Father's Day

The Daddy with the dramatic one
The Daddy with the youngest one
The Daddy with the athletic one
I just loved this card . . . Look, it's for the #1 Dad, and all the rest are behind him, Dad #32 and Dad #8.
The Daddy gets a big kick out of it.
Opening the gift
The Daddy gets a bunch of snacks that he thoroughly is enjoying this week
The Daddy with the huggy one
We take a moment to stop and admire Kylie's haircut. She wanted a bob with that smushed-up look in the back. So I attempted it! And I think it pretty much worked.
Side view
The important thing is that she LOVES it and brushes her hair every ten minutes to make sure she looks good.
The Daddy with the techy one
The Daddy with the hungry one
Here's the oldest one. Sigh.
And here they are together. So precious to the Daddy.
Happy Father's Day! We love you!

Father's Day = Mother's Day?

Keith just got word that he'll be able to join us for our trip to California after all! He's gotten the week off. He may not be able to stay the full week because he needs to insure that he gets back before he starts work again.

We had a very nice Father's Day. For weeks, Keith has been complaining about the inequity of Father's Day when compared to Mother's Day. So I asked the kids what we should do to make this Father's Day extra special for Daddy. They shrugged, said they didn't know and went back to whatever they were doing.

Kidding. Totally kidding!

Regardless of how Father's Day actually panned out for Keith, I did get some great pictures, and that's all that really matters in the long run.

On a more serious note, I am so grateful for my husband and the father of my kids. He is the anchor and rudder of our family. This is true only because he is a godly man who himself is under the authority of The Anchor and The Rudder.

Right after Father's Day, we plunged into the craziness that is Vacation Bible School. We've already finished our second day, mornings, 8:30 to noon. I'm not exhausted like I've been previous years because it's just me and Keva hanging out. I've been taking my crochet projects with me, along with a book and a notebook to keep me entertained. Kristofer is helping with the tech stuff -- sound, lighting, video, etc. Keri Lynn is helping with the two-year-olds and Kathleen is helping with the four-year-olds. Everyone else is actually IN VBS. We've got a new high of over 400 kids attending this year. That's a lot of energy!

California, here we come!

We've finally nailed down a week for our whirlwind trip to California! We're very excited. It's been a while since our last trip. We'll be staying primarily with Mom and Rich. And we need a car! So if there are any readers out there in the So. Cal. area with an "extra" car that they wouldn't mind giving up for a week -- let us know! And if anyone wants to take us out for a meal, let us know! Or go with us to the beach, let us know!

Mooch, mooch, mooch.

Anyway, here are the dates. Mark your calendar! We'll attempt to arrive in California on Tuesday, June 24 and stay through Tuesday, July 1.

Here's a list of some things (not in particular order) that we're interested in doing with family and friends:

1) Beach, of course
2) Pollo Inka (This is mine!)
3) Park dates
4) Journey of Faith (our old church -- which sounds funny because it's not OLD)
5) My Grandma's place
6) Some kind of girls' night out somewhere!

Keith surprised me last night by saying that he was going to try to get some time off to go with us to California after all. It still is a little up in the air, but we'd finally decided to just go, me and the kids, and he'd have to stay. He hasn't been to California since we moved, so he'd really like to go! We'll have to see what happens.

Meanwhile, Keith has been working in a swirl of details, as he learns his lead position at work. Delta has been trying a new training method with the leads and Keith's group are guinea pigs, in every sense of the word.

I paid $3.96 a gallon for gas yesterday and counted myself lucky. What are you all paying?

Lazy days of summer

We are at a time of transition as summer whirls around us like a feisty twister.

Keith has taken a lead position at work, the first step into management. This means that he gets a little increase in pay and a lot of extra hours. It also means that he's not stuck at the phone but can learn management skills in a big company. It's a good opportunity. He's saying good-bye to his four 10-hour days each week, though, and saying hello to working occasional weekend days. We're hoping that this will give him an opportunity to move up in the company and retain his seniority. If he had moved on to Delta Technology, as he was so very close to doing a few months ago, he would have lost his seniority and might not even have a job right now with the fluctuating air line industry.

I have just applied for a job at Delta myself as a reservations agent (like Keith), but working part-time from home. They are taking applications now. This may be something I can do in conjunction to substitute teaching. And something may open up at the beginning of the school year that will trump all of that, but I want to be prepared if it doesn't. In fact, having talked to some people in the know, it may be better for me to get my teacher's credential through a school rather than through an internship program (as I was planning) in order to get a continued higher rate of pay. Do I make everyone's head spin with all of my flapping-in-the-breeze job talk?

Keri Lynn and Kristofer are back from an 8-day choir tour through Georgia and the Carolinas. (I like saying "the Carolinas" -- It sounds familiar and homey.) They went to churches, juvenile detention centers and even a psychiatric ward to sing. I think they felt right at home at each of those places! They even spent one night at a monastery, getting up at 4:00 in the morning for vespers. What was so amazing about the monastery visit is that no one could talk or text or listen to I-pods for 10 straight hours! I can't imagine doing that myself, let alone see a group of high school kids accomplish that feat. They are exhausted from their trip, but it sure is nice to have the whole family back under one roof again.

Right before they left for tour, someone asked me if our house would be kind of quiet after they left.

I looked at him for several moments, "You do know I have five other children, right? And that the ones left are the noisy ones, right?"

Nevertheless, he proved to be right. The house WAS quieter with the big kids gone. Kathleen became The One in Charge, which she learned quickly isn't always all it's cracked up to be! One night, we all played card games together. It was fun to see the change in family dynamics with the younger kids moving up the ranks. We played until nearly 11:00 pm. Konner fell asleep on the recliner and the rest of us were a little punch silly.

Overall, summer vacation has had an interesting start. Since I am as yet jobless, I've been doing essentially two things:

1) I hang out with just Keva during the day while the rest of the kids do what they do during these beautiful summer days. They go off to play at friends' houses, swim in pools, go on their Slip-N-Slide, play in their sprinklers, eat their food, sleep over, and generally make themselves COMPLETELY at home. I get out my latest Netflix movie, maybe a crochet project, a book and make myself comfortable on the couch. And every 56 minutes or so, I go to the laundry room to put in a new load of laundry in a desperate attempt to get that back under control.

2) If I'm not at the couch, I am in front of the computer. But why, do you ask, don't you see any email from me or blog posts or any other form of communication? It is because I've discovered something very dangerous. It has taken over my life. I'd rather do this than do other exciting things like, say, laundry or dishes or meals. It's Pogo.com. Where I play Hearts. For hours. I've tried to reign it in, but I've not exactly shown good discipline.

The weather in Georgia has been very warm and mostly dry. It's been mostly 90 degree temps and an occasional thunderstorm in the afternoons to keep the humidity up. Kade has already had several bad sunburns. As a result, I'm getting better at reminding him to put on sunscreen when he goes off with a friend. Even Konner who usually just tans has gotten sunburned. I can't believe that we're already into our third week of summer vacation.

I've been trying to start a new habit with these warm long days of getting out on my walks a little before the sun goes down. The temperatures go down pretty fast and the sun isn't beating down mercilessly, and it's so pretty to walk in the twilight. I usually have the younger kids with me. Lately they've been collecting the little frogs that are everywhere. Kylie had fifteen of the poor things in an old discarded bottle. Keith brought in a much bigger one that had found a home in the garage -- and I can see with certainty that the small frogs are much cuter than the big ones. (Shudder.)

Speaking of walks, I will now attempt to get dinner done so that I can go on one tonight.

Summer Vacation in full swing

Today, Keri Lynn went to a softball game and when Keith brought her back, Keith and I took Keva to her teacher's wedding in a dinky town named Williamson. It was about an hour's drive. In between were a lot of trees and cow pastures. It just brought to mind just how rural it is around here. Newnan is downright metropolitan when compared to these little towns around it.

The wedding was beautiful. Keva didn't do anything embarrassing during the ceremony. The food was yummy complete with the little weenie dogs wrapped in crescent rolls. I can't think of any cake I like more than wedding cake. I got the most adorable picture of Keva with her teacher.

I can't believe that the first week of summer vacation has already flown right on by. Kathleen and Kylie have spent literally half the nights since school's been let out sleeping over at friends' houses. And we've taken kids to two birthday parties. Kade and Konner went to a friend's house today, and last week, Kylie went to a slumber birthday party. That's because it's BIRTHDAY BONANZA MONTH for the next couple of months.

Today is my twin nieces' birthday. So happy birthday to Christine and Danielle in California. Here's a big cyber space hug for the both of you.

{{ hug }}

Did you feel it?

Then, my niece Lola's birthday is next on the 2nd. Then, Keri Lynn's (cough,cough) 17th birthday on the 4th. Ginger King's birthday on the 5th. My beloved (however neglected friend) Cathy's birthday on the 6th. And then, we can't forget the anniversaries. The Kings' anniversary was on May 27. Then, Kirby and Natasha's anniversary was on the 29. And coming just around the corner is Mom and Rich's anniversary on June 12. This is all just in three short weeks. Congratulations to you all.

Speaking of congratulations, I also did just hear that my brother, Danny and his wife Jessica are expecting their first child. We're absolutely thrilled for them! It's times like these when we're glad that God created nine months of pregnancy just to get used to the fact that there's a little one coming into the world!

Keri Lynn has the nerve to go on choir tour over her birthday. So we'll be having a party for her when she returns. I'm not sure when exactly because on the weekend after she returns she's supposed to take the ACT -- the standardized test that will be submitted to colleges. No pressure. Absolutely no pressure. She's fine. We're. All. Very. Calm.

Keri Lynn and Kristofer leave for choir tour tomorrow. They'll be gone eight days and will be singing at youth detention centers across Georgia. The church web site posts some great pictures of youth trips on their web site First Baptist Church Newnan. It's always fun to see their progress throughout the week. This will be Keri Lynn's third choir tour and Kristofer's first. Next year, the music pastor is planning a choir tour to Japan! Every four years, the choir goes international. It will be Keri Lynn's senior year, too. A big deal!

The weather is starting to warm up as we edge toward summer. We've gotten a few thunderstorms, but mostly it's just been beautiful. We've had enough rain to take the edge off of drought woes. We still can't wash our cars in the driveway or let the kids play in the sprinklers on the grass, but -- thank God! -- we have quite a few neighbors with pools! The kids are already getting great tans and sun highlights in their hair!

The Kings' visit

When the Kings come for a visit, Ginny's arms are always full with gifts. This time, one of the gifts was Chicken Parmesan, cooked in both of our crock pots. It was so good that I've cooked it a dozen times at least since they've been gone. Here's Ginny in front of the crock pots. It lasted for two whole dinners for four adults and 11 kids.
Here are some of the kids playing Smash Brothers, I think, in the family room.
And what happens to the rest of the house when they're playing video games, you might ask? Well . . . .
Here's a sampling of the boys' room. Scary, isn't it. What is SO NICE about having older children these days is that I don't have to help clean up. They clean it up themselves! Yay for independence!
Ginny made the shawl that goes so well with her outfit. Isn't it nice! She liked the pattern so much that she made me a variation of it!
Here we are with our shawls. I love mine! I got it just in time for the last part of the cold season, and now (sadly) it's packed away until fall. I'll enjoy getting it back out again.
Ginny and Kerry -- who by the way -- are celebrating their 18th anniversary this week! Congratulations, y'all!
Here we are in our traditional Guest Pose at the Fireplace. : )

Easter Pageant

Kylie and Kade wait for their grand entrance to welcome Jesus!
Kade: "I'm excited."
Funny story alert: So Keith left his Bible at church a few weeks ago. I got a email from the church secretary saying that she thought my husband had left a Bible, but there was no name. She thought it might be ours. When Keith got it back, he said that yes, there had been a family picture in it, so they must have figured it was ours, but he wondered what they thought of his picture in "drag". He had one of the Easter pictures of him in his stage make-up getting ready for his part as one of the Magi coming to worship the baby Jesus. At least he didn't leave his Bible in a restaurant or somewhere else where the picture could have been understood out of context!
The King is about to eat his lunch!
Is he just not the cutest kid ever!
Kathleen takes her turn putting on stage make-up. She's a pro. She does this all the time at home, too.
My, what big eyes you have, Konner.
Keva had a blast during the Pageant preparations. While I helped put make-up on people, she sat in her chair behind the person I was working on and yanked on their hair and costume. Then, she'd giggle about it insanely.
Keva and Keri Lynn practice dancing.
The Sanctuary waiting for celebrations to begin
The Fellowship Hall where participants made ready
Here I am putting make-up on Keri Lynn
Some of the stories going around the tables were hilarious.
Breath-taking girl
Kristofer did the spotlight! (I know, I can't believe I don't have a picture of him!)
Chris Irish played Jesus again this year. He does such a good job . . .
. . . and the kids love him!

Just a regular day

Kody stands in front of the refrigerator ready to get a treat
The boys play video games on the TV. They'd be content playing this stuff 24/7. There's James, Kristofer's friend, standing on the left.

Kristofer takes some pictures on an early spring hike

The dog

The expressions of Kathleen

I have never been able to figure out how my kids can do this kind of thing. Here is Kathleen preparing to get rid of a loose tooth. Tying a string around the tooth . . .
Making sure it's secure . . .
Tying the other end to a door nob. EWWWWWWWW!

Merrily we paint along

Here is Keith with is able assistant Konner painting our dining room.
They are both so cute! I'm especially tickled with Konner's choice of clothes -- overalls.
Then we have our own Vanna White showcasing the next color choice for our guest bathroom.
Keith detailed the cabinets and closet door.
We carried the brown color through to the next hallway and up the stairwell

Paul Washer - Shocking Message (full length)

If you ever questioned your salvation, this message is vital to watch.

End of Year

I didn't take a job today in order to attend Kade's End of Year Awards Program. About 60 1st graders packed out the gym and parents swarmed in armed with cameras and camcorders. I was no exception.

Kade got certificates for P.E., Good Behavior, A/B Average and Perfect Attendance. I was very proud of him.

I'm not so proud of me, though. We've been so behind on the laundry, that he was wearing his jeans with big holes in his knees. At least his clothes were CLEAN, though, AND he was wearing socks! (Socks have been hard to come by lately!) I'm not sure if he got the breakfast off his face. And, the coup de grâce was his hair where it stood straight up in the back. Very becoming! Ack!

After the program, I came home and I've been working like a dog ever since to get caught up on my poor neglected house. I've followed my usual pattern when we've had company. I clean like a mad woman for the hours before company comes then, the second they're out the door, I collapse on the couch in a heap and don't look at a dirty dish or item of clothing for a solid couple of weeks! Well, now it's time to pay the piper and I'm getting us all caught up with things again.

Several kids have come up to me, "Have you seen any of my underwear lately?"

My usual response is, "Do you know how to use the washing machine?"

Summer is literally around the corner for us. The last day of school is Friday. I haven't the foggiest notion what I'll do for work for the next two months. And even if I do find a job, I still have got to figure out how to take care of little kids when big kids are away and how to get us to California for a visit.

Brainiacs

Next Friday is the last day of school. I've been working steadily for several weeks, mostly at the high school and more often in the advanced classes lately. Nearly every morning, though, I pass one of my special ed kids, the big guy who's graduating this year, and he trots on over to shake my hand with a most serious face. It's the sweetest thing! A stop-and-smell-the-roses moment.

Today I subbed in chemistry. Most of the students are serious brainiacs. One student was boiling a substance that crystallizes as soon as it is poured out onto a cool surface. He was doing it for fun. Another student showed me how he can fire up some kind of flammable stuff right on the chemistry table -- It burns so quickly that the table remains unharmed. He thought this was so cool to do that soon a dozen students had gathered around and put the solution around the entire perimeter of the table and lit it so that it burned bright enough to signal aircraft for help. Another thoughtful student thought that perhaps we'd better open up a window so that the carbon monoxide production wouldn't harm us. I really hope I don't get fired.

In another class, most of the students left for the senior picnic, so I played cards with the remaining students. Our fine educational system at work. I learned a new card game and was thoroughly trounced. We then played Hearts where I redeemed myself and trounced them. Now THAT was fun.

I left school a few hours early to go to Kathleen's Honors Program. She got a plaque 1) for getting all A's and B's (only two B's all year) 2) for perfect attendance and 3) for not getting sent to the Principal's office. Keith and I are very proud of her hard work. She had a rough start for the first six weeks or so, and then suddenly things kind of smoothed out and she's been sailing pretty smoothly ever since.

The Principal's office is a pretty busy place. I went there myself earlier to report three kids that had given me trouble. Earlier this week, I was in charge of 13 students who were not allowed to go outside to sign their yearbooks because they had either 1) failed their classes or 2) had too many trips to the Principal's office. I kept order by putting names on boards and then checks for anyone not doing their assignment. Three boys had trouble settling down, so I reported their names to the assistant principal. He took one look at my list and said, "I know these names very well."

"I bet you do."

With a glint in his eye, he said, "So, do you want their bruises to show or not?"

I smiled back, "I just want them to know that I mean what I say when I tell them they're coming to see you."

"All right. They'll get ISS tomorrow."

Doesn't ISS sound like some kind of gestapo/nazi thing? It stands for In School Suspension. When kids rack up ISS trips, they get into further trouble. I don't like to go that far, but I will if I need to.

On the home front, I'm terribly behind in my laundry once more. My plan to get the kids to help me with it has been failing miserably. Essentially laundry is being done on an emergency basis only. One load late at night with everyone's emergency supply all thrown in to one load, light and dark together. Hopefully Konner has remembered to put some of his socks into tonight's load that's running right this minute. He has the world's stinkiest fee!

Happy Mother's Day!

To my Grandmother who gave her life to the Lord in her 20's and because of it influenced the lives of generations after her
To my Mom who passed on to me a love for Scripture and song (Don't you love how we both can't seem to keep our eyes open for a picture!)
To my mother-in-law who brought up my husband to fear the Lord and to do laundry!

Team Hoyt - Redeemer

I sobbed while watching this incredible precious video. An incredible picture of the Father's love for us. Please watch!

The Substitute

I've been working every day this week, so I haven't had a lot of time to post anything, but I was thinking about some of the special memories of this first semester as a substitute teacher. Here are some mental clips that pop up in my brain:

1) Having a very large graduating senior special ed boy come up from behind while I was walking down the hall. He put his arm around me in greeting until we came to his class, then he waved a shy good-bye and went on his way.

2) The exclamation of a junior in American History, "You're my favorite sub! I don't know why, but you're my FAVORITE!"

3) Meeting up with kids at church that I've had in my class. The middle school kids look at me in awe and the high school kids pretend like they've never seen me before in their entire lives.

4) A whispered "We've got the kindergarten sub today." (This one I didn't like so much -- wondering if I sounded too "good morning, boys and girls!" to them last time I'd subbed.

5) Having a kid tell his teacher to be sure to get Mrs. J as a sub next time she was out.

6) Teacher's "Lounge" conversations about inside scoop happenings and being able to put in my two cents (because I've always got a little something to say!).

7) Sitting in on teachers' lectures to see how it's done or not done, whatever the case may be.

8) Students asking, "Got a riddle for us, Mrs. J?"

9) Other students saying, "Dude, that riddle was DUMB!" And me answering, "It's only dumb because YOU couldn't figure it out!"

10) Some very smart kids showing me on the board that .9 repeating is equal to 1 using algebra and then calculus. I still don't believe them!

11) Allowing chemistry students to tinker with liquids that made a penny dissolve. I just told them to PLEASE not make a black crater in the middle of the chemistry room. In retrospect, I think maybe I should have just said no seeing as I am NOT a chemistry type and would not have had a clue about what to do if anything went wrong.

12) The power of being able to give permission hundreds of young people to go to the bathroom. (Sad, I know.)

There are many more memories, some that I'd just as soon forget, but most that I appreciate. I like working with kids. Whether or not I'm cut out for a classroom remains to be seen. It's been a good experience to sub this year just to get an idea about how middle and high school works here in our county.

Adventures at the dentist

As I wrote in my last post, I took Konner to a dentist appointment. This is actually the first dentist we've seen since the last round of visits we made in California about two years ago. I have been dreading The Return to the Dentist.

Guess what! Konner has no cavities. It's rather unbelievable. He got his picture taken and put on the Board of Champions! He's very proud. He also brushed his teeth as soon as he got home from school today. So for another two days at least he should remain cavity free.

While we were at the dentist, I spotted a group of pictures in the examination room (or whatever you call that room with The Chair). In one of the pictures, I recognized the boy from yesterday's substitute teaching adventures that had gone against the crowd and told me about the correct assignment, the one who said that he had to do it because Someone was watching him.

So, I asked the hygienist who was working with Konner, "Who is the boy in that picture."

"Why, that's Max, my son."

"Well, let me tell you about your son!"

"Are you the substitute teacher he had in class yesterday? He told me about you. He said that you really liked him. Tell me what happened!"

She was thrilled to find out how he had conducted himself. She said she got goosebumps. Then I asked her if she and her family were Christians. She said that she was born and raised Catholic but that they rarely went to church. However, just lately they'd been going more, started attending a big Baptist church in the area. As it so happens, around Easter time, her son told her about how he had accepted Christ into his heart and how he had felt tingly all over when he'd done it. Again, she felt those goosebumps and I felt them right along with her. She's got three sons and a husband who does not care for spiritual things, but here her son was making a commitment to God. Obviously it was making an impact because there he was standing for what was right even when going against the grain.

I was so pleased to hear the follow up to Max and I hope to be able to continue hearing more about him. Please pray for this young man as he grows in his faith.

Riddle me this #6 (Dedicated to Kirby)

What is the next line?

1
11
21
1211
111221
312211

Ding - dong, the witch is dead!

All I can say this morning is that at least I didn't start off my day like Kristofer did yesterday. He woke up, took a shower, got dressed, took the dog out, attempted to wake up Konner to get him going to get ready to school, when he finally stopped and looked at his watch. It was 3:00 am. Yep. So he decided that he'd go back to bed!

The high schoolers are in the midst of End of Course tests. All this week, students take tests in their core classes. The ECTs count as 15% of their grade in that class, and if they don't pass they don't pass the class. No pressure! So in the midst of long senior play hours, Keri Lynn is taking her ECTs. Kristofer, too, but at least he's getting enough sleep each night.

I took Kathleen, Kylie, Kade and Konner to the play last night. It was the final performance. Yippee! Everyone did such a great job, but I'm SO GLAD IT'S OVER! REALLY GLAD!

I'm not working today so that I can take Konner to a dental appointment so that he doesn't end up being kicked out of school. I'm pretty sure most of my kids' teeth are ready to fall out of their mouths. It's time to get them back into some good dental care. I really miss our California dentist/orthodontist. That group was the best. We paid practically nothing for the work that they did. Even Keri Lynn's braces were really reasonable. We continued going to them even after we moved to Georgia while we were visiting friends and family! But now I need to get a little piece of paper signed saying that Konner has been to see a dentist here in Georgia in order for him to continue his education. Pesky school system. I need to get a dentist's okay for the rest of the kids, too, but the system hasn't caught up with them yet! It took two years for the system to figure out that Keva was going to a school out of her school district, so I'm not in a big rush other than wanting to make sure the kids don't lose all of their teeth.

Yesterday, I subbed at Kathleen's middle school. Language Arts. Gifted.

One class tried to snow me. The assignment was to read 10 pages out of the literature book and answer eight questions on page 223. They said, "Mrs. Johnson, there are no questions on page 223 or anywhere near page 223. Look! We can't do it. The teacher must have made a mistake!"

"Okay," I replied, "Go ahead and just read the pages. There's nothing that can be done about it, but at least you can read the information."

Finally, one of the boys got up and went over to the bookcase where there were a whole different series of literature books, "This is what we're supposed to be doing. Look, here's the story we've been reading, and here are the questions on page 223. I don't want to have to read all of those other pages. Besides, Someone's watching me. I can't say who in public school, but He's still watching me."

The other kids were so mad at him. One girl said, "Let's not talk to him today or tomorrow. No one say anything to him. Now we have to do all this work."

I spoke directly to him, "I am so impressed with your character. Even with the tide going against you, you still decided to do the right thing. It may be hard now. They may make fun of you and give you a hard time, but in the long run you're going to come out ahead because you've got integrity."

Then, I turned to the rest of the class, about 10 other kids, "Maybe you think that lying to a substitute is no big thing, but it is." I spoke a little bit more on standing up for what is right and then let them get back to the work at hand.

They spent the next 20 minutes in utter silence while they worked on their assignment.

I thought a lot about the incident Keri Lynn had experienced last semester when the whole class tried to cheat on an algebra quiz and how she refused to be a part of that. It's those who stand for what is right in the midst of what is wrong that can make serious change in this dark world.

When I got home, I told Kathleen about the incident. I asked her, "Would you be able to stand up for what is right in that situation."

She thought carefully and answered truthfully, "I don't know!"

This gave me an opportunity to prepare her a little bit more for the eventual opportunity to "walk the narrow road."

Making a prediction

I've been saying for several weeks now that I think David Cook is going to win American Idol . . . We're down to the last five!

Riddle me this #5

A doctor and a bus driver are both in love with the same woman, an attractive girl named Sarah. The bus driver had to go on a long bus trip that would last a week. Before he left, he gave Sarah seven apples. Why?

Special Ed

I worked in a special ed class today. I've been in this class before, so I know the kids' names and their basic dispositions by now. Such sweet kids, all of them. I'm particularly taken with a boy in a wheelchair, blind, cerebral palsy. He says a few words, but mostly he communicates with an open-mouthed smile for "yes" and a pouty lower lip for "no." He especially loves to read a series of Froggy books. He also makes his own froggy sounds. So as I've fed him, I've talked about how he has to eat for the froggies, too. He gets a big kick out of my jokes. Anyone willing to laugh at my weird sense of humor is all right with me!

I continue to seriously consider getting into special education. If there is an opening, there might be a chance that the school district would hire me as a special ed teacher in the fall AND pay for to get my Master's degree. That would be TOO COOL for words. It would be a lot of work for a few years, but I think it would be worth it. I couldn't work with severe/profound kids -- that's just too physical -- but other levels I'd consider. I also think that it's closely associated with my psychology degree with all of the behavioral and family issues involved. My heart is in counseling, but at this season of my life, I'd rather be more available for my kids, to be off when they're off.

Keri Lynn is up to her neck in play rehearsal. All this week, she's been at the high school from 5:00 to 10:00 pm, practicing for the senior play Wizard of Oz. I think she'll look back at it and be glad she put in the effort, but right now she's just tired! I can't blame her! I can't wait to see the play, though. It opens for four nights, starting Saturday. I've got to finagle a few free tickets so that the whole family can go see it, and I'm going to try to see it at least two or three times. The high school has a ton of really talented kids in drama. Keri Lynn is part of the ensemble. She goes on stage with her group four different times. The senior play is a big deal, so much so that the drama kids are considered pretty cool on campus rather than just the usual drama geeks.

Keva has learned how to turn door nobs. This was kind of a pain when she learned how to escape from her room, but now she knows how to also get out of the house entirely. We have to be careful to lock front and garage doors. Usually we're warned if she's going out because before she makes her escape, she enjoys opening the door and slamming it shut several times in a row. This is such fun . . . for her. Lately, she's been spending a lot more time in her room than not while we try to figure out the next best course of action.

When we had Kathleen's birthday party, Kathleen and her friend, and Kylie and I all worked on two three-layer cakes. We baked the cakes and frosted them carefully and then placed them carefully away out of reach, one in the microwave and one in the cabinet above the microwave, before we all went off on the scavenger hunt. Keri Lynn came home while we were on the scavenger hunt and took the cake that was in the microwave out so that she could actually cook something in the microwave for a snack.

I got a call on my cell phone while I was out with my team on the scavenger hunt.

"Mom, Keva got into the cake! I'm so sorry. I took it out of the microwave and forgot to put it back in!"

I could tell that Keri Lynn was close to tears.

"Don't worry! Fix it as best as you can. We have a second cake!"

It's a good thing we had a back-up because that first cake did not exactly look appetizing. Kathleen was a tad upset at first but eventually got over it and we all enjoyed that second cake for her party as well as the less aesthetically appealing cake for our own family for several days after that.

Can you believe that I'm STILL not caught up with laundry. This is very upsetting to me because I think when all was said and done that I did about 24 loads of laundry in a three day period. Now that we're all getting used to school schedules and my work schedule, I've been getting them to do more of their chores again. I started getting them to make their beds again and each morning, they scour the house for dirty clothes to bring down to the laundry room. I think there ought to be a law that once a body has done 1.2 million loads of laundry (which I'm SURE I've accomplished) that he/she should no longer have to do any more laundry after that. In fact, after the 1.2 million loads of laundry mark, I think the government should provide a free laundry service. Yep, I do. I think I'll contact my local representative (D).

Get on the laundry train

I have not been in the writing mood lately, but yet life keeps tramping through with no signs of slowing even a little bit.

Saturday, we had Kathleen's birthday party. She's usually on top of it for MONTHS before the event, but with a new school life thrown into the mix, she's been preoccupied. So, we kind of threw it together, like I'm known to do anyway, passed out a bunch of fliers to friends at school and church and the neighborhood, and hoped for the best. She had six friends show up, enough to have two teams of kids for an awesome scavenger hunt. We couldn't find a second driver, so I drove the van with one team, and Keith drove the truck with another. Kathleen even let Kade and Konner join in -- with a little arm twisting, that is. We drove all around Newnan taking wacky pictures. It was too fun.

While we were traipsing around Newnan, Keri Lynn was off at a French Competition with several of her fellow French students, representing her high school. She won a blue ribbon, half surprising herself in the process. I get such a big kick out of my kid speaking French. Everyone else in our family has taken Spanish, so I can help as needed, but Keri Lynn is on her own with French. Obviously she's doing well enough. She's definitely found her pace in school. She works really hard and would really rather go back to homeschool, but in the meantime she keeps racking up A's. She was in class one day and went up to the board to answer a question, along with two other really smart kids in class. Someone called out, "Great, all the brainiacs are at the board." It surprised her to be described that way, but I think she's starting to enjoy the fruits of her labor. Next month, she and her family are invited to Honors Night at her high school, since she's in the top five percent of her class. Keith and I are deciding whether we'll bring the whole clan or not.

The little kids and Kathleen are in the midst of the dreaded CRCTs. That's Georgia's standardized testing that apparently determines if students are going to continue on to the next grade, or at least that's what the teachers are telling the students. My theory is that it's really a way to scare the kids into doing their best on the test so that the county can look really good and get more money. Good test scores mean good schools. Good schools bring in better teachers. Better teachers mean better students. Good students mean good money. It seems like the whole year has been pointing to this very week. There are a myriad of activities surrounding the testing and the CRCTs even has it's own cheer. Good grief!

Meanwhile, I think there's something wrong with my phone because I haven't been getting calls to substitute this whole week. I'll go back to work tomorrow and Friday, but that's only because I'm working for a TA that arranged for me to work for her. Have I called the sub procurement office to find out if I have any problems? No. Have I done laundry instead? Yes. Have I been doing laundry non-stop from about 8:00 am to dinner time for two days straight? Yes. I figure that's about 20 loads since Monday morning. That's right. Twenty. Two - zero. I'm still not done. Have I gotten behind with laundry? Yes. If I complain to my husband about it, will he remind me that I'm not the only one who should be doing laundry? You better believe it! I've been enjoying it, though. Really. I've read two books. The TV has been off. The house has been so quiet. Kody just sits on the couch in a curled up ball waiting for his day to start at 3:00 pm when the first round of kids comes home. I figure if I keep going with the laundry, I'll actually be caught up by tonight!

Off to change another load . . .

Kathleen turns 12

For most of us, it's the Monday after spring break. It was HARD to get up this morning. Keith, however, has the week off for vacation, so he was still sleeping when I left for my substitute job.

This time I subbed for a teacher who went to go help his daughter after she was in a car wreck. She's fine, but evidently she's done this before because one of the students thought that maybe she should get her car taken away from her! A student teacher was in charge of the class, a 25-year-old guy, and I basically took attendance and observed. It got me to thinking that sometimes, maybe even a lot of times, experience as a mother and homeschool teacher, is valuable in the classroom setting. And I was reminded once again how closely related parenting and teaching are. For instance, if you threaten a consequence to an action, you carry it out . . . Just sayin'.

I've been forever telling myself that I need to have people over for dinner, maybe even once a week. We're a social bunch, but we let the week's activities, exhaustion and general laziness get the better of us. So yesterday, I bit the bullet and invited a neighbor family over for dinner. I cooked Ginny's Chicken Parmesan, that I enjoyed so much while the Kings were here. We ate and talked. The kids played together. It was nice to get that adult interaction.

Now I'm thinking, what we need is a game night or maybe a game afternoon. We invite whoever wants to come. Our house is set up for a lot of kid movement. Not a lot of breakables. Nothing that hasn't been chewed on or kicked "by accident". We could order pizza for whoever is there. People can bring snacks if they want. It just sounds like a lot of fun. And it sounds casual. I'm all about casual. Martha Stewart I am not.

We may or may not do the game night this Saturday. In the afternoon, we'll be having a digital picture scavenger hunt/birthday party for a certain member of the family.

I mention this last thing because I'm in denial. Kathleen has turned 12. That much closer to being our fourth teenager. I'm not happy about this at all. I'd just as soon wish that she, and the rest of the kids, would stop growing, but they don't listen. Instead, she turns 12, right on schedule. She continues to blossom into a beautiful young woman. She loves to work on masterpieces in the kitchen. She loves the dog and considers him mostly hers. She's got a lyrical heart spending a great deal of time writing poems and songs. She's graceful and lithe. She's always dancing and singing in the bathroom and often records these sessions using the video feature of our digital camera. She's getting "just a tad" boy crazy. She's a good student. Most importantly, she loves the Lord. I love to hear her sing to Him.

Happy birthday, Kathleen! Daddy and I are so proud of you and we love you very much!

The Lord's Prayer

I've been tagged

Jennifer over at Pen of Jen tagged me for this little meme.

The Rules:
1. Write your own six word memoir.
2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you want.
3. Link to the person that tagged you in your post and to the original post if possible so we can track it as it travels across the blogosphere.
4. Tag at least five more blogs with links.
5. Leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play

Here is Jennifer's Memoir, and you'll understand why she's such a great bloggy buddy:

Just a sinner saved by Blood

And here's mine:

She who fears the Lord




I'm tagging the following:



Holly at Beautiful Ancient Words
Kent at Bits of Oz
Julia at Julia's Inner Monologue
Mary at Mary Blaustone
Keri Lynn at Twilight Sky
Lisa at Our Seven Qtpies

You all see if you can come up with just a six word memoir. I dare you!

American Idol

I am an American Idol fan. It is my guilty pleasure. I even sat through the whole "We are the World" Idol Gives Back extravaganza. I sighed and squirmed through 2 1/2 hours of listening to how we all need to give, even just a little bit, to make a difference in the world. I was starting to get more and more aggravated as the show continued.

Have you thought about it? Do you see it? Here are all these famous actors, singers, comedians, politicians, sports legends, etc. urging us to give, to make a difference. We determine our destiny. We are each the captain of our own ship. Look how wonderful we are. We help orphan children with AIDS, we provide mosquito nets to protect the destitute from malaria, we provide childcare for the people of New Orleans. It is within our power, wonderful television audience, to save the world!

I was struck by the void. Did you feel it? God was not there. He had nothing to do with anything. It is humanity that must save itself. It is the way that the world thinks in this awful postmodern age.

So, when the Idol contestants started singing "Shout to the Lord" to close out the show, I perked up. I looked over at Kathleen, the only one remaining to watch with me after 2 1/2 hours of raising money, and we both couldn't believe that they were singing that song!

But something didn't sound quite right.

"They changed the words! I can't believe they changed the words!" I cried.

The first stanza is:

My Jesus, My Savior
Lord, there is none like You.
All of my days
I want to praise
The wonder of Your mighty love . . .

But they changed the "Jesus" to "Shepherd". Just like that, they managed to make the song politically correct, because now you could sing it and apply it to any god you wanted. Everyone would be happy. No would would be judging. No one would be intolerant. We'd all go to our beds that night happy that we'd just raised millions of dollars for charity.

I was fuming. I fussed. I squirmed. I threatened to boycott the show.

Tonight, to my surprise, in the American Idol results show, the contestants opened up the program with the same song! Only this time, the words were changed back to "My Jesus"! I couldn't believe my ears. I wondered who had stepped in and how much they had had to change of their original programming for the night to make that work.

Some day, the name of Jesus will get a lot more respect. Let us never forget who He is and what we are to Him. Without Him we are nothing . . .

Philippians 2:9-11

9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,

10 so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Another new blog

So I go away for the whole afternoon. I take Kristofer to a lady's house to do some yard work to earn money for this summer's choir tour. I run errands, get my hair trimmed, pick up a prescription, and stuff like that. I come home, and the husband has started his own blog.

Yep.

You can find him here at familyhaze. I'm still thinking about whether or not I'm going to add him to my blog roll. : )

Riddle me this #4

What's 100 feet in the air when its on its back?

Movies galore

I've been in recuperation for the last few days, having said good-bye to the Kings. Since we have spring break, we've been sleeping in and taking it easy. I have a few projects in mind, but can't quite seem to get the gumption to actually start them. Keith is working this week, poor slave boy, so at least someone in the family is doing something.

We've also had a nice round of Netflix movies. We got two DVDs of Christy, the miniseries that was on PAX (Remember Pax?) Those have been fun to watch, except that the writers took way too many liberties with the story line. It would have been such a better venture if they'd just stuck with the story. We also got Enchanted and LOVED it. Funny, funny, funny -- particularly if you've seen a lot of Disney movies, which we have. Highly recommended from this neck of the woods. Then, last night, because we're such Jane Austin fanatics, Keri Lynn, Kathleen and I watched the newest remake of Sense and Sensibility on Masterpiece Theater. (I always feel a little pretentious when I say I've watched Masterpiece Theater.) Anyway, I had to have the remote handy to change channels at a few unnecessarily steamy scenes, but over all it was a nice version of the story.

Anybody have any recommendations for favorite movies? We can get at least one more round of Netflix before the week is out.

To keep

Their marriage was good, their dreams focused. Their best friends lived barely a wave away. I can see them now, Dad in trousers, tee shirt and a hat and Mom in a house dress, lawn mower in one hand, and dish-towel in the other. It was the time for fixing things. A curtain rod, the kitchen radio, screen door, the oven door, the hem in a dress. Things we keep.

It was a way of life, and sometimes it made me crazy. All that re-fixing, eating, renewing, I wanted just once to be wasteful. Waste meant affluence. Throwing things away meant you knew there'd always be more.

But then my mother died, and on that clear summer's night, in the warmth of the hospital room, I was struck with the pain of learning that sometimes there isn't any more.

Sometimes, what we care about most gets all used up and goes away...never to return. So... While we have it... it's best we love it... And care for it.... And fix it when it's broken..... And heal it when it's sick.

This is true.... For marriage.... And old cars.... And children with bad report cards...... Dogs and cats with bad hips.... And aging parents.... And grandparents. We keep them because they are worth it, because we are worth it. Some things we keep. Like a best friend that moved away or a classmate we grew up with..

There are just some things that make life important, like people we know who are special.... And so, we keep them close!


This was sent to me by email. No author given. I wish I had written it.

Riddle me this #3

What is more powerful than God? More evil than the devil? Poor people have it. Rich people don't need it. And if you eat it, you'll die.

Click "comment" at the bottom of the post for the answer.

Wisteria Lane

I learned about Wisteria yesterday. The flower is a beautiful purple bloom, a vine that attaches to all kinds of things. At springtime, it's not only gorgeous, but it smells divine. Here in Atlanta, spring has finally arrived, with the pollen settling over everything in a big yellow layer, but the weather has been cold and dry and then hot and muggy. Today we had drizzle and now it's back to cold again. Last night, we had the air conditioner on upstairs. I took a jacket to work today while I subbed at the high school. In between classes, I was carrying it because it was too hot, and then, on the way to the parking lot to go home, I was bundling up in it. Weird. This is not California where the weather man just has a glory job.

I spent the beginning of the week cleaning for company. The Kings were expected late afternoon yesterday. The last big job I did was to mop like a mad woman, as if I'd never mopped before . . . Wait a minute, I hadn't mopped before! At least not with a regular mop, just a Swiffer, but sometimes a regular mop is just the ticket . . . Anyway, I mopped and mopped until toward the end all I had were Kody hairs that I simply could not get off of the mop. So the last half hour of mopping, all I did was spread Kody hairs around the floor.

Some days that dog is not on my good list.

The Kings came right after I had mopping and taken a much needed shower. You know it's bad when your seven-year-old boy sees you mopping and comments about how badly you're sweating. Seven-year-olds are usually oblivious to the way mommies look, particularly when mommies are doing housework.

So, of course, I got to bed too late last night, and today our family was at school or work and the King family went off to visit relatives about an hour away. Ginny cooked a crock pot meal that is happily simmering on the counter in, not one, but two crock pots. There's nothing quite as enjoyable as a dinner cooked by someone else! They'll be here through Sunday morning, so I'm cooking the next few meals. We'll have our famous Make Your Own Tacos, which is always a company hit, and then spaghetti, the meal that feeds the masses, considering we are a group of four adults and 11 children!

A few hours later . . . .

My tummy is happily digesting. Ginny made a Chicken Parmesan soupy-cheesy thing. It was very good. We had leftovers, so Ginny so sweetly suggested that maybe some neighbors would like some. I said, "NO! This is OUR food. We are not sharing!" That's how good it was. I'll post the recipe sometime soon.

We have one more day of school and then we'll have spring break. Yippee! Keith will be at work, unfortunately, but the rest of us will be soaking in some free air.