whew! is life busy or what.....?

ok, we must all be BUSY because it takes us a while to blog! we are finishing our VBS tomorrow night. i again took on the task of heading it up. it has been really fun and the kids are having a great time. i will post a pic later.

the kids are leaving next week to go to the beach with my parents - hmmm? life with one kid, what will that be like?????

hope all of you are having a great summer. oh, and we have been out on the boat lots and lots and lots. all is well and it is proving to be well spent money and providing lots of time to take friends and their kids out on the lake. that is what we wanted it for. however, kirk did get a wet vac for father's day; he needed it to clean out the boat. again - his gain of owning a boat!

Red White and Blue

Well, let's see for an update. For Memorial Day weekend, we played out on the lake (you did not see that coming did you?) with some friends, we went car shopping. Now that is a story.....

I wanted a suburban (again) when I went back to work. Never got it. Then Kirk gets a boat and our van cannot pull the boat, so guess who got a suburban? Horrible time to get a suburban, yes; but you can steal those suckers now b/c nobody in their right mind wants to get one! We did get a nice one with great mileage and our payment only went up $75 than from our van. We are all happy, but there is the gas thing :(

I am finally free from school - still do not know about a job in China Spring. I do know I am going to soak up the summer. We had graduation last night - 433 kids. Checked everything out this morning and I am officially OFF for the summer! Now I am working on VBS in two weeks.

All is good and am looking forward on getting caught up on all that I had put off until summer. If you are looking for a cheap summer trip, come see me. I will take you out on the boat. We are only 1 1/2 hours from Dallas and Austin, so come on; there's lots to do.

has it been that long????

Well, I guess it has been a long time since I have posted. Here is all that has happened in the last few weeks.....

Sydney was in her first musical put on by the first graders. It was called "Go Fish" and was about odd-ball fish trying to fit in under the ocean. She and two of her best friends were "clown" fish. She did well and it was a cute show.Then we celebrated AJ's 4th b-day. She got to go to Wolf Creek Lodge with Kirk's parents and cousin Ellie during the week, then we had her party this weekend. She wanted a bowling party, so yep, that is what we did. She loved it and the kids had a great time!

Never thought I would buy a bowling cake.......

Then after having the boat in the shop - TWICE!!!! We finally got it working and were able to take the whole family out on Lake Whitney. My brother has a RV - and that makes for a great day on the lake when you have little children. So here is Syd and cousin Preston on the intertube.
Then here is Big J- saucering behind his own boat. It is hard to see how big his smile is; but trust me, he was HAPPY! I hope we will have lots of pics to post from our lake scenes. We had an extremely busy weekend and there is so much going on during the next two weeks as well. I will post more later; hopefully quicker than I did this one!

the boat saga begins....chapter 1

God spoke, but I think his message was unclear! Here we go on what will be numerous stories I am sure. Kirk found a boat that he loved. It is a '93 and blue. It is in great shape and it was a great price. I was hesitant on an older boat b/c it will break down more. Big Johnson as he likes to be called insisted and justified with it doesn't matter the model, year or else on a boat; they all break down, it is part of owning a boat. I told him to do whatever, it is his deal. (you know it was more words than that!)

So, he got the boat on Tues, we take it out on Friday night. We have 4 kids with us. We tour our lake for the first time and BIG J- decides to open her up (full blast) to see how she does. SHE DIED! We are in the middle of the lake, sunset, winds pick up and down to barely 60'. Big J- as you know him is steaming. I don't have to say "I told you so," b/c his anger is more than enough. (yes, i have learned to filter). Little AJ blurts out - "great now we are going to have to swim." and proceeds to ask if the boat needs more batteries.

I am dying inside - the kids are shivering and we have to get towed back to our trailer! It was an ordeal and the boat has been in the shop since Sat morning. I hope Big J- agrees with his own sermon about boats breaking down. At least we paid for the thing and do not owe on it; so any extra money can go to its tune-ups and break-downs!!!!

Final thought: on Sun on the way home from church we pass a boat on the highway and AJ says- "Daddy, remember our boat? It break down. Where is our boat daddy? why it not at our home?" and the nshe cries over the silly thing. Yes, I could not filter that - I lost it. He simply replied, "thanks for reminding me." and the n smirks at me with the look - "are you happy now?"

however, whenever we get the boat back to running, I will post some pics of this infamous THING! (and to those of you who are observant - I couldn't sleep!)

6 word memoir

Jennifer Binkley tagged me this past week with a simple blog tag. Following the directions has been complicated enough because I honestly did not understand everything I was supposed to do. I also could not think of anything...Yes, I was speechless!

1. Write your own six word memoir.


2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you want.


3. Link to the person that tagged you in your post and to the original post if possible so we can track it as it travels across the blogosphere.


4. Tag at least five more blogs with links.


5. Leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play


Trying to come up with a six word memoir was more than complicated. Why 6? Five words was really easy, but this was hard. Plus trying to come up with one that held a lot of meaning was more complicated. So here is what I have:

Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much



As I was trying to come up with something, I kept seeing these words that I have posted in my kitchen. Then I ordered this hanging to add to my kitchen that matched. As I was out shopping this weekend, I saw frames, rugs, pictures, all sorts of decor with these words. They must mean something to me. I am all about living life to the fullest. It is such a short life - but live it well to gaurantee a long eternal life. Laugh often - we need humor, fum times, we need to be the giddy little girls sometimes. Have you ever tried to make people laugh? Love much - where would we be without all the loves in our lives? But we must recognize, we would not be here not have that eternal life, without God's Much Love!

So there are my six words to live by! I tag Mel, Kristie, Jenni Hale, Sue and Jill

when GOD speaks; LISTEN!

I have a lot of thoughts, but let me see if I can organize them and get them to where you can understand them.

Kirk, who grew up on lake LBJ has suffered for 10 years without owning a boat. When in Lubbock, he was miserable due to the lack of water. Now that we have been in Waco for starting 3 years where there are lakes everywhere, he definitely wants to get a boat. However, those things tend to cost money. Kirk has always dreamed, wished, desired, wanted - however you want to put it, he wants a boat.

Then God has gradually been talking to Kirk. Just things happening at our church (good, on the move much needed things) and Kirk has had a change of faith and has matured even more than he already was in Christ. But Kirk still wants a boat.

We have been looking on craigslist everywhere for a boat. We decided to put Kirk's inheritance money from his papa, who taught him to ski and fish into a pot for the boat. We also added our income tax return to that pot. We have the money, but it's just finding the right boat. We keep looking. Kirk is also frugal and hates to spend this money on a "luxury" item.

Today it all broke out. Kirk found the boat we have been "dreaming" of, right boat, year, make, size, and dollar amount. But it is in Dallas. We would have to wait until baseball practice is over and miss church to get it. We call the guy back to tell him we are on our way and it had sold (in an hour)! Frustrated that we missed the deal, we headed on to church. We went to eat at Panda Express, and Kirk's fortune cookie read "Don't pass up a good oppurtunity." We laughed hard and for a long time. Kirk is still mad that he did not purchase that boat without even going to look at it. Later on after we had the kids in bed and had spent lots of time transporting things into the attic, we turn our tv on and oddly enough it is on Joel Olsteen (SP?) We watched it for a while b/c I have a student who imitates him. Then he out of nowhere makes this comment: If God gave you a dream, then you have to have enough faith to accomplish that dream. He would not give you a dream if he did not want you to achieve it.

Now, I am not promoting good ol' Joel, but it was just how it all played out. What is God telling us? We don't know, but we are listening a lot more than we were before. I love how God puts messages out there for us to read in other places than the Bible. He talks to us more than we know or realize. We just have to be listening. "When he calls my name, I will hear him. I'll be somewhere, listening for my name."

EASTER 2008

Make a slideshow - it's easy!

spring break fever....

last week was my spring break for midway. it was nice to have some days home with the kids. brought back way too many memories and got my mind spinning with thoughts of staying home again :( i was able to go up to syd's school and eat lunch with her and do some things up there. then playing all day with tater and aj was a real treat. depsite all the students telling how boring i am, i thought i had a lot of fun!

this week is syd's spring break with china spring. we went to lubbock for the weekend. it was nice seeing you again sue, and so soon! we left syd and aj at my parent's for the week. kirk is staying home with tater all week. scary - today they brought the lounge chairs in from outside and watched movies and ate popcorn, biscuits with honey, crackers and i was too scared to hear what she ate for lunch! he is having a lot of fun though, so i am happy. tomorrow they are going fishing - if it is not raining. tater also knows she is by herself and she is milking it for all that it is worth. in between eating and movies, she played a lot in the other girls' rooms. after hearing all the "fun" stuff she did today, i asked if he took any pictures. he did not and looked at me like, "why would i do that?" i informed him of that is what you do when you are at home with them and you see something fun!

of course easter is this weekend. we are going to marble falls. yes, there will be more pics than you want to see - but i cannot wait to see all of yours.
until then..............

happy 40th anniversary!

We went to Lubbock this weekend to celebrate my parents' 40th wedding anniversary. We rented a small room and invited a few friends to celebrate with us. We tried to keep it low-key, but with 12 grandkids locked up in one room and to keep one secret, well we tried. The best part of the whole party was our gift. My parents have a story:

My dad was just back from the navy (21years)

My mom was a SR in high school (17 years). They met and 3 weeks later were married. I am not kidding. They got married at my dad's house on March 1st. My dad's mom did the whole wedding from flowers to food to even videoing the wedding. My mom's mom was forced to go to the wedding (you could imagine!) She got married on Friday and then went to school on Monday. I would faint if I had a student do this and I would kill if I had a daughter do this. Anyways, God had a plan and it is still in progress. They have been happily married for 40 years, and what an example they are to us. We still learn from them - and we also learned what not to do!

They had my brother two years later (19 years old and my sister at 20) I did not come along until my mom was 24. That is so insane and we laugh at them and mock them continually; however we are so thankful and fortunate for this union.

Needless to say, with all the effort of my grandmother, they never had pictures made. So we took the video (vintage) to KK's and had a DVD made of the wedding and got some still shots for them as well. I posted a picture of them with the print we had made.

You can tell from this picture where I came from - neither one can deny me.......

Tater is ONE!

Our Precious little Taytum turned the BIG ONE on Friday, the 8th. We had her birthday party at our house on Saturday. It was 70* and it was a beautiful day for our little Tater Tot! She had so much fun and she absolutely loved her cake that I made for her. (that will be another post) I cannot believe how big she is and how fast time flies 3rd time around. It literally seems like a few months ago we were just coming home from the hospital. God has been so good to our family and has blessed us beyond what we could imagine. I thank Him every day for our beautiful gifts that He has given us.

what i did not learn in my education classes

we say the kids (teens) of today are problems and are messed up. i, for the past several years, have been sheltered to what is really going on out there. teaching at lubbock christian was such a blessing, that i now know i took it for granted. being in a HUGE school and having kids from all walks of life, i am exposed and being reintroduced to the public school system.

yes, there are some great kids out there. however, there are some facing more than i would ever want to face in a life time. despite their behavior, weekend fun, and their laziness; these kids are CONQUERORS! right before christmas break one of my students lost her autistic brother. he never woke up one morning. then another student who lost her older sister in a carwreck last march lost her middle sister two weeks ago. that is two sisters in less than a year. then this past thursday another student went home from school to find dad had committed suicide.

what is going on? i am not kidding when i say out of 129 students probably 15-20% have "normal" homes. that means a mommy, daddy, and they some-what get along and that kid is some-what sound. it might be less than that. the same kid who lost his dad, his mother is in a coma and has been for 11 years. does that explain rehab and probation?

my heart is aching for these kids. they need so much love and as seniors are way too cool to say it or even dare act as though they appreciate it. what an inner struggle. it really has put things in perspective for me especially after being home for 4 years and only being around church kids.

this is definitely not what i was expecting as teacher. i am thankful i am not a new teacher experiencing this. it seems minute, but when you see how easily and tenderly the other students are affected, it really knocks you out for a while. please pray for today's generation. they are tough little suckers, but as we know as women: you can be strong for only so long, then you break!

Reality strikes again

Here's the situation - Kirk is out of town from Wed - Sun. I am going to San Antonio for two birthday parties. My parents are driving up as well, so I diligently pack us on Thursday and get everything ready because Mimi will allow me some FREE time! All I have to do is leave school (sneak out early at 3:30), pick up the kids, load the car up, stop for a bite to eat and cruise our way into San Antonio and be there in plenty of time to visit and enjoy a little bit of Friday night. That's easy, right?

Reality happens: I get a call at school from the nurse. Sydney has lice! WHAT? Boy did this sneak up on me. Now the whole story has changed. I don't get to leave early, I pick up the kids (it's already 5:00pm), and as soon as I get home, I load up the car. A friend calls me from Wal-Mart - she graciously picks the shampoo up for me. I feed Taytum who is screaming and meet my friend to exchange money for loot. It is now 6:15! Kids are screaming, so we might as well eat. We get home at 7:00 and now I have to start the bathing and combing process. I one at a time bathe them and shampoo their hair, not Taytum's. Then comb through all their hair (Syd has a ton...) and then I put a movie on for them, lay Tater down for a nap and go and wash my hair. We load up at 9:45 and head for San Antonio. Yes, it is a 3 hour drive, but if you read my previous blog, I am obviously one for staying up late. It turned out to be a good weekend, but at 11:30 pm Monday night I am just now finished washing sheets, changing sheets, washing coats, backpacks, hair bows and all the works. What an ordeal. This was such a WOW experience, but I don't even have to mention what kind of mom I felt like for not even noticing she had lice. How do you miss that? She is good to go now and no lice no nits. However, I do know where we get the term "nit-picky," and that - I will no longer choose to be!

As for the pics, Syd is a girl after her mommy's heart and loves basketball. AJ fell sleep with her shoes and socks on; too bad they are on her HANDS! And Tater, well another girl after mommy's heart - digging in the fridge!

Ode to Sue

Jill mentioned that I should write an entry about adventures in the world of Sue. So, I am only going to mention "ideas" of stories. If you lived in Katie Rogers while we were there, I am sure you will know the story to these topics..... these are in random order as they pop into my head. i am sure i will leave off many, and these are in way meant to offend others that were there!

Ramen Noodles
Meeting guys who were coincidently from Tatum
grapefruits at pledge week
saran wrapping jill's door
garage sales (other people's belongings)
stinky feet
clowns
pledge
canon in d
cankles
lingerie in a girls' dorm?
saran wrapping toilets
belting burgers up through a window
scaring people and getting chased by nathan b
our first outing with nathan and mabbie
doug/trent (lisa we got some stories for you)
master follies - which one?
skipping the entry test our freshman year - where were we? ok, i was there, where were you?
Kettles - can you really get kicked out of there? YES!
Denny's - for accepting us when Kettle would not
bacon
vienna sausages
spending the night at kim's
all nighter's in the dorm
staying up til 3:00 am and then kim and i going to class at 7:30, but what, your first class is after chapel?
dorm duty
getting dorm duty for cleaning dishes (wich was our oiriginal dorm duty) in our room sinks

exam night (what was that tradition)
deep blue something
poky cows
being called intimidating - what us?
Gosh, there are so many more. Mel and Jill, help me out!

what great memories and laughs and i am so glad we did not have digital cameras back then. we would be in trouble!

Make a slideshow - it's easy!

what irony of the education system

i am so excited that i have stayed caught up on my blog lately. and i even took the time to put a cool new background. besides using time that i should have been doing numerous other things, i took the time to play and do what i like to do.

then it hit me. why don't i upgrade my blog at school during my conference? great idea......kinda! i can get to my dashboard to add a post, but i can not access my blog page to read it and to read all of yours. the dashboard is not blocked, but the actual blog page is blocked. i cannot even check my email from here.

that's ok, i can still do all the updates.

what happens to life with 3 girls.....

what happens to life when you have three girls?

1) you have great beauty and posing moments

2) you can only survive with a little help from soda - yes, the poor youngest needs the most!

3) you get a spider-man with a big pink bow (sticking out through the hole in the mask!)

you never know what will happen - but you do know there will be a fight, there will be screaming at each other, there will be tears, there will be food, and then there will be friends, aka: sisters

Happy New Year!

I just wanted to wish you all a Happy New Year. We went around and asked the family what all they remembered from 2007. Of course, when you ask a 3 year old that, you know you will get some wild answers. But I am glad AJ remembers me!
Here are some of the highlights, looking back:
Shelly - the cat, now MIA
added Tater to our family
volleyball championship (Midway)
football championship qualifier (China Spring)
organized my first VBS
trips during the summer
Sydney's first T-ball and basketball game
hospital trips to the ER
being flooded out of our own lake
loss of family members, Kirk's Papa, Terrel Oats
and Amy's Grandmother, Doris Page

I know there are so many things that I am leaving off my list. These were some of the things that we mentioned as a family.

We love you all, we pray for you and your families and pray that your year is blessed and full of love. I do hope to keep in touch with you all better and to update my blog more often. I want to find more time to do those things that I love to do, but never find the time to do.

Have a great 2008!
(who can resist, it ryhmes!)

Twas the week before Christmas

Twas the week before Christmas and what is there to do:

Finish Christmas shopping
wrap presents from shopping
China Spring is playing for State Champs on Saturday night
Finish school out for me - do you know how hyper seniors are to finish the semester!
School parties
Finish shopping
Wrap all the presents from shopping
Bake cakes for teachers
Get goodies for my parties
Finish shopping
wrap presents from shopping
make cookies for Christmas parties
Pack to go to Lubbock
Get to Lubbock
Be back in Marble Falls by Wednesday

and of course, somewhere in there Santa has to visit!

So through the stress of it all - we try our best to make it the best Christmas ever and make it memorable for the kids, and give them all that they could have!

of course, we float in the water like nothing's happening and we have absolutely nothing in the world to do......

my precious three

forgot to add pics from a while back. i am also on kirk's computer and he only had this one. trust me there are more. i will add them soon!