When we arrived at the building site tonight..there were 11 cars there and 16 men working! (at 7 pm!!)...by the way, I know there are only 8 in the picture...the other 3 were behind the house. 
This one is a little blurry..but I had to include it! All my life I've wanted a 2-story house and here is the proof that I am getting one! YEAH!
If raising children was going to be easy, it never would have started with
something called labor!
No one told me when I brought this cute little red-head into the world that she would be so much more than just our daughter. She's been our boss, our friend, our helper, our dance partner, our sleeping buddy and our movie critic...but I must admit, I was taken by surprise when she automatically jumped in and acted as our therapist the other day. Let me set the scene for you: Matt and I started out having a casual conversation...which warmed up quickly to a more heated discussion. Brooklyn, while playing in the background, was apparently listening in on our debate. As I was mid-sentence explaining why I was right and he was wrong (ha ha), she walked right up to us and announced, "You two need to go see Dr. Phil!" Even though I was momentarily irritated that I didn't get to finish my "speech" it was exactly what we needed. We all busted up laughing and the tension dissolved. So, if there is anything I have learned from parenting, it is this: Expect the unexpected!--and never underestimate the wisdom of a 4 year old!
Our house is fully plumbed and ready for concrete. Hopefully they will pour the slab tomorrow...unless, of course, it rains tonight---which is the forcast. That's okay though...God is in control!
*Jam 39 tiny marshmallows up your nose and try to sneeze them out
*Use your mastercard to pay off your visa
*Make a list of things to do that you've already done
*Put your toddlers clothes on backwards and send him off to school
*Retaliate for tax woes by filling out your tax forms in Roman Numerals
*Go shopping. Buy everything. Sweat in it. Return it the next day.
*Pay your electric bill in pennies
*Drive to work in reverse
*Polish your car with earwax
*Bill your doctor for all the time you spend in the waiting room
*Stare at people through the tines of a fork and pretend they're in jail
*Make up a language and ask people for directions
*Order diet water whenever you go out to eat
*Specify that your drive-thru order is to go
*When the money comes out of the ATM, scream "I won!" "I won!"
Grant had to ride in the stroller us but he did bring his own Nike golf ball which he loved throwing all over the course and making us run after.
Okay, for all those of you who have children below the age of 4, or don't have kids yet...this is a WARNING...you may not want to read any further. What I am about to say might shock and scare you as well as give you a sense of hopelessness. We've all heard of the terrible twos...but when your kid turns four...well, that's just double the trouble! I have come to the conclusion that the age 4 is my least favorite (so far anyway!) 4 year olds like to ask lots of questions...but they think they have all the answers too. For instance, my daughter, who is wise beyond her years, has an answer for every question...and usually has something to say in response to even declarative statements. This is more commonly referred to as "talking back" or "back talk". It is one of the more frustrating things in my life right now. It is also usually accompanied by the "whine". Here is a classic scenario of the back-talk/whine phenomenon in our house. I say "Brooklyn, lets go pick out your clothes for school tomorrow." She responds, "Okay but it is my day to pick and I am going to wear the pinkish-purplish skirt." I say, "No, you are not going to wear that...you just wore that on Tuesday." She replies, "Yes I am going to wear it...it is my day to pick clothes and that's what I pick." I say, "No you are not going to wear it and that is final...I don't want to hear another word about it." (now begins the whine part--so you may want to read this in a high-pitched, fingernail-on-a-chalboard kind of tone--just to keep it realistic) "But mom, pleeeeaaseeeeeee, I really want to, its my day to pick, pleeeeeassseeee, hmmmphhhhh!, I'll do anything if you'll let me wear it, pleeeeaaaassseeeee, pleeeeaaasseee, pulllllleeeeeeze, etc."
Now is where I am having the problem...at this point I can either put up with the whining or spank her...for which I will pay the price. You see, I know if I spank her, I have at least another 20 minutes of crying/whining to listen to...and yet, if I don't spank her...she's likely to keep this up forever.
"Why God, didn't you require us to take a test and qualify before you gave us these little walking, talking patience-testers?"
I am not sure I will ever figure out the right way to handle all this...but thankfully she's only going to be four for another 3 more months. I am counting on 5 to be much better...it's my only hope!
Here are some more pic's for ya. Grant had fun playing outside in the dirt and wasn't too happy about coming back inside to clean it off! 
The kids LOVE to go on the 4-wheeler with their daddy!
Me and Kendra got our hair high-lighted yesterday...
Meet Catfish Sam, one of my dad's horses. He was licking the back window of the van last night...that silly thing!
Hi Ya'll! Well, they are making some progress on the house. I took pictures yesterday that I will put on here. They have poured the concrete footings and rough-plumbed it...once the plumbing is finished, they will pour the concrete slab, which should be this week. Yeah! We got to talk to the superintendent last night and he said if the weather cooperates, we could still actually get in by Christmas! That is exciting..although, it is our family tradition to all sleep over at mom and dad's on Christmas Eve, so I guess it doesn't really matter, since that is where we are living anyway! Ha Ha! It poured down rain all night last night and today so that is probably going slow things up a bit...but I am being patient.
Today Brooklyn went to her friend, Karlie's, 5th birthday party. They had a tea party with 10 other little girls. I took a couple pictures. They all looked so precious!
It finally happened...they started on my house! I will get pictures tomorrow to prove it to you all! In the meantime, read these HILARIOUS jokes! (Please don't take offense...the language is questionable but they really are funny!)
A little boy was doing his math homework. He said to himself,"Two plus five, the son of a b**** is seven. Three plus six, the son of a b**** is nine..." His mother heard what he was saying and gasped, "What are you doing?" The little boy answered, "I'm doing my math homework, Mom." "And this is how your teacher taught you to do it?" the mother asked."Yes," he answered. Infuriated, the mother asked the teacher the next day, "What are you teaching my son in math?" The teacher replied, "Right now, we are learning addition." The mother asked, "And are you teaching them to say two plus two, the son of a b**** is four?" After the teacher stopped laughing, she answered, "What I taught them was,two plus two, THE SUM OF WHICH, is four."
A kindergarten pupil told his teacher he'd found a cat, but it was dead."How do you know that the cat was dead?" she asked her pupil. "Because I pissed in its ear and it didn't move," answered the child innocently. You did WHAT ???" the teacher exlaimed in surprise. "You know,"explained the boy, "I leaned over and went 'Pssst!' and it didn't move."
A little girl goes to the barber shop with her father. She stands next to the barber chair, while her dad gets his hair cut,eating a snack cake ... The barber says to her, "Sweetheart, you're gonna get hair on your Twinkie." She says, "Yes, I know, and I'm gonna get boobs too."
At a cocktail party, one woman said to another,"Aren't you wearing your wedding ring on the wrong finger?" "Yes, I am. I married the wrong man."
When a woman steals your husband,there is no better revenge than to let her keep him.
Marriage is the triumph of imagination over intelligence.
Just think, if it wasn't for marriage, men would go through life thinking they had no faults at all.
First guy says, "My wife's an angel!" Second guy remarks, "Darn you're lucky! Mine's still alive."
A Woman's Prayer
Dear Lord, I pray for Wisdom to understand this man, to love and to forgive him, and for Patience for his moods. Because, Lord, if I pray for Strength, I'll just beat him to death.
Okay, so...it's Friday of the week that they were going to start building my house...and still NOTHING! AUGHHHH! I am beginning to wonder if I am on some reality TV show like Boiling Point and they are just waiting to see how long I'll last. Well, honestly, I have been ignoring the whole thing for the past week thinking that if I don't think about it...then when I finally do..there will be lots of progress made and I'll be so excited. Well, here it is Friday...and I was hoping they would have at least tilled up the dirt where the house is gonna go or something. Anyway...if we actually get in this house by Christmas, like the builder says, this might go down in the Guinness book of records for the fasted house built. I'll keep ya updated.
.jpg)
.jpg)
