12th day of blogging...

On the twelfth day of blogging my website sent to me, twelve family vacations, eleven/eleven birthdays, ten inches of hair, nine girls a' dancing, eight children singing, seven family members, six friends from church, five sticky fingers, four funny faces, three little girls, two ankle biters and some random photos to see.

In mid-October we went to see my Uncle Al and Aunt Beth. They live in a house on Bull Shoals lake in Arkansas. We had such a nice time enjoying the beautiful view, going out on Al's boat, fishing, putting on plays, seeing the wildlife, etc...

The girls put on one of their special plays for our hosts. It starred a cast made up entirely of princesses and one dog (Prince Radar). Radar was great with the children. He didn't retaliate when jumped on, ridden on, yanked on, or petted for 4 hours straight. Al told us he slept for an entire day after the children left.

Uncle Alfred and William.

One of the girls (I think) helped Aunt Beth with her hair so she could be pretty too.

We found a box turtle and brought it to the deck. The boys were fascinated.

11th day of blogging...

On the eleventh day of blogging my website sent to me, eleven/eleven birthdays, ten inches of hair, nine girls a' dancing, eight children singing, seven family members, six friends from church, five sticky fingers, four funny faces, three little girls, two ankle biters and some random photos to see.

What do I mean by eleven/eleven birthday? Erilynn was born on the 11th of November (11/11), which also happens to be Veteran's day (she's a daddy's girl).

Here is seldom seen footage of Erilynn transforming into a tasmanian devil. The box of presents from the Berrys never had a chance.

This is her and Alena admiring her new "caboodle" (It's like a tackle box for girls) filled with all manner of girly stuff.

And here she is next to the resident mannequin (that would be me) looking very pleased with herself.

Christian giving our new snoring pig friend some much needed love.

10th day of blogging

On the tenth day of blogging my website sent to me ten inches of hair, nine girls a' dancing, eight children singing, seven family members, six friends from church, five sticky fingers, four funny faces, three little girls, two ankle biters and some random photos to see.

Hannah, our oldest (8 years old), decided to donate her hair to Locks of Love. They are a non-profit that accepts donated hair to use to make hair prosthetics for children that have suffered hair loss for any reason. The minimum required to make a hairpiece is 10 inches.

Before.

After.

9th day of blogging...

On the ninth day of blogging my website sent to me, nine girls a' dancing, eight children singing, seven family members, six friends from church, five sticky fingers, four funny faces, three little girls, two ankle biters and some random photos to see.

We enrolled our girls in a gymnastics program run by ETC gymnastics, which stands for Everything Through Christ. FYI: Philippians 4:13 is "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

Alena doing a nice handstand.

Alena (in pink) and Hannah (in blue) doing some bar work.

Alena doing a one-legged back bend.

Eighth day of blogging...

On the eighth day of blogging my website sent to me, eight children singing, seven family members, six friends from church, five sticky fingers, four funny faces, three little girls, two ankle biters and some random photos to see.

Alena (center in white) performing with our church's children's choir.

Since I'm Alena's daddy, I get to brag on her ever so often. Alena's Sunday school teacher told us that her class was playing a game in which the children were to call out who goes next. When it was Alena's turn, she called on Sarah Rose, one of the special needs children (that I assume was being left out by the other children). Her teacher said it really touched her heart.

We are so proud of her. Since the day she was saved, she has often shown a Christ-like love that many adult Christians could learn from.

7th day of blogging...

On the seventh day of blogging my website sent to me, seven family members, six friends from church, five sticky fingers, four funny faces, three little girls, two ankle biters and some random photos to see.

A former pastor of ours (David Seabrooke) used to talk about the masks that we wear. Not actual physical masks, but how we change our behavior to appear different than we really are for the sake of others (putting up a "front", to use the vernacular of the day). The following illustration may help:

Mask On

Mask Off

6th day of blogging...

On the sixth day of blogging my website sent to me, six friends from church, five sticky fingers, four funny faces, three little girls, two ankle biters and some random photos to see.

We are always impressed by the stuff that we find at Costco. Aside from the good prices, they usually have pretty good quality items. However, it was still a pretty big shock when we rounded a corner and ran into our old friends Jerry and Andrea Rooker. Costco really does have everything! We went to a small group with them when we attended Olathe Bible Church in Kansas (a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away). They are great Christian friends and have 4 wonderful children. They invited us over to their house and everyone had fun.

Alena enjoying their swingset.

The boys saw this dog in a neighbor's yard and took off running after it, ignoring our cries to halt.

Their children were sweet and patient and played with ours so well even though ours are mostly much younger.

5th day of blogging...

On the fifth day of blogging my website sent to me, five sticky fingers, four funny faces, three little girls, two ankle biters and some random photos to see.

William enjoying a smore (I think).

Christian wearing a smore.

4th day of blogging...

On the fourth day of blogging my website sent to me, four funny faces, three little girls, two ankle biters and some random photos to see.

Now lets all sit still and take a nice family picture!

3rd day of blogging...

On the third day of blogging my website sent to me, three little girls, two ankle biters and some random photos to see:

The children got some hand-me-downs and they were very excited and eager to lay claim to the "good" stuff.

One of the girl's school projects was to make a paper-mache globe.

And here is the finished product.

2nd day of blogging...

On the second day of blogging my website sent to me, two ankle biters and some random photos to see:

These photos were from the boy's birthday, Sept 11. I find it somewhat ironic that our twins were born on the anniversary of the twin tower's destruction. Not that the two events were related, but it reminds me that what men intend for evil, God can use for good.

Alena enjoyed pushing the boys on their new toy.

The expression on William's face is priceless. Wish I could have caught it better.

It's not really a party in Tennessee until you put on your red cowboy hat, grab a football and run around with no pants on. (Unfortunately, one football didn't make it. The boys thought it was chocolate and took a chunk out of it).

1st day of blogging...

In order to catch up on my blogging, I'm going to do a series called "The 12 days of blogging". You know, like the "Twelve days of Christmas", only sweeter and cheaper. We'll see how long I can go before I slip up.

On the first day of blogging, my website sent to me, some random photos to see:

Dollywood vacation

In August we took a summer vacation to Dollywood, in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

Lots of fun rides were enjoyed.

One of the best parts was the hotel we stayed at, which had a giant slide that the children really loved.

Including the big ones.

The boys kicked back at the pool looking GQ.

Sunday is coming!

I nearly cried when I first heard this song (Sunday) by Tree63.

Listen to it here.

Lyrics:
Nothing’s sacred, the days are cheap
Truth is thin on the ground
Still our prophets are crucified
Nobody believes we’re stumbling
It’s Friday, but Sunday is coming

Someone’s saying a prayer tonight
For hungry mouths to be filled
Someone kneels in the dark somewhere
And darkness is already crumbling
It’s Friday, but Sunday comes

Sunday – Hallelujah – it’s not so far, it’s not so far away
Sunday – Hallelujah – it’s not so far, it’s not so far away

Broken promises, weary hearts
But one promise remains:
Crucified, he will come again
It’s Friday, but Sunday is coming
It’s Friday, but Sunday is coming

Sunday…

Behind the Song:
"This song was originally titled “Friday (But Sunday Is Coming),” from the title of the well-known sermon and book by Tony Campolo. Its verses deal with the dark realities of our world, where the Friday of Jesus’ crucifixion acts as a metaphor for our experiences of those realities. As the Gospel stories clearly show, Friday happens, but Sunday is inevitable. Sunday is the resurrection, the day when all our meager hopes and wildest dreams come true, the day we as believers look forward to despite our present condition. This is a “hang in there” song; Sunday is not so far away!" - John Ellis (Tree 63)


And now for your viewing entertainment:

CRAZY DAYS

July 26
Our sweet Florida realtor, Nancy Bernstein, called to let us know that a crazy thing happened. Our renter moved out without informing anyone and left the house a mess - way too unappealing to show potential buyers. We discussed the situation and decided it would be best if we drove down and cleaned it up ourselves. Since we already had something planned for every weekend in August we would have to leave tomorrow! Absolutely crazy!

July 27
We worked like crazy to pack needed cleaning supplies, tools, clothes and bedding since we planned to stay at the house while we worked on it. We drove like crazy all night long, long, long.

July 28
Paul's birthday! What kind of crazy guy spends his whole birthday working to haul stuff out of his house. Not just any stuff, crazy stuff, like stacks and stacks and stacks of women's sweaters, a van seat and of course what everyone keeps around - a good supply of hydraulic fluid - 10 five gallon buckets of hydraulic fluid - where do you put that when you take it out of the house? We did not know either. To "top" it all off, the most "hair" raising part of our day was the whole lice possibility, makes me itch just to think of it - scratch, scratch. The best part of that day was our good friends the Tolleys allowing us (on a spur of the moment phone call) to spend the next two nights with them. Oh the luxury of cleanliness! We are so grateful to them!

July 29
We went to church, visited with some of our friends and swam with the Tolleys. We stopped by the house to see if we could locate the touch-up paint we had specifically left for just such times. I guess it got thrown out when the hydraulic fluid moved in. crazy!

July 30
I dropped off Paul at work, and started calling on carpet. I was praying, the girls were praying and God answered! I went and picked it out, they came and measured, cut and installed it all in one day! How marvelous is our God! We hired cleaners to come help, they worked like crazy, with red faces and sweat dripping, the bathrooms and kitchen were clean again. Paul came home to a new house.



July 31
I gave up on getting the stains out of the upstairs carpet and called the carpet guys back. I scrubbed grout, trimmed plants, got touch up paint samples and did a million other crazy things. The children spent part of their day at church with Andrea getting their super spoiling time.

August 1
I scrubbed and patched walls like crazy. I picked up paint, sushi and a belated birthday cake for Paul. We had a mini birthday celebration for the poor mistreated boy.



August 2
I finished up with the house, packed, and washed our laundry. Fred and Nancy took Hannah and Alena for ice cream, what a treat that was for all! Paul FINALLY got home from work, I was soooo ready to leave that house of drudgery behind! Again, we drove like crazy all night.

August 3
We were home for 4 sweet hours! We took showers, had a nap and then we left and drove like crazy again. This time on our way to St. Louis to visit Jeannine who was back in the states from Holland. We stayed with lovely hosts John and Amanda.

August 4
We visited the zoo. When it got hot, we decided that was also crazy so we went back to John and Amanda's for lunch. We had a big family dinner at Paul Sr. and Faye's home.

August 5
We went to church with John and Amanda and had a yummy lunch at Lollie's home. Later we all went swimming at Paul Sr. and Faye's neighborhood pool. Everyone had a fun time! Then Paul's mom and sister Mary arrived, with everyone together we made a rather crazy entourage of travelers. Then we went back to Lollie's for dinner and more family time.


August 6
We did more visiting with the family over breakfast and lunch at Lollie's. That poor girl must have cooked like crazy! Then we drove home. I must admit that I was so happy to sleep in my own bed that night. It took me several days to recover from all the craziness!

Raising children on a budget

Tip #1: Send your kids to public school. It's free! (Side-effects may include school shootings, alcohol/drug abuse, teen pregnancy, bullying, rampant peer pressure and secular/humanist indoctrination.) We home-school, by the way, so we have to find other money savers...for example.

Tip #2: Make your kitchen's double sink do double duty. Twice the bath with half the soap and double the fun.

Tip #3: Store all your spare children in a single small closet! They really don't take up that much room!

Tip #4: Then all that pent-up energy can be put to good use!

Father's day

We went down to see the Berrys for Father's day (You can tell how far the blog is behind now). Had a great time. They were constantly stuffing us with good food and the weather was surprisingly nice. They (NE Texas) have been having flash floods while we (Mid TN) have been in perpetual drought. Really weird.

Got a good picture of Granddad. Don't know who the little gremlins were.

John (Hollye's brother) and I decided to build a swing for the girls with some spare lumber and rope. The children thought it was great!

Me getting my Father's day presents (I got gifts too!).