Chronicles of Momma Madness

So. Someone or multiple ones have been sick since Feb. 15. FaithLyn got sick on Sunday afternoon. That day was the last time I got to spend time with people outside of my home who weren't running a fever. Except of course standing and waiting with all the other parents who are picking up their children at school. My poor sick children have no choice but to tag along with me to pick up the school-aged child. The government won't allow me to leave them home....Certain parents* frown upon me leaving them in the car unattended....(not that I disagree with the safety of these measures...I just find them bothersome at times.) I figure since that is where the original illness was contracted it is only fitting to bring it full circle. I mean my hands are tied. I can be a good parent to my children....Or yours, but I can not serve two masters! Sorry, it's scriptural!

I haven't been to church. I haven't done a LOT of things, like fix my hair or put make-up on.

For the sake of posterity I will try to keep this blog positive.

I HAVE watched about 1,000,001 movies. You would think I would have used this time that I have been sequestered in my home to bring the living quarters into a livable condition.... You would think. Sorry we were thinking positive weren't we?

I HAVE stayed caught up on my Beth Moore Bible Study despite having missed more video sessions than I have actually attended.

I HAVE worked with the wonder dog, who is at the moment less than wonderful in my estimation, to only pee and poop outside.....with out the satisfaction of complete success.
-I realize that one isn't positive no matter how I word it....work with me here, people.

I HAVE taken my sickest child to the doctor. She is being treated for an ear infection. The doctor assures me the antibiotic will take care of the fever in another day or two. She was rather easy with her days....Apparently she hasn't been cooped up in the house for 12 days with sick children/spouses....To me EVERY day counts.

I HAVE been preparing myself mentally for the disappointment of missing the Marriage Conference at our church tomorrow that we have been anticipating since NOVEMBER!

OK, it's going downhill fast. I don't like to complain to the Internet. I try to keep the semblance of a happy non complainer for all of you in the blog sphere. Those of you that know me can laugh to yourselves....I try to save all of my complaining for my Darling Husband. He is thankful that after a day of meeting the needs of all of those around me I have saved at least one part of myself all for him. Beggars can't be choosers, you know!

Please enjoy your day as you go about your daily routine with all your well children....




***That's a story to be told over a cup of Coffee...not the blog. It's a good one too! At least I think I can laugh about it now.

Picture Update

Here are a few pics to update you. This is Elise's birthday party. I now know why parents spend tons of money to NOT have the party at home. WHEW! From now on we will adhere to the 3-4 friends birthday party! This was CRAZY! It was like Girls Gone Wild: Preschool edition! At one point we had about 5 little girls naked in the back closet changing into dress-up clothes.....Dan called me back to ....help? I just turned around and left. I didn't know what to do. These girls had minds of their own.
You see we have a rule that dress-up is worn OVER your clothes. I simply knew that if we let the girls change their clothes it would 1. be a huge mess. I am not a fan of messes and let me remind you that we have 3 little girls. SO mess x 3! 2. They would strip their clothes off when ever they wanted to play.......just seemed like a disaster waiting to happen. 3. I didn't want to fight with my darling little girls who decided they would be snow white all day no matter if Mom did need to go to the store. It's just easier all around.

Apparently not all moms think like this. Everyone had a really good time at the party, I think. Dan planned a scavenger hunt that ended up in the cave he made out of our laundry room. If you look at the picture below you can see the X that marks the spot on the laundry room door.
That took about 6 minutes. It was fun. They all liked it. I am glad it is over. When the girls arrived they decorated their crowns. That really was a lot of fun and everyone enjoyed that. Not to mention it kept them occupied for a good 20-30 minutes!

Here's the cake I made for her. It's supposed to be a crown but....well it is what it is...

Here we are at Elise's V-Day party at her preschool. Isn't she cute?

This is a cute one of the kids playing when The Barkers came to visit! So much fun!

It is hard to get a shot of 4 kids all looking at the camera. It is IMPOSSIBLE to get a shot of 7!

Happy 5th Birthday, Liesy Piesy!

Five years ago, today, I became the proud mother of this sweet, caring, little girl! She was the BEST baby ever! She was so content, she smiled, and she slept! This little girl slept through the night at 6 wks! She always sighed with relief when we put her in her bed. She has always slept with her snuggle bunny. Always. She still does, thanks to Memaw Crabb who patched the hole in his chest. I was threatening to throw snuggs away, but Memaw saved the day!

Elise is so creative. She is never bored! Like her Daddy she can create a whole new world from the most mundane things. And her memory is amazing! Words have always been very important to her she is very careful to enunciate when she is singing! Her attention to details can be meticulous. Sometimes she will ask Dan or I to draw a picture for her and she gets so frustrated when we can't draw it just like she imagined it. She will have us try again and again until we get it right.

When I started teaching Elise to read, she took off! Once she grasps a new rule or concept there is no stopping her! Every once in a while she will amaze us with some knowledge she has stored up in her brain. One day we were asking FaithLyn how many kids were in her class. Dan was helping her figure it out.
He said, "Well, how many people sit at each table?"
"Four."
"And how many tables are there?"
"Four."
"So, how many kids are there?" And at this point Elise pipes up, "Sixteen!"
Dan and I just looked at each other!!!? I have no idea how she knew that unless she remembered it or just figured it out. But she pulls stunts like that all the time!

She brings lots of sunshine and laughter into our home! We sure do love you, Elise! I pray that God will unfold even more of his divine mystery to you this coming year! Happy Birthday, Sweet girl!

Meet TIGER, The Amazing Wonder Dog!

I should give a little background here. Most of you know my children. If you know my children you also know that they are scared of dogs. We have made LOTS of progress on this irrational fear/phobia. FaithLyn was the worst. She was paralyzed with fear every time a dog came near. We decided the best thing for her to overcome her fear is to have a dog. So when the right one came along...we welcomed him to the family. Anyone seen the movie My Dog Skip? Well this little fella is a Jack Russel Terrier Mix. Skip is a Jack Russel. I have always wanted one. The girls named him. He is lots of fun and loves to cuddle up and snuggle. I took FL and Elise with me to look at the puppies. I thought if FL is ok with one then we will bring it home. She, grudgingly, agreed. But we HAD to bring the "calm" puppy home. The only time I have regretted our decision is late at night/early in the morning when he is yapping for attention in his box. EVERYONE loves him. And he has helped me to meet my goal to get up EARLY in the morning!

Livey is a very EAGER friend. Tiger is a little wary of her and rightly so!

This is the picture that I am most excited about. We haven't pushed FL to play with Tiger or hold him. But today after school she played outside with him for an hour! I peeked outside and found her sitting on a large rock holding him. What progress!

Quick Update

It obviously took me a while to get back in the swing of things after Christmas. We have been busy...and sick....and busy.

Here's a quick update:
-I went to Glorieta, NM for a LifeWay Vacation Bible School Training Conference right after my last post. It was fun. I learned all about the Mission rotation for this years VBS. I will be teaching a few training conferences for ours and a few other Associations.

-It took me a week to recover from that.

-The next weekend all four kids came down with varying degrees of a HORRIBLE stomach bug that took Judson and Olivia a full WEEK to completely recover from.

-Last weekend we had a cookie decorating party with a couple of girls from FaithLyn's class.

-Then on Sunday we had a Super Bowl Party at our house. We (the youth group) rented a 60" TV for the occasion. It is HUGE! That was fun and what a great game!!! Go Steelers!!

-Sometime in there we found out my Dad is dealing with prostate cancer. If you think of him please pray....he went to have an MRI and CTscan today, then he will visit with his Dr. on Friday to talk about options.

-Oh and we got a Dog. Sunday afternoon, One and a half hours before the SuperBowl party. Smart thinkin' huh?