Questions from a 4 yr old.

"Momma why did God make us with two legs in front and two legs in back?" said Kylie. My response. "ummmmmmmmm......ummmmmmmm. What do you mean two legs in front and two legs in back?" She then proceeded to explain what she meant which when her daddy got out of the shower, he understood perfectly. I told him it was because she was crazy like him....lol. I finally understood what she was asking and we gave her an answer that she apparently liked cause she hasnt asked since. But she has been asking just off the wall questions. Off the wall but smart. You can tell that her mind is just going in circles. It is so cute but we have at least two moments aday where I am just stopped in my tracks racking my brain trying to think of what she means and how I am going to answer that.

Life with a very smart four year old...........should be a tv show huh.

and last but not least. a video that i came across today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VM6uqj0_jQc

It is funny.

Love and Prayers
Crystal

Edited: This is in response to javamamma 's comment. God made us with a front and a back side. I am just waiting on her to decide we have legs on the sides too.. She is really smart. Sometimes Homeschooling her scares me because I am afraid she is going to be way over my head. My sister got all the book smarts in our family, I got common sense but not very many book smarts. Thanks for the comment.

This and That

I know I am not supposed to be posting.....(grins) I have a few things to update though. First. If I dont make it back on here before Christmas. MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS!

Second. I am thinking of starting a new blog. I dont know yet what it will be named. Iam throwing some names around and working on it. I just feel like I am starting a new place in my life right now. It is hard to explain but I am sure most of you have been through this. I feel like God is working on me and in me and I dont know yet what he wants or what he is going to accomplish but I am being patient. I do know that I want to start a new blog. One that is better fitting for my life and the direction that my life is going. I want it to be more of a help to people.

Third. THank you to my sister julie http://www.accordingtohispower.blogspot.com for posting updates and stuff for me. It has helped tremendously.

Kylie is okay for those of you that wondered. She does have an innocent heart murmur. She will probably grow out of it but if not they dont think it will hurt anything.

Jason is doing good. No ear infections of late.

Alaina is doing okay too I guess. Her tonsils are still huge and she still says she hurts all the time.

Jack is settled in good. I have been giving him some placement test to figure out where he is at is school and he is really behind in alot of stuff. He moved around so much as a child and the school that he settled in just pushed him through to get him caught up with his age level that he is so behind. That is one more reason that I dont like school systems now days. My sister in law is a Language arts teacher for Middle School. She was telling me the other day what all she has to accomplish in 45minutes a day for 5 days a week. There is no way....none. I couldnt do all of that work. I would be one of those put in the special ed class and I am good at English and literature....not that you can tell it from y punctuation on here. ( I get in a hurry and dont pay attention) But we are determined that we are going to do the best we can with him and try to catch him up on stuff.

Anyway, If i start a new blog then I will be sure and post it on here too. Thank You all for your support and your comments.

Love and Prayers
Crystal

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!

Today is mine and Pauls 5th wedding anniversary. Yeah weve made it 5 years. I cant believe that It has been that long. It seems like just yesterday we were waiting for deer season to be over so we could get married. Now we have been happily married for 5 long years....lol. Well mostly happy.



But today I want to say what a great man I married. He has been my rock over the last few years and I wouldnt know what to do without him. He works hard everyday at a job that he pretty much would love to quit tommorow so that his family can eat and we can have our house and our cars and our clothes. He comes home everyday to a not so clean house and he doesnt complain or gripe (unless he cant find something which is pretty much all the time.....lol) but he does it in a way that makes me laugh. He loves me and his kids with all his heart and even though there is not much left of him to give by the time he gets home from work, he still tries to give us 100%.



Since our first fight over 5 yrs ago we have learned to fight fair. I sometimes still want to try the crying and whining thing but that dont work and he sometimes still wants to try the sull up and not say a word thing but that dont work either. We have grown as a couple to the point that we know when to keep our mouths shut and when to say something.



He knows me inside and out. He can hear my voice on the phone and know that something is wrong. Even if I telll him nothing, he can still tell and he may not push me about it when we are talking but later when I finally tell him, he says" I knew it". He knows when he walks in everyday whether it is good or if I need 5 minutes to my self or if I need help finishing up supper or just get out of my kitchen and go play with the monsters.. He knows.........



He knows how to push my buttons. We are having a hard time this week cause he took off for a day during his last pay period and he didnt work all of his hours cause he wanted to be home with his babies. He knows when he does this that we run short on money and I know how much he really does not like his job. So I try not to gripe at hime for not working his hours and he tries not to gripe about not being able to eat out on the weekends. I told him last night that I couldnt even get him a card this year. He said not to worry about it. He didnt need it. When I woke up this morning, there was a card on the table from him. He knew it would make me cry. HE knew. But he still done it. He used his lunch money to buy me a silly card. He is not very good at expressing his emotions through talk...he shows them through his actions. And he suceeds everytime in making me cry....



Honey, today on our anniversary. I just want to say that I LOVE YOU! Which you already know. I love you more every day and I think sometimes that I cant love you anymore but then you do something that makes me fall in love with you all over again. I know I said when we got married that if we made it 5 years you could buy me a big diamond (he bought me a little diamond and a $1000.00 recurve bow to go hunting with (my choice) ) but you know what, I dont need the diamond. I dont think I could exchange it for the ring that I have had during these five years. It wouldnt mean the same thing.

So keep the big ring and just come home to me every evening. I would rather have our happiness and my husband at home than to have some big ring shining on my finger and my husband working all the time to pay for it.

Love Your Sweetie Momma Bear.


Thank You all for putting up with my mushiness. I just wish I could express better how special he is to me.

Update!

I know I am not supposed to be on here but....I wanted to let you all know how we are doing and to tell you all Happy Thanksgiving!

We are doing okay. Jack is now living with us and we are getting him all settled in. He has chosen to homeschool and of course we have had several negative comments about this so please pray about that because when they are given, it really discourages him. He doesnt need that right now. He needs positive reinforcement that he is making the right choices with his life.

Kylie and Alaina both had their flu mist last week. They also both have double ear infections. Alaina's started the week before and hers wasnt getting any better so the doc switched antibiotics and hopefully, they will get better this time. Kylie was running fever so I had the doctor check her and sure enough both just as red as could be.

Alainas lymph nodes are still swollen again. They are seriously considering taking out her tonsils. Which wouldnt be a bad thing but not at this young age.

Jason is doing good. His ears are almost cleared up and he now has a tooth! He is also trying to walk. He will pull up to stuff and let go and then try to take a step. Wont be long now...

I do need to go and get my dinner prep started. We are not having a big day just my mother in law and father in law and my sister and her husband if they make it. Nice and quiet. We had thought about going out but didnt really have the money and I just didnt feel like wrestling three kids in a public place today. It seems like when we go out it is always during nap time and they are always cranky and dont want to eat. Then they are hungry on the way home and on and on.....but anyway, we are staying home and eating a good deer roast for lunch...cant get that in a restraunt (grins).

Can you believe only 33 days till Christmas. It'll be here before you know it.

Love and Prayers and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

Crystal

Goodbye for now.

I am very sad to say that I will not be blogging for a while. I have had some events in my life that I feel needs more attention than this. I am sure that most of you who read this know that I have a step-son.

In my heart, he is my son. He is not only my son, he is part of my life. I love him like crazy and I am very sad to say right now that he is not in the best spriritual shape. He has had some events in his life that has caused this unbeknowenst to my husband and I. He is now possibly coming to live with us and most of my extra time will now be spent with him.

Iam sure that most of you can understand the importance of this. I will however be back some day. (maybe) I also need to rethink my reason for blogging and re direct my life. I will probably still be visiting other blogs and commenting some, but not near as often. I will let you all know if and when I come back.

Please pray for my family and for myself in this time. Thank you all for your support and your comments. I have made some very dear friends on here and would like to keep up the friendships. Just not on my blog.

Love and Prayers
Crystal

Please Pray

I know I am on a break but some recent family events have led me to ask for prayers. I cant go into details but suffice it to say that it and the person is very close to my heart.

Maybe in a few days I can tell more of the story but for now, just pray for patience, strength and peace to help us along the way.

Love and Prayers
Crystal

Blogging Break

I am home from our trip. It was interesting. and fun. We went to the gospel meeting and to the fall festival taht they have at the state park there. We always enjoy ourselves there. It was tiring this year though so we are recuperating. We brought our girls home and today, we are resting. I will be unpacking, putting up, laundry, adn grocery shopping this week. Then next week, we will be preparing for Thanksgiving. I still dont know if we are going to go out or stay home. The decision is never made until like the week or (day ) before. It gets irritating sometimes to not have our minds made up until then. I would much rather just stay home but since we always have thanksgiving with Pauls family, they get to decide.

I like tradition. I personally think that we should either decide to go out or stay home every year and if we are going to go out then go out every year. or if we are going to stay home then stay home. But I dont know.....I will do whatever they want because its called being nice.

I am glad to have my babies home. I didnt get all that I wanted accomplished last week but that is okay. I will get it done, in good (Gods ) time.

I am also going to take a break this week from blogging. I am going to spend time with my (monsters) and enjoy having them back.. We have lots of stuff planned.

I didnt get any pictures this weekend. I was having too much fun to worry about carrying aroung the camera.

So I will be back sometime next week Until then. I hope everyone enjoys the holidays and I will be praying for you.

Love and Prayers
Crystal

This and That

Okay Okay so I know I didnt get everything done yesterday that I was supposed to. It ws a bad day with Jason.

I did however get my oven cleaned (my darling husband spilled some pizza in there...ewwww), My kitchen is almost deep cleaned. I got my bedroom and bathroom cleaned, finished organizing homeschool stuff and did some laundry.

I was going to sew my curtains for my living room but for some strange reason (called Alaina) I cant find my material. It was right by the serger so I could sew them anytime I had time to sit down that long. But things like to disapear when she is around so. Now I am on the great hunt for my material.

I also did not get bread or cookies made (I couldnt cook with my oven smelling like that..) I did get to read a whole book while holding my precious baby during his nap. I did my bible reading and then read a novel. So I guess you could say I had some me time.

Today I have to go to Wal Mart (this morning) then I am going to finish the laundry and finish packing for our weekend trip. (Hopefully, Jason please feel better so I can at least get done what I have to)

Please keep praying for Jason and pray that we have a safe trip this weekend. Jack (our other son.......he is my stepson but in my heart, he is mine) and our niece will be going with us. Jack is needing some daddy time (and driving experience ) and our niece i think just wants to go with us and get away for a couple of days. she is 12 and going through the "Oh my gosh I am growing up " crisis. You know what it is like when you hit that age. You like boys but you would swear you didnt and you get upset if they dont like you but you tell everyone that you hate them.....Yeah. Fun age. Pray for her too please. (I Love You Miranda. I understand completely what you are going through)

Anyway, I will be back Monday. I will try to post some pictures of this weekend when I get film developed...(Yeah my digital is still broke....I hate to spend the gas money to drive to where the camera shop is to fix it. ) But I am probably going to go up there next week anyway so I will try to get it fixed.

Love and Prayers
Crystal

My Day

I guess you could say my day went okay. I have a migraine (its getting better slowly) and yes I know that a lot of people cant stand computers or lights or sound or anything like that when they have a migraine. I toloerate it. I do like the quiet and the dark alot but when you have kids, you just can't do that. So I have learned to tolerate the noise and the lights until Paul gets home to help. The girls are usually really good and helpful. Jason however being as he doesnt feel good today has been screaming all day...unless I am holding him. And computer lights, are sometimes actually soothing as long as I dont look for too long.

I did manage to get my living room rearranged today. I was getting so tired of the way it was and was looking for a more organized way to arrange it. I think I accomplised it. We will see in a few days if it works or not. I need to sew my curtains tommorow. If I can find the material. I think my daughters put it up somewhere for me. :)

I also got my homeschooling stuff gone through and got rid of a bunch of clutter in that area. Right now, I have a bunch of papers and catalogs and stuff scattered across my floor awaiting the trash can.

I also go the girls room halfway cleaned and by that I mean that I got all their clothes hung up. Yeah it gets messy. Kylie likes to change about 5 or 6 times a day and she never puts stuff up. Then with Alaina learning from her, there is way too many clothes to play in. :)

Tommorow, I will finish going through my homeschool stuff and organizing it. Sew my curtains for my living room. Finish the laundry. Go to town and buy some mini blinds for my living room and the girls room. ( I needed to do this last year.) I might try to make some bread tommorow and some cookies. But it depends on how Jason is. Today, I did all of that with him either on my hip or hanging on to my leg. And he just now went to sleep.

Please pray that he gets better and that we have a good day tommorow. I dont like it when my kids are sick. I cant stand to do anything but hold them. Which is why I had him on my hip most of the day.

I talked to Mom last night and she said that the girls are having fun. They are getting to ride horses and play with their cousins. They do have some stuffy noses but that is to be expected with my kids when they change environments. It always happens. Allergies are not fun..... Lord can I please move to Colorado in a few years so my kids wont be sick all the time.... ( I hope and pray that they are like their daddy and if we ever do get to move out there that they are almost allergy free. He lived out there for almost two years and he felt great out there.)

Anyway I guess this is all for today. Not much going on around here like I planned. With Jason being sick I am not getting as much done as I had hoped but I would rather hold him when he feels bad.

Love and Prayers

Happenings.....

I know it has been a few days since I posted and I was going to post yesterday but it was one of those days.

We went on our trip to where my family lives. Had a nice visit and the girls got to stay there.....Yes my babies are four hours away from me with my mom. It is nice. I needed a break and so did they. I will enjoy them when they get back but for now, I am liking it.

We did go on our hunt but neither one of us got anything. It was just a bad weekend. Too warm for much to happen.

Jason's allergies flared up and now he has really bad ear infections in both ears. So he is taking antibiotics again and steroids and is not in a good mood at all. So even though I dont have my girls, I am still not getting a lot done because I am holding him alot... If he is not better in two weeks, he goes back to his ear specialist.

Paul closed on his first Real Estate Sale yesterday. For those of you who dont know what that means, It means that the papers and everything are signed sealed and delivered. The new owners now have the right to move in. Pretty Cool huh...

I have had lots of stuff planned for this week but we will see how it goes. Today, I have to run some errands, and tommorow, I am going with Paul and his friend to look over their new land. (Potential hunting land) Thursday, I will probably be cleaning house and getting some organizing done and then Friday, I will finish up packing for our weekend trip the the Gospel Meeting that my (old) Home Church is having.

Speaking of Churches, Our little building that we have been building for our Church is coming along nicely. We have the plenum in for the heat and air, and as soon as we get the money for it, we are going to run ductwork and insulate and sheetrock....What fun. Us women of course cant wait until the paint is done and the carpet and other flooring in so we can decorate....lol.

I am hoping to post a list later this week of what I have gotten done and What I need to do. We will see how today goes. Hopefully with his antibiotics, Jason will be feeling better soon. If not, I will continue to enjoy holding my wonderful blessing.

I also seen baby Micah this weekend. He is doing good. He's so adorable.

I need to go get laundry swapped out....It is unreal how much less Ihave to do without the girls here. They love to go through a lot of clothes. But what else are girls supposed to do...

Love and Prayers
Crystal

My Christmas Countdown.

I got the idea from my sisters blog...I had to do the teddy bear because that looks just like my Jason bear when he is sleeping....all snuggled up and rubbing his eye.. So cute..

Anyway, I read my sisters blog and was shocked to know that there are only 54 days until Christmas....ohhhhhhh I have got to get busy.. See this year, I am not buying very many things. I am mostly making my presents. And no i cant elaborate right now because most of my family reads this blog.

Anyway, I have to go pack for our weekend. I will post Monday when we get back and let everyon know how we are doing.

Love and Prayers
Crystal

Update on Jason

I took Jason to his ear nose and throat specialist today. His ears are all clear. THANK GOD! And thank you all for your prayers. He had no fluid, no sign of infection, no redness or anything.

He goes back in January for a check up unless he gets an infection between now and then. He also keeps taking his allergy medicine. Which seems to be helping.

Thank You for your prayers. please keep praying that his ears stay clear and he doesnt get any infections.

Love and Prayers
Crystal

Our Day..

Well, we didnt do a spa day..... :( The girls and I decided that it was such a pretty day that we would just go to the park instead. So we went to sonic and got me a Diet Sprite (part of my new plan on losing weight and being healthy) and the girls wanted a vanilla sprite (really good but way too much sugar for me). Then we went to the park and played on the slide and swang.. (yes that is the southern word for it) and then we fed the ducks....there was one that all the other ducks kept beating off and he almost ate out of my hand...he would stick his head in it and I would have to drop the bread on the ground before he would eat it. So cool!!!! Then we walked around and around the roads and picked up lots of white oak acurns (acorns for you proper people.)

Then we came home and played outside with our puppies and picked up the yard a little and just had fun....then it was back to the grindstone in the house doing laundry and computer work. But the girls got to watch a movie after all that exercise.

We had fun and I think we are going to do a spa type thing when I get back from taking Jason to the doctor tommorow. It ought to be fun.

I am working on a couple of different post. One on the book that I was studying (Shelter for the Spirit) and another one on some different things that have been going on in my life. It is kinda long and personal and some people in my family might not like what I have to say so we will have to see (Julie this means I am going to run this post by you first...although your not the one I am worried about. ) I also want to do a post on the book that we started reading in Bible Study (So You want to be like Christ.)

By the way, Jasons doctors appointment is for a check up on his ears. Because he has severe amounts of fluid built up and they dont want to do tubes right now. I dont want tubes at all but what do you do? We have a friend that her little boy had tubes put in about 3 or 4 weeks ago and he already has had one push out because of infection and the other ear is very bad infected but they dont want to put tubes back in until his infections clear up.

I will let you know how it turns out. I am hoping that after the steroids last time and the increased medicine, that maybe they are better. Please pray.

Right now, I am off to soak in my jacuzzi tub. My darling husband is going to watch the kids so I can. Isnt he just wonderful. :)

Love and Prayers
Crystal

Our Hunting Experience

For those of you who are wondering how I could take three kids with me hunting.....Well, It wasnt easy. Not at all. But as parents, my husband and I are determined to bring our kids up right and to bring them up enjoying the outdoors. Our kids, beg to go hunting and beg to watch hunting videos, and really really want to shoot a deer, or an elk, or a bear, or a turkey. Yeah they want to go. And research proves that kids that are involved in the outdoors more are less likely to get into drugs and all kinds of trouble. And on top of all that, It is a science class all in itself...

So,my darling husband set up our blind on the mountain (not too far up, maybe 300 or 400 yards from the very bottom). Saturday, I put the kids in their Jogging suits, and their insulated Jackets. Packed the Camoflage backpack with all kinds of gear for the kids. Loaded them in the truck with their camo blankets and some thick sheepskin blankets that their uncle had bought for them last year, and we took off. Drove maybe ten minutes to our friends land (no names mentioned) and unloaded the kids and blankets and hiked up the mountain.

Now have you ever tried to carry a 25lb baby up the mountain with a backpack on you......tough. I have muscles where I didnt know I had them....owww. We all got settled into the blind after the girls made their way through the briars and fallen trees. Alaina was settled in all snug and warm after about 5 min. Jason was hungry so he had a bottle and went to sleep. Kylie snuggled up by him and held him so he would sleep longer (If he is held he sleeps longer, spoiled I know) And I set up my gun and all that. I then proceeded to take my shoes off because everytime I moved around, I was kicking one of the kids with them and being insulated hunting boots, they are kind of bulky and hard to move around in tight spaces.

So we stayed that way for about two hours. Then Jason woke up and played for a little while before going back to sleep. Kylie stayed up and watched the squierlls playing around and helped me watch for deer. Alaina woke up about 10 minutes before we left and Jason woke up when DAddy came to get us. He was able to sneak up on Kylie really easy.

The highlight of the trip....besides having my babies there with me while I enjoyed the nature. We had a squierl Jump out of a tree and try to land on the blind. We heard him scratching all the way down the blind.....and chattering at it.....I peeked around the corner of the window in the blind and seen him sitting on a rock staring at it and chattering like he was daring that strange tree to move.. It was hilarious....Then we had one poke his head in at the bottom of the blind where the material doesnt quit reach the ground. He left really quick.

This coming weekend My mom is supposed to watch the kids while we go on her draw hunt. I am excited about it because 1, we need meat in our freezer 2, it is in a place that is known for its big bucks 3, it is an either sex tag...which means that if i see a doe first, since we need meat in our freezer, i can shoot her. 4, i get to see my family while i am down there...i havent seen my lil bear in a couple of months...i bet she has grown alot...and the rest of them are probably so big by now.

Time to go do my daily chores..

Love and Prayers
Crystal

Ahhhh Monday!

Well, Friday was a crazy crazy day. WE ended up having to get ready and take something to my husband at work 30 minutes away and of course we got there at lunch time and he wanted to eat with us so we went and ate. Then I ran to Wal-Mart to pick up some things that I needed. Wanted to go to the health food store while I was there and didnt get to. Came home, went and sighted in muzzleloaders and set up the ground blind so I could take the kids with me hunting Saturday morning.

Saturday, we got up at 6:00 got ready, dragged the kids out of bed, and went to the woods. At 11:00, we came out of the woods and went and picked up angel food. Then we came home, ate lunch, took baths, done some chores, and Paul and I went to Wal-Mart after some groceries real quick while Granny watched the girls and Aunt Ducky watched Jason ( THANK YOU BOTH...I REALLY NEEDED THAT BREAK) Then we came home, got ready and went the the Church Halloween thing....just a weiner roast and some candy. No scary costumes or anything...except one.....he was the Texas Chainsaw guy...he likes to scare the girls and then give them hugs and make them feel better. lol. He is a cutey...Kylie was a Queen (THANK YOU TAMMY FOR HER DRESS, SHE LOVED IT) And Alaina was a kitty cat. It was so cute. We also had a monkey, a fireman, a sugarplum fairy, a baseball player, and Jason and another little girl did not dress up...they were just babies.

Yesterday, we put the heat and air plenum (sp) in and got it wired in at Church. It was an all afternoon project. Then we came home and I did a 30 minute quick clean of my very messy house before we ate supper and settled down to enjoy a movie together.

Today, I am going to be doing a lot of computer work for our business. I need to get it all done today.

I also have a prayer request for myself..This coming weekend, we drew in for a hunt that is in my the town of my home congregation. I am having some "issues" with going there right now. Just some things that are going on and things that have went on. I really dont want to go. Right now I have the attitude that I dont care if I ever go back there. But I know I need to go see certain people down there. So I am going but not happily. Please pray that I will have a peaceful heart when I go and please pray that everything works out okay.

I had better get busy on my computer work for the day. I also need to look at my cleaning schedule and see what I am supposed to be doing this week....I kinda havent followed it for a while...

Love and Prayers
Crystal

Charles Shultz Philosophy

My mother in law sent me this and I thought it was perfect. Enjoy...

Charles Schultz Philosophy
The following is the philosophy of Charles Schultz, the creator of the "Peanuts" comic strip. You don't have to actually answer the questions.. Just read the e-mail straight through, and you'll get the point.
1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.
3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America.
4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.
5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and actress.
6. Name the last decade's worth of World Series winners.
How did you do?

The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. These are no second-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields. But the applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten. Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners .

Here's another quiz. See how you do on this one:
1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.
2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.
3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.
4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special.
5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with .
Easier?
The lesson:
The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones that care .
"Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in Australia " (Charles Schultz)

Spa Day!

No I am not spending money on a spa day for myself. Well maybe a little money but not a lot. I am going to schedule a spa day for me and my little mosters (the girls). Jason will have fun playing with his toys while we do this. He is such a good baby most of the time. He just likes to keep Momma up all night fussing.





I am going to get some essential spa gear...you know, foot scrub, foot lotion, nail files, cuticle cream, some nice polish for me and some sparkly stuff for the girls. They also like curlers in their hair, so we may spend some money on some bubble bath and take a luxurious soak and then curl our hair.





I think this is going to be Tuesday. Tommorow, we are going to set up our ground blind so that I can go hunting saturday morning and the kids can go with me. Then Saturday we are going hunting and picking up angel food and then we have a halloween thing with the Church. Sunday, we will be working on our building again and Monday well Monday is Monday and I know nothing will go right nor will i get much done..so Tuesday sounds about right.





And I have got to make a trip to Bath and Body works....They are starting to put out their Holiday scents..Ummmmm.

Photo courtesy of www.bathandbodyworks.com

Love and Prayers

Crystal

Going out of our mind today..

I have recieved some comments on my post about going out of my mind. So I though I would share what we have done around here.

Yesterday was a really really bad day. Nothing went right, Jason had been up alot the night before and when Paul left for work, he told me to just go back to sleep, which i did....gladly. So I did not get up and read my scripture, and I didnt pray and I didnt have breakfast ready when the girls got up and on and on and on...Everything kept going wrong. So when nap time came, I told Kylie that if she would help me clean my bedroom and bathroom while I put up clothes then we would play afterwards. So she did. She did and excellant job. I asked her what she wanted to do. She wanted to play in my tub.......My Jacuzzi tub (its a cheap one that comes in double wide trailors...nothing fancy.) So I let her...We pretended it was a lake and we were swimming and then it was the ocean and we were mermaids and Then Alaina and Jason woke up and we had snacks...

See Going out of your mind can be a blast. It really can. Do you know how long it has been since I pretended that the tub was a lake? And the tub we had growing up was not nearly as big as this one...What a huge lake we had yesterday....lol.

What do you do to Go out of your mind?

Love and Prayers
Crystal

Community Blogger Award

I was given another award by my sister Julie I appreciate it very much. The Community Blogger Award celebrates people who reach out, and make the blogger community a better one.

I dont have anyone special to give this to so If you read my blog and comment on it then consider yourself awarded.

Thank You Julie for always thinking of me.

Love and Prayers

Crystal

Holiday Clothes

I have been looking at Christmas dresses for the girls lately. Mostly because they have them out already in Wal Mart and Target. I however dont like any of the ones they have there. They either are all black with a red flower on them or they have black tops or they are burgundy...I want a blue dress. I did not say anything to kylie about this but she is into blue here lately and so she informed me the other day when I asked her if she liked a dress, that no it was not blue and she didnt like the black on it.... So we are on the quest for a blue dress. I will probably end up making them if I can find the right material Since Wal Mart doesnt carry much material anymore and most of what they do carry is quilting material, it will be a challenge but I think I can handle it....

one that she thought was just so pretty..........

And even though it is not blue, she loved it. But it is $60 at JC Penney and I am not paying 120 for dresses that is crazy. And I cant make one that looks like this so I will attempt to make her one that she likes and I like and isnt too hard. lol Ought to be fun huh?

But you know what is funny. I cant remember any of our christmas dresses growing up. I just cant. I know we had special outfits for Christmas but I cant remember a single one.

Anyway, I know it is too soon to be thinking about Christmas but it is just around the corner you know.

Love and Prayers

Crystal

Pictures

Tinker Bell loves Jason...Yes our new beagle is named Tinker Bell. We also have one named Elmer..My wonderful baby boy...
My little monsters...Arent they growing so much.
Apparently, grass taste good. lol
I couldnt figure out how to rotate this one. I want my digital camera back It was so much easier to work with...

Love and Prayers
Crystal

COLD!!!!

It is cold this morning...46 outside right now and the wind is blowing hard...and it is raining a little. I think Fall has officially blown in. Time for sweatshirts, hot cocoa, and curling up with books. However I wont be able to do the later today.


I took some pictures of Jason yesterday and will post a couple of them later. They were with my 35mm Canon Rebel...so they look a little different than digital . I realized how much I miss that camera though...I like the digital because if you dont like it you can delete it but it just does not have the capabilities of the rebel. Now my dream digital camera, ($900) would be great. But I am not going to pay that much for a camera right now. I would love it though.

I am going to be busy the next couple of days getting lots done around the house and I need to get our computers loaded back up with stuff that we use for our business. See when my laptop broke, it had most of our records on it. The computer guy is supposed to be putting my harddrive on cds for me but I still need to load it all on this computer and readjust it to fit the updated versions of stuff. Plus my husbands computer, that has been messed up for a year and a half, my brother in law came over the other night and fixed it. We thought that we had everything on my laptop but when we went to look for something last night, it was not there. We realized that we let him erase most of our records on that computer. So I get to have fun rebuilding alll kinds of spreadsheets and artwork. Please pray for me....that I wont lose my sanity during this time.

Pauls grandpa is still not doing good. We visited him friday and he seemed better but you know how those things go when they are at that point. They can seem okay and then be gone the next day so please keep praying.

I have got to do some rearranging on my schedule. It seems like when you have a baby baby...that every two or three weeks you are rearranging your schedule for something. I have discovered lately that he likes to eat at least three meals of real food aday. So instead of the 5 minutes that it took for him to gulp down a bottle, It now takes at least thirty to feed him his food. Three times a day, that is and hour and a half that i need to adjust plus he has stopped taking one of his naps so there is another hour that i need to adjust. Of course this all comes at a time when I really need more time so It will be hard for the first few weeks.

I will try to get back to posting my menus soon.. We have just been doing guess work which has been running my grocery bill up but It has been so crazy around here and fixing to get crazier cause hunting season is now in full swing and I havent been once. I am determined to fix that this week. Yes I love to hunt. Crazy huh...

Anyway, I need to go wake up my little precious sleeping angels and get busy with today. I will try to post pictures later today but am not sure what will happen.....I may just go out of my mind today..lol

Love and Prayers
Crystal

New Picture of Jason

I do have a new picture of Jason. My brother in law was over the other day working on our computers and he snapped this one with his phone.... Isnt he adorable...

I am going to try to get some more taken and get them on here but with my digital broke and film takes so long to get developed and bact to you that It will be a couple of weeks...

Love and Prayers

Crystal

STAND

I just watched the music video to Rascall Flatts "Stand" Very good. Very. I never really listened to the song before but it is awesome....I love it.

Awards

I have been given three awards over the past month by my sister. So I will try to catch up on posting them today.

The first was

EXCELLENCE IN DISCIPLESHIP AWARD

This award was created by http://managementbygod.blogspot.com/ This is what they said about it:"For those who are regular readers of management by God, you know that being about God's Word is very important to me. Since I have started working on this initiative, I have discovered that there are many others that have a similar heart to share God's Word, and further His Kingdom. The role of a disciple of Christ is to carry His message to the ends of the earth. It is with this heart that I have created the Mathetes Award.Mathetes is the Greek word for disciple, and the role of the disciple (per the Great Commission) is to make more disciples. I'd like to take the opportunity to award five other bloggers with this award and badge for acting in the role of a disciple of Christ."

I dont have five other bloggers to award this too that hasnt already been awarded. So If you are a Christian and a Disciple of Christ, then You have been awarded this one.

The Second is the You Lift Me Up Award !

I will say that I have to give this award back to my sister. She lifts me up everyday.

I also give this award to:

Malisa over at My little corner of the world She always brings a smile to my face with her post and is always positive in her comments. very uplifting and encouraging.

Misty at Just as I am. Mist and I have been friends for years. She was always there when I needed a shoulder or someone to get in trouble with. :) Now as a blogging friend, a fellow mother and still a real life friend. She always lifts me up with her word of encouragement and everytime I think I have a hard time with my life, I look at her. Her husband works off and she is struggling to raise their son by herself most of the time. The fact that she accomplishes this also lifts me up. I keep thinking that if she can do that, then I can handle my life.

People that do not have a blog that I would like to award this to:

My Husband. He is my rock and my strength here on this earth. He is always telling me how good I am at being a mother and a wife...but if I ever get out of line, he tells me in a gentle loving way.

My Mom. She is always just a phone call away and even though we have had some tough times and she may tell us exactly what she thinks of what we are doing, she eventually puts aside her feelings and just supports us.

My Dad...I could not live through what he has and not be crazy. He has always been there to talk to and to give us advice. And you probably will not like what he has to say when he says it but later on you wish you would have listened. But he never has once told me I told you so. He just hugs me and says "Youll learn"

Sam....She has been my friend longer than misty and even though we have grown apart over the years, she still lifts me up with her words of encouragement.

Kristy. My friend at Church. She is always so encouraging and full of advice. And she handled three kids for a year while her husband drove a long distance truck...Whew..

Melissa. Always positive and in her words.."God has a reason for everything" So true.

Tammy. My other sister. We have not always gotten along but you know when I had my kids, She was there. With my first one, she drove five hours by herself to be there. And then she drove the five hours home in the dark. With my second, she didnt make it but she called to make sure I was okay and With Jason, she was there again. She stayed by my bedside, offering words of encouragement and getting nurses and when she was in the lobby, she was helping to watch my girls so they could stay there and see their little brother. She may make alot of mistakes and she may not always agree with me and I might not always agree with her, but she would be there in a heartbeat if I needed her. She has proved that before.

And to the rest of my family. I am running out of time but you know who you are and you know what you do for me. THANK YOU

I will have to post on the third one later. I need to go switch laundry.

Love and Prayers

Crystal

THANK YOU JULIE FOR YOUR THOUGHTFULNESS AND YOUR KIND WORDS.

My Crazy Life

I have had a crazy past couple of weeks. It has just been one of those times in my life where everything happens at once and nothing goes right. My sister had a post the other day about her day and she got into how she had read a blog that wondered how us "stay at home moms do it....they would go out of their mind". Well news flash, sometimes we do go out of our mind. I do it at least once a day. That way I stay sane. People think I am joking when I say this. But have you ever tried to just let your logical and never stopping mind go for a little while and just enjoy life. I try everyday to let go for at least an hour. I spend that hour playing with my kids or reading a book to them or teaching them something....Kylie wants to learn to sew. I know without a doubt that that is going to require me to go out of my mind for a little while. Otherwise I couldnt be patient enough to teach her.

Now if you are still reading this post you probably think that I am crazy. On the contrary. I am manic depressive. Which means that my mind never stops. It is always going and always thinking of probably 20 0r 30 things at once. It is really hard to shut my mind down for any period of time. So instead of trying to do it for no reason...I "go out of my mind" while playing with my babies. Do you know how easy it is to get lost in Laura Ingalls Wilder? Or in coloring scarecrows all green because that is the color of the day for a two year old...but the next day it is blue or red or something....

I love my life, I love my kids and I wouldnt trade it for anything in the world. I have had people tell me that they admire me for staying at home or that they couldnt do that because they would be ready to kill their kids before the first day was over. I feel pity for these people. I really do. All you have really go to do is stop and enjoy your kids smiles or the silly things they say or do. See go out of your mind......stop thinking for a little while about what you have to do....or what needs done that you probably will never accomplish because there is just not enough time to do that and enjoy your kids....Enjoy your kids first. Then do everything else.

I also admire the Mothers out there who work and come home to a happy family. I admire the ones who go to work everyday (or part time ) and still run a household and take care of their kids with a smile. I personally dont think that I could go to work everyday and come home with a smile on my face for my kids. I would probably be too irritated and grouchy.

Julie also talked about what parts of housework that she liked and disliked. I have to say. I dont like to cook. I have never been that great at it although my husband keeps trying to convince me that I am. I dont like to eat my own cooking. I dont know there is just something about knowing what it looked like before you cooked it...lol. I do love the laudry part of keeping a home. I wish I had a clothesline so I could hang them out to dry and maybe next year i will. I like my sister though love the sound of the snaps in the dryer. I love the feel of the warm clothes when you pull them out of the dryer (you have to pull them out right when it is done to feel this, not wait for a while :) ) I love handwashing dishes, although i use my dishwasher alot, I love hot hot water on my hands and the accomplishment that I got my dishes clean. It seems to take some of the aggrivation out of my day. I love to wake up to a clean kitchen, wake up to a dirty one and my day is gone. I love to vacuum and see the clean floors that it leaves. I love to reorganize and rearrange. The fresh new feel that is there when you get that accomplished.

Things I dont like...dusting. I cant stand the little dust balls that go everywhere nor the gritty feel on my fingers after I get done (no i dont wear gloves to clean house, never have and really dont like the things.) I dont like having a huge couch taking up my living room space. It bugs me. My husband and I have seriously considered taking it out and just having a couple of chairs to sit in. (that is another post though) I dont like mopping...I dont know why, I just dont. I love sweeping however. I dont like cleaning toilets or tubs. Toilets are just nasty and tubs are too hard to clean (see I am a really tall person and to really clean my tub, I have to get way down on my knees and it kills my back and knees and by the time i am through i usually have a headache.) I dont like the fact that no matter how often you sweepdown the cobwebs, they always seem to come back. I dont like that at all. ( I think it has something to do with living in a trailor...People I know that live in real houses dont have this problem.)

I love the outside part of housework. I love to mow the yard even though i usually end up with a constant sinus infection every year from it (this didnt happen before I married my husband. I now live four hours away from where I grew up and I guess the weeds are just different. ) I love digging in the dirt to plant flowers. I love to rake leaves (although I have no trees where I live) I love making my yard look pretty.

I guess in all of my crazy life, I dont have any thing to complain about. But like I said the past couple of weeks have been crazy. So now my house is a wreck, my yard does not have lots of pretty flowers planted for next spring as planned, it needs mowed, and my mind had left me more than once in the past couple of days. But that is okay. I enjoy my crazy life and I enjoy going out of my mind, especially if it includes doing something fun with my kids.

So to all of you that dont see how we do it, it is really easy. We do go out of our mind but in a good way and we enjoy it. As my sister said, " Yes, it is hard. Extremely hard some days. It is both the most exhausting, the most demanding and the most rewarding thing that I have ever done. It's my home and these are my children and I am solely responsible for that and there are times when I need a break. But I always miss my husband (if he's not with me) and our girls."

Prayers and Blessings
Crystal

Micah Update.

I just wanted to update on Micah. Melissa emailed me today and he is doing better. I cannot remember the exact words she used so I will just copy and paste it out of my email.....

All of the test that were run on him came back normal. The doctors believe that when he stopped/had difficulty breathing Tuesday night- it was a result of him asperating on gastric fluids (gastric fluid went into his lungs). The doctors believe this was a one time thing and hopefully will not happen again. We are not sure if he had apnea before this or not. The first time it was noticed was in the ER Tuesday night and then again when they did a catscan on him a couple of days later. He recovered from these episodes on his own. We requested an apnea monitor for our own peace of mind. It has gone off two different times since we've been home.

Please keep praying that it is not anything that will require more hospitals and that it clears up.

Please pray for strength for Mike and Melissa and for faith. I know they would appreciate all the prayers they can get right now.

Love and Prayers
Crystal

Please Pray....

We recieved word yesterday that Pauls Grandpa is in the last stages of life. The doctors have said there is nothing left they can do but keep him comfortable. He is in really bad shape..physically. His mind though is still just as good as can be. We went and seen him last night because they told them yesterday morning that if anyone needed to come see him they needed to do it. So we went.

Please pray for our family right now. This man is 80....would be 81 in January. He has been very special to all of his kids and his grandkids through out their lives and even me because I grew up calling him Grandpa...even though I only met him 5 years ago, all my life he was my Grandpa too. He is very special. You cant meet him and not be touched.

I will go now as I am trying to type through my tears but please pray and get us through this time.

Love and Prayers
Crystal

Jason

I cant believe it....Jason is now pulling up and walking along the couch and footstool. I figured he was going to be a little slower as most boys are but nope once he started moving he wont quit.

He started out the other day pulling up in his playpen and then pulling up to the couch but then he would just fall down. Then last night, he pulled up to the footstool and walked alongside it holding on.


I just cant believe it. In two weeks, he has went from rolling around on the floor to pulling up and trying to walk.. HE is getting too big. too fast.......my baby is supposed to stay little.... (sniff sniff. )

Love and prayers
Crystal

New Book

Last night at Bible Study, my sister in law brought a book that we started studying. It is called "So You Want to be Like Christ? Eight essentials to get you there" Really interesting reading. I am planning on buying it but I just found out that Amazon is out of the hardcover like she had. So I am now on the search for one.

Here is the link to Amazons page for it........ Book

And here is the link to the paper back book..... Paperback

They also have a workbook to go with it and Cheryl said he was a really good author. I cant wait to read more of his work because so far he has me intrigued.

I have more notes on the Shelter for the Spirit book but not enough time to type them today. I have to get the car worked on and finish inventory and build my dog run for my precious babies.

So I will talk to you all later and Hope you Have a blessed day.......

Oh YEAH>...........I DIDNT FORGET> I meant to make it a separate post but my sister has already posted about it so I will just link to it...

Pleas pray for Baby Michah....HE is not doing good.

Love and Prayers
Crystal

Alarming Discovery on My New Computer

Okay, everyone read that my computer was broke and i had to get a new one. Well, yesterday, I set it up, got the internet going, installed the printer, and that was about it...havent had time to go over all the bugs and get alot of stuff off or put alot of stuff on. It has the new windows vista and the internet explorer 7 which automatically comes with a google search bar at the top right under the ie...address bar. I dont like this and havent had time to take it off yet.....will find time today though....

My husband last night was checking his email and looking at some hunting websites and because we are hunters and like to know what is going on in the hunting world, he was going to go to the wildlife department website....He was using the google search bar instead of the ie address bar because he didnt see the address bar....it is gray and kind of blends in with the background of the window. I heard him say "Oh my God!" So I came in to see what was going on and on the screen was a porn site.......NO MY HUSBAND DOES NOT LOOK AT THESE.......IF YOU GO TO THE GOOGLE SEARCH BAR ON MY NEW COMPUTER AND TYPE IN http://www.w/ IT HAS A DROP DOWN LIST THAT HAS DIFFERENT THINGS THAT ARE AUTOMATIC SECLECTIONS FOR http://www.w/ ONE OF THEM WAS http://www.wilds/#.COM FILL IN THE LETTERS....OKAY. He couldnt believe that it was actually automatic and was curious as to whether it would actually bring it up.....well yes it brought it up.

Well curiostity killed the cat as they say and I got to wondering and so did he if it was just that letter or all of them.. It is every letter of the alphabet that has some sort of porn site attached to the drop down list. one of them is very decieving.....it is sex ed or something like that....yeah sex ed alright....

Anyway, this is not really a problem for christian adults as we know not to click on them and to avoid them. But for my stepson, and my niece that come over and get on the computer all though i monitor them, i dont want them to accidentally click on something like that. I dont promote that kind of stuff and I dont think that they need to be looking at it.

There are people out there that say that if you raise your kids right, they wont look at stuff like that, wont even be curious.............well that may be but if they accidentally click on it cause we all know how easy it is to click on something that you dont want......and my stepson is being raised by his mom. He does get taught right when he is around us....but the other days that he is around her.....i dont think it matters. And my niece, she would turn green and run away and probably never touch a computer again but still the images would be in her mind.

I think it is apalling that these sites are automatically listed when you type in letters.....it is not right. This is what our world is coming to. What are we to do about it?

Just something that I thought you ought to be aware of.....If I had known it the first thing i would have done was taken the google toolbar off of my computer. Which is what I am going to do right now.....

Love and Prayers
Crystal

First of all...Thank You Julie for posting for me. I cant believe my computer got broke...long story.

I now have a new computer...Not what I wanted to do but inevitable.. I just have to get used to it.

So I will be back to posting soon. I am just having so much fun cleaning house and playing school with my kids..lol. It is hard to come back to this. I do miss everyone though and I will be back as soon as I complete some projects that I started over the last week. I will post about them also. Like today, I have to do inventory for our home business. Yuckkkkk....But it needs done so we can close it.

Love and Prayers
Crystal

She'll Be Back Soon!!!

Hi, this is Julie, Crystal's sister. She wanted me to let you know that her computer is broke. She will be back on here as soon as she can get it fixed, so please don't give up on her!

Have a great week-end!

First of All....Jason is Crawling. He started it Saturday evening. He is getting so big...but instead of just crawling, he is also pulling up to stuff....Like crazy. He cant make it all the way to a standing position yet but he puts his hands on stuff and actually tries to pull up ....


Second. I am going to try to post some more on my book study today. I have so many other things to do today though so I may get to it tommorow.

I will try to get back on here later but you know with a crawling baby it is harder to get things done....and a toddler that likes to destroy more than you can clean. lol

Love and Prayers
Crystal

Different Things...

I am going to post about several different things today...

First, I am asking for prayers for my sister. Julie, Her and her husband are going through difficult times right now because he has been off work so much.

Second, I am asking for prayers for myself. I need strength and patience and more discipline...I have been trying to lose weight and it has not went so well.. I have gained weight istead of losing. I have been getting more depressed here lately and cant seem to pull out of it. I also realized today that I am one of those moms that has let herself go. I mean, I enjoy wearing tshirts and jeans and I dont want to dress all fancy. But I never take the time to even paint my toe nails anymore and that is unusual for me. Even when Alaina was little, I did my own pedicures every week. I also used to keep my hair fixed. Now a ponytail is doing good. Better than my clippy that seems to be around all the time. I also, have not paid attention to my skin here lately. I used to wash my face every morning and night, anymore it is lucky to get washed once every two weeks besides what it gets in the shower. I mean come on.....I can do better than this....See I need Discipline (sp) I need to get my but in gear and take care of some of this stuff.

Third........WHAT IS WITH AMERICA NOW DAYS!!!!!!!! Every time I check the news or the weather all I see is bad stuff....always something about another town going througha drought and not enough water or too much water in some cases....its like they arent ever happy about stuff. Last year, some of them were praying for the rain to stop and this year they are praying for it to come back....last year some of them were praying for more rain and now they want it to go away.....No Wonder God is confused. Its like someone told me one time. Be specific....That saying be careful what you wish for....

I just dont know about the world now days. I mean it is so crazy. My sister posted on her blog this morning about a book that is being read to kids in public school systems. It is a book about two princes falling in love and getting married. That is just sick. But the school system where it was read is supporting it....WHAT HAPPENED TO TEACHING OUR KIDS WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS? We are supposed to be a country founded on religious beliefs but yet we have politicians claiming that we need to make our children aware of People WITH DIFFERENT LIFESTYLES. I SAY NO WE DONT>>>WE NEED TO TEACH THEM THAT IT IS WRONG AND THAT GOD DOESNT LIKE IT AND IT IS BECAUSE OF PEOPLE LIKE THEM THAT THIS WORLD IS GOING TO HELL IN A HANDBASKET.... THEY ARE SPREADING DECEIT AND IMMORALITY ALL ACROSS OUR WORLD AND THE PEOPLE THAT ARE SUPPOSED TO BE RUNNING OUR COUNTRY ON RELIGIOUS BELIEFS ARE SUPPORTING THEM....Makes you want to lock your kids up and throw away the key dont it? It is sad. I listened to a tape a while back that my sister loaned me. It was a Church of Christ preacher and he was talking about a girl that had come to him for some help. She had a situation at her school that she couldnt handle. She played sports and she had to share a locker and shower time with a team mate. Well her team mate was a lesbian. He suggested she go to her coach about switching team mates...She SAID HER COACH WAS ONE TOO AND SO WAS HALF THE TEAM!!!!!! IN HIGH SCHOOL Sad........ Even sadder was he went on to say that there are churches out there that are just for same sex couples. I had no idea until i listened to this tape that they were out there. I know I live in secluded America and I like it that way. That way, my kids dont have to deal with this.....

I have been reading them the little house books. They love them. Kylie told me the other day that she wanted to live like that. She said "Momma, if we lived like that then Daddy wouldnt have to go to work everyday and we wouldnt have to worry about money cause we wouldnt need it." She is four. She is very smart and she would love for us to not have to worry about money or for her daddy to stay home every day. She also knows when I tell her no about something, that I mean no and it is usually because we dont have the money...So she tells me that that is okay we will just have to save the money till we get enough.

I guess that is all for today. I know I kinda got going on the book thing but it just makes me so mad to think that we are letting God out of our country. I mean it just doesnt make sense. But he did say it would happen so I guess we just live our lives the best we can and do his will and let them take care of their selves.

I still need to get some laundry finished and I am going to try and make some cookies tonight. I ran out of gas in my lawn mower and will not have any more gas money until my husband gets paid so I dont have to mow the yard tonight...(Yippee) Wait .....let me rephrase that. THank you God for my yard and my mower but THank you for me not having to mow tonight....It is nice to have a break.

Love and Prayers

Crystal

Jason sitting up by his self

My rotten and wonderful Rooskie Bear (dont know why but that is his nickname and it has stuck--see we are the bear family...Momma Bear, Daddy Bear, Kylie Bear, Alaina Bear, and now Rooskie Bear....lol my husband came up with the bear family when I was pregnant with Kylie, he called me a bear and when he talked to her in my belly, he called her daddy's baby bear and it has kept on with all three of them. ) Bubba bear, sister bear, Jack is also Bubba bear....


Anyway, Rooskie Bear is now sitting up all by himself with out mommas help (sniff sniff) He can do this from any position...if he is scooting across the floor, he can sit up, if you lay him on his back he will sit up....its not fair, he is growing up....

On the other hand though, both the girls were doing this by 5 mths and crawling by 5 1/2 and walking by 8 1/2 to 9 mths....and they had teeth at 5 mths.....he has no teeth, he is not crawling..he will leap frog but not crawl and he just started sitting up today......so he is not as fast as them but that is okay because he can be mommas baby longer...lol

If my camera worked, I would post pictures but sighhhhhhhh it is still broke..

Love and Prayers
Crystal

UPDATES-Thankful Thursdays-Memory Verse

Okay I have a few updates today..

Jason is doing good. He does not have to have tubes right now. He is a perfect candidate for them and we could do them if we wanted to go to Oklahoma City or Tulsa or Little Rock to a Childrens Hospital but they dont like doing them before 1year old so for right now we are going to play with his medicines and see if we can find something that works and if he turns 1 and nothing works, then we will talk about tubes again. Please keep praying that he will not have to have them.

Papa Gerald is back in the hospital. They concluded that he had a minor stroke and he has a heart valve that is not working right and that he does have a blockage in his head. They sent him home tuesday night...Yesterday, he had caught a virus and was so tired and with the valve not working right he kept running out of air and so his daughter took him back to the hospital. He was still there last night from what I heard. Christina.....please know that I am praying for you and If I get the gas money today, I will come see him. I do have a cold though that I dont want him to catch so I will not get to close.

Micah Harcrow....Sept 25 2007 6lbs 9 oz 21 in long... I believe all this is correct..Melissa if it is not please let me know....Everyone up here says Congratulations and Best Wishes. I bet Michayla is so excited. If you need anything please let us know.

Thankful Thursday:

I am not going to put a picture up here for this because I dont have the time for my computer to load it....Same with the memory verse below.

Today, I am thankful for my family: They always make me smile and they know when something is wrong with me and give me a call or send me and email to find out (Thank you sis)

Church Family: We are building a new church building and we have been having so many good conversations while we work (well while the men work and we do what we can which most of the time is watching kids and getting water refills.) We are almost to the point where we can move in and have services there...

My husbands family (even though I consider them as part of my family) THey are so sweet and caring. My mother in law checks in on me at least once a week if not more. She always calls after the kids doctors appointments to make sure they are okay and she watches the kids for me sometimes so I can get away. I hate to even ask them because they are retired and supposed to be enjoying life and they are not in the greatest health and I know how tiring my kids can be. My sister in law is always having everyone over for dinner and my brother in law does so much computer work for us. We wouldnt know how to do most stuff if it wasnt for him.

My husband: He knows when he hears my voice whether or not I am having a good day or if I need a little lift. He works two jobs now so tha the can eventually just work the one easier one and hopefully it will happen before long. He is such a good dad to my kids. He loves them so much and is so good with them. Plus, he helps with the house work when he isnt working two jobs and I get a little behind on it.

My kids: When I read stories of people who have lost their babies early or not gt to hold them alive at all, It makes me more grateful that I have my three semi healthy kids and the most we have to worry about is allergies right now. My sister had several miscarriages before getting to hold one of her own. That makes me grateful that mine are alive and well. They have their days when I just want to scream and run but most days, they are really good and do things to make me laugh and smile. Jason, you cant get mad at him....he is just a baby and a happy one at that...he smiles all the time. Kylie, loves pretty glittery stuff and big pretty dresses..(and tinker bell boots we found at Wal-Mart last night..maybe an early Christmas present if I can find tennis shoes at a yard sale...i cant afford both.) Alaina....even though she is my whiny one, she still has her special times...she is just so irresistable.

I am also thankful for my house and my cars and my animals and the country that I live in because it allows me to worship how I want to and to raise my kids believing in God and to be a stay at home homeschooling mom. I love it....

Memory Verse

Matthew 12:34For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.

I know this post has been long and if you are still here I appreciate you reading it. Please keep Gerald and Jason and Baby Micah and family in your prayers.

Love and Prayers
Crystal

My Blog Header

I got a new Blog Header......Malisa over at My Little Corner of the World sent this to me.

I love it! I think it is so cute. THANK YOU MALISA!

Love and Prayers
Crystal

Gonna be a Bear

My mother in law sent me this email a little while ago. So cute!

Gonna Be A Bear

In this life I am a woman. In my next life, I'd like to come back as a bear. When you're a bear, you get to hibernate. You do nothing but sleep for six months. I could deal with that.
Before you hibernate, you're supposed to eat yourself stupid. I could deal with that too.
When you're a girl bear, you birth your children (who are the size of walnuts) while you're sleeping and wake to partially grown cute, cuddly cubs. I could definitely deal with that.
If you're a mama bear, everyone knows you mean business. You swat anyone who bothers your cubs. If your cubs get out of line, you swat them too. I could deal with that.
If you're a bear, your mate expects you to wake up growling. He expects that you will have hairy legs and excess body fat.
Yep, gonna be a bear!
�
�
�

Update on Gerald and ......A NEW BABY!

I have an update on Gerald...last night, he was doing good and they were probably going to let him come home today. They had a heart monitor on him and had done some test to check for blockages and stuff.


NEW BABY!


Mike and Melissa, (members at my old home church and really good friends) had their second child last night. A LITTLE BOY! I do not know any details yet but they said they are doing good. Michayla is going to be such a good big sister! They waited a long time on kids and now to be blessed with two.....Oh how wonderous God is.

Congratulations!!!!!!!!! Cant wait to see him! Love yall!

Love and Prayers
Crystal

Long Weekend

Sorry I havent posted before now...I found out some bad news this morning and emailed my sister to let her know and then my internet crashed.

The bad news....My kids "Papa Gerald" and my second Dad (he seems like it) had a stroke last night. He is somewhat better and is supposed to be able to come home tonight maybe....Please pray for this family. They lost their Mom (Geralds wife Wilma) almost three years ago....She was a very wonderful Christian and is missed very much.. We are not ready to lose our other Dad yet.

Also, Yesterday paul was sick all day but still worked on the Church Building. So after a very long tiring day, we came home and I started feeling bad and was cranky all evening. We went to bed hoping for some sleep but the kids tossed and turned all night and was up three or four times. I got about 2 hours of sleep and then woke up this morning to the news of my "Dad"

So. I will try to post something later on this week if all goes well tonight and tommorow. I have to take Jason Wednesday to see if he needs tubes in his ears. I will definately post about that.

Please pray that all will be well.

Love and Prayers
Crystal

Not Today.....

I was going to post on my Bible reading and the book that I am reading but I woke up last night with a Migraine so I will not be doing that much today. I will try to post on it as soon as I feel better....

Love and Prayers
Crystal

Update on Reas.

I found out today that Reas and his family will be moving to DC...He will be getting prosthetics and going to culinary school. So...Keep praying that everything turns out okay and that his spirit stays strong. Right now he is really up beat and in really good spirits about everything. He is not allowing this to get him down.

Please keep praying though.

Love and Prayers
Crystal

Jason

Just an update on Jason...I got a phone call a little while ago and Jason has to go for a consultation with a specialist for his ears to see if he needs tubes....So.. I have to make an appointment.

yippeee... :(

Pray Please...I dont want my son to hurt but I really dont want tubes either.

Love and Prayers
Crystal

Shelter of the Spirit

I am taking advantage of kids not feeling good to catch up on some post today. We are all snuggled up on the couch watching movies and enjoying ...so I am posting.


This book...Shelter for the Spirit is wonderful. I posted about it awhile back and said I would post notes on it if I liked it. Well I am on my third time through...(Thank You Mom) my mother in law loaned it to me and I really need to get it back to her.

In the first sentence of the first Chapter, she says "A house can reveal te extent of your assets, but a home reveals the expanse of your heart." This is so true. We can have the prettiest house on the block or the fanciest house down that road (if you live in the country, it is the fanciest house that is visible from the road...) and that shows how much money we have or how much we are in debt. But the home part of that house is what shows who we are. It shows our heart and soul. She goes on in this chapter to explain how she has made her house a home with her daughter (she lost her husband years ago). She explains the foundations of a home.

This got me to thinking what my house says. Does it say "Home" or House. I started looking at the outside of my house. It is a double wide trailer. Definately doesnt scream money. I havent had time to plant flowers or anything like that or the money to do it. There is an old freezer sitting on my porch because I havent had the money to pay someone to haul it off and I dont know where to take it. So the outside of my house says it is lived in but it doesnt exactly convey that homey feeling....that when someone pulls up they can say that it is a home...it is just a house....now the backyard is a different story. the toys speak for theirselves...

So I need to work on that, I need for my house to say home when I pull up and look at it and to me that means I need flowers in my flower bed and a wreath on my door...maybe one my kids help me make....

Now the inside......It says home to me. It is lived in, It has special memories everywhere and it is very messy sometimes. Now my husband is a different story. To him, a home is a place where you can come and relax...relaxing to him is not having to step over laundry or having to clear dishes out of the sink and not having to look for clean clothes...Now my house is not always like this but some days it is and on those days it is a day of stress for my husband...he cant come home and relax, he comes home and feels closed in.

So I have started trying to make my house more of a home for my husband....I have started trying to keep the laundry put up and the dishes done and keep the clutter picked up...now the toys dont bother him so much and the kids dont bother hime so...they are fine.

Also, Homemade meals make the house more of a home to me and him so we are working on more homemade from scratch stuff and less boxed convenience food.

Home to me is also decorations for the holidays and keepsakes setting around so I am working on the kids making some decorations....

What is home to you...Is your house a home or just a house......What can you do to make it a home.....and Shelter your Spirit?

Love and Prayers
Crystal

Baby Ethan

I came across this on Julies blog...It is a sad story and he really needs our prayers. So please when you say your prayers today, please say one for him. He has Leukimia.

Baby Ethan

Love and Prayers

Crystal

Philippians 4:8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Sarah is hosting this. It has helped me so much. I hope you will join. Have a wonderful day.

Love and Prayers

Crystal

My Bible Reading.

In the past, I have never read all the way through the Bible. Isnt that bad of me. I have never read the whole thing from cover to cover. I have read alot of it at different times, but never the whole thing.

I have a Bible REading guide in the front of my Bible. It is a Zondervan KJV Bible. It has three diferent reading tracts to guide you to reading your bible. I have started on the first tract and if you read it everyday, it should take you six weeks to get through it. It has three different parts. I am doing this mostly because I cannot read the same book of the Bible for very long at a time.. It has to do with my manic mind,,,I get bored. Yes I know I am not supposed to get bored with the Bible but I do.

So to share a little of what I have been reading with you, I will list the scriptures that I have read so far and say what they say about it.

Part 1 Tract 1
Two weeks on the life and teachings of Jesus.

Luke 1: Preparing for Jesus arrival.
Luke 2: The story of Jesus Birth
Mark 1: The beginning of Jesus Ministry
Mark 9: A day in the life of Jesus
Matthew 5: Jesus teaches the sermon on the mount.

Tommorow I will read....Matthew 6: Jesus teaches the sermon on the mount.

I will try to post what I am reading every day and when I begin tract two I will let you know...

Relaxation

You know I always thought that people were crazy when they said they meditated..Now I dont think they are so nuts.

I actually tried it this morning. I sat in my livingroom floor before the kids got up and I just did the deep breathing and clear your mind kind of thing...I felt so much better. It was like I could feel the tension leave me and i could just relax.

I think in the morning i am going to try it outside. You know early in the morning, you can still hear the crickets and the night sounds. I love that time of day. So relaxing in its self but add meditation to it. Even if I have to get up before Paul I think I will do it. I can always take a nap with the girls right?

I will try to post some more stuff tonight. Right now I need to go switch the never ending pile of laundry and put up crayons so we can eat lunch.

Love and Prayers
Crystal

two year old knowledge...

You want to know how technical this day and age is? My two year old knows what email is when she looks at the computer screen..

Paul came home tonight (late) and was checking his real estate email, Alaina was snuggled up beside him and looks at the computer and says "You check your email Daddy?"

Just thought this was funny....her vocabulary has just exploded the last week or so...she is getting so vocal and so knowledgeable...(is that a word?)

Love and Prayers
Crystal

Kids Doctors appointments

Well, we had a good checkup today except for Jason. Kylie got a clean bill of health and got three shots and did not even cry...so she gets to go get ice cream with Daddy one day next week.

Jason is growing as usual. He does have alot of fluid behind both his ears so they are thinking about sending him to a specialist. We are going to be giving him his allergy medicine everyday now instead of as needed. It is a kind that they really arent supposed to take until they are 6mths old but he was on it as needed because he has such bad allergies. If that doesnt clear the fluid up then he will go to a specialists to see about tubes in his ears.

Alaina did not have to see the doctor yet....she is not feeling good and has some more lymph nodes swollen but nothing is wrong as far as we can tell. So if she starts feeling worse or runs fever this week then I will have to take her in.

Anyway, I promised them we would go outside for a little while so we need to get out there before it gets dark on us. I need to finish mowing the yard I just really dont want to tonight...

Love and Prayers
Crystal

Weekly Happenings and Menu

I am hoping to get back to posting this week on a daily basis. I hope to do more of the stuff that I have been wanting to participate in like Thankful Thursdays and stuff. But that will require me to get a good nights sleep so I can get up earlier in the morning because I will only be posting first thing in the morning unless something just happens that I cant resist posting about throughout the days.

I have to take Kylie for her four year checkup and Jason for his six month checkup Monday. The rest of the week, I am going to try and stay home and keep our schedule going.. They have been doing okay except for at night since Paul has been working late, they have been staying up waiting on daddy to get home so they havent been getting much sleep.

We have been working on the inside of our new church building the past two sundays...they now have the floor down and are going to start wiring and plumbing it next week. The next few sundays until we get it done will be spent there so we will be having sandwiches most sundays.

My menu planning usually runs two weeks because we get paid every two weeks. I am going to try to stick to it as much as I can but some days may get switched around due to whatever happens in out house. The list is backwards though.. the sunday that is at the top of my list is actually the sunday after next (in two weeks) I didnt feel like switching it back around tonight I am tired after today and I didnt even do that much, I mostly sat around and held Jason and watched kids play while the men worked.

I am hoping to also put up some notes on some books that I have been reading and some the Bible Reading tract that I am following. I may or may not get that done though.

I need to go get some laundry started and get my dishes in the dishwasher and get baths before bedtime so....I will try to post something in the morning.

Love and Prayers
Crystal

Mom my ride.....

Christine had this posted on her blog....You have to watch....so hilarious...but if anyone ever did that to me I would be......ohhhhhhhhh dont ask...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEFE3B0Rje0


Love And Prayers
Crystal

UPDATE ON REAS

I have been updated on Reas's condition. He is now in DC. He is awake, and in good spirits. He has told the doctors tha the is ready to get going. So that is a good sign.

Please continue to pray for them as this is a long road ahead of them in the healing process.

Prayers
Crystal