Another Update....

I failed to put closure to our foster care situation as I was reading over my last couple posts. We had our little guy for a month to the day and then he was moved to another home to be with his sibling--which had more needs than we could meet. Was definitely an eye opening experience--one full of a wide array of frustrations and emotions, but I am not sorry we did it for a second. It was a learning experience and I am certain it was just a part of equipping us for the future God has for this crazy family. We have not gotten any more calls as of yet, so we will see what comes...

Catching up....

Things have been good. Homeschooling is progressing. Still doing Science club. Am in the process of getting things together for a history group. We will be doing Mystery of History Vol. 1 which looks really great. Have heard good things. It will take care of their History and some Bible too. I am looking forward to it.

What else? We lost a few friends since I last wrote. Lloyd passed on two days before Christmas. Abby was devastated and cried. Unfortunately, she found her. We had went to Indianapolis last Monday for a Trans Siberian Orchestra concert (8th row baby! They rocked!). Apparently, while we were gone, our fire alarms were triggered --not really sure why--but Lloyd was subjected to loud squealing for many hours (and her cage was right by the alarm) so I think she was stressed out. What a way to go! Poor thing. But--she did get about 3 months more life than the rest of the Praying Mantis population around here, so that is one way to look at it. We do have four of her egg sacks (which I am skeptical as to whether or not they will hatch) but here's to hoping!

Chip and Lola, too, are no longer with us. We gave them to a friend who reports that one of them got stuck behind a work bench and was discovered too late and the other one was their dog's lunch. But, we did learn a lot from the three of them, so that gave their life purpose. Rest in peace Lloyd, Chip, and Lola!

The boys have been progressing w/ their music lessons. Kirk has been working w/ them on a Trans Siberian Orchestra song. We were hopeful they would have it by Christmas, but they are thru about 2/3rds of it. Maybe next Christmas!

Christmas was good. I think we did 5 get togethers over a week and a half. We opted to stay home on Christmas day this year and I think we may do more of that. It was nice to not have an agenda and just relax. I closed my day w/ a migraine, so I camped out on the couch watching some garbage TV intermittently, but the kids were happy to just stay in jammies all day and eat venison. It was a family day.

Guess I will close for now. Hoping to be on here more. (It's one of my New Year's resolutions--to stay on top of documenting here and to learn how to work this goofy computer!)

Happy New Year to all!

A Month in Review....

Can't believe it has been nearly a month since I have sat down to blog. Things are as busy as ever. Life with 5 kids isn't tons different than life with four. Our little man is still with us--likely for up to another month. He very much needs to be placed with his sibling and that is currently in the works so we will see what happens with all of that. Hasn't been as challenging coordinating our homeschool schedule with the public school schedule, as he goes to school because the state does not permit for foster kids to be homeschooled. As it turns out, it gives me time to focus solely on my "own" kiddos for 7 hours a day without distraction--so it is working. Kirk and I went in last week to meet with the adoption worker at our agency to see how that program works. We want to have all of our options open. We still aren't completly clear on what direction we will go in regards to adding to our family, but wanted to be educated on all options. So time will tell on that one....


What else? We are the happy grandparents to two little ones--Abby is officially a "mother hen" to the two chicks we have names Lola and Chip. She is a riot with them. They follow her around the yard and it is so cute. We will likely be taking them to our friend's farm this weekend as they do not stay in their bin in the garage anymore and are leaving their "proof" all over the garage--so our little project will be coming to an end soon. The kids have enjoyed as have Kirk and I.

Our weekend in review....

Whewww! Nice to sit down and take a breather for a second. Kirk and all the kiddos (but Alexa) are out to lunch and running around, so I can take a second to clear my head. What I really need to do is clear the kitchen table, amongst the other twenty tasks that have gotten left to the wayside this weekend. We went out to the property yesterday. We left as seven and came back as about 47. We spent over an hour catching grasshoppers, crickets, and a fuzzy brown and black caterpillar Abby has claimed as her latest pet. We literally brought home like 39 grasshoppers. Our praying mantis has a very full belly. She was given about 10 of the grasshoppers last night. I think she is now just into the sport of catching them. She has gotten her little legs on about 6 of them, but has yet to completely eat one. One of them was about 3/4 the size of her. Didn't stop her any though. Such a tough cookie. Don't mess with that lady!
We also spent yesterday hiking around, fishing, and identifying leaves and trees. Was a good family day. Closed out the day eating fried potatoes and left over meatloaf that we heated up over the open fire, which is alot more exciting and appetizing than microwaving it. Overall, had a good day.
Today at church we did a little song for Pastor Appreciation. Was quite funny, I must admit. A few weeks back, we had the youth over to the house and we were trying to come up with something cleaver and fun to do. We ended up taking the tune to "The Muffin Man" and changing the words to "The Preacher Man". Here's the lyrics: Do you know the preacher man, the preacher man, the preacher man. Do you know the preacher man who we appreciate? Yes, we know the preacher man, the preacher man, the preacher man. Yes, we know the preacher man we think he's really great! Some of the kids played the recorder and the olders played the boomwhackers. For those of you not familiar w/ boomwhackers, you must know you have not heard musical genius until you have heard these instruments. Someone out there has made a bazillion dollars coming up with these things. Each tube is a different length and when you smack it, it gives off a different pitch. They are also color coded so it makes it easier to know when to play if you use flash cards. I am not very computer savvy, but we did videotape the "performance" so I will try to upload it later today. We then presented Pastor Eric with a chocolate muffin gift. Pretty cute! Got some giggles.

Well, gonna run. Gonna try to get some stuff done before the goof troop gets home.

Homeschooling is "Egg-cellent"!

Okay--have I officially flown "the coop"? I think not! Those are not just any ordinary eggs. Those are fertilized chicken eggs friends. And little did you know that you can buy them on Ebay! Yep! It's true! For just over a buck a piece with shipping, there are several individuals who will send them to you if you have a paypal account. LOL. We ordered a dozen, but one little one didn't quite make the journey from Alabama via the United States Post office, so we are down to eleven. We each named a couple of them and wrote their names on them with pencil just for fun. Kirk only got to name one of them and he named it Humpty. Hope his fate isn't like the real Humpty's fate was! We bought our incubator and egg turner on Ebay too and got our little babes all set up for a nice warm home for the next 21 days. This weekend we plan to candle them and see how they are developing--another first for me. (I am such a city girl! Good thing I married a country boy who can walk me thru this stuff!) I sent Kirk for chicken feed and he came back with a 50 lb bag. We are gonna have some fat chicks! OR some well fed garage mice! Guess that is the smallest bag he could find, but struck me as funny. Fifty pounds of chicken starter! Good grief! So, when our little peepers are hatched in ten short days, I will post the pictures to prove it. Good times!

Our latest and greatest...

Been quite awhile since I have posted. Been a little hectic on top of having computer issues.....so some stuff has definitely changed around here. Earlier this week we got our very first foster child. He's a lively six year old and has definitely kept us on our toes. The kids have been great with him, which has made their mama very proud. Midge is very happy to have a playmate that can actually keep up with her. They have been doing lots of pretending today, which is cute to watch. I am "stuffed to the gills" as they have been preparing me many dishes from their make-believe kitchen. It is very fulfilling to see my kiddies showing God's love to a child who needs it so badly right now. I will have to remember those moments of kindness to our little guy when they are fighting with each other! (they tend to do that more than I like!). Not sure how long our little guy will be with us--there is even a chance of him leaving next week, but we plan to love on him the whole time we get to have him. Wish I could post his picture but I think that goes against the rules....but he's a cutie.

The homeschooling continues on and we are really loving the science---with a nurse Mom, what would ya expect? It's "Eggville" around here between our praying mantis laying her egg sack and we are on day 11 of our chicken incubation. My next post will have some pictures ....

The weather has turned cold on us this week and I think fall is officially here. The leaves are falling like crazy. Gotta love the Midwest!

That about sums it up for now. I will be uploading some more pics soon.

Lloyd is a funny name for a girl....

We have been having great fun for almost a month now with a new friend my BFF Jessica gave us. We came up with the name Lloyd. (our new friend is not the picture above--that is dinner). It turns out our friend is a GIRL Praying Mantis and about two weeks after we brought her in to live with us, she entrusted some precious cargo. We still call her Lloyd and are still enjoying her greatly. I never thought I would be going to the store to buy crickets for a pet, but here I am!

Lloyd is enjoying her dinner as Kyle, Keaton, and Abby watch. (Keaton seems pretty excited about it, huh?)

Never thought bringing a bug indoors could stir so much desire to learn, but seems to have done the trick for us. I am learning a ton too! Surprisingly, my brain isn't as old as I thought and it is managing to pick up some fun facts--like did you know the Praying Mantis egg sack can have up to 200 little ones? We plan to "winter" the egg sack and hopefully come spring Lloyd's legacy will live on. We are hoping to keep some of the babies and raise them so we can see them molt and such. Lloyd came to us full grown so we didn't get to see that. We are pretty excited about it. What a riot!

Can you feel the love?

We took some pictures to send to Daddy since he's working down where the hurricane hit to help restore power. Midge is sending her love in this pic. Can ya feel it?

Keaton, on the other hand had his own special way of sending his love. He is such a weirdie!

Science Class in our Kitchen....

Okay, so I may be the coolest mom ever. I am not
totally for sure on that one.
But I did take the whole

homeschooling to another level
when I allowed for a 3 foot tall
milkweek plant to be planted in
a five gallon bucket and brought into my kitchen for a week and a

half. We found a
friend (the kids named him "Monnie") and he turned into
something pretty cool overnight. Unfortunately, he never became what was on Midge's shirt. For some unknown reason, he chose to stay inside his little house and not venture out. Maybe he was a home body. Maybe he was scared to death to come out after listening to our loud and crazy household for a week. We will never know I guess. But we will try again the the spring. This prompted me to buy a butterfly cage, some milkweed seeds to grow our own plant, and we have a coupon to send off for a half dozen larvae when we see fit to try again. Rest in peace Monnie! Thanks for the memories!

Pass the jello and the soup please!

Miss Abby is gonna have a difficult time eating anything for awhile. She lost her top 3 teeth all in one night. The tooth fairy was a broke lady after that night! She will not be eating corn on the cob anytime soon, that if for sure! She sports the toothless look very well! Put some baby powder in her hair, draw some wrinkles on her face, and you will have a good idea what she will look like at 90. I can only hope I look that good!

Fall Fun Fest 2008

Pictures from Uncle Jim's Wedding....

More stuff from our house....

Been a hectic few weeks. Kirk made it home for Jim's wedding. He was a riot! Gave a great "toast" and did his silly entrance when they announced the wedding party. He had everyone laughing. I was cracking up at him! Didn't get much time w/ him since he was on best man duty the 48 hours he was home, but all went well. The wedding and reception went very smoothly and we all had a great time. (I will upload some photos soon!). He left at 4 a.m. the 7th and is still in Louisiana doing hurricane relief work. His little company is fairing very well, ranking in the top 4 companies down there doing repairs to the electrical system. He says they will be one of the last dismissed to go home, which means he will likely be gone a minimum of 3 or 4 more weeks at least. Will be a long month I am afraid. Don't know how single parents do it! I am exhausted! But we will make it! Thanks heavens for the cell phone--that's all I can say. We talk to him all the time--which makes it bearable.

What else? Pressing on w/ the homeschooling. Getting a rhythm so that is good. Kids are participating in a couple groups w/ other homeschooling kids. They really enjoy it. Keaton is now taking drums, piano, and starts a hip hop dance class tonight. Kyle is doing guitar. Abby and Midge are just trying to keep up with the two of them, like me. I think it will be good for them.

We just got back from our yearly pilgrimage to Southern Illinois for the family reunion. We were very excited as we finally won a trophy in the children's parade for our costumes (6 years in the making....tried every year and were defeated!). We were very excited about our victory! The trophy is displayed proudly at Grandpa's house on his mantel. It was a very muggy weekend, but it was great seeing everyone.

Kyle experienced his first official overnighter at church as an jr. higher. He almost stayed up all night (guess he fell asleep at 6 am). He missed the family weekend, but I think it was good for him to go. He had a great time.

Got a call at 10 pm on Thursday night asking me to take an emergency placement for foster care. Being that we were headed out of town for the weekend and Kirk was not home, I told them no. Thinking that Kirk should be around for the first placement. But felt a little bad doing it. Oh well. My plate is pretty full right now.

Guess that about does it for now! I will be posting pictures soon so check back!

The latest and greatest from our house

Happy day after Labor Day! Had a hectic weekend. Went camping out at the land Friday night with our crew and our friend Perry and his two kiddos. We haven't camped but one other night so we are still trying to get a rhythm as far as bringing all that is needed when camping. We had a funeral to attend Friday morning ( a childhood friend of Kirk had passed of Urosepsis. He had a history of a brain tumor and never really recovered from that either). Then we rushed home, tried to pack appropriately, drove the hour to the land, and learned we did not pack appropriately --namely we forgot the poles for the tent. Good thing my hubby is handy and cleaver. He and Perry rigged the tent under some trees using rope and we were in business. Weather cooperated. Was a bit cool over night, but tolerable under the sleeping bags and on the new air mattresses. Kirk and I "bonded" as we had no choice. Our mattress didn't hold the air as well as it could have, creating a "bowl" effect and we both sank the the center of the queen mattress during the night. It wasn't the Tempurpedic Mattress we have recently grown accustomed to, but we did get a little sleep. Saturday, Kirk and Perry hoisted the kids to the 22 ft. platform (using Kirk's rock climbing equipment and fastening one end of the rope to the truck that Mom would drive forward to hoist them up) and down the zip line into the pond they went. What is next? Pogo sticking over the campfire? (I better not mention that one! He just might try it) Saturday afternoon, Kirk got the call he was going South for the Hurricane relief efforts. So that news cut our camping trip short. He is currently in New Orleans. Last he heard, over a million without power. Still waiting to see what else comes their way with the continued storms. He will fly home for a very short weekend as he is one of two best men at my brother's wedding on Saturday. My kiddos are all in it as well. I am reading a verse. I had thought about forgoing the prewritten verses and coming up with my own dialogue for the special occasion. Not sure if my bro and soon to be new sister in law would appreciate that. I had visions of doing the speech given by that crazy bishop looking guy in the movie "The Princess Bride". Remember that one? "Wuv (love), true wuv. Wuv is what has brought us togever (together) today." I would crack up but would likely be the only one.Probably cuz I am old and the only one who would even remember that movie. So maybe not.


What else...we are officially licensed foster parents. Got the license in the mail last week. Still no placement or call--but we are ready for whatever comes along. So, we will see what doors open.


Speaking of doors, can you believe I got hit in the driver's door again in the Cavelier. Literally the third time this year! And, of course, not my fault....AGAIN! I could have been very dishonest and let this poor soul who hit me think the dent there was from her (we never fixed the dent from the ice truck hitting me in accident number 2) and would be a thousand dollars to fix. I was honest though. She did scrap the door though, but not bad. I called my "brilliant" husband for advice, and he suggested I call the cops. Officer Jerkbutt (you will see why I named him that in a minute) must have been a very green cop as it took him literally 45 minutes to fill out the paperwork. Turns out I forgot to put an updated insurance card in my glove box and I ended up with a ticket that I get to appear in court on Monday for (the card in the glove box was 28 days past expired). FANTASTIC! I was only a mile from my house and could have gotten it, but apparently he needed a donut break or something cuz that wasn't gonna happen. I got to thinking maybe he was just crabby cuz he was constipated. Seriously! I am serious as a heart attack. I noticed he had a large bottle of Benefiber on his front seat and a bag of dried fruit. I kid you not! Gave the lady a ticket for hitting me too. So, got my very first ticket EVER for something incredibly lame. I wanted my first ticket to be something really cool, like going 50 miles over the speedlimit or jaywalking or streaking. I was so ticked I called the assistant public attorney office down town and told him my sad story and asked if I could just come down and prove I am insured. He checked into it but couldn't do anything for me. So, I will go and waste the court's time on Monday (as well as my own) and clear my good name. (Hopefully by then the officer had luck "clearing" himself!) Officer Needs-to-poop is not my favorite person at the moment.


On the upside--we have new life in our home. NO, I am not pregnant. We captured a Monarch caterpillar on Saturday, brought it home, dug up a milkweed, put it in a 5 gallon bucket, and perched our new friend (along with another new furry caterpillar friend) on the milkweed. We now have a shiny green crystalis and a furry friend. I have since ordered a butterfly net pop up house and am hoping it comes soon as I do not want a butterfly flying around my home. Kinda fun! The kids are stoked about it. Pretty exciting.


Well, that's the latest. I am officially ready for bed. Til my next rant.....

Picture of Doty Acres....

A view of the pond, the new windmill Kirk and Perry assembled, and off in the distance on the left you can see the 3 phone poles that now have a 22 ft platform on it for the soon-to-be zip line. The windmill has tubing that goes into the pond and creates some bubbling to help keep the green junk under control in the pond. There's also a "barley barge" in the pond that will help cut the growth down too. Pretty, ain't it?

Rockin' and Rollin'......

The lastest foster care news is that....well, there isn't much news at all. The 2 potential brothers we were possibly getting are now a no go. Their current home is not moving out of state at all--which is good for them. We got a call Monday night that the agency board met and we have been approved and should receive our offical license in the next couple weeks. But other than that, no other news to report.

We are underway with our new school year. We had been doing some during the summer, but have now stepped it up a notch. Everyone but poor Kyle is handling the increase in expectations just swimmingly. We've had some really long days over the last few weeks! I am sticking to my guns and expectations though and am hopeful he will "come around" very soon. We are both growing tired of the 8-10 hour school days. It is a battle of the wills--not a lack of ability or understanding. So, as soon as he figures out that I am gonna win that battle, his social life is sure to improve. But until that happens, me and the kitchen table will be his social life. So, we will see how that goes....

What else? Just got the drum kit via UPS yesterday and Kirk is out buying an amp for it. Keaton is very excited about learning how to play. His lessons officially begin next week. He will also be taking piano starting the first week of September. He is my little muscian. He really picks up things quickly and I think it will be a good outlet for him. The drums are electric and you can put headphones on, so the noise will not be a problem. (not that we are afraid of a little noise around here, have you ever called my house? Always sounds like a party going on!)

Kirk's dad and stepmom just paid a visit this last weekend from Vegas--which was really nice. Kirk and his best bud Perry were out at the land this weekend and have added yet another lovely feature to the land. A couple of deer stands and a platform 22 feet in the air on phone polls now has found a home on Doty Acres. The eventual plan is to run a zip line from the platform over the pond for a fun way to enter the pond for a swim. Always something! What next?

Well, Keaton and Kirk just got home with the amp so we are gonna go set up the new rhythm section in the living room and rock out! Til the next gig.....

The latest word from our camp....

Been a busy week. Got a call the day after our homestudy from the agency to furthur discuss the possiblity of taking those 2 brothers. Got some info on them and ended up putting off the decision to proceed til Monday to be sure we were making the right decision. ( Kirk also had a 14 hr day on Thursday and I had one equally as long on Friday at the hospital--so we didn't actually match up til the weekend at a time where we both weren't working or exhausted.) I spent Saturday researching schooling options---since in IL you are not permitted to homeschool foster kids. What is up with that anyways? If anyone is needing homeschooling, it would be foster kids. Maybe I am suppose to be a lobbyist on the issue. It just rubs me the wrong way. If the state's laws about homeschooling recognizes homeschoolers as a private school, then why is it a foster kid can go to a "real" private school but not my private homeschool. I mean --really. If a person is gonna go thru the hoops required to become a foster parent, they usually give a care and want the best for the kid. We are asked to provide every day needs, love, understanding, boundaries, ....why would we not provide the adequate education too? It is definitely not the monthly payment they are giving that would be a motivator to get involved-- because we will definitely be spending much more that the funding the state is providing. Okay--I will climb off my soap box now. Sorry for that outburst. I feel much better now.
So, the next step is for us to meet them, which will take place here at the house next week. I was at first bummed about having to wait a week and a half, but now see why that happened too.
Those big storms last night and this morning have called my husband out on yet another storm job. We are hopeful he will be done by Sunday as we have BIG PLANS! We have waited months to go see one of our favorite entertainers----the man whose concert I went to a few years ago and he ranks as the BEST concert I have ever been to. The one, the only, ......Weird Al Yankovic. That is not a typo. He is hilarious. To answer the two questions you are asking yourself....No, I have not lost my mind and yes, I do get out enough. Guess I just have a silly sense of humor. Guess it is genetic, because the boys like him too and are going. We are also bringing their bud Isaiah along in lieu of Abby. Abby has decided that a Weird Al Concert is not how she would like to spend her Sunday night--so Isaiah scores her ticket. Where did I go wrong with her?
We started hitting the school heavy yesterday to kick off the new year and get a jump start. Always a rough one--especially for Kyle. Today he started at 9 a.m. and is still "working" at it. Have a hard time motivating that kid. I have never seen a child that had to use the bathroom and get a snack so much as I have with this child over the last two days. I know what to do if he is constipated. Make him do his homeschool work and PRESTO---He's a pooping machine! Another effective idea-- ask his Uncle Jim to call and offer to take him fishing everyday because he is now motivated to finish today's tasks so he can take Uncle Jim on his fishing invitation. He is on track to take til midnight, but he will finish he says. He just finished his 50 math problems (which were review and assigned 8 hours ago! UGGH!) Good thing I took my diet pill (which gives me lots of Pep!) so I can stay up all night today and see him thru his assignments.
Only 178 more school days to go.....
That's about it for the moment. I will sign off for now. I am being asked to move off the couch as I am hindering the ability of my children to make a tent in the living room. I am headed upstairs and I am not much of a camper--even if it is in the living room. So, that's the latest word from our camp....pun intended. (don't groan--you know I am clever! Stay tuned. There's lots more where that came from....)

Moving right along....

Had our home study last night. Went very well. We were told about a 2 brothers sibling group that we are considering. (Didn't expect that one to happen so quickly!). We are still dialoging on that one. Would mean doing some bedroom flip flopping as the boys room is not big enough for DCFS standards (there can only be a max of 3 in there square footage wise) so Kirk and I would need to take their room and put the four boys in our master bedroom. Then we would need to use one of the beds in the girls room in the "new" boys room. Would likely need to rip down the lovely flower wallpaper border--which was gonna come down anyways. Means if Kirk and I went to the boys room, we would also inherit the cool camouflage mural painted on the wall. Now that's nice! So--still chewing on all that. Alot to think about...I need to also make some phone calls to the schools and see how the school schedule would mesh with "home school life". So, we are thinking (and praying!) on that one. It's not like if you turn them down, they will quit calling. As it was put to us, if they call you twenty times and you say no, they will call you the twenty first time the next day. Guess they have pretty thick skin--which is good. So, we will see what the next days bring...pretty exciting!

Foster Care Update

Forgot to drop a note on the progress of getting licensed for foster care....

We are very close now.

The PRIDE classes were completed weeks ago and so was the mound of paperwork, physicals, and fingerprinting. We met with Joyce, our licensing worker at the agency, last Wednesday. Spent a few hours talking about a variety of topics (from our childhoods to how we handle conflict). She will come and check out the house a week from Wednesday to make sure we meet the requirements set by DCFS. Then all that is left is for her to write a report and submit it to the board of the agency we are going thru. (We are going thru ECFA--which is a Christian agency who works with families to assure they are recommending good Christian homes. They are VERY through. I would HIGHLY recommend them! They have been wonderful!) So I am anticipating we will likely be licensed by the end of the summer. Then the real adventure begins! We will see what challenges God puts before us in this new endeavor! Please pray for us! We have gotten all "kinds of advice" from those in our lives. Some we have listened to and some ....well, discarded. Kirk and I know we are "taking a risk", but feel like we have and are doing all we can to prepare ourselves and our family for this calling on our family. We are very excited about what God can and will do thru this! Stay tuned ......

Thoughts of one on a Mental Health Break....

It's been a few weeks so thought I would sit down and do some typing. Needed a mental health break...(the boys are currently squabbling). Guess it's a case of the Mondays. Been a hectic few weeks. Kirk has been working lots of hours. Usually summer isn't so busy but for some reason it has been crazy busy for him at work. Last weekend he had gotten called out on storm so I packed us all up and we went with him. (We kinda like the guy and will take what we can get!). Turned out to work really well for us. Stayed at a Hilton Garden Inn--which I had never been at before. I give it two thumbs up. Really nice pool and we enjoyed ourselves.
Saturday Abby and I went to the Annual American Girl seconds sale in Middleton, WI. There is a children's museum there that gets all the returns and seconds from American Girl and sells them all at a fat discount and in turn they reap a hefty profit. They actually sell tickets to this thing thru ticketmaster! We went with my friend Christy and her two girls and made a weekend of it. Again--stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn . (I am plugging the Hilton so much they are gonna have to comp me next time I am in!). Bought lots of stuff. My arms are still hurting from lugging all that stuff around! Abby scored 2 new dolls and I got lots of Christmas shopping done so it was a successful trip.
What else? My son (Kyle) spent some time w/Grandma this weekend and came home looking like a surfer dude. He has been wanting highlights in his hair and Grandma gave him some this weekend. He now has a new middle school look. Can't believe the kid is entering 6th grade. I am getting old. I went to a wedding yesterday for Zac (My good friend Missy's kid) and as I was sitting at my table with my hubby, my BFF Jess and her hubby, I realized something. The music was too loud and the 20 somethings gyrating on the dance floor repulsed me, and somehow we had become "the old people" attending this event. We even left kinda early like the old folks always do. When did that happen? In as little as 7 or 8 years I could be "a mother of the groom".(gosh--I HOPE NOT!) Where does the time go? I did learn one thing--Midge is a dancing fool! My brother is getting married in about 8 weeks and I am sure she will be a hit there as well. She was a trip!
Well, I guess I am gonna close this session of my ramblings. The boys have now stopped squabbling and there are dishes to do. Until the next squabble....LOL

The things we do for beauty....

Okay--
So I've been doing alot of surfing the internet trying to find the "fix-all" on losing weight. There is so much out there. I looked into prescription drugs (I think I could find a way to get them prescribed to me....heck-if ya got a hundred bucks you can even buy prescriptions on the internet without a prescription--they may come from India (EWWWW!) but it is possible!). Not thinking I want to go that route just yet. A bit humiliating going into the doctor's office with the reason of "being too fat" listed as the answer of "Why are you here today?". My husband thinks I may have already accessed one of those online pharmacies and ordered some crack cuz I was even talking about surgery as a viable option. My argument was "We'd spend that much on a car--they only last 7 years--this would effect me for the rest of my life." He wasn't buying it. I think he would rather have the car. I thought it sounded good! Anyways, I found this over-the-counter-FDA approved drug called "Alli". It is the same active ingredient as Xenical (a prescription that works by binding with fat you ingest and passing it without absorbing it). I don't know if it was a sign, but I went to Walmart today to purchase it to give it a try and the 24 hr Walmart I always go to was CLOSED! Yes, closed. Apparently they had a power outage. I could get it at Walgreens or CVS but it's 10 bucks more there and I just can't do it. I am too much of a tight wad to spend the extra money to begin today. SOOO---Maybe tomorrow? I do have my hesitencies about it. Read some "horror stories" on the internet about possible side effects. One of them is quite unbelievable. Bowel Incontinence. That's right folks--this drug can literally make you poop your pants! So--you will be thinner, but have to wear a diaper? That's attractive! So, guess maybe I should think a little longer on this one, huh? Oh, the things we consider to make ourselves look and feel better! (although don't know how good I would feel if the "theraputic effect" caused me to crap myself!)
Among all my internet surfing, I came across those pads you stick on the bottom of your feet that supposedly detoxify you. What's that all about? Do those things really work? I see the pictures with all the nasty looking black stuff on the pads. What is that stuff? I had also considered trying those things to see if I would really gain the energy the product boasts. The good thing about this product is that in the fine print it does not mention a side effect of pooping your pants. So it has that going for it....

Introductions of the family....Kyle

Kyle is the oldest at 11 and will be 6th grade this year. His big love is COOKING! He can spout off a receipe at any given moment and is always asking for new ones.

Kyle enjoys doing anything with his dad--which usually involves hiking, fishing, dirt biking, hunting, and anything else they can come up with.

Kyle also loves video games and movies. He would watch movies all day if you let him. His favorite color is black. His favorite foods are steak, chicken fingers, and spagetti. He is torn between being a vet or a cook when he grows up.

Introductions of the family....Keaton

Keaton will be 10 this summer and will enter 5th grade this fall. He is the Party Animal of the family. The boy never sits still---unless he is sleeping. We call him the "Freakshow", and it fits! The boy is a show all by himself.

He loves to be active. Any sport will suit him--he likes soccer, dodge ball, and football. He likes to be outside. Dirt biking, fishing, paintball, street hockey, and shooting guns with his dad are some of the fun things he loves to do.

He is particularly fond of his long curly hair. He gets tearful if a haircut is even mentioned. He wants the world to know he ROCKS at Guitar Hero and wants everyone to send him money.

Introduction of the family....Abby

Ms. Abby is 7 and sensational. She is all girl. She loves to put together outfits and always looks fantastic. She is very artsy as well and enjoys any art projects. She is finishing up her 1st grade year and does very well in her homeschooling.

She is shy and reserved. Once she is comfortable though, is can be a wild woman.

She enjoys animals of any kind---in particular, her grandma's 2 chihuahuas Pepe and Poncho. She loves to shop and can shop for hours! I believe I read somewhere that is a genetic trait--which she inherited from her mom. Her favorite food is bacon. Her favorite color is pink (of course!) and her favorite movie star is Hannah Montana. She also loves American Girl, Webkinz, and Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Introductions of the family.....Alexa

Okay--thought I would give the intros on the kiddos...

This is Alexa. She is 3 and completely silly! We call her Midge. She is the youngest and from the time she entered the family we referred to her as "the midget" and it has since been shortened to "Midge". It has stuck!

She is very busy. When she is not single handedly destroying something in the house (in a sneaky manner), she has many interests. She loves High School Musical ANYTHING, dressing up and getting glamorous with all her lovely jewelery, and anything hands on.

She has never met a stranger--much like her mother. Kirk and I have talked about it and I think we have decided to keep her.

Okay--I am officially young and hip again!

Thought it was time to catch up with the times and begin my own blog. Don't know what possessed me to try this, but thought I would give it a whirl! I have had this little brain fart when it comes to things of a technical nature, so thought I would face it head on and see if I could get this to work. So...here's my first shot at it!

Life is good (and crazy and busy). Still trying to catch up on things after being gone to the Dominican. We (Kirk and I) went with our church to Bonao, DR to do some missions work. Such a slow pace there!! Took some real adjustment to adapt to their speed--or lack of speed. It's hot as heck there but the views make up for it. Very pretty areas in the DR. The people were warm and friendly, and very curious about the "gringos and gringas" from Chicago. I am crazy about the kids. Couldn't (and didn't) get enough of them. We took alot of supplies with us (thanks to generous donations from my church family at Shorewood Church of God) and distributed them out to the numerous homes of families that were involved with our new church plant "New Beginnings Church of God". Spent time w/ Pastor Elvis and his family this trip. The goal was to create relationships with the new church members, and I think we are well on our way. Very exciting times!

Kirk and I are still pursuing our foster care license. Just mailed off the last few paperwork items and once we get the homestudy done, we should be golden. We get all kinds of reactions from people when they hear we are pursing foster care. Some think we are completely CRAZY--which we are so that doesn't bother me. Others (most) are very encouraging. There is such a need and Kirk and I are in a position to help. So, we will press forward til the door closes.

The kids are good. Gonna send the boys to church camp for the first time this summer, which will be good for them. They will go together. I am expecting a call mid-week to ask me to come pick them up. Not because they are homesick. More than likely for fighting. They usually cannot make it thru a day let alone 6 days without some spat. So--they will earn their money!!

Guess I am gonna close for now. Hopefully I will figure out how to upload pictures so you all can see how cute and old the kiddies are getting!
Ta Ta For Now!

Links I Like...

"I'd Never Homeschool..."

You've heard it before..."Never say Never." I had that saying slap me upside the head a time or two. Such was the case when we were lead to homeschool the kiddies--well, actually I was dragged kicking and screaming I think. LOL

We started out in the public school system like many families do each and everyday. Kyle's kindergarten experience began with what seemed to me like a novice first year teacher that I was pretty sure he was habitually "eating for breakfast" daily. I'm actually quite sure he did because at the parent/teacher conference, she informed me he was "doing fine" and "did not have a problem sitting still" when I questioned her. I knew my child and this simply could not be. My suspicions were confirmed at his first grade conference when this time around this seasoned teacher proceeded to greet me with a forced grin, sat down at her desk, began shaking her head, and then proceeded to slam her head down on the desk. When a teacher begins a conference..."Where do I begin?"...you know you are in trouble. She proceeded to tell me what I already knew about my son--that he could care less about doing schoolwork, that it was not a lack of ability but a lack of interest, that he had difficulty staying engaged, and that she was having difficulty because there are 27 other kids in the classroom. When I heard the same anthem at his second grade conference, I knew I had to do something. I started checking into private schools and picking the brain of my master's prepared school teacher sister who informed me that my child "has been labeled" and that I had to make a change in his current educational path. After we weighed the options of private school--which meant taking a toll on the pocket book and still a classroom full of kids, homeschooling seemed the only logical answer. Homeschooling was never something I had ever even considered.

It turned out to be the best "decision" we have made to date for our family.

We are closer to our kids and making lasting memories. Our kids are happy and healthy. Most importantly, they are learning what they need to know to be successful and it is from a Christian perspective.

What started out as something we "had" to do has become something we "get" to do.

To read about what we are doing in school now, click here.

Meet My Crew...

My name is Amy Doty and I am the rambling writer of this blog. When I am not being wife, mother, teacher, housekeeper, and referee of squabbles, I do manage to do a little scrapbooking and shopping (nothin' excites me more than a great deal!). I also work part-time from home as an on-call triage RN for a local homecare agency. I also enjoy traveling and spending time with my family and friends. I am a bit of a social person who says what she's thinking....as you may have seen on my posts here. I truly feel blessed by God and am so grateful for the many blessings in my life....a few of those blessings are below. Read on...


To read more about Amy, click here.





Kirk is the Man of the House and does a bang up job in that role! He loves to do so MANY things! (just check out my basement sometime---it's housing his many hobbies.) He enjoys rock climbing, scuba diving, street hockey, hunting, hiking, and anything outdoors. He is a lover of nature and spends all the time he can out at our 47 acre parcel of woodland. More than anything, he enjoys taking his kiddies along for the ride. He is a Journeyman Lineman by trade (yeah--one of those crazies who likes to play with high voltage electricity at high heights). He is currently working as a General Forman for Intren (formerly known as Trench-It). He is a loving and patient Christian man and I am so happy to be his wife. (I can be mushy as well as silly, can't I?)


To read more about Kirk, click here.





Kyle is the oldest(4/97) of the bunch. His big love is COOKING! He can spout off a receipe at any given moment and is always asking for new ones.
Kyle enjoys doing anything with his dad--which usually involves hiking, fishing, dirt biking, hunting, and anything else they can come up with.
Kyle also loves video games,yo-yos,and movies. He would watch movies all day if you let him. His favorite color is black. His favorite foods are steak, chicken fingers, and spagetti. He is torn between being a vet or a cook when he grows up.


To read more about Kyle, click here.





Keaton (7/98) is the second born son. He's the one with the killer rock star hair do--complete w/ highlights. He is also Party Animal of the family. The boy never sits still---unless he is sleeping. We call him the "Freakshow", and it fits! The boy is a show all by himself.
He loves to be active. Any sport will suit him--he likes soccer, dodge ball, and football. He likes to be outside. Dirt biking, fishing, paintball, street hockey,yo-yoing, and shooting guns with his dad are some of the fun things he loves to do.
He's alot of fun. He wants the world to know he ROCKS at Guitar Hero and wants everyone to send him money.


To read more about Keaton, click here.





Ms. Abby (4/01)is stylish and sensational. She is all girl. She loves to put together outfits and always looks fantastic. She is very artsy as well and enjoys any art projects. She is doing very well in her homeschooling.
She is shy and reserved. Once she is comfortable though, she can be a wild woman.
She enjoys animals of any kind---in particular, her grandma's chihuahua Poncho. She loves to shop and can shop for hours! I believe I read somewhere that is a genetic trait--which she inherited from her mom. Her favorite food is bacon. Her favorite color is pink (of course!) and her favorite movie star is Hannah Montana. She also loves American Girl, Webkinz, and Kentucky Fried Chicken.


To read more about Abby, click here.





Miss Alexa (2/05) is the babe and completely silly! We call her Midge. She is the youngest and from the time she entered the family we referred to her as "the midget" and it has since been shortened to "Midge". It has stuck!
She is very busy. When she is not single handedly destroying something in the house (in a sneaky manner), she has many interests. She loves High School Musical ANYTHING, dressing up and getting glamorous with all her lovely jewelery, and anything hands on.
She has never met a stranger--much like her mother. Kirk and I have talked about it and I think we have decided to keep her.


To read more about Alexa, click here.



To read more about our family in general, click here.

Everyone Has a Story...Here's Mine:

To sit down and write out how it is that God has made Himself known to me seems an overwhelming task. How do you sum it all up in a paragraph or two and do it justice? Really, it can’t be done—not to the degree He deserves. But, I will share with you a few things about my journey…

I was born the first child to parents who were children themselves at that point and had some growing up to do. Mom’s parents were/are two of the finest Christian people I have ever known to date. So, you can imagine their disappointment when news came that I was coming along. Despite this, they were loving and supportive of our now young new family. A sister and a brother soon followed. Gram and Gramps were always there and were a Godly influence for our family. I remember going to Sunday School at a early age and I think it was sometime in early grade school that church became a more regular part of family life. I became very involved during my late elementary years and even attended church camp. It was there that the gospel was presented to me in a way that made sense and I remember raising my 10 year old hand up in the air to accept Christ at campfire that last night. I was baptized the following Sunday at church. Seemed that it was more so during my high school years, though, that I felt more of an urgency to work on developing the relationship. Thru some wonderful influences in my life, I was learning to live the life that God had for me. I was letting the Holy Spirit guide my decisions. I saw prayers answered and they all the more confirmed the realness of a God who heard me. There was one prayer request I had begun making at the age of 14. It was about two years before God answered that one, but He answered it far more abundantly that I could have possibly imagined. His name was Kirk and I had no ideas just how much of an answer to prayer that he was for me. As it turned out, this quiet, meek, and socially-timid guy would turn out to be one of the most amazingly faithful, servant-minded Christian people I have met to this day. He is the spiritual leader of our home. I am so grateful to have him in my life. He keeps me accountable—and I love him for it (well, usually! Sometimes he tells me what I need to hear and not what I want to hear!). I’ve had my not-so-on-fire times as well. I don’t pretend for a second that everything is always been great in my walk. I let the busyness of life be an excuse to neglect the One who gave it to me—which is really horrible when you think about it. But I will press on with the aspiration to grow closer to God and continue to thank Him for all those blessings He has bestowed upon me. I don’t feel worthy of it all and recognize that I really am not worthy. It’s a gift and I’m grateful.

And the saga continues. Click here to read the most recent chapter.

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