Happy Anniversary

Today is our 15th wedding anniversary. We had a wonderfully normal day of work and children. I made a beef Stroganoff recipe that has been in my possession for the last 15 years, but I never bothered to make before. It was DELICIOUS! Eliza made a slide show presentation for Paul and I as a gift, and Leah and Sarah made brownies for us. I love that our children are so capable now. We also had someone come and give us an estimate on replacing the windows in the old part of our home. Those will be a very expensive anniversary gift for Paul and I:)


The last 15 years have been every bit as wonderful as they have been challenging.

I love you Paul. I choose you.

Update

1. My class is going great so far. There is a lot to learn about the program itself. That is what we are focusing on right now. I feel like I am making it okay so far. I have been assigned to a Learning Team, and one of my peers lives in Japan! How cool is that!

2. Eliza had a bike accident today. She got scraped up a little, and she hit her head on the pavement. She had a massive headache at first. It got better throughout the day, but she went to bed with it still aching. No, I don't think she had a concussion. Her stomach never felt sick, and she didn't get dizzy or anything.

3. Luke told me yesterday, "Mom . . . I LOVE SCHOOL! Today we had Cheetos for snack." This week Luke learned to identify cylinders, spheres, cubes, cones and rectangular prisms. A couple of his older sisters couldn't identify the shapes as such, but Luke could. Watch out sisters!

4. Leah remembered which way to write her letter P on her spelling test, and she made a 100!

5. Friday the kids dressed up for spirit day at school. Since the school is small, even the elementary kids participate in school spirit stuff and pep rallies. This week the theme was "Accident Prone." My girls got really into it. They borrowed crutches, a sling and a wrist brace from my mother-in-law. The mother of one of Sarah's friends said that Sarah's fake bruises were pretty convincing. Sarah's grade won the spirit stick at the pep rally.

6. Paul continues to work hard. His employer has increased production! This is wonderful considering that in the last year half of the employees were laid off. They have also begun hiring people back. Paul also continues to play guitar everyday.

Quick note

Real quick  (I'm supposed to be studying) . . . 

Here are some photos of Eliza as the catcher. She found her new calling when her team's normal catcher didn't show up one game. She did great and has played in the position every game since.

In fairness, I should also share that Sarah has found a new position as well. Her coach has moved her to first base. I don't have any pictures to share though. Sorry Sarah.

Also . . .

1. I am finally caught up on my math for the first time this week. Hooray!

2. After promising to support me, my children are already rebelling and wishing mommy wasn't in school again.

3. Our great grandma Hazel is going to live in the nursing home come Monday morning. Sad, but very necessary. Eighty-nine-year-old great grandpa is even in agreement which says a lot about how bad the situation is.

4. I have the best husband in the world. He is really picking up my slack around the house.

5. Girl's Camp is next week, and my parents are coming from NC to care for my children while I'm gone. They ROCK!

6. What about my school work you may ask? Hmm. I still haven't figured that out entirely.

Accentuate the positive

In an effort to focus on the positive, I am not going to tell about how one of my children left the AUTOMATIC sliding door to the van open all night during a thunderstorm; about injuring my toe into a blackened state; about my dumping a liter of root beer into my knife block and behind my refrigerator; nor about the freshly cleaned van mats falling into a muddy puddle.

No. I won't do that. Instead, I will share that yesterday Luke and Leah played quietly with the Dora castle for over an hour. Sarah cleaned the children's bathroom without even being asked. Eliza folded three loads of laundry the first time I asked her. My husband put down his new guitar and mowed the lawn for me (it hurt to step on the gas pedal). 

In other happenings, I wondered if anyone has ever heard of eating vanilla ice cream in a mug of water along with a chocolate chip cookie for dipping in said mug? Yeah, I thought it was a strange combination too. It is strange what an aging mind comes up with.

Paul's birthday/family day

Happy Birthday Paul!

Yes, my dear husband is another year older. We celebrated his birthday on Saturday. First, we took advantage of the beautiful weather and went to Spring Park in Tuscumbia. Paul rode the train with the kids, and then the kids played a while. We ate at a Chinese Buffet. Yum! The kids loved it! Their favorites are sweet and sour chicken, shrimp and rice. Of course there is the dessert bar as well. 

If you look at the third picture, you will understand why we later went clothes shopping for Eliza. She is so tall! Then we went on to Sam's Club and the mall. We never go to the mall, but this was a special day. We even gave each child $10 in spending money, and we let them use it in the candy store. Thankfully they chose not to spend all their money in the one store.

The day was awesome! We actually spent the entire day together! We haven't really done that a lot lately. Enjoy the pictures.

A new chapter

Yesterday ended another chapter in our lives. Paul was released from his calling as the branch president of our congregation. When he was called to serve nearly seven years ago, I was three months pregnant with Leah and still sickly. Eliza was a three-year-old drama queen, and Sarah was a busy one year old. We knew his church service would require a lot of sacrifice, but we never imagined the blessings and the strength of the Spirit that would come to our family. I loved my husband before, but as I watched him serve others, my love for him has grown. I am so grateful that he was willing and able to serve the Lord in such a capacity.

With the responsibility of two counties worth of people lifted off his shoulders, he was a little giddy yesterday. Today he is in a daze as his brain tries to find its bearings. We are sure that a new call to serve will come soon. He has his eye set on teaching the 9-11 year olds' Sunday school class. What the Lord has in store is probably something entirely different. When Paul was released, our branch boundaries were changed as well, and we now have enough members in our congregation to form a ward. Our friend and Paul's former second counselor, Wayne, is serving as our Bishop. The Lord couldn't have chosen a better man. It is evident that he has been prepared for this call. I am also confident that he won't let Paul be a bench warmer for long. 

Backyard picnic

At times we find it necessary yet difficult to escape the daily grind of work and church. We also find that the very walls of our home feel as though they are crushing the very life out of us. I realize that sounds pretty bad, but I am trying to help you understand why I cooked sauerkraut and hotdogs in a skillet on charcoal briquettes in Alabama heat in my backyard when I had a functioning kitchen. Why I chose to carry a dining table and 6 chairs outside to my backyard to eat with bugs. Why I snuck around my home whispering orders to the children about all the condiments and such that they had to carry to the table in our backyard. As pathetic as it seems, it worked. We surprised Paul with a "BBQ?" or "Picnic?" We ate our dinner with the bugs, and Dad breathed a sigh of relief while he ate staring at the blue sky. I am sure our neighbors wondered, but we enjoyed it.

I forgot to get the camera out until after dinner, but here we are, Sorry!

My sweetheart turning the very large compost pile after dinner. We have had 3 volunteer tomato plants from it this summer. Note the "garden" in the background. Every year I honestly think I will be a better gardener. This year I have grown very healthy grass and 3 cucumbers. The tomatoes are growing but haven't ripened yet. My fertilizing in May only killed 4 or 5 tomato plants. I am so proud! I am amazed that I still have 4 children. I guess it's because they have learned to feed themselves to some extent, and they don't require weeding.

He was happy eating outside with the flies. Honest!

Yes, we did smores too. I hope the video below works. If so, check it out.

We weighed Luke last night, and he is officially 45 lbs. now. Leah is 50. Sarah is 56. Eliza might be mad if I told her weight. Let me just say that she is very tall, and her weight reflects that fact.

 

My Long Legged Guitar Pickin' Man

While I was off visiting family in NC the last weekend in May, my sweetheart was performing on the big stage at the Alabama Music Hall of Fame. Songs included in their set were: Sweet Home Alabama (of course!), Free Bird, a couple songs by Sugar Land, You Look Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton, Pride and Joy by Stevie Ray Vaughn, and Famous in a Small Town by Miranda Lambert. Paul played rhythm guitar and sang backup in most of the songs, but he sang lead in Jenny Jenny 867-5309 and Last Dance with Mary Jane by Tom Petty. Although I missed the big performance, I got to see the video, and my husband ROCKED! I am so proud of him!