no catchy title...just a post

I wanted to post just a bit....yesterday, a very dear friend of the family passed away. I dont even really know what to write, but I feel compelled to because this is my outlet....this is where I throw things out there that are going on in my life. so....here it is.
Death is inevitable. It will happen to everyone....so why does it seem so unfair? My heart aches for our friends, because it was their father who went to be with our Lord. He was one year older than my own dad....and I cannot even fathom life without my daddy here. My husband loved this man as his own father....loves this man's children as his own siblings....my sweet hubby has been best friends this man's sons for 17 or so years....so....his heart is breaking....
It seems so unfair that i am sitting here at work and they are having to deal with the loss of their father.....it seems so unfair that we were all visiting with family and celebrating Easter, and his life was slipping away. Except that...as difficult as it is for those here who love him....I know that he is now whole and celebrating with Christ. Not suffering anymore. So....I grieve for my dear friends, and their lovely mother because they cannot spend more earthly time with their father/husband. My heart breaks for them because of their pain. Yet....know that life here must go on, and all we can do is love on them and be there for them. Right now things just feel unfair.

woot-woot!!!!

Today is my FRIDAY! yeah, baby! {spoken as austin powers} I am so glad too!!! I am so ready to be done with work!!! on my 3 week countdown....unless i give in and work and extra week...then, well, I guess I just start my 3 week countdown over again:( OH well...just another week of pay to stash away.

I'm feeling a little nostalgic today for some reason. Missing when my babies looked like this. I miss having a baby. I dont really want another one...just miss mine being this little. I miss little feet and tiny hands. I miss rocking a sleeping baby. AH! There is nothing more peaceful than that!

I also miss this stage! This was one of the best snow days ever! My kids had so much fun, and this is one of my favorite shots of MK. She had to come in soon after this pic because she started turning blue from the cold! But, while it lasted....she had a blast!

Do you notice the live baby in the stroller here??? A and MR were pushing strollers around the house...only, A had a live baby in her stroller. This was her favorite thing to do with every single one of her sisters. Push them around in a toy stroller. For some reason, she got the biggest kick out of the fact that they fit like a baby doll. But, hey....I ain't complainin! Free babysitter? Heck yeah!

Well, I am off to enjoy my weekend full of coloring easter eggs, egg hunts, cleaning, and cooking! We are spending easter with my in-laws and wonderful bro and sis in law and my crazy, wonderful nephews! God Bless you!!!!

**update to the update**

well all...it seems as though we cannot make up our minds! Remember all the rambling I did about moving??? Scratch that. We aren't. Moving, that is. {and here is where i do cartwheels and shake my pom poms}

No...I guess I shouldnt say that. While I AM glad we are staying...there are a few reasons why I am the slightest bit sad about not moving. The short list is this:

1. I was looking forward to being closer to my brother and my aunt and uncle.

2. I was looking forward to being 2 hours away from mil/fil and R&J instead of the now 5 hours.

3. I was sort of looking forward to homeschooling my oldest daughter, but am relieved that I dont have to....she is already smarter than me, and that would just confirm it!

4. uh....thats about it.

I told you....short list. I will say this, though. Everything I said before today is true. I agonized about alot of things, and I would have been happy moving. Its just that I'm happier not. The good thing about it is....I am still quitting my job. I get to go back to staying with my kiddos, which, I am extremely glad about considering summer is comming and I am looking forward to spending lots and lots of time in the pool, and lazy days reading in the shade! Mostly, I am looking forward to spending those days with my sil! We plan to go to the library...grab up lots of good books....put on our swimsuits, throw the kids in the pool and enjoy this summer like no other!!!

I have less than a month left here at work, and am spending my time prepping stuff for my replacement. so...I guess I better go finish that. The faster I get him trained, the faster my last day approaches!!!

home alone....

I am home alone. Completely alone. For a week! Its good...and bad. Its crazy how much I miss talking! lol...I know. silly. But true. And crazy how much I miss hearing my girls talking. The hubby is working all week in that other state. My kiddos are all at my mom and dad's for spring break. And I am here. Alone.

I am sort of enjoying the quiet. I have been doing alot of reading when I should be doing alot of packing! But I hate packing so early! I inevitably will pack something that I will end up needing before we actually move. I hate that. But, it is sooooo quiet that I cant sleep! I have been letting the dog in at night to roam about the house. That helps a little...but I have a hard time sleeping when the house is completely empty! I know...there is something wrong with me.

My mom on the other hand....she will probably sleep for a week when the kids leave! It is not just mine that are there! It went down like this....Friday my bro and sil brought their daughter to me (from kansas) She wanted to go spend spring break with granny and papa too! So, after work on friday, I loaded up my five kids plus luggage, plus niece and started out... Oh Wait! we have to stop on the way out and meet A's bff and mom because bff is going with us too! So, here I am....alone, after a long day of work, traveling by myself with SEVEN girls!!!! I know...I'm crazy. But, actually it wasnt bad. We left out, and we did not have to stop once! That, people, is a miracle! If you dont believe in God, well....I'd rethink that position if I were you. 8 females in a car driving 300+ miles and not ONE bathroom break??? And the two older girls kept me quite entertained! I love chatting with my almost 13 year old....she is witty and funny, and her and bff are total opposites...so they have alot of differences of opinion that is quite amusing to listen to.

Anyway....so, we get there and the next day my other neice and my nephew come over to my parents...and of course they are going to spend the night! We cannot expect them to want to go home with the cousins here!!! I am telling you people...my parents are saints!

So....that eve...I take my oldest and bff to her dad's house where they will be spending the rest of their week. So, that leaves my mom and dad with seven kids at the house....but wait! There is more! My grandparents are on vacation, so...yesterday, they drove down....i dont know how long they are staying, but my parents have a housefull to say the least!

Saints, I tell you.

so.....it is wednesday. I only have 3 more nights of this quiet, so I am going to try to enjoy it, and try to get some work done at the house.....can you imagine if I wasted all this alone time on RELAXING??????????

its a new day, its a new dawn...and I'm feelin fine

Yep...I am starting to get excited about the move. Maybe its because somewhere in my heart, I have been preparing myself for this for a while now, and now that we have actually made a decision, I kindof have that weight off my shoulders. Also, we have begun to tell people here, and that too, is a relief. I put in notice at my job...and a dang good one too! I gave them more than a month....my hope is that they will have someone here to replace me by april 1, and i can train them and be done. But in any case, come mid April...I am a stay at home mom again. And, I cant wait. I will have half of april and all of may to finish up my packing and be able to spend some time with my sil before I go. I am excited about that.

We have already found a house, and I cant wait to see what I can do with it. It is a bit smaller than our house now, but it is very open and has so much potential! I am downsizing our "stuff" before we go, and am looking forward to the next chapter of our book.

As I said before, there are so many people that I am going to miss, but I am so excited that I get to go back to the buisness of being mom and wife! I am excited about spending the next year with my baby before she has to start kindergarten. I am excited about being home to plan dinner, and have it ready for the family. Shoot, I am just excited about the idea of cooking, period! I have not cooked much in the past 4 months! By the time I get off work, pick up the kids and we get home...I am exhausted, they are starving, and we end up either eating out, ordering pizza, or making sandwiches! I did cook a rather delicious meal the other day, but by the time I got home and got it cooked, we didnt eat until almost 8:00!! Unacceptable.

So....off I go...I have to finish up a few things here at work, then head home to.....well, u figure it out! taco bell....mcdonalds......braums......pizza.....nope....tonight its hot dogs! I have to pick up the house while they eat because I have small group tonight and will have the babysitting at my house....that means 12 kids at my house! whew! thank goodness I wont be there!!!

the road less traveled

so, it has been nearly a month {ack!} since I have posted. I dont know if anyone really reads this, or really cares to...but, for me....i love to write it. It truly does help me sort out all of my feelings and lets me amuse myself by telling funny stories, and I would surely forget if I did not write them down somewhere!

A few months ago I wrote this post about the possiblity of moving....and alas, it shall come to pass. We will be packing up our home of the last five years, the only home that 3 of my kids every remember, and we will once again, head north. At least it is only a little north. I know we arent moving across country or anything, but I did not expect it to be quite this hard. I have told my sweet hubby that this is the one place that I will be truly sad to leave. Not that I am not a little excited about the move. I cant wait for us to all be together as a family again. And, I am excited about moving into an old beautiful, charming house. I am excited about country living and a slower pace. Not having to work full time (the biggest yay for me!) Taking the summer off and spending it with my kids. I am excited about all these things, but I will say this. You just cannot do better than the people you meet in Texas. {with a few exceptions :) } My family has met so many wonderful, loving, giving, forgiving, geniune people here, that I already know that as I pull away from this state, my heart will hurt.

Telling my sis in law was the worst. I knew she would be so sad, as am I. We have developed a true, deep and loving relationship over the past four years that she has lived here, and I can honestly say that, I would move to any state a hundred times over if that is what it took for us to be where we are today. I love her dearly and I will miss her greatly. {the good thing is, I am moving 12 miles from her parents, so she will be coming to visit alot!}

Our church family is the other hard part. I have never been so wrapped up in the people that I worship with as I am here. I am going to miss every part of it. The people are amazing at our church and since the first time hubby and I walked thru the doors, each with a baby carrier, trying to find a space in the back so we would not disturb anyone with our 5 month old twins, we knew we had friends for life! It was amazing the connection we felt with the people there. They had a sincerity about them that was almost palpable. Several people from the platform made their way straight back to us as soon as service was over, in a rush to introduce themselves and make us feel welcome. I will never forget that. ~sigh~ I could continue to remeniss all day long, but I fear it will just make me sad. It will have to suffice for me to say that, its a good thing my sis and brother in law still live here, or some people I know would be getting phone calls of warning that they are about to be invaded by a crazy family of seven....whats for dinner?!?

My oldest girl, A, is having a bit of a struggle. I am not suprised. I remember moving when I was her age. I was angry, hurt, scared. But, I got through it, and she is such a well adjusted girl, I know she will too. It will take some time, I am sure, but, I am also absolutely certain, she will flourish.

Well, not to cut this off too short, but I am trying to keep it from being to long! I must run for now. Posts might be few for the next few months. We wont move until school is out, so at least I have plenty of time to pack, but I also know that summer will be here before I know it.

I will try to keep everyone in the loop, and in a few months, maybe pics of a new house! Pray for us....we will surely need it!

why do alot of my posts have puke in the title?

oh yeah...its because i deal with alot of vomiting small people. And a man for that matter. It is odd for me sometimes, because, I can count the amount of times i have puked in the past 20 years on one hand. I just dont do it. But my family....well that is another matter.

So, today is the twins' birthday. They are six, which blows my mind! I just cant believe they are that old!! MR, started getting sick on sunday...in fact, i stayed home with her while my sweet hubby took the other girls to the brother and sister in laws house for the super bowl. She stayed home from school monday with a fever that was easily controlled with motrin, but felt bad most of the day. When i got home from work, hubby and i left the girls home and went shopping for birthday gifts. As i was leaving the store, the babysitter called and said MR was running a fever of 104!! Oh boy. So...rushed home...blah, blah, blah....you get the drift. She stayed home again today....still sick, which, sucks because its her birthday!!! Argh.

Also today was J's 2nd grade musical play at the school. So...after work, I rushed home, baked cakes and cupcakes, got J ready...by the way, cutest ladybug ever!!! and, with promises of cake and presents as soon as we returned, I rushed out the door with J and MK to the performance. Of course, the school tricks me into attending PTA meetings by making sure they do the meeting before the kids perform...another argh....and the lady at the microphone suddenly says, "Is J's mom here??" Uh, oh. What happened?? I stand up and follow another lady out the door. J is throwing up in the bathroom. Is it nerves or is she sick? Well, J is not about to miss this performance that she has a speaking part in and has been waiting to do for months, so she says...
"i'm ok mom...I'm pretty sure its just my nerves. I can do this" So, they placed her at the end of the stage so that if she needed to, she could leave and run to the bathroom. And boy was she a trooper. She made it almost all the way thru the performance. Almost. She shot off the stage, and I had to jump up out of my seat and follow her. Poor baby was sitting on the steps right outside the door all hunched over with a bad tummy ache. So, we sat outside until she felt like she could make it home. And she almost did. Almost. Just as we were about to turn onto our street she yelled out, "stop the car now!!!" And just as I stopped the car she flung the door open and poor thing wretched horribly, and to my great pleasure....not a drop on the car! She is good. She is so funny....while she is puking, she is trying to apologize and tell me that she didnt think it would be a very good idea for her to go to school tomorrow. silly.

The other news i got at the school was that half the kids in the school are out with the flu. yippee. which means to me...the fun is just beginning. yay me.

Onto the rest of the evening...which, was pretty much uneventful after all this. We did presents and cake and sang happy birthday. The twins were very, very happy with their gifts, which were a dora doll that sits on a walking horse that has wings, purses stuffed with lots of girlie stuff, and cute little things for them to color. They were happy, and so far...no one else has puked. I'm not gonna hold my breath for that to be the last of it. Usually with my kids, the next one waits until the other is well before getting sick....i havent figured out yet if that is a good thing or not. I guess that remains to be seen.