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Wow!  Has it really been 10 months since I blogged on this stinking thing?  I guess Facebook has given me reason to be lazy towards my 3 followers!  

We started a new blog today... www.glutenfreepiggy.blogspot.com ... to journal our adventure into the world of gluten-free foods.  Hopefully this will help Piggy rid herself of her eczema that she has suffered with for so long.

All in all, things are going well.  Rea will graduate in May, Bubsy starts driving school soon, and Piggy is busy doing all the things a tween loves to do!

More posts soon...  I promise!

Facebook-itis

Yes, it has been ages since I blogged. I've been inflicted with Facebook-itis for the past few months and have severely neglected my blog!! Sorry to the three readers that only visit here when they get a notification that I have updated...

It's been a busy few months since Grandpa's passing. A lot of emotions went awry and relationships were challenged, but pieces are starting to fall back into place and hearts healed. Life goes on, as they say...

Rea is still working very hard at her schoolwork and her job. She finally got a car and her license at almost 17 1/2 years old! I'm so proud of her for sticking in there and making the best of things. She is looking at colleges and will hopefully chose one close to home for her first year. We went on a campus tour of SIUE and are planning on some more tours this summer.

Bubsy is getting ready for motocross season. He's trying to bulk up with protein shakes and workouts. he finally hit 118 pounds this past week!! He has nearly outgrown his dirtbike that we bought last season, so Dan is looking to trade it in on a Yamaha 125. He, and Dan both, have become obsessed with motocross. It's all they talk about!

Piggy will celebrate her 10th birthday on Monday. We are taking her and two of her friends to Six Flags on Saturday for her birthday party. She is very excited and wants to make her own cake! Such a suzy home maker!!

Our "other kiddo", Kelsey, came in over Spring Break. She and us girls went to Chicago for a few days and had a wonderful time!! It is so special to spend time with her, but it is so hard to let her leave at the end of her visits. We are already planning her summer trip to visit!

When we went to Chicago we took the train from St. Louis. I have to say, it was a great journey. I realy loved riding the rails! Railroading is in my blood as both my grandfather and my uncle work(ed) for the railroad. My great-grandfather also had a tie to the railroad, albiet a fatal one. In some sentimental way I have decided to keep the railroading ties going in my family. I have decided to start a website dedicated to railway travel. I've got the design finished, now I just need to get all the info plugged in. I'll let my three readers know when it is online.

Grandfather's Funeral

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!!