TOO TRUE!!

more later...I'm sleepwalking today.

BOYS!

A friend of mine had a post awhile back in which she explained the things she has to tell her boys that she "shouldn't have to" but does....I laughed and laughed when I read it. It sounded like the same stuff I tell my boys. Here are a few repeated often phrases of my own....

"NO you can't pee at the same time!"

"Who forgot to wipe the toilet?"

"When you pee outside make sure it's not where we're all playing and can walk/fall in it."

"Stop using your sandwiches for helicopters."

"Stop making your goldfish attack each other."

Farting on people is NOT FUNNY!! (although it doesn't help that my husband is over in the corner laughing because after all they are "just boys honey". )

"when you run and jump on someone make sure they know you are coming."

"You just ran over Gideon!!- help him up."


There are many more but those are the extremely common ones.

Here is a funny moment from this morning. The boys are very competitive and they like to go to the bathroom together. For obvious reasons I DON'T let them pee at the same time. Well today Michael was right there and it was his bathroom so he said they could. Judah had already finished and was about to flush but Thomas wanted to "flush his own pee". So Judah is lunging for the handle and I can hear Thomas saying (and Michael laughing) "Judah I'M HOLDING IN MY PEE SO YOU CAN'T FLUSH IT!"
That's one for the books. ROFL!

Blessings!!- Angela :)

I LOVE SPRING

Have I mentioned that I LOVE Georgia! :):)

I love having an early spring here. (early compared to Ohio)

The boys and I spent most of the morning outside. Michael took Thomas fishing for the first time today and Thomas caught his first fish- a small crappy. Judah is going tomorrow.
While Thomas was gone the other boys and I went outside and played baseball. Gideon thought the game was great. We didn't run bases because I was just teaching Judah how to hit better but every time the ball flew up in the air Gideon squealed and took off after it. That toddler is SO ADORABLE!!!! He has the greatest facial expressions. :):):) He is also my most confidet kid. He just doesn't seem to be anxious about anything. He keeps plodding away until he learns something. He gets knocked down all the time by people running by him and he just picks himself up and continues on his way. He walks around with this great confident air. He's really fun to watch.
Church tonight was great. The prayer group I am in is the Healing Room prayer group. We pray for those who need physical or emotional healing. They are a great bunch of people. Tonight was particularly powerful. We just got more in depth tonight and it was good. God's presence was so strong and it was exciting to be a part of what He was doing.

Well I'm off to do stomach crunches and then go to bed. Blessings!- Angela :)

QUICK POST

This is a quick funny story from this afternoon.

The boys and I are outside enjoying the WONDERFUL smells, sounds, and feel of spring.

I am walking around the driveway for exercise and the older boys are riding their small bikes (you know those 3 wheeled plastic things). Gideon is walking around the yard doing various things.

Judah is going too fast and not paying attention to what's in front of him. He runs into Gideon with his bike causing Gideon to sit down. (amazingly he doesn't fall or hit his head) I watch as Judah and Thomas hug and kiss him. The really funny part was that Gid wasn't at all upset. While they were kissing him he was taking the opportunity to spins Judah's bike pedal around and around.

Amazing!!

Good-night!- Angela :)

BUSY BUSY BUSY!!!

Well it's been a busy weekend, but fun too. (Anything that gets me away from the house these days is fun!- too much winter)

We spent most of Saturday afternoon at a fabulous park in Greenville, SC. It's Falls Park on the Reedy. The Reedy is a river for those of you who are wondering. :):)
It's a great park. Greenville is a BIG city. This park is right in the middle of the city but it's like you are transported to the country. It has a huge suspension bridge, a beautiful waterfall, great landscaping, and a hiking trail that leads to the Cleveland Park and the Greenville Zoo. The flowers were in bloom, it was hot out (84 degrees) and the boys enjoyed wading in the river. (so did I) Gideon especially loved it. I was glad that I had brought a change of clothes for each kid. :):) There was a bluegrass band playing music next to where we were wading. Then we did do the 1.3 mile walk to the other park. The boys played on the swings, slides, and various other things for a while and then we walked back. Well, most of us did. I carried Judah back. Everyone was exhausted and we only had the double stroller so 2 rode and I carried Judah. :) It was priceless because I had him on my back and he just laid his head down on my shoulder. What a special memory from my active 5 year old. He probably won't want me to carry him much longer. :(:(:(
Today we went to church and then went outside to play this afternoon. We grilled steaks for dinner and now the boys are in bed. (2 are asleep) I think I will go and read for awhile. Hope that everyone has a great week! BLESSINGS!- Angela :)

Ho Hum

You know..it's not like I have time to sit around here and be bored but some days I'm just bored with everything I do. I seem to be in a slump lately where I feel like such a slug. It's all I can do to keep the house livable. I'm sure it will be better soon. Gideon actually slept through the night last night so that helped. Actually all the boys slept through the night. That's like a miracle around here. :):)
I am busy getting ready for Michael's 40th birthday party. HE will be 40 on April 7 th. I ordered a couple of things online yest. Hopefully I will be the one to see the UPS truck and not him. He has been instructed to STAY AWAY from this computer and I'm confident that he will....unless he forgets. :)
Don't feel sorry for him. There are 2 other computers in this house he can use.
The kids and I had a nice morning. We got out the clothes for summer because it's supposed to be nice for the next 10 days and probably just stay nice after that. Gideon looks ADORABLE in his little Blue's Clues overalls. It's so neat to see him in things that the other boys have worn before. The memories add to the worth of hand me downs. :):) MY uncle mentioned that he felt bad that the boys had hand me downs and I told him not to feel badly at all. I told him that Thomas looks forward to getting Judah's old clothes. In fact when Judah is wearing them Thomas will look at them and be reminded that they will be his next year. It's really funny.
They of course wanted to try on Gideon's clothes. LOL They swore that they could still fit in them. The funny part is that Thomas is so thin he actually can wear some 18 month clothing. (he's almost 4) I told them not to stretch the clothes out but that we could look at the picture albums to see when they wore the clothes Gideon was getting. So, we spent about 45 minutes looking at pictures. It was great! The boys always ask about when they were babies. I love to tell them about that time too. I can't believe how fast Gideon is growing up!!! I'm REALLY REALLY going to miss not having a baby in the house. :):)
I am reading a chapter book to the boys (their second one) "A Dog For Jesse". (their first chapter book was "Charlotte's Web") They are enjoying it. Being the Thespian that I am, I get "into character" when I read and they love that. They ask me to read parts over while they giggle. Actually I can remember reading to friends in college who liked it too.
I am SO GLAD that warm weather is here. I miss getting out in the sunshine. :):)
I'd better go. Gideon is up from his nap and Thomas volunteered to amuse him while I finished. I can tell Gideon is mostly enjoying it but every few minutes I hear him say, "Mama!" - LOL
I love being a Mommy!
BLESSINGS!- Angela :)

We're Baaaaack!!

Well the trip home went well. I only had one very insane moment. They were again excellent travelers. :):):)
We did have about 8 hours of snow so that was rough. Many times in the first 4 hours (and a few in the next 2) I couldn't see the road. I could however feel the presence of God and I knew that people were praying for me.
I have recently been under a huge cloud of condemnation and even though I know that there "is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" my feelings haven't gone in the direction of the truth. Anyway, at dawn the Lord spoke to me in a very powerful way and it was like the condemnation just fell off me. It was amazing. I was listening to worship music and worshiping and talking with the Lord and the worship leader took a break to insert scripture and it was EXACTLY what I needed to hear. There was even a verse about waiting for the Lord "more than watchmen wait for the morning". I could relate to that because I was desperately waiting for the sun to come up. I didn't get a lot of sleep the night before. I went to bed at 11:00 pm and Gideon woke up at 12:00am. I put him back in bed at 12:15 and then fell back asleep only to wake up to him throwing up all over himself and the bed at 12:30am. After I stripped his bed and him I had to bathe him and go out in the snow to get a change of clothes out of the van for him. I think I went back to sleep sometime right after 1:00am and then my alarm went off at 3:00am. So, needless to say, dawn was wonderful the next morning. We drove out of the snow into sunny weather and I smiled. (a lot) I called my mom from North Carolina and told her that I had entered the "promised land". She laughed. We did the trip in about 14 hours which was EXCELLENT considering the amount of time we lost in the snow in the beginning. We had to go about 25-35 miles per hour for the first hour and then only about 45-50 for the hour after that. Those of you who know my traveling style can assume that i was going NUTS inside. I was actually ok - but I attribute that COMPLETELY to the Lord and those of you who prayed for us.
Michael was really glad to see us and vice versa. Yesterday I spent most of the day in bed with an infection. I did get out of bed last night to go to church because I had to sing for special music. While I was singing I really felt the presence of the Lord and noticed afterward that my strength had returned. It was totally God. I even stayed after the service and talked with several people. Before I went, every little move cost me energy; but after church I had lots of it. I even stopped by a friend's house to drop something off and sat and talked with her for a while.
God gave me another little gift last night via a couple in our church. I stopped by Walmart to buy some flowers for a friend. I was standing in line behind this sweet couple and she said, "I hope those are for you. You did a great job tonight." I told her they were for a friend and then I told her about how my boys are always trying to get me to buy flowers for myself. She asked me how much the flowers were and when I told her she pulled that much out of her wallet and said, "Go buy some for yourself." I almost cried. I love flowers and I haven't had any for a while. I bought some red tulips and they are beautiful. My boys loved them too.
Thank-you Lord for precious saints that love to bless others. Thank-you for traveling mercies, patience, and SUNSHINE!! Thank-you that the boys and I got to enjoy the snow. You are indeed a FABULOUS God who cares about us.
Blessings to everyone!- Angela :)

homebound

Well, if anyone is reading this throughout the day tomorrow (Saturday- March 17th) please pray for a safe trip back to Georgia. Remember, it's just me and the kiddos. Pray for traveling mercies, good weather, patience, and no whining-LOL.

We were going to leave today but yesterday I realized that it was supposed to snow in Ohio today and rain the rest of the way down so I didn't want to drive all the way in poor weather. Tomorrow it is supposed to snow early in Ohio but we will drive out of it into mostly sunny weather.

The snow is fun to play in but MAN was it difficult to load the van with the wind blowing the snow into both me and the van. AARRGGHHH!! Makes me SO THANKFUL for Georgia and also thankful that we could enjoy the winter weather while we were here. The boys enjoyed it very much but we are all looking forward to seeing Michael.

Anyway, got to get a few hours of sleep. Blesssings!! - Angela :)

snowbabies

We woke up this morning to find that it had snowed again last night and was still snowing at dawn when we looked out the window. At first light we donned our winter attire and went out to play. It was still snowing so that was fun. We were out there about an hour. IT wasn't really "snowman snow" (you northerners will know what I'm talking about.) but we put some in little piles and "made" snowmen anyway. The kids had a blast and so did I. I brought Gideon out for about 5 minutes but he's just gotten over a cold so he didn't really play in it. I wanted him to be able to feel it. He enjoyed his few minutes out in the white world. We had to stay on the driveway because the yard was a muddy lake from all the rain yesterday. That's one of the reasons I was so surprised that it had snowed. It rained "cats and dogs" last night. The other reason I was so surprised was that we had a high of 69 degrees yesterday. So, yesterday we were out in long sleeved shirts and today we had on full winter attire. So funny. 69 yesterday- about 30-something degrees today. LOL I had forgotten the radical weather they get here in the "spring". I have had fun in the snow but I can't wait to get back to mid 70s next week. The snow is fun to play in but after we came in from playing I decided to drive up to Dunkin Doughnuts and get breakfast. I had to clean my car off and it didn't warm up enough to turn on the heat till I was almost there. That's when I remembered that I like to PLAY in the snow but not LIVE in it. LOL (laziness I know)

Today I asked Thomas what his favorite thing had been on our vacation. He replied,
"staying here"

me- staying at Nana and Papa's house you mean?

T- Yes.

Me- Well, what was one of your favorite things we did?

T- Nana, and Papa.


I laughed. He is so into relationships. They are very important to him. His answers were really precious.
I asked Judah the same question later.

Me- Judah, what was your favorite part of vacation?

J- Going out to eat!

Me- (laughing) You liked the sprinkle pancakes the best?

J- (eyes lighting up) -Yes!!!


Aaaahhhh, a child after my own heart.

p.s. Just for the record I liked staying here with my parents too.

LOL

BLESSINGS!! - Angela :)

Anonymous comments

guess what? For all you readers who have wanted to enter comments but had to have a login name...this is YOUR LUCKY DAY!!!
I have set this up to receive anon. comments now. All you need to do is click on comments, choose anonymous, type your comment, and hit publish. Just be sure to put your name at the end of the comment so I know who you are. :):)
Hope this makes things easier for some of you.

Blessings!-Angela :)

I HATE COFFEE!!- but overall a great day today

Seem like a strange title but you'll see why.

OK... so here we are in Ohio. I took the kids to the Museum of Natural History today. ( mostly so they could see the dinosaur exhibit) It was a great experience and they were well behaved for the most part. I dressed them in matching outfits so that they would look really cute in all the pictures but it turned out to be a great asset for another reason. Gideon was in the stroller most of the time but the other boys were looking at the exhibits with great gusto and controlled energy. They kept moving so fast around the room. The great thing was that I only had to remember one outfit. I did have to look for 2 children wearing it but I didn't have to remember what color each individual child had on. I'm going to do that more often in crowded places. The museum was VERY evolutionary centered. That was very disappointing but at least my kids aren't old enough to read the displays so I didn't have to correct the faulty information. We skipped the ape to man displays and concentrated on the different animals, fossils, dinosaur bones etc. The museum isn't huge so it wasn't overwhelming to them. It was just the right amount of time. The Discovery Zone was GREAT. It was a room where kids could touch and learn; puzzles, activities, insect bingo, furs, fossils, and a great dinosaur "dig" that all three of my children loved. I will post those pictures at a later date. I have to get them developed first. Oh how I long for a digital camera. :):) My boys did so much better looking at the no touch exhibits in the museum because they knew that soon they would get to go to a part of the museum where they could touch all they wanted to. I got them each a small souvenir.
Then I went over to my Aunt and Uncle's house to see their family and my grown up cousin was there with her new baby (BLISS!!!) and husband. So I got to meet him which was nice. Also my other teenage cousin was there. Then my other aunt and uncle came over to "hang out" too. It was really fun. The boys were a bit tired when we got back to my mom and dad's but not too bad.
I on the other hand am actually trembling right now. I hardly EVER drink coffee (caffeinated anyway) but I did get some before coming back to my mom and dad's house. I didn't want to be tired and cranky while I put the boys to bed. Well, I got home and got a second cup. Big mistake!!! I thought I had eaten enough to absorb it but apparently not. It only took an hour or so for my nerves to be ON EDGE (which is not good for a drama queen like me). I finally just put the kids to bed. I was quietly snapping at them for stupid stuff. I told them that I wasn't mad at them but the coffee was doing bad things to my body. When I laid down with them Judah said, "Mom I don't want you to drink coffee and be frustrated." Good point son. Anyway, I guess I will have to have a snack even though I try not to eat after 7 pm and it's nearly 10:00. sigh. All in all it was a very enjoyable day!!! Love and Blessings!- Angela :)

Proud Mama

Just have to post a quick proud mama moment...Judah has always been our shy one. HE was the one we couldn't get to talk to anyone hardly, unless he knew the person. He also struggles with fear but we are working to overcome that. Anyway, we are here in Ohio and at my mom's church they do a children's message before releasing the kids to go to Jr. Church. All the kids come down to the front and sit in the aisle for a short object lesson. Judah asked me to come with him but I said that I couldn't because I was too big. I told him that he didn't have to go but he could if he wanted to. HE got up and trotted down the aisle with about 15 children he didn't know. Not only that but he even raised his hand to say something. Granted it wasn't about what they were talking about but it was still good. She was talking about slavery and she asked them if they knew what a slave was. Two little boys had already pretty much covered the answer but she still let him say what he wanted. HE said, "Jesus died on the cross." She said something like, "yes He did and we are going to talk about that in a minute." I was SO proud of him. It was a BIG deal for him to go down there by himself with lots of kids he didn't know and then raise his hand and articulate clearly what he was trying to say!!!! Praise you Lord and thank-you for giving us courage in the daily "little" things.
The rest of the day was a pretty typical Sunday afternoon except that it was here in Ohio instead of Georgia. We ate out at a brunch buffet for my Mom's "birthday" meal. (YUM - CHEESE BLINTZES!!!!) Then we came home, most of us took naps, and then we ate dinner and watched some videos.
Hope everyone else had a good weekend!! Blessings!- Angela :)

WINTER PLAYLAND

Well the crazy lady is at it again. That would be me. Yesterday at 3:30 am the kids and I left for Ohio. We made great time- 14 hours. That's not bad with 3 kids 5 and under. They were GREAT travelers. Gideon was a bit fussy off and on but he is not a shrill baby so even when he's fussing it's not that irritating. Plus the boys just handed him food or toys. Judah made faces at him for a while- that was really cute.
We came here to surprise my mom for her 60th birthday tomorrow. My dad reads my blog religiously and prints it off for my mother. That's why I couldn't mention it here before we left. We were originally going to leave today but it's supposed to rain tomorrow and then warm up here next week (mid 40s) so the only chance to play in the snow was today. So...needless to say we left early. Michael couldn't come because of work. Pray for him this week. He's going to be stir-crazy. :):):)
Last night the kids saw icicles for the first time. They kept calling them bicycles. At one point Thomas decided to throw a fit and laid on the floor yelling- "I want a BICYCLE. I want a BICYCLE!!" What's a mother to do? I laughed until I nearly cried. My Grandma and I could hardly stop. I said, "Spoken like true Southerners-born and bred. They don't even know what they're called." I did see a fabulous sunset (my grandma lives about 50 feet from Lake Erie) over the frozen lake with snow on top that nearly took my breath away. Well it was either that or the fact that it was 18 degrees out. The boys were ready to come up here to my Mom and Dad's at 5:45am but I told them they had to wait till Nana went to work. We got here about 8:00am and were out in the snow by 9:30am. By then it had warmed up to 29 degrees. The sun was out so it was plenty warm with their snow pants on. We had a ball. I didn't bring Gideon out but Judah and Thomas and I threw snowballs, made snow angels, and tramped all through the yard for over an hour. The boys' favorite thing to do was for me to get icicles down from the roof and they took them and scooped up snow to eat with the icicle. Ok, ok I did it too. The snow brings out my kid side.
My mom was pleasantly surprised. She was glad we could stay for a week. I am going to take the boys to the natural history museum in Cleveland sometime next week so they can see the dinosaur bone exhibit. I'm looking forward to that. They are too. I hope this makes sense because I'm pretty tired. Hope that everyone has a great weekend!! BLESSINGS!! - Angela :)

Check this one out...

This may be a joke but it sure makes you think!

The Teacher Applicant After being interviewed by the school administration, the teaching prospect said, "Let me see if I've got this right:
"You want me to go into that room with all those kids, correct their disruptive behavior, observe them for signs of abuse, monitor their dress habits, censor their T-shirt messages, and instill in them a love for learning. "
"You want me to check their backpacks for weapons, wage war on drugs and sexually transmitted diseases, and raise their sense of self esteem and personal pride."
"You want me to teach them patriotism and good citizenship, sportsmanship and fair play, and how to register to vote, balance a checkbook, and apply for a job."
"You want me to check their heads for lice, recognize signs of antisocial behavior, and make sure that they all pass the state exams. "
"You want me to provide them with an equal education regardless of their handicaps, and communicate regularly with their parents by letter , telephone, newsletter, and report card."

"You want me to do all this with a piece of chalk, a blackboard, a bulletin board, a few books, a big smile, and a starting salary that qualifies me for food stamps. "You want me to do all this and then you tell me... " I CAN'T PRAY ? ! ? "

Monkey Boys

Judah (my oldest- 5 years old) never climbed many things. He has a sense of danger. He always has. It has certainly served both him and Thomas well. (because Judah used to pull Thomas back from the street and water when Thomas was little) Thomas climbed out of his crib somewhere around a year and so we kept the rail down so he wouldn't fall so far. Although he never really did fall except maybe a few times because he was a skilled climber.
Another skilled climber is emerging in our family...
I was in here burning cds for the van (Michael doesn't like me to use his originals in the van) when Thomas yelled, "MOMMY, Gideon is on the piano!!" I came running thinking that he must mean the little kid sized piano....nope...I came around the corner and saw Thomas holding onto him so he wouldn't fall. I asked Thomas if he had put him up there but he denied it. My eyes then fell to the "stair like" assortment of things on the floor next to the piano. My guess is that Gideon took advantage of them to make his grand ascent. He was only just walking when he pushed the garbage can over to the guest bed so he could climb on. I know he figured that out on his own because the other boys don't use anything to get on that bed.
Anyway, now we have 3 little monkeys. (Judah climbs cautiously)
I'm going to be out of town for 11 days. I will try to blog at my destination but it may be less than normal. (or not, we'll see)
Hope that everyone has a good week.
Dad-don't print this one off for mom. LOL

Love, Angela :)

I DID IT

Well, I've been contemplating it for quite some time and this morning I did it....I cut off 12 inches of hair to donate to Locks of Love. Now my hair, which was at my waist, is just touching my shoulders. Michael should be glad. Unlike most guys, he likes my hair short. I prefer it long- go figure. It was getting in my way and it was getting too long to put it up in the clip I like to use. So, this will benefit everyone- the kids who need hair and myself as well. I was hoping that it would be too short for Gideon to bother with. He, like most babies, loved to pull on my long hair (one of the reasons I had to keep it up most of the time) but the new length didn't deter him at all. In fact, it had the opposite effect. He is fascinated with it. He was nursing earlier and just kept reaching up to touch it over and over. I let him till he started pulling. Judah says he likes it short. Thomas says he liked it the other way. Oh well. You can't please everyone. :):)
Hope that everyone is having a good day. Nothing else newsworthy is going on here. BLESSINGS!- Angela :)

Sorry

Sorry that it's been so long. Things have just been SUPER BUSY around here. We have been doing a little extra cleaning, yard work, etc. I wouldn't call it spring cleaning exactly but just things that I used to do on a monthly basis that I haven't gotten to in a few months.

A friend and I were talking today about encouragement. We were talking about the need for encouragement and how the Bible tells us to encourage one another. She said something very interesting. She mentioned that encouragement washes us. I thought, "what a great analogy!" So often the world throws so much junk on us, or we throw so much junk on ourselves, or the enemy is throwing so much junk on us (or any combination of those three) that we get bogged down under all the sludge. Edification from the Word and from others washes that sludge off and refreshes us. What is it that Proverbs says?
Proverbs 15:23: ...and a word spoken in due season, how good is it!
So true. I just thought it was a great visual. One last thought...
Romans 14:19: Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.

That's all for today. More tomorrow..."Lord willin' and the creek don't rise."- as we say here in the South!

BLESSINGS!-
Angela :)

Who Knew?

I've been doing this wrong for so many years. I'm glad to finally learn the "correct" way to weigh myself.

I'M LIVING MY DREAM!!!

Ok, not all my dreams, but one of my big ones...

Today at about 10:00am I looked around at my kids playing (gasp -nicely) in the living room with me. (We were pretending to cook using blocks as food and various containers as ovens. Then we would top our food with very strange things. Judah brought me a fish, apple, nut pie-LOL) There was lots of laughter and creativity plus we were enjoying being together. It was then that I realized that this was one of my dreams since I can remember. I've always wanted to be a wife and mother. I have been overwhelmed of late (the last 3 1/2 years) with all the training, discipline, cleaning, not many breaks, etc and have lost sight at times of the greatest gift God has given me since salvation- my family. It's good for me to take a moment each day (usually while I'm trying not to yell) and remember that I really do love being a mother most of the time. It's only when I get too caught up in all the "inconveniences" that I have a hard time. Now, mothers need sleep and breaks too and since I've had little of either for some years now I know that's where some of the frustration lies but I still have a choice each day whether to be grateful or frustrated. Today I made the right choice. My prayer is to make the right choice every day instead of the hit and miss lately.

Thank-you God for my fabulous family! They are truly a blessing!

Thank-you for the rain today that forced me to amuse my kids for hours so I could remember how much I love being with them.

(did I just say thank-you for the rain?? Wow I'm on a roll today! LOL )

-Blessings! - Angela :)