Thurs, Fri, Sat May 25-27

Thursday--- the last day of school!!  Yahoo!  Everyone ended the year with good grades & a lot of joy!  Backpacks came home laden with leftover school supplies & sweet notes from teachers.  This was also my last day of work for the summer, so I'm out now, too!  The kids & I are looking forward to a full, fun summer!  I celebrated by getting together with a girlfriend & sitting at Whataburger talking til the wee hours of the night/morning.  :::Yawn:::  I love ya, Amber!

Friday--- Andrew's last art class of the year.  He came home with all sorts of neat things he's drawn, painted, etc over the course of the past few months.  Thank you Miss Jan!  We love you!  Art class has been such a sweet blessing!

Friday night was a movie night at church.  We all wore our PJ's & took blankets & pillows and watched Lady & the Tramp.  The kids were well-entertained & enjoyed getting to eat popcorn for supper.  (They did have a "side dish" of spaghetti & meatballs to commemorate the famous scene from the movie.)

Good news----a friend of Larry's (from his old job at Smith Co.) just finished some remodeling of their house.  They had about 300 sq. ft. of laminate wood flooring leftover, still in the box, unopened.   Guess what?  They're GIVING it to us to use in the new bathroom!  I am beyond elated.  We didn't even consider looking at it b/c we figured it would be too pricey.  What an enormous gift!  Thank you Cleo!!!

Saturday--- Today was Andrew's birthday party at the bowling alley.  I have pictures!  Email me to see them!  Between our 5 kids, 2 cousins & 2 friends plus all the adults that came with them, we filled up 2 lanes and took an hour + 15min. to bowl ONE game.  LOL!  Of course, the kids lost interest after about 40 minutes & the adults ended up finishing their game for them.  I did a little gymnastics move when I stepped on the slippery lane flooring at one point, but aside from that, there were no crazy moments & no injuries.  ha ha!  Andrew got a lot of goodies when he opened his gifts & enjoyed having a crowd of people there to clap & giggle when he blew out his candles.  We had a lot of fun.

Sadly, we came home & located one of our pet hermit crabs that has been missing for a couple of weeks. Unfortunately, she was already dead.  Savannah & Andrew are in the back yard for a burial & cross-building at this moment.  Savannah's really sad about it.  Poor baby.  We will miss you, Lucy.  In her memory, I'm putting her picture at the top of this entry.

Larry is preaching a wedding this afternoon at 4:00 for some friends.  Congratulations Dustin & Jessica!  I am sorry that we can't all make it to the wedding, but I know it will be a beautiful day.  You are a sweet couple & I look forward to seeing you together for many years to come.

Wed May 24 #2

Today was Andrew's birthday.  The morning began with singing & chocolate cake with candles for breakfast.  Andrew was acting goofy, but I figured it was just that he was excited about it being his birthday, so I didn't think too much of it.  When he got done getting ready, he ran over & grabbed the 2 sacks that contained the boxes of cupcakes for his class today.  Of course, he didn't take into account that they needed to remain horizontal to keep the icing from getting stuck all over the top of the boxes.  :::sigh:::  I opened them up & sat the cupcakes back up but knew it was too late to fix them.  So we get into the car & drive to school, only to have him get out of the van & almost trip holding the boxes of cupcakes.  Thank goodness the PE coach was there & caught the boxes before they crashed to the ground!  I drove off laughing, thinking that we'd be lucky if ANY of those cupcakes made it to the classroom in one piece.

 

When I got home, I checked my email for about 5 minutes before Savannah called my cell phone to tell me she had forgotten something & needed me to bring it.  Knowing that I needed to go to the bank & post office too, I went ahead & grabbed those things before I left.  Got the things Savannah needed delivered, went to the bank drive thru and to the post office before I headed back home.  (oh, I also stopped at the donut shop for a pig in a blanket ....that chocolate cake breakfast was already wearing thin & I was feeling shaky....nothing like a good blood sugar drop to round out the morning!)  So anyway, I did all that & headed home.  Two blocks from our house, a cat ran out in front of me.... I hit it....and killed it.  I felt just AWFUL but there was no way I could've stopped in time when it darted out in front of me.  I went 2 houses down, turned around & went back to see the owner (a teenaged boy!) walking out toward the street.  I think he saw the whole thing, so I HOPE that he realizes I tried to stop.  I told him how sorry I was & drove home feeling like a horrible pet murderer.

 

I had several things waiting on me at home so I got started on the dishes when the phone rang.  A girlfriend from church was calling.  I am her accountability partner & last night she was going to take care of some things we've been talkingabout, so I was expecting that she'd call this morning to tell me how it went.  She was driving though & her phone kept cutting out, so we had to hang up & call back several times before we finally gave up.  While I was talking to her I found Andrew's Concerta {his ADHD medicine} on the kitchen table where he had been sitting this morning.  (which explains the goofy way he was acting this morning....I should've known better!!)  So off I go again, getting back into the car to take him his medicine at school.  By the time I got done with that, it was 11:40.  My kids usually eat lunch around 11:00, so they were getting whiney.  It hit me that we are out of lunch meat & only one of them likes PB&J....we're out of fish sticks & chicken nuggets.....no soup in the house....ugh, so Burger King it is.  I grabbed them some chicken strips & a salad for me and headed back home.

 

We ate quickly & I hopped into the shower.  Before I got in, I made sure to reenforce to the girls how they did NOT need to answer the phone or the door if someone called/knocked........and apparently they actually heard me this time!  By the time I stepped out of the shower, the cell phone was ringing---and it was Larry calling to tell me that the electrician would be arriving in 5 minutes to look at the wiring for the new bathroom.  EEEEEKKKK!  I was still wrapped in a towel with dripping hair at that point!  I quickly threw on some clothes & combed my wet hair before he arrived-----but during that 2 minutes, the phone rang 3 (yes, count 'em---THREE) times!

 

The electrician came & did his thing (INSIDE the house might I add...where it looks like a tornado has hit 2 or 3 times).  He left & I went back to return all the phone calls that came during that 5 minute span while I was trying to get dressed & dried off.  I have finally finished that now...and I've got an hour til time to go get the kids from school.   

 

Phew......a mother's job is never done!  LOL!

 

When I picked them up after school, we went straight over to Toys R Us for Andrew to pick out a new bike (his birthday present) & then had to stop at Walgreen's for some stuff to put on Samuel's hand.  {By the way, he's had some weird "thing" on his hand for about a week.  Please pray that it goes away soon!}  By then it was supper time, so we had to get fast food (yuck...twice in one day!) & head on to church.

 

Boy, I CRASHED when I finally slowed down for bed.

Wed May 24

Happy Birthday Andrew!!!!!!!!!!

Today, Andrew is 8 years old!  I don't know every detail of his birth or for that matter even his birth time & weight/length......but I know him now & am honored to have that privelege.

If you'd like to send him an e-card to my email address, feel free!  I know he'd love to get one.  I've already got 3 sitting in my inbox waiting for him.  Will show those to him tonight before church.  :)

My email address is:  Lizreeves2@aol.com

Legal Update from Larry

Hello Yawl,

This is from Larry.  Just wanted to give an update on the legal stuff as far as it relates to the kids.  As you know, (or know now) G had a Attorney General Child Support Case.  This was filled while they lived in Coryell County, Texas.  At the time of the wreck they lived in Anderson County, Texas.  She died legally in Smith County, Texas.  We took custody of the kids and moved them to Smith County where we live.  Because of the prior involvement of the Attorney General in the kids lives, they now have legal standing to say where the kids go.    We have to involve them and "do it right" with them or they could make our lives heck.  The could step in and take them.  Our attorney says that we are doing things right.  they may want a home study at some point.  They have more standing than I have as an Uncle. 
Because of all of this, we had to do two different things.  We had to file a case in Coryell Count requesting the AG to move their case to Smith Count where the kids live now.  G consented to this because he does have some say in how this plays out.  He is cooperating with us and helping us out.  The judge in Coryell County was about to sign the transfer papers when some assistant attorney general walked in and filled a bunch of enforcement, G's case was one of them.  that stopped our transfer.  it took about 3 weeks for us to track that guy down and get him dismiss the case.  it took him a few more days to think about it.  he then agreed as long as we signed a statement that the enforcement would be handled in Smith County.  We all agreed.  Had this not happened I would have had to pay our attorney to travel down there for a hearing.  for him and his assistant to travel is 300.00 per hour plus I pay his expenses.  Argue!!!  thank you Lord for fixing this one as well.  so now we are waiting on the file from Coryell County to be mailed here and filled in.  our case will be handled in the 321 District Court - the Hon. Carol Clark.  Once the case is filled in it should only take a month or more to get on the docket.
thanks to everyone for reading along,
Larry

PS - Write a will.  Get life insurance.  Tell someone where your stuff is.

Thursday May 18

Since A&K moved in, our biggest "issue" has been between Andrew & Savannah.  They are both very strong-willed, independant, hard-headed firstborns who want to be in CONTROL.  Of course, we all know that can't work.  Two people trying to steer the car doesn't work well.  I have had people praying for the 2 of them to get along, become friends & establish a relationship.  I've prayed & prayed myself, but haven't felt like we were getting anywhere.

Last night, on the way to church, we were listening to the CD of Savannah's choir music (for a performance she has on Sunday night).  One of the songs is about Romans 16:19-20.  It says "Be excellent at what is good, be innocent of evil.  And the God of peace will soon crush Satan underneath your feet."

While we listened to that, God spoke to me saying that He was going to soon crush Satan (this horrible spirit of defensiveness & arguing in my house!!!) under my feet!  I was crying by the time I reached the church & the kids were wondering what the heck was up with mom.  LOL!  I realize the verse is speaking to a much BIGGER crushing of Satan, but for now, in my household, I know that it's purely spiritual warfare going on & once we can defeat Satan entirely, the wars will end!  Sure, they're still siblings who will fight now & then, but this constant sense of "one-upmanship" & nit-picking won't be such an issue.  What a mighty God we serve.  He's active in even the little victories around here!

Speaking of victories...... we got the bathroom framed up today!  About 7 hours into it, a board that was propped against the house fell over, knocking the faucet off the wall to the house exterior, broke the pipe & water started spraying everywhere!!!  Luckily, our builder was still here & knew how to fix it!  He wasn't sure if the way he did it would work, but PRAISE GOD, it held!  If it had not, we would've had to cap off the line & spend the next several weeks in a laundrymat as the washer & that faucet were on the same line!  Yikes!

Once that was fixed, they finished up the framework & called it a day!  Thank you Don, Daddy & Larry for building me a new bathroom!!!  I can't wait to see it finished!!

I'm attempting to include a picture with this entry.  If it doesn't work, you'll know it b/c the picture will be missing!!  If it does work, well then....voila!  It's a pic I took of Kourtney & I yesterday.  Enjoy!

 

Tuesday May 16

We had a fun evening!

The girls were all invited to a birthday party for a little girl from church.  They went to Piddlin' Pottery & were able to paint their own piece of pottery (All 3 girls chose a piggy bank of some kind---2 dog-shaped ones & 1 pig).  Since that was for the girls (& really....can you picture my 2 bull in a china shop boys in this nice little pottery place??  HA HA), we dropped the boys off at McDonald's with some friends & took off.  The girls had a ball painting & playing with a bunch of silly, giggly, squealing little girls.  When we got finished, we went back to McD's, picked up the boys & headed home.  The boys had a little over an hour to run & play like wild monkeys so they had fun, too!

This morning I called & scheduled Andrew's birthday party.  He's been talking about a bowling party ever since he moved in.  (Tomorrow will be 3 months that they've been here---and he's talked about a bowling party the whole time!)  We've told him all along that we'd check into the price & see if we could do it, but we haven't made any promises.  Although it's a hair more pricey than the parties we've done in the past, it'll be worth it.  He'll be sooo tickled when I tell him this afternoon that he can definately have a bowling party.  It'll be Saturday the 27th at 10:00am.

Still running that around in my mind..... 3 months already.  Wow.... the time has flown by.  I guess when you stay crazy nutso busy, time really does fly by.  :)

Monday May 15

This weekend, I bought the new Mercy Me CD called "Coming Up to Breathe".  So far, I really like it.  There is one song in particular that I've fallen in love with.  It's sooooo  exactly where my heart is, so I wanted to share the lyrics here.

Bring the Rain

I can count a million times/People asking me how I can praise You with all that I've gone through/ The question just amazes me.  Can circumstances possibly/Change who I forever am in You?  Maybe since my life was changed long before these rainy days, it never really ever crossed my mind/To turn my back on You on Lord./  My only shelter from the storm.  But instead I draw closer through these times/So I pray

Chorus:  Bring me joy, bring me peace.  Bring the chance to be free.  Bring me anything that brings You glory.  And I know there'll be days, When this life brings me pain, But if that's what it takes to praise You, Jesus bring the rain!

I am Yours regardless of the dark clouds that may loom above./Because You are much greater than my pain./You who made a way for me, by suffering Your destiny.  So tell me what's a little rain?  So I pray   (repeat chorus)

Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God almighty!

Saturday May 13

Today was busy, full, good.  We had Blast Ball early this morning.  Larry came in a separate vehicle & took Andrew to a birthday party at the lake afterward.  The others & I came home for lunch & snacks, and then layed down for naps.  When Larry got home from the party, he went to my dad's house & they fixed something on his truck.  When he got home, we set about replacing the brick walkway that the plumbers had to tear up this week to dig the trenches for the drain lines.  (I have pictures of the work they did & the result of Larry & Andrew's hard work today to fix it!)  Larry & Andrew ended up spending several hours putting the bricks & pavers back down & decided to be creative with it...it looks so neat!  The other kids played outside & rode their bikes while the sidewalk work was being done.  I, on the other hand, am more of an indoor, air-conditioning sort of gal, so I stayed inside & got the kitchen table & bar completely cleaned off.  Trust me...it was truely a couple of hours-long job.  (Ugh...now you all know my secrets!  LOL!)  Once that was done, I sat down with the calendar & planned all of our daily events for the kids & I.

We will spend each Monday at home, cleaning up after our lazy weekends, and just playing here.  Tuesdays will be the day to go to a park.  We have tons of neat parks in Tyler/Whitehouse, so we will be visiting many!  Wednesdays will be our "field trip" days.  We'll go to the zoo, museums, play putt-putt and that sort of thing.  Thursdays will be spent at home, playing games from a COOL book I got recently called "Hey Mom!  I'm Bored!".  It's a book of 100 games/activities for kids of all ages & they have some really NEAT ideas in the book!  Fridays will be spent doing crafty things or going to eat lunch w/ Larry at the church...or picnics with Grandma....something like that.  Now I'm actually looking forward to the summer because I've got it all planned out!

Tonight I went to Target & picked out 2 new outfits for myself for church/evening out wear.  I went ahead & bought a pair of earrings to go with both outfits and a necklace to go with one.  It's nice to get to buy something for me now & then, but boy did I feel weird paying that much for 2 outfits when I could've bought a bunch of groceries or a ton of thingsfor the kids at garage sales/thrift shops.  Oh well, I guess we mommies need to remind ourselves to take care of ME now & then.

On that note, I will make an awkward transition into the following.  LOL!  I got this in an email today & I must tell you, this is the most romantic thing!  How precious that this man wrote it about his wife.  Guys out there, write these sorts of words to your sweetie & you'll win major brownie points.  Honestly, though...I pray that these are the kind of things said about me when I'm gone.

My Childrens' Mother, My Wife
     I know that my wife firmly believes that my day is spent thinking about better ways to send data between to programs, but the reality is I think of her most of the time. Of course some of those thoughts lead me to blush but most of my thoughts about her are the kind that leave me in awe.

     She claims that she is not unique among women, but I find that hard to believe. She chooses to be different. It isn't what she has that makes her so special, but what she chooses to do with what she has that sets her apart. She chooses to serve.

     My wife is a stay-at-home mom. That does not make her better than working moms. It does make her different. I work at an office, in a cubicle, surrounded by people. I get distracted and energized by the commotions and chit-chat of the people around me. Some days it is draining, maybe tedious and often stressful. But it is a job.

     Being a mom is her life.

     She experiences more of the stresses without the interaction. She runs a restaurant, a taxi service, a hotel, a daycare, a classroom and a maid service. This is her normal day. I think about better ways to send data. And I think about her.

     She gets depressed when she sees the super-moms. "How can they handle ten children, home school, smile at everybody and seem so energetic?"   I have never met a more super-mom than my wife. She doesn't have ten children or home school or smile at everybody or seem so energetic.  She quietly, and sometimes not so quietly, teaches our children about love, faithfulness, sacrifice, commitment and dedication. She lives out the cost of discipleship. Our children will not grow up believing that the world is happy and people always smile. They will grow up knowing that it's okay to cry. That the people who love them get tired and frustrated and lose their tempers, and they are still loved.  They learn that parents apologize.

     Being a mom can be very depressing. It drains all your energy. It thins out your emotions. And sometimes it even hurts. Children are not always nice to each other and sometimes they are not nice to the mom who has given up everything for them. She is like our house's foundation. The whole house depends on her and she gets walked on a lot.

     I have barely scratched the surface of who she is and what she does.  There has never been a job more valuable with so little appreciation, so little immediate reward. Yes, the children do say thanks once in a while. They do write "I love you" on their Mother's Day cards. And their hugs and kisses are very precious. But the reality is that she gives far more than she will ever receive.

     Someday I would like to kick the winning field goal in the Super Bowl, or hit the winning run in the World Series. But neither of those could ever bring me the honor I get by walking next to my children's mother.
Copyright 2001 Dave Loomis.

Fri May 12 #2

Whew...that's done now.....the sewer drain lines are in.  One thing down, a million more to go.  :)

God is continually faithful & soooo good to us.  Yesterday we got an envelope from our old church.  Bethel Bible Church was such a HOME for us it was really hard to leave.  In February, they asked if they could give us a "shower" to welcome Andrew & Kourtney.  In lieu of that, they ended up taking up a collection.  Wow....what a collection.  It is such an honor & a blessing to know that people we haven't been able to be near on a routine basis in over a year still love us & think so much of us.  I won't give dollar-figure details, but wow....we were completely overwhelmed.  Thank you Bethel....you truly are a house of God.

Friday May 12

The past week has been interesting....days filled with sore arms, ER trips, field trips for all 5 kids, the list goes on.  Once Andrew found out that his arm wasn't broken, he was relieved....but over-use of his arm still makes it sore & achy, so he's having to go easy on it.  I'm not sure if it's the pain of his arm or something else....but he's spent a lot of time crying this week.  He seems to get 'set off' at the smallest things.  I keep trying to get him to talk, and he'll seek me out to sit in my lap & snuggle & hug for as long as I'll let him sit there....but he's still not really talking about what's bothering him.  He's a tough cookie.  I realize the "breaking down" has to happen, but boy it's painful to watch.  Poor baby!

We've got plumbers here right now as I type this.  There's a backhoe in my yard digging the trench to put the drain lines into.  WooHoo!  Before ya know it, we'll have a bathroom!  If you haven't seen the progress pictures of the construction, email me.

5/10--broken arm saga is complete!

Whew!  One thing to cross off the list!

We saw the ortho this afternoon.  The ortho's P.A. is a good friend & he came out to the waiting area before we ever went back & told me he had already looked at the Xray.  He said the break was sooo tiny that he wasn't sure if the doc would even do a cast or anything.  He asked if Andrew was in pain (not at all) or if he seemed to be slowed down by it (no).  When we went into the exam room, he took off the splint & poked & pushed & bent his arm all different directions, with no response from Andrew.  The doc came in & did the same thing.

We decided that either the break is extremely TINY & doesn't need any treatment or it's just bruised inside & we were seeing a growth plate on the Xray.  Not sure which it is, but either way, we don't need a cast, splint or anything else!  Yahoo!

Andrew is a little disappointed that he couldn't get a cast for all his friends to sign.....but excited that this means he won't have to miss the birthday party at the lake on Saturday!

Tues May 9

Not nearly as much excitement going on today in the Reeves fam......but we did get concrete poured!!!!!  We have a slab!  Yahoo!!

Andrew will see the ortho doc tomorrow afternoon at 2:00.  Will report later what we find out.

Monday May 8

What a great day....and what an adventure we ended with!

The plumbers came this morning to stub in the plumbing for the new bathroom/laundry area.  That got done (& I have pictures!!) by lunchtime.  This afternoon, Larry & my dad layed the re-bar (sp??).  The concrete man will be here in the morning to pour the slab!  WooHoo!

This afternoon while daddy was still here, the kids were riding bikes.  I was in the backyard with dad & Larry, but could hear the kids in the front.  All at once there was a major wail coming from the front yard, so we all went running.  Andrew & Kourtney had a bicycle collision & Andrew landed on the bottom of the pile with both bikes & his sister on top of him.  He landed laying half-way across the curb, too.  Ouch!  He was holding his right arm, talking about how much it hurt so we watched it for a while.  We iced it & waited to see what would happen.  Almost immediately there was a little lump on his wrist, but we couldn't FEEL anything different from one wrist to the other when we compared the two, so we weren't sure if it was a bruised area that swelled some or if there might be something broken or what.  After 30-40 minutes, though, he seemed to go back to normal, although he was sort of protective of that arm the rest of the evening.  At Savannah's dance class (7-7:30pm), he bumped into something & started crying again, holding his arm & telling me "it hurts, it hurts, it hurts!".  At that point, I knew we needed an Xray.  I've heard crazy stories for years about people who had some minor injury that they "lived with" for a week before they finally found out that they had a broken arm/leg/whatever.  So....as soon as Larry got home tonight, I turned over the other kids to him & took Andrew to the ER.

Sure enough......it's broken!  He's got a tiny little hairline fracture to the bone on the inside of his right wrist.  The doc said that you usually can't see hairline fractures all that well until the 2nd or 3rd day, so if he could already see it tonight, he knew the ortho doc would be able to see it that much more a couple days from now when we see him.

He will go ahead & go to school tomorrow in the splint & we'll call to get him in w/ the ortho ASAP.  They'll make the decision on whether to stay with a firm splint or to go ahead & cast it.  Until then, he's going to be a one-armed man because he's extremely right handed like me.  He really NEEDS to use that hand!!  Oy....this will be fun.  <grin>

Goodnight!  I am sooo beyond sleepy.  I got 3 1/2 hours of sleep last night & here it is 12:30.  My alarm will be going off in 6 hours.  Time to hit the sack!

May 2-4

On Tuesday, I barely got home from dropping the kids off at school before the phone rang, telling me that Samuel was in the nurse's office with a low-grade fever & a "really red throat".  Oy!  Since Andrew & Savannah just recently had strep throat, I went ahead & called the doctor.  I picked up Samuel & went straight to the pediatrician's office.  Sure enough....strep throat!  Ugh!  The funny thing is -- Samuel never acted sick all day long.  I guess we must've caught it real early or something!  Thank goodness we got the antibiotic started quickly & all is well now.  Time to bathe everyone in Lysol again!  (ha ha!)

 

On Wednesday, I took Sarah & Kourtney and went to eat lunch with Andrew at his school.  He told me right off the bat (back in February) that it would NOT be cool if I showed up to eat lunch with him.  Thankfully he has changed his mind & thought it might be OK after all.  When we got done eating & his class was lining up to head back to their classroom, he jumped up & ran off.  I just sort of laughed it off & thought "typical boy...forgets to say goodbye or anything".  I figured he might still be sort of embarassed that I came to eat with him, so I blew it off.  I went about packing up the girls & I, throwing away our trash and getting ready to leave.  About the time I got done, I turned around to see Andrew running back into the cafeteria.  I figured he left something there, so I started looking around to see what he might've missed.  When he got to me, he wrapped his arms around my waist & hugged me really tight for a long time, as if he might never see me again.  I just about broke down & cried right there in the middle of the cafeteria.  :::sniff, sniff:::  Sweet boy!  I thanked him for coming back to hug me & he took off to get back in line with his class.  I stood there in the cafeteria, a little stunned, for a few seconds before I grabbed the rest of our stuff to leave.  I guess it shouldn't shock me too much.  Every night, he wants me to come & snuggle with him before he goes to sleep.  Even if it doesn't mean actually laying beside him & cuddling, he wants me to come lay near him while he falls asleep.  There really is a little boy underneath all that tough guy exterior.  I love seeing that come out more & more the longer he's here.

 

While we were driving home from eating lunch with Andrew, Kourtney & Sarah started singing a song they'd learned at church.  Sarah quickly hushed them & reminded Kourtney that they couldn't sing that song in front of me.  I heard giggles & whispers from the backseat & then asked why not.  Sarah told me it was a "secret song" that they were learning at church to sing on Mother's Day.  Then it hit me...this year, Andrew & Kourtney will be really torn on Mother's Day.  Between missing their mother & trying to celebrate a new one, I can only imagine the emotions they will be going through.  Please start praying for them now.  I get all worked up & cry every time I see the mental picture of them singing in front of church in a couple of weeks.  I hope they handle it ok.  Kourtney told me this morning that she wants to go visit Kelly's grave again before Mother's Day & leave some balloons there for her.

 

Tonight, Don & Bo (we love you!) came over & helped Larry lay the forms for the new bathroom.  The plumber will come early next week & get the plumbing part done & then we'll have the concrete poured.  WooHoo!  I have pictures!!  Email me to see those.

 

Here is Andrew's newest favorite song.  I have the Wow Hits 2006 CDs & he is always requesting that I play this one.  I looked up the lyrics online tonight to see what it actually says, to make sure I'm not missing anything.  Wow....pretty powerful stuff!

 

Atmosphere  by TobyMac

I know you keep a journal and every page is rippled

From the tears that you cry, ain't no meanin' to your scribble

Cause words can't describe what you've been feelin' inside

It's like thousand foot walls, and they're still on the rise

 

But look up to a beautiful sound

And see for yourself you're not that far down

And know this, I cannot love a little

My promise to you is unconditional

 

And I'll keep the light on, baby

Just keep the course, you can weather the storm

I'll keep the light on, baby

You've come this far, don't you ever lose heart, now

 

Just turn around and I'll be there

I'm moving into your atmosphere

Just turn around and I'll be there

I'm moving into your atmosphere

 

I know you're all alone in a crowd full of friends

I can see it in your eyes that your fadin' again

Checking out, moving into your hole

Where the light can't touch any part of your soul

 

But hold up and let the river rush in

You can turn around and start livin' again

Cause your life is a beautiful bloom

In the image of the one that created you

 

I'll be there

 

Said I'll be there, said I'll be there

Said I'll be there always, forever

Monday May 1--Exciting day!

When A&K moved in, we knew that we'd need another bathroom at some point.  We weren't sure how we'd accomplish that, but we knew that 1 bathroom for 7 people would only work for so long.  We started praying right away about how to make that happen.  One at a time, promises of money to help with this (from various insurance settlements) fell through.  But we were certain of God's provision & His faithfulness and knew we'd just have to wait & see how He worked things out.  (You were so right about that Melynda!)

 

One by one, donations of products, labor & work came in.  To date, C. Woods has donated the plumbing, DayStar has donated the electrical work, a friend at church has donated the concrete work.  What started out as a $15,000 room addition has quickly whittled its way down to something do-able!  Today we got the loan for the remaining cost & had a representative from the plumbing company here to measure off things for their work.  A good friend from church does remodel work & has drawn up a floor plan for us.  (If you want to see it, email me....I'm excited to show off the plans!  THANK YOU DON!!!)  We're so excited to see this moving forward!

 

We realize that even with adding this bathroom/enlarging the laundry area, we will still outgrow this house in a few more years, but in the meantime it sure will make living here nicer!  God is good!