I'm still alive!! And Happy Fourth!!

Just had a few minutes to stop in and say

Hi! I'm still around!!

We're still in Hotlanta Atlanta

having a really good time!

Acutally, the weather has been much nicer

that I thought it was going to be!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I did a little catch-up reading tonight, but

didn't even almost get caught up, so

if I haven't commented on your blog in

a while, know that I will as soon as I can!!

I'll post more when we get home-we'll be

home Sunday afternoon, but I don't imagine

I'll get another chance to post before Monday.

So till then my friends,

I miss you all, and have a

Happy Fourth of July!!

TTFN,

P.S. Sorry I don't even have one picture to post...

the camera is in the van!

Sentimental Saturday...

As a child of the 80's, there are many items that

send me flying back to a particular age or time.

Swatch watches, care bears, power ballads,

tight rolled pants (OMGosh-who didn't do this??)

hammer pants, big hair, need I go on?

Cause I could go on a while.

There are always things that make impressions

on us as we grow up, and really, music probably makes

the biggest impression. Dick Clark once said,

"Music is the soundtrack of life."

How true that is!

How many times have you heard an 'old'

song and been transported back to an exact

moment in your life? Maybe it's just me-I'm a bit

of a music fanatic, and there is always

music around me-I always have the radio

on-in the house, car, outside, etc.

And I just wanted to point out that Michael Jackson

was a huge part of growing up for me.

This was back when MTV actually played videos!

I can remember seeing the Beat It video and

actually thinking Wesley Snipes could kick

Michael's butt, but also being happy in the end

when they just danced!

I can remember thinking the path that lit up in

the Billie Jean video was the coolest thing ever.

I can remember sitting in my Memaw's living

room with all my older cousins

(Keri, Keisha, and Kristi-I love you guys!)

-with the curtains drawn and all the

lights off-anxiously awaiting the premier of

Thriller.

I was 6 and it scared the pants off me!

(Not that I would ever have admitted that!!)

Vincent Price's voice scared me as much as

the zombies did!! To this day, that laugh

gives me chills.

I was and still am amazed at MJ's unbelievable

dancing skills. No one can move like he can-

go visit youtube, and watch some moonwalk

then look up the video for Smooth Criminal.

Guaranteed to blow your mind.

We all remember the sparkly glove, the red

zippered jacket, the moonwalk, the superfluous

crotch grabs (what was up with that??)

the black hat, the hair fire on the Pepsi commercial.

That is the Michael Jackson I remember.

Before he became 'Wacko Jacko.'

I don't want to discuss the issues that came

later because no one knows what went on,

and there's no point in speculating. I just

wanted to honor the memory of one of the

greatest musicians of all time.

I am truly sad at the loss of part of

my childhood.

TTFN,

Tagged! Tagged again! And awards!

My new friend Kimber at

A day in the life of a girl named Kimber

tagged me last week with a photo challenge.

(The link will take you to the tag!)

That reminded me...

I was tagged by my IRL friend Kelli at

Random thoughts of a supermom

MONTHS AGO!

So I'm going to go back and do these in order.

I'm sorry Kelli, but hopefully late really is better than never!

8 is enough!

8 things I am looking forward to:

1. Going to Atlanta next week!

(and stopping at Priester's along the way!!)

2. Paul not working 7-12's

(he'll be off them when we get back!)

3. Emmie sleeping through the night-again.

(we're back to getting up several times a night)

4. The new Harry Potter movie.

(Yeah, I'm a geek)

5. Going to my belly dance class Sat. with Konnie

(Fun, exercise, and ME time!!)

6. Seeing Jacob on a coaster at Six Flags

(he LOVES coasters!)

7. The pool finally being ready-tomorrow!

(the kids are about to drive me crazy to swim!)

8. Did I mention going to Priester's Pecans en route to ATL?

(Super YUM!!)

8 things I did yesterday:

1. What did I do yesterday??

(there goes my mommy brain again!!)

2. More laundry than any person should do in a lifetime.

(gotta get everything ready to pack!)

3. Eat lunch with my hubby.

(he's taking off this week to work on his mom's house)

4. Blogged about my new haircut.

(which I'm still trying to get used to)

5. Watched the first Harry Potter with Paul and the girls.

(we always watch them all to get ready for a new one!)

6. Tried to lay out in the sun-but couldn't stay out there!

(IT'S HOTTTT!!!)

7. Skipped my usual Wed trip to the grocery store.

(Now I HAVE to go today cause we're out of stuff!)

8. Slept in for a bit cause Paul got up with the little ones.

(NICE!)

8 Things I wish I could do:

1. Be on time

2. Play guitar well

3. Sew-at all

4. Create my own blog background

5. Learn how to take GREAT photos, then...

6. Learn how to REALLY use my photoshop

7. Stick to eating healthy and exercising

8. Take ballroom dance lessons with my hubby

8 Shows I enjoy:

1. American Idol

2. Heroes

3. House

4. Medium

The rest are reruns!

5. Full House

6. The Cosby Show

7. Friends

8. Tool Time

Whew...that took forever-too much thinking!!

But it was fun!

I am supposed to tag 8 bloggers to

participate, but I am going to cheat a bit

and name 10 combo tag/award at the end of

this post and that should cover ALL the

tags and awards! If you are tagged/awarded,

you have to participate in everything!

Unless you have already done one of these

tags/awards (like Kelli with the 8 things tag and Kimber

with the picture tag!) then you can just do the

ones you haven't participated in and

link to the ones you have!

Now for the photo tag from Kimber...
First folder, tenth pic.

This is such an exciting pic from our trip

to Ruby Falls! {insert heavy sarcasm at will}

Many of their stalagtite/stalagmite formations

looked like different items-this one apparently

looked like a 'leaning tower.' It's funny how things

look so cool when you're looking at them in person,

but they just don't come across in pics!

Guess you had to be there!!

Next, I received the Kreativ Blogger award

from Lisa over at Chapman Crazyhouse.

She's a super cool mummy with 5 kids of her own!

5-kid mummy, umm, I mean mommy's rock!

The really cool thing is, her kids are almost

the exact ages mine are!

And one more cool thing-she lives in

Austraila! (Hence 'mummy')

I love the Australian words!!

Anyway, she nominated me for this award for

my kreativ use of cheerios and foreheads!

Thanks, Lisa!!

Lastly, (yes, I promise there is an end coming soon!)

Kimber gave me this Scrap Honesty thing.

Thanks, girl! And Happy Birthday!!

Basically I have to share 10 honest things about me.

1. I sing and play the piano, but I can't do both

at the same time! Wish I could!

2. I bit my fingernails everyday of my life,

with many failed attempts to quit. After Paul

and I started dating he said,

'Please, baby, don't bite them anymore.'

And just like that, I didn't. Wierd.

3. I LOVE rock-n-roll. All of it. But not

the new stuff. I find very little redeeming

qualities in today's music. I'm totally stuck in

the 80's.

4. I'm a speed demon. My dad was a racecar

driver on the weekends when I was growing

up, and he actually tried to get me to race

his car when I was 16. I wish I had!

Of course, I don't drive that way when my kids

are in the car, but when I'm alone, I crank up

the rock-in-roll (see #4) and put the

hammer down. (usually this happens

when I'm in Paul's truck. The minivan's hammer

just doesn't quite cut it!) This is also

a major stress reliever for me.

5. I hate to shave, and truly, I don't do it that

often. I know-yuck. But even Paul's used to it by now,

and I have gotten better in the last few years.

6. I have never broken a bone.

7. I would love to have a few more biological

children and then adopt a few. As it stands, we

have agreed on one more biological and the adoption

thing may be out of reach cause the more bio kids

you have, the less they want to let you adopt one.

8. I wanted to be on Broadway. It's what I originally went

to school for, but God had different plans! I'm so glad He did!!

9. I am TERRIFIED of spiders. Seriously.

10. I'm really laid back. I tend to take everything

in stride and not stress much at all. I'm also a total

goofball, but not until I know you really well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

OMGosh! My fingers may cramp from all this typing!

So, here's the bottom line. If I nominate you, you get

to do all the tedious, hand cramping typing

really fun interesting stuff I just did! :)

Remember, if you already did one of these, just

put a link to it! If you won an award, copy and paste

it onto your blog. In no particular order:

1. Amanda at proud mommy of 4.

2. Kelli at Random Thoughts of a Supermom.

3. Konnie at The Dooley's.

4. Christie Rose at

The Secret Life of an American Wife and Mom.

5. Tracy at Simply Smith.

6. Erica at Scottsville.

7. Mimi at He & Me +3.

8. Kimber at A Day in the Life of a Girl Named Kimber.

9. Lisa at Chapman Crazyhouse.

10. Leigh at the crazy world of the SHELTONS.

I hope everyone will join in and play along! Thanks!

And I just wanted to point out that I am

getting close to 100 posts!! Yay!!

That means another giveaway-this time

I will be giving away something yummy

from somewhere I mentioned in this post!

TTFN,

Wordless Wednesday-when you give your hairdresser free reign...

~Before~

~After~

TTFN,

How much will God put on you?

I have to admit, I'm a bit of a sucker for

a baby story. I read blogs about families, and am

addicted to several where there is a sick

baby or the family has lost a baby. While I

don't enjoy reading about other people's misery,

I am fascinated to see God working through it.

I love to pray for these families and like to be able

to pray specifically for their need at the moment.

Many times if I am leaving a comment-

and I usually do-

I will read a lot if not all of the other comments.

And there's one saying I have seen on most all

of them at least once that really weighs heavy on me.

"God won't put more on you than you can handle."

Now, I know you have heard this saying before,

and it's beautiful in theory.

But it's wrong.

Our pastor did a sermon years ago about sayings

that are used as scripture. They have been said so

many times that people take them as gospel-but they

are no where in the bible. I'm ashamed to say I

don't remember any of the others, but I remember

this statement because not only had I heard it,

I used it. Not because I had ever looked it up in the bible.

Not because I knew the context of it's origin.

Simply because I had heard it used and assumed that

it was correct. I don't use it anymore.

The truth of the matter is, God will put more on you than

you can handle. Simply put, if we could handle it,

why would we ever need God? If we never hit bottom, how

would we ever look up? If we are never plunged into

darkness, why would we ever look for the light?

The bloggers who have reached this point in their lives,

the point where they realized they had no control,

they are the ones who know that God is the only one

who can be in control. They understand that His hand

is in everything that happens, good or bad. They may

not understand His motives, but realize that His plan

is bigger than ours. That doesn't make things less painful.

I don't think it always makes things easier.

But I think it gives them perspective on God that

those of us who have never walked that road could have.

Does this mean if we have to go through horrible

circumstances to draw near to God? Of course

not. God's plan is different for all our lives.

And this usually brings the 'why' questions:

Why me?

Why not them?

Why not me?

We can't answer any of those questions.

And we'll never find peace searching for the answer.

But God has the answers and we have to

trust that He knows the plans He has for us,

even if they are not our own.

God will put more on you than you can handle.

Sometimes He breaks us to bring us to Him.

It's hard to understand the why's, but I don't think

we are supposed to get the why's. Yet. One day

we will have all understanding, but by then I

wonder if it will truly matter anymore.

God uses our trials to draw us close.

He uses them to make us strong

by allowing us to see our weakness.

He uses them to refine our faith

by giving us grace to get through the day.

He uses it to define our walk,

by leading us down His intended path.

He uses it to reveal Himself through us

by giving us a peace that can only come from God.

He creates beauty from ashes,

always bringing good from the bad.

I want to type more, but I am tired, and

my brain is slowly going to sleep without me.

I will leave you with this beautiful verse:

Therefore, having been justified by faith,

we have peace with God through our Lord

Jesus Christ, through whom also we have

access by faith into this grace in which

we stand, and rejoice in hope of the

glory of God. And not only that, but

we also glory in tribulations, knowing

that tribulation produces perseverance,

and perseverance, character,

and character, hope.

Now hope does not disappoint, because

the love of God has been poured out in our

hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Romans 5:1-5

TTFN,

Not Me! Monday-cell phone picture style!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday!

Where we get to air all our dirty

totally clean laundry from the past week.

Created by MckMama over at

My Charming Kids

as a way to ease all the mommy guilt-

without really fessing up to anything!

Join in, read along, then hop over to MckMama's

blog and read what she and all the other

moms have not been doing this week!

So, this week I am not going to share with

you the fun of going out and about with my brood.

Not that there's anything at all to talk about.

Like, Jacob, for instance. He's totally all boy, all the time.

He would never put on hula apparel at Target-never

encouraged by Sydney-and dance down the aisles doing

the hula. He's so not in touch with his feminine side!

And since he would never do this, I certainly would

never take a picture of it with my phone

(since I have my camera with me everywhere, right?)

and then I would refuse to post it on my blog for the world

to see! Hula on, my handsome boy, and keep

giving me pictures to not show your future wife!

Cause I would never embarrass you like that!

While eating at Chick-Fil-A, we don't enjoy the free
Cheerios they have available for the little ones. While
munching on these yummy Cheerios, if a big sister-
not naming any names Ashton-
decided to lick one and stick it on a sweet Emmie's forehead,
I would absolutely not allow it to stay there the duration
of the time we were there because I didn't think
it was totally hilarious. I also wouldn't take pictoral evidence of
said Cheerio and never post it here
because I am sure that none of you would ever want to see such
horrific abuse of a cheerio beautiful baby girl.

Lastly, while perusing through Wally World, I would
never park a buggy containing my two year old close enough to
any shelf for him to be able to reach anything on it. I would also
never be paying so little attention to that particular buggy
(I mean come ON, I literally have 3 buggies people!)
that my two year old could have time to grab himself a box of
day old, reduced, jumbo blueberry muffins,
get them open, and proceed to eat HALF of one before
I realized he was saying repeatedly, 'I dot boo-betties, momma!'
Pay no attention to the half-eaten muffin in his other hand.
It is only an illusion.

And this is still not him eating his, while now offering me one.
OMGosh, I can't turn my back on this kid for a second!

I totally did not repackage the remaining muffins,
and at Ashton's recommendation
after tasting Noah's, did not go pick up another box
to go along with the one we already had.

My cell phone has never come in handy is these situations,
you know, cause they never happened.
Life with my 5 is NEVER dull.
And that's the truth. See you next week!
TTFN,

Happy Father's Day shout out.

Just wanted to say Happy Father's Day

to my wonderful, sweet hubby.

We were married less than 3 weeks when

I missed a period-and I think you

were more excited than I was!

And you have been just as excited each time!

You work long hours when we need you to

to support us so that

I can stay home and raise our family.

But you'd always rather be at home with us!

You love going places as a family-it

makes you so proud when people ask if

'all those kids are yours?!'

You are so funny like that!!

You are better than I am about carrying

around family pictures-and showing them.

You call them your 'man card.'

You are loving and playful,

rough and tumble,

sweet and affectionate,

stern and disciplining.

I can't imagine a better father

for our children.

Thank you for walking this road with me.

I'll love you forever-

and so will your children.

I love this quote:

Blessed indeed is the man who hears many gentle voices call him father!

Lydia M. Child

Tell your children's daddy how much he means

to you today!

TTFN,