Quote by a President

You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down.
You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
You cannot build character and courage by taking away people's initiative and independence.
You cannot help people permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves.

.....Abraham Lincoln

Schoolbooks

Ahhhhh...the school books are here, the lesson plans and schedule sheets are printed. Now, I just have to get the school books and lesson plans together and figure out the schedule! Katie did computer work for me yesterday and redid the lesson plan sheets for this year, for our new books and co-op classes. I am going to try the scheduling in "Managers of Their Homes" by Steve & Terri Maxwell. We have a couple of weeks to figure this all out for our family.

Katie filled out her first college application yesterday. I expect several more will follow in the days to come. Now, we have to work on her highschool transcript. Hopefully, scholarship offers will come to the Jackson household!

We have been really lazy the last 2 days. I've got a cold/allergy/asthma thing going on and have sat on the sofa for 2 days. Between the sudafed, robitussin, inhaler and tylenol, I have been pretty zoned out. But, we have watched more movies, read books, cross stitched, looked at school books and been on the computer.

Greg, James, & Will started putting down the trim in the living room around the new wood floor last night. It looks great and matches like it was made together. Since the molding was so expensive that the flooring store sold, Greg decided to buy some at Home Depot and stain it himself. It matches the floor perfectly! Now, we can put books back on the bookshelves. Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Weekend

Yeah, the weekend is here.

This week the kids and I celebrated "Christmas in July". No, we didn't go to any sales, we watched some of our Christmas movies. Its been hot and we are tired from the last couple of weeks. In between chores and laundry we watched "The Christmas Story", "Christmas with the Kranks" and are currently watching "Jingle All The Way". Why should we only watch these in December? We also celebrated Thanksgiving last night with turkey and dressing. We hit a great sale in Feb. on turkeys and bought them for $5 each. I bought 4 and froze them to be eaten throughout the year. Yummy, yummy, yummy it was great. Greg and I ate leftovers for dinner tonight and it was so good.

We went downtown and ate lunch with Greg today at Subway. Then I took Katie to get her learners license for driving. Now Greg will have to get busy with the driving lessons.

Greg and James worked on the kitchen floor tonight and got a bunch more tiles layed. There will be more tile work on Sunday.

Tomorrow we are meeting Granny in Birmingham and giving her Amy to visit for a week. Then they are coming back to Miss. While in B'ham, we are going to eat at "Teds Montana Grill" and shop at Costco and Whole Foods! It will be a full day.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Life in Mississippi

It took a week but we have recovered from our Mission Trip. I certainly enjoy going but it is exhausting. We all had a great time and Greg and I loved watching Katie, Will, and Amy interact with the other team members and the children at the churches. I think next year, we are headed to Ohio.

4th of July weekend we had an "explosive" good time. On the 3rd, James and Will went fireworks shopping and bought enough to "light the night sky" many times. They displayed the arsenal on the pool table for all to see. Will was quite proud of the fact he had a hand in the pyrotechnic show this year.

Sat. morning, we got up and started working on the floor. Laying tile takes a long time and it ain't done yet. The tile Greg & I agreed on looks great in the kitchen and so does the darker grout. The tile looks like mud to me and the grout, red GA clay. Perfect for a house that lays claim to 7 kids plus friends. We are working on it again on Sunday. Hopefully in a week or so it will be done. We have to do it in stages because hey, we live in this house. My family likes to eat 3 meals a day and I have to be able to get to the fridge and stove. So, tile is getting layed down in states.

After working on the floor, Greg put ribs on to smoke for dinner and we went swimming. After our scrumptious dinner of ribs, corn on the cob and baked beans, we swam again, waiting for it to get dark. The the snap, crackle and pop of the festivities began. The firework shoppers did a great job and the result was beautiful. And....we did not become a 4th of July statistic. a safe 4th is always important. The day would have been perfect if Rob had been able to come. He had to work.

We had a big cookout for Greg's work on Tuesday night. The food was yummy. Greg cooked out pork chops and I set up a baked potato bar. Then everyone else brought side dishes and desserts. We had kids in the pool and kids on the trampoline. It was alot of fun and everyone got to see my partially done kitchen floor and the wood flooring in the living room and dining room.

Katie, Will and Amy are working at our church's VBS this week which is at night. Katie is an asst. crew leader for a group and Will is working with the preschoolers, which he loves. Amy is working at the snack station and is getting some good lessons in crowd control. When we pick them up everynight, we hear lots of kid stories all the way home.

We are getting organized for school to start on Aug. 3 at the Jackson Academy for Gifts Students (JAGS). All of the books have been ordered and the math curriculum was delivered yesterday. Now, we are going to work on a school day schedule, so that we get it all done in a timely manner. Didn't that sound officicial...what it means is no dawdling during class time, lets get er done. We have a week that we will be in Atl. in Sept. and the books are going with us. Then we have a week at Disney in October and the books are staying home! So Disney is our incentive to get started early and work hard through Aug. and Sept. and then go to the "happiest place on earth" Katie raised her ACT score from a 21 last year to a 24 this year, you go girl! Since this will be her senior year, she is going to take it a couple of more times, then we will have some college decisions to make!

Hope everyone is having a great summer! We are!

Oklahoma- part 2

This post is going to be about the Native Praise Singers and Turtle Races!

Sunday night at the Thessalonia Church we were blessed to hear the Native Praise Singers. These women are from all over Oklahoma and represent many different tribes including Choctaw, Chickasaw, Cherokee and Seminole. They sang many different songs in their Native Languages. Absolutely beautiful. Greg posted on Facebook how awesome it was to hear "How Great Thou Art" in the Choctaw Language. I still get chillbumps thinking about it! Hearing that many different Native American Tribes combining their beautiful voices and praising the Lord was a wonderful experience! We also got to talk to many of the women after the service, it was an unforgettable night. I am so glad they planned that for the Sunday night church service!

Now, on to the turtle races.....I started hearing about turtle races and collecting turtles on Sunday night. Monday morning on the way to Bible School, I was "blessed" to retreive the first turtle of our group. Greg markered a racing stripe down her back and I named her Princess. The other van (carrying my children) also got a turtle and named her spot and markered a big spot on her back. These turtles plus the others lived in a turtle pen in the church yard until Friday. If you couldn't find a kid during VBS, the first place to look was the turtle pen. This was a big deal...we thought it was just something this church did, but later found out is in a Choctaw Indian Custom/Tradition. Don't know where it started but it is alive and well in Oklahoma. Friday when we got to the church, we found out that 13 turtles (including ours) had escaped. Someone left part of the pen open and there was a mass turtle exodus (I personally think it was a turtle napping because they knew Princess was a winner, but everyone else is blaming the open pen). Kind proves how fast turtles really are because we couldn't find them. The remaining turtles raced after VBS. Here is how it works.....you cut the top and bottom off a barrel, sit it in the dirt and put the turtles in it. Then you mark off the outer "finish line" ring with a hose or rope. Remove the barrel and they are off. The first turtle to cross the finish line is the winner. Some of these turtles could really move and some just took a nap. There were 5 or 6 races and the church kids really got into it! It was fun.

I will put some pictures on here when I can find them!

Thats all for now!

We are Back from Oklahoma-part 1

Wow, what a trip! Mission Trips are great and exhausting! The heat went with us to OK and didn't leave. The humidity was high and the flies were abundant. The people were great and the children were adorable.

A little history...Oklahoma is made up of 5 Indian Nations: Choctaw (the largest), Chickasaw, Cherokee, Seminole, and the 5th I can't remember right now. The Choctaw have the most land area and it is in the southeast section of the state. I asked how they got the most land and the answer was "they got there first". Makes sense to me! Oklahoma is not all plains like in the movie Oklahoma. This part was mountainous. Twisty roads up and down the mountains. I would have been nice if these mountains has afforded a little shade and respite from the heat but when the temp is 100, not much helps.

We did Vacation Bible Schools at 2 different churches. At Thessolonia, we did VBS from 9-noon, Monday through Friday. The church members were very involved in the VBS, helped in many of the classes, and served a lunch to the children and workers every day. They also planned special daily activities in addition to the vbs. To me, this was the friendliest of the churches. They talked to everyone, shared family stories, history of the Choctaw Indians, and were very grateful for our involvment with their children. It was not unusual for a family to have 3 generations attending VBS, everyone came. The 2nd VBS was from 6-8:30, Monday through Friday. We had more children and adults at this VBS, but many came and went and didn't attend the whole week. While these folks were very nice, to me, they did not have the warmth and friendliness of the other group. We led the VBS and they watched and didn't participate with alot of the team very much. They had a VBS blowout at the end of the week, for all the kids, workers, family members, etc. They grilled burgers and hot dogs and served chips and cookies. It was a nice ending to the week.

With the children I encountered, it was very common for them to be living with just one parent or to be raised by their grandparents or aunts/uncles. Many of the parents abandoned the kids to "do their own thing". 2 precious little boys in my class had fetal alcohol syndrome and I think one of them also had down's syndrome. They were ages 7 & 8. Daddy left the home, Mom was an alcoholic and family took the little boys to raise. On the first day, we all took note of the teenage girl with a baby. She was 15. She thought that having her boyfriend use a c*****, would prevent pregnancy and found out they are not 100% effective (she told me this), so now she is a single mommy of a one month old little boy (who by the way, is absolutely adorable). She was sexually abused by her stepfather starting when she was 11 (as was her little sister, starting at age 2). Dear old stepdad was found out (the mom knew the whole time) and went to jail for all of 8 1/2 months. Both of these girls are now living with their grandparents and are now being raised in a Christian home. The mommy will go back to school in the fall and the baby will be cared for by the grandparents, and 2 aunts during school.

Unemployment is the norm, not the exception. They recieve a government check each month and have free healthcare. They also have free college tuition if they keep a 2.0 grade point average. In Talihina, there was a Choctaw Nation Hospital that did employ Native Americans and some of the people we met did work there. The churches have a van that picked up kids for VBS, because the parents had no car. Not everyone that attended was Indian but many were. I got into a discussion Friday night with some of the 1st and 2nd graders in my class about being Indian (don't know how this started) some children claimed to be 1/2 or 1/4 Indian but one little girl proudly told me that she was ALL Indian. They are like all children, they loved affection...hugs, smiles, holding hands, etc., some of them were quite knowledgable about the bible and the new testament stories. They loved music time and crafts.

More to come later....................................

On The Road Again....

Greg, Katie, Will, Amy and I leave in the morning for Talahina, Oklahoma. We will be part of a 30 member mission team on a Choctaw Indian Reservation. We will all be involved in the Vacation Bible Schools at 2 different churches next week. The VBS's will be from 9-noon and 6-9, Monday through Friday. Katie, Amy and I will be with different age groups of kids for the teaching time and Greg & Will are doing the games for all of the age groups. This is Amy's 2nd mission trip (she went to Canada in 2004) and Katie & Will's 1st mission trip.

I am hoping that the weather is a little cooler than the 100 + degree days we have had in Miss. for the past 2 days. But, it is probably just as hot there. Praying for some cooling breezes.

We are taking the RV to "camp" in instead of staying in the dorm style rooms with 15 or so other folks. We have packed plenty of water and juice to keep us hydrated! Plus sunscreen and bugspray for the outside times.

We will try to update the blog throughout the week, if we have internet service. Also hoping our cell phones will work. Gotta be able to check up on our older boys, especially since 3 of them will be staying at our house!

Happy Father's Day

Happy Fathers Day to 2 of the most wonderful men I have ever known, my daddy and my husband.

My Daddy, Bill Cash, was a great father! Us Cash girls adored him. He was loving, fun, generous, and liked to cut up with us. (OK, he was also strict but we are going to dwell on positive attributes here for the holiday). He liked hunting and he loved fishing. Since he was blessed with 2 daughters, we learned how bait a hook, fish, and clean them also (yuck to the cleaning). He liked sports and Saturday & Sunday could find him laying on the sofa or recliner watching the game through his eye lids. Now, that didn't happen all the time, but often enough for me to remember it. He loved the Atlanta Braves, the Falcons and GA Tech football. He was a Civil War buff and collector. He loved to read, play yahtzee and card games. He also told my sister and I to use him as the "bad daddy" if we wanted to get out of something with friends or not go out with someone. We could say "Daddy said no". I recall some guys that I didn't want to go out with calling and me asking him if I could go (while shaking my head no), if I asked, he looked at me and would respond with "no, we have plans". What a cool dad! After Brenda and I got married and started having kids, he was so excited that his 2 girls gave him 4 grandsons. James, Allen, Brian and Billy adored "Bill". They loved to spend time with him doing almost anything. Brenda and I worked in Daddy's State Farm office and we called him Bill at work, so the boys picked it up and started calling him Bill, which he thought was very funny. When they really wanted to wheddle him into doing something they called him Gran Bill or Grandaddy Bill. Daddy died when he was 59, 15 years ago, from lymphoma. He went through alot with the chemo and radiation because it was so important to Mom, Me and Brenda. But the Lord decided it was his time. Daddy's funeral was on Fathers Day 1994. We all miss him tremendously and the boys still talk about things they did with him. He would be very surprised to know that now he had 9 grandsons and 3 granddaughters. All of the other grandkids have heard stories about him and seen many pictures. I wish they could have known him, also.

For 9 years I prayed for the Lord to send me the perfect husband and father for my children. I even had a list of "requirements" that I would like this person to have. The Lord blessed my prayer with Greg. And every "requirement" that I had thought of and prayed about, he has! He is a great daddy to my kids. They all readily accepted him and were happy for me. James and Allen will call Greg and ask his advice before I even know there is a problem. OK, I will admit that is a little hard for me since I was the one they turned to for so long, but it is a great testiment to his relationship with these 2 grown boys. It took Amy a little longer to warm up but she doesn't remember ever having a dad. He loves to tease her and she gives it back! Its really funny to watch them together! He has gone from not understanding homeschooling to fully supporting it and planning field trips and lessons for the kids! What a blessing.

He is also perfect for me! We get along great and love spending time together. He is a generous person and shows up with gifts for me, just because! About a month ago, he came in with 2 cross stitch kits he knew I would like. I have been going through some different health issues and he wanted to cheer me up. He indulges my love of the beach even though he hates the sand. He is very skillfull in the "handyman" department. He built us a screened porch, deck and layed down wood floors. He has built square foot gardening boxes for our vegie gardens. He bought us an RV to travel in with Katie, Will and Amy. He can grill some wonderful meat and loves doing this on the weekends. He has a heart for Missions and has taken me to Honduras twice on mission trips. Tomorrow, we are leaving for Oklahoma and working with a group on a Choctaw Indian Reservation. He wanted a family mission trip that Katie, Will and Amy could participate in also. He has alot of responsibilities on his shoulders with 7 children but he handles it well. When the time comes, he will be a wonderful grandpa!!!!!

I love you Greg! Happy Fathers Day!

Rooster Sauce

I found this post on Life hacker talking about "rooster sauce" and adding some Worcestershire sauce for a great steak marinade. Down in the responses, vlatro provided this home made hot sauce recipe. (I hope they don't mind that I blatantly copied it!) But it looks really good to me and worth a try. I've got to do something with all of the peppers Will and I are growing this year.


vlatro 7:08 AM

Not much to work with comment-wise. The Article's pretty solid. So I'll just wander off on a tangent here...

I've been making my own hot sauce for a few years now. It's unbelievably easy and can save you a ton if you go through a lot of it.

A $7 (8oz) jar of decent hot sauce lasts about a week in my house. Doing the math, that's $354 a year just in one condiment. So I decided to find a cheaper alternative.

I grow my own hot peppers (they'll grow pretty much anywhere in the Continental US, and many other places as well). That'll be the bulk of your cost.

I prefer Jalapenos and Habeneros, along with the hot Thai chili and Cayenne.

The recipe is simple. Put your preferred peppers (1lb) in a blender along with one cup vinegar. Puree the mix and move it to a sauce pan. Add any dry spices and seasonings (Mustard powder, Turmeric, Garlic, Salt, Onion powder, whatever you want). Add in 5 more cups of vinegar. Boil until you've reduced it by half, stirring occasionally. Strain the mix through a cheese cloth into bottles. Makes 1 quart.

If you want to get fancy, try smoking some of the peppers, add white wine or Bourbon in place of some of the vinegar. Citric acid will kick up the heat quite a bit. Experiment. My exact recipe makes the sauce deadly hot. Many people prefer a milder taste. Start with a small batch, get it just the way you want it and then expand it to fill the quantity you need.

Remember, there's no such thing as a real sauce recipe. The fruit, in this case the peppers, will vary in flavor dramatically from one pepper to the next, so taste it constantly and season and cook to desired taste and consistency.

1 Gallon = 16 8oz bottles. My cost per gallon was about $4.00. That compared to $112.00 for the same amount purchased in the grocery store. Not to mention the home made stuff is way better.

Our Weekend

Whew! What a weekend...hummmmm...where to start.
Allen got bit by a spider (or something nasty) and it has caused a horrible infection and swelling. Our regular doctor was out of town, so he went to a medical clinic on Friday afternoon. They put him on medication, told him not to work for the weekend, and sent him home. Home meaning my house, the boy has slept for 3 days. He wakes up to eat, take the medicine watch a little tv and then he is back asleep. But, it still looks just as nasty as it did on Friday. So, this morning, I took him to our regular dr. He gave Allen the choice of letting him lance it and drain the infection or going to the hospital for 2 days and letting them take care of it. Allen choose the dr (good choice). I am not normally a squemish person and have sat through lots with my kids, but this almost pushed the mom limit! It was nasty (no I didn't take pictures and if I did, you would not want to see them). But the swelling is diminished greatly but not completely. He will have to go back in a couple of days to have it rechecked. Yuck!!!!

Katie took her ACT on Saturday morning. She will be a senior next school year, so we have to start looking at her after high school options and are hoping for good scholarships. She would like to teach in elementary school and then homeschool her own children. We are also going to step up the driving lessons, so that she can be a little more independent.

We finished the floor in the living room and have the furniture moved back in. It is gorgeous. James, Will, Allen and Greg did an outstanding job. We also rearranged the furniture and it gave us more space in the room. When all 7 kids are here and us, we need all the room we can get! Next is the kitchen but we haven't decided what to do in there yet. We are thinking about either large tiles (12" square) or the wood flooring. We just don't want puddles on the wood from the kids coming in from the pool. We will have to figure all this out and compare the costs of the 2 different floorings.

Sunday afternoon found us floating, swimming, lounging in our pool. Ahhhhh, how relaxing! With the 95 degree heat we had in the last week and no rain the water temp. is almost cool bathwater now. But, it is wet and we are enjoying it.

Our garden is kind of wilty (is that a word?). Its so hot and dry but we are trying to keep everything watered. The corn is now about 6 1/2 feet tall and the watermelon plant is climbing everywhere. Greg's peppers are producing also. the cucumbers and squash has blossoms and the green beans are trying to hang on in the heat. I think the tomatoes are going to give up, so we will be getting them from the farm stand.

We are getting ready for our Mission Trip to Oklahoma. We leave on Sat. morning. We are taking the RV to stay in at the camp. We will be doing bible schools at 2 different churches next week. One from 9-noon every morning and the other from 6-9 everynight. Katie, Amy and Will are going with us. This will be K & W's first trip and A's second one. We are going with the group that we have gone to Honduras with.

Time for more laundry!

The Prize

Amy's prize was a Cricut Machine and Cricut Jukebox. This is an electronic diecut machine (about the size of a computer printer). It came with one diecut cartridge. The Jukebox of a machine you can plug up to 6 cartridges into and it connects to the diecut machine. Then you can pick which cartridge you want to use and not to to plug and unplug each cartridge. Each diecut cartridge has about 50 different shapes, letters, or sayings on it. The cartridge that came with it was an alphabet, numbers and some sayings.

We were going to buy another cartridge but they would not let us use a % off coupon for it (one of those small print exclusions).

We went across the street to Hobby Lobby to check on the price of their cartridges. The regular prices are $10 to $20 lower than Michaels regular prices. But Hobby Lobby was having a sale and we got 2 for the price of 1. Katie picked out another alphabet set and Amy picked out a Disney set.

The Disney set is cool because it makes separate cuts for each item and then you put them together. So Mickeys face, pants/shirt, head, arms/legs, etc. can all be cut out of different color paper. This is one cool toy!

We caved into Peer Pressure

OK, we have done it now. Greg and I are both on Facebook. This could cause big problems....why didn't anybody warn me how addictive it was? Oh well, the deed is done. Maybe I should set a timer for computer time like I have the kids do!

Last week was "Ballet Week". The girls had practice on Monday (1 hour), Thursday (2 hours), Friday (2 hours) and Recital was Sat. We got there Sat. at about 5 and got home about 8:30. the recital was great. All the dancers were beautiful and the costumes were gorgeous. The theme was Noah's Ark and the little girls were the animals, their costumes were so cutesy! Katie did not get to dance (maybe I should clarify that and say she & I chose for her not to dance, her ankle swells alot). She was in the recital but not a dancer. She will be dancing next year. During the recital, Miss Abigail had a slide show of all the classes, one of the last slides is Katie stretching on the floor with the boot on her foot. Greg, Mom and I laughed when we saw the slide....everyone else groaned! At least now they know why she didn't dance!

The kids had fun all week playing with my neice and nephew and Granny. Bethany is 7 and Ben is almost 11 (gasp!) Lots of Guitar Hero and swimming. Last Christmas, Mom gave my 3 youngest, inflatable whale floats for the pool. They got blown up last week and now I have Shamu's floating in the pool. It evidentally takes practice to stay on the floats and they easily become unbalanced. But the kids had a great time with them.

During the visit, we also started demolition on the dining room floor. It is now finished and looks beautiful. Greg, Will, James, Andy, and Allen did a great job. We moved all the furniture in yesterday. We now have to get pads to put on the bottom of the chair legs so they don't scratch the floor.

Sat. was our homeschool group used book sale. I went with $187 worth of books to sell and sold $132. of them. All of the big stuff is gone! Amy was thrilled that her math book sold.

Greg cooked us yummy ribs for lunch on Sat. He cooked 4 racks and we had some leftovers. Mack and Hershey love the bones and we had plenty of them.

Amy just got a call from our new Michaels Store and she won one of the prizes from the grand opening last week. She is bouncing off the walls with excitement, we will be driving up there today to get it. Its a scrapbooking prize worth $400. Can't wait to see what all it is! Will update later with prize details!

We are looking forward to a hot summer week. I declared no more school this month and we don't do school in July, so the scholars are happy (Katie does have the ACT this week). We are going to work on the floors, rearrange stuff, organize our belongings, and swim in our pool. And get ready for our Mission Trip to Oklahoma in 2 weeks. This will also give us time to get all our new curriculum and organize our next school year. Katie will be a Senior, Will in 9th and Amy in 8th. In 5 years, I will have worked myself out of a job. All the kids will be through highschool. Hummmmm, wonder if I will be any smarter?

Facing Pressure

I am now under pressure....I know you are not supposed to give into peer pressure...but good grief whats a girl to do. My MOM is now on Facebook. Whats up with that? This is the woman who just got a computer a little over a year ago and had to learn how to send emails. And she is on Facebook. Last night she, Allen, Katie, Amy, Ben, Will and Bethany were huddled around the computer on her facebook page for about 1 1/2 hours or more.

I will have to get on Facebook now, like I need something else to do. But Mom assures me that she will accept me as her friend, Amy and Katie too. Allen doesn't want any of us near his, hummmmm wonder what he is hiding. (I probably don't want to know!)

We are off to paint pottery!

Update on our crazy life & Happy June

We are back from Virginia. It was a great trip and we had fun visiting with family. Greg's sister and I decided it was a really good thing we didn't live closer together....we ate way too much junk food last week and we are both paying for it now. Its just easier to eat trash with a friend! Our van was full to overflowing on the way home. We brought home an antique double bed that Greg had loaned them and they are done using it. Then on the way home, we stopped at Costco in Birmingham and loaded up more stuff. Unfortunately, I left my shopping list in VA, so there was stuff we forgot. Or, maybe that was a fortunate mistake, since we were so crammed in the car. We listen to books on tape as we travel to pass the miles away. 2 we got from the library this time were 1776 (history documentary about the year) and Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt was good and we learned stuff we didn't know...his neice Eleanore married his godson and cousin Franklin Delano. Actually FDR was his cousins son, so I guess that makes him Teddy's 2nd cousin. We also listened to a James Patterson mystery which was really good but a couple of the story lines, we had to fast forward through. The story lines were not appropriate for my younguns.

Monday was spent doing laundry and cleaning up. We also cleaned out the sewing/computer/office room for the floor to get busted up. Thats the next demolision project. James and Will worked in there last night. We are going to rearrange our downstairs and repurpose some spaces. That room will now be our dining room. We will be able to put Greg's grandmothers dining room table, all the chairs, china cabinet and buffet in there, as well as the piano. We would also like to put bookshelves against one wall in there to hold our hundreds and hundreds of books but we will have to check on the available space when everthing else is done. (Homeschoolers have alot of books) The girls had ballet also. This is recital week, so we will also have rehersals on Thursday, Friday and recital on Sat. Katies foot was swollen after class, you could see where the straps from her shoes cross her foot. Ouch! After dinner last night, Greg and the kiddies went swimming.

When we left for VA the weather was warm and the garden was growing. Now the weather is hot (97 yesterday) and the garden is huge. Gregs watermelon is taking over the corn. The peppers are growing and the squash has blossoms all over it. We picked 2 1/4 lb. of green beans!
Yummy fresh produce. We may have to replace our tomato plants cause they look kind of spindly. but they do have little tomatoes on them. Grass is taking over the lantana bed at the end of the pool...it really looks like a nice green groundcover! I hate to pull weeds and especially in this heat and humidity.

Granny is on her way to Miss. and she is bringing my neice and nephew with her. They came last year and spent recital week with us, so we are starting a tradition. There will be lots of swimming, some shopping, and pottery painting. Our new Michaels Craft Store just opened and they sent us some 50% off coupons. and yes, during their visit will be floor destruction.

This month will be busy...Granny, Ben and Bethany's visit, Katie takes the ACT, Fathers Day and our Oklahoma Mission Trip. We are glad summer is here! The pool will be used lots and lots!

Things I Forgot

Many of the Presidents in the White House had pets. The most unusual pet we heard about was a raccoon. President and Mrs. Calvin Coolidge had a pet raccoon in the White House. Now, that is weird.

President and Mrs. Truman had a summer, Little White House, in Key West. Sounds like a place we need to go visit....its educational, ya know? I took a picture of the Presidents Hawaiian shirt for Greg.

Sabrina, Katie, Amy and I toured the local JoAnn's store today...gotta use the coupons. We had fun looking at all the goodies and purchasing some of them.

Tomorrow we are going to the "Big Red Kitchen" for lunch. This is Sabrina's friend Robin. Her blog address is on my sidebar. It'll be fun to meet someone whose blog I regularly read! Seeing Julia Childs Kitchen and then the Big Red Kitchen, how much excitement can I handle in one week? Educational opportunities abound!

Today is rainy and nasty and cool. Greg has left to go to W. VA. I got an email from him cause his Verizon phone doesn't work up there. He claims that is where they send wayward mosquitos, there are evidently tons of the little biting creatures. Hopefully, he will find the bug repellent in the car.

We are in Virginia

Saturday morning we got up and started on our llllooonnnggg drive to my sister in law's house in Northern Virginia. In the middle of the afternoon, we saw a sign for the Russell Stovers Candy outlet in Athens TN. Of course, we had to stop and buy. We bought a 3lb. box of "bloopers" candy for $4.99, if we had bought the same size box of perfect chocolate it would have been $35. Just a bit excessive for our budget. For dinner we ate at the Apple Barn Restaurant in Pigeon Forge, TN. I have wanted to go there for years and never had the chance. When we were there after Christmas, we couldn't find it. Mom was in Pigeon Forge last week and told us how to get there. The food was really good. Then we drove to Bristol, TN to spend the night. We got to the hotel at 10:30 and we all fell exhausted into the bed.

Sunday morning we hit the road again. We stopped in Staunton, VA and ate lunch at "5 Guys Burgers and Fries"...really yummy! Then we went to tour Woodrow Wilson's home and Presidential Library. Did you know that he couldn't read until he was a teenager and that he couldn't ever write really well. As President, he either dictated everything or wrote in his own shorthand (that only he could read). We have toured the homes of Washington, Adams, Polk, Jefferson, Lincoln, and the summer homes of Roosevelt and Eisenhower. We have taken lots and lots of pictures with no restrictions. At Wilson's home, photography was not allowed. I don't even know why, very few of the items in the home were even the family's, most were reproductions. This didn't make sense, at all.

We got to Sabrina's and got lots of hugs from our niece and nephew. We ate a wonderful dinner and stayed up late talking and catching up with all the "gossip".

Monday was on to Washington DC and the Museum of American History. It was worth the wait and we had lots and lots of fun. We took tons of PICTURES of these national artifacts with no one telling us no. (Go figure!) We are not exactly sure what happened at one display, but either Eddie or I sat off an alarm. We both leaned over a display to look at it and the alarm sounded. (Did you know that folks used to use hair and plaster as insulation in houses between the outer and inner walls? We were looking at the hairy plaster when the alarm went off) After we ate our tremendously expensive lunch (4 lg. pieces of pizza and 5 drinks was $50) we finished the tour. They had a whole wing of American Inventions...toaster, vacuum cleaner, lightbulb, different engines, waffle iron, and marshmallow toaster. Yep, it was a little tin box that you melted your marshmallow in. There were lots and lots more but the kitchen gadgets stuck out in my mind.

Sabrina and I had a great time looking at the tv kitchen of Julia Child and all her dodads and gadgets. We took lots and lots of pictures there. Katie and Greg watched the cooking shows that played continuously on the tv's in there. That woman was such a character. Did you know she was 6 ft 2 in. tall? That was our last exhibit before our long hike back to the car.

I wore the pedometer today and we walked 3.02 miles (except for Katie, she rode that mileage). And that was just in 1 museum. We spent about 5 hours in that one building and didn't see everything. The Lord held off the rain until we got back to the car and then the bottom dropped out of the sky.

Greg and Eddie cooked us a delicious pork shoulder for dinner. Now we are sitting here, stuffed full of good food and exhausted. Got just enough energy to blog and then its bed time!

Tomorrow is another day! (hummmmm, where have I heard that before?)

"Night at the Museum"

We just got back from seeing "Night at the Museum". (We had to get ready to go next week) It was a really good movie. Greg got off work early and met us for an afternoon date. We have seen Teddy Roosevelt, Abe Lincoln, Sacagewa (spelled that wrong), and Amelia Earhart come to life. As Amy said when we left the theater...wouldn't it be neat to be there at night, but I know it doesn't really happen. Ahhhhh, she doesn't believe in magic anymore.

Now we are packing for our trip. The school books are staying home...shhh, don't tell them the museum will be educational! We are taking the wheel chair for Miss Kate cause the museum is huge. She is doing great at walking but wants the extra help. She is hoping to set off the detectors at the museum!

After leaving Aunt Bri's house we are headed to Smith Mtn. Lake in VA to spend a couple of days with the grandparents. The kids will love riding the jetski, swimming in the freezing cold lake water and eating sausage balls. I'll include Greg in "the kids" cause he will do all of the above. I don't jetski (tried it twice and the thrill escapes me) and the water will be too cold. I will however sit on the dock and take pictures. Maybe Greggie will take me on a boat ride!!!!

What are they going to complain about next?

We have some lovely neighbors who have become the "parking in the street or yard police" and turn us into the city or call the police. They obviously have lots and lots of time on their hands and have targeted our home. For the last year, we have answered the door several times to police or city ordinance enforcers complaining about the cars. OK, lets think about this....we have 7 kids, 4 of them drive and have their own cars AND we have 3 cars and an RV. Does anyone out there have a driveway in a neighborhood that can accomodate all of those vehicles?

Late every afternoon there are 1-3 vehicles parked on the side street (we live on a corner) at our home. It just depends on which older boys come to eat a free meal at the parents. They are usually gone by 8 pm. The police showed up at 6pm (dinnertime) and said there had been a complaint...James' van...and that if it wasn't moved in 30 minutes off the street, it would be ticketed or towed. Its not against the law to park in the road. It is against the law to park in the road overnight. James moved the van and Greg called the police chief to complain. Turns out the officer was under the assumption it was being parked all night there, wrong, and that we had a homeowners association that prohibited parking on the street, wrong again. Greg told him that if he came back to the street and looked from our driveway, he could see 4 cars on the street at different houses...he didn't want to come back. We have been targeted by some people with too much time on their hands.

So, we now have a 40 foot driveway in our sideyard for the RV and extra visiting children or grandparents. So what are the neighbors gonna complain about now?

According to city ordinances we could have a couple of chickens...hummmmmm, that is a possibility. At this point I would want some loud cluckers! I could borrow a homeschooling friends goat and stake it in the yard to be seen by the nosey folks! Amy wanted a loud mooing cow but we would called on because the yard is not big enough for livestock. Do they want to complain about our garden in the backyard or maybe my kids spashing in their pool or the smoke from the grill every weekend or maybe the flowers are too colorful in the corner flower bed. Good grief, get a life and live it.

Hopefully, there won't be another chapter in the continuing saga of the tiki travelers home. But who knows?

We are hitting the road tomorrow. On Sunday we will be arriving at Greg sisters house in No. VA and staying till Thurs. or Fri. Greggie has meetings in W. VA starting on Tuesday and the kids and I will be staying with Sabrina and hanging out. Monday, we are all going into DC and visiting the Smithsonian Museum of American History. Can't wait...have wanted to go there the last 3 years and it was being renovated. But now, its open!!!!!!

American Idol

I will publicly admit that I am hooked on this show. It all started 5 years ago. A girl from Snellville, GA was on the show....Diana DiGarmo. Remember her? She was the 2nd runner up to Fantasia. I was teaching at our church's Wed. night childrens group and all the little girls in my group talked about American Idol (the results show was right after they got home from church). So the month or so of the show, Amy and I started watching. After the last "contest" show, we voted for the first time. Lets just say, Diana did not lose because we didn't vote. Allen got in on the act and voted for her over 100 times. I haven't seen her back on the show since then but she is on Broadway in different shows. Amy and I got to meet her at a meet n greet and she is a really sweet girl.

The next year was the year of Carrie Underwood. From her audition, to the end of the show, I predicted she would win. What an incredible voice. Then we've got Bo Buice, David Cook, and Taylor Hicks and all the many other wonderful singers.

Every season, its fun to watch who they bring on the show to mentor the singers. Guys and Gals I haven't seen for the last 20+ years. Barry Manilow, Olivia Newton John, and honestly some folks I have never heard of.

The last show of the season is always a Grand Finale and last night was no exception. Rod Stewart, Kiss, Cyndi Lauper, and many more. And even though its been 30 years since they hit the scene...Kiss still disturbs me. However...congratulations to Kris Allen. He is a great singer and seems to be a very clean cut, American young man.

And all you mama's out there...if your babies can't sing, don't encourage them to try out for the show. Some of these kids can't find a tune in a bucket and the moms are crying that the judges can't recognize real talent. Thats because it isn't there. I do believe that the Lord gave us all talents but some folks didn't get the "carry a tune" talent.

Now, what to watch on tv. Survivor, Amazing Race, H***'s Kitchen, NCIS, How I met your Mother, Big Bang Theory, Chuck, Idol, and CSI have all had their season finales. Hope the reruns are good.

Before and After

This was our hallway at the front door.

Mom busted up the first brick!

Getting the finishing details done.

Sitting down on the job.

Many Hands Make Light Work

Many hands make light work or Praise the Lord, I am getting a new floor or whew, the foyer is done or man, we are getting old. Any of these titles apply to our weekend.

4 years ago, Greg bought this house for us. I generally like the house but some features I did not like. The first was the faux finishing in the kitchen. Vines and fruit are not me...my Mom and Greg's Mom both liked it, but not me. It is now painted over. Then it was my small oven...we all know how that was handled. Big oven now...happy baker! But first and foremost with me was the brick floor. Argh...this covered the kitchen, dining room, foyer, laundry room, hall and bathroom. A plus for this floor is it hides dust, crumbs, etc. But, I can't stand on it long barefooted. It is uneven and hurts my feet and legs. We spend hours in our kitchen...cooking, homeschool, etc. and my kitchen counters are my cutting boards for fabric. So the uneven brick is departing!!!!!!!!!! Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!

Greg and I went to Lumber Liquidators on Saturday morning and came home with hardwood flooring for the foyer and living room (nasty, stained carpet). Now we are also going to do the dining room in it. I had the honor, priviledge and thrill of busting the first brick in the foyer! What an exciting moment! Greg, me, Katie, Will and Amy busted brick in the area. Allen got off work and came over to finish it off. Bricks were busted, lots and lots of dust was flying and I was a happy camper. Amy and Katie got quite adept at chiseling up the bricks and enjoyed the work. Will used his expert garbage skills to toss all the broken bricks in the can for us. Then Greggy treated all the worker bees to Mexican for dinner. Afterwards, we went to Home Depot and picked out a tile for the kitchen, laundry, hall and bathroom. Its a large (14 x 14) square and really pretty.

Sunday morning we went to sunday school and church. Then home for lunch and some more cleaning on the area that was under the foyer bricks. After it was cleaned, vacummed and mopped, the real fun began. James, Allen and Greg laid down the moisture barrier and started the wood. The foyer is mostly done except for trim work. That will probably get finished tonight.

It is gorgeous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Everyone did an awesome job and really worked hard. We are going out of town on Friday for a week and then my Mom comes to visit, so I don't think anymore will be done for 2 weeks but that part is done.

And, I have walked barefooted on it and given it the Donna Seal of Approval! Thanks Greg!!!!!

Oh, if anyone needs to work out any aggression or anger...we will let you know when we bust more brick. You are more than welcome to come over and be aggressive with the old floor, and hey, its cheaper than therapy!!!!!!!!!

Coupons

I have always used coupons to some extent but now I am really using them regularly. Here are some of my super bargains today....

I had coupons for feminine products. Walmart generally carries a small bag of these for $1, I had a $1 off one coupon...so it was free. I also had 3 other .75 coupons, so the next 3 bags were .25 each.

Kraft salad dressing. I had 2 coupons for $1 of one bottle. The bottles were on sale for $1.58 so after each coupon they were .58 each. Gotta keep Katie and Amy in Ranch and Thousand Island Dressing. This was at Walmart also.

Johnsons First Aid coupons for $1 off one item. I had 3 coupons and bought 1 box of bandaids, 1 box of gauze pads, and 1 box of butterfly bandages. they averaged about .60 after the coupons.

Kroger...

Suave deodorant .50 coupon off one, on sale for .99. Kroger doubled my coupons so I got it for free. I have scrounged lots of these coupons so we are set in the deo. department for a while.

Suave Shampoo and Conditioner coupons $1 off 2. Bottles on sale for $1 each, so after coupon they were .50 each. I have quite a number of these also.

Johnsons Bath Buddies Soaps.....coupons for .50 each. On sale at Kr. for .99, when coupon was doubled they were free. Then a coupon printed with my receipt $2.50 off 3 Johnsons products, so the next 3 were .25. Then another one printed...I will go back next week and get more. These will go in shoeboxes at Christmas for Operation Christmas Child for Samaritan's Purse Ministries.

Oscar Mayer Bologna is on sale for .99. Kraft coupon available for $1 off 2. So after coupon, 2 packages are .98. We bought 6 today (2 each in 3 different transactions). Katie and Amy each paid for 2 packs.

We always buy a Sunday Paper now for the coupon sections. You can go on many websites for products you use and see if they offer coupons (sometimes you have to sign up on their mailing lists for emails to get the coupons). Coupons.com is a great website to find printable internet coupons. The Kraft website has lots of coupons. A couple of weeks ago I went on websites of products we use all the time and thanked them for their product and told how much we enjoyed it. We got many, many coupons mailed to us from the companies. I didn't ask for coupons but I did send nice emails (if you do this, make sure you fill out your name and address when requested). There is also a website named Coupon Clippers.com that offers lots of coupons for a nominal handling fee. I have gotten coupons from them 3 times and never had a problem. Thats where all the Suave and Johnsons coupons came from. Cool tip I read on another blog...after you print the coupons, hit the back arrow and it will print again. Then you have 2 of the same coupon/s. You can only print 2 coupons, it won't let you print more than 2. However if 2 different sites have some of the same coupons, you can print 2 on each site.

Happy Bargain Hunting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My First Sauce done on the Grill

I've been watching a bunch of Bobby Flay reruns on Bar B Que. He likes to put some kind of sauce on almost everything he does. So I tried it. My girls call my result fancy ketchup. I am leaning toward calling it a tangy steak sauce. I was grilling redfish when I made it, but it works good on steak too.

I melted 1/2 a stick of butter and added 1/4 cup of onions cut into small pieces. I sauteed the onions until the turned soft. I added the juice from one lime and 6 0z. of pineapple juice and one can of rotel. I also added a small scoop of brown sugar and stirred it in. I kept on cooking everything until much of the liquid was gone.

If I had stopped there, I would have had a spicy salsa topping for the fish I was grilling. By cooking it down the spice factor shot up. My boys would have eaten it and loved it, but it was a bit too spicy for me and Donna.

We then added 6 oz of tomato juice and I liquified it with a blender. It came out looking like ketchup but with a chili sauce flavor. Just the right amount of heat. I would call it mild. Somewhat like cocktail sauce but with jalapenos instead of horseradish as the spice.

Sabrina's Birthday!

You wouldn't know it by here blog, but today is Bri's birthday. I searched thru my files to find the perfect picture to put in here. This isn't it. I fully anticipate getting hit in the shoulder for this, but it will be worth it. If anyone would like to see more embarrassing pictures of Bri, let me know. I am sure something can be arranged.

Happy Birthday Sis. You are a special caring and loving sister. You've helped me thru more than one though time and I appreciate you and love you.

I found the picture of you and mom eating the chocolate dessert strait out of the dish but decided not to put it here because it might embarrass you.

Pirouttes

Is it a good idea to do pirouttes 7 weeks after your ankle is rebuilt during major surgery? Ummmmm....NO. Miss Katie did too much at dance today. Her ankle was already swollen from playing in the pool all afternoon and this really did it in. It is bruised and swollen. I don't think this will be repeated any time soon.

She really only danced for about 2 minutes but it was 2 minutes too long.

Her participation in the recital in June will most likely be limited to walking onto stage.

We did show all the moms and kids her x-ray pictures today at the pool party. Impromtu science lesson for all! Shock and awe would be accurate descriptions of everyones reactions. They also got to see her walk. Go Franken Foot!

Pool Party

We had our 1st pool party of the year today. I have been on the Leadership Team of our homeschool group this year. I was the treasurer. I guess everyone thought since I "taught" the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace for our group this year, I could handle the account. I guess I did a pretty good job since I was "re-elected". OK, I agreed to do it again next year and no one else volunteered, so its my job again.

We usually have our leadership meetings at the local yummy McAllisters Deli. We have had some intense meetings that have lasted 2-3 hours. This was our last meeting for this school year and I wanted to do something fun. So we invited everyone over for a pool party.

Kim, Marie, Nora, Jeannie and Shannon brought their kiddies...John Thomas, Faith, Grace, Amanda, Branuen, Quaden, Shelby, Isabela, Max, Stephen and Carrie plus Katie, Will and Amy. Yep, 14 kids ages 2-17 in our pool and having a wonderful time. One of the benefits to homeschooling is that everyone is used to being with all different ages and they all get along. There were noodles, squirt toys, bubbles, and floaties. Many rides down the slide and lots of goodies to feast on. We even talked about a little "business" but not much.

It has been a great year serving with these ladies. Kim and Jeannie have decided not to be on leadership next year and I am really going to miss them.

Chili Rellenos

This was a new one for me. It started with roasted poblano peppers. I fire roasted them on the grill till they were blistered then stuck them in a bag for five minutes. The skin blistered off easily. Then I cut them open and took the seeds and goopy stuff out.

We had some left over taco meat and rice. I added that to some onions in a frying pan along with a small can of tomato paste and a can of chpotale peppers in adobo sause. First time I've used these. They smell wonderful. Like barbque sause. When the peppers hit the pan they let capsisum into the kitchen. We coughed and choked a bit, opened the door and turned on the fan.

I spooned the meat rice mixture into the opened chili with some cheese and just for giggles put some peach salsa on the side.

My face turned red, my hair started sweating, and my sinus' are all cleaned out, but dang that was good.

Happy Cookin'

Frankin Foot Walks Again!

Can you believe This?

My baby has deck screws in her leg!

The two longs ones are into her growth plate. The dark part behind the screw is the only part of her bones that are not complete. The plate has 8 screws in it and is much larger than we thought. The plate is on the outside of her ankle.

The little mushroom looking piece was put into the bone where it split and the two broken bones are growing around it and it will strengthen the bone from now on.



Here is a picture of our babies first step!

We are so proud!

Actually she is doing everything the doctor told her to do and is healing much faster than we were originally told. She will begin transitioning to walking without the boot this week and should be out of it in a week or two. She doesn't have to wear it at night anymore. She over did it a bit today and it turned blue a bit, so she is under daddy orders to take it easy and slowly transition back.

Amy was so proud that she baked her a cake.

The Weekend

I have decided that weekends are just not long enough. There just isn't enough time to get everything completed.

Friday night, the girls and I had a date with our favorite man! Greg took us to Backyard Burger to have dinner and then we cruised the aisles at Hobby Lobby looking for stuff. I bought lots of beads to make more beaded nativity ornaments. I have been using the Mill Hill beads but they are hard to find here and have to be ordered. So I have found an alternative on the jewelry making aisle that do great! So I have made the big switch. A plus to this is they frequently go on sale for 1/2 price, which is great.

Will and James went to the movies and drove through Mickey D's. afterwards. Then they all watched a Blockbuster movie here at home. We really live in the fast lane! Betcha didn't know the fast lane ran right through Mississippi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Saturday morning, we all piled in the car and made a trip to Dunkin Donuts again. The kids got the chocolate donut with chocolate icing and chocolate sprinkles. This was Amy's favorite. She kept telling me it wasn't too icky sweet (but ya can't believe Amy since she is a chocoholic). So, Katie gave me a bite of hers and Amy was right. Actually, it was a really good donut. My favorite is the apple and spice donut. It is filled with apple pie filling...really yummy.

We went and bought a bunch of pool chemicals. This supply should last us about 3/4 of the way through the summer. We also hit Home Depot and bought a book about building an outdoor kitchen. I don't know how elaborate we will get with this, it may just be countertops around our grills. But we are adding on to our decking so we need to decide what we are doing before we start.

2 of our new favorite tv shows are "Boy Meets Grill" and "Throwdown" both hosted by Bobby Flay. Greg is getting lots of pointers and tips and new ideas to try. A throwdown we watched yesterday was country fried steak and he challenged Paula Deen. Now that was a hoot! Of course watching these does make us hungry!

We got the corn and some more peppers planted and put cages around our tomatoes. The garden is thriving and we are looking to fresh produce.

Time to go eat lunch! Have a happy Monday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Grill Pictures

I got fancy this weekend.

Bar B Que shrimp.

Donna says I can do them again.

The veggies are egg plant, bell pepper, and onions. I have some TJ's Bar B Que sause in the skillet getting warm. That is our favorite sause right now from Trader Joes. It's really good and organic.

I brushed it on the shirmp and stirred them with some of the onions and bell pepper, kind of stir fry on the grill in my new basket. That's right, we went to Bass Pro Shop and dropped some stimulus money on Bar B Que supplies and goodies. Stuff like a jalipino rack. And a rib rack. And some dipping spoons. Oh and a steak hook. All kind of goodies to cook with. We went to the store looking for some fish to grill, but the didn't have what I wanted (trout or redfish) so we went with the shrimp. Donnas said "Yumm."

Here are the ribs from 2 weeks ago. I am looking forward to doing them again. Check out that smoke ring. Man that looks good. I'm wanting some ribs right now just blogging about them.

We got some more peppers today for the garden and got them in the dirt. Amy and Will hit the pool again. I got in and sat on the steps and got wet, but stopped there. It is still cold. We found some stuff that is an invisible blanket. Some kind of chemical that makes the water warm by keeping the heat in at night. Gonna try it out to see if it gets warmer.

Have a great day in church tomorrow!

Yahtzee & No School Friday

Ahhhhh, its no school Friday today! Gotta love it!

After the cleaning chores were done, the kids and I sat down to a rousing, rip roaring game of Yahtzee. We tweaked the original game a little and played Triple Yahtzee. Do you remember that? They used to make triple yahtzee score cards and you simultaneously played 3 rows. My Dad and I used to play this. They don't make the triple cards anymore, so we just made our own.

There are advantages to playing the triple game...every roll can count in one of three columns. You have lots of chances for the major point rolls...3/4 of a kind, full house, small/large straight. And YAHTZEE! Pretty cool, Will and I both got 2 yahtzees!

Disadvantage is, it takes a long time to play.

About half way through the game Amy said "hey, this is math!" Well, yeah! But its fun math!

Watch out for cheating though...one of my darlings (who shall remain nameless) will write down whatever in any spot. If this person rolls a handful of junk, they will write it down anywhere on the score card whether it goes there or not. Ummmm, NO, this does not work. Ya still have to be vigilant even in Yahtzee.

At the end of the game, when all the columns are added up, then you add the 3 columns together to get the winner. Today, the winner was................drumroll please.............................ME. Of course the fact that I have been playing yahtzee for at least 30 years probably has more to do with me winning than any skill.

It was a fun hour and yes, it was Math!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

More signs of Spring/Summer

Ahhhhhh, the weather is getting warmer and we all want to be outside.

Here are some more signs of warmer weather...

1. Greg is barbequing alot. We have 2 grills and a smoker and they are working. I've already typed about how awesome the ribs were but last weekend he smoked a pork shoulder that was the best I have ever had! It was wonderful! That was dinner on Sat. night, lunch on Sunday and lunch on Monday. The rest was split up into 2 freezer packages for dinners later on. Super yummy! Last night he cooked pork chops (can ya tell we are on a pork kick?). So yummy! The grocery store has had some good "managers specials" on meat and we were able to stock up.

2. The garden is green and growing. Our corn stalks are about 3 inches tall. We have basil and bell peppers coming up. 2 tomato plants were planted in containers and they are thriving. The 2 square foot garden boxes of green beans are loaded with plants mostly about 6 inches tall. the blueberry bushes are growing and we have lots of little berries on them.

3. We bought 12 pounds of strawberries the other day to make into jelly. By the way, 12 lbs. of berries will make about 42 half pint jars of jelly. Will claims that will only last him a month. The berries are cleaned and pureed and frozen waiting for our canner to be delivered. Greg ordered us a pressure canner and it was shipped yesterday. We won't need to use the pressure for the jelly just a water bath to can it, but we will need the pressure canner for the green beans and squash and stuff like that. I would like to try making our own salsa and sweet pickle relish. We will have to see how ambitious we get. Our next preserving class is in 2 weeks and its on canning.

4. We are nearing the end of some of our school books. Katie will finish Algebra 2 today!!!!! Her average for the class is 96! Very good! She is going to do economics next and then Geometry in the fall. Amy and Will will be starting Pre-Algebra in the fall. We are investing in the Teaching Textbooks curriculum for all 3 kids. They can teach and explain everything and keep up with the grades...I will supply good lighting, a computer, notebooks, scratch paper and plenty of sharpened pencils. Yesterday was sign up for fall co-op classes for the next school year. Amy and Will are taking Physical Science and Beautiful Feet Geography. Katie will be taking Exploring American History. Hers will count for 3 grades since it covers history, bible and literature. We will be stimulating the Homeschool curriculum economy with our tax refund check when it comes.

5. Amy asks everyday to go swimming. She and Will went last Sat. and loved it. Granny bought Will a floating pool basketball game and they had fun with that. Today it looks like rain so I think swimming is out till the weekend.

6. The farm stands are opening in the area with some great produce. Also, the wheat order form came so we have to figure out what we will need for the next year...the order is once a year.
More economy stimulating going on.

Miss Katie will go back to the dr. on Tuesday, next week. We will go to the hospital first for x-rays and then to the surgeon. She has been exercising her foot everynight. She can move it up and down, sideways, and a slight circular rotation. Hopefully this progress will be enough so that we don't have to do rehab.

Thats all for now! Hope everyone has a great Spring Day! Gotta go do laundry!!!!!!

Friday Fill In Withdrawals

I guess my sis is really really tired. She left us all wanting some fill ins. Rest up Bri!

The Confederate Memorial Day Weekend is apon us. Everyone stand up, put your hand across your heart, Face South and sing Dixie!

Come on, like you mean it! Samantha, I can't hear you. Sing it girl friend!

Ok, now on to the bar b que plans for the weekend. Today, we set up the smoker. pictures were taken, they will come later. We smoked a shoulder and a ham. The ham was already cooked, I just threw it in to give it some smoke flavor. Left it on too long, and now it tastes like bar b que. I hate that (he he). The shoulder is going for a four hour ride in the hickory apple juice smoke. I put my fish cooker on as low as I could get it. The smoker fit perfectly right on top of it. Threw some hickory chunks in. Put a cup of apple juice in a pan under the meat and went to smokin'. After 3 hours I turned the gas off and now the chunks of hickory are still smoking away and going from char to ash. I am leaving the shoulder right where it is. I never turned it or nothing. I did prepare it yesterday with a dry rub and some garlic juice in a zip lock bag in the fridge. But that was all. We are trying the keep it simple recipe.

I will let you know how it turned out. If my fingers aren't too sticky!

Today is the first day of summer. Amy and Will christened the pool for the year. It is too cold for those of us with brains and responsibilities to get it. I put my feet in till the blood quit flowing.

Hey, GREAT NEWS. There is a dunkin donut open in Pearl now. WE Have ARIVED!!!! I do like the dd coffee. Today we all had breakfast for $9. That was a treat! It costs $25 for us all to go to waffle house. $40 to go to Craker Barrel. (mom's fave)

We got two of our garden boxes filled in with dirt. I got japalino's in one of them. Eddie and I are going to smoke some cheese filled fresh japalinos this summer. Maybe use some gouda cheese and some pecan wood for the smoke. Are you kidding me. That would make you stand up and cry for momma!

Donna got two of her tomoatoes planted. Will Amy and I got two leland cypress planted outside of our fence. We are preparing our yard to keep our nosey neihbors at bay. Donna wants to wrap the entire yard in them. Works for me.

You all have a great weekend! Remember Robert E. Lee and General Thomas Jackson! I am sure that we are related to both of them somehow! Just has to be. O' I wish I was in the land of cotton. Ol' times there are not forgotten. Look Away! Look Away! Look Away! Dixie Land!

Beautiful Day

It is a beautiful spring day in Mississippi. The sun is shining, slight breeze blowing and the temp is 73 degrees.

Our Monday wash is hanging on the clothesline. The warm weather and breeze can dry it for us today. School was mostly finished by noon. Lunch was yummy peanut butter and strawberry jelly sandwiches on homemade bread.

Katie, Amy and I took a jelly making class on Friday at our county extension office and we made the strawberry jelly. I really like this jelly and I do not like strawberries! Go figure. We also made Hot Pepper Jelly. Both were easy to make and delicious to eat. Since it is now strawberry season, I see more jelly in our immediate future.

Greg has decided to be an expert Rib cooker (or smoker). Saturday, he cooked us ribs for dinner and they were wonderfully yummy. I am not sure how he can improve on his first try, but as long as he cooks the dinner, I won't argue. Last night, he grilled hamburgers for us.

Over the weekend we also went and bought some more plants for the "homestead". We bought another blueberry bush to got with the 3 we already planted. All 4 are full of berries (can you say blueberry jelly and blueberry muffins?). We bought a hydrangea for the front courtyard. 3 Big Boy Tomato plants and 3 cherry tomato plants. 3 jalapeno pepper plants. The green beans are popping up from the seeds I planted. Last week, Amy and I planted squash, corn, sunflower, tomato, oregano, nasturtium, okra and thyme seeds. Greg built us 2 more "square foot gardening boxes" to expand our garden. Katie and Amy's peach trees have 2 peaches on them. They are thrilled. My roses are blooming and our little butterfly flowers have bloomed (can't remember their name). So far, it looks like everything we planted or transplanted last year has come back. I don't know about the impatiens yet cause its too early for them. I thought my wisteria was history, but it is now bushy and has little tendrils looking for a hold on our back fence. I would love for the fence to be covered with the wisteria vine.

Have a great week!

Easter

Easter Sunday was so special. We had yummy cinnamon rolls and orange rolls for breakfast...the birthday girl got up and cooked for us. After breakfast we went to church with Mom. I got to see some "gals" that I grew up with and hadn't seen for years.

Then home to Mom's for Easter lunch with family. Yummy ham, potato salad, green beans, deviled eggs, pineapple casserole & rolls. That Sister Schubert can really cook and freeze some bread...she has contributed to many of our holiday dinners.

Next was the huge Easter Egg hunt. Our hunters this year were Will, Amy, Ben, Bethany, and Bobby. The hiders were me, Greg, Katie, Brenda, and Billy. It takes about 15 minutes for 5 kids to find over 200 eggs. Moms lawn service will find the eggs that the kids left behind. Katie decorated her air cast with lollipops for the kids to "find". It looked like a lollipop tree at the fair.

We had a great day, ate way too much food and candy.

But, all the food, family time and fun is not the real reason for the day.

I am so thankful and grateful to the Lord Jesus Christ for his sacrifice for us. Because of his love for us, we can have eternal life with him.

Amy is 13

Happy #13 Amy Lynn! Amy is very enthusiastic about pretty much everything. Her passion for life is exhausting to her Mom! She loves ballet, American Girl dolls and clothes, Build a Bear stuffed animals, jumping on the trampoline, swimming, cooking and crafts. She loves playing with her cousins. Shopping with Granny is definately a favorite activity. She is my most excited child every Christmas. She is a chocoholic, the only chocolate she turns down has nuts in it.

Since we were in GA for Easter and Amy's birthday, she got to use the official birthday candle...see how short it is? We lit the candle, quickly sang the birthday song and she blew it out...its gotta last many more birthdays.

Her "cake" we found on the Pillsbury website. It was so easy to make. I love it when something we try turns out like the original picture. The base is a sugar cookie. After you bake it, you top with marshmellows, m & m's and pastel jelly beans. Personally, I would leave off the jelly beans next time and add extra m & m's (jelly beans are pretty chewy).

See what Amy got for her birthday! Just what every 13 year old needs.....NOT. this is my cousins car and all the kids took a turn "driving".

Fun at Granny's

OK, it is now late Saturday afternoon and since Wed. I have managed to go to JoAnn's 3 times. Yep, I've had my fix now. I really need a JoAnn's in Miss. but there isn't one. Its very sad.

Wed. night after Mom's birthday dinner, Ben, Bethany and Bobby spent the night with us. I had really forgotten what goofy conversations you can have with a 3 year old. Here are 2 of them.

Bobby: What is wrong with Katie
Me: She hurt her foot
Bobby: You mean her ankle
Me: Yes
Bobby: Let's just cut off her leg and then her foot won't hurt anymore (guess this was logical to him)

Katie went to the "indoor plumbing room"
Bobby: Where is she going
Me: to the bathroom
Bobby: Why did she close the door
Me: For privacy
Bobby: Is she going p---
Me: I don't know, she wants privacy
Bobby: Well, I don't want to see her p---
Me: She doesn't want you in there
Bobby: I only look at my p--- Then he went into a dialogue about colors.
Me: Lets change the subject.

We played outside for awhile and then Brenda came to get them. Will went home with them to spend the night and play with Ben.

Amy went to her friend Katie's house to spend then night with her and with MacKenzie (her very best GA friends since they were all 3 years old) Those nutty girls stayed up till after 5 am. And then only slept for about 3 hours. Ahhhhhh, to be young again!

After we picked up Amy and Will, we went to Mall of GA. The wheel chair came in very handy cause that place is huge. By the time we ate lunch at Chick Fil A, I was on sensory overload. The food court was soooooo loud. We were all ready to leave.

Greg and I had a date last night and went to Red Robin to eat. We had never been there before so it was a good place to try. Greg loved the onion rings, they were his favorite part of the dinner. We personally think that the burgers are better at Backyard Burger. The prices were pretty steep for us too. The 5 of us ate at Backyard Burger for $28, the 2 of us ate at Red Robin for $23. Don't think we will be repeating that anytime soon. There is another place here in GA that we like to eat a burger...5 Guys Burgers and Fries. Yummy! Don't remember the prices to compare, but they cook an awesome burger.

We are going to Mom's church in the morning for Easter service. This is the church I grew up in. Then my family will come over for a big Ham dinner and easter egg hunt.

I hope you all have a wonderful, blessed Resurrection Sunday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GA for spring break visit

Tuesday morning, Katie and I were at the surgeon's office bright and early...9AM, for staple removal. The dr's assistant (David) removed the 21 staples. The staples coming out didn't hurt but him touching the bruising on her foot and ankle did. The prognosis now is that the foot still cannot touch the ground for the next 4 weeks. Then more x-rays and a visit to the surgeon again. Then limited foot use for 6 weeks after that and then more x-rays and another dr. visit. After that, she may be able to walk with full weight on her foot.

She can remove the air cast a couple of times a day and exercise her foot and wiggle her toes. But then it goes back on.

Since we have about 10 weeks of not using the foot, we decided to invest in a wheel chair. She can walk great with the crutches, but not for very far. Instead of running in and out of a store and looking for their wheel chairs, we bought one at Harbor Freight (They sell almost everything). Katie thanked Dad for buying her one and she and Amy took off when we got to JoAnn's to do their own shopping and looking.

Yep, I've been to JoAnn's once (yesterday) and I am going back today. Yesterday, we bought the girls stuff for their quilting class and I bought some material to learn how to hand quilt also. Today, I am going back to get some stuff for the girls that I saw yesterday and want to put up for Christmas. I really like the fact that JoAnn's is 5 minutes away from Mom's house.

Last night we went out to eat with my sis and her family and my cousin Buzz for Mom's 70th birthday. We went to Macaroni Grill and had a yummy dinner. Mom got serenaded in Italian for her birthday dessert. Then back to the house for cake. Ben, Bethany and Bobby spent the night over here, to play with Will, Amy and Katie.

Gotta go...time to go to JoAnn's!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

fixing the Economy

I got an email with the following article....this guy in Florida has figured it out!

Subject: Recession Cure!

This was an article from the St. Petersburg Times Newspaper.

The Business Section asked readers for ideas on "How Would You Fix the

Economy?" I think this guy nailed it!

Dear Mr. President,

Patriotic retirement:

There are about 40 million people over 50 in the work force - Pay them

$1 million apiece severance with the following stipulations:

1) They leave their jobs. Forty million job openings - Unemployment

fixed.

2) They buy NEW American cars. Forty million cars ordered - Auto

Industry fixed.

3) They either buy a house or pay off their mortgage - Housing Crisis

fixed. It can't get any easier than that!

P.S. - If more money is needed, have everyone on Capitol Hill pay their

taxes...

Sounds like it would work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The weekend

Boy, Friday was a long time ago...

Saturday, Greg and I and the kiddies ran some errands and ate lunch at Backyard Burger, super yummy. I went to Penneys and exchanged a shirt. We went to Lowe's and bought 2 leyland cypress trees and 2 peach trees and a bunch of mulch. The peach trees are planted but the cypress are going to live in their plastic buckets till we get back from Georgia. I also planted 2 of my square foot gardening containers with green beans. We went to Hobby Lobby and bought some stuff and then went home to work outside.

Sunday was our morning to bring breakfast to Sunday School and then Greg did the power point for the 2nd service. He and I went back to Penneys and I got a skirt and top (for Easter) and 2 pairs of capri pants....yeah, Mom has something new to wear. Last night we ate popcorn shrimp (Seapak frozen shrimp), tater tots and cole slaw. (Hey Sabrina, take your moms dressing for the broccoli salad and put it over the bagged cole slaw and let it sit an hour or so, that is very yummy. Close to KFC) We were all set to watch Amazing Race when what to our wondering eyes should appear, the country music awards. So we ended up watching food network challenges and Iron Chef. So cakes and chocolate, did make for some sweet dreams.

This morning started the girls new Quilting Class with our 4H group. I think there were 9 girls. they all had fun and really got some work done. They are hand quilting a small piece (maybe 14" x 18") to make either a doll quilt or something similar. Then they are making a pillow top from fabric yo yo's. We had been taking a sewing class from another lady but her classes were more off then on. She has since moved to help her daughter and we now have 3 unfinished projects and no directions for finishing them. That was very frustrating. Anyway, they have a different class now and hopefully will be great. The new girl wants them to work and accomplish stuff, not get discouraged and want to give up. When you only have a class once a month, it takes forever for a project to be completed.

Tomorrow will be a very busy day....9 am will find Katie and I at the dr. for staple removal. 1:30 will find Greg and I at the dr. for him to have a small mole removed. Then the 5 of us are hitting the road and driving to GA. Mom's birthday is Wed. and Amy's is Easter Sunday. We will get to visit friends, go to JoAnns, see family, go to JoAnn's, celebrate Easter, and go to JoAnn's (got alot of coupons).

We are almost packed. Well, the kids are packed and I am not. Gotta get the laundry done first!

Something that amazed me

Let me start this post by saying...I love to go out to eat. I like to go to a restaurant, be seated, have someone wait on me, serve me dinner and then clean up. I just get to sit there and eat and enjoy the company (preferrably my dear hubbie).

But I overheard something the other night that amazed me...I was sitting outside the youth room at the church waiting on the kids. A man and a lady were talking about dinner at home and eating out. In the conversation the guy said, that at his house they went out to eat 3-4 times a week, every week. It was cheaper to go out to eat than to buy everything and cook and eat at home...WHAT? And the lady agreed with him and said thats what they did at her house too. It is so much cheaper to eat at home than out. His wife and her husband have been deceived about the price of groceries, if they are buying those fabrications of the truth. When I was telling Greg about the conversation his comments were...if they have to go buy the stove and pots and pans and every spice before they can even begin, then yeah, its cheaper to go out to eat.

He has decided to keep up with how many folks we feed at each meal for the next month. Whether at home or out to eat and compare. Now, since we have a grocery budget and a going out to eat budget, this should be relatively simple.

Last night, I fixed spaghetti and garlic bread and iced tea. It cost about $7 for this dinner, this includes the cost of my organic tomato sauce and organic Trader Joes spaghetti noodles. We fed the 5 of us plus Allen and a friend of his. So, about $1 a person. I also had 4 lunch size containers of leftovers to freeze and Greg took spaghetti and garlic bread for lunch today. Compare that to a spaghetti dinner out...at least $8 per person and add the cost of the tea. Which is cheaper?

I was just amazed at the justification of going out to eat. I don't need an excuse to go and I don't need to make excuses about why we go out to eat. Everyone is different and every household operates differently. Reading some blogs, I know some people never go out to eat. That is not for me. And many people go out many times a week, haven't figured out how they can afford that every month. Especially for a family.

To me, eating out frequently makes a whole lot more sense for a single person or a single-again person (I really hate that W---w word). Making an entire balanced meal everynight for just one person would make me want to eat out more often. Yes, it would be cheaper to eat at home, but if you are in that situation, you just may need to be around people. It can be lonely to sit at home by yourself, night after night.

I love to cook and feed my family. I am one of those weird folks, who likes to grocery shop. I love finding bargains and stretching the food budget. I like knowing that the food my family eats is nutritious and yummy. I like teaching my children how to cook. I love to try new recipes (especially if they turn out really good). I love to open my cabinets, freezer and refrigerator and seeing them full of great ingredients for our meals.

On the other hand, I love to go out. My favorite meal to eat out is breakfast. Super yummy! IHOP & Cracker Barrel are my breakfast restaurants of choice (as long as the eggs aren't runny). Unfortunately (or fortunately), neither are close to our house. So, going there is a real treat!

OK, enough rambling about food...I am getting hungry!

I saw Greg has been playing with the blog...did you notice the Countdown to Retirement box. Do ya think he is getting excited?