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I drove across the United States with my grandparents when I was 11 years old. I remember everytime I saw a 'DQ' I begged them to stop and get me a chocolate dipped ice cream cone. I bet that got pretty old for them after awhile. Our destination was good old Ohio. That's where a lot of my relatives from my mom's side live.
When I was 15 years old, my sister and I went on an airplane to Texas. That was for something called 'Summit.' It was our Four Square Church Youth group. All of the youth groups from the U.S. came to that Summit convention. It was the bomb! Especially without any parents around. Just youth leaders. One of the youth leaders was particularly, I'll say 'strict,' with me. It was a woman that mistook me for her oldest rebel of a daughter. For some reason, she thought that I was going to end up a pregnant 15 year old run away. I guess that's what happened to both her and her daughter. Whatever, dude! She was pretty whacked in the head if you ask me. The only reason I was rebellious, was because her and my parents were always on my *** about every little thing. Oh, and I had a rebellious boyfriend that was two years older than me. I guess that didn't help. I think what really got me though those bad times was my sister and my friends. They knew what was really going on. I ended the bad relationship on my terms, not my parents, or my youth leaders. I know that all of those adults cared about me, and that they were just trying to save me from bad things that would happen. I see that now, because I am an adult, and I have children of my own. I really don't know what I would do if one of my kids ends up acting like I did when I was 15. I think that a lot of it has to do with what happens before they are teenagers. We need to know what they're doing, all the time, no matter what age they are. I was sooo sneaky, even before I was a teenager. I think that we need help from their friends parents also. You should be fairly close to your kids friends, and their parents. Don't just let them run down the street. You go with them, and pretend like you want to visit with the mom for a few hours while your kids play together. God has called us to protect our children. I will do everything that is in my power to always know what they're up to. God willing, I will always be a step ahead of them. I know all of the sneaky in's and outs. I am a former sneak. Ask my sister, I'm sure she remembers.

My first judgment...
Me- Oh, did I tell you that I decided to homeschool Josh?
Her- Oooh. Hmm. Wow.
Me- *smiling like a fool*
Her- Uhh, do you still have your daycare, Karlene?
Me- Uhh, yeah.
Her- Hmm.
*awkward period of silence*
I later realized that her facial expression that went along with all of her 'Hmm's and Wow's' made it very clear that this woman did not agree with how I was living my life, or raising my children. You wouldn't think that this woman goes to the same church as me, huh? Well, lucky me, she does. I'm not the only person she's insulted either. She has a way of making people feel about an inch tall. Or that you don't know what you're doing with your kids, or your husband. She's a 'Know-it-all.' How dare she judge me with her condescending, self righteous, attitude? Who does she think she is, anyway? I felt like saying what Josh has been saying lately. 'Hmm! How mean of that lady!'

Hi, this is Kandy and I'm stealing a post on my sister's blog to make sure her new comments work! ho ho hee hee

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Misty, water-colored, memories.
I was about 5 or 6 and we lived in our old house on McLarren. We had just gotten back from the beach. Normally, when you get back from the beach, you can't wait to get in the shower and rinse off all of that sand. Right? Well, not me. I was bound and determined, not to take a bath. My mother was none too happy about this, and also not in the mood for me to be acting so bratty. (I did these kinds of things quite often, or so I hear). So, what did my mom do? She shoves my ass outside on the cold shaded cement patio, grabs the hose, and just lets loose, full blast, directly towards me. I was screaming so loud, my dad came out there. Uh-oh.
Dad- What the *beep* is going on out here?
Mom- She wouldn't get in the bath, so I decided to hose her down!
Dad- Great, Rae.
In my mom's defense, I probably would've done the same thing. Except, since I have boys, they would love it. They wouldn't be screaming out of anger, they would be screaming shouts of joy. Crazy kids!

Serenity now, serenity now, serenity now......SERENITY NOW!
So, we went to go see Disney on Ice on Sunday. I enjoyed it, because it was the princess one. Joshua and Caleb enjoyed themselves, only on the silly parts. Bob however, did not enjoy himself. He enjoyed the time spent with his family, but he did not like the princess show. I'm so glad he came with us though. Caleb started crying because he didn't take a nap. All he wanted to do was sit on mommy's lap the whole time. Bob and I traded off. It was fun trying to get into the actual parking lot. It's free parking people, what could possibly be the problem? Some guy almost ran into our rental car with his big ole' SUB. That was fun. Then Josh says 'Mommy, why do girls always get into arguments?' Great. In my defense, I did not say any bad language. All I did was shake my head at the guy, and mouth, 'Uh-uh, I don't think so!' Oh yeah, and I honked the horn. I didn't have road rage, I was just trying to protect my family, from yet another car accident. It was also loads of fun trying to get out of that place, and back onto the freeway. How was I supposed to know that Broadway was a one way street? The signs were not visible at all. So, I'm driving along, all is well. Until, I hear honking. Then, I see oncoming traffic. Thankfully, I pulled to the side of the road on time. Bob was not very happy with me. But, he later confessed that he didn't see a one way sign either. So, I don't think that we'll be going back to the Long Beach Arena any time soon. Unless, of course, Bob wants to drive.

Things that have happened over the past month:
(Some good, some bad, some happy, some sad)
-Over Christmas break, we decided to homeschool Joshua (this would be a good thing).
-Joshua was swinging on the swing set, way too high for his own good, and he flipped himself right off on to the grass
-Bob has been helping me homeschool Joshua for the past week
-Bob's Grandma passed away the week before Christmas, which was her most favorite holiday.