i'm still here.....

I decided that I better post on this thing so blogger doesnt kick me off for inactivity! 
Around here, we are gearing up for school, as I am sure everyone else is doing!  Yesterday I spent several hours shopping for school supplies for 5!  That takes a toll for sure.  One your patience, and certainly on your checkbook!  But I am excited because this is the earliest I have been completely ready for school to start ever.  Everything has been purchased, sorted, labled, and put into backpacks. 
Every year before school I go through my kids' room(s) and purge.  Am I alone in this?  I want them to start the school year organized, so I purge toys, clothes, trash.....holy cow, I threw 2 1/2 bags of trash away last night from the girl's room!  Crazy-ness!
Toward the end of last year, we had a 21 year old girl move in for a while and that put my four youngest in one room for the summer.  It worked out fine because of summer, but she moved out last week and my oldest decided to move into that room and I moved my 10 year old into the oldest child's old room.  The great thing about changing rooms is that EVERYTHING is clean!  That is what I always loved about moving!  In any case....I have just a few small things to complete today and all my girls will be completely ready for school!
I have been crazy busy with work, summer activities, and softball.  My hubby and I started playing co-ed softball.  It started with a church league, and now we are playing on the city rec league.  We just signed up to do Friday night co-ed AND Sunday night church co-ed.  Added to that....we just signed our 10 year old up for softball, so at some point she will have practice and then her games will be on Saturdays!  I think we might have lost it!
Keep you posted!

ok corrie....top this!

So, it seems as though lately I only post if it's someone's birthday or I have poop story.  Well, since I live to serve....here you go. (and no, it's not anyone's birthday)

I cant remember if I posted about the cats we aquired for Christmas last year, but in the event that I did not, I will tell you.  Last year, we decided to get the girls a cat for Christmas because they had been asking for one.  Well, a friend had two cats they were looking to give away.  They were sort of fostering these two sister cats and we were like, cool....they are older cats so my little girls couldnt hurt them, they were already declawed in the front, so no worries about the furniture...however....these two girls were rescued from a crack house.  So, they are a little skiddish.  They have not acclimated to our hectic, loud house really well.  But, for the most part, it had been working out.  Fast forward to this month.....

My oldest is in charge of the cat box.  She is supposed to scoop it everyday, add litter when neccessary, all that good stuff.  Well, she went a day without scooping, and one of the cats, in retalliation, pee'd and pooped on her bed.  Argh.  She has a brand new mattress....now has cat pee on it.  I had a talk with A about it, and helped her to understand that she cant skip.  So...a few days later, the cat did it again!  I am livid by now, because that is just gross.  The next morning I woke up....cat poop on the couch.  (the only thing that saved that cat's life is it didnt pee on the couch), then I get a text later in the day....that stinking cat pooped and peed on my daughter's bed AGAIN and this time, sat right next to it until the girl came home from school.  Ok....now, I am so ticked off I cant stand it.  I told my husband, I'm done, get rid of them....the very next day, one of my little girls comes in and tells me there is poop on MY bed!  By now, I know which cat it is, so I go find her, and chunk her out the back door.  She cried and cried at the back door and window all day until, a visitor here accidentally let her in.  I thought, ok, well maybe she learned her lesson.  Nope!  Next morning, poop on the bed again.  So, the cat was thrown out.  She is now an outside cat until I decide what to do with her.  And let me tell you....she is NOT a happy camper.  She keeps giving me dirty looks, and wont come to me unless I am feeding her.  But jeez!  Would YOU leave a cat in your house that maliciously poops on beds???  I seriously doubt it.  I am sorry, but that just does not sit well with me. 

I dont know what it is about my house that children and animals think it is an open toilet.  Thankfully, the kids have grown out of it.....now what to do about the pets????

hey, hey...its my birfday!

and sis in law's bday too!  happy birthday corrie! 
I am doing a little work today....as you can tell:)  and later, I will be going to see Eclipse (finally) with some wonderful friends!  My sweet, sweet husband brought me a starbucks frap this morning, and my other sis in law brought me a yummy iced coffee as well, so I am all hyped up on caffine!  Then I got breakfast in bed by my hubby...and my kiddos have been making me cards and gifts all day.  All in all, I say its a great day!  I've gotten to talk to my mom, my dad, my grandmother, one of my brothers, and my oldest called me from her dad's.  Lots of fb happy birthdays, and texts!  I am a very blessed woman!
Hope you are having a fabulous Wednesday!!!  TTYL!

a lot of nothing....

a few posts back, i reminded myself to take some time for myself....not get too busy.  yeah.  that didnt really work out.  Things are endlessly crazy around here, but you know.  I kind of love it.  I guess I cant truly say that i havent taken some time for myself.  I have been reading.  Which, if you have children, you know is next to impossible.  especially if you are like me and have a really hard time doing the mundane things like feeding your kids when you are lost in another world.  my poor hub.  i wont pick up a book tonight because I know he misses me:( 
I worked yesterday for 6 hours, got to my sis in law's house to pick up the kids, and she was having a crazy, frazzled day, so i finished curling her hair for her (she was going out to dinner) and about an hour later, loaded up my crazy crew plus the 3 nephews and headed home.  A while later, I picked up the book, "The Wedding", and about midnight I put it down again.  That was an awesome book.  I completely lost myself in the story, and well, it was just happy. 
Right now, i am putting off going to the grocery store.  I just dont want to.  so, instead, i decided to blog. poor you.
there is so much going on, but i truly do need to go to the store, then I have a few hours of work to do tonight.  the fun never ends.
by the way....i miss my oldest pretty bad right now.  She spends 6 weeks of the summer at her dad's and every year i miss her more.  I just realized the other day that I only have four more years of her living at home.  She will go off to college and then her tirme will really be divided.  ~sigh~  not looking forward to that.
Also, on another note....i think i am a lucky blogger.  I read a few others, and they tend to get hate mail...crazy, i know.  especially when they are just blogging about their lives....no big polictical or religious posts....just life!  but a while back, I posted regarding a nasty little coward who anonymously posted something in my comments tht I rejected.  and wouldnt you know....they have never commented again!  hehehe...little coward.  guess they lost their audience!  For those of you who do post on my blog.  Thanks for taking the time to read, even tho my posts are few and far between right now, and this one doesnt have any poo or vomiting stories.  I will work on that for you.:)

shock

in two days, my oldest daughter will be 14.  How the CRAP did that happen????  Man, o man....I am excited for her, and happy that she is a healthy, thriving, sweet, sensitive, smart, capable young lady.....but....what happened to my baby????
I'm gonna go cry now.  More later..............

~sigh~

Life is crazy these days....full of chores, making sure the girls read enough, fixing dinner, working, laundry, running too and fro.....I drove 100 miles today alone for work.  I'm tired.  So, I actually sat down this evening for the first time in weeks to do nothing.  I stole a book from my daughter's bookshelf and tuned out the craziness around me for a while.  It was great.  Cant forget to take a little time for yourself, or your life will whiz by you in an instant and you will be too tired to remember it.  ~this is a reminder to me.  Love, Me~

What must it be like???

To be in heaven, singing with the angels....that is where my sweet, sweet uncle Ray is now.  As of today, his suffering here on this earth is over, and he is singing songs with Jesus.  How sweet that must be! 

I have some wonderful memories of this man.  I've know him forever.  He was a father figure to my own father, and many, many of my childhood memories include him and my aunt Jessie. 

First and foremost, he was a pastor ~ in my lifetime, I've sat under his ministry, I've worshiped with him.  Learned from him, laughed with him...even laughed at him!  2 things I will always remember about him.  1.  He loved RC cola!  That was his "drink of choice"  he LOVED it.  2.  I used to get the biggest kick out of him, sitting on the platform at church, leaned back in his chair, legs crossed, mic in hand, and just worshiping.  He loved to worship the Lord.  I loved to watch him.

  His worship was always so very sincere.  And I dont care how well you sing, if your worship is not sincere, what is the point of it? 

He was also a very loving, and caring man....and funny.  My dad and I used to go eat breakfast with him in the mornings at this tiny little cafe in a small town in Oklahoma where he pastored a church.  Until that point, I did not know just how funny he was.  But, this guy....he had a sense of humor.  Oh yes....if my dad or my brother reads this....all I am gonna say is "melon".  HA!  You will know what that means!  Those early morning breakfasts let me in on a side of him that, as a child, I did not know before, and I will cherish those memories forever ~ I almost feel like I was let in on a secret, as most of the time, it was just me, dad, and uncle Ray. 

It also feels strange calling him uncle Ray, since for most of my life to me, he was uncle Maynard.  But, no matter the name, he was always the same.  Strong, masculine, gentle, loving, giving, kind, protective, christ-like.  That is who he was to me.  I will always love you Uncle Maynard  Ray Pugh!  Party it up in heaven with your brand new body!  ~kimberly