Never fear, HT is here!

HT & Princess are here visiting. Well, technically they're at Busha & Bucka's right now, but that's close enough. HT hit the door yesterday & blew through the house like a gale force wind. In 30 seconds he'd claimed a toy from the boys' room, gathered his minions (as the FarmHands become as soon as he sets foot in the state of Illinois), and had attacked the musical ornaments on my Christmas tree.

He & Princess spent the day with us yesterday while QM ran to town & helped Busha dig out Christmas decorations. We took them to Rural King & Wal-Mart just before dark then drove through the park to see the local Christmas light display. The entire time we were gone, HT kept saying, "Aunt FarmWife, your kid is touching me," or, "Aunt FarmWife, your kid is bothering me," or, "Aunt FarmWife, why is your kid doing that?" When I'd ask him which kid, he'd point at #1 Son & say, "That one." His mom asked him what #1 Son's name is & each & every time he'd tell her, "It's B.B."

When he was here this summer we only had BabyGirl & #1 Son according to him. He'd call both girls BabyGirl & both boys #1 Son. If you'd ask him which #1 Son he was talking about he'd refer to them as "the one with the glasses" or "the one without the glasses." This time he switched kids & everyone was B.B. and Bitsy.

Today they came to church with us. During our worship service the song leader always asks if anyone has a special to share. This morning Grandpa B shared 2 poems Grandma B had tucked away last Christmas. The second poem really got to me & I was tearing up pretty badly. As I tried to put myself back together, Mark, our song leader this month, asked if anyone else had a special. HT's hand shot up in the air before his mom could get a hold of him. Mark asked, "Do you have a special, bud?" HT announced, "I'm gonna' ride in a big monster truck!"

Suddenly my near tears turned into stifled laughter.

Just one more reason I love my nephew.

Our little alarm clocks didn't go off.

The week of VBS is always the most hectic week of the summer. Without fail I set up a doctor's appointment for the FarmHands, all the corn comes in from the garden & has to be put up, it's 8,000 degrees outside, and I find a book I absolutely cannot put down.

This year is no different. I'm teaching third & fourth graders at Bible School. Monday we had check ups for everyone except B.B. Husband filled my kitchen sink with corn this morning. I'm fully invested in Bedbugs, a new, yet to be released book by Ben Winters. Add to that my incessant need to check my Facebook page & Twitter Feed and I'm like a crazy woman. Damn you, social networking sites.

Last night, after VBS, I took the FarmHands for a quick dip in the pool. They love "night swimming" and reached a fevered pitch before we made the 100 yard tromp down to the pool. By the time everyone had been bathed, snacked, and tucked in it was well after ten o'clock. I'm pretty sure BabyGirl was still roaming the house at midnight (bedtime for her is a rather loose term). I got sucked in by Mr.Winter's tale of urban paranoia and didn't get to sleep until sometime after 12:30 this morning....and then rather unwillingly. I so wanted to stay up & read through the night (fear not, dear readers- In a few weeks you will hear all about this latest piece of literature). Bitsy climbed in bed with me sometime after 1:30 and I put her back in her bed as Husband was crashing for the night/morning.

Imagine my surprise when I awoke this morning on my own- no screaming, no fighting, no random questions about super-heroes- at 9:40 am. For a brief moment I was sure I was dreaming. It had to be closer to 7. The FarmHands never sleep past 8. When I realized it wasn't a dream, my second round of thoughts were, "Are they still alive? Are they still in the house? Did they escape and we didn't hear it?" Yup, they were all fine. BabyGirl was still asleep & the others were playing happily in their bedroom. #1 Son told me they didn't wake up until nine and they stayed in their rooms as they were told.

Leave it to us to learn how to sleep in 13 days before school starts.

Mother Nature's Hot Flash didn't so much "Flash" as "Pull up a Chair & Stay for Dinner."

I am so over this summer. I know I griped about the cold & snow all winter but I've had about all of the 90+ degree, 90% + humidity days I can handle. The heat has taken on a nearly malicious tone lately. It's no longer just a hot, muggy summer. It's beginning to feel like the heat is malevolent & intentional. I fear I may accidentally boil the FarmHands in their swimming pool.

Last week they wanted me to empty the ice trays into the pool. Unfortunately, it would have been far too little far too late. This week we have only made it out of doors before 5 o'clock once...and that dip was very short lived. My skin felt like it would blister just walking from the clothes line to the pool.

We've been cloistered in doors for the past 3 weeks or so. Hours of Wii, Disney Channel, coloring, and Little People play sets have been our salvation. Well, less like salvation and more like a desperate attempt to keep sanity in the general vicinity. I'm not going for improvement of their minds at this point. I'm going for please don't let them murder & eat one and other. Especially since it's too hot to cook & they'd be eating their siblings raw. Ewww.

Next week is Vacation Bible School at church. With no end in sight to this oppressive heat, that means 2-3 hours a night, all week long, in a sweltering building crammed with 50 or so sweating, sticky children and 30-40 exhausted & nearly dehydrated adults. I'm beginning to think we need to move VBS to the middle of October. Please pray we have a good week & no one melts into a pew. They're solid wood antiques. Oh, and we really like the kids better when they don't have to be scraped into a bucket to be returned to their parents.

(Disclaimer: I really do love the week of VBS as much as I may will gripe about the heat, noise, amount of work, craziness, and exhaustion. I'm teaching 3rd & 4th grades again this year & I hope & pray some kids, who wouldn't hear it any other way, will learn about the love of Christ!)

Home Sweet Home

Tonight I will miss the king size bed Bitsy & I spread out on all weekend. I will miss the quiet of having only one child to care for. I will miss being a few feet away from my mother & father's door. I will miss being able to drive across town to visit with my grandparents. I will miss the congregation I grew up in. I will miss the pool and Bitsy's screams of joy as she splashed from her Pa's arms to mine. I will miss her excitement as she pressed the elevator buttons in the hotel. I will miss being able to adjust the thermostat up & down as my moods changed. I will miss my mini-vacation. But tonight I will not miss my older children. I will not miss my husband's soft snores in the night. I will not miss the hum of my own home as I drift off to sleep. I will not miss the peace of the country. I will not miss lounging in my tub when ever I like. I will not miss raiding my pantry at any given moment. I will not miss my recliners. I will not miss my DVR. I will not miss the presence of our furry friends. Bitsy and I spent the weekend in the land of Grandma & Grandpa M&M with Mama & Daddy. It was a wonderful trip. This was the first time in many years I've spent more than a few hours there at a time. It was the first time I've been to church with them since BabyGirl was tiny (the same church where I grew up). I got to meet the soon-to-be-3 year old son of my best friend from grade school. I got to see Aunts and Uncles and Cousins. The church had a special service Sunday night honoring Grandpa M&M's many, many years as an elder. There were actually 2 men honored & one man ordained into the eldership so it was a very special service. It was amazing to see how much the congregation loves my grandparents and how many lives they've touched. My Grandpa isn't in good shape. He's had to move out of the Independent Living apartment he & Grandma moved into last summer and into an assisted living home next door. It's been really tough on him and Grandma both (not to mention the rest of us who don't like to think of the two of them separated or failing). But last night, Grandpa was wonderful. He was happy and lively. He chatted with everyone. He was shocked by the honors they gave him. He was thrilled to be surrounded by family and friends. And I'm so very glad we got to be there.

Oddly Thankful

Today our minister talked about things we should be thankful for. The list was a bit on the unusual side considering what most people list when the time rolls around.

The first thing I remember from his list was Paying Taxes. He said, "If you're paying taxes that means you have a job." It was followed by things like Cleaning Out The Gutters and The Alarm Waking You Up in the Morning. Each was something few people enjoy but are part of a bigger picture that we should be thankful for.

When I was in college our small group did something similar. I don't remember what my answer was, but I do remember a friend saying she was thankful for zits. She said she'd reach a point where she thought she was pretty hot stuff and a pimple was all it took to bring her back down to earth. Another friend was thankful for "all the trees around here." I should explain that in central Illinois (where I went to college) the land is VERY flat and the trees are sparse & scattered....compared to where I lived in Tennessee anyway. She was from one of the Plains states and they had no trees at all. To her, the trees were plentiful.

All of this has lead me to think I need to reevaluate my life & the things I find worthy of Thanksgiving. The Scriptures say to give thanks in all things. Not just the good things.

When my children are screaming & fighting & making me insane, I need to be thankful that they are here and healthy. That's something many parents do not have. I remember a time when we didn't think we would have children of our own. So for the next few days I'm going to try and be thankful for the chaos I live in.

It just kept getting better.

Yesterday did not start off well. I was worn thin. Saturday was spent in E'ville with Husband and the kids while BabyGirl & #1 Son got caps & fillings at the dentist. Yuck. Especially since BabyGirl was so nervous she spent the morning crying & refusing to get ready to go, then got nauseous on the drive down.

We came home & I realized my kitchen was trashed & I had 4 loads of laundry that had to be washed. Daddy called & said he & QM would be bringing Grandma & Grandpa M&M by our house on their way home from vacation. That meant I couldn't leave the mess for later.

Yesterday I woke up to the boys fighting in the dark living room. It was 6 am (they're not supposed to leave their room before 8 am on the weekends) and they were looking for our Iron Man 2 DVD. They plugged their night light in under my bird cage and were rifling through the entertainment center. The DVD was in the Blu-ray player they're not allowed to touch. This did not go over well with Mama.

There was quite a bit of foot dragging & arguing while getting ready for church, one toy box completely dumped in the floor, some serious refusal to clean up any kind of mess, then entirely too much fidgeting & arguing during church. These things in combination do not do good things for this Mama. Add to that a husband who does minimal housework, worried about the state of the dishes & household affairs (most of which were taken care of prior to church) who's telling his wife what needs to be done, and the last remaining shreds of my composure were destroyed.

Husband took the boys & Bitsy outside to play. BabyGirl sequestered herself in her room. I finished my chores and crashed out on the couch with a DVD Que full of Criminal Minds. After a brief nap, things started looking up.

MIL came by with some pictures she found when they were cleaning out Husband's grandmother's house (she moved in with one of his aunts a few years back). Later she came by with 2 yellow creamer pitchers she'd saved from 2 of Husband's great-grandmother's kitchens. They are the sweetest little things & I promptly put them up with some things from my grandmothers kitchens.

A few minutes later NM & A Starry Night came by for a visit. NM was bringing a movie over for the boys & they ended up staying & chatting for more than an hour. It was so nice to get to have a real face to face conversation with grown ups while my kids played in the yard.

QM, Daddy, and The Grands got here about a quarter 'til seven. We sat around the dining table we inherited from Grandma & Grandpa M&M while they ate dinner (we'd had ours earlier) and we looked at vacation pictures. Bitsy even talked (she never does when there are people around). They didn't get to stay very long, but I will take what ever time with them I can get. And both Grandma & Grandpa were thrilled with the way their table & chair cleaned up (I have film being developed now so I should have pictures to post by the weekend).

I turned in early last night & watched a bit of Pride & Prejudice in bed before falling asleep.

It's nice when a day redeems it's self like that. I'm hoping the rest of the week follows suit.

Food, Fun, and Fall

First of all, what is it about David Hasslehoff that makes people want to watch anything with him on it? That man has been creepy since 15 minutes after Kitt kicked him to the curb. Ugh.

Now, on to other, more interesting things. It's Fall Y'all! Finally. Now if only the rain would visit for a day or two. The summer heat hung on a bit too long for my taste, but at the moment I fear a good solid spark could permanently mow my lawn...and our shed....and possibly the woods by the house. I know the farmers are flying through the fields in a marathon harvest before rain hits, but I think they could use a few days off while my lawn gets a much needed drink.

Yesterday we had one of the missionary couples our church supports come visit. They talked about the work their doing in Mexico and we finished up with a fellowship dinner. Lots of time to visit, laugh, chat, eat GOOD food, and spend time with grown-ups. It was wonderful!

After church, Bitsy, B.B. & I headed to Uncle E's to see NM & A Starry Night's wedding pics. 800 wedding pictures! They were beautiful. Some were positively breath taking. If you're in our area & need some good pictures, drop me a line & I'll send you the name of their photographer. She was wonderful!

And now on to more important matters: One more shot at Ask FarmWife! My friend Vic asked me yesterday when I was going to have another round because she promises a great question. Anyone else want to play? What do you want do know?

Sing out loud, sing out strong

Every Sunday morning. between Sunday School & Worship Service, Husband's Aunt CB brings all the kids in the congregation (all but B.B. who flat refuses to join in) to the front of the sanctuary for Children's Minute. She gives a short object lesson & then they all get up & sing a song.

Two weeks ago she sang I'm In Right. For those of you not raised in Christian Church/Church of Christ Sunday School, it goes:
I'm in right, out right, up right, down right happy all the time.
I'm in right, out right, up right, down right happy all the time.
Since Jesus Christ came in & cleansed my heart from sin,
I'm in right, out right, up right, down right happy all the time.

My kids stood there looking shocked & slightly embarrassed (at the sight of Larry in a towel...OK, never mind) as they didn't know the song at all. I had forgotten that song entirely. Hadn't thought of it in years. I love that song. I've been singing it ever since.

It made me wonder what other songs from my childhood I was forgetting & had never sung to my children. My favorite Sunday School Song was always Do, Lord.

Do, Lord, oh do, Lord, oh do remember me.
Do, Lord, oh do, Lord, oh do remember me.
Do, Lord, oh do, Lord, oh do remember me,
way beyond the blue.

I've got a home in glory land that outshines the sun!
I've got a home in glory land that outshines the sun!
I've got a home in glory land that outshines the sun,
way beyond the blue!

I took Jesus as my Savior, you take him, too.
I took Jesus as my Savior, you take him, too.
I took Jesus as my Savior, won't you take him, too
way beyond the blue?

Tonight the FarmHands heard me sing quite a few of the songs I learned when I was their age. I Am a C, Roll Away, Jesus Loves the Little Children...they know every word of Amazing Grace, Count Your Blessings, & It Is Well With My Soul, but not Give Me Oil In My Lamp or Father Abraham (but then maybe them not knowing Father Abraham is a good thing).

What were your favorites when you were small? What do you sing to your kids now? What songs have you nearly forgotten from your child hood? Leave me a comment or write your own post & let me know!

I really need to teach them Pharao, Pharao. That is a must!

NaBloPoMo....as though I need a nudge in this direction.

There's this whole NaBloPoMo thing going on this month. For those of you not in the know, that stands for National Blog Posting Month. All you have to do is post for a month. They have their own web site & ev'r thin'. To be honest, I think NaBloPoMo is kind of pointless for me since I pretty much post daily if not multiple times a day, but hey, I'm game. Besides, Mrs.X thinks the world might cease to turn if I don't post. Secretly I agree with her.

I've been trying to sign up at NaBloPoMo, but so far, no luck. Oy. OK, never mind. I did it. Yeah me!

Either Bitsy is teething or she's becoming Darth Vader's Padawan learner. She's cranky & not sleeping & mad & not sleeping & drooly & not sleeping & yelling at everyone & have I mentioned she's not sleeping? It's loads of fun. Let me tell you.

Oh well. I'm off. Time for church. Have a rockin' Sunday, y'all!

The Wisdom of Teeth

Every Sunday morning after Sunday School, one of the men of the church gets up & asks if there are any announcements or prayer requests from the congregation. I've mentioned in the past that we are a very small congregation. This becomes even more apparent during prayer request time. "So & So is in the nursing home." "Who's that?" "You know, she's ____'s sister. Used to teach grade school when we were little." "Oh you mean the one that lives in X's old house." "Yes, that's the one." There's also a bit of joking that goes on.



This morning Uncle E announced that he's having the staples removed from his shoulder on Thursday. Remember, he fell out of the cherry tree this summer & broke his ribs & collar bone? Well, the collar bone separated & there was muscle wedged between the ends of the bone. Two weeks ago he had it repaired & he's currently sporting 20 staples across his shoulder & collar bone. When he said that, Mr.M, who was leading prayer time, jokingly said, "Oh boy. That's gonna' hurt E. They just yank them out! That's what they did to my knee." Mr.M had his knee replaced last fall. Uncle E laughed & said, "Thanks for the encouragement!"



Then I announced that I was having my wisdom teeth taken out on Thursday. Mr.M said, "Oh! That's gonna' hurt too!" To which I replied, "Yeah, I'm really looking forward to it!" A few minutes later, Gary, our preacher, got up to start his sermon. As he began, he mentioned the prayer requests saying, "Some are recovering from illnesses and surgery. Some are having staples taken out or wisdom teeth taken out. I could tell you a story about when I had mine out when I was 14." And I interrupted him (not something you can do in a large congregation) and said, "I don't want to hear it!" He laughed & said he'd save his story for next week.



After services Gary caught me in the back of the church & teased me about it a little more. I told him I've heard nothing but horror stories lately. Then he gave me a hug & laughed & said he was sorry. He did tell me his wisdom tooth was underneath another molar that was impacted, so it wasn't a normal extraction.



Last night I was laying in bed worrying about this (really, I have a one track mind) when I decided there's no sense in worrying. It won't change a thing. It will make me ill & anxious & angry all week. Who's that going to help? So I've decided instead to pray really specifically because it will serve a much better purpose than worrying.



If you'd like to pray along with me, this is what I'll be praying for:

• an easy removal of the teeth


• that I will be relaxed & deal with the procedure very well (I do not like to have anything done to my teeth & I have a horrible gag reflex)


• fast healing (no dry sockets, no major problems)


• minimal pain


• a peaceful recovery (including that my children will behave themselves for their Grammy so I can rest)


• that I won't loose any weight while my eating is restricted (I know, not your typical request, but it is a concern for me)


• that I won't have a lot of pain between now & Thursday (it's kind of a dull, small ache most of the time. Tylenol & Motrin are handling it most of the time)

And I'm endeavoring not to worry. AND I'll try to blog about something other than my wisdom teeth.

Image: www.goodbyewisdomteeth.com

It's the Best Day Ever!!

At least that's what the FarmHands told me while they were taking their baths tonight. Although there was a stipulation. They were worried the movie we were about to watch (The Borrowers) wouldn't be good & that would make it only one of the best days ever. So far they seem to like it. No one's moved in 15 minutes, so maybe it's still all good.


Everyone got up & got ready for church this morning happily for a change. The boys didn't want to wear t-shirts under their long sleeve shirts until I told them they would be secret shirts. Then they were thrilled. They were all excited that they didn't have to dress up for church.


They behaved themselves all through Sunday School & Worship Service, then they got to color on little gourds during Children's Church. So exciting! After church, we all had pizza from the local gas station in the fellowship hall. It's the kids favorite, so they were on cloud nine. I was pretty happy myself because I got two slices of supreme which I never get because no one in my family will touch onions & green peppers on their pizza.


After pizza, the entire church loaded up & headed to the pumpkin patch. It's not a huge place, but they had a ton of stuff for the kids to do. Slides, treasure dig, corn maze, dark hay maze, a little hay maze for the kids, a gourd sling shot, hay rides, wagon train rides behind an ATV, & a corn room (seriously, a room about 8 inches deep in dried corn). They LOVED it. Once that was over, they each picked a pumpkin & we headed to get ice cream.

I have just discovered the wonderful world of Dairy Dee. And can I just say....YUMMY!! Needlefingers & Pilot rave about it, but we've never been. I can tell you, we'll be making that trip again in the future. They had lemon ice cream that (while not quite Custard Cup) was heavenly! Even Husband said it was probably the best ice cream he'd ever had.





After a drive home through the country, we carved the newly acquired pumpkins on the picnic table. BabyGirl's is the tall one, #1 Son's is shorter, and B.B. has the little on in the middle. I didn't think his would hold up to carving very well, so we decided to draw it's face. I did the eyes & went to put Bitsy in the bath. B.B. decided to do the mouth all by himself...that's why it's so far off to the side. I did my best to cover the random scribble. He thought drawing on a pumpkin would be much easier than it was. He's thrilled with it, so I'm thrilled with it. The picture without a flash isn't great, but it shows their faces a bit better.

Now we keep having to go outside to check on the jack-o-lanterns. Barefoot. In the cold.

NM, RL, and Beffie are plotting evil against Hank. For those of you who don't know, they are Husband's cousins (ranging in ages from 23 to 17) and Hank is Husband's truck. I know what they're planning & it's brilliant. Husband knows they're plotting but not what & it's making him crazy. He's very worried about Hank. He said he's going to hide his truck. I've assured him that won't help, but he's not listening to me.

It's all about revenge. NM got a brand new car a few months ago. One of the first days he drove it to work, Husband put a note under the wipers that said, "Sorry about the scratch," and had our phone number underneath it. NM & Uncle E didn't recognize the number at first & NM got a bit panicked. He started looking over his new car very upset that someone had already scratched it. After a minute his dad said, "Read that again." When NM read the phone number, Uncle E said, "That's FarmBoy's phone number!" NM's been looking for an opportunity to get Husband back ever since.

If they pull it off, I'll tell you all about it later!

V.B.Sthhhhhhh................

I really should pay better attention to that truck. Next time it runs me over I'll be sure to the the license number so I can report him. ugh...........

Question: why is it that no matter when we plant, sweet corn is ALWAYS ready in the middle of Vacation Bible School week?

Yesterday I put up my second batch of tomato sauce & 3 quarts of corn thinking: I'll get this done early (started at 7:30 am), make lunch, have my WIC home visit (why did I schedule that this week?!), then I can crash until VBS & catch up on my reading.






OK, you can stop laughing now.

Yesterday's totals:
One big pot of tomato sauce made from Kork's recipe.
6- 15 oz bags of tomato sauce frozen (this is not a random amount. That's how much comes in a can at the grocery)
14- one quart bags of sweet corn, blanched, cut off the cob & frozen
8 whole ears of corn, blanched, bagged, and frozen
2 ears of corn per FarmHand fixed to eat randomly through out the day
5 lbs of hamburger browned
2 lbs of browned hamburger set aside for use at a later date
one Frito Pie made for lunch
One WIC home visit over.
six cobs of corn sent home with the WIC nurse for her dinner.
One hour total of time spent off my feet before we got to VBS last night....that includes time feeding Bitsy & myself.
two loads of laundry washed.
two loads of towels put away.
Lots of dishes washed
Finally hit the shower at 4 o'clock to get ready for Bible School.

VBS wears me out all by it's self. Add in a day spent putting up corn, breaking up fights, re-cleaning kids' rooms (I was NOT happy with them), and all the other little things I have to do every day and I'm beat. My wrist hurts from running the electric knife all day yesterday. My legs hurt from being on my feet all day.

I have learned a few things teaching 3rd & 4th graders. For example: third grade boys can be kind of gross. Like when they spend the entire lesson with their fingers up their noses. Ewwww. But they can also be funny/sweet. There's one boy in particular who is VERY animated about EVERYTHING! He starts jabbering as soon as he hits the door & doesn't stop until he leaves 2 hours later. He makes me seem quiet & withdrawn. Seriously. But it's OK, because he thinks I'm pretty. He told me so Monday night. :)

I started out with 2 girls & 4 boys. One boy is sick, so he's gone and a second was sporting a huge sty in his eye, so he was only there one night. I felt really bad for both of them. But in all I have a really good group of kids & we're having a really good week. I pray we make it through the next two days unscathed....then it's on to the great school supply hunt. yippee.

Yawn!

It has begun. Undoubtedly the busiest week of our summer. Vacation Bible School. Yesterday started early. I woke up just before 7 &:

• did dishes
• put away the stacks of clean dishes in the kitchen
• unthawed a ham & tossed it in the crock-pot
• got myself & all 4 kids ready for church
• went to Sunday school (on time this week)
• came home after services & made baked potatoes & corn on the hob (as B.B. calls it) for lunch
• went back to church for VBS kick off
• came home to find Lexi riding her horses with her friend towards our house
• watched the kids take horse rides around the yard
• fed everyone again
• loaded the family up to head to town
• went to a swim party sponsored by the bank where the kids have their savings accounts
• swam & swam & swam
• went down the water slide 3 times
• went to McDonald's for Happy Meals
• came home
• showered all 4 kids
• bed time story & in bed
• folded 3 loads of towels & one of sheets
• picked up Bitsy's toys scattered through the house
• collected all the dirty laundry to wash today
• watched Penelope with Husband
• tried to go to bed but ended up watching half of Rush Hour 3 on my Zune while trying to nurse Bitsy back to sleep

Today I've:

• sorted & started washing laundry
• fixed B.B.'s breakfast
• packed Bitsy's bag for her week's stay at Busha's (not the entire week, just while we're at VBS every evening)
• cleaned out Lilly May's kennel (note to self: if your dog is crying in the night & you do not hear the thunder, there may be another reason...like she's sick & will poo/vomit in her kennel)
• bathed Lilly May (with all the puking & pooping I thought it was a good idea)
• washed Lilly & Andrew's bedding from their kennels

and I'm about to start folding towels. I'm tired already. I still have to:

• clean up the kitchen
• wash, fold, & put away 3 more loads of clothing
• clean up the kitchen (with no one home yesterday, I'm not sure how it got so messy)
• make lunch
• study my lesson for tonight
• try not to lose my mind

So, if you don't hear much from me this week, do not worry. By the time VBS is over I'll be beat. I've never taught 3rd & 4th grade before, so this will be a new experience. I hope I get through it without scarring small children for life. As of last night I had no kids in my class (weird) but one registered for tonight. Normally there are about 15-20 kids in this age group. Maybe they all heard I was teaching......

Oh, and there's something wonderful going on over at the Hot Mama Revolution Headquarters. Check it out!

My husband is a gardening fool. We have 13 tomato plants. There's an entire row of watermellons plus six more watermellon plants in another single row all by it's self. There are pumpkins, squash, cucumbers, bush beans, tons of peas, zuchini, peppers, carrots, onions, and rows, and rows, and rows of sweet corn. And every time I turn around, he's tillling up another patch and planting more stuff. Right now we have 1,000 square feet of garden in one plot, and three more plots of various sizes. Yikes! Anyone want to come over for veggies in August?

Tomorrow is my guest blog at Ordinary Days. I still have no clue what I'm going to blog about. I kind of feel like I've been asked to house sit...I get to poke around Sarah's cabinets & see what she's hiding in her underware drawer. Or I could just go in and water the plants, check the mail, and lock up. Hmmm...what would you do?

Today was our first VBS meeting at church. We usually start planning in February or March...this year there have been problems, so we're starting MUCH later than usual. Since I was out last year because of Bitsy's birth, I decided not to go back to teaching pre-k. I wanted to move up a bit. Our 3rd & 4th grade teacher started attending a different church, so I'm going to take her place. When I said I'd take the position, every head at the table whipped around to look at me with total shock. "Really? You want to teach the middler class?" Yes. I do. "It's the biggest class we have. They can be a handful." I live with 4 handfulls. The Pre-K class is about 13 handfulls. I think I can handle 8 & 9 year olds. Besides, I have lots of folks to pray for me (yeah, that would be you all...you can start praying now if you like. VBS starts August 3rd. I should be well bolstered by prayer by then).

Uncle Little BIL came to visit yesterday. The kids are loving having him close enough to come visit on the weekends. And he's loving the laid back attitude of the stateside military as opposed to the by-the-book attitude of the folks stationed in Korea.

I've been playing with my Zune lately. It's tons of fun, I must say. At the moment I'm working on a play list of angry girl songs. RL gave me Miranda Lambert's CD....Gunpowder & Lead started the whole thing. Country music speaks to me (as much as I hate to admit that). I love the story telling. At anyrate, I need more angry girl music. It's good to work out to. Love songs just don't make me want to push myself...and boys don't get angry quite as creatively as say....Carrie Underwood carving her name into her man's truck seats.

Wanna' check out what I've been listening to? http://social.zune.net/member/FarmWife

Death, Inkling, and Impromptu Costuming

This morning in church our preacher told this story:

A baby was born premature. Her parents named her Abigail. Due to her prematurity, Abigail was very anemic and needed a blood transfusion. Family & friends came in to pray for her and have their blood tested for compatibility. Shortly after, the family's minister was called and asked to donate blood as his was the only match found for Abby. He gladly donated blood & Abby thrived.

10 years later the same minister told this story as he prepared to baptize Abby. He said, "My blood was the only blood that could save her then. We're all going to die. Christ's blood is the only blood that can save us."

B.B. was setting next to me and not paying a lick of attention, or so I thought. After Preacher finished his story, B.B., rather loudly, said, "We're gonna' die?!"
Not realizing at first what he was referring to I whispered, "No, Baby. You're not dying."
"Dat man said we're gonna' die!" pointing at Preacher.
"Oh, yeah, someday everyone is going to die."
"Sunday everyone is gonna' to die?!"
"No, not Sunday. Someday."
"Oh. OK."

We had a great visit with Inkling last night. The kids were thrilled to have her here. They drug her and Aunt D in to see our "secret" bathroom. (#1 Son has decided any bathroom you can only get to by going through a bed room is secret. He's fascinated by master suites.) The showed off their bed rooms. They made Inkling look at nearly everything they own. They enticed stories from her as they ate their dinner (I so wish I'd have had a tape recorder. Grace wrote about Inkling's stories last week. All I know is the story contained a bear, a mountain goat that saved Inkling, blueberry pie for the goat, our cows all going to preschool, and lobsters named Fred & Eugene pinching my fanny). We ate potato soup (I posted it on wha'cha got cookin'? last night). We talked. We laughed. We took pictures. I only wish it could have lasted a few days instead of a few hours...but I doubt Henry David is willing to part with her for the 3 months it would take for her to spend that kind of time with everyone.

We had Trunk or Treat at church this morning. I was a little puzzled when I got there to find quite a few of the kids in full costume. We weren't in Church last week so I didn't know about it until we got there & since we don't do Halloween at our house, none of my kids have costumes. But Husband's Aunt C improvised making BabyGirl Queen Esther with a paper crown and a few strands of beads. She dug out an old Christmas program costume, and made B.B. an astronaut. I don't know if #1 Son opted out of costuming or if they ran out of supplies, but he didn't seem to care. One little girl who was also costumeless was given a giant ribbon used to decorate the pulpit at Christmas to put on her head and they tied a giant gift tag around her neck. It was precious!

Costumes or no, my kids came home with 3 grocery sacks full of goodies. They were thrilled!

In a Small Town Church

B.B. need to go potty just as church was starting (he's now wearing big boy pants out in public...we're really close to total potty training). I took him.

We were heading back up the aisle to our pew during announcement and prayer request time. Uncle E says, "I saw Busha and Bucka driving to E'ville on Friday. FarmWife, were they on the way to the doctor?"

"No. They were just getting their tires rotated."

***Bucka is having gal bladder surgery on October 8th.***

There were 58 people in church this morning (including me). 46 of them are related to me.

"Famous In A Small Town"

They say life is so much sweeter

Through the telephoto lens of fame

Around here you get just as much attention

Cheerin' at the high school football game

I dreamed of going to Nashville

Put my money down and placed my bet

But I just got the first buck of the season

I made the front page of the Turnertown Gazette

Every last one, route one, rural hearts got a story to tell

Every grandma, in law, ex girlfriend

Maybe knows you just a little too well

Whether you're late for church or you're stuck in jail

Hey words gonna get around

Everybody dies famous in a small town

Tyler and Casey broke up

It ended pretty quietly

We heard he was caught red-handed with her mama

That's just what they let us all believe

Every last one, route one, rural hearts got a story to tell

Every grandma, in law, ex girlfriend

Maybe knows you just a little too well

Whether you're late for church or you're stuck in jail

Hey words gonna get around

Everybody dies famous in a small town

Baby whoNeeds their faces in a magazine

Me and you

We've been stars of the town since we were 17

Let's go on down to the quick stop

Wear your yellow shades

And I'll put on my tight jeans

And we'll just spend the weekend burnin' rubber

And we'll let em point and stare in disbelief

Every last one, route one, rural hearts got a story to tell

Every grandma, in law, ex girlfriend

Maybe knows you just a little too well

Whether you're late for church or you're stuck in jail

Hey words gonna get around

Everybody dies famous in a small town

Heat Wave

HEAT ADVISORY NOW UNTIL 7 P.M. TUESDAY.
Today…mostly sunny and hot. High 97. Heat index 105.
Tonight…clear. Low 75.
Tuesday…sunny and hot. High 98. Heat Index 104-108.
Tuesday Night…mostly clear. Low 76.
Wednesday…sunny. High 100

yipee. We have VBS this week. How fun...75 kids...100 degree temps. So glad I'm not teaching this year!!!

Yesterday was a big day for a big sister. BabyGirl came in early from playing outside with Daddy & the boys and we had an impromptu girls' night in. We played 7 games of Dora Dominoes...BabyGirl won 5 of the games! She was so excited, I told her she could call Grammy (QM) at Busha's house. She ran & got the phone and had me tell her what numbers to press & she made the phone call all by her self. Once she was done talking to Grammy she had to call Pa to tell him she'd just made her first phone call. We had a good night!

I'm also feeling like a proud Yenta right now. I just got an email from Nan/Cate that had a picture of her and Zann in it! I had no idea they were getting to meet. I'm going to take total credit for this because they met by way of my blog! Sing with me now, "Matchmaker, Matchmaker, make me a match..." Very cool!

As I've stated before we attend a very small church. It's also a very old church. I believe the congregation is over 150 years old...and the building is around 100 years old (I think). I also believe the pews are original to the building. They are wood. All wood. No cushions. Hard back, hard seat, not comfortable at all. Yesterday was our first Sunday at church with Bitsy...today my back & hips are hurting. That's what the pews do to me. Argh!

And lastly, Bitsy's hair came out in the wash Friday. The hair on top of her head literally washed off in the bath. Poor little bald baby...at least she still has the hair on the back of her head. When it starts growing out I may change her name to Billy Ray as she'll be sporting one heck of a mullet!

Better Day

Coming Soon: Bitsy

Today was measurably better than Friday...and yesterday for that matter. We actually made it to church before the first song was over & made it through the entire service without having to take anyone out for discipline issues.



The kids & I hung out in the house and watched Peter Pan while Husband did chores. I made mac & cheese & a jug of fruit tea & we headed in to the church picnic. The kids ran & played & had a wonderful time.





We came home, played out side, planted BabyGirl's Geranium & I potted my African Violet in an old planter that belonged to Bucka's mother. Then we drove the four wheeler to Big BIL's and our kids played with theirs for 30 minutes or so.



After we came back, the kids tried to catch lightning bugs & Husband went around the block on the four wheeler. He came back after his .22 when he found a skunk in a nearby field (a little too near by for our taste). As he was getting his gun out of the house, B.B. climbed up on the four wheeler to wait for his dad to come back out. I thought Husband had taken the key with him. I thought wrong. Just as Husband walked back out the door, B.B. hit the ignition button. I yelled, jumped, & started waddling towards the ATV as fast as I could go. Husband was heading to it much faster than I was from the other direction. Neither one of us reached it before B.B. got good & scared & started to jump off the four wheeler. When he did it, he hit the throttle (thank the good Lord above it was in neutral) and it terrified him. He threw himself face down on the ground & started screaming & crying.



Husband and I exchanged glances, looked at B.B. and both stifled laughs as I pried him off the dirt. When I asked B.B. what happened, he said, "Dat four weeder stared me, Mommy!" (That's B.B. for 'that four wheeler scared me.') He's decided it's not a good idea to get on the four wheeler without his dad much less press any buttons. Guess we won't have to worry about that again...for a while. He sat on my lap & cried for a full 3 minutes (which is a long time for that boy).

Long Day...again

We were dressed. We were out the door in good time. We were not going to be late for church today. As we pulled up I was surprised to see that a couple was there that doesn't usually come for Sunday School. That's when it hit me...I'd forgotten time change. We were an hour late.

After church it was pizza and bowling. It had started out as our Sunday School class outing, but turned into a whole church event. Husband had stayed home to move the billy goats & build a "club house" for the kids (I'll get pics later in the week). So I spent the bowling trip chasing the kids, wrestling #1 Son back into his bowling shoes, encouraging BabyGirl, reading off scores for all the bumper bowlers (who asked about 8 million times, "Now what's my score?"), and trying to keep B.B. from taking turns that were not his. It really was funny since none of the kids were big enough to bowl on their own. Uncle E was helping them and when he took B.B. down to bowl, he set the ball on the ground in front of him (as Uncle E had been doing with all the little ones), and let him push it down the lane himself. Only B.B. had a better plan. He hefted that ball up and chucked it down the lane with all his might. One time he sat on the floor behind it and kicked it down the lane.

Uncle E's girls, R.L. and Beffie came with me to Wal-Mart after bowling. The kids thought that was the best thing ever. We got B.B. an Easter bucket and an Easter basket for H.T. (I promised him one if he came to see me at Easter).

We came home to Husband building the club house & I cleaned out the van for our trip to Effin'bill tomorrow. We're taking the van to get the clear coat and scotch guard redone. After an afternoon in the yard, I scrubbed all the kids and sat BabyGirl down to her homework. At 6:57 I started to write the check for her milk money when I discovered we are responsible for snack for the class tomorrow. Mama and I are leaving with the boys at 7:15...the nearest grocery was already closed and wouldn't be open in time for me to pick up pretzels or graham crackers in the morning.

So I just finished baking and bagging a double batch of Aunt Silver Belle's Snicker doodles (while ironing the boys' & my clothes for tomorrow). I feel like I've been hit by a truck. I do not want to get up at 6 am.