Ode to the Christmas Virus

Silently sneaking up you come,
Old or young, age matters none.

You mercilously pick your prey,
as silently in bed I lay.

Awakening with a start,
I am beating fast at heart!

Alas it is not to see,
The presents underneath the tree!

It is to visit a porcelain throne,
Which end is up is still unknown.

After an early morning "delight",
I wish it were still only night.

For my head is beating like a drum,
As it will remain until this day is done.

You clutch my eyeballs from behind,
And squeeze and squeeze until I am blind!

You are such a cruel fate,
For added too, I stayed up late.

Even those who got in bed,
still may have an aching head!

Those Christmas cookies, punch and cake!
Oooohmb! Will most assuredly have to wait!

The various aromas and the odd little sounds
within my aching belly do surely abound!

Rumbles and roars galore,
My body is making as never before!

Up and down I lay my head,
wanting only to stay in bed!

Each second ticks by, each hour so slow,
Will this day ever end, this feeling ever GO?

Finally relief comes at the break of dawn,
I look at the clock and only can yawn!

Christmas day has come and gone,
But the nausious memories will ever live on!

Next year at this time as your new prey you pick,
Remember that in 2005 I was the lonely soul sick!

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree...

It is officially Christmas in our house. Yesterday my husband and I went to Kroger and bought a 14.99 Christmas tree. Yes folks thats right I said 14.99. It is so close to Christmas that all of the trees THAT ARE LEFT are marked down to 14.99. So now I have a tree up in my house and it is almost standing up straight! As soon as my daddy brings some kind of wood blocks to prop it up, it will be straight.

So, as my husband was bowling last night, I proceeded to decorate our gimpy little tree. I placed each ornament on with loving care, then I picked them up off of the floor where they fell to and placed them on the tree again. Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree your leaning to far left! So as I continue to decorate my tree, I find myself leaning to the left to get some ornaments on. By the time it is all decorated, my tree is almost laying on the couch. Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree you're really on my nerves! Phone call..."Mom, gimpy leaning tree. Any ideas?" "Try cardboard" Ok, thanks for the idea BUT cardboard wont hold up in water. So papaw to the rescue he says use wood blocks. Haven't tried it yet but plan on it tonight.

Merry Christmas gimpy tree, Merry Christmas!

God's Timing is Better than Mine...

Ok, so it is now almost 1 week exactly since my surgery. Things are well, swollen, but well. Last night after I botched my solo in the christmas cantata, my mommy took me out for a banana split (boy did I need mine laced with rum!), then I came home and my husband gave me "permission" to lay aside my crutches if I promised not to cry anymore about my solo. Well, I didn't promise (although I didn't cry anymore) but he let me put them down anyway.

Hooray! I am finally off of them! I can tend to my house again! I can tend to my sick baby again! Yes, my very sick baby. Two ear infections, cold in his eyes and a general cold (so I thought) Hooray! Just as soon as I sleep in this morning, ok?! :)

Oh wait! What's this??? It's 6:50 am and my husband has collapsed on the bed and is mumbling something about calling in sick to work! How's that??? Come again??? I was sleeping in, remember? "You need to call work for me, I can't move" Up and out of bed I hop. "Do you need to go to the hospital?" "No, I am hurting all over" Doing the whole forearm to the forehead bit, "You are running a fever", I will call the doctor as soon as they open. Back in bed I lay down thinking I can still catch a few zzz's. Uh-uh, ain't gonna happen. After about 15 minutes of "I'm cold, I'm hot, I hurt, I'm gonna be sick" I realized that sleep was no longer an option, so out of bed again, ready to start my day of taking care of my two sick men (notice I didn't say babies...)

Off to the doctor, upper respitory infection not the flu like I thought (same symptoms). Three days home from work. Does anyone realize what this means? Ok wives, I know what you are thinking, does anyone else know what this means? This means that I am going to have one H of a time getting his christmas present together. I was counting on this week, Arg! What is a girl to do?

I don't know, I just have to remind myself that God's timing is better than mine. Pray for me. Oops I mean, my sick men. :)

A Family Worth Anything is A Family Worth Everything

Let me begin by saying how much I love each and every member of our family (and one person who isn't a member...YET...no pressure). Each one of you holds a special place in my heart. I had so much fun on our Christmas weekend. I didn't want it to end, but I did, but I didn't, but I did.....

It was so nice to sit around and watch all of the kids open their christmas gifts. It seems like an eternity since we have all been together like that. I REALLY miss those times. I hearby swear to work harder to get together with my family. People have no idea what they are missing when they don't have a loving family to get together with. Even if there are eye rolls and grunts and people having a tiff, it is all worth it just to have a few moments together.

It was just as nice to sit around and watch the adults open their gifts. Shout out to Bretterbie, who succeeded in making Daddy cry. Good job man, Good Job! It was so nice to sit around with each other and talk about everything and nothing at the same time. I love you all so much. Good times people! Good Times!

Now, as we all know, I had my knee surgery yesterday. My momma is so great that she took me because my husband, God love him, had to work. What a wonderful surprise to wake up and see Marcus sitting in the recovery room looking at me! Yeah! He got off work early and came to sit with me! He doted on me all day yesterday and all night too. Then like a wonderful mommy, momma came over and sat with Micah and I today while everyone was gone. I like having days with my momma(girls-I know you are jealous). My daddy came to see me (although...I think there is a little boy who he wanted to see more. My mother-in-law sat with Micah while I had my surgery. She is just so great. I don't think that I tell her often enough how much she means to me. My father-in-law stopped by to see me, I swear I love that man more every day! Even the girls are helping me out as much as they can. They are so sweet to me..."do you want some water?"..."do you need anything?"...

I think, no, I KNOW that I have the most wonderful family possible! I love you all so much...
and NO, that's not any pain medicine talking...God blessed me with a 99 o/o painfree surgery. (Am I sacreligious if I say "shout out to the Big Man upstairs!)?

Favorite moments

Here are some of MY favorite moments from Thanksgiving weekend:

1. Having 8 kids running around the house while all of the adults sat and ate their lunch, not caring if the kids were hungry!

2. Talking to Kim in the bedroom on Sunday (about you know what)

3. Baking with Kelly and Marcus

4. Laney asking if I could curl her hair

5. Brett blending in SO unbelievably well

6. Marcus and Uncle Frank going bowling together

7. Marcus and Uncle Frank and Brett going bowling together

8. Going shopping with Aunt Patsy

9. Missing momma and daddy, as a family

10. 7 out of 8 kids staying at the other house so Marcus and I could have a date

11. Having a date with my husband

12. Making up with my husband after a disagreement

13. The sound of 8 kids together playing, laughing, arguing and having fun!

14. Devin opening up and playing so well with Caleb and Olivia

15. Listening to the stories told all around

16. My family going with me to my family gitogether (black slang)

17. Having a family that loves each other enough to put up with each other for that long! :)

Four Things I Love About...

FOUR THINGS I LOVE ABOUT MY FAMILY:



Four things I love about Ryane:

1. The special laugh she has that nobody hears but me.
2. The way only she can make Micah smile.
3. How much she wants to be like me.
4. How she poses for the camera (EVERY time)
















Four things I love about Gracie:

1. Her sense of humor.
2. How much she loves her daddy.
3. How she can fall asleep anywhere, anytime.
4. That she is always willing to give hugs...whether you want them or not. :)

Four things I love about Devin:

1. The way he says "momma".
2. How he wants to be JUST like his daddy.
3. The fact that he sleep walks, and talks, and cries, and...

4. How he loves his sisters and brother.















Four things I love about Micah:

1. His grin.
2. The special smile that ONLY his daddy gets.
3. The way he looks at me when he nurses.

4. His beautiful brown eyes.















Four things I love about Marcus: (Sorry no pic to post)

1. He is the Father of my children.
2. He loves the Lord.
3. He respects me.

4. He accepts me for who I am...an extremely white girl with a lot of flaws.

Conversation with Ryane

Walking through Walmart, Ryane looks up to the ceiling and sees a giant poster of Destiny's Child. She looks my way and says "mommy, is that Destiny's children?

THE PROFOUND THOUGHT OF THE DAY

I have nothing profound to say today. I just figured I haven't blogged in a couple of days so I had better put something on here.

I did have a date on Saturday night. (I am sure you have already heard about Marcus' bathroom incident. Well, I have a question for all...WHO, and i mean WHO in their RIGHT mind brings a 4-year old to an R rated scary movie? Hmmm? Who? We go into the theatre and sit down. Were getting all comfy, the movie is getting ready to start and I hear "mommy". So I turn around and there he is a little boy, Devin's age, sitting with his mommy and I presume his daddy. Do you know how hard it is to concentrate on being scared poopless when you know there is a little boy behind you who you know is unfit to be in that theatre? Oh, I wanted to have the nerve to say something so badly, but I just thought lots and lots of bad things about the parents. Then, get this, after the very scary movie, we get up to leave and the "daddy" speaks to Marcus. Apparently they worked together in the past. Go figure. Marcus didn't say anything about the little boy but deep in my heart of hearts I kinda wished that he would. (Shhh, don't tell him though)

Well, the movie was really good. We had a date to see Saw when it came out so when we caught the advertisement for Saw II, we both said we wanted to go again. And guess what...there is going to be a Saw III (at least is left you with the impression that there would be a third one.) It was so scary! It was gory too but not too gory. It was the kind of movie that lets your imagination tell you what happened. I love dates with Marcus, we don't get them very often. I love a good scary movie!!!!!

Those of you who don't, SUCK!

I am so utterly excited about Marcus' Christmas present! I want to tell you all about it but I can't. Marcus reads my blogsite and he would know. BUT I AM SOOOOO EXCITED! I want to blab all about it. I think he will really really like it. It is going to take a little work to keep it a secret but I am going to try my very very best! And I will be really really mad if he finds out what I am giving him before Christmas day! VERY VERY VERY MAD. So no peeking!

Hey since everyone reads this, here is an idea. Why don't we get together at Kelly's house the weekend before Christmas? Or close to it? Then we can celebrate Christmas together! How does that sound? I think it's a great idea! Let me know what you think! We can draw names at thanksgiving. Sound good? Huh? Someone Answer me!

Who am i really punishing here?

The house is all abuzz! Micah is sitting in the middle of the living room screaming just because he can. Devin is shooting the torpedoes off of his new car, following with a "YES!" Gracie is running through the house being Gracie. I am folding laundry on the couch and Ryane is telling me about her book from school. Everything is going well Gracie heads into the living room about the same time that Ryane heads toward the bedroom. Thunk! Followed by OWWWW! In passing Ryane has decided that now would be a great time to smack Gracie in the stomach. Not hard enough to cause any damage, but just hard enough to sting like the devil and stightly take Gracie's breath away. Conversation follows.

G: Ryane hit me in the tummy (said through tears)

M: Ryane! Come here!

R: Ma'am?

M: Ryane! Why did you hit your sister?

R: I didn't mean to...

M: RYANE! I saw you. You hit her on purpose!

R: (silence)

M: Ryane, you hit her on purpose didn't you?

R: yes ma'am

M: Go to your room, I'll be there in a minute (the most hated phrase of parenthood)

So, immediatly Gracie starts to try and tell me what happened. "Gracie, I don't need you to explain anything to me." Into the bedroom I go.

M: Ryane, you come up with 3 punishments for what you did and I will decide which one you get.

R: Um, no games, no tv, or grounded

M: Ryane, you are going to your dad's this weekend, none of those will work. I'll come up with 3 and YOU decide which one you want.

1) 3 swats
2) You clean the bedroom alone (it's messy too)
3) You give Gracie your most cherished possession

R: What is a possession?

M: You have to give Gracie something of yours that you really love. You have 5 minutes to think about it

.........5 minutes later..........

M: Did you decide?

R: (Bawling) I am going to give her Mr. Alligator. (Red face, tears, quivering lip)

M: Are you sure?

R: No ma'am

M: What do you want to do?

R: (through tears) I don't want to give her Mr. Alligator.

M: You have to pick a punishment.

R: Mr. Alligator

M: Ok, you need to tell her

R: Here, (handing him over) he is yours now. (now openly bawling)

G: (puzzled, because she hasn't been present for the entire conversation) Thank you.

M: Ryane you have to tell her why you are giving it to her.

R: (still bawling) I have to give him to you because I hit you.

G: Oh.

With head in hands sobbing quietly Ryane leaves the room. Gracie walks over to me, bends down with alligator in hand and whispers "can I be nice and give it back to her?" I look at her sweet little face and say "she had to give it to you for punishment" Gracie with her big round eyes looks at me and says "I know, but she is making me cry. Can I please give it back to her?" In a hushed voice I say "...on monday..."

Just at that moment Ryane whips around the corner and yells "I changed my mind, I want to clean the room. Is that ok?" So of course Mr. Alligator is back with his rightful owner, the bedroom is being cleaned by Ryane and Ryane alone, and Gracie is not upset anymore.

Gaaa! Punishment is HARD!

A Teary Entry

I just got Kelly's email. Enough said? Should be but it's not. I sit here right now typing this showing her 110% of my support. As we all should. NO ONE who has not been through this has any idea of how hard this is for her. This is one of the worst things that could happen to someone. Support her any way you can! The best support???? Prayer would be at the top but everything is very important. Not just important but necessary. She needs us right now and I know each and every one of us rallies around her as much as we THINK we can, but it's not enough. GO the extra mile when you think you can't. You can and you should, it will be so appreciated. Every little bit helps when you are in this kind of need. Love her, support her, cherish her!

Now, to those of you who have a spouse, significant other, lover man, big man, little man, any man: BE THANKFUL. Get down on your knees and thank God that he brought someone special into your life! It is better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all, that is easy to say when you are high on romance but be sure and say it when you are running low too. We all fuss and grumble about our mate but we should really be grateful to have them in our lives. I know I am. I have been where Kelly is and it isn't fun. It's lonely and dark and scary and you feel like there is noone else there with you. I have been there but I am not anymore. God brought Marcus into my life. I know that I bitch and moan all of the time but I love him with all of my heart. He is my rock when I falter. He is my strength when I am weak. He is my sanity when I am nuts. He is my joy in the middle of sadness. He is the fudge swirl in my vanilla ice cream. He is my goodness. He is my comedian. He makes me laugh when all I want to do is cry. He is the father of my children. Because of him, I am able to be at home taking care of my family. Because of him we have a roof over our head, a car to drive, food to eat. He is a wonderful man and I know that I am guilty of not telling him near often enough.

So, once again, to all of you who have a significant other: BE THANKFUL! (and tell him)

Watching Children Play...

One of the most fun things to do is to watch children play. They have the most fun with the littlest things. We have a back/face massager and the girls have gotten it out and are massaging each others backs with it. I can hear them from the kitchen laughing and carrying on while they make noises just to hear their voices quiver!

The girls got to stay at Grandma's last night since they didn't have school today. They have so much fun over there, I think it is one of their favorite places to go. I don't even think that they do much else at Grandma's then they do at home but they LOVE it. Micah and I met them at the park today for a Lee's chicken picnic. Oh, if only you knew how hard it is to eat mashed potatoes and gravy without a fork or a spoon. Mom called it making memories with the girls, I called it using chicken bones and container lids as silverware. We had fun none the less! The girls ate quickly so they could go play in the park before we had to come home. I looked over at one point and Gracie was on her hands and knees and Ryane was using her back as a climbing tool. Hmmm, Kim did I ever do that to you?

Micah bear has a runny nose today. Everything he chews on gets covered in slobber and snot, including me. Poor baby. We slept in this morning since the girls weren't here. You go back to bed thinking "yeah, I can get a little more rest" then you wake up thinking "that was a horrible dream, I never should have gone back to bed" That sucks! I just wanted to catch up on my sleep though. Micah had me up from 2-5am Sat. night. Marcus got up at the end of all of it and tried to help but when Micah realized I wasn't around and he was dozing back off, he started to cry again. I finally put him in bed with me only to realize that the Apple/Prune juice he had the previous day was working it's magic. After a lengthy diaper change and a second nursing session, he finally went back to sleep. So did I, but we still had to get up for church, drudge! I love church BUT it is just so hard when you are missing crucial sleep. But we went anyway and it was nice...till choir practice last night. Yeesh! The choir director was a little grumpy himself, he even didn't answer two of my questions! The nerve of some people!

WE SOLD THE WHITE CAR!!! YEAH!!!!!

The following conversation took place while switching the title to the car over to Crystal's name (the girl who bought the car)

Crystal to Micah: Do you want to come home with me? (in a sing songy kinda voice)

Me to Crystal: Oh, you'd like him till it was time to eat.

Crystal: Why, does he get cranky when he's hungry? (still in a sing songy kinda voice)

Me: No, he is just breastfed. (typical answer I give)

C: Oh, so is she (pointing to her 5 month old daughter)

M: (completely shocked because she doesn't look or act the part!) Oh really, that is GREAT. It makes for such healthy babies. They are so much smarter too!

C: You'd never know that with my son! (2). I breastfed him and he ain't very smart at all.

M: (shocked even more) Oh, I am sure that he is going to be a VERY smart little boy! (in a sing songy voice, trying hard not to show how awkward I felt)

C: Well, I was breastfed too but I ain't very smart either... well, I am the smartest one in my family though.

Now, how is that for a breastfeeding advocate? People like that make me want to keep it a secret that I live in KY. (note, she came to the courthouse in her pajamas) Now, normally I would not a make a big deal out of this next point but I guess it is a crucial point in the life of this girl. She went through the welfare office to get help purchasing her car. We all know that I have been there done that and I am pro-help when you need it but...this girl is the embodiment of the welfare stereotype!


The new breastfeeding logo: Breastfeed your baby, it don't make em no smarter!

Another Saturday

Ok, so after I got all of the pictures posted I realized that I had left of my beautiful mini me, Ryane. Then Kim called me out on it. So, I had to get my little butt in gear and put a pic of her up. Isn't she precious in her Flapper dress? She loves it! It was one of the best $1.00 that I have ever spent. Yes, I said $1.00. Gracie's costume was $1.00 as well. For that matter, Micah's was $1.00 too. My momma taught me how to seek out the bargains! So our halloween cost nothing more than $3.00 and a little time.

You know, the posting part of this I love, it's the loading of the pictures that I don't love so much. We have an older scanner that likes to act contrary at times. Like sometimes I scan a picture and it holds it captive for a little while. It's almost impossible to find. Ugh!

Well, it is another Saturday and Marcus has to work until 5:30 today, that stinks! We had a great saturday last week so I guess I can't complain too very much. I guess I will do some laundry and clean the bathroom, blah blah blah. Oh, I do need to take Ryane to Lebanon to try and pick up some jeans for her. Inevitably every morning she wakes up and says "mom, I don't have any clean pants" Now, that really is true because she only has like 2 pair. So, today I am on a mission to get her some blasted pants!

So I am sitting here realizing that Devin is not on my blog anywhere. So I must post a picture of him too, because his little toothless grin in so cute. Some of you may have seen this one already. Others maybe not, but it's one of my favorites from the pumpkin patch. Could he get any cuter?

I don't know what to do with all of these good looking men in my house!

I played the role of the good wife and mom last night and made a large dinner, roasted chicken, pinto beans and cornbread, corn mac-n-cheese and potatoes. We got to have another family dinner. Yeah! We discussed Christmas presents! I am so excited I know exactly what I want to get Marcus, it's just gonna take a little miracle to pull it off! I think I can do it, IF he will behave and not peek. I honestly don't know if I can trust him not to peek though. Sorry babe, but you have admitted it before. Christmas is so fun!

Micah is not making this easy for me so I have to go amuse him for a little while before he breaks my keyboard. ttyl

Photo Album

Check these out...

The unexpected gift is the most cherished gift...

Very little means more than knowing that someone is thinking of you, whether it is a kiss on the nape of the neck, a card slipped into your hand, or flowers sent to your home. Can you think of anything better to put a smile on your face?

I got flowers today! For no reason! It has been so long since I received flowers that I didn't know what they were for at first. Then it register in this piddly brain of mine that somebody loves me! Who, you might ask? Well, my hubby of course. The man that swears I cannot be surprised. (It is really hard to surprise me but that's a blog of a different color) He surprised me today. I love it! Aren't surprises the absolute best? I surprised him too but that story is not for the faint of heart.

Onto the kids, Micah has 2, count them 2 teeth! I am so not ready for him to be 6 months old already. I love when he first wakes up in the mornings. His little puffy eyes are straining against the morning light breaking in the room. He blinks several times before he can focus on me, but when he does I fall in love all over again! Who would think that a baby boy could have brought me this much joy? Don't get me wrong, I love Devin with all of my heart but I don't get to see him go to bed each night and wake up each morning. I can get up in the night and peep in on Micah and see him slumbering in his bed. I must be quiet about it though, for if he awakens while I am staring at him, he thinks that it is time to play.

Ok, so we are driving by Mcdonalds to day and Ryane from the back seat says "mom? Who is McRib? He is back at Mcdonalds"

On a wonderful closing note, tonight we sat around the dinner table as a family (which I love doing) and ate chili dogs (hey, I aint emeril). ANYWAYS, like I was saying we were sitting around the table as a family and out of the blue, Marcus says I love you because...then he proceeds to go around the table and tell each person 1 thing he loves about them. Then we all took a turn. I love the family table, you can't get any better than that! Well, yes you can. After dinner we all went to church together.

Ryane's Thanksgiving Essay

The following is Ryane's Thanksgiving Essay that she wrote for school:

There are so many things I am thankful for. The number one person that I am thankful for is God. He caused me to be able to see, hear, feel, talk, smell and to walk. I am also thankful for my parents because they take good care of me. I am having a good life. I am thankful for God because He saved my life. I am also thankful for my grandparents because they also take good care of me and they won't let me get hurt. I am thankful for my aunts and uncles because they also take good care of me. I can still remember them but I don't get to see them a lot. I am thankful for my natural father and I also don't get to see him a lot either. I am thankful for my step-brothers and my baby brother and my sister. I am also thankful for my friends. I am thankful for Jesus becuase he died on the cross to save our souls. I am thaknful for the fire department, they can put out fires in cases of emergency and we won't get hurt. I am thankful for great-grandparents and i don't get to see them a lot either becuase they live so far away. I am thankful for my home so I can live in. I am thankful for the pets that I have had. I am thankful for Christmas because it is Jesus' birthday. I am thankful for Easter because that is when Jesus raised from the dead. I am thankful for all of these things becasue everybody takes care of me and never lets me get hurt.

Halloween

Oh the joys of going house to house collecting candy with you mother worrying about strangers and razors in the apples and poison in the candies, well that is a life no more for me (at least while I live in Campbellsville) For you see, we have wonderful churches in town that set up Trunk of Treats. A bunch of church members decorate the trunk of their car, pull up a chair and pass out candy to the bazillion kids that stop by. It's great! I love it! We hit 3 churches and the University and by the time we do that, it's time to go home. On the way home we walk down one road, one way and that is it. But then of course we go to grandma's house too.

What's funny is that last night (halloween) I called grandma to say "we will be there in a little while" and do you know that she had the nerve to tell me that she wasn't going to have anything for her precious grandchildren? I talked her into it although she didn't want to. So, we are on the way to grandma's house and Gracie chimes in from the back seat "Mommy, Grandma always has the best stuff on Halloween"

NOW, who out there would like to give grandma a good tongue lashing? I was ready to, but I didn't. I just made it a point to tell her what Gracie had to say...you know the good old fashioned guilt trip.

Onto the costumes...Devin was with his mother this halloween so we didn't get to trick or treat with him but he was a Ninja. Gracie wore a lovely, flowy, ballerina type, longer, lavendar number. Doesn't really have a name but she looked beautiful. Ryane went as a Flapper Girl. Absolutely hilar! And last but definitely not least, Micah was my Teddy Bear. They were all so cute, pictures will have to be developed and posted.

I know, I know it's called a digital camera but personally I like the good old fashioned 35mm. It's takes better pictures, plus it's like opening a present...you are never sure what you get until you open it.

That was our halloween and we liked it!

Let the Tooth be told!

THANK YOU JESUS! That first tooth is finally through. I have been running on very little sleep for about two weeks now, but it has finally poked it's sharp, gum hurting way through Micah's very tender pink little gums! Yes, yes, yes! It happened two nights ago. I put him to bed just waiting for him to wake up and hour later but it didn't happen. He slept for quite a while before waking me to eat. Then he ate and went right back to bed. I have gotten some rest finally. Boy you don't realize how much you need to sleep until you really go without it. I have felt very good the past 2 days.

As a matter of fact, I got even more sleep last night when Micah only woke up once to eat and we had time change! I AM THE QUEEN OF THE WORLD!

Marcus and I had the nursery at church this morning and things went eerily smooth. Three 6 month old baby boys and one 15 month old girl and everything went well. We even had 3 of the kids asleep for half of the service.

Days have been going good, it makes me wonder what the devil is going to throw my way! Isn't that bad to think like that? Can't help it though.

Have You Ever Loved A Man...

Have you every loved a man so much it made you want to cry? Have you ever loved a man so much you saw past his imperfections? Have you ever loved a man so much that he made you tingle without a touch? Have you ever loved a man so much that you would give up your dreams to be with him? (Not that he would ask if he loved you too) Have you ever loved a man so much that in your minds eye you could see what he looks like 40 years from now? Have you ever loved a man so much that you knew, without a doubt that you would be by his side 40 years from now? Have you ever loved a man so much that you put your heart and soul into him? Have you ever loved a man so much that you see his love without him telling you? Have you ever loved a man so much that it didn't matter what other people said? Have you ever loved a man so much for who he can be as well as who he is? Have you ever loved a man so much that a single touch from him could send you to the moon? Have you ever loved a man so much that when you turned over in the night and he wasn't by your side you went to look for him? Have you ever loved a man so much that when you turned over in the night and he wasn't by your side you rolled over with a peaceful reasurance that he was nearby? Have you ever loved a man so much that you knew you wanted to bear his children? Have you ever loved a man so much that you were thrilled to see your son mimicing his daddy? Have you ever loved a man so much that you loved to see the fact that your sons are the spitting image of their father? Have you ever loved a man so much that when he spent too much time away from you, you missed him? Have you ever loved a man so much that you LOVED to make love to him? (Sorry mom) Have you ever loved a man so much that you laid in bed and watched him sleep at night? Well, for all of you who have loved a man this much...this is the man that I love that much!

Hoops for Heart

Today is the day that Ryane has been looking forward to for about 3 weeks now. Today she gets to

play basketball to raise money for the American Heart Association. Basically this is how it will go down, a bunch of 4th graders will meet in the school gym and shoot aimlessly at the basketball goal. They don't have to make the shots just shoot Hoops, which I think is great. She collected $53 with help from her daddy. [which means he took her money form to work with him] She is so excited. She got to participate last year but it was called Jump for Heart and it went down the same way, only they jumped rope or just jumped in place. They were all so cute out there jumping around. I can't wait to see her today. It's not that she can play basketball at all, it's just the idea that she wants to participate in events like this. She is not going in this without a game plan though, the other day she came home and said that Rowland showed her how to play. Rowland is a little boy in her class at school.

She is proudly doing this today in honor of Grandma Dot.

That's a good part of my day that I get to look forward to. The bad part that I am not looking forward to is Micah's Flu Shot. He does ok with shots but I just hate having to get him any shots. His cry is just so pitiful. Speaking of pitiful cries, that is all I hear when I go to church now, him crying from the nursery. He doesn't want anything or anybody (including daddy), just mommy. And honestly, he stops crying when I go in there. I don't know what to do. He is not the kind of baby who will quit crying after a few minutes. It's like a crescendo, before long I have people looking at me during the service shooting me the "go get your kid look". The nursery workers are all getting frustrated because my kid is the only one who crys. There are two other babies in there his age that don't cry. One was even extremely collicy and he doesn't cry like Micah does...What is a mother to do?

One Fine Evening...

Ok, this is it...my first blog ever! I am a blog virgin! It feels so naughty but so nice. Bear with me as I fiddle my way through the ins and outs of a bloggers life.

What a long day it has been! No telephone, I thought no computer but was wrong, a horrendous sinus headache...the kind that comes with nausea, a teething baby, a nursing teething baby, sore nipples, no time to myself, no leaving the house, nothing to eat for dinner, ARRRG! Need I go on?

The house is in a quiet hush right now...Micah is softly slumbering in his crib, Ryane and Gracie are asleep piled up in their bed, Devin unfortunately is at his other mommy's house, and Marcus is watching TV. The only sounds to be heard in the house are the low murmur of the tv, the rattle of the jeans in the dryer and the clickety clack of the keyboard on which I am typing. This is one of my favorite times of day, only problem is I need to be sleeping myself because Micah will be waking up to nurse in just a few short hours. But I must stay up for a few minutes to enjoy the few minutes that I get.

So on that note, I am going to get off of the computer and kiss my husband goodnight, peek into the kids room to make sure all is well and tuck myself into bed. Goodnight all.