Tuesday, March 24, 2009

They're Baaaack

Yes, Grandma and Grandpa are back. No, it is not some kind of emergency. They did not miss us terribly and want to hurry back up here. It is because the OU Women's basketball team is playing an hour away and they (really mom) wanted to see them play, in case it was their last games of the season. So, they got here Saturday. A lot more relaxing visit this time, we are not undertaking any huge remodeling projects!

We all went to the basketball game on Sunday. It was fun. I'm not a big sports fan of any particular sport, but I don't mind going to see things in person. Watching it on TV, yuk. Going too many times to a sports event, also yuk. (9000 little league baseball games comes to mind.) But, we had a good time. I know mother is secretly trying to get women's basketball in Callie's head, since I had no interest in it. I hate to tell her it doesn't look like Callie is going to be any taller than we are, so not sure it will really work! I did play one season at the Y, I think! I vaguely remember running up and down the court. I think I might have put that memory out my mind. A lot of running for no reason since I can't make a goal to save my life. But, going on Sunday to the game was fun. Callie got a kick out of all the action and she was really into the clapping! Gannon had a good time too, he hasn't been to any OU sports things so he liked hearing Boomer Sooner live and seeing all the OU stuff. I think Garrett was a little disappointed. He asked me about ten minutes into to game if they were not allowed to dunk. The way mother talks about Ashley and Courtney Paris I think he was thinking it was going to be like watching Lebron James (famous pro player, I know these names because I live with four boys:)).
OU did win, so they will play again tonight. Grandma and Grandpa and any boys interested will be going back to watch. The game is not until 8:30 so Callie and I won't go. Todd can't really go because he has to leave early to go out of town for the day tomorrow. It's a shame it's so late, mother says its because of TV. The game Sunday was at 6:00, so that worked out perfect. I guess Grandma and Grandpa will be on their way home tomorrow some time. I think Callie will wonder why they don't show up again in a couple of weeks. Maybe they will!





All dressed, ready for some March Madness! Grandma already looks like she has had some madness!

I know your not surprised, of course Callie had to wear her cheerleader suit. No cheerleader is complete without a giant bow. She would have worn bigger if she would have had one!


Ready! OK! (Cheerleader lingo, in case you didn't know:))


Mama and Callie.


Callie, Garrett and Gannon. No joke, Callie is intently watching the cheerleaders, not the ball game. Sorry mother! Of course Callie could have been wondering where the cheerleaders clothes were. We didn't wear things like that at Oklahoma Christian!



Callie was all about the popcorn!



Garrett was all about the ice cream!

Callie was really, really into the clapping. She clapped no matter who people were clapping for!




Garrett and I took turns holding down Callie's seat. He looks thrilled about it! He is a great big brother and helped her the whole game without grumbling. Thank you Garrett!

Saturday, March 21, 2009

"Why Do You Even Try?"

What happened to this week? It has gone by way to fast! It was not our "spring break" as it was for most people. We had a break last week when Grandma and Grandpa were here. One of the many reasons I love homeschooling...we get to make our own schedule! Anyway, it was still a quick week. We did get a lot accomplished though, so that is a good thing. I am determined to get things situated so I can have a day to sew. I have tons of fabric ready to make "stuff" for Callie, but it's hard for me to stop and sew when there are so many other things on the to do list.

We had company last night. Our youth minister from church is a huge basketball fan so he and his wife came over to watch March Madness. His wife is going to school and cuts hair, so she cut the boys hair while she was here. Can't beat that! We had a good time. It was nice to enjoy the basement. Of course Todd won't let anyone eat down there so they watched the games on the tiny TV upstairs until they had finished eating.

I have learned not to try to go overboard when having company. It stresses me out, then we don't ever have company! So, we were just doing pizza and salad. Kellen wanted to make the dessert, some kind of gooey brownie you put with ice cream. That was fine, I helped him since it involved boiling water and we've had several burns recently:( So, we got it made, I went upstairs. After about twenty minutes, I thought I could smell something burning, of course the dessert had spilled over and was burning all over the place. This is why I don't bake. I really don't like to bake. I think I don't have the patience for it. Had I stayed around the kitchen, I would have known that it was burning sooner and wouldn't have a huge mess to clean up! But I had things to do! Luckily, Todd works for Sam's and I caught him before he left so he brought home some dessert. When he walked in, he looked around the kitchen, opened the oven and said "why do you even try?" (the title of this post:)) Now, this may sound like he's not being very nice, but I know it's true. And, he was laughing. It is a fact in our house, I always burn something. We have not had a holiday without the lingering smell of burned food. Once when we were moving and looking in the paper for houses, I mentioned there was a log cabin. Todd immediately said, "no way, you would have that burned down in a week!" I could do a whole blog on things I have burned, going way back! Luckily, Todd and Kellen like burned meat because there is usually some to be had. I don't think I am a bad cook, I just really am impatient. And, in my defense, just about the time I get an oven or stove figured out, we move. Anyone that has moved a lot knows that all ovens/stoves are different. It takes a lot of trial and error to figure them out. Our oven here is ancient, like everything else we haven't ripped out. No self-cleaning feature! We happened to go range shopping last weekend, so maybe there is hope in sight. No, I am not burning food to try to get a new range. Even Todd can realize this range is on it's last leg!

Anyway, our guests were very gracious, they said they thought our house smelled good. Please! They didn't seem to mind the frigid temps since we had all the windows open. What nice friends we have!



Callie's first spaghetti dinner. She started out with her "toddler" food but thought what we had looked better! She loved it!





Callie is my big helper in the kitchen. She is always wanting to help with something. Yesterday when I was washing the salad stuff for our company, she decided she wanted to help. She went into the dining room, got a chair, pushed it into the kitchen. There is a step from our dining room to our kitchen, she knows she can't step down without holding on. So, she pushed the chair off the step, then stepped down, then pushed the chair the rest of the way. It was so funny. Then she proceeded to get set up at the sink to help. She is so smart! I had to find something for her to do after all that work so I let her put the greens in a baggie. She was so proud of herself! I am probably using up all of her usefulness too soon, about the time she can really help she'll be tired of it! Then she just messed with the water and dishes and stuff. She was done when she started trying to suck the water out the dishrags! Yuk!





Tuesday, March 17, 2009

First Day of Spring

I know the first day of spring is not until Friday, but for us it was yesterday. We declared it our own holiday. The temps were in the 60's and we got to go outside and play! I got to open my new front door and the windows and enjoy the weather!
By the time we moved into our house in late October, we didn't have many days left to play in our new yard. The kids had a great time yesterday exploring their own backyard. I had a great time having them out for a while! :) Of course we have tons of mud thanks to recent rain and thawing snow. They couldn't resist even though I asked them not get in the mud. Callie even went out. We're blessed with a big deck off the kitchen so I could be in the kitchen and she could be out. She loved it. By the end of the day she had mud on her and a hole in her shirt. She loves being outdoors. I am anxious for the mud to dry so we can take inventory and see what we'll need to do to have a presentable yard. Todd and I neither one are green thumbs. I feel sorry for our neighbors, the people who lived here previously worked in the yard everyday. Like I said, I hope we can at least make it presentable! We would love to not have base paths permanently embedded in our grass, but their may be no hope for that. If the boys aren't playing ball, they're climbing trees. I think I would rather them play ball!
Here's to Happy Spring! My favorite time of year!


Callie found the mud puddle. Making some kind of mud pie I am sure!


Muddy boys after a day in the yard.


Happy Spring, day 2! Yes, she's playing in dress! You can still play outside in dresses:)

Trying to get a video of Callie talking. She is quite the jabberer these days! Of course she is in the stage of wanting to come to the camera when she sees it so it's not so easy.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Kellen's Big Day

Kellen turned twelve last Sunday, March 8. He was born on his daddy's birthday and he has always loved that. I'm not sure how much Todd loves it, as he is the one that gets the leftovers:) Not really, he always says it was his best gift ever.

Kellen had decided a few weeks ago that he wanted to be baptized on his birthday. Anyone that knows Kellen is not surprised by this, he is a man with a plan! He knew when, what he was going to wear, what he was going to take in a bag in case he needed it (comb, etc.). He is too funny, and luckily is my son because I need someone with a plan in this house!

We have talked a lot about baptism. I printed off a list of scriptures for us to review called the safety chain. It was a great list that made me feel better knowing we tried to cover all the bases. Of course, he knew all the answers. I was actually surprised a little bit, I guess you never realize what they are soaking up.

The big day came and it was a rainy, dreary day weather wise. But we were excited. He had even been able to surprise Grandma and Grandpa, which made his day. They had hardly gotten off the airplane before he said "guess what I am doing Sunday?". They were thrilled that they had picked this time to come. It was nice to have them here. I was worried about myself, I had been crying for two weeks! Every time I thought about it the tears would come. But, anyone that knows me, would be proud to know I hardly needed a Kleenex when the actual time came! I guess I had gotten it all out of my system the weeks before! The thing that got me the most was that as he started down the aisle, the sun came out. No joke, I even heard the people around me talking about it. The sun came out and was out until about the time to leave the building. I couldn't believe it. That is something I will never forget. I don't know how I feel about physical signs from God, but if there are signs in this age, this was one. I know that Kellen will always be a light for God where ever he goes. I really hope I don't mess him up because I think God has big plans for him!

Todd baptized him which made it even more special. He told the congregation that it was Kellen's birthday and that now he had something even more important to celebrate every year on March 8th. Todd did a really good job. He is such a good public speaker, I am always surprised for some reason. We don't see that side of him at home, which I guess is a good thing! Gannon did want to know why daddy didn't go in the water since "it was birthday too".

It was a wonderful day. We have a small congregation, they all seem to love our kids and were all so excited for Kellen and made him feel very special. Our good friends Laura, Josh, Ryan and Emily came after their church, in the rain, to witness Kellen's baptism. Thank you!! Nothing touches a mama more than to know that their kids are loved.


Todd baptizing Kellen. Everyone came up afterwards saying they wanted to run up and take the flowers down so we could actually see Kellen. Oh well, we all know he was in there!

Our preacher Lance Love, Kellen and Todd after the baptism.


All the kids coming up to congratulate Kellen.


Garrett hugging Kellen and their friend.

Kellen and mama.

Family picture. Todd, Gannon, Garrett, Kellen, Mama, Callie


Grandpa, Kellen, and Grandma


Nothing at all to do with the baptism, or Kellen's big day, but I couldn't resist the picture of Callie and her BFF Emily. They must have called each other to see what they should wear to church that day!

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Back in Business!

What a crazy week we've had! Haven't had much time to blog as our computer stuff went haywire. Could have been because I turned off our electricity that goes to the modem, router, whatever kind of stuff. We had to check emails in the basement bathroom, where the modem is. Not the most comfortable place to be! But, we are back in business, for now!

Mom and dad were here for a week. We had a lot of excitement but the most exciting was that Kellen was baptized on his twelfth birthday, March 8! Todd baptized him. I am going to go a separate blog about that as it deserves its own glory!

Todd turned 40 on March 8, he and Kellen have the same birthday. We worked like dogs to remodel the basement for a surprise gift for him. I think he was surprised, at least for most of it. How do you hide paint and new carpet smells? Or the fact that we were all so tired we were sitting around like vegetables by the time he got home from work every day! He did a good job pretending if he knew we were up to something! It is crimson and cream of course (Oklahoma University colors for our non-OU fans=)). We have all been enjoying it!

We enjoyed our time with mom and dad. Not sure how much fun they had, working like crazy on someone elses house! Dad worked on a million different things. He put in a new front door for us which makes my day every time I look it. The old door was, of course, very seventies! Mother painted, painted, and painted. She always says she likes to paint! She also took tons of pictures. I will post some when I have a chance to go through them.

So, back to the same ol', same ol' now. The boys have science class today, Bible study tomorrow, laundry, laundry, and more laundry... But, there is something to be said for same ol', same ol. Some surprises are not always good surprises.


"Before".
Grandma and Garrett apply the first rolls of crimson.

Kellen working on the cream.
We had to call in the troops to help move the pool table. Thank goodness for good friends! Grandpa, Michael White, Josh Barnes, Reid Adams, Blake Adams. Thank you, thank you, thank you!



Garrett vacuuming, Callie supervising. Gannon just running around in circles! Nothing more fun than a big empty room!

Todd checking things out. Didn't get the OU light put up or other little touches, but it is obviously better than it was!


Monday, March 2, 2009

Is it Monday already?

We have had busy, busy days lately. I haven't taken time to blog the last few days, plus, I figured no one wanted to here about my latest cleaning sprees! The weather is getting better every day which is soooo exciting. I am not a cold-weather person!



We have started attending a Bible study on Fridays. We are enjoying it, except that I feel a little bad. The girl that started it has one 18-month old. I warned her that if I came, it would be me and my crew, she said she knew that and we were all welcome. I have good kids, for the most part. But, there are a lot of them, so we can't help but cause commotion wherever we go! She has been very gracious and I really don't think they are bothering her, but I still worry that noise level may drive her crazy. We have several moms of little ones at our church now. The Bible study was supposed to be focusing on how to train our children to know the Bible. So far, I'm the only mom that has come. They all say they want to, but no one has been able to come. I hate that, because it has been really good. Of course I think it is good because the hostess and I seem to be on the same page about most things! We both wish we could go back in time to raise our kids. There are too many distractions these days, in my opinion anyway!



My friend did say something at last Fridays Bible study that was like a light bulb moment for me. We were discussing the future of the study, like changing days, times, etc. to try to encourage more people to come. We went back and forth, back and forth. She said "we are so flexible, we can't make a decision!" May not sound like anything to most people, but I really can't make a decision. There are a few things that I know exactly what I want and won't really budge on, but most of the time, I can just go with the flow. I have spent many years being proud of myself for being flexible, being (hopefully) easy to get along with. But, I have also spent many years beating myself up for not being able to make a decision. I never linked these two together. So, now I have something else to mull about in the middle of the night when I can't sleep. How do I find that middle ground of being a flexible, easy-going person, to a person that can at least decide what to have for lunch without feeling like I am not being that flexible, easy-going person? Throw in that I am also a people-pleaser, which is not as good quality in my opinion, and I'm really going to have to lose some sleep! There is the saying that with age comes wisdom. I am hoping that forty is the age that wisdom starts kicking in. That is only good thing I can think of to come from this birthday this year. After October I should have the answers to these deep thoughts! Or, I could ask Todd on Sunday when he will have his fortieth birthday. I'm sure this is right up his alley!




Speaking of birthdays. Gannon heard me saying last week that Todd would be forty and asked me if he would be a Grandpa. He obviously doesn't realize what goes into being a Grandpa. He thinks it has something to do with gray hair and a mustache:). Gannon also said he didn't want to get older. I asked him why? I thought it was because I was giving the boys a speech about why there were cars for sale at the bank. I was going on about how people couldn't pay for them, you have to pay your bills, on and on, as a good mother should do. I asked Gannon if he didn't want to pay bills. He said, no, it was because he wouldn't be able to play if he was old. I told him you still get to play, it is just different. Gannon said "oh yeah, like that game daddy plays on the computer, like Club Penguin (a kids game), only for big people?" Yes, your right Gannon, just like that!



Callie just cracks us up every day. She is a busy-body to put it mildly. So far, it's not bad as she likes to help unload dishes, take things to the trash, etc. It's all a game for her. Lately she has taken to throwing fits if she doesn't get her way. A couple of days ago she was trying to unload the dishwasher, only the dishes were dirty. I told her no a few times and she wasn't getting it. So, I took her hand, told her no in the meanest voice you can have when getting on to her (not very mean). I need to be prepared to video this because it the funniest thing. She stopped, looked around the kitchen for a good five seconds, then moved over to the kitchen rug and proceeded to fling herself on the ground. It was very dramatic, arms up in the air, then face down, with a fake cry mixed in. A very calculated fit. She has done this several times and I just can't help but laugh. It is a nervous laugh though since I'm picturing this in about twelve years, when it won't be so funny. Maybe we can get her into acting, she may have a future in it! One thing Callie does need to realize is that it takes a lot to fool me. She is number four, so I'm getting the hang of some of this parenting stuff. Boys are not as dramatic as girls, but they have their moments. Plus, I come from a mom that didn't fall for this kind of stuff. I can only imagine me trying this with my mother. I'm sure I did, but it didn't do any good. I can just picture the look on her face now! Kind of an exasperated, what in the world are you doing look, then she would have probably just walked off and left me having a fit. Makes me laugh now to think about it!







Game night last Friday. Nothing like a good game of Wahoo! Yes, that is an OU game board.



This picture is from last summer, but it is my favorite. How could you get onto a face like this?