Homeowners!

The blog is neglected.
I'm drowning in dirty laundry.
I can't find anything.
I haven't cooked a meal that's worth anything in days.

And here's why:

Today Hubby and I signed final papers for our NEW HOUSE!!!

"Excited" does not begin to cover it! We outgrew our current house a while back--it has gotten smaller as the boys have grown bigger. The new house has plenty of space, both inside and out.

Tonight we picked up dinner at Rosa's and had our first meal in our new house...picnic-style on the kitchen floor. The boys got to bring a few things over for their new rooms. Goliath brought his CD player and his art supplies, Little Middle brought his Lego Star Wars ships, and Baby chose to bring his hats. Even Abby Dog got to come, and she was a big hit with the little girls who live next door!

The five of us are over-the-moon-thrilled about our new place. There is much more work to be done (including the "big" moving day this weekend) before we are settled there. But while I'm making a path through all the U-Haul boxes, I will be thankful. He has given us so much!

P.S. I promise that when the move is done, the blog will be revived.

Happenings on the Home Front

-Summer is well underway! The #1 thing I am thankful for right now is that my friend Michelle and her family put in a pool this spring. We have had a fun time swimming and playing with friends the last couple of weeks. This could very well be the summer savior!

A lot of little girls...and my cowboys.

Me and my gang

-Today is chemo #5. People around the globe are petitioning God on my behalf for an easier recovery.

-The little cowboys went to their grandparents' house in West Texas for the week so that I may suffer in silence. Since they've been gone, my dad-in-law's uncle died and the 5 of them are making a trip to Oklahoma to attend the funeral. No, the boys will not go to the service, and yes, they will find fun things to do there.

-It was Father's Day this weekend. My man got a Barbeque Bible and a gift card to Barnes and Noble. BBQ and books--2 of his favorite things for our amazing daddy!

Baby loves his daddy!

-Father's Day reminded me how very much I still miss my Grandad. He's been with Jesus for just over 2 years now. The last time I was in Houston I left a Team Allyson bracelet with the flowers at his grave.

-I've lived in the Great State of Texas for my entire life, yet I am surprised every summer at how hellishly hot it can be here.

-Three different people have caught me totally off guard in the last few weeks by announcing that they are expecting babies.

-Last week I got to work at VBS at our church. I taught in Little Middle's class...something that had its ups and downs. I had so much fun getting to know the kids and planting everlasting seeds in their hearts and minds. However, if I never hear the theme song for "Saddle Ridge Ranch" again, it will still be too soon.

-My best friend is on summer vacation, and I love it that I get to talk to her much more frequently!

-I worry that I am too old and not enough fun to plan a bachelorette party.

-My sister is getting married in 18 days!

-For the first time in a very VERY long time, all of the laundry in my whole house was washed, dried, folded, and put away. And then Hubby came back from a weekend trip.

-Not only did Hubby come home with dirty laundry, he brought home a new dog. A second dog has been an ongoing "discussion" between us for several years. I finally gave in because a) I want him to be happy; and b) we already have a dog, a rabbit, a gerbil, 2 dwarf frogs, a bearded dragon, a snake, and 3 sons. I'm not sure that a puppy will really make that much difference.

World, meet Gus.

-I bought some new goggles for Little Middle to take to the pool. He wanted to try them out right away!

-My almost-sister-in-law came to visit this weekend while all of my boys were gone. We had a lovely time shopping, having dinner out, and eating Blue Bell in our pajamas in front of the TV. My brother has good taste.

-Goliath and Little Middle are on lawn duty. Goliath mows the front yard, Little Middle mows the back. Baby's job is to pick up all the toys/cups/trash that get left out and put them away. He complains about it, but I bet he'll complain a lot more when he is big enough to push a lawn mower!

-Goliath worked his first car wash in a 7-11 parking lot over the weekend. I took my car and donated $8 to him and his friends for making it shine!

-Chemo brain is real! I have tried to make whipped cream in the toaster, put a gallon of ice cream in the refrigerator, and misplaced a loaf of bread.

-At this time next year, I will be sending my oldest son to camp for the first time and getting ready to send my youngest to kindergarten.

-Our neighbors' hot water heater exploded a few days ago while they were out. The water got so high that at one point it reached an electrical outlet, causing sparks and smoke. They are so fortunate that their whole house did not burn down! They will have to replace all of the flooring, but the insurance company won't come out for another 1 1/2-2 weeks to evaluate the claim so that the water has time to do all the damage it's going to do. See...it can always be worse!

-I am holding fast to this promise today: " 'Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,' says the Lord, who has compassion on you." Isaiah 54:10

Spoiled

It's no secret that I like to bake, and most things I make from scratch. In spite of my contempt for cake mixes in a box, there are 2 things I think are just fine coming from a mix: Brownies and muffins. Especially muffins to serve my purposes, i.e. a quick--but straight from the oven--breakfast for my kids.

Well, blueberries were on sale when I went grocery shopping the other day (half price in the middle of winter...who knew?!?!?), and tonight we did breakfast for dinner. Seemed like the perfect time to whip up a batch of homemade blueberry muffins. The boys--all 4 of them--DEVOURED those muffins! Even Baby, who eats nothing that doesn't fall into the mac & cheese or cereal categories, ate 2 muffins. Now that they know I can make them, I'm betting I never get away with muffins from a mix again. Sigh.

While he was finishing his dinner, Goliath said, "Mom, these muffins are good enough for you to be a famous chef. Can you save one for me so I can take it to school for show and tell?" And they broke into a rousing chorus of "Do You Know the Muffin Mom?"

THEY'RE JUST MUFFINS, GUYS. JUST MUFFINS.

New Year, Better Me (and Other Goings-On)

I would have posted sooner, but I've been so busy keeping my New Year's non-resolutions! Here's a rundown of how 2009 is going so far:

*I joined a gym. If you know me, you know that this is HUGE. I hate to exercise, I hate to sweat, and I've worn the same pair of tennis shoes for 3 years. However, I also hate the shape my body has taken after 3 babies, 3 surgeries, and my intense love of carbohydrates. So...I'm off to the gym 5 mornings a week. So far so good.

*I resigned from my position as the Director of children's ministries at our church. Bottom line: fewer responsibilities and obligations=better mommy to my boys.

*The miserable sinus infection/cold that I had during the holidays has returned. Ick.

*Two things I'm addicted to (and waste a lot of time on): Facebook and iTunes.

*This Texas "winter" is driving me crazy. One day the boys are wearing shorts to play outside, and the next day we're searching for hats and gloves and roasting marshmallows in the fire. No wonder we're all sniffly.

*We took advantage of the long holiday weekend last week to do some home improvement. Little Middle and Baby's room got a major overhaul, including painting their bunk beds. It took the entire four days, but it was worth it!

*Hubby, who is a genius as far as I'm concerned, had some extra equipment lying around from work. He thought it would be fun and useful to install a Cisco phone system in our home. I'm not so sure...when my friend Lisa called the other day, he had to transfer her call to me. Weird.

*How did I live so long without a Bundt pan? I got a fabulous one for Christmas, and I use it all the time! Thanks, Mom!

*Goliath has had quite a time in social studies these last few weeks. He has become a mini-expert on Martin Luther King, Jr. and President Barack Obama. Check out his artwork:

I have a dream...that someday all men will have 2 ears.

Hail to the Chief...and his bright fuschia teeth.

*My mom, my sister, and I are making plans for a girls' getaway in March. Yay!

*Baby stubbed his toe and tore part of his toenail off. I'll spare you other details. It was pretty sore for a few days, so I gave him foot baths with epsom salt to help with the healing. He was so cute doing his "spa"!

*Baby knows his right from his left, and I have no idea where he learned it.

Out With the Old, In With the New

In 2008, I.....

*had gallbladder surgery.

*witnessed a baby cow being born, WAY up close.

*forgave--but will never forget--Hubby setting the kitchen on fire, and the subsequent long-term flooring project.

*became a baseball mom.

*lost my Grandad to cancer.

*celebrated 10 years of marriage with my one-and-only. Babe, I love you!

*beamed with pride as my first-born graduated from kindergarten.

*made fantastic memories with my family on our vacation to Disneyland.

*survived my first earthquake, and hung Hubby's Associated Press article on the fridge.

*spent a fabulous summer in the sun, having fun with my boys.

*celebrated 1 year of being cancer-free!

*shared deep sorrow, great joy, and one really fun weekend with my Tuesday night sisters.

*experienced God's hand of protection during another cancer scare.

*thoroughly enjoyed a sweet time in Houston with my dad who played board games (?!?!?), my sister who is a new graduate with a bright future, my brother who has found tremendous healing and restoration, and my mom who has her Christmas groove back.

*spent my first Christmas at home and cooked my first-ever Christmas dinner.

I opened my eyes this morning to the first day of 2009. Happy New Year! I try not to make New Year's resolutions...I tend to set goals that are beyond the boundaries of the time, willpower, or ambition I have. It's a sure bet for failure--no thank you.

Instead, I like to think about the new year in a general terms. 2008 was overall a good year (anything beats '07!). There's always room for improvement, though, so here are a few things I will be working toward:

1. Simplifying

2. Quality, not quantity

3. Richness and depth in my relationships

4. True gratitude for life's blessings

5. Knowing God in a fresh, new way

Happy New Year!

Adventures in Pictures

While Hubs was down with the flu, I took the boys to the Fort Worth Stock Show.

We ate giant corndogs........

went on some rides............

saw some exhibits..........

visited with some big longhorns............




and witnessed a baby calf being born (VERY up close and personal)!!!





To reward Goliath for good behavior at school, we went bowling:









Good times. Great family.

If Only This Was A Fairy Tale........

Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess who spent her days living it up with Prince Charming and three very adorable dwarfs. One winter afternoon, there were errands to be run, so the princess and the first dwarf went out for a while. Besides being devastatingly handsome, Prince Charming was ever helpful. He offered to start dinner for her.

After a short while, the lovely princess and her firstborn dwarf arrived back at the cottage. She was dismayed to find the Prince standing in the garage, looking stricken, and smoke billowing out of the cottage door. In the distance, she could hear the two smaller dwarfs crying. "My goodness!" said the princess. "Whatever is the matter?" The Prince looked at her sadly and replied, "There was a small fire."

Dwarf 1, whose worst fear just happened to be fire, immediately began screaming and running in circles. "Call 911!" he cried. "Daddy set the house on fire! Call 911!" He dashed into the backyard, seemingly in search of his two dwarf brothers.

The smaller dwarfs were there, and once they heard the biggest dwarf's screams, they began to cry loudly. They were frightened and inconsolable. The Princess looked around, bewildered, and went to the cottage kitchen.

The scene there was horrible. The walls were covered with soot. The vent, range top, and backsplash were black. And the floor.....oh, the floor! The floor was spattered with grease, decorated with two large scorched spots, and topped off with the blackest of black, perfectly round circle where a hot pan had been. The pan, which the Princess had just received for a Christmas gift, was laying in the middle of the mess, blackened and scorched.

Prince Charming said softly, "Grease fire. Fried potatoes. The flames were at least four feet high. I couldn't think......."

The Princess, calm and even, said, "Gather the children. Drive them into town and fetch them some dinner." The Prince obeyed without another word.

The Princess changed into the grubby clothes she used to wear when she was a mere maiden and went to work. She scrubbed the floor. She scrubbed the stove. She scrubbed the walls and the vent and the refrigerator and the table. Several hours and many buckets of water later, the room was at least functional again. However, the flooring could not be salvaged.

The Prince returned home and together they put the dwarfs to sleep in their little dwarf beds. The Prince (who somehow seemed not quite so charming) tried to apologize, but the Princess knew he felt terribly about what had happened. He had suffered burns on both of his hands, and knowing he and the dwarfs had been in danger was almost unbearable. She brushed aside his apologies, only insisting that he be banned from the cottage kitchen for all eternity.

The following day, Prince Charming tried to make it right by spending the better part of the afternoon washing the soot off all the walls.

The Princess liked her home to be neat and tidy, and so a grease fire and impending floor replacement greatly upset her sense of order. However, she had promised to live with the Prince happily ever after, 'til death did they part. So she grudgingly forgave him and cooked all meals for the family from that day forward.

The End.

When It Rains, Water Leaks....

We have a water problem. Actually, we have several water problems. As if we didn't have enough to worry about.......

A few days ago, Hubby asked if I had noticed the water on the floor in the laundry room. Of course I had, but I assumed that someone spilled something and "forgot" to clean it up. He pointed out that the water was around the doorway in the garage as well (our laundry room is opens into the garage) and suggested we should call the landlord. Good call. The hot water heater is leaking and must be replaced. Until we could get the plumber out, we rigged up a very fancy means of catching the water:

Here it is up close. Yes, that is a piece of a toy train track. I KNEW those would come in handy some day!

The new water heater is in a box (which promises to be a fun tunnel for the boys later on), waiting to be installed.



We also have leaky faucets in our master bathroom--in both sinks AND in the shower. All of those must be torn out and replaced, leaving us displaced and sharing a bathroom with the kids for a few days. Sigh.


Finally, the water main in our front yard is leaking. There is a pool of water in one spot in our yard, leaving a muddy mess.

The mess will get worse before it gets better, as the solution is to dig a trench across the front yard in order to reach the underground pipes and replace them. Of course, the boys think this will be GREAT fun! :)