Where In World Have I Been?

I dont really know.........here and there, I guess!

Lorie and I joined a gym a few weeks ago. They have classes everyday at 8:30. Monday is cardio interval, Tuesday is Body Shaping then Step Aerobics at 9:30, Wednesday is Turbo Kick Boxing, Thursday is Bodypump, Friday is Pilates, and Saturday is Bodypump followed by Turbokick at 9:30. WHOA! I know! The Monday and Tuesday teacher is our own personal Jillian from Biggest Loser......The Wed and Fri teacher is 4 months pregnant, but you would never know it by all the stuff she does......The Thurs teacher is great, too. I love them all and am loving the new workout routine. Curves is good, but was getting kind of boring! Now you know where I am in the mornings! We shower there then go about our day..........Its a good thing.

Last weekend the family went to a fireworks show in Athens. There is a wholesale place there kind of like the one we use in Lubbock to get all of our stock for the stand. Its hard to believe that the stand opening is only a few months away. YIKES! Thank goodness for J's friend, Joe, who is opening it for us this year as we will be cruising! LOL
They popped some new ones that we had not seen before. One called the Peacock was SO COOL. Loved it.

We have been practicing baseball and playing baseball on various nights with the kids. They still love it. Only 2 have practice tonight! YEAH!!

J took the Math TAKS today. She said it was easy. We will see how she did in a few weeks.

G has been registered for Kindergarten. WOW-----isn't he supposed to still be like 2 yrs old or something?

T is fine, too. He is ready for school to be OUT. He said he wants to sleep late, which for him means 7 am. I did wake up last week sometime to find him playing a computer game at 4:30 AM. Yes people........that is AM.........I promptly told him to get in bed and that this was not going to become a habit. EVER. And yes......it was a school night.

We met with a builder today. Looks like we were about 75,000 off on what we thought it would cost to build what we want on our land. We are meeting with another one on Thursday.

These nests are on our front porch. There seems to be a new egg everyday! Spring has sprung!

OPENING DAY

Today was Opening Day for baseball season. Today's schedule was so crazy I had to write it down and keep it with me.....who needs to be taking pictures and at what time, who needs to be at the batting cages and at what time, whose game is right now and which field are we supposed to be on? OH MY!! Thank goodness there are no more days where all three play on the same day. Jill and Thomas play this Thursday at the same time, but the fields they will be playing on are next to each other. : )

By the end of the day, the kids were so tired! And sunburned in spots..........now I have a lovely sunburn line where my watch was.

Although there were no victories for our teams today, all had a good time. They each got to experience getting another player "out" at a base........they each got to experience being the one that was tagged "out" too. No one our kids got hurt today.......one little boy on the team G was playing did get hit in the forehead by a pop fly, but (thankfully) he was not seriously hurt. It was very scary though......Pops and I both thought so......and were glad that it was not my kids!

At the Opening Ceremony, the announcer said there are 575 kids playing this year. AMAZING for this little town.

Have a good weekend!

Pics to share

The gamers.......BFFs daughter and G at the workout place

Our cat, Lucky, eating what was left of someone's Fruity Pebbles!

I dont blame him on this one.....they are pretty good.

Our newest foal.....the kids want to name it Rose or Thunder

We tried to get close to it today, but the momma would not have it!

My Friend The Blogger

Some of you have heard (or read) about my BFF Lorie......she is the Taos Lurker (HA).........she has come to the Dark Side and has started blogging, too!!!

Her site is welchkidsandcritters.blogspot.com

Check it out!

It's been a great day!

I started off today by going to the gym.....getting my tail kicked by a "Jillian Biggest Loser-type" instructor in a cardio class then having lunch with my cousin, Shelley, at Olive Garden. We got to visit without having to cut up anyone's food!!!! She and I also went to Target........but only got foil.........darn that budget!!!!!

Then my sister in law sent me this riddle..............check it out!

WHO IS THIS MASKED MAN?

Letters from LADY

THe following is an email I received from J's mom (LADY) today. I thought it was so good that I would share it all with you. Sometimes we just need some motherly advice!!

To my dear children, I have just watched, viainternet, a beautiful man talk of life. He will losehis in the very near future due to pancreatic cancer.There was a short article about him in the Parademagazine but best of all, I watched part of aninterview last night with Diane Sawyers.Unfortunately, I didn't see the first part.After 7 years of marriage and 3 children he wasdiagnosed; he is about 46. In the interview he and hiswife talked of their lives and how they are handlingthis situation-with joy for life, their children andone another. It is a warm story filled with wisdom andserving to remind us that much of what we spend ourenergies, thoughts and money on are really prettyuseless. To ourselves and others.Mostly, it reminded me not to wasteful of my own time,and to be eternally grateful that I have had a longlife. And I don't want to "lull" the rest of it away.I'm asking you to take the time to hear his speech,"My Last Lecture." It can be found at Parade. com. Itis about 1 hr. 15 min. He is very funny, verythoughtful, very real. Please don't think you don'thave time--you do and it may be the best gift you giveyourselves.God bless each of you and may we have the mind to makethe most of what is important AND to enjoy our lives.Perhaps that is a gift we forget to accept. Mom

Not so Wordless Wednesday

The Chefs........ who got up at who knows what time to make breakfast for their mom and dad..........all on their own.......its no ones bday or anniversary.........the chefs just wanted to do it!

The diners.......notice our "table" is the ottoman with a blanket on it. We are each sitting on two pillows as our gourmet breakfast was served. Again....the seating in the living room....was the kids' idea!

Mom's breakfast.....toasted bagel with cream cheese, 3 strawberries, and coffee with my favorite creamer!!

Dad's breakfast........3 pancakes (microwaved) with a pat of butter and syrup on the top, 6 strawberries, and coffee.....no creamer.........This was such a great surprise for us. Neither J nor I had any idea that this was their plan. They all got up and were dressed for school while preparing our breakfast. We then had to remind them that they all needed to eat before school, too. We have such sweet kids!!!!!!

This picture is just funny.

The blue and white shoes are mine.......but now that Jill and I wear the same size (8 1/2).......sometimes, like today, she borrowed (I mean stole) my shoes. So today, I got her tennis shoes (brown laces) and wore them to work out!!!!! She can even wear some of my shirts and jackets! YIKES! She is going to be as tall as Cathe!

Jonathan thought it was funny, so he took a pic for the blog before we all left this morning. : )

NANO HELP ANYONE??

An IPOD Nano arrived for me today. With our European trip coming up in a few months, I decided I need my own.......that it probably is not a good idea for Jonathan and I to share his!!! We have totally different tastes in music and podcasts.

I got the color like the one above......its so pretty! Now if I can just keep it from getting scratched up! I may even have to ask Jill for instructions on how to use the thing. If any of you have helpful hints........please post them. THANKS

Camp Courage........J's Mom's article

Camp gives kids courage to carry onAttending one's first-ever summer camp can bedownright daunting. Even if you're the oldest persongoing and a counselor.Last June, I climbed onto one of three buses headingto the Butman Methodist Camp, wondering how (and why)I got myself into this. I'd be spending four days with110-plus children, in grades first through 12th, allof whom were dealing with grief because of personallosses.Our family's experience with loss taught me thatchildren grieve deeper and longer than most wouldthink; compelled to help (as many had helped us whenwe were new to the "family of sorrow"), I hadvolunteered.What felt right then didn't feel so right now.But there I was, and unless I feigned illness and leftthe bus, I was in. Turning to the child sitting nextto me, I said, "Hi, what's your name?"Thus began a rewarding experience into the world ofCamp Courage, whose motto is, "I didn't cause it, Ican't fix it, but I can cope with it."Camp Courage is funded by Children's Miracle Network.The top-notch, age-appropriate activities are plannedand executed by Hendrick Hospice Care; counselors aretrained volunteers.My first clue that Hospice knew what they were doingcame when I was paired with Brenda, a capable andexperienced counselor. We were assigned to six teenagegirls from across the Big Country.I wish I could share their stories, but like LasVegas, what happens at Camp Courage stays at CampCourage. Unlike Vegas, we returned home with moretreasures than we took. Equally important, heavybaggage was left behind.Campers are not pressured to tell their stories; itcomes naturally in that setting. Suppressed grief islike attempting to hold a ball under water; it willpop up somewhere. Teaching how to keep it from"popping up" in uncontrolled or destructive ways isone goal of Camp Courage.Our group included athletes, loners and a carhop.Their losses ranged from disappearing dads to deathsof friends and family -- including an infant.Like me, they questioned their attendance, but unlikeme, they hadn't volunteered. Mostly they had beenpersuaded by someone who loved them. After days ofsharing, crying and laughing, they were glad theycame! So was I.We had pet therapy (gorgeous dogs and one cat), yogatherapy, writing therapy, rock therapy, friendship andfun therapy. The best part was that none of it feltlike "therapy."During "roll down the hill" therapy, a snake wasdiscovered. Some kids thought it was "cool." Somedidn't. I was in the latter group.There's no quick fix for grief. Hopefully, through theCamp Courage experience, kids won't be stuck on"high-center," but will continue to travel the roughroad of recovery. Recovery doesn't mean life is "asbefore" because it's not and won't be, but life canstill be good. Even in great sadness, lessons can belearned; we can grow.Each of our beautiful girls left camp stronger, morehopeful; the transformation thanks to time spentlearning the skills of acceptance and coping.Counselors met twice daily to share problems, getadvice, tell stories. My favorite story:Two little first-grade girls were walking past thelarge slice of stone announcing the entrance to theCamp Butman complex. They stopped, pondered.One wondered aloud who was buried there. The otherstudied the wording a bit and replied, "I think it'sMr. Butt-Man."I've signed up to go again; I wouldn't miss it.Please join us.

Camp Courage information: www.hendrickhospice.org Orcontact Nadene 677-8516 by April 14. Hillcrest Churchof Christ Web site: HillcrestOnline.com (click griefministry under "latest news").Betty Davis is a freelance writer in Abilene andregular columnist. She is a former Abilene publicschool board president.

STITCHES.........

A few posts ago I mentioned our dog Cocoa..........I also mentioned that I love that little dog!
After his run-in with the barbed wire, we checked him out and he seemed like he was going to be OK. On Thursday, I was looking on the spot on the inside of his back leg again and YUCKY looking it was. My BFF Taos Lurker was here (she is the dog queen----seriously she may have 7-8) and I had her look at it. She almost gagged, too. We decided that Cocoa should go to the vet that day. He went that afternoon.......you know, you take your kid to get an allergy shot, then off to the vet for him to look at your other "kid".........Dr Meurer said that he would need to put Cocoa to sleep, remove the dead tissue, and stitch him up! He also had to spend the night because of the sedation........he is also taking the pink bubble gum antibiotic (the same one your other kids take) so that he does not get an infection!

Sweet Jonathan picked him up from the vet. He was not a happy Budget Nazi. NOT GOOD.
I told him that he knows that if it was our other dog, Love, who is his favorite......that we would not be having this conversation.

I was not one to look at pet insurance before..........I will check into it now..........I could even sell it!
LOL

(I am home alone. Jill is at a friends house and J and the boys are helping brand cattle today at another friends house. SO PEACEFUL I might take a nap-----or clean the house!)
HAPPY SATURDAY.

What a hottie!!!!!

OK.....this pic was supposed to be last, but.....whatever! I saw this on the Davis Girls Hunting Trip and took a pic of it on my phone! Pretty appropriate because the Davis Boys Hunting Trip is actually hunting for animals........the Davis Girls "hunt" for cute stuff! We do not kill Bambi.

Here is the HOTTIE.......

J got some new sunglasses today. It is so weird to see him in other brands than Oakley! He was branching out and decided to try something new! You look good, honey!