It's been a good season, and now it's over... Not just baseball, but going to the Pool, late nights, late sleep-in mornings, the lake, berry picking, birthdays, and road trips. I know there's a few more weeks of summer, but after labor day it all changes. I am trying to convince the kids (that includes my husband) that Autumn is wonderful and there's so much to look forward to. So far, I'm not getting too far. Hey - what's your favorite thing about Fall? I need all the help I can get!

Gratefulness comes in small packages

Summer is so wonderful. Tonight, as we drove home, I thought of how happy I am. The windows were down, letting in the warm air as it whipped my hair all around, beatiful music played, but it only barely covered the tree sounds of the locusts singing... the sky was clear with bright stars against a black velvet background. And to top it all off, I had an Andy's Heath bar concrete in my lap. I almost cried. I needed that moment and I thanked God for it.

Summer Highlights... so far

 

There is still a little over 2 weeks left of this crazy summer, and still several things on our "to do" list. For instance, you may notice there are no pictures of a chicken coop, and no chickens either. The fish tank still sits dead and empty (I prefer it to stay that way forever), and the canoe is in the barn, not a creek. The kids have not yet had nearly enough whiplash from tubing at the lake as they would like. We have, however, stayed up late every chance we get, renewed some old friendships, hugged on our grandma's, and swam so much it warrants the green highlights in Emma's hair.

So, here is an explanation of the pictures you're looking at:
1. Discovery Cove in Florida. One word: Wow.
2. Busch Gardens in Tampa with the Eastin's and the Hoffman's
3. My Bday - goin' out to dinner
4. Father's Day at SDC
5. Lauren's 13th (oh my gosh I have a teenager) birthday!
6. Makin' plum jelly the old fashioned way
7. our 17th on the 7th day of the 7th month of 2007 - cool huh?
8. Just a bunch of kids (it's the Hoffman boys, Roy's and Reynold's)
9. Emma's 9th bday - and No, that pink is NOT from the chlorine in our pool
10. Piano recital - the only really responsible thing we've done all summer
11. Hike on Fox Acres
12. Mom's 67th BDay - I took her to "Cattlemen's" and made her a Tres Leche cake topped with strawberries!
13. Dinner out with the Reynolds and Eastins: we saw Big Smith at the Landing where we had Gourmet Mexican. "There's a Hole in the Bottom of the Sea" could never have sounded better.
14. That's my sweet Mom... and doesn't she look great?!
15. A visit from the Armstrong's!! We talked all night, swam all day, learned to ride the 4 wheelers and played the Wii. Whew!
16. Swimming, swimming, swimming...

7/7/2007 = 17 years!

 

... all this luck and we didn't go buy a lottery ticket!

By the way, to my Matron of Honor, THANK YOU for the flowers - they're beautiful!!!

Too many powdered donuts

Before:

 

After:

 

Have You Ever Chased My Dog???

if you have ever had to chase my dog maddie, i would love to hear your story! yes, i know that ther're many many stories about our little westy. (good idea, Lauren!)

We took her to the Vet this week, and the comment Dr Vet gave on the report was simply, "get her teeth cleaned ($$$) and she gets so excited!"
We have dealt with that for 12 years now and she is still going strong. Chasing that dog through many fields and backyards, it's a miracle she has not yet dashed in front of a truck... but some of you have AND have lived to tell about it. So, please do....

A Week in May

 

SCHOOL IS OUT FOR ROGERSVILLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TOMORROW IS THE VERY LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!!!!!!

ONLY A HALF OF A DAY OF SCHOOL LEFT!!!!!!!!

ONLY 3 MORE DAYS OF SCHOOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Best Job Ever

I thought about sitting around and moping because I couldn't even see my precious Mom on Mother's Day. Hallmark induced guilt. No thanks. I will get to see her very soon, and we'll go get our toes painted, and eat till we waddle away from the tea room. Instead we stayed home and had a lovely day honoring... me. I rec'd hand made projects from school from Emma and Nathan, really good ones, too. And a very sweet, heartfelt card from Lauren. Sat. night I took a long soak in the tub, painted the toes myself, and read myself to sleep. Gotta love that. On Sunday we went to SS and church, and went home to kill some time and watched Greg play poker with the kids! We ate a late lunch/early dinner at Riverside Inn where the food was great, but the service not so... After that we came home, put on our swim suits and jumped in the pool. The kids did cannonballs as close to their Nanna as they could in hopes to get her all wet. I didn't stop them either.
Of all the things I could do in life, the achievements I have made, and the ones yet to make, nothing can compare to the absolute joy that motherhood brings. No money can buy it, no degree can prepare for it. It is without exception, the best job ever.

5 AND HALF MORE DAYS TILL SCHOOL'S OUT!!!!

School's almost OUT!!!!!

The governer finally signed it and there is only 7 and a haif more days of school!!!!!!!!!!! I am so excited!

UPDATE

So my daughter took over, yes, but I'm still here... waiting, watching, posting once in a long while. Life is a little too full to keep this current for my faithful readers, but maybe if I share the blog with La La Lauren we might have better luck staying on top of things and always presenting you with interesting and fun articles for your literary pleasure.

I liked Hillenblog's recap of his month, list form. It's how my Dad always functioned and I now carry on his legacy by writing a LIST. So, here goes a list of the Roy family highlights and RANDOM Thoughts:

*Me and hubby went on the best vacation ever to Cancun. Read 3 books each, gained back any weight I might have lost pre vacation, and got a tan. The tan is almost gone.

*Mers and Betty chased the kids and a calf while we were gone. Those silly calves...

*I got a new camera! Been researching this for a year and finally splurged on a Canon Rebel XTi with an awesome lens. Pictures to follow!!! Now accepting portrait bookings for summer! :-)

*Track in now over for Lauren. She hated it at first and wanted to quit, but just couldn't let down her team. By the end, she was sad it was over. Always stick with it, people! Ya never know what might happen!

*Reading a study on the Holy Spirit. Wow, do we really understand His presence in our lives on a daily basis? I know I sure don't. This is a great time for me to be learning, too. I'm not in any huge emotional distress, no grief going on, things are going pretty well in general. I can clearly learn and seek Him, actually thirst for Him, just because I want to know Him. Not because I need something major. It's a great place to be in, just asking God to teach me to recognize His voice. It's also pretty cool to pass this on to the kids, who really are mystified at the concept of hearing God's voice.

*American Idol - go Blake! No, I actually mean, GO!
Jordin's got it already, she is incredible.

*Only 2 weeks left of school! I knew we moved to LogRog for good reason.

*Planning a major road trip to Florida the first of June with stops in Atlanta (maybe), Ocala (Hello to the Eastins and Hoffmans!), Orlando ( Discoverycove.com ),
Tampa for Busch Gardens, and a beach somewhere on the way home!!! WHEW! And just in time for gas prices to go up.

*Gotta go kill the brown recluse spider I just saw running under my computer desk. Now, why did I move to LogRog???

Roywife

2 weeks in the Ozarks:

what do ya'll think???

So, how do you guys like LAUREN'S blog?????? Yup, this blog is now officially mine!

Question??????

Ok, so who thinks that I should take-over my mom's blog?????

that is all for now

~*~*~*~*~*~ Lauren ~*~*~*~*~*

Bored

wow, i am really bored. Let me see how many times that I can write that word:

bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored

I am too bored to go any further.
by the way, i think that was 51 boreds.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Lauren ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Bowling

So, we went bowling on saturday at the Lighthouse Lanes... I must say that I did pretty good! I got a score of 84.... WITH bumpers, thank-you very much! Yup, i used bumpers.... it was a blast.... well long story short, I lost to Camille Reynolds who scored a 117!



~~~~~~~~Lauren~~~~~~

Rascal Flatts

I Have Been Singing Rascal Flatts all Day!!!!! I love that one called Stand.....

~~~~~Lauren~~~~

Apologies

Please excuse my mother's absense...... hopefully she will realize that her standings in Hillenblog's rating system is going down..... maybe we will finally hear from her sometime soon.... again, I apologize for her.

Sincerely,
Lauren

Baseball Season is in FULL SWING!

What I Love About Winter

As we all start throwing open our windows, going to the parks, taking walks on something that doesn't tell you how few calories you have really burned in 45 minutes... I am reminded that we are not far from saying goodbye to Ole Man Winter for the first part of 2007. I say, "good riddence!" But in my efforts to remain a positive person and always striving to think the best, I will share with you what I will miss, come Spring:

Scrapbooking (yeah right)

A fire in the fireplace that burns the REAL wood

A predictable, although full, schedule

A Big Cedar cabin getaway, complete with movies, hot chocolate, and plenty of stuff to read, sprinting to the out door hot tub with the kids, and yet another fire in the fireplace. Yeah, I love that.

NO PESKY HOUSEFLIES!!!!! I forget, they will be coming back soon, and I will cry on that beautiful, sun drenched day when I spot the first one in my house. Oh please, God, spare Roygersville of this plague!

That's all for now, I would list 10 things if I could think of 10.

Ode to Lauren

Being a Mom is an awesome trip and I have the most amazing 12 1/2 year old girl on the planet.

She is strong willed and a little stubborn, yet tenderhearted and concerned for the needs of others. She the type of girl who will always stand up for what is right even though it won't be easy. She is daring enough to ask those really hard doctinal questions that send me running to my husband for the words to explain it. She has endured 6 years of parent imposed piano lessons even though she doesn't want to, and she is quite good .
On top of all this, she is an awesome swimmer!! This weekend she went to the Div. II swimmeet, where teams from MO, AR, and KS come compete and try to get Div. I times so they can move on up to the really big meet in Wichita. Not only did she qualify for the meet, but she WON the 100 yard breaststroke!! Out of approx 30 girls in her age group, she won 1st place! Way to go Lauren!! We are so proud of you and all your hard work! Although this blog will probably embarrass you, it's just my way of announcing to the world how wonderful you are! However, you will never have to win a medal or make all A's to get us love you any more than we already do, you are incredible just the way you are.
I know that you can do anything in this life that you want to, if you set your mind to it and God leads your way.

I am so glad I get to be your Mom.

One Man Band

I have nothing of interest to say today, so I'm just gonna dig through my archives of pictures and find something that will make you smile. Ah Ha! Here's one...

"Tho none go with me, still I will follow..."

:-)

Blogger blessings via my sister:

Go here to read a story about a precious little baby, friends of my sister's family. But don't do it without a Kleenex box ready. You will be encouraged by the faithfulness of God to this family, especially at the bottom where the Dad quotes scripture about the child with some beautiful pictures. Go ahead now, click on the link...

http://www.xanga.com/NateDogg34

Summer longings...

Just study this picture and remember... Summer is coming. Though it may not be right around the corner, it is coming.

But for now, with numb fingers and a cold nose, I'll put on my running shoes and hit the treadmill... inside where it's warm.

Day 13,696

I am pensive this morning. I just finished reading up on many other bloggers out there, and I am amazed at the extremes. I read about missionaries and their travels, friends finding a dream home, watched the Rachel adoption video (quite a tear-jerker), and even read about a teenager dealing with serious health issues. As I read through the poems and pictures, I felt as though my day is quite uneventful. That can be a good thing, really. And I'm not depressed, just feeling small, I guess. This world is huge and there are so many people out there, some experiencing sheer delight while others deal with pain. I have been in both places and somehow, it makes me thankful for my ho-hum day of buying groceries, planning my calender, picking up my kids from school, and going to choir practice tonight. Funny thing is, I know that it's all in God's care. The mammoth events as well is my kids homework. I am reminded, though, that each day is a gift, it's also a number, too. If, Lord willing, I have 27,300 days to live (75 years), then I am currently somewhere around 13,696. So, whatever I do with my day now, I should do it well. I should set my goals and work hard to reach them. I should run that 1/2 marqathon this year, I should finish college (someday). Because, at best I have only 13,604 days left, Lord willing. :-)


So, this is what my day holds...

Meeting Shannon at "Social Supper's" to book a date and try out a meal, more on that later...

Getting a space heater for Nathan's room becasue it is so cold in there.

Watching over Greg and a friend tackle the double oak tree that collasped on our fence and let 4 cows and a bull out onto our front lawn last night. They even made it to our front porch!

Kids home from school, homework, dinner, church, and finally bedtime.

It may be ordinary, but it's my day, and I will love it.


By the way, a huge CONGRATS to the Burch's. What a JOY to bring that baby home!!!

Happy 10th Birthday, Nathan!

Disclaimer

After that backlash of comments on my most recent post... ahem... I thought I should clarify something. My perspective on the Great Ice Storm of 2007 was very "cushioned," you might say. I know that and was not trying to take away from the sufferings of so many other people in our area. Many of you are still without power and I have offered a warm place to sleep for as long as you like. Some are dealing with the loss of trees, and major damage claims. To that I do not turn a blind eye. For that is my husband's main job right now, handling all that who have business with his company. He is, in my eyes, up for sainthood after last week. My heart goes out to all of you who have shivered in the dark for 10+ days. It is quite creepy to drive by certain neighborhoods of Springfield after dark. I so wish I could help them rewire and be normal again.

So for those of you who happened to read my last post, [and I know you have because I have the counter ( thank you Hillen)], I was just trying to show how much fun we had in the middle of a trial! Really people, let it go! Know that I am the eternal optimist and I try to look for the party in the midst of disaster. By the goodness of kind hearted friends and family, we found some fun!
My Dad always said, and I think this is from Ronald Reagan, too... "If you enter a room filled with manure, start diggin'. Why? Because with all that manure, there's gotta be a pony somewhere!"
So that brings up a question for you, my readers for whatever reason: what blessing did you find? Did you see character blossom, or recieve help from others? did you find a good meal or a hot shower because someone else was nice to you? let me know what you think, if you dare to find the good, if you dare to comment... :-)

Ice Storm 2007: How we passed the time

Oh, I'm so glad everyone I know is still alive! How we have suffered! We lost power for 6 whole days, but are now up and running at full capacity. This is what happened in memo form:

*Pre-ice storm... Our precious Duke got kicked by Cheri, the overprotective Mom of Presley the calf and broke his leg clean in two! Well actually it wasn't so clean, more like 6 chards of bone. This is now Greg's main sidekick, next to me, of course, so Duke had a 2 hour surgery to repair the leg. He will soon be able to do amazing things.... being bionic and all.

*Big breakfast with the card guys who stayed over, that was fun, cooking on my gas stove, I felt so pioneering.

*"When the going gets tough, the tough go to the CHATEAU!" Yep, we really did. And a big THANKS to HelterShelter, I loved it and I am not embarassed to say so!!! You see, we thought this whole power outage scam was about a 2 night deal, so we thought we'd have fun with it, there's stuff for the kids to do AND they allow dogs! It was a white dog convention everywhere. But don't worry, my dogs were the ones NOT wearing sweaters.

* Day 3, out to the Rodery's in Roygersville - fun, games, and my first try at sleeping on a water bed. very sloshy, but so warm!

*Days 4 and 5, back down to Branson, this time we were at Big Cedar! Another shout out to the Lennards for providing this fun, warm, place to sleep, complete with an empty your freezer protein feast one night, a new dressing called "Power Outage Viniagrette," and endless hours of swimming for the kids. I haven't laughed that hard during a game of Taboo in a very long time.

*Day 6, Dinner with the Reynolds, TACOS, yum. But I'm sorry we ate so much! :-) The kids had so much fun there, it just feels like home. I stayed with Greg's Mom while Greg babysat the generators and eventually got to unhook them! Yeah!!

So, Friday we were back up and running, Saturday Nathan had his awesome 10th birthday party, 10 boys, 10 light sabors flashing everywhere. Sunday we went to Nakato to celebrate again!!!

There you have it, our ice storm woes. I have learned to say "yes, thank you," when someone offers me a blessing and I am eager to return the favor any chance I get. I just wish I could do even more...

Finally, my first post of the new year! Some of you consistant bloggers are way ahead of me. However, I personally had a bit of a rough start to 2007.
Here you see a picture of my kids in snow gear - yes, we went skiing the first week of Jan!! A huge shout out to our friends, the Lennard's, for taking us to their place in Beaver Creek, CO. It was a tight fit for traveling with all 11 of us (equalling approx. 15 suitcases) but everyone had a blast. What an awesome place! It's beautiful, so much to do, lots of people from all over the globe, fantastic dining, healthy, more natural lifestyles... I'm wondering if the Lord needs my family's help in starting a church there... Ha.
I could show you many pictures of happy smiling kids, friends, mountains, etc., but the truth is, I didn't take but a few. So all the shots I have are courtesy of Miss Suzanne who happily hosted my week. She cooked all the meals, gave me medicine, picked up a sick Nathan from ski school one day, and flat out took care of all of us. I now call her "Mother." It's hard to be so sick when on vacation, I only stepped outside the condo into that fresh mountain air 2 times in 5 days. I regretted both times. Bronchitis set in deep with a fever and quickly the highlight of my day came when I could take another dose of Tylenol. I traded in my lift ticket and all my gear for a nice visit with a Resort Doctor who came to my room with the much needed antibiotics, and left with my right arm. ($$$)

Ahh, but it's Colorado, and how can you go wrong there??? Although I was sick, I still think the entire trip was well worth it. The kids went to ski school for 3 days, Lauren only 2 days. And here is my quick thought on that: it may be expensive, but WOW, it was worth the investment. All 3 had a great time, loved their instructor, and now can enjoy it anytime we want to go. They each have the basics down and will just build on the skill level every chance they get.

Greg's highlight - skiing all of day 3 with his 12 year old daughter who not only kept up with him, but even beat him down the mountain a few times! Green slopes no more, they were hitting the Blues!! and Lauren with NO POLES!

"Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; O Lord, thou PRESERVEST man and beast." Psalm 36:6 I'm not sure who the beast was last week, but we all were preserved and made it home safe!!

So we're all home now and settling into this new year, a new schedule, new challenges, goals, and dreams. Rough starts can be just that, a rough start and ONLY a rough start. There were just too many other great things that happened to our family to think of it as a bad sign. Here it is, Jan 10th, and I am resolve not to make any resolutions, but I will set goals. I may even share some of those with you here in my online journal... But for now, let's just get started.

Have a great day!!

The Gift

A special Gift, a starry night,
a chill is in the air,
friends new and old come gather 'round,
a joyful time to share.
Melodies dance on open hearts
as we celebrate the Life,
remembering the promised One
born in a manger that night.
Our Saviour, Messiah,
the Prince of Peace,
took on human flesh
to wrap 'round Diety.
This little Child,
He gave me hope,
and now I want the world to know...

For Him we sing,
To Him we pray,
Remembering the Gift this Christmas Day.

A Picture's Worth... Felony Charges?

Note: This is not a paid advertisement. :-)

I found this great new photographer in town, a gal I've actually known for several years now. Her name is Dawn Shields. Write that down. A few years ago she got into photography and now it's pretty much her thing. So this past October we actually organized a real sitting at the Veteran's Memorial Cemetary out near Springfield Lake. We showed up right at 6pm to get the perfect light and she went right to work. We had to trespass onto private property in order to get to this really cool bridge, but getting this awesome shot is worth being a perp. Ahh, but trespassing on private property isn't the only trouble we got into that evening. Read on...

We finished all the pictures at about 6:40pm, we stood around and chatted for a few minutes, then we all piled in our cars to leave the park. The sun is now setting, and we pull up to the gate only to find it LOCKED. Yes, we are now LOCKED inside a cemetary during the last week before Halloween. Not good. The kids thought it was really fun at first, till Daddy had to call 911 to come get us. Fortuantely, the 911 people called the Sherriff, who called somebody, who called somebody, who finally came to unlock the gate and gave us all a good talkin' to. I thought our photographer would die of embarrassment, but it all turned out fine.

Back to that photographer, I think she did a great job and I wanted to tell you all about her. Go to Dawnshields.com and check her out. She's traveled all over the place now and learned from some incredible teachers. Thanks Dawn, and I hope you don't get me in trouble for scanning this image in order to brag on you! :-)

The Roy Rap sheet now includes:
Trespassing onto private property
Being in a Public Park after it's closed and locked up like Fort Knox
Not stopping to pray for the soldiers who have passed on to Heaven
Copyright infringement

A great portrait IS worth it, unless this blog gets me into trouble now. 

The Falling Ice Story

Many, many thanks to these guys for literally bailing us out of a tough situation.

May I explain? Greg's Mom (who will remain nameless for privacy sake) has had a few bad turn of events lately. First she took a faceplant on some concrete a day before Thanksgiving. Now that she's all healed up from that nasty fall, we thought we'd keep things interesting for her.
This past Sunday, Greg got up early to go to the office and try to shovel the melting ice off the roof. The workspaces below were quickly turning into a scene from the Titanic with a steady stream of water filling trashcans and ceiling tiles falling down with the water. OK, so it wasn't quite like the Titanic, but it was bad and needed some immediate attention. So, Greg loaded up the ladder and a shovel and went to work. Later that morning, his Mom stopped by to make a few calls to see if we could get someone there ASAP. Ice was melting fast, computers below, not a good thing. They talked inside the office first, then Greg said, "I'm getting back to work." He goes up to the roof to keep shoveling, and his Mom continues to work the phone. Or so he thought. For only moments later, he sends a shovel full of ice over the side of the building, right on top of her head! She had stepped out at just the right(wrong) time, at just the right(wrong) spot to be on the recieving end of a hunk of ice. She yelled and ran in the office, blood all over, and began to worry about her suede coat. Greg called 911 who came and took her to the ER, and 7 STAPLES and a CT scan later, she was released to go home.
During all this, I'm taking the kids to their band and piano recitals, Lulu, the other Mom, is coming into town, and the office is STILL CAVING IN. That's when these guys showed up. They brought their shovels and a willingness to give up their Sunday afternoon at the busiest time of the year. I'm sure they all had somewhere else they'd rather be, but instead chose to shovel ice off the nasty, flat roof of an office building. It was hard work, but they got it done, and seriously came to our rescue that day.
The office is drying out and Betty (oops) is healing up nicely. She is amazing, by the way. Took those staples in the scalp without painkiller or even tears. She has not complained or even accused my husband of attempted murder. :-) For that I am grateful. For EVERYTHING we are grateful!

Guys, I publicly say THANK YOU:
HILLENBLOG ( no suprise, headed it all up and made the calls)
HILLENBLOG JR
MATT B. (Do you have a code name??)
NICK BURNS
JEFF B. (I know you have a code name, but I forgot it)

And to my husband... You are such a hard worker, diligent, and dependable. When something is wrong you fix it right away. Thank you for sticking with your job all these years and placing your family first in your life. Our family is reaping the rewards of having you be the one in charge of our home. Thanks for never letting your kids win at the board games because you want to teach them that life is not fair, putting the real score up in the basketball game even when we're losing by 35 pnts, driving faster on the curvy roads when I'm nauseated, and basically just putting up with me. I love you more today than yesterday, and just wanted to let everyone know it. :-) 

Bambie...

Here we are, our whole family gathered around the kitchen having lunch, when out of nowhere Lauren starts screaming unintelligible words that eventually sounded something like... "Deer, deer!!!" We all ran to the front windows and stood in speechless awe at the little herd of 6 deer making their way across our front field.

That night Nick Burns came over with Venison chili and even though it was quite yummy, I could barely choke it down. 

On being "Wordy"

I am so excited for the holidays, OK, I'll be specific, and say that I am so excited for Thanksgiving and I am so excited for CHRISTmas!!!! I sooooo wanted to beat out Jen for having my decorations up first this year. At least the inside will be all finished and done before Thanksgiving!! Our oldest is being a bit of a scrooge because she thinks I'm pushing the seasons along. These are the same kids that cry when they see a new subdivision going in because it's not natural. So the house is all lit up in November, so what?? They'll be thanking me next week, when instead of hanging garland, we can play a rousing game of phase 10 by the fire.
So now we head to Lulu's in OK for a feast... Our traveling entourage will consist of my husband, commonly known around here as "Helter- Shelter," me, obviously I am "Roywife," 3 kids, 2 four wheelers, Nana, only one specific Westie that doesn't run off, one big black Lab, and a ham. That should be interesting! Our feast menu will be:


No, that would be too verbose.


:-) :-) :-)

Afterschool snack!

It's 3:30pm. The kids walk in the house after a long day at school, drop their load of books, purses, backpacks, and coats in the entryway. Nice. Now I gotta step all over it to get through the door (we're working on this little habit). After breaking through the barrier of stuff, I find the kids getting out all kinds of food in the kitchen. Their ravenous appetite came up with an interesting mix of "nutrients." This is what they came up with:

Egg nog

chocolate cake

popcorn

and dill pickles.

You know you're a redneck...

... when the house is packed for Donkey Basketball!!!


Yes, these are grown men wearing women's undergarments, attempting to ride donkeys, and shoot hoops. There was pulling, and pushing, and after the crowd groaned in disgust, there was a cleaning, riders falling, some holding on for dear life, a sold out crowd, a concerned fire marshall, and jump to your feet cheering like when the football team scores a touchdown. Actually, we're not sure what that would sound like in Rogersville. At least it was all for a good cause. 15 Grand was raised for one of Lauren's teachers who is battling cancer. It's awesome to see how God can bring a community together, much like we are to do as a church. 

High King Peter of Narnia

This will be Nathan's all time favorite costume. It better be, I dropped some change for it! I've just never been one for storebought costumes, though. One year, he wanted to be an astronaut... he wore blue sweats with a downloaded flight patch taped to the sleeve and a trash can on his head so he could breathe some oxygen. I think that one cost about 5 bucks. I know, you can't believe it.

Our pretty little southern belle was so elegant in a floor length red ball gown that she stepped on all night. But boy, did her hair look great after 45 minutes of enduring the curling iron and piling it all on top of her head!

Lauren didn't dress up this year. Now, I will cry. She opted instead for hanging back at the house with her other non-costumed friends because they're much too old for that sort of thing. I think next year she will just have to be Queen Lucy...

Discover Bennet Springs!

There's so much to do there:

* Gather as much "dry " firewood as possible.

*Roast marshmallow over the fire and make s'mores.

*Cram 5 people and an 85lb Lab into a teeny tiny camper and attempt to sleep.

*Visit the fake copperhead and all the other live, but non-venomous snakes at the little nature center.

* Squish 7 kids around a laptop and watch "Nacho Libre."

*Play a nail biting game of "Clue."

* Enjoy a pre-buffet card game and watered down hot chocolate at the dining lodge.

*Pack up and leave just before the sun comes out and miss the most incredible day of hiking ever.

Seriously, we had a great time and made some great memories. I will definitely want to go back there for a second try. Shout out to the Breaux's for letting us borrow their camper and to the Reynolds for letting us borrow everything else we forgot.

Look around you!

If you live here in the Ozarks, you no doubt love this time of year. This is what I see as I drive into town every day! The colors all around us are simply amazing. This year I have been very aware of the beauty. I thinks it's because I must be getting older and learning to appreciate it when things are good, because so often times things may not be so good. I just had to go around and take pictures this year - I've got some great ones for that HSBC photo contest! And yes, I can enter because I'm not judging.

So I just have to share this thought for you, a little more on the serious side...

Why did God make the trees turn color?

There is a scientific process that occurs, I know, but I am asking why did He do that? God could have simplified things a bit and just made the leaves go from bright, summer green to all dried up and falling off the trees. I don't really have THE answer, and I think there may be many. But this year, for me, it's just beauty. God creates beauty. Look at us, we are fearfully and wonderfully made. No, we're not perfect now due to sin, but he restores us and creates that beauty again and again, just like those leaves. So, look around you and remember who you are, who God is, and what we're here for. Heavy, but that's what's in my head this week.


We're going camping tonight in the rain, 7 kids, possibly 3 dogs, and 2 campers (not tents). I'll let you know how that goes...

Rockbridge Adventure

I call this an adventure, because we were charting new territory. New to us, that is...
I think the kids will always remember the day we spent in the car when they were really hoping to go camping in the wilderness somewhere far away from a toilet.
Instead, we drove down through Ava, MO, but not quite to Gainesville, where I once played basketball. Glendale against Gainsville?? What were they thinking?? We shut them out, with the final score being something like 60 - 2. We also yelled, "Go, Go, Goat-ropers!" in the huddle to start the game. Now that's high class for ya. I digress...

Rockbridge, MO is a beautiful place with an old grist mill and a restaurant, and a humidor??? Oh well, here are a few thoughts about our day:


*Don't tell the kids you might camp there, simply nothing less will do.

*NEVER skip rocks with an eager Lab by your side. Poor thing just couldn't stay out of the water. At one point, Nathan hurled a crabapple into the river to see how far he could throw it, when out of nowhere - there goes Duke, flying over the bank and into 5 ft? deep water after that "ball." He finally gave up and tried to swim back to the edge, only to find he could not climb up the steep bank at that spot. Emma cried and we all got a little nervous, but he made it on down the river. I think he's still looking for that crabapple.

*Make RESERVATIONS at the restaurant. We didn't, but I hear it's amazing...

*35 mm camera's actually take film...

*Beware of large dogs with behemoth heads from the movie, "SandLot." 

Birthday Tribute

I miss my Sister so much my stomach hurts. She is so far away, seemingly happy and content with her little and not so little ones all around her. Her friend, Tami, lives with them and I check her blog daily for small glimpses of her life. It may just be that big Sis thing where I think she can do no wrong. But seriously, there's not much wrong she can do. She is smart, funny, devoted to her family, godly, and she can preach better than anyone I know (no offence to my pastor!), but she would never take the pulpit, unless it was totally appropriate. Best of all, she's really, really fun. She knows every song ever written. Back in Junior High, she created a list of song titles with actual names in the title for a KTTS radio contest - she came up with hundreds!. My sister loves to dance, and even tried to teach me the Texas 2 step in our backyard because she was preparing for a barn dance. She is an amazing cook, and even willing to take up snow skiing at age 41 ( although she's as bad as I am). She is raising 7 incredible kids and loves her husband dearly. She is strong willed, though, and Mom has always said she had to spank her alot. Somehow, that makes me feel better. But strong she is, now and always. I still look up to her, my wonderful sister.

Happy Birthday, Sa.

[OK, she may be great and all, but I can probably kick her tail in basketball. And there was that time when I was about 5 yrs old, my sister and my cousin, Gina, and their 2 dogs got "stuck" in the tree and sent me running for help through fields and mountains, over rocks and streams, tears streaming down my face because I thought she and my cousin were gonna die??!! Yeah, when my Dad got to them, they really thought they were gonna die. Guess I still haven't got over that one.]

Yes, those Pumpkin Spice Lattes are amazing. But I must confess, I have another addiction.

Running.

I know, I know. Sounds like a blast, doesn't it?! But I am growing to love it. I am still only doing 4 miles at a time, but I want to do a half marathon in November, if my body can handle it. Greg, pictured here, might go for the big one: 26.2 miles. Yikes. Every time I run I fight some sort of pain, and I just get so winded that I involuntarily yawn all the time while running! Plus, I'm by myself (for all you internet wierdo's out there: I take my killer dog with me), so I wear this radio earphone to keep my mind off the pain. I'm just not cool enough for the ipod. You see, I want this new gadget from Nike and Ipod where the shoe has a brain in it that sends messages to the Ipod! Tells ya stuff like how many miles you've run, calories burned, etc... I just wanted to hear the voice of Lance Armstrong come over the earplugs and tell me how awesome I am for just completing 5 miles!!
Yep, that'd be sweet.
So here I go, limping, yawning, listing to KLFJ, wearing my husbands sunglasses and a ponytail. It's quite a site, I know, but I think I'll keep going... 

The Enemy Is Here

For the first time in my life, I have an enemy. A tangible one, that is. There is a woman who was working the counter at a local Starbucks in a grocery store where I was buying a nice little giftcard for my niece. She must have seen the glint in my eye that flashed as I noticed the poster declaring the return of their beloved "Pumpkin Spice Latte." For the very moment I finished my transaction she added, "would you like one... free?" How could I resist? I'm a sucker for a bargain, but for me to like anything containing coffee or anything that tastes remotely like coffee would be a miracle of God. I have always hated the morning addiction and swore I would never fall prey. But here I am, I said "yes," to that woman.

Now, I must clarify, SHE is not my enemy. That would be unChristian-like. That unbelievably wonderful latte IS. All those delicious spices virtually cover up any molecule of coffee flavor in there. Although I seem to have just entered the world of "coffee" lovers, I must fight this battle looming ahead. A tall Pumpkin Spice Latte is a whopping 370 calories when ordered with whole milk and yummy whipped cream. That's enough to kill my 1/2 Marathon efforts coming in approx 8 weeks. Maybe I could have a friend stationed throughout the race to supply me with a P.S. Latte at various mile markers. Better yet, maybe it could be THAT woman from behind the counter.

Lost Sunglasses

To whom do these lovely shades belong???
I'll give a day old Bratwurst to the first person who comes forward and rightfully identifies the owner...

Labor Day?

Labor means "work," right? I don't think so.... Here we are having FUN, an absolute blast!












Here's what we did:

*College Class Activity at our house on Sat.

*4 Wheelin' at Mineral Springs on Sun. (Thanks Joe and Shannon!)

*Hillen Taco's, swimmin', horse ridin', 4 wheelin', dust makin', and adventure hikin' on Monday at our house.

WHEW! Now that's work, huh? And for all you you who are just hungry for some trivial knowledge, and want to know the true meaning of Labor Day (It's not quite as good as Christmas, though)... go to www.DOL.gov
I'll let them tell you all about it.