Happy birthday, Kathleen!

So now I am the mother of four teenagers. Kathleen turned 13 today. She has been anticipating teenhood for years now, and finally she is one! Congratulations, Kathleen! I'm so proud of you! You are an amazing, talented, beautiful young lady. May God bless you and always keep you close to Him.

We finished off our spring break with a bang. Keith's friend, Carol Bell, finally succumbed to cancer on Wednesday after a three and a half year battle. She wasn't even supposed to have made it that long, but she celebrated her 70th birthday with God's grace. Keith went over often to her apartment in Atlanta to get her over to doctor's appointments or to run errands. They forged a strong friendship during that time. Her body was shipped back to California where most of her family lives. She is survived by her daughter, sister and mother. Keith will go later this week to honor two people who have died, Carol's memorial on Thursday and then on the Seattle to support his mother as the family spreads the ashes of his Aunt Velda.

On Thursday, I took Keri Lynn to Georgia College and State University, in Milledgville, GA. It is a gorgeous campus. Keith was supposed to go with us, but with recent developments, couldn't make it. So it became a mother/daughter event. I decided that I definitely want to go to GCSU. Free wi-fi, cable, gym, pool, well-stocked cafeteria, library and computer labs. I could really get used to living on campus! Everywhere we looked, students were out and about with laptops and cell phones, doing what young people do these days -- stay attached to the hip/ear with some kind of electronic device. But while I wait to figure out the logistics of attending a college 2 1/2 hours away, I'll let Keri Lynn go there!

Earlier in the week, Keith took Keri Lynn shopping for a mini laptop. It will be perfect for college life, not too big to drag around, but easy on the family budget. Keith was in his element, dragging Keri Lynn all over Kingdom Come looking for the perfect computer. Now Keri Lynn can use it and not hog my computer all the time! Whoo-hoo!

On Friday, we celebrated Kathleen's birthday with a afternoon party full of candy, Little Cesar's pizza, cake and ice cream. She sent out 33 invitations, knowing that most people wouldn't be able to make it over spring break. I was still a little worried, though, and didn't actually end up ordering pizza until the party was well underway! She had 10 guests after all was said and done, so that was a pretty good ratio on a holiday weekend! We ended the party just before bad weather came surging in -- wind, lightening and hail and rain. It was a lot of fun. Keith and Keri Lynn went to switch out cars during the hail storm, but by the time the newer model truck was in the garage, the hail had stopped! We had a short tornado watch, but decided that most of the activity was a few miles east of us, so we stayed in the family room keeping watch over storm patterns on the news stations.

On Saturday, we had Kent and Kradan over for a visit. It's always a lot of fun to see them. They brought lunch and we provided dinner, and we all played cards and talked and laughed. It's weird, though, having kids give us adults a run for our money with whatever games we're playing. It wasn't too long ago that we were playing "sympathy" rounds, where we'd let a kid win. Now it's every man for himself! And it's a little disconcerting to be beat by a 10-year-old!

Easter morning, we all were scrambling around to find at least a few clean clothes. (The laundry continues to multiply itself in the laundry room hallway . . . ) Then we were off to church. The music was so beautiful. I was so moved by one hymn in particular. I just cried and cried as we sang.

Later on that afternoon, I took a three hour nap, in anticipation of joining the working world on Monday morning. Sure enough, my alarm clock went off at 6:20 this morning. How RUDE! I think we only have about six more weeks to go before the end of school, though.  

I'm in the process of posting pictures on facebook, so if you're not on it already, then please join -- It's the right thing to do! And you can see pictures!

Spring, O Spring, wherefore art thou, Spring?!?

The kids and I are enjoying a relaxing spring break this week. I've got a hundred things that I'd like to do, but as the week marches on, I'm having to mix a little reality into my wish list.

Yesterday, I took Kathleen and Kylie out for a little girl time. We went out to lunch at El Charro, mostly to satisfy my need for some fajita nachos. Then we went in search of bags from three local grocery stores for Kylie's science project. We are doing an experiment on which bag is strongest: Publix, Kroger or Wal-Mart. (I will not take the time at this moment to complain about school work that requires more parental involvement than student involvement. No, I won't.) While at Wal-Mart, we got Kylie a tri-fold and a notebook for her science project, and Kathleen got some stuff for her 13th birthday party coming on this Friday.

While we were out and about, Keith took Keri Lynn to about 100 different electronics stores looking for the perfect college laptop. They found one for a very good price, along with a printer for an even better price, and a few other "necessary" gadgets to go with it. We think of it as a little celebration of Keri Lynn's acceptance to Georgia College and State University (to be referred to as GCSU from now on because it's a mouthful.) We're very proud of her. She's itching to get started in her new college life with only seven weeks of high school left.

The biggest factor in choosing her school was that it has an excellent Christian base of students. We've heard better things coming out of that student body than we've heard from the myriad of Christian colleges here in Georgia despite it being a secular liberal arts college. So be praying, if you are a prayer, that God will continue to keep His hand on her, that she will continue listening to His voice. These are exciting times and we are enjoying watching her fly!

Today, I took the boys out. We had a huge debate about where we should go for lunch. Kade really wanted Chick-fil-A, and apparently so did his imaginary friend Bob, but Kristofer and Konner wanted to go to a little Chinese place where they charge a dollar per scoop. So even though the vote was two to two, we went with Chinese. (I'm still suffering from that choice, but that's another matter.) Then, we went to Game Stop to use the balance of Kristofer's credit on his Game Stop card. He's still playing his game as I type.

I really need to get going on paying some bills and doing a little clean-up because Kathleen's party looms, but it's so much more fun to play on the computer then it is to dust and vacuum!

I was going to take all the kids to the park for a little fresh air today, but the temperature has been hovering around 40. Um, so NO! We'll stay inside, thankyouverymuch. We even had some snow flurries. Brrrrrrrr! What happened to spring? I'd even be willing to brave the pollen again for a little warmth! I've been having a time with allergy medications as I try to find what works for me. I tried Zyrtec, but that stuff made me feel like the lead role in Night of the Living Dead. I could not keep my eyes open -- not such a good thing when driving. Now I've got my hot little hands on some Allegra, so I'll see how that works. Drugs are good!

Some of these are true!

Just for fun, Google your first name, "_______ needs" and write down the first 20 things that come up. I googled "Jackie needs" and got these . . .

1) Jackie needs help does not have any contacts at this time.

2) Jackie needs a dose of real-world reality.

3) Jackie needs a Drink Birthday.

4) Jackie needs a Friend.

5) Jackie needs a reality check!

6) Jackie needs a loving home.

7) Jackie needs you.

8) Jackie needs to get a personality.

9) Jackie needs a boyfriend.

10) Jackie needs a Red Bull.

11) Jackie needs rescuing, but I took pictures instead.

12) Jackie needs a running friend . . . Jackie is available and loves to run and play!

13) Jackie needs 1,000 visitors by day's end.

14) Jackie needs boost.

15) A special plea: Jackie needs our help!

16) Jackie needs attention!

17) Jackie says that she doesn’t know boundaries, but Briana points out that Jackie needs to also start taking responsibilities for her own ...

18) Why Jackie Needs YOUR Help. On October first of 2004 Jackie fell at work at Wal-Mart, over a dust mop someone left laying in an aisle. ...

19) Jackie needs a home environment that can provide her abundant structure, predictability and security.

20) Jackie's grandfather(Fredrick)has been kidnapped and Jackie needs to get him back.

So there you have it!