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IT CAN'T BE TRUE.........

Tomorrow is a day that will live in infamy. No, it's not Pearl Harbor Day, that's in six more days.

My oldest child will be turning 13 years old. THIRTEEN????? Where did all the time go? What have I accomplished with him?? I thought there'd be more time......


My sweet little lumpkin has very quickly and right before my very eyes turned into a handsome,sweet young man.



I'm not sure what I did to deserve him. He is a wonderful guy. He is very helpful to me and is always concerned about my health and welfare. He's not really a lovey dovey type child anymore (boo hoo for me), but he has a fantastic sense of humor and his laugh is like sunshine to me.

He loves Jesus and is growing every day in his walk with Him. And I couldn't be more pleased with the young man he is becoming.

So, here's to you son, mama loves you sooooooooooo much. Keep on walking in grace and trusting God for your direction.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!

I'm a Marilyn........

Your result for Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz...

You Are a Marilyn!

You are a Marilyn -- "I am affectionate and skeptical."

Marilyns are responsible, trustworthy, and value loyalty to family, friends, groups, and causes. Their personalities range broadly from reserved and timid to outspoken and confrontative.

How to Get Along with Me

• * Be direct and clear
• * Listen to me carefully
• * Don't judge me for my anxiety
• * Work things through with me
• * Reassure me that everything is OK between us
• * Laugh and make jokes with me
• * Gently push me toward new experiences
• * Try not to overreact to my overreacting.

What I Like About Being a Marilyn

• * being committed and faithful to family and friends
• * being responsible and hardworking
• * being compassionate toward others
• * having intellect and wit
• * being a nonconformist
• * confronting danger bravely
• * being direct and assertive

What's Hard About Being a Marilyn

• * the constant push and pull involved in trying to make up my mind
• * procrastinating because of fear of failure; having little confidence in myself
• * fearing being abandoned or taken advantage of
• * exhausting myself by worrying and scanning for danger
• * wishing I had a rule book at work so I could do everything right
• * being too critical of myself when I haven't lived up to my expectations

Marilyns as Children Often

• * are friendly, likable, and dependable, and/or sarcastic, bossy, and stubborn
• * are anxious and hypervigilant; anticipate danger
• * form a team of "us against them" with a best friend or parent
• * look to groups or authorities to protect them and/or question authority and rebel
• * are neglected or abused, come from unpredictable or alcoholic families, and/or take on the fearfulness of an overly anxious parent

Marilyns as Parents

• * are often loving, nurturing, and have a strong sense of duty
• * are sometimes reluctant to give their children independence
• * worry more than most that their children will get hurt
• * sometimes have trouble saying no and setting boundaries

Take Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz at

Happy Thanksgiving Y'all

Hope all of you had a great day. Can't wait to hear your wonderful stories tomorrow.

Blessings to all.

We're baaaaaaaaaacccccckkkkkk.......

Hello everyone, we are back from a super long road trip to the playoffs and unfortunately, our bid ends here. But man, what a season this team had. And I learned an incredible amount about football. I learned that 39 degrees is way too F R E A K I N G cold to be out watching a football game. That 39 degrees will make your hands hurt if you clap them. That hot chocolate is named "hot" chocolate for a reason. It tastes much better when it's HOT.

Here we are: Me, my MIL, and my auntie M all bundled up and enjoying the weather.

I was wearing two pairs of gloves here and my hands were still freezing. It's okay though. Good family times, huh? My daughter was exhausted from the trip and climbed up in Uncle Mike's lap and promptly fell asleep under a blanket. Poor Uncle Mike, no more cheering for him.

Who else out there didn't get to see Twilight?

We're heading to the first round of playoffs......

I cannot believe that I am going to ride in a car for 6 hours, then sit in freezing weather for two and half more, simply because our town's high school football team is going to the playoffs. WOO HOO!!!!! I have never been to a playoff game, cause until we moved here, I never really cared a durn for it. Now look at my bad self......

I wasn't gonna go but Uncle Mike says that the games are no fun when I'm not there. (See I did miss some games). He said no one else is quite as enthusiastic a fan as I am...(what he really means is no one else will make an utter fool of themselves like I will).

But, it keeps me off the streets, and out of trouble with everyone but my DH,so it's off we go.

Pray for traveling grace for the team and all the local fans who will be making that long trek. Pray for health and safety for the players as they endeavor to advance once again and pray for the big W I N. YAY!!!!

Y'all have a great weekend. I will try to remember to bring my camera so I can post some pics on Monday.

Happy Monday

Happy Monday to everyone. It is cold here this week and I am so glad. I know a lot of people hate cold weather (my DH being one of them), but you know, fat girls can put on more clothes than they can take off and not get arrested for it.

I started my week with a phone conversation with Melissa and I am in such a good mood now. I missed her while she was on blog hiatus. Now she's back. And I'm. SO. GLAD.

I get all jealous when she tells me she talked to Kori and Lula on the phone. BUT, then I talked to her too, so she loves me too. YAY.

I hope everyone has a great week and sends me some comment love this week. I could really use it.

It's a Twilight Contest to end all contests.......right?

Hey, Kat over at Sunshine and Lemonade is having a super fantastic contest right now. It ends this Friday, so skitch on over there and enter.

This contest is for the ultimate Twilight Fan Pack.......and it's got some goodies in it...including a signed companion book. Signed by LULA..........aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Check this out:

Oh, my friends this is not all. There are at least three other things that come with this prize.

Hope on over and check it out. Tell Kat, Ouisa sent ya'

Have a great weekend.

Some folks are just so talented........





Hey y'all. Just check out this beautiful quilt....




You, you..... could win one of three quilts this fantastic contest is giving away. Just click the red barn co. button on my sidebar and it will take you there. But, hurry. Contest ends soon.

Thank you........

Thank you to all our veterans and current service personnel. Thank you for your willingness to serve this country to keep us enjoying the freedoms of being Americans. Thank your families for their sacrifices while you serve us.
I don't care what your view on war is or conflicts, these brave men and women serve day in and day out so you can enjoy the freedoms that you have. So let's give it up for all our veteran's this day and every day.
If you see a veteran, stop, shake their hand, tell them thank you. Give them a hug. Let them know that you appreciate what they have done or are doing for you.

And always remember, "Freedom is not free. They are out there paying the price".

I will be taking my children to a Veteran's Day parade in just a little while and it will be my privilege to stand and salute and shout thanks to these wonderfully brave soldiers.

How will you pass on the legacy of thanks?

It's Sunday.......

It's Sunday morning and a time for worship and relaxation and to reflect on a week that God has given us. I need to learn to do this whole heartedly. But.....

I get so caught up in "troubles" during the week that I am often guilty of not seeking His favor or advice. So caught up in getting my human feelings out of the way that I don't see the lessons that He is trying to teach me or those around me.
I am a grown woman and should act like one. Sometimes I don't. I have a hard time corralling this sharp tongue that I have. My DH is often the recipient of my lashing out about something I feel is unjust or just plain mean.
This weekend, our town's high school football team won a game and a spot in the first round of playoffs. YAY for them. We all had a great time at the football game. It was especially cool because my SIL and BIL and their kids were able to make the 2nd half of the game. (This gives me something really cool to look forward to next year when they are finally here).
My DH's cousins have lived here all along and their children are quite close to each other. So the two little girls plan to sleepover at one house and they plan it right in front of my daughter. And they don't include her. She wants to be with them and play and have sleepovers as well, but time and time again, they plan things and don't include her. Now, if you don't like me, that's fine. I could care less, but when you make my 6 year old cry because you don't include her, it ruffles my mother feathers. This is not the first time they have done this. And one little one in particular seems to take great pains to make sure my daughter knows that she is not included. Like, we are going to go do so and so and you're not going. That makes me so angry I can hardly see straight. So, what am I supposed to do? We told our daughter that she should not rely on them to be her friends. That she is a beautiful outgoing girl with lots of friendship to offer to folks who want to be her friend. And she can stand on her own. She doesn't need anyone to help her or stand up with her. She is stronger than both of them put together. But it still makes me mad when it makes her cry.
Okay all you veteran mommies out there. Give me some advice. I need it. Pray for me to find forgiveness for these people in my heart so it doesn't demolish the family feeling on this farm.

I'm Just sayin'

My two oldest children had field day at school today. I know that it has been a while since I was in middle school and had a field day and all that, but field days have changed dramatically since I was there.

We ran relay races, jump rope stations, water in spoon contests, just a variety of simple little things. And the ribbons were so pretty. And anyone who wanted to participate, could.

I went to volunteer today at the middle school (trust me, if I had known it was field day, I would have called in sick). Those games were something to behold. They had a couple of really cool foot races, the 100 yard dash, the 4 x 100 relay race. Then they broke out doing a trifecta or something, the kids had to jump over four hurdles and then slide under a barricade on a slip and slide, then do an over and under exercise on hurdles; then they had to do dizzy bat and sit on water balloons until they burst and then jump into a 30 gallon garbage can filled with ice water to retrieve something from the bottom. And they had tricycle races and boogie board contests, etc. WOW!!!! And a tug of war and to top it off, the kids who got wet didn't know they were participating in the events they were in, so they didn't bring any dry clothes to change into, what's up with that?

The kids had a fantastic time and I did too. It is so nice to live in a community that is so supportive of its schools. After all, it's all about them, right?

I K.N.E.W IT

Y'all have got to bust on over to www.reallybadhairday.blogspot.com

and read Melissa's blog for today. And I stinking knew, I stinking K.N.E.W.

that she was gonna be able to sing like an angel. Anyone who is as beautiful and

as funny as her had to be able to sing like that.

Y'all go on over now and listen to that wonderful song she has sung just for us

blogger girls. You will not be sorry. AND better than that, you will be blessed

by her.

Love me some Remi singing into a hairbrush.

Love me some Melissa uplifting me this morning.

Love me some Radtke family.

I'm just saying. God is good. All the time.

No brain cells left.....

Last night, the night AFTER Halloween, this family that I have moved into had a big ole SCARY haunted walk.
Now, you all know that I don't like being scared. I don't dig the whole heart racing, screaming, pee in my pants kind of thing. I just don't. I can be scared by the smallest of things and scream like a banshee at the drop of a hat. Apparently, this is amusing to this bunch. They are sick and twisted to get this much enjoyment from scaring the crap out of people.

They have been salivating for weeks over the fact that they are going to scare the crap out of people. And they are not discriminatory in that. They are equally excited about scaring small children or old people, even teenagers. And they have planned and plotted and in excruciating detail came up with something to scare the bejeebers out of about 150 people who showed up for this shindig.

I was adamant that I was not going to go down this trail. I was not. Then I finally relented to go because the small children didn't seem that frightened and if they could do it, then so could I.

Well, I had other concerns besides being scared, because of my RA, walking a long distance is pretty painful to me. As it was, I had to sit down on a hay bale by the freaking scarecrow, who by the way, was alive!!! And that hay cannot be reused, because I had peed my pants when the reaper snuck up on me before the silly string wrapped around my legs. A giant psycho clown came out of a jack in the box (he was wicked looking) when you pinged off of that, a horrible man came after you with a chainsaw. The cavemen were kind of freaky and then I almost tripped over a log trying to get away from the stinking aliens and their super cool, funky, light up UFO. The poor cowboy lying on the ground told us to watch out for the indians, but did we believe him? Oh no, we kept on walking and the indians got us, too. This doesn't take into account the girl who wanted us to join her at her wedding (uh, the groom was dead, sweetie, don't think you're gonna get much out of him). The spiders and bats and coffins and two way mirrors and all the other little things just added up to one spine tingling adventure. Whew, we're lucky we all made it out alive.

The work and creativity and imagination that went into that trail, was really appreciated. They did an excellent job. My DH is the one who hacked the trail through the woods. Good job, honey! And the cousins and my MIL set it up wonderfully. I'm sure that it will be the talk of the town for some time to come.

Hope you all are in good health and enjoying this beautiful season.