Not All Dogs Go To Heaven

If dogs go to Heaven, there might be two more heading for the pearly gates today. Then again, they may not be allowed in. I'm just going to say there is a foul odor coming from under my bed and it has to do with a diaper. Ugghhh!!!!

False Teeth in Heaven

My good friend, Sue, encouraged me to read the book, 90 Minutes in Heaven. It's about a man who was pronounced dead from injuries received in a car crash. The emergency workers had already covered him with a sheet and moved on to other injured people. A pastor came upon the accident and prayed for him. Ninety minutes after the accident, the man returned to earth. This book is about what happened to him during those ninety minutes when he left earth and entered Heaven.

I'm always a bit skeptical when I hear of these stories. Part of me, though, is fascinated by what awaits on the other side.

Today is a bittersweet day for our family. One year ago, today, our beloved Meme passed away. As much as I miss her, I am so thankful she doesn't have to endure pain or knowing that her mind isn't working like she would want it to. She was a very godly woman and I take great comfort in knowing where she is now. As I was reading this book, I was constantly thinking of her and what her recent trip to Heaven must have been like.

The author says that the typical "moving toward the light" experience did not happen to him. He said one moment he was driving and the next moment he was in Heaven where he was greeted by a large crowd of people. People he had known, but who had died during his lifetime, ran toward him while praising God. He felt more loved than ever and felt no pain. The people he knew looked the same, but with a new heavenly radiance. The author describes the love he felt as being perfect, something we humans can't yet understand. Interestingly, the most vivid memory he has of Heaven is the music. The most beautiful sounds of praise flowed through the air. I can't possibly describe everything as the author does without copying the book.

One paragraph that gave me a chuckle was the one where he describes his great-grandmother who had false teeth. In Heaven, however, she smiled at him with her new sparkely teeth and had the most beautiful smile he'd ever seen. Meme had false teeth and she used to love to tease us kids by taking them out. Then, she'd ask us if we could take ours out, too. And we'd try, of course! At night, she'd take them out and put them in a jar by the bathroom sink. Believe me, you didn't want to have to head in the bathroom at night because those teeth my just come alive and start chomping at you! Kathryn frequently asks me if when we see Meme in Heaven if she's going to take her teeth out for us. I guess I'm going to have to start telling her, "No, but she'll have the most beautiful smile!

Meme was a beautiful lady. She was the best grandmother anyone could have-she ALWAYS had cookies or banana nut bread waiting for you. She didn't buy expensive gifts, but lavished us with her time and love. I know she would hold me in her lap when I was well into my twenties. She loved to play domino's, bingo, and cards. She hated to lose, but that didn't happen often. I remember her telling me all about the toliet paper she won playing bingo at Walmart thinking that's crazy! She's probably told everyone in Heaven about it now, and where she's from, and who she's related to. We were two of a kind. We could look at each other and know what the other one was thinking. We showed each other love by picking back and forth. We even look alike, which isn't a bad thing. She couldn't keep the little old men away after she was widowed. :) I hope if I am blessed to be a grandmother someday, I will be just like her. It doesn't get better than Meme was.

The last time I visited her, I had Caleb with me. He made her laugh many times and I enjoyed watching them play back and forth. However, when she would look at me, with the look only she can give, I could tell she was telling me not to worry about her. She was telling me she would be fine, not to become dispaired, but to pick up and get on with raising these kids. I know that's what she would have wanted, for she was not one to shut down when rough times came. She was always strong and knew that God's will will be done. Even though I miss her dearly, I am at peace with where she now dwells. And by the description of Heaven both in the Bible and this book, I would never want to bring her back to earth. Instead, I am looking forward to having her run up to me when I reach the other side.

Now read on below for some cheering up... :)

A Good Laugh...

These just crack me up!

More Monkeys, Please!

I wonder if I could get $18.95 for each of my monkeys?? That monkey even comes with a cage, leash, and INSTRUCTIONS! I wonder if they're still available? We're always looking for more fun and amusement around here!

I've been wondering why all of those women carrying shotguns have been driving by my house...

Weekend Whimsy

What a fun weekend! Around 5:30 am, I awoke to Sydney starting her windup before expelling the contents of her stomach at the backdoor. I react as if the house is on fire and fly out of bed to get her outside before this incident occurs. It is not pleasant to clean, so I am always relieved when I make it to the door fast enough. Earlier this week, the twins graduated from their cribs into their "big boy bunk beds." We decided that the top bunk is too much of a danger right now, despite their ability to scale most anything. So, one is on the lower bunk and the other is on the pull-out trundle. They have learned that they have a new "freedom" of escaping from their room, which brings me to the point of this story. I crawled back in bed only to hear the thumping of not one, but two little boys sliding down the stairs in the dark. Big E comes marching in our bedroom and in his high pitched little voice says, "HI!" Frijole was dragging up the rear. Do they go to dad's side? Of course not. They both wanted mom. No snuggling. They wanted to jump on mom. Up and at 'em.

We started getting ready to go to our little friend Abby's 3rd birthday party at the pumpkin patch. As I was putting my contacts in, I realized I had been wearing that pair for quite awhile and they were beginning to irritate my eyes. I decided it was time for a new fresh pair. I put the right one in, no problem. Then, I put the left one in and I was totally out of focus! Was it the contact? Did I have them in the right eye? Is my medicine making me blind? I took it out to examine it closer. When I took it out, I could see perfectly! A miracle, I've been healed!! Well, all except for my head. I had forgotten to take out the old contact before putting in the new one. Two contacts on one eye. This was a waste of twenty minutes. Which is why we were late to the party, which was very fun...by the way! :)

Next, we headed to the annual Fall Festival at our church. The kids had a good time. We only misplaced two of them. Bubbie wandered over towards the cakes that had just been auctioned off, for more money than I could have paid for them. Pods took off to play games with her Tom Tom. All were found and reunited. They got to play some simple games and do the bounce house thing. Eric got to visit with one of his friends who has eight kids. Seven boys and one baby girl. He found out their bathroom had been flooded six times, which gave him some satisfaction in knowing it had only happened to him once. We'll take every drop of encouragement we can get around here. All in all, it was nice to get out and enjoy the weather together.

Tonight, I went to see Fireproof with Girlfriend. Christan films are such a breathe of fresh air, but they've got to work on the acting skills. Kirk Cameron did this one and he did a great job. The message was great! It's all about what it takes to keep a marriage together, good and bad. I really was impressed at how the movie showed the amount of work it takes even when the other spouse won't cooperate. Very encouraging for anyone in a relationship! The good message and great music made it worth watching, despite the lack of acting skills.

That's all for tonight. We'll see what tomorrow holds! :)

Did My Life Insurance Just Go Up?

Most moms would post this picture and then proceed to tell you how well they are taking care of their families by feeding them all of these healthy products. They would explain that they are all organic, contain no high fructose corn-syrup, and contain no glucose. I, on the other hand, am here to tell you that my husband is trying to kill me. I let him out of the house, due to pre-nervous breakdown symptoms, and this is what he comes home with. I guess it could have been worse. He could have not come home at all. Everyone who knows me, knows that I would die if I ate this animal feed every day! The pancakes tasted like oatmeal for crying out loud! If I'm going to eat pancakes, I want them to taste like pancakes! I figure my "departure from the earth" date was set before I was born, so I might as well eat what I want. Not that it means be a total glutton or anything. I do love organic meats and veggies, but I've got to have my bread...and that's what I want it to taste like. If God had wanted me to be a rabbit, He would have made me one...I'm just going to leave that one alone. It's time for me to go to bed now...Good Night!

WHOOP!

Congratulations to Uncle Patrick & Mrs. (Aunt) Kelly!!

They've been married one year today! Thanks for

letting us be part of your big day!

It was a blast! Congratulations!

I Love Jordan!

After a seventeen year absence, my first love has finally returned to the Big D. I can't believe I'm going to miss it! Unfortunately, between the economy and the accumulation of kids, I couldn't find anyone to go to the concert with me. Eric refused. Bummer! So, I'll just have to be happy knowing my love is within 50 miles of me.

Might as well reminisce about the good old days! I didn't have all of the "Jordan" stuff, but I had a lot! My friend, Sue and I used to walk up to the Payless Video store and buy all the NKOTB magazines we could find. Then we'd go to Wendy's, get a frosty and split the pictures. She was going to marry Jordan's brother, Jon, and we were going to be sisters-in-law. Perfect plan! I had Jordan pictures literally covering every inch of my bedroom walls. I had the nightshirt, the HUGE buttons, the dolls, puzzles, books, tapes, video's, cartoons, etc. I even got to meet his mom and shake her hand. I'm sure I was shaking! I would sneak my mom's mega-zoom camera into the concerts to get close shots. Jordan hung the moon.

I didn't get Jordan, but I do get to look at his child everyday...

HOWDY Y'ALL!

Frijole, Big E (picker), Bubbie, and Pods

sitting on my future swing

Going to the State Fair of Texas used to be an annual event for me. Even though it's basically the same thing year after year, it's just something every good Texan needs to experience once every 365 days or so. My attendance record was broken when I started dating my Texan-challenged husband. He felt that if you've seen it once, you've seen it enough. Evidentally, he'd never had any fresh-squeezed lemonade and the deep-fried food of the year. He also wasn't interested in the dirty-ness of it all. He's got this whole germ fetish. Needless to say, I had a several year hiatus from the fair. Oh, what you'll do for love. Then, came the babies, one right after the other. I was always in the yucky stage of pregnancy or had a newborn who didn't need to be exposed to every cootie in attendance.

Aunt Laura was dropped on her head at birth

This year was different. I got to restart my annual tradition. I loaded up the kids, husband, and Gabby and we headed down to Fair Park. Two double strollers, Dad, Mom, Grandma, and a rainy day! Usually rain would put a big damper on things, especially with four soggy kiddo's, but I was determined that we were out of the house and we WERE going to have fun. Our first area of exploration was the farm animals. As we walked through the cows, sheep, and pigs, I could see Eric's forehead tensing as the thought of any animal's body fluid coming in contact with the bottom of one of our shoes. He was also a bit unnerved about Bubbie touching a relaxing Brahman which was chowing down on some hay. Dad was happy to exit the bovine area and re-enter the rain.

Somedays I wonder if I really am his mother...

We made sure Gab's got to visit her favorite, the Food & Fiber building. I haven't seen her that happy in years. She got the whole herd a free Bluebell Ice cream cone. We had peace and quiet for the next five minutes! It continued to rain as we darted from one building to another. We enjoyed the auto show. It's always fun to pretend that a sporty convertible could be parked in your driveway...in eighteen years. Eric had fun checking out the new mini's with all of their new upgrades. The scene could've easily made a commerical. Eric would walk up to the mini, open the door, and immediately all four kids would pile inside and go straight to their designated seat. Those poor guys trying to keep the cars all neat and shiny! They must've cringed everytime they say us open another door. Oh, and yes, Bubbie was estactic to see a "RASE CAAR!" This could be a forshadowing of my future...

I could see this in the future...

I have a need for SPEED

Bubbie got to see the "biggest cowboy in the world" as he described it. He's fascinated with Woody from Toy Story, so Big Tex was a big deal! He was mesmerized by Big Tex and what he had to say.

Bubbie meets the biggest cowboy in the world!

The kiddo's were getting fussy around six o'clock, so we had to cough up the money for tickets. We ended up with four slices of pizza for nine bucks. Ethan, upset and asserting his angry side, decided to toss his on the floor. Dad was not impressed at this one bit. Of course, the three second rule applied, so we were able to save most of the pizza. It's better with a little floor flavor attached anyways.

AAhh! The mammoth's going to get us!

We visited the Natural Museum of History which has the stuffed animals that are at least thirty years old. "Look at those buffalo's. They look like they need to meet the vacuum!" - Gabby. The kids were a bit concerned at why the real animals were not moving. Frijole Man, however, was fascinated by the mountain lions, jaguars, and other members of the feline family. They enjoyed seeing the dinosaur bones.

Poor Aunt Laura!

It was a quick visit to the fair this year. But, I got to go, the kids were happy (for the most part), and Eric survived. That's a good day for us!

Sleep in Heavenly Peac

A successful day for me is when we have a normal chaotic day, but, through it all I am able to remain calm and composed. These days are few and far between, but hey, I'll take one here and there. I awoke at 5:30 to a little boy asking if he could sleep with me. Reluctantly, I said yes and knew I wouldn't be getting anymore shut-eye. Then, I realized a little girl had joined me at some time during the night. I was having some really crazy dreams, so I must have not even heard her get in the bed. Well, Bubbie jumps over me, and settles into the middle of the bed. He is one of those kids that just always has to have something twitching or moving. I made him settle down. Two seconds later, he starts grinding his teeth. Arrrggghh! He got tossed out and told to go sleep on the couch. Ah, Peace and quiet...no such luck. Sydney (our "favorite" dog) was standing at the back door preparing to lose whatever she ate the day before. Whenever I hear that sound, I FLY out of bed, hoping to get her outside before she loses it. Lovely picture. Eventually, I returned to bed, thinking I might get 10 more minutes. Then, the stupid alarm goes off. Ugh! I was on my own today, so I had to get moving. I jumped in the shower only to be violated by Bubbie standing at the shower door. "I want my chocolate milk. When are you going to get my chocolate milk? Can I watch a show? What about my chocolate milk?" Upon threatening his life, he finally left me and my shower alone. The day got better after Bubbie got his chocolate milk.

Pods had school today, so it was just me and my little men at home. They were pretty good all day. Well, except for the time when I came down stairs and saw a big red line coming from the corner of Ethan's eye. I thought he had poked his eye out because it really looked like blood. Turned out to just be a marker which he also used to graffiti the walls, mattress, and couch upstairs. Anyways, I used the day to get my house in some sort of order. I try to stay one step ahead of the Health Department's future visit. I know they're going to show up some day. When Pods got home, I wanted to take advantage of their down time and rest for ten whole minutes. Just a little afternoon picker-upper. I truly wish someone could have taken a picture of what happened. Here's the scene: Frijole Man on one side, Bubbie drop-kicking me in the gut (while I had my eyes closed), and Big E under the bed pushing the remote (which inflates/deflates our Sleep Number mattress). I am so envious of my friends who get to take naps! I know what you're thinking...and no I hope I don't wish someday I could have my children hurling their bodies at my gut while sinking in a mattress.

All is calm now. Tomorrow is bright. From this mother and child, sleep in heavenly peace....

Ode to a Crib

Today I bid one of my three baby beds farewell. I didn't even get emotional over it. I guess a little tiny bit of my heart was sad knowing that it wouldn't be in my room anymore. It had some good memories attached to it, but there were also the not so great ones. Pods slept there for her first four months. There was no way I would put that little baby upstairs all alone! Bubbie, well it was a different story for him. :) Frijole Man spent his first nine months in that crib. For nine months, that child would wake up at least 7-10 times a night...screaming. I finally couldn't take it anymore and put him in the same room with his brother. The crib was also the holding cell, otherwise known as "time out." As much as I'll miss the good memories, I'm ready to move on and enjoy the next ones.

Frijole Man has finally found his relatives. He saw "Diego" on T.V. and started pointing and screaming, "DIEGO!!" Glad he figured out where he came from.

Pods had a birthday party to attend today. A little girl in her co-op turned six. I love home-school families! (I love my "other" friends, too!! ;) They are just so pleasant. There are no wild children with attitudes and throwing fits (like mine do at home). Everyone's just so calm and well mannered. Maybe I'll learn how to make my kids that way...let's hope!

Bubbie, well, he had another "Bubbie" type of day. He decided to wear his Diego underwear, which Frijole was very excited about. He had not dispensed his morning stool, so I was a bit concerned. We've already discussed how Diego does not like to be pooped on. It makes Diego very sad. Doesn't do a bit of good. So, I decided to be the bargaining mom that I was never going to be. I told Bubbie that if he made it through the whole day with no accidents, he could get a Slurpee. This is a major deal at our house. You get to ride in the "Big Truck" which we use only get Slurpee's and our friend borrows twice a year to move his college daughter. I clarified that accidents meant no pee or poop. We went over this at least five times and repeated it. Well, all of a sudden daddy walks in and goes over the meaning of accidents. You would've thought Bubbie had found out Woody's not a real toy. "You mean I have to go poopy in the potty???" I could not believe he was saying this! His drama continued for thirty minutes. If I EVER get this child potty trained, I'm going to get a massage...some way, some how!

That's our Saturday!

The Pumpkin Patch

Today is beautiful! We gathered up the troops and headed out for our annual pumpkin patch trip. We've done this every year since Kathryn was one and I look so forward to it. It's a nice way to welcome fall. As we walk through the pumpkins, my mind always drifts back to visits past. I recalled going two years ago when the twins were just six weeks old. This same time last year, they had just started walking. Seems hard to believe seeing how much damage they have accomplished since that fateful day. This year there were no strollers or gigantic diaper bags. They all wanted to walk or ride in a wagon. This year they were climbing and bouncing in the bounce houses, sneaking through the hay maze, and running through the pumpkins. I wonder what next year will bring...and I wonder if they'll ever say, "Aw, Mom. Do we have to go to the pumpkin patch again." You know I'm going to make them go until they leave home. :)

There Isn't Enough Calgon in the World for Me!!

Well, well, well. Where to begin. My dear sweet hubby had decided to save the kids milk from breakfast the day before and let them have it the next morning. Yummy... Who knows how long it had been sitting out the day before. Don't you love finding week old sippy cups? I don't even open them. They go straight to the trash. I've been scarred too many times by curdled milk and the critters that like to munch on it. Before breakfast got started, Frijole Man shot his back up. Then, of course, everyone thinks they're going to lose it. Everyone, even I who did not drink the milk, felt a little on edge. We had our deliciously spiced tacos for dinner. No problems. We got the kids in bed and then decided to have our own little "Battle of the Wii." About the time my tennis elbow was setting in, we hear Bubbie moaning and groaning upstairs. I head on up and assume he's just having a bad dream. Same thing happened again about ten minutes later. Next thing I know, he's upchucking the same thing Frijole was earlier. I changed his sheets, clothes, and settled him back down. Bubbie's like me and for some reason when he losses his stomach he gets the urge to cry. He told me he felt much better so I went ahead and went to bed. About twenty minutes later it happened again. So, we changed the sheets, cleaned him up, settled him down, and got the boy some Sprite. Thankfully, that was it for the night.

After nap time today, Eric went up to get the boys. All I heard was a very loud, "NO!!!" You know, the kind filled with anger, "I can't believe this is happening to me," and "not another mess to clean up," all in one. He finally got to experience the "poopie diaper removal routine" at naptime. I got a good laugh...and a third set of sheets to wash.

It was a beautiful day here, so I opened the windows to enjoy the nice weather. It always gives me that "spring cleaning" sensation. I hadn't smelled latex paint in almost two weeks, and since I had 1/2 a gallon of paint left, I just painted a little area for the heck of it. I swear I'm ADD! I just have all this adrenaline inside of me and have to get it out or I go nutty! I finished up right as the twins were waking up. While they were munching on their snack, I decided to lay on my bed for five minutes and watch the news. It's never good, so I don't know why I bother. Anyways, I noticed it was a little too quiet. I got up and did the roll call, realizing we were one short. Big E had disappeared. This was all the evidence I had...and yes, this window is located on the front of our house.

Not every mother's dream. Luckily, I also caught this...

right as it was happening. Can you imagine if there had been something worthy of watching on the news? He would've been trekking down the highway!! Out of four kids, he's the only one that even attempted anything like this. Big E's going to be the death of me! :) I'd much rather go by choclate!

I smell my little red potatoes burning. Must've boiled all of the water right out of them while I was blogging. maybe the meatloaf will be better, since a guy named Stouffer's made it. Maybe I won't burn the green beans. Calgon take me away!