing too!

More More More!

Benjamin is "hiding" behind the tree!