XMAS Decorations

Happy Birthday Rea!

Today our first-born turned 17!! It is so surreal to think of her as one year away from being an adult! She had to work for a few hours today, but when she got off we went out for Mexican food, then had cake at the house. She is truly growing into a lovely woman. We couldn't ask for a better kid!!

My Kiddos

Halloween

The Little Schoolhouse

I am just about finished with my homeschool classroom that is housed in the basement. I am really excited about the kids starting school tomorrow. I have found a wealth of support both online and in our community for homeschoolers and am looking forward to meeting people who are doing the same thing for their kids.

The classroom is almost finished and we are still waiting on books to arrive, but we are going to kick off the school year tomorrow with a bang! The kids are excited and have asked if I could homeschool some of their friends as well! Hee Hee!

Driving Miss Dena

Well, the time has finally come! Rea started Drivers Education today and will get her learner's permit next week. She is well past getting her driver's license, but she has decided that she is ready and willing to hit the road on her own!

She has a 5 week course (3 days/week) and has to log 50 hours of driving time with her parents and wait 9 months before she can get her license. Since she will be getting her permit next week, I assume that she will be driving us (by us, I mean ME) everywhere we need to go. It is a scary thought, but she has proved to be a good driver in the past when we took her and let her drive around the neighborhood before we moved.

However, in Texas, kids only have to wait 6 months after getting their permit before they can get their license. Here in Illinois, it's 9 months, which means she won't get her license until February 2009. By that time she will be well over 17!! Hopefully her more mature nature will help her be a better driver.

One thing I was suprised to find out today when I called our insurance company, is that our rates will not go up when she gets her learner's permit, only when she gets her license. Now, that was good news!

For now, and I guess until February, she will surely be doing nothing but Driving Miss Dena!! Hee Hee!! I am going to kick back and be chauffered for a while while I bite my nails and try to push my feet through the floor board.

Boy, it's bad enough when Dan drives since I like to be in control when I'm in a car. I can only imagine how it will be with a teenager at the wheel!!!

Choncho

Bubsy has named his dirt bike Choncho. Here is a picture of it and in the background you can see (you have to read thie rest of this really fast for it to be funny...) the only Harley that we now own becuase Hubby thought it would be fun to be a dirt bike racer so he traded in his beloved HD for some Yamahas and now he has to ask permission to ride my Harley because it is MINE, yes it is MINE and he can't ride it without permission because he traded in the big HD bike on the Yamahas even though it was supposed to be my upgrade bike because I can ride it better than the peanut tank, but he doesn't have me fooled because I know he has plans to get a HD Fat Boy in a few months, no he doesn't have me fooled, but I signed the title away on the big HD and I will still be riding the peanut tank so I am the loser in all of this and all I wanted was a 1937 Chevrolet pick-up truck but will probably never get one because it won't fit in the garage with all the motorcycles. Hee Hee!

: )

Bubsy's New Toy

I never thought, in a million years, that I would let Bubsy get a dirt bike!! But yesterday, it finally happened!!

We have been going to the dirt bike races here in Illinois and have had such a good time as a family enjoying our time together and watching the kids (and adults) race their bikes.

This weekend Hubby made the ultimate sacrifice when he traded in his Harley-Davidson for 3 dirtbikes (Troy's, Hubby's and Piggy's). Troy's was in stock and was delivered yesterday. Hubby's will be here in a week and Piggy's will be here in a few weeks. Bubsy and Piggy are going to start racing!! He He!!

Here are a few pics from Bubsy's "clutch" lesson today.

EARTHQUAKE!!!

When I agreed to move to Illinois to be closer to Hubby, I NEVER in a million years thought that we would be in store for Earthquakes!!

About 4:30am on Friday we were all awakened by a shaking house and shaking beds!! I thought that there must have been a tornado come close to us, but in fact, it was an earthquake!!

I have NEVER been in an earthquake and didn't know what to expect. We did have a tornado come very close to us about 7 years ago. The house shook and we heard a "train" sound, but this was different. When I got up to go get the kids with the intention of heading for the basement, Hubby said, "I think it was an explosion or an earthquake!" We looked out the windows and didn't see any obvious signs of a fire, so Hubby assumed it was an earthquake.

Since he had witnessed many of them during his time in Russia and Japan he was confident that what we had felt was in fact an earthquake. I was a little more skeptical. I immediately turned on the news and after 20 minutes, they confirmed that what we had felt was indeed an earthquake. All I could think was, "why in the hell am I feeling an earthquake when I live in the middle of the country?" I was under the dilusion that earthquakes happened in Hawaii and California. I had no idea that they could happen here in the Midwest!!

We have had a couple of aftershocks, but sustained no damage (except for a pair of curtains that I put up very hastily that fell down during the tremor).

This seems to be a very interesting place!!!

Piggy's B-Day!!

Yes, I'm a little late in sending out these photos, but they were emailed to the family on the day of the party.

Piggy had a GREAT birthday here in Illinois. She had about 10 kids over to the house. I made a cake and she had a very old fashioned birthday party complete with pin-the-tail on the donkey and a piniata!! I was so glad she had so many kids show up, even though we have only lived here for a month!!

Expectations

The problem with expectations is that... when you turn 36 and have not met them you feel like a loser! Ha!


As I watched American Idol over the past two nights and saw that they were doing a Dolly Parton week, I HAD to reminissce about the past!


Dolly has always been one of my favorite artists, people, and celebrities of all time. I remember being a young girl and wanting to be just like Dolly Parton.


Well, I did get my wish in one way, but that's another story! Ha!


I really thought, so many years ago, that I wanted to be a country music star. I recorded some tapes at several of the dozens of "recording studios" in Nashville and Branson. I remember sitting outside the studio waiting for my most recent recording to be piped through the speakers for everyone passing by to hear. The main goal was for the 10 people, who happened to be passing by during the song, to stop and say, "Wow, that was great!!". Of course if you got that kind of response, you were sure to be the next best country STAR!!


How funny it was because ANYONE cold pay their $12 to record a song, have it piped through the speakers for the 10 poor souls that happened to be passing by, and feel like they are a STAR. Well, maybe that wasn't such a bad thing for a teenage girl with dreams of stardom!


What the hell!


Well, I ended up getting voted "Most Talented" by my High School Senior Class (not sure if that was for the singing or acting), got a scholarship to Kilgore College for Acting ($1500.00 - Whew!), got married, had kids, got fat, wear my hair in a ponytail and don't wear much make up. Oh, and I got half of my boobs cut off... So, Dolly Parton, you have no need to worry!! HA!


Needless to say, I never became a country music star, never performed in front of a packed house, never got one of my songs published, and never won a Grammy like I promised in my high school yearbook...


BUT...


When I get the urge to belt out a song (whether it's Patsy Cline, Reba, Dolly or Bette), I belt it out with pride and I can still hear the inkling of a great voice in there somewhere. What's more important, is that my kids think I'm the best singer they ever heard. That's the best award I could have ever hoped for!!

Country Decorating

Since we have moved here, I have felt my "country inspired decorator" come out in full force. As much as I love our Texas house, I was always trying to decorate in not only a "Country", but "Country Club" way.

Since we have moved here, I have shed my expectations and have done what really makes me happy. Here are a few interiors of the house.

More Snow on Easter!

After all the kids left for the day and the ham, mashed potatoes, stuffing and rolls were served for dinner, we were surprised to see snow falling outside as we were washing the evening dishes. Andrea, Troy & Shelby had to go outside and investigate the evening snowfall!

Even though it was dark, we let them play in the backyard and on the deck for an hour. Troy & Shelby had a blast making snow angels while Andrea took pics.

Easter in Illinois

We were in for a real treat when we woke up on Easter Sunday. There was tons of snow falling like mad in almost blizzard-like conditions!! Unfortunately it only lasted for an hour and the snow eventually melted.

We had a great time hiding 350 plastic easter eggs for the kids in the neighborhood. Once everyone got home from church and had lunch the egg hunt was on! There were about 12 kids from ages 4-16 here for the hunt. They had a great time!! Here are a few pictures.

Settling In

Well, we made the journey and are settling in here in Illinois. After a chaotic trip up here, we finally arrived to a beautiful home in a fantastic subdivision! Dan did a great job picking out the right home for us! However, on the way here, we got a phone call from our realtor who had gone to the house to make sure everything was in order. She was horrified to find over a foot of water in the finished basement!! Needless to say, we are 3 weeks in the house and still have not been able to move our furniture to the basement!

The crew came out the first 2 weeks and pulled up all the carpet and padding, then took out 2 feet of sheetrock around the entire basement! We are STILL waiting to get everything fixed so we can finish our move. Here are a few pictures of the damage to the basement.

Moving to Illinois

Well, we are less than 2 weeks away from taking the long and cold journey to Illinois!! We are all very excited, but hope that the weather cooperates with us on our moving weekend!! It has been snowing quite a bit in Illinois and hopefully it will subside before we get there!!

Here is a pic of our new house. I haven't seen it yet, but I have confidence that Dan made the right decision for our family.

Cedar Bayou Gets a Makeover

Dan and I spent the whole past weekend painting new shutters on our house and painting the doors black. We are really excited about the results. We were both very sore on Sunday from actually working some very deprived muscles, but the results were well worth it!!

Claire's 1st Birthday!

Piggy had a birthday party for her baby, Claire, on the 12th!! I bought this doll for her exactly one year ago in Rome and she made sure that Claire had the best b-day ever! She even made her a lemon birthday cake in my new Kitchen Aid Mixer!! What a couple of dolls!

BTW, the gal in purple is "Carmen".

Peg Leg, No Way!! Knock on Wood!

Here is the latest on my Harley leg accident. It is finally healing well after some phone consultations with my private nurse Linda!! The pain is finally subsiding, and the wound is closing up and hopefully I will be able to keep my leg! Ha!

Evolution of a Harley Accident

Nearly 2 weeks ago, I had an incident with my Harley that caused a lot of bruising and a gash on my leg. Even though I wasn't even riding it at the time, and was only standing behind it, the pain and discomfort that I have suffered over the past 2 weeks has been more than I want to deal with. I can't imagine getting into an accident, so I am now selling my Harley.

These pictures are the evolution of the cut that I sustained and how it went from, "not so terribly bad", to "infection", to "getting better".

Wednesdays With Toddlers

Hubby and I were eager to help with "Toddler Duty" this past Monday and Wednesday as their Dad started his last semester of college. As excited as we were to watch them, it made us realize, even more, how fortunate we are to have kids long past toddler stage!

Don't get me wrong, the kids were GREAT! Never fussed or cried and had a great time while they were here, but one often forgets how much attention they need at such a young age! Especially when I am trying to home school 2 teenagers! The toddlers LOVE their teenage cousins and I often found them in their laps as they were trying to do their schoolwork.

But, never fear... Hubby came to the rescue. He had such a fun time with them and tried to keep the occupied while we were doing studies.

In fact, when he came up the stairs on Monday, Buggers saw him and said "Hi!" and waved her hand at him, then went right to him and gave him a hug. Then Bubby followed with an "Uncle Dan" and gave him a big hug.

At one point, they all put on hats like Uncle Dan and piled several on his head. He wore them around for a while before realizing he had on more than one hat! But the absolute cutest moment was when he put on a movie for them and got them both settled down on the couches with pillows and blankets and settled in himself on the love seat, when Buggers came over and crawled up next to him and lay down to watch the movie. TOO CUTE!!!

Sir Edmund Hillary: May Your Spirit Fly

I was very saddened tonight to learn of the death of one of my greatest heroes, Sir Edmund Hillary. Sir Edmund was the first to conquer Mt. Everest and was known to the world as a great philanthropist and overall compassionate human being.

When I read the news of his passing I had to post the following to the AOL message board:

"Sir Edmund, you were truly one of my heroes. May your body rest in peace, may your soul take flight, and may your spirit live forever in our hearts. For all of us who think we will never reach the ultimate summit in our lifetime, we must remember all the good you did after your mountain conquest. With your splendid example, may we all have confidence that our own quest may be not material, but personal. You have shown us that you mounted many summits in your lifetime. Everest being just one of them. May we all conquer our own summits in honor of human kind. Bless your soul, you dear man."

It is no secret that I will never conquer the mountain the way he did, but perhaps I can conquer more attainable mountains in my lifetime. He was a great man that did great things for the kids in Nepal and around the world. He was an outstanding mentor who gave us all a chance to hope, even if for a brief second, for something that only seemed out of our reach. He was a great teacher of humanity in his demure way of being "just a beekeeper".

What an extraordinary man that lived in our lifetime. One who we can be proud to have shared time on this earth with. One who's legacy will live on for every adventurist, giver, dreamer, and human for a lifetime to come and beyond.

Rest in Peace, Sir Edmund. You will always be my hero.