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Thursday, July 30, 2009

Happy Birthday, again

My birthday is almost here, and my mother sent me a package in the mail today. The only problem was she addressed the package to Kimberly Walls. I haven't been Kimberly Walls in 25 years.

The postman didn't know who Kimberly Walls was, the address was correct but, not the name. He asked is this for you? I laughed,and told him my Mom must be having a rough week. I called her to let her know my package was here, and who she sent it to.

Her expalanation was, in her head, i am still Kimberly Walls, even though i have been married longer than i carried my own name. She said there was so much going on "with all of us children" that we were worrying her to death and running her crazy....Considering the children range in age from 56-40, that's really bad.

The very best part of my birthday next week, is that i have lost a year. Oh you sceptics, oh yea of little faith. I have not done any age shaving lately, it seems my Mother is the confused one, and the outside of my card said Happy 43rd Birthday Kimmie...Now i am never one to argue with my Mother , and last year when she asked me how it felt to be 42, i just thought ok...It seems mom has lost a year along the way, and as she is subtracting them from my age, and not adding them , i will go with it.

Happy 43rd Birthday Kimmie, again....crazy it seems runs in my family...Granny always said in the south you don't ask if there are crazy people in your family, you just ask which side they're on, in my case, i can honestly say, all sides thank you....

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

chickens

It was a very unpleasant discovery this week. A stray dog made its way onto our property sometime early Monday morning, and got into our hen house. It killed 4 of my laying hens. We were getting 5-6 eggs each day from our beautiful hens. The children really enjoyed (and so did i) checking the hen house, and collecting the eggs.

We only have our rooster, and 1 hen left. I am going to have to start buying more eggs, and more hens. We are suppposed to get a few layers from Rosemary, but they will not be laying until fall.

We are still on the look-out for the return of the chicken killing dog. Pepper chased him away, and so far he hasn't returned. I hope he doesn't, because one of us will have to shoot him. Strays are not only dangerous to live-stock, but pets and children.

Every evening when Ben and I take our walk the chickens would follow us, and we would lock them in their hen house. It is a lonely walk with only 2 chickens to chase us. I bribe them with apple peels or strawberry tops, watermelon rinds, these are happy fat chickens. Too bad they made a meal for a very ugly dog.

Saturday, July 25, 2009

boys will be boys

You know you are the mother of little boys when...
there are frogs hidden in a bucket in the closet, and in the bathtub.
...you are grateful if you only find rocks in your dryer.
...you receive lots of sticky hugs and gooey kisses.
...you receive rocks as a regular gift.
...you are very wary of anything that starts out mom, can i keep it...
...you have to give daily instruction regarding the use of soap, water and towels...
...you go to use your breast pump for an emergency, and discover the horns have been confiscated as impromptu guns, and you no longer have one..
...ketchup is good on everything, and i mean everything.
...no matter how big they get, or how little they still are, boys always need their mama..
...i know this to be true, because i have 6 sons, and the mama, i need this, or mama i lost this never stops.
...the very best thing about being the mama of lots of boys, is they always think i look beautiful, even when i know i don't.
...the worst thing about boys...they smell really bad...really bad, my girls don't smell like this. Sweat, dirty socks, bait, bugs, dogs, and some other things i am really afraid to identify....

Saturday, July 18, 2009

service announcement

We interrupt this summer break to announce that the seriously crazy lady has gone over the edge. Yes my friends it is true...the neverending task of caring for an extremely large family that thinks they need to eat every single day has driven her completely mental.

There are 8 children still living at home, a son and daughter-in-law next door, and a variety of assorted teenagers always in the house, and they are all hungry all the time...

Did i mention the laundry? the laundry helper has been sick for days, there is so much laundry piled in the laundry room, you could lose a small child . Adding insult to injury, Connor, Jonathan and Ashley all cleaned their rooms, and you can not shut the laundry chute.

We're not complaining over here, oh on, we wouldn't dream of it....we just grit our teeth and smile as Christian who is terribly ill screams non-stop. Alexandra is screaming because he is screaming. Jonathan is fighting with someone because he does, and Ashley thinks the kitchen is clean because she washed some dishes...

When the men with white jackets, and nets come looking for me, tell them i am in the back-yard hiding by the chicken coop, i need the rest.

Friday, July 17, 2009

a rose by any other name

The heat is still unbearable, and to make things worse, we have been hit by the icky, yucky summer crud. I can't send my rambunctious little boys out to play because of the heat warnings.

I have children with a variety of illnesses from vomiting to fever, and ear infections. Ben is also sick, and still going to work in 106 degree heat .

I am thinking about moving to somewhere like Antartica, where i won't have to worry about the air conditioner freezing up or, enormous electric bills to go along with it.

I have even broken my own rule about not using the dryer and air conditioner at the same time. the humidity has been so high, that the laundry is not drying well on the line. A cold front was supposed to come in yesterday, but all we got was thunderstorms, and soaring humidity.

I am not sure these weather people even know what cold front means....I am still waiting for my neighbor to come cut and bale my hay...the rain keeps pushing that back...

I am hoping tomorrow will be a cooler day... something under 100 would be really nice....the children wanted me to buy ice cream or popsicles at the store, but in this heat, there is no way to get them home...

Antartica here i come

Monday, July 13, 2009

how hot is hot

We are stuck in that heat wave again. We are at day 5 of temps. over 100. Today it is 106. I can honestly say we are all sick of the heat. We are supposed to drop below 100 on Thurs., and then we will be right back in the oven again.

Ben wanted to take the children and go to the lake tomorrow, and let them swim and ride in the boat, but it is really too hot to spend any extensive time outdoors.

We are trying to get all our chores done before noon, and then we lay around read, watch movies, and even play games. I wilt in extreme heat and humidity. I have never really adapted to it. I just hide when it gets this hot. I go out early in the morning, or after the sun has dipped over the horizon.

Last night at 7:00 it was still 102. Even my chickens are unhappy... they are sitting in the damp dirt of my flower beds trying to stay cool.

Alexandra sat in Peppers water bucket to try to beat the heat, and i can't say i blame her. The weather man says we will have the rest of July, and all of August to face with extreme heat. I am praying they are wrong...

I am so grateful to live in the age of air conditioning and ceiling fans...Granny said when she was a girl, you had to stop working when it got too hot, and she slept on an iron bed in the yard under the pecan trees all summer long...I am so afraid of bugs and critters, i can just picture myself outside with a sheet pulled up around my ears trying to dodge the bugs, i probably wouldn't sleep at all...

I really hate bugs...

Sunday, July 12, 2009

the Holy Sacrifice

Fr. Adrian came for a sick call yesterday afternoon, he brought his goodie bag(he offers Mass twice on Sat.s at the prison), and offered to say Mass in our home. This was a new experience for us.

It was really lovely, the children doing the readings, and Fr. Adrian blessing us with his vocation. We sat around the kitchen table, and worshiped and prayed together. His homily was sweet and to the point. It did wonders for my soul to receive the eucharist, and then to be annointed with chrism oil.

I am so very grateful, it is unusual for a priest to say Mass in a private home, but Fr. Adrian said he would be back, and would send Eucharistic ministers in the mean time...he knows how important it is to stay connected and focused on Christ.

I am trying to stay focused and positive, but i am afraid...I dread round 2 of the Dr.s tests which will be unpleasant at best...Everyone around me says it will be ok, it is not going to be cancer. Only time will answer that...but, for now i am going to try to keep my fears and worries at bay... I am going to focus on the job at hand, some days it is house-work, and chasing children, on bad days it is laying down, holding the little ones and reading or singing to them.

I even calm myself by singing to myself...i love old hymns and sing them often. I really love hymns in latin, because i feel connected to the generations of believers that have sung them for centuries...

I am mediatating on my verse Psalm 46:10 /be still and know that i am God...I also keep running another Psalm over and over Fear not for i have redeemed thee...I have called thee by thy name, thou art mine...

I know life is uncertain, and we have no guarantees of tomorrow... my plan and goal is to be a wife and helpmeet to my dear husband, and a mother and guide to our children, the rest is in Gods' hands....

Friday, July 10, 2009

Boomer Sooner

Andrew and Tiffiany took me to town Wed. I had some errands to run, and like always the vast horde of locusts known as my children had struck again, and we were out of food. I just cringe at the amount of money we have spent on groceries this summer. The children seem to be hungry all the time, and my efforts at economising have failed miserably.

While Andrew was driving, i looked at the horizon, and was startled to see an enormous wall cloud. It was horse-shoe shaped and virtually wrapped around the town. I could see cloud to cloud lightning, and rain and funnel shaped rotations dropping out of the clouds. I was a bit anxious and made Andrew call home to check the weather.

When you are 21 you know everything, and my son proceeded to tell me no worries mom, it isn't enough rotation for a tornado....i told him to keep his eye on those clouds, and he replied do you want me to watch the road or the clouds? Both you smart aleck....

We made it home safely, but over the course of the next 12 hours, we were in for quite an exciting storm. The nws reported over 2000 lightning strikes during the course of the thunderstorm, but thank God no tornados...

I ended up with 3 children in bed with me, and Ashley and Nicole in the living room...Things are back to normal with the temps. over 100 again. It has been a topsy, turvy summer, and as usual i am right in the middle of it..

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

moonlight, fireflies and me

We recently spent 5 nights camping with our family at Lake Arbuckle. We like it because, the campsites are clean, it is fairly close to home, and the Lake is cool and clear.

Alexandra loved every minute of camping, she loved being outdoors all the time, we couldn't keep her out of the water. She was passed from person to person as she spent her time playing in the Lake. Even with sunscreen and a hat, she turned so brown, i know where my drop of Cherokee went. My brown-haired, brown-eyed deeply tanned daughter. I finally resorted to having her swim in her cotton pajama tops, but she never burned at all.

Christian and Sean loved camping , i think the marshmallows were their favorite part. I know it was way up on my list. Ben was searching for 5 minutes alone with me, but when you are camping with 16 people, there is no such thing.

We did sit and hold hands and watch the moon reflecting on the lake after all the children were asleep. There is something almost magical about moonlight. Being so far away from lights it took on a translucent glow.

I was under strict orders from my husband to do nothing. I found it very stressful. i don't really know how to do ;nothing, but i tried.. i sat on my new chaise lounge, and read Murder on the Orient Express again, Ben wanted to know how many times i have read it, but i can't count that high. It is an old familiar friend.

We ate a lot, played games, and listened to the boys play guitar. Ashley sang for us and the little ones danced to their own music. We had a great time.

Ben took his ancient fishing boat, and the children took turns putting around the Lake in his 1958 Larson. The boys went fishing everyday, put thank the good Lord, they didn't catch anything i had to try to eat....

Ben and the older boys slept under a blanket of stars, and even though i had the luxury of ;a tent with a double queen mattress, and a battery operated fan, i could look up through the canopy of trees, and count to the stars(and listen to the snores of all the teenage boys)i am not sure what was louder, the boys, or the ciccadas.

I must confess, however, that after 5 nights at the lake, when 500 people or there-abouts poured into the campground thursday night, i was more than ready to go home. I was so happy to return home, i could have kissed the floor. I was thrilled to climb on my own bed, i was overcome by the cool tile floor, and of course the air conditioner(i hate hot), My own shower, that doesn't have a low-flow head, i am not even sure there was real water in that mist they call ashower....

The only person happier than me, was Maggie the dog. She really hates camping, and really loves her tile floor....

Ben thinks we should go camping again before school starts...great idea babe...you have fun with that...Priscilla is sitting that one out.

Priscilla is the nickname, my dear tomboyesque friend Nancy gave me years ago, when she would goad me into getting on the back of her motor-cycle, or water-ski on one ski...her favorite line has always been, suck it up Priscilla...Priscilla is only going to be sucking things through a straw for the rest of the summer...preferably fruity drinks or margaritas with lots of ice, and lots of grade a tequila!!!!

Sunday, July 5, 2009

natures' fireworks

Last night we went to the annual 4th of July bash, but it seems the weather had other things in mind. The forecast was for isolated thunderstorms, but the entire southeastern part of the state was hammered.(as my hubby calls it)

As we drove in, the weather shifted with us. Dinner was served with sprinkles, they started the fire-works with a light rain, and shifting winds, by the time we were looking for dessert, the thunder and lightning was putting on its own storm.

Some folks ran for their cars, the rest of us took shelter in the lounge, thank the good lord the desserts were all inside. We decided to wait out the storm, because we knew we couldn't outrun it with (every child in 3 counties), and because we would be driving back into it.

The lightning hit so close, we could feel the ground shake, but we were safe, and dry. It was a spectacular display, just not the one we had in mind. After about an hour the storm had subsided enough for us to head for the car.

Did i mention we were wearing dresses, and they were white, and we were completely drenched, we arrived back home looking like drowned rats or something of the sort. Nicole and I wrangled the wet, cold children and got them ready for bed. I followed suit, and was in bed by 10:00.

I don't think i have been in bed that early on the 4th, ever. We still had a great time, and ate great food, and laughed with very dear friends. And, very soon we will be going back to the Lake for an evening of very great fire-works.

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Independence Day

Happy 4th of July!!!
I just love this Holiday. I have no gifts to buy or wrap, the food is simple and good. It is a low key, low stress, just enjoy it, kind of day.

The best thing about this Holiday is the big bash held at my friends Mr. and Mrs. M. The hottest ticket around is an invitation to their blow-out. We make some side-dishes, a few desserts, fill an ice chest full of drinks, and load the kids (every child in 3 counties) and head to the Lake.

We usually have 15 to 20 people with us. They have a live band and an enormous fire-work display. They live in a house over-looking the Lake, and it is so much fun. Good food, good friends, always equals great fun.

I just want to remember all those who made our Independence possible. The nameless heroes, who fought and bled, and died for us, and continue to do so today. I feel a great swelling of pride when i see our flag flying, or hear the national anthem played, today it is so much sweeter.

Happy Birthday America, I Love You...long may you wave...