It runs in the family.....

She gets all her upper body strength from her momma.

More from the Selah getaway...

Here are a few more pictures from our trip last week.

As a side note and a way to vent without pulling out hair or scarring my children, I will say that getting text to align with my photos on this blog is like......plucking my eyebrows with chopsticks.......running 2 miles while I'm pregnant........Samuel sleeping past 6:30 a.m.......

IT AIN'T HAPPENING!

So in an interest to stay out of jail due to blog-induced rage, I will recap the pictures for you right here...

Samuel and the Rhino made instant friends. When I walked around to his side to see if I should ride in the back I was quickly informed (by my son)

"Uh.....Ders no room for you mom"

Don't be fooled by that innocent picture of the glass jar filled with applesauce. I believe the devil himself could lure me into a pit of snakes with that stuff.

It is Pure-D goodness. Folks, it is apples and water. Period. I will post the complete recipe very soon.

Samuel ended up fishing in the pool because the weather was a bit uncooperative. It did not seem to matter to him one iota, did it?

After re-reading my post from last week, I realized that there were so many more plates spinning than I had mentioned.

When we decided to stay here (in this home) we decided there were some changes we needed to make to free up some space and update the house. Hardwood floors, decorating & painting Samuel's room and "new" bed, plans for an addition (playroom/guest-room with full bath), getting the "school" room organized, new shed which meant we had to clean out the garage.

You know your garage is in bad shape if you find yourself holding the skeleton of a frog in one hand and your 25 year old ballet shoes in the other.

There was crying. There was sweating. There was gnashing of teeth.

But now it's all finished!

I will post some pictures of the projects that have been springing forth in the next few days.

Don't burst a vessel waiting.

Homeschoolers Unite!

Dear Homeschool Veterans,

My dearest far-away friend, Tiffany, is beginning her homeschool journey this year for the first time. She has met a few other families who are homeschooling, but for now that circle is small. Would you visit her blog and give her a word of encouragement?

Blessings!

Hannah

When I show up for a birthday party two weeks early, she sweetly says...
"Well, Momma....at least your early."

If she is in charge of breakfast and the other kids are not downstairs yet, she sets the table with love notes at each place.

When she heard a child use a horribly foul curse word this weekend at Chick-Fil-A, she cried for 15 minutes.

If I tell her to take this stack of papers and place it in the drawer next to the computer, she carries it upstairs and puts it on my bathroom cabinet.

Her brain = My brain

She loves to organize, move things around, and decorate which has proved mighty useful these last few months as we have done A LOT of that.

She is beyond offended by the sight of a bra strap, a short skirt, or a bare midriff.
"Pu-leez, cover that up."

She loves beautiful Christian hymns and praise songs but at the same time she can't resist Hank Williams Jr's, "Country Boy Can Survive". It is a sight to behold.
(we mute the bad word)

She is my most strong-willed child (at this point) which has brought me to my knees in desperation, many times. Now that her strong-will bends in the direction towards obedience to the Lord, I am on my knees in gratitude.

I am so grateful to spend the next formidable years of her life teaching, leading and watching her grow into a Godly young lady.

I love you sweet Hannah....

Overload

Do you ever have so many thoughts in your head that if you selected just *one* to focus on, then all the other 32,000 might spontaneously combust?

That would be me....my life....and my thoughts these days.

Just a few short months ago, our house was on the market and we were a mere box, skip, and a jump away from moving.

I have thought several times about writing through that ordeal, but remember? I am pregnant and the first 12-weeks did a mighty fine job of sucking out the brain cells that control ordered thought and correct spelling.

So, instead I wrote a little bit about pregnancy and assumed I would get back to the whole sordid affair of our disrupted plans for country living.

Then summer came into full view and we spent every last cotton pickin' minute swimming and hiding our calendar......It was good.

Despite our slothy appearance, we still have had to make plans for homeschooling (another slightly large change) as well our our trip to Disney next month.

In this midst of these changes, which have proven to be so wonderful despite the sometimes difficult process that came with them, there was one change that I am still right smack dab in the thick of.

My Lea Ann is gone to Maryland and she took her family with her. We have known about this move for a whole year but did a phenomenal job of living in denial and refusing to talk about it.

It worked until now.

I am certainly not ready to write about this change just yet, as it has kept my thoughts, which are tied to my heart, in a real slow funk for the last few weeks.

God has blessed this friendship. However long we had together here was to be counted as a blessing. I know how "close" Maryland is and how that will make things "easier" for us to visit. Unfortunately that does very little to soften this blow.

It is what God has ordained. Because of this and my complete abandon for my own mediocre plans I am restful in His plan and at peace with what this distance looks like.

But it hurts my heart in ways that I cannot even visit just yet.

So in order to pull my head up off the pillow and reduce the puffiness from my jellyfish eyeballs I will post a few pics from our trip to *Selah* this past week. This little piece of heaven is the home of Kelly's parents and they are the most hospitable hosts I have ever known. I have tried desperately to figure out how to worm my way into this family. My wheels are still spinnin'.....

The weather was dreary and cool, but that was a refreshing break from the 100-degree melting pot we have had here at home. We hung out and went into Charlottesville to buy some much needed maternity clothes. Kelly is pregnant, 7-weeks behind me so I have someone to share in the joy of pregnancy and the woes of heartburn. I LOVE IT!

I will post some more pictures, but this little montage of the girls makes me laugh out loud. I hardly ever catch them on film acting "themselves" but if you know them, you will see their true colors all over these photos :) A big "muwah" to my camera. I love that I found something that moves as quickly as my life!

This one is for the boys...

Chris and his brother have been Pittsburgh Steeler fans since they were little guys. Growing up in Texas and rejecting the Cowboys was a pretty brazen choice but they have followed the Black & Gold through the good, the bad, and the ugly and some of the ugly took place right here in my very own living room.

As soon as we made the move from our beloved homeland, we immediately sized up this area and found it to be rich with cultural and historical monuments. We are 2 hours from the beach, 2 hours from the mountains and 2 hours from our nations capital. It didn't take me long to calculate that New York was easily within a days drive.

While I was excited about the prospect of seeing beautiful landscapes and national treasures, Chris had shifted his focus towards Pittsburgh. All these years of dreaming about Three Rivers and being one of those *Terrible Towel* waving fans might actually come true!

Well, fast-forward 8 years and that stadium is gone as well as every near opportunity for tickets. It seems that taking an afternoon trip to the moon might be easier than getting seats for a Steelers' game.

Until this year.

During a week-long training seminar at work that was fairly close to legalized torture, a little ray of gold & black sunshine came beaming down towards my husband. Within a matter of minutes, a phone call was made and tickets were arranged to be sent to a hotel room in his name.

Tickets....ON THE 50 YARD LINE......ON THE SECOND ROW......for the greatest fan to never see a game in person.

Is it okay to describe a grown man as giddy? Cause he was giddy.....Big. Time.

Here is an overload of pictures that will only interest you if you:

A)Love the Steelers

or

B)Love my husband

If it is the latter, I would prefer you state your relation....by blood.....to him.

Let the photo frenzy begin!!!!

I made Chris and his brother promise to include themselves in at least one photo. These are the same brothers who ended up in Germany....BY CHANCE....at the exact same time and took nary one photograph of themselves together or apart.

Gettin' ready for the game :)

Big Ben took off his shoes and signed each one and gave them away. Unfortunately he was not at all smitten with Chris or his brother.

The bounty went to this kid, who was sitting to the left of Chris and Scott. There was another lucky boy sitting to the right. It was at this moment that Chris realized he had made a crucial mistake in inviting his brother instead of Sam with his utter cuteness and player appeal.

This is Troy Polamalu. We love him. He is the epitome of Captain Cavemen meets the NFL. He is always happy, even when he is being thrown around by his ponytail. The picture of him praying with a teammate before the game is my favorite.

A few pictures...

Just cause...

Gigi Daydreamin'

While riding in the car during our visit with Gigi I answered my cell phone, which prompted this monologue from Samuel....

"MOM.....You tall-tin' on dat phone....

You tall-tin' on dat phone and da policeman will see you in da glass....

He will see you in da glass and make you stop and give you a tittet....

He will give you a tittet and den take you to da jail.....

And den.......den.....

Gigi will be my mom."

We miss you Gigi.

The Great "Woof" Lodge

Gigi came for a visit last week and we have been busy makin' some memories! We went to the Great Wolf Lodge for a couple of days and had a great time.

Confidence among the swimsuit wearers was at an all-time high. I am always amazed at the freedom some people are able to exhibit when they don their swimwear. I usually find myself trying to achieve some sort of Houdini act by removing my cover-up and getting into the water all in one motion....without ever exposing skin in the process.

It can be done but it requires lightening speed and a large inner tube.

Here are some pic's from our adventures. The lighting was difficult so the pictures are a bit dark. The wet and humid environment coupled with the frenzy of screaming children made me want to twitch and convulse nervously, so I took several shots and packed the camera away for good.


Storytime at night in front of the fire
place