Re-Gifting
I needed to go shopping last night, for a mom's Christmas party. Our kids used to go to school together. That is, until the principal went nut-so. He literally had a nervous breakdown I think. We had to shut the school down because there just wasn't enough money to keep it open. Oh yeah, and did I mention that the principal went nut-so?
Anyway, I was trying to figure out how to pay for the gift. I said to Bob, 'Should I return your gift?' He said, 'Let me get this straight, you're going to return my gift, so you can go and buy another gift?' I said, 'Oh, I guess that wouldn't make any sense.' It's supposed to be a white elephant gift exchange. I don't have anything in my house that I would want to give to someone else in a gift exchange. That's how it was supposed to be. I can't do that. I can't re-gift. You wanna know why? Because my life is like that game that you play, 'Name an actor and I will trace them back to a movie that had Kevin Beacon in it.' A friend of a friend will know me and see that re-gifted gift, and it will be something she gave me like ten years ago. It always happens. So, I forgot that I had some cash in my wallet from the grocery store. The cashier forgot to ask me for my Ralph's card. I called her on it. She recalculated, and I got like $14.00 back in cash. Even though I paid by check. Score! So, I go to Target. It wasn't too crowded. I got a candleholder, some tea lights, and some Chai apple cider tea. All of the mom's love that Chai tea; I don't get the fascination, but oh well. It might be because I'm the youngest mom there, and I'm not old enough to drink tea? I don't know. Hopefully the gift will satisfy their hunger for tea.

Joshua's F.A.Q.
While he's eating pizza and chocolate milk for breakfast.

J: Mom, how come it says Wild Cherry?
Me: Because, maybe they found it in the wild.
J: How come it always says that it's wild? Why can't it just say cherry?
Me: They think that we'll buy more if it says wild.
J: What would be more exciting, staying at Spain forever, or staying at Spain for one day?
Me: Forever!
J: Because we can listen to Mariachi's and watch bull fighting forever, huh?
Me: Absolutely!
J: Why does Mr. Crab's like money so much?
Me: Because he's greedy.
J: Is he a robber?!
Me: No.
J: Remember when Mr. Crab's just liked to mess with Sponge Bob and Patrick? How mean is it to mess with someone?
Me: It's kinda' mean.
J: Why are you laughing? (He starts laughing too)
Me: Because you ask so many questions, and I think it's cute!
J: (Immediately stops laughing and points his finger at me) I am not cute!
Me: Oh yeah, sorry, I mean Handsome.
J: Yeah, handsome, NOT CUTE!

Scared of Santa
check out these pictures of kids on Santa's lap. It's awesome!

You have the Rossetti girl look. You are the kind
of girl pre-Raphaelite painters admired; tall,
slender, and fair as a lily flower. The
pre-Raphaelite girl had dramatic beauty; long
neck, large soulful eyes, full shapely mouth
and masses of wavy hair. The pre-Raphaelites
painted girls like this, they showed them in
dramatic situations dressed as famous
characters in legends, plays and poetry. The
favourite colours of the artists were russet,
green and gold. The following artists would
have loved to paint you; Holman Hunt, John
Everett Millais, Edward Burne-Jones, William
Morris and Dante Gabriel Rossetti.


'Pretty As A Picture' - Which Artist Would Paint You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Thanks Kandy!

It's 9:30am.
My sons are still asleep.
They're still asleep!
I should put them to bed at 11:30 every night.

A Christmas Card from Jessica
This is an e-mail I got from Jessica's mom, Lisa:

Hello friends

I hadn't given any Christmas cards out this year, but I had a small
gift for a friend and wanted to write her a note. I remembered that I had
a few cards left over from last year. When I found the cards and opened
them I realized that they were the cards that I let the girls color on
while I was writing cards out last Christmas. The first three cards had
Christina scribbles all over them. I smiled and remembered sitting down
and watching the girls do Christmas cards and Christina pretend to copy
Jessica and I. Then I saw a card that Jessica had colored ALL over. It
was like finding treasure. Then I found with it the envelope that was
also decorated and said "Mommy" on it! It was so sweet. I hurried to read
the card to see what it said. It had pre printed in the corner her
favorite scriptrure John 3:16! The rest of the card read (pre printed):

At Christmas and Always
In all of the universe,
In all of eternity,
There is no greater love than the love of Christ.

May Jesus Christ. Who is Love and taught us to love,
Be the joy of your heart and the light of your world
Forever.

After that she had stamped little music notes all over the card. I
imagine she is singing to Jesus right now.
Isn't that sweet that the Lord planned a year ago for me to get this
card from her? I would have imagined that it was from her, but the
envelope even said Mommy! What a compassionate God!!! She colored two
cards. I'm giving the other one to Ted.
I thought of all of the people praying for us and wanted to share with
you how we are being blessed. These days seem more difficult with
Christmas and family traditions being so awkward. But the Lords mercies
are new every morning and His faithfulness is Greater than our grief. By
His grace we are still able to praise and trust our Soverign.

Merry Christmas,

Lisa & Ted

I'll tell you the story behind this e-mail. Bob and the guys had a LOTR party at Ted and Lisa's. Lisa recieved a Christmas card from us recently. She went searching for a card to give us. She found one, and some other ones from Jessica from last year. Bob said that when she found them, she went upstairs for a long time. Oh my gosh. I hope I didn't make her feel even more sad by sending her a card. I've been going to the gym with Lisa lately. She's doing well on the outside. Which is an amazing thing. I would be crawled up in a ball somewhere hiding. I just cried my eyes out when I read this e-mail. I realized that I was the friend she was talking about. Lisa is an amazing woman. She told me last week when we were working out, that when people at church ask how she's doing, she thinks about how much pain that they have gone through also, and she prays for them. Because they are missing Jessica just like she is. Now I feel really selfish. Wow.

Here we go a caroling
We went caroling last night with our church around the nice area of Artesia. Actually, we weren't in the nice part of town. But, the people loved us singing for them. The greatest response was when one lady got out her video camara. That was pretty awesome. I forgot to bring water, so my throat got all dry. I was surprised that Caleb didn't beg us to bring the stroller. He did want to hold my hand the whole time though. That was weird. Usually he wants nothing to do with my hand. He would rather just run into the street by himself. Little dare devil. Joshua said some comments that was probably not the best thing for business. But that's ok. We were handing out info about our church, when the people would answer the door. A few people had little tiny dogs. This was not good for Josh. He hates little dogs. I don't know why, maybe because they scare the crap out of him. He yells out, 'I don't like dogs to jump up on me, they get my pants dirty and they scratch my legs!' Josh is not the quietest one in the bunch. In fact he's the loudest, especially when he's all excited, and outside at night. He's my little Werewolf.

Santa had a little accident...

We went to see Santa on Tuesday at the Cerritos Library. We sat, while Santa read a story to the children. Then all hell broke lose when they told the children to line up to sit on Santa's lap. The children are not going to quietly line up. The are going to push and yell and scream to see Santa. The places at the mall are much more organized at these types of events than the library. And we're talkin' the mother of all libraries here. It cost them around, oh Three million dollars to bulid the stinkin' thing. It's a wonderful place, but get your ish together people! Anyhow, back to Santa. We stood in line for a half an hour or so. Then Santa decides he needs a ten minute break from the kiddies. Everyone panicked. Then, the workers got on the microphone, and announced that Santa hadn't left. He was just taking a little break. So we finally get up to Santa. Caleb, my four year old, sat right on his lap. He wasn't scared a bit. He told him that he wanted Sponge Bob. And jumped right off. That was that.(I forgot my camera, and the strangers there couldn't believe how careless it was of me not to record this momentous occasion). Now, Joshua, my almost eight year old son, wanted to sit on his lap. Joshua is 100 bills. I don't think Santa appreciated Joshua sitting on his lap. Oh well. Joshua pulled a 'Ralphie' and forgot what he was going to tell him as soon as he sat on his lap. Everyone is waiting. So, all of a sudden, all of these random strangers started shouting out to him, 'What about a skate board? What about a bike?' Joshua looked at each and every one of those people in their eyes and said 'No, I already have a skate board, and I already have a bike.' I did not say a word. I could tell by the look on his face, that he had forgotten what he wanted to tell Santa. Poor Baby! I saved him from the horror that this day was turning out to be. I walked up to him, while he was looking all depressed sitting there on Santa's lap. I said, 'It's ok buddy, Santa already knows what you want. Remember you sent him that letter?' Then his eyes got all bright and happy. And he finally got off of poor Santa's lap. As we walked off, he remembered what he wanted for Christmas, a Machine Gun. Later that day at home, Caleb remembered something. He came up to me and said,'Mommy, I think when Santa took a break, he went potty on himself. Mommy, Santa smelled like pee!' Poor Baby! No wonder he got the hell out of dodge. He wasn't stickin' around to smell that. I wonder if one of the kids peed on him. That's probably why he had to take a break. To try and get the skunk smell out. Gross! Well, I don't think he's getting the deposit back on that Santa suit.
p.s. I'm a little bit disturbed at how long Joshua sat on Santa's lap without even smelling the pee!

What do we do for Christmas morning?

Well, being that I'm at home all day long, you'd think that I would have all the details wrinkled out, right?
Wrong. I had all of these great idea's for a new tradition other than
what we usually do:
Wake up, run downstairs, open presents, eat cookies for breakfast, run to the In-laws house, take two looong hours to open presents, (because everyone has to take turns), run to my parents house, take two minutes opening presents, come back home, try to figure out where we're going to put all of these gifts that we just received, then collapse on the couch, while the boys kill each other.
Yeah, I know it doesn't sound like very much fun. But we keep on doing it every year. One year I just want to go rent a cabin in the mountains, get a little tree,
put a few presents for the boys under there, drink hot chocolate, while Bob reads the real Christmas story out loud from the Bible and sing Christmas carols. I know that the rest of the family would never forgive us though. So, that's what we usually do for Christmas morning. Gosh, I didn't know how stressful our Christmas was until I wrote it down. I remember when I was growing up with my four siblings, my mom and dad would make us all breakfast on Christmas morning. I should do that. That sounds nice, huh? A girl can dream can't she?

Every Sunday morning!
This is how every Sunday goes at our house:
* We try to sleep in a bit, but the boys won't let that happen.
* I get up, take a shower, blah, blah, blah, yada-yada-yada.
* Then it's the most fun part of the whole day, getting Joshua dressed.
* We try to put nice church pants on him. The pants don't have zippers, buttons, scratchy material, etc.
* Joshua proceeds to scream at the top of his lungs. The neighbors hate us by the way.
* Joshua is still screaming.
* Joshua is still screaming.
* This goes on until we finally give in and let him wear his soft non-irriating sweat pants, or shorts.
* Or it goes on until we put Mariachi music on for him. That calms him down, but he still would rather go to church in a loin cloth, than wear what we want him to wear.
* By the time we're almost ready to go to church, I have a huge headache, Bob is yelling at the boys to come inside, (because they always seem to manage to slip outside somehow and wake up every neighbor on the block) and get there hair combed, and I still haven't put my make-up on or eaten yet.
This is every single Sunday, since the day Joshua was born. The first time we tried to take Joshua to church, it rained. He was only three weeks old. But by that time, his colic had pretty much taken over our whole existance. We didn't make it to church that Sunday. I actually have a picture of us standing by the front door all ready to go to church that day. Joshua was screaming, and his face was all red. We got in the car, started the engine, and Joshua was still screaming at the top of his lungs. He was not about to stop either. Bob and I just looked at each other and got all of the freshly packed diaper bags and the screaming Joshua and we went back in the house. That was the beginning of the madness. Hopefully one day, Joshua will look forward to Sunday's and going to church and learing about Jesus. Until then we'll just try to survive Sunday's.

Oh Christmas Tree, oh Christmas Tree
We got our tree yesterday. It's so beautiful, and not too big. Just right. We don't have a lot of ornaments, so I like the trees that are 5 or 6 feet tall. My husband doesn't think that the nobles smell as much as the douglas ones. I like the nobles because you can hang the heavy ornaments better. My husband also called me Clark Griswald. I guess I put too many lights on the tree. Bah! Never enough lights. The boys were so cute. They helped us put the ornaments on the tree. Caleb of course noticed that Joshua had more ornaments with his name on them than he did. I felt bad, that's what happened to me too. Us second born children have to stick together.

Shopping
So, I went shopping for some winter church clothes that don't either:
a)Show my cleavage
b)Show my belly button
c)That isn't see through
It's a hard thing to accomplish these days. Especially if you're a whole lotta woman, believe me. So, I was forced to go to the Big Girl store. Even though their smallest size, (14-16) fits me, I still consider it a Big Girl store, because of the fact that the largest size they carry is in the 30's. Yikes! Ok, back to my story. I wake up, and start to wash my newly boughten clothes. I try on the jeans, just to make sure that they're not too big. Then I feel this little marble size ball in my pocket. Umm...ok. That wasn't there when I tried them on in the store yesterday. I reach into the pocket, and I find a little rock. It kinda freaked me out a little bit. I thought, the boys must've put that in there. They do that all the time. But wait, they were at my mom's all night. They couldn't have done it. Oh, well. It must've been the little elves that come out at night. What can I say, God loves to mess with me.

Raised by wolves
When I was 11, I broke my bed by trying to move it. My parents didn't buy me a new bed until I was like 14. 14 people! I had to sleep on a mattress, on the floor, for 3 years! Actually, half of that time, I either slept on a blanket on the floor or in my sisters bed. Wanna know why? Oh, my parents met this weird lady at some conference. They felt sorry for her, and they let her live with us for like a year or more. Guess who lost there room to the weird lady? Me! It was so wrong. So very wrong! The lady slept on my mattress on the floor. My poor sister absolutely hated the woman. I think because she tried to be our nanny or something. It was a totally messed up situation. This woman was a total stranger, living in our house, sleeping in my bed, on my floor. Um...ya.

Boys will be boys

They're jumping on my bed...again.
They're pretending to chop each other up...again.
Bob and I are convinced that we're goin' out like the Mr. and Mrs. Menendez.

Why is everyone and their brother obsessed with asking me when I'm going to start "Trying again?" I mean, what is it of their business? It is a very rude thing to bring up after having lost a baby. Don't get me wrong, there are certain people that I don't mind talking with about the subject. But, other certain people just give me the willies when they ask me that question. It's like they're just asking me because they're being nosey, and rude. I'm confused on the whole subject as it is. (Whether to try again or not.) I don't need nosey's poking around, all up in my business.

This is the e-mail that I got today about Joshua's little friend from school. Little Jessica had brain cancer.

Subject: Jessica is home with Jesus

Message:
Today, the Lord answered our prayers and healed Jessica completely by taking her home to heaven this evening at 7:17 P.M. Jessica was doing well all day yesterday and had a good night of sleep. At around 10:00 AM this morning, her breathing became very labored and shallow. We could see what was happening so we told her she would soon be going home to be with the Lord and how proud of her we were. We told her it was OK to go and to not be afraid. She couldn’t talk but she communicated to us she could hear and understand us by squeezing her hand. Shortly after this, she was no longer conscious during this time of shallow breathing. We comforted her and told her continually how much we loved her. We were of course all praying for her too.

She passed on peacefully in our arms. With tears, we thanked God for loving Jessica so much that he wanted her home now. We thanked him for allowing us to be her parents. We thanked Him for making it so obvious that she went straight to heaven as Jessica loved Jesus more than she loved us. We thanked Him for giving us insight into why this happened as He used Jessica to touch the lives of so many people over the past year. If there were was nothing after this life, then Jessica’s passing would truly be a tragedy but we know Jessica is in heaven with the Lord so it is not a tragedy. It is difficult to say good-bye but we will see her again.

We thank you all so much for love, prayers and support. Please know that God has answered those prayers. Our family is doing OK and we ask that you continue to pray to for us over the coming days. We will have a memorial service for Jessica in a few days and will likely have the time and place announced on Friday so please check back at this website for that. Everyone is invited to the memorial service.

In closing, we give God the glory and praise and we thank you all so very much!

God Bless,
Ted, Lisa and Christina
If you would like to read more about Jessica, go to her churches website

1. WHAT IS YOUR FULL NAME? Karlene Sue Chapa
2. WHAT COLOR PANTS ARE YOU WEARING? Ivory.
3. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? ‘Somewhere only we know’ By, Keane
4. WHAT'S THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Krispy Kreme
5. DO YOU WISH ON STARS? Well, I wish on the Maker of the stars.
6. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Blue Green
7. HOW IS THE WEATHER RIGHT NOW? Cold.
8. LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My mom.
9. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT YOU THIS? Yes.
10. HOW OLD ARE YOU TODAY? 29
11. FAVORITE DRINK? Non-Alcoholic would be Cherry Coke, and Alcoholic would be Midori Sour.
12. FAVORITE SPORT? Football (Go 49ers)!
13. HAIR COLOR? Light brown with blond highlights. (Thanks to my sister-in-law Kristin).
14. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? No. 20-20 baby!
15. SIBLINGS? Yes, one older sis: Kandice (but everyone still calls her Kandy), three younger brothers: Bryan, Philip, and Thomas (but everyone still calls him Tommy, he’s the baby).
16. FAVORITE MONTH? October
17. FAVORITE FOOD? Angel hair pasta with Alfredo sauce from the Olive Garden!
18. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Sure Thing.
19. FAVORITE DAY OF THE YEAR? Christmas.
20. WHAT DO YOU DO TO VENT ANGER? The last thing I did was cut up my credit cards and my ATM card. I was angry with myself.
21. WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE TOY AS A CHILD? Paper dolls at Grandma Bette’s house! Woo-Hoo!
22. SUMMER OR WINTER? In So. CA? What’s the difference? I pick winter.
23. HUGS OR KISSES? Uh, depends who I’m giving them to. I do not kiss friends hello or goodbye. I give them hugs. The only people I give kisses on the lips to are my husband, and my two boys. I give hugs and kisses on cheeks to my other family members.
25. WHAT SEASON DO YOU LIKE? Fall
24. CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA? Vanilla with strawberry sauce.
25. WANT YOUR FRIENDS TO WRITE/ E-MAIL BACK? Yes!
26. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Kandy!
27. WHO IS LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Those who already sent this
28. LIVING ARRANGEMENTS? I have a wonderful husband, Bob, (not Rob) two boys (Joshua 7 and Caleb 4) and one fish, oh, and the neighbor girl KC that’s always at our house.
29. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? When I was cutting up my ATM card.
30. WHAT IS UNDER YOUR BED? Shoes! Shoes! Shoes! And more Shoes! All of which are mine, might I add. I’m a shoe hog.
31. WHO IS THE FRIEND YOU HAVE HAD THE LONGEST? My sister, Kandy, and my friend Krista.
32. WHAT DID YOU DO LAST NIGHT? Moved all of our furniture into the dining room and kitchen. We’re getting new carpet, finally!
33. FAVORITE SMELL? When I make my Caramel popcorn. Mmm.
34. WHAT INSPIRES YOU? The Bible
35. WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF? I get scared everytime I make Bacon and sausage. Little splashes of hot oil burn me. I hate that! Oh yeah, I’m also deathly afraid of Clowns! Darn you Stephen King!
36. PLAIN, BUTTERED OR SALTED POPCORN? Salted! I love Salt!
37. FAVORITE CAR? My Dream car? Corvette baby! My favorite car that had the most memories? The Suburban that my parents drove all of us 5 kids in.
38. FAVORITE FLOWER? Sterling roses
39. NUMBER OF KEYS ON YOUR KEY RING? 6
40. CAN YOU JUGGLE? yes
41. FAVORITE DAY OF THE WEEK? Friday
42. WHAT DID YOU DO ON YOUR LAST BIRTHDAY? Everyone came over and we had our own never-ending pasta.
43. HOW MANY STATES HAVE YOU LIVED IN? 1,So.CA, and for about two weeks in Ohio on vacation with my grandparents when I was 11.
44. HOW MANY CITIES HAVE YOU LIVED IN? 7
45. HOW MANY COUNTRIES HAVE YOU LIVED IN? 1
46. HOW MANY CARS HAVE YOU HAD & WHAT WAS THE FIRST CAR THAT YOU HAD? The first car I had was a little white 1987 Chevette. It stalled on me when I was 8 mos. Pregnant with my first son. And it was raining.
47. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Bellflower, CA
48. WHAT COLOR ARE YOUR EYES? Blue
49. WHAT'S THE LAST CONCERT YOU WENT TO? REM baby! We're going to see Wilco next month. I can't wait!
50. WHAT'S THE BEST PRESENT YOU'VE EVER RECIEVED? A hope chest from my husband for christmas when we were dating.

Encounters
I've had some strange encounters in my life.
Particularly with roaches.

Story number one: I was about 6 years old. My family and I were at this crappy place to eat dinner. The waiter gave my mom her food. Then he gave me my food. The moment I was about to pick up my corn bread to eat it, a huge roach falls down from the chandelier onto my cornbread! We all screamed our heads off, except for my dad of course. But he had a pretty disturbed look on his face. It was that cop grimace(one eyebrow raised and lips pressed together, with the mustache of course).

Story number two: I was about sixteen, and living at my parents house. It was 6am, and I had to beat my four siblings to the shower before school. I turned the water on to take a shower. I'm washing my hair, when low and behold, I open my eyes, and the biggest a** cockroach I ever did see, staring right at me. I got the he** out of dodge as fast as you can say, 'Oops, I just crapped my pants!'

Third and hopefully final story: My husband and I were living in our first little apartment. I had to get up at 6am, (why is it always 6)? I got out of the shower, put a clean towel on my head, and walk into our bedroom. I did not want to wake up sleeping beauty, so I attempted to look for my clothes in the dark. Bad idea. I start to feel this little tickly thing on the back of my neck. I'm thinking, it's probably a stay hair or something. Nope, biggest a** momma was out to get me. It followed me from my mom's house to my new house. I started screaming and twirling around, hitting my neck as hard as I could. I threw the towel off of my head, and turned the light on. There it was, on the ground, still alive, trying to scamper away. Oh no you don't! I squished that cockroach with satisfaction. Why do those things creep me out so much? Oh because they want to eat me for dinner, or lunch or breakfast. That's why. Sons of b****es!

I'm sorry to post about something sad, but our friends need all the prayers they can get right now. My son used to go to school with Jessica, age seven. She had cancer in her brain. Last year, she went to Japan for surgery and went into remission. Six weeks ago, she was still in the clear. Last week she woke up in the middle of the night screaming that her head hurt. They went to the ER, and Jessica had an emergency MRI. The Doctor saw SIX new tumors. One the size of a golf ball on the stem of her brain, the others are all down around her spinal fluid. The doctor said that if he did an MRI just on her spine, he's sure there would be tumors all down her spine. The doctor told Jessica's father that if this was his seven year old daughter, he would let her go to be with Jesus. He told them that Jessica has three weeks to live with no treatment. Even if they did do any treatment, they could only treat a few tumors at a time. The other tumors would just keep multiplying while they were treating the others. And it would be very painful for her to go through any treatment at this point. If you breathe on her wrong it would hurt. I found all of this out on my birthday. I was in shock. I can't imagine what her parents are going through right now. We know that God is in complete control at all times. Please pray for Jessica that she would not be in any pain that medication could not get rid of. Her parents also want everyone to pray that Jessica would be able to have a smile on her face one last time, and to play with her younger sister one last time.

I'm planning a Costume Party the day before Halloween, for adults only. I don't have any idea's for an inexpensive costume that's not cheesey. Kandy- you should be getting the invite soon in the mail. I was thinking maybe I could turn one of my dresses in my closet into an Arwen costume. I just can't buy anything right now. Maybe I should just do what Kandy said, stab plastic knives into those little cereal boxes, attach them to my clothes, and Voila' I'm a 'Cereal Killer.'

Don't you hate it when...
...You go to a wedding, and your husbands old youth pastor is drunk off his a** and he whispers in your ear that your hot? That's what happened to me over Labor Day weekend. The funny thing is that he's also the one that officiated the wedding. Then at the reception, the bride and groom had paid for everyone's drinks. That's what did it, right there. I had like two or three. I don't know how many that guy had. Bob and I had a blast other than that though. We danced and drank the night away with old friends and no kids. We got a hotel for the weekend in Pismo Beach, without kids. Don't hate me because I had no kids for three days! It was a much needed break before I started homeschooling and all. It was so beautiful, and we had so much fun. I wish I had a digital camera to show you Bob's Mr. Ed Dance at the reception. It was Awesome!

Sooo... how'd your day go today? Good? Good. I'm just glad that someone had a good day. Oh, my day? How did my day go? Well, let's just say that I was forced to pee on the grass on the side of my in-laws house. Yeah, that was fun! I agreed to stay at my in-laws for the day. I guess to make sure that the plumber wouldn't take anything while they were at work. Little did I know, the water would be shut off. So, drinking a cup of coffee, plus a caramel Frappachino from Starbucks before I went to their house was probably not the greatest of ideas. The first time I had to go, I drove to my parents house just down the street with the boys. Well, that was all fine and good the first time I had to go. But after that, I just had to keep on going. So, I didn't go back to my parents after that. It's not a fun thing for girls to do what comes so easily for boys. Yay for me.

Wimp Rehab
For some reason, my sister and I have always attracted the kind of friends that are emotionally unstable, and extremely needy. Not all of our friends, but there's always that one friend that will drain us until we can give no more. It's not that they are daring enough at first to ask us to give and give and give. No, in the beginning, it's more like a co-miserating session, (or in reality, Kandy and I just sitting there, not getting paid to be their shrink). And it's not like they ever listen to what we say anyhow. So why do we even try? Because we're 'Fixers,' and 'Good little helpers.' We're just too nice, and we also have a magnet on our head that says, 'Attention moochers, and users! The party starts here!' Anyway, then they start trying to make us feel sorry for them. Then if that doesn't work, they lay a guilt trip on us. I used to cave in and ask if they needed my help all the friggin' time. I truly did feel sorry for them. I knew that they had a messed up home life, or past, or something. I felt like, maybe I'm the only one that is there for them right now. What if I never helped them? Would their world cease to exist? For a while, that's what they tried to make it seem like. I'm not so easily swayed these days. I'm not selfish either. I just know my limits now. And I can also spot a moocher a mile away. I'm still friends most these people. Not very close. But we still talk for the token ten minute catch-up conversation. That's about all I can take from them. If I stay talking any longer than that, I'll get sucked into the trap once again. Don't they know I'm in wimp rehab?

Debbie Downer has left the building. She came around last night and read an article in one of those God forsaken parent magazines. She started crying again. So, I officially told her to leave, and to never come back. I don't need her anymore. She helped me at first, but now she's really starting to get on my nerves. Damn those parent magazines!

I haven't been to the gym in like three months. I finally went back today. It hurt, but it was a good hurt. I feel so much better now. It made me feel alive and alert. I haven't felt that way in what seems like forever. Although it's technically been a week and two days. I asked my Doctor when we could start trying to have another baby. She said whenever we want. I don't think I want to try right away. It's hard to think about that, when all I think about is the one we just lost. I have hope, but my mind needs time to be sad for a little bit. I hate to be sad. I hate to cry. I hate to be so emotional at the weirdest times. I like to feel strong, and brave. I'm getting back to feeling that way, slowly but surely.

My brain has turned into jelly
I have lost the will to do the following things:
-Write out a check
-Get mad in general
-Exercise
-Cry
I have not lost the will to do these things:
-Live
-Love
-Read the Bible
-Go to church
-Watch funny movies like 'Ferris,' '13 going on 30,' 'The Office,' (that was on BBC but got cancelled. I recommend renting it).
-Playing with my precious baby boys
-Eat or drink whatever the h*** I want.
Including: 'Starbucks Frapps,' 'Cherry Coke,' 'Sour patch kids,' Popcorn (the real stuff from the microwave, not that diet crap), and finally, my beloved 'Cheez puffs!'
-Eat the above things for dinner.
(I know, I know.)

My brother Philip came and gave me flowers on Monday. Then he took me and the boys to the Aquarium in Long Beach. It took my mind off of things for a while. He's so sweet for bringing me flowers. My youngest brother Tommy invited us to go to the beach yesterday. It was fun, there were other little boys there to play with my boys. I went to the mall today, got a few birthday presents for my mom and my sister Kandy. I ran into an old friend that used to work with Kandy over at the bookstore. Now she works at Bath and Body. She was nice enough to send the things I was buying for Kandy from the store to Kandy's house in Ohio. It's less than sending it through the post office. That was really cool. Then the boys started getting antsy and running in the store. So I had to leave. It's fun when people give you dirty looks because you have no control over your children. I love it. Oh well, at least I don't chase them around yelling and cussing at them like some of the people Kandy has encountered by working at the bookstore. Yeah, that's the way to handle it. I guess the reason that I was shopping was to get my mind off of things. It's very theraputic for me. Even with the kids with me. They bring me back from La-La Land into reality. They snap me out of whatever self loathing funk I'm in. I really would rather have them with me, than to be alone right now. I told Bob that I was upstairs doing laundry yesterday, and the boys were downstairs doing God knows what. When I finally came downstairs, I couldn't even see the floor. It was covered with board games. I didn't even have the energy to get mad at them, or yell. I have gone through this with them many times before. Yelling and getting mad does no good. I just helped them clean it up. They were just trying to amuse themselves. I was just happy that they didn't go outside and run down the street, like they usually try to do.

I have some sad news. Last Friday I told Bob to stay home from work, because I needed to go to the Dr. The Dr. did an ultra sound. She did not see a heart beat, and the baby had not grown since it was 8 weeks along. I was supposed to be 12 weeks along. The baby is with our Lord now. Joshua asked me, in the middle of playing with his toys, 'Mommy, why did God make the baby die?' I told him that He wanted the baby to be in heaven with him. Every once in a while, I have my moments. Like every time I open my closet. There they are, mocking me, staring at me, those maternity clothes. I had to put them in my hope chest. Bob says, 'You're gonna where them again, don't worry.' I know I will. But I just can't look at them right now. I kind of lost it though, when I woke up last Saturday morning. My boys were watching a home video of when we lived in Orange. It was Christmas, and everyone was at our house. I was pregnant with Caleb. I was supposed to look like that this Christmas. I don't mind seeing other pregnant women, or babies. I just notice them more now. It makes me hopeful, and happy to see life growing in someone else. I am healing very quickly, physically, and mentally. I went to church the day after it happened. I just felt like God was calling me to go there. I didn't mind our friends coming up to us and telling us that they're praying for us. It was encouraging, and comforting to know that so many people were thinking about us and praying for us. God has a plan for our lives. He has lifted the burden of sorrow off of my shoulders. He is carrying my sorrow for me. He has spared me from being depressed. I am sad, but He gives me hope for the future. He sustains me in all times, good or bad. He is my rock and my salvation. I shall forever lean on Him.
Psalm 34:19 'Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all.'
Psalm 23
'The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me besides still waters.
He restores my soul;
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For His names sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
I fear no evil, for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You have anointed my head with oil;
My cup overflows.
Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.'

Two things that Do Not go together: Caleb and swimming lessons.
He wants me to go in the pool with him every time we go to swimming lessons. So, I did, until yesterday. I had to get out and walk Joshua to his teacher. It didn't make a difference if I was in there with Caleb or not. He screamed at the top of his lungs anyway. Then when I came back he stopped screaming finally! But I didn't get in the pool with him. The teacher motioned to me that he was fine. He said that he didn't like it because his arms got tired of holding on to the edge, and he couldn't reach the bottom of the pool, and the kids splash him when they kick. I remember going to the local J.C. for swimming lessons. Yeah, that wasn't fun. The teachers were all mean, and they threw you into the deep end off of the diving board. Um, is that safe? I don't think so. Especially since I didn't know how to swim yet. They don't do those things anymore. They figured that it traumatized the children, then they don't want to have anything to do with the water anymore. Well, I do like the water. But I still don't know how to swim properly. I know how to keep myself from drowning. The doggie paddle, or floating. But as far as swimming across the pool without losing my breath, not going to happen. Thanks a lot Cerritos College for teaching me a whole lot of nothin'. Joshua on the other hand is loving swimming lessons. He couldn't go last week. He had an ear infection, again for the millionth time. Poor baby. He's better now though. I hope that my kids don't have those bad memories of swimming lessons like I do. And if they do, I hope that they at least learn how to swim in the end.

We help Mommy
Is it sad that my four year old son has to be the one to get me motivated to clean my house? We've been reading this old book written in the fifties called 'We help mommy.' By Jean Cushman and pictures by Eloise Wilkin. I think that's what did it for Caleb. He so smart and sweet. He remembered the first thing that those kids did in that book. Get dressed, make mommy's bed, make our own beds. And that's exactly what we did this morning, suggested by Caleb, not mommy. He is my big helper. So is Josh. But Josh helps in different ways. He's very strong, tall and husky for a seven and a half year old boy. So, when we're putting groceries away, he helps carry the heavy ones for me. I love my baby boys. They're so thoughtful, loving and sweet. I'd better get back to them now. They're being a little too quiet. Does it say anything in that book about mommy going on her blog? Maybe in a 2004 version, huh?

For the first two weeks of me officially not working anymore, I felt free. Now, I don’t know what to do with my kids or myself. They’re bored out of their skulls, and I’m trying to tackle the daunting task of laundry, and dishes. I need a plan for this house. I also need to start thinking about what schedule for school I’m going to have for the boys for school this year. I’m going to home school them, with a growing baby inside of me, that’s due in Feb. 2005. Right in the middle of the school year. Maybe the baby will be part of our studies. We’ll see how it goes. Pray for us please. Thanks.

Well, I have some good news and some bad news, for all three of you readers. First, the good news: I'm going to have my third child in Feb. 2005. God has blessed us with two wonderful little boys Joshua (7) and Caleb (4). Everyone and their brother keeps on asking me 'So, do you think it's gonna be a girl this time?' Uh, I don't mind when my family asks that, but from strangers or church goers, it gets a tad bit annoying. The best thing in world that someone said to me was from a lady at my church from Nigeria that just had her 4th son. She didn't even ask me what everyone else had been asking, she didn't dare. Because she knows how it feels. She just came right up to me and said matter of factly, 'Ka-lene, it going to be a boy, just wait. Look at me. I wanted and prayed for a girl. No, I get four boys.' Then she looked up into the sky as if to ask God why He had done this to her. I felt so bad for her. But there is hope for me. It's just not up to me what I have. I don't care what it is. As long as it's healthy, and it doesn't scream it's head off.
Now for the bad news: I've misplaced my wedding ring on 4th of July. I put it by the computer, put lotion on my feet, went to church. A lot of people came and watched fireworks at our house. (Family and a couple of friends.) No one came into our bedroom that day. I started to look for my ring, because it's not where I left it. I tore up my whole room looking for that thing. It's been four days. I am very upset and sad about this. My husband gave me that ring when we didn't have a lot of money. And it's a very nice ring. It just has so many memories attached to it. On the same note the Bible does say to lay up your treasures in Heaven. I'm trying, but I also don't want everyone to think that I'm a single mother with another one on the way. Our Anniversary is on Aug. 3. I hope we can find it before then. We can't really afford to buy another one right now. I'll just have to go to 'Claires' Accessory shop and buy a fake looking ring. I don't know what else to do.

I'm planning a birthday party for my husband. It really started out as Joshua wanting me to buy him a Sombrero that he saw in the Oriental Trading Co. Catalog. He loves the whole Mexican theme right now. So, since Joshua's birthday is like 6 months away, I decided to throw my husband a fiesta for his birthday. Joshua's been known to be obsessed with certain subjects for long periods of time. Maybe I'll save the decorations and reuse them for his 8th birthday in Jan. The way that I remember what Joshua loved for the whole year was what theme we had for his birthday that year, and what he was for Halloween that year. These are just a few of what he has loved throughout the years: Prince of Egypt, Castles, Batman, Spiderman, Sponge Bob, Army, LOTR. At the moment, he loves every type of gun, sword, or weapon. He especially loves the mace, and is greatly upset at the fact that they don't sell those as toys. I guess we should take him to Medieval Times, and to a place that has a mariachi band. He would love that.

People I miss...

Kip and Kandy
Bryan and Kristin
Philip and Sarah
Tommy
My Grandpa

We went to a church picnic yesterday. It was very relaxing and refreshing. The guys played baseball and the girls sat around talking and, well we ate lots of good food. Caleb got sick in the middle of the night last night, and at church today, and we thought he was better so we went out to eat. Uh-oh. He got sick again. We're supposed to go to my brother's house tomorrow. If he's still like this, my mom said she would watch him. Poor wittle Tay-bub. (that's how he used to pronounce his name). The last time he got sick Bryan, Kristin and Bob got it from him. Josh and I thankfully did not get it. Hopefully no one will get it this time. I'm just washing my hands all the friggin' time. I'm always around sick kids at the daycare anyways. That's probably why I don't get sick from anyone.
Thanks Gramma Maxine for instilling in me the importance of washing your hands. And thanks to my mom for always babysitting rugrats so I would get exposed to their germs when I was little, instead of getting sick from rugrats now as an adult. I'm proud of my well built-up immunities against many germs. I actually went and took care of Kristin when she got sick from Caleb the last time. She thought that I shouldn't incase she spread it to me. I wasn't at all worried. I told her that I'm a mutant, and I don't get sick from humans. I just don't. I'm a freak, what can I say?

The week of Hell!
I am going to have a wonderful week off. I was off yesterday, thank the Lord! I was supposed to go and use my gift certificate that my husband gave me for mother's day,(pedicure at sister-in-law's beauty salon). But no one was available to watch the boys:( So, I had to reschedule the appointment. Ah, who needs a relaxing pedicure after someone just accused your son of threatening their son? Like they seriously believed that my son would acually try and do something while I was standing right there taking care of it. Whatever! Yeah, I won't say any names or anything. All I'm going to say, is they decided to leave earlier than they had planned. All-righty then! *rubbing hands together* Lets move on to happier times, shall we? I'll say what Kristin always says to my brother when they're having a little tiff and she wants to change the subect, 'Remember when you were in love with me?' It's cute, well I think so anyway.

On Memorial Day we're going to Bryan and Kristin's new house in Lake Elsinore. Next week we're all going to see the Big, Beautiful, Hearst Castle. I just hope that Josh & Caleb are good in the car on the way up there. We're driving in one rental car with my in-laws. We'll see how that will end up. It should be fun. At least we'll have someone else to help chase after our kids. Then we're going to a cousin's wedding in a Mission in Gilroy, CA. They had to book that 2 years in advance. I guess it's pretty popular. So, pray that we have a safe journey, and that we won't go insane. Thanks.

You're an Etch-a-Sketch!! You're the creative,
artsy type who doesn't need to actually utilize
a single muscle group in order to have fun.
Doesn't matter though, you're still cool.


What childhood toy from the 80s are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

The One Ring.
I love this ring, it's a masterpiece. That's all I have to say.

The final countdown has begun.
Three more dreadful weeks of this daycare. Anyone who's ever had their own daycare will know how happy I am right now. Don't get me wrong, I love children. I love holding them, playing with them, reading, and singing to them, etc. But not for three years straight, with no breaks. Not for other peoples children that is. For my own, yes. For my friends kids, yes. For my future nieces and nephews, yes. For strangers, no, not anymore. Thank God. (And I'm not taking His name in vain, I really mean it. Thank you Jesus for getting me out of this.)

Daddy bathtime conversations
Caleb- Daddy, why do you always say 'What da corn?'
Bob- Uh...
Josh- (interrupting) Yeah, why don't you ever say 'What da hay?'
Bob- Because I think that's a bad way to say it Josh. Josh, get out of the bath now.
Josh- But daddy, I'm trying to make fart sounds.
Bob- Great.

My husband helped my brother and sister-in-law move into their knew house on Sat. It's really nice, and closer to her parents. I'm gonna miss them coming over every Wed. and Bryan coming to see Joshua and Caleb before he drives to work, and going to the gym with Kristin. We'll still see them, we just have to drive further. I don't mind. I'm really happy for them and I want them to do whatever God leads them to do. Congratulations on your new home guys!

The sound of silence
Joshua's at my mom's today. It's actually quiet. I haven't heard that sound in I don't know how long. I'm not being mean or anything, I just don't remember when the last time it was silent around here. My two boys are just totally different. Caleb is more on the quiet side, and Joshua is not. That's all. They both still get into trouble, and they are both sweet babies to mommy when they want to be. I love both equally, but sometimes it's nice to have one of them all to myself without worrying who's gonna hit who, or who's gonna tease who, or who's gonna spill whatever on who, or who's gonna beg for whatever. You know what I'm talkin' about? Even if you don't have kids, you've seen them and how they are. Most likely though, if you don't have your own kids, you always see other people's kids at their worst. Here are just a few hot spots that I love taking my kids to! (Not)Like for example: the grocery store, Wal-Mart, Target, Toys R' Us, the mall, or out to eat. To sum it up, basically out in public, where they feel free to be however they want to be. Really though, I do have some places that I love taking them. Like: Amusement parks, the movies, the park, the library, for walks outside, or to visit relatives and friends. They generally act like nice little boys for mommy at those places.

For Mother's Day, I went to the mall, and bought this wonderful skirt, and a cute T-shirt that matches. I also bought a pool for the boys. Their other one has a bunch of holes in it from the cats. My husband got me a gift certificate for a pedicure at my sister-in-laws shop. He's so sweet, he probably heard me complaining about my Barny feet. He also gave me one of my favorite movies, 'The Breakfast Club.' Joshy and Caleb gave me a sweet card. So, it was a really cool day. I am very grateful for my two baby boys, and my husband who made me breakfast this morning. Happy Mother's Day!

I hate to sweat...
So why in my right mind would I go and join a gym? Well now, lets just think about this for a second... hmm. Because I'm tired of having tharms, cankles, dimply legs, and a chibble. It's actually not that bad once you get over the initial shock of seeing old, wrinkly, saggy, naked women in the locker room. E-gads! I shouldn't bag though, I'm probably gonna look like them when I'm their age. I started out with the water aerobics class, then went on to the yoga class. I highly recommend the yoga. Yoga kicks my butt. It's very relaxing though. The water aerobics is alright. It mostly works the legs out. My friend Vicky teaches that class. That's kinda why I'm going. I'll slowly venture on to harder things, like lifting weights, the stair climber, and the tread mill. Don't want to hurt myself now do I? Or God forbid that I break a sweat!

Whelp, there's no sleepin' in at this house folks! Not even on a precious Saturday? Nope. Why? You ask. Psh. Oh, because of these two little things that call themselves my sons. That's why. Was I like this when I was little? Probably. All I remember is that we got up early, went down stairs, got ourselves a bowl of cherrios, sat in front of the tube, and quietly watched the smurfs, scooby-doo, X-Men, G.I. Joe, or if we were lucky, Snorks was on. Ooo, I just got it! The reason we were so quiet is the fact that if our mom knew that we were watching those 'Bad, evil, satanic' cartoons, she would go bonkers! And the fact that our dad worked over-time for the sheriff's station a lot, and he would have our heads if we woke him up before 10am. So, that's how you keep five little rugrats quiet. Ah-Ha! So, now all I have to do is rent videos of the movies that I always say no to at the store, and put them on top of the V.C.R. in their room on Friday night. Freddy vs. Mike? If it keeps um quiet, I don't mind. Just kidding. What kind of mother would I be if I did that? Horrible! Well, If ya'll's got any idea's bout' how to keep yer youngster's quiet on a Saturday morning, then speak up, please! Thanks.

I have been watching home videos of Joshua and Caleb when they were babies. So, please excuse me, I'm feeling a little sentimental right now. Everyone keeps on asking me when I'm going to have another baby. Honestly, I really don't know. If you were to ask me that on Caleb's 2nd B-day, I would've promptly answered you like this, I would like to get pregnant in Sept. and have the baby in June. It would of course be a boy, because why would anyone want to put a poor little girl into that mix. Now, I'm leaving every last detail up to the Man upstairs. I don't really know if I want another baby right now. If I said that in a crowded, noisy room, full of people that knew me very well, you would hear the sound of crickets. Because anyone that truly knows me, knows that I am that baby crazy lady. It's true, I love babies, and babies love me. Everywhere I go, if I see a baby, I gravitate towards it, and it in turn, looks and smiles at me. That makes my day. This information however does not necessarily mean that I want another baby right now.
I think that my sister is baby crazy also. If we're together and we see a baby, both of us have goo-goo eyes. As adorable as they are though, she knows that she doesn't want any of her own. I respect her for knowing what she wants, and what she doesn't want. She's not scared to tell you that either. I wish that I were more like her in that area of my life. I am just now realizing that I can make up my own mind about what I like, and what I don't like. That may sound kind of silly to most people. But, I am a typical 2nd born. A lot of advice that has been given to me over the years, I didn't really understand until recently. I don't know why it took me this long to get it. Maybe I had to find things out on my own. Go through some hard things, and learn my lessons by going through those hard things. I am not perfect by any means. And I am sure to go through many more hard times in my lifetime. I know that my Father sustains me though, through it all. He holds me up at all times, even when I'm doubtful. I am so blessed by whom God has put in my life. I have a huge extended family, a wonderful, loving husband, and two sweet, handsome little boys. I am also blessed by all of my friends.

Things I loved about last weekend:
-Being a bridesmaid in my younger brother Bryan's wedding.
-getting to walk down the aisle with my husband.
-getting my hair done by an awesome hairdresser (but still not as awesome as my new sister-in-law Kristin).
-my sister Kandy, and one of the other bridesmaids bought Starbucks for all of the girls the morning of the wedding. Mmm.
-secretly running off to the beach with Kandy and Kristin the day Kandy got here from Ohio.
-having the privilege of standing next to all of my siblings as I witnessed my younger brother get married to the woman of his dreams.
-looking at baby pictures of Bryan and Kristin at the reception. So sweet!
-Watching Joshua pulling Caleb in a wagon down the aisle. (They were so adorable)!
-Dancing with the man of my dreams at the reception.

Lazy days
It feels like summer this week. It's so nice. However, it's very hard to teach when it's so nice outside. The boys went in the kiddie pool, and ran in the sprinklers. Then, they had a picnic lunch outside. I miss being little and not having a care in the world.
What do you miss about being little?

Don't you just love it when you see a light at the end of the tunnel? I know I do. Even though I don't really know all of the details just yet. I can feel that something is about to change in our lives. It will be difficult while we're going though these changes. However, I know that some things have to change in order for some other good things to happen. Like for instance, us fixing up Bob's grandma's house, and then moving into that house. Bob getting his degree; possibly getting a better job. I would then be able to quit the daycare, and stay at home with our three beautiful children. Sounds like a plan, huh? Well, the first two things I mentioned will happen this year sometime. The other things won't happen for three more years.
I am not pregnant! But I would like to have one more child in the future. Like three years into the future.

Kristin is the bomb!
I love my future sister-in-law! She's a hairdresser, and she just did my hair a couple of days ago. I love it! She's been doing my hair for a while now. I've always loved the way she's done my hair. About a year ago, Bob wanted to see me as his fantasy red head. So, I gave it a try. I don't think red is my color. I love the 'Highlights with light brown in between' look. She also does my sister's hair when Kandy comes down to visit us like twice a year. Thank you Kristin for doing all of our hair and doing such a great job!

My youngest brother Tommy, has a new girlfriend. Guess what her name is? That's right folks! Her name is Candy Sarah! Now, I already have an older sister named Kandy, and a sister-in-law named Sarah. If Tommy and Candy get married, I'm going to get so confused! What are you trying to do to us, Tommy? Just kidding. I'm so happy for him and Candy. I know that it's not anyone's fault that her name is Candy. I guess we're going to be like my dad's side of the family. My dad has two sisters-in-law that are named Debbie Holtzendorff. You can't really hyphenate that last name either. So, for a long time we were all referring to them as big Debbie and little Debbie. That's a little offensive I guess. So, now we call them Dave's Debbie, and Lee's Debbie. That sounds a little better. I guess I could just say my sister Kandy, and my brother's girlfriend Candy. I don't know. Or I could start saying Kandice, and Candy Sarah? If anyone has any idea's on what to do, please tell me!
Congratulations Tommy!

Yay!
Everyone in the daycare has pink eye. Wonderful. I really hope and pray that I don't get it. I would not go out of the house until I looked normal. Poor Caleb looked like Rocky. Joshua also has an ear infection. Who knows how many ear infections Joshua has had? Many, I've lost count. Poor little guy.

Pray that we would all be healthy for the upcoming wedding. My younger brother Bryan and his fiancee Kristin are getting married on March 20, 2004. They've been dating for 6 years. I am so happy for them. They deserve to be happy. The wedding and reception are going to be beautiful.

I'm a Muffin-Makin'-Homeschoolin'-Mom!
I hate it when my daycare parents assume that I don't mind staying late at work. The best part of it all, is that they don't even ask me, or offer to pay me extra. Maybe it's because they think, 'Oh, she won't mind, she's just babysitting. What else does she have to do? Go home and make muffins?' Hey, if I had time to make muffin's, I probably would! But that's besides the point. I have much better things to do, believe me. I feel like having them step into my world, for just one day. They would not like it one bit. So, before they assume, that I have nothing else better to do, than to watch their little rugrats, for two more hours, while they go to an Indian casino, they better think again.

Sorry, I just had to get that off my chest.

My mother-in-law's cat just scratched my foot. For no reason. I was trying to shew her into the back room. She got a little fiesty. She did not want to go in the back room, that's for sure. Then, she started fighting with the other two cats, as soon as I close the door. Freakin' crazy cat. She don't take no crap from anyone! I think it's because it was raining, and we don't let them go outside when it's raining. Poor kitty's. Their locked up in the cold, drafty back room.

Food I hate to eat:
-Raw Onions
-Runny eggs
-Italian Sausages (I don't like the little seeds that you bite into, eew!)
-Raw fish
-burnt anything, (unless it's a burnt on the B-B-Q hot dog)
-Rare beef
-anything soggy
-anything spicy
So, that's me. Just a plain Jane.

So, I didn't have a very good time on Valentines Day. Not because of my husband, he was a perfect gentleman. It was because of my cousin Crystal and her goat of a husband's wedding. It was horrible. It was the most chincy wedding's I've ever been to. It wasn't the decorations, it wasn't even the gym that they got married in that made it bad. It was the following things that made it untolorable:
-Freakin' Goat Boy (The guy just erks me)
-Big Red (Two of the bridesmaids mom, she was wearing a big-fat-red shirt, and she was the most obnoxious, bossy person I've ever met).
-My aunt Debbie (She was the mother of the bride, and very bitchy)
-All but one of the bridesmaids, did not pay Kristin for doing their hair.
-Smelling food cooking while we were trying to find a seat at the wedding, it was just wrong. The reception was in the same room as the wedding. You could hear people working in the kitchen during the ceremony. That's just tacky, and wrong.
-Some lady from my aunt Debbie's side of the family, saved the first four rows just for her family. My aunt Dianna let her know who the boss was. They were seriously arguing about it. I love my aunt Dianna!
-Goat boy was actually waving at his family from the stage. What the? Freakin' dorkus!
-My aunt Debbie made Kristin and I go and get the marriage license from the hotel, because she forgot it. I was this close to throwing it out the window on our way back to the gym.
-Goat Boy's sister was his best man. It just keeps on gettin' better and better.
-As soon as the ceremony was over, we were told to grab our chairs and put them around the tables that were set up. Uhhh...whatever.
-Here is the best part of the whole day. Goat boy leaves his new bride standing in the hallways of the hotel, still in her wedding dress, so he could go and get a massage! Oh-My-Gosh! If I were crystal, I would've grabbed him by his goat, and dragged him up to the hotel room! What the heck!

To end on a good note, we did go to B.J.'s after the wedding. Bob bought me a rose, and I had a couple of Midori Sours. That made my migraine headache go away real quick!

Oh yeah, and my uncle Dave was a real sweetie, he let us take a spin in the limo. He's so cool!

The chosen few...
Why am I such a sucker? Sometimes, I feel sorry for certain people, and I ask them if they need my help. What can I say, I'm a schmuck! Now, when I ask other certain people if they need my help, I'm really sincere. I guess what I'm trying to say is, that I don't mind helping people. That is, when I see that they truly are in need, but they don't ask for help. Do you know what I mean? Maybe it's just my pride talking, I don't know. When I'm in a jam of some sort, I don't go around to every friend and family member crying, and whining about it. Half of the people that I know, don't really know all the crap that I've been through. I'd rather keep it that way, thank you very much. Don't get me wrong, I do cry, and whine. But only to the chosen few. I've learned, through the years, to cut it down to those few people. They actually listen, and care about what I'm saying. It's not only that though. They also know exactly what I'm talking about. They go through it, right along with me. So, I want to thank you, and you know who you are, for always stickin' right by my side. I hope to be as good of a friend to you, as you have been to me. I love my chosen few, and I wouldn't trade them for anything. I thank the Lord in Heaven, for sending these angels to me. I did nothing to deserve them. But, nonetheless, God has blessed me.

I've been weighing over, for a very long time, whether or not I should talk about this. So, here it goes. My first son, Joshua, has something called 'Asperger's Syndrome.' It's a very mild form of 'Autism.' I'll break it down for you, so it's easier to understand. These are just some of the things that Joshua has to deal with on a daily basis:
-has trouble keeping eye contact.
-He has to ask everyone if they like Batman, LOTR, Whales, Shrimp, or any kind of seafood to eat.
-He can't tolerate jeans, or long sleeves. He insists on wearing sweat pants, and T-shirts.
-Lately, he's been wanting to wear a suit, tie, vest, and jacket. (Just like Bruce Wayne).
-Doesn't remember things that happen a few minutes to an hour ago, but remembers things from the time he was two years old.
-Has frequent meltdowns, (screaming, crying, hitting, etc.)
-Interrupts and gets very angry if you're not listening to him.

He can also be very kind and sweet a lot of the times:
-loves me to pay attention to his 'Stories' that he makes up himself.
-Fantastic reader, writer, composer.
-loves music, especially classical, mariachi, and 'Daddy's music.' (rolling stones, beatles, Elvis, wilco, radiohead)
-loves for me to pretend to be whales with him.
-Hugs and kisses me for no reason, and says that I'm a cute mommy whale.
-calls me a cute sleepy cat, when I sleep in on the weekends.
-Helps me all the time at the daycare. He's mommy's big helper! He only helps when I don't ask him to help. Otherwise, he says 'No more favors today, favor girl. Sorry, I'm just too tired.'
-Loves to learn about the Bible.
-Loves to sing songs in Latin.
-Excellent in Math, if he's in the right mood.
-Wonderful in arts and crafts. He's extremely creative, and expressive.
-Teaching himself to play the piano by ear, like his mommy. Every Sunday after church, he goes straight to the piano.

I just wanted to get these things out in the open. Not to offend anyone. I definitely do not want anyone to feel sorry for us. God is in charge of our lives. He knows what He's doing. I don't worry. I'm sorry if it seemed like I was complaining.
I was just stating some facts about our everyday lives. We have good days, and we have bad days. Just like everyone else. Thanks for listening.

No reason to blog. I'm just tired of looking at the map of places I've been. It's been a day, let me tell ya. It's hard to have my own daycare, and homeschool a 7 year old boy. I don't recommend the daycare part of it. Homeschooling wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have the daycare. Yes, I am complaining. It's just been a frustrating day. It's not always like this. I escape when I get to watch "The Bachelorette," and that Model show. Pretty much any reality show will do, but those are my favorites.

create your own visited states map
or write about it on the open travel guide

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

You're Spongebob Squarepants!


Which Spongebob character are you?
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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.

Some advice...
Do not, I repeat, do not call 9-1-1 if and when the following things happen:
-It rains
-You're driving your kids home from Burger King, in the rain.
-Some old biddy decides that she's not going to stop at the stop sign.
-You have no stop sign, therefore, you have the right away.
-Said old biddy still isn't stopping.
-You honk, slam on the brakes, swerve.
-Old Biddy slams her car into the front end of your car.
-You pull over and call 9-1-1, but they don't answer, they put you on hold.
-9-1-1 PUTS YOU ON HOLD!

We were all OK, and I really didn't want to call 9-1-1. But, what if it was an emergency? I was in awe of the whole situation, and frankly, I was a little disturbed. Joshua started crying. Then I started crying. I was a little overwhelmed, and a lot clueless on how to handle getting in a car accident by myself, while it was raining, with my kids in the back seat, and my cell phone battery was running out. On the bright side, their was a sweet little old Portuguese lady that let us use her restroom. That was extremely cool, considering we were waiting for 4 hours for the police to come and take a simple report of the whole incident. I did manage to get ahold of my husband. He got a ride from our neighbor, to where the accident happened. I don't know what I would've done if he wasn't there with us. I also managed to get ahold of my father-in-law, (Jerry), and sister-in-law, (Christine). They also came to our aid. Jerry had to jump start our car, not because of the accident, but because we were trying to charge our cell phone, and it drained the battery. Then Jerry took the boys to our house and watched them until we got home. That was so sweet!

Wow! I think I've had a 'Terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day! But, mom says, some days are like that, even in Australia.'

You are Aragon !!!!! cool you are a ranger :)


Are you Legolas, Aragon, or Merry and Pippin
brought to you by Quizilla

Loves of my life
- Jesus Christ
- Robert Jerry Chapa
- Angel Hair pasta with Alfredo sauce from The Olive Garden.
- My mom's Sugar cookies at Christmastime, (the dough is currently resting in my freezer).
- My Grandma's Ambrosia salad.
- Kandy's lovely mashed potatoes, (send them in the mail for christmas, Mmm-k?)
- Starbucks Christmas blend coffee with Hazelnut creamer, (full fat, none of that fat free crap, yuck).
- Babies, (especially my own)
- Vacations. I have the week of Christmas off! Yes, you heard me right, off! Woo hoo! I put that in my daycare contract. Oh ya, and it's a paid Vacation.
*uh-hu, no eating here tonight, no-no-no eating here tonight, you on a di-et!*

Sweet little baby
Bob and I were reminiscing last night about when Caleb was a baby. He used to get food from his plate and try and feed daddy. Just remembering that made both of us want another baby. I'm not making an announcement or anything. It's just nice to think of those little moments when your kids were sweet little babies.

Yay, I'm sick!
My throat is swollen, and my chest is filled with gunk. Ugh. It could've been from my daycare kids, or the other thousands of people that are sick. Who knows. You might be thinking, 'If she's so sick, then why is she blogging?' Oh, because I'm a blog obsessed fool. I did rest yesterday after church, for three hours. My husband is so sweet, he made dinner, and watched the boys. He would do those things even if I wasn't sick. He's out of school until Jan. so he's gotta keep himself busy somehow, right? This cold/cough will probably last for about a month. The reason I know this, is because both Joshua and Bob have had it for that long. Hopefully it will be gone before Christmas.

Pre-Hyptnotized Peter


What Office Space character are you?
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Yikes! I love my life, I wouldn't trade it for the world. I am cynical at times though. I don't hate my job. It's hard sometimes, but hey, I get to be with my kids at the same time. What more could a mom ask for? Other than some peace and quiet and a hot bath.

You are the classy pin-up! You are everything
sophisticated and refined about the entire era.
You exude class and dignity.


What Type Of Retro Gal Are You?
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Joshua is home with me today. Yesterday, he woke up with that 'I have a cold and sore throat voice.' He was off for Veteran's day yesterday. He thought that today was Sun. and he said to me, 'Mommy, why aren't we at church today?' Is it odd that I think his little raspy voice is so adorable when he has a cold?

We're on a break

Don't be alarmed. My husband just decided to take a break from school until Jan. It was a much needed break since he's been going to school for about 11 months staight now with no vacations at all. I guess University of Phoenix doesn't take any vacations like normal colleges. That way you get done with school faster, but you kinda go insane in the process. Knowing that one day Bob will have his degree, makes me excited and happy for him. I still have the same excitement and happiness for him, but I also welcome the much needed vacation that we have all been craving. The boys and I have missed him terribly, and we are glad he's home at night again.

Joshua strikes again

I've decided that Monday's are going to be reserved for talking about what my six and a half year old son Joshua has been up to, (good/bad/whatever), over the past weekend. (Please remind me if I start slacking, mm-k?) OK here it goes:
We were at a potluck at church, sitting across from two elementary school teachers, (one of them was pregnant). Joshua is busy devouring his Beef stew. Then, he looks up at the pregnant teacher, and with the most devilish grin he could muster, says to her:
Umm...excuse me do you know what P-I-S-T spells?
She looks at me and says:
Well, I don't know... you're just going to have to ask your mommy about that one Josh.
I was mortified to say the least. Daddy had to bring Joshua into the bathroom for a little 'Talkin to.'

Movies gallore

My 'Have to see' list:

-Elf
-Matrix
-Lord of the Rings-Return of the King (coming soon)
-Brother Bear
-Cat in the Hat

I'm sure there's more that I didn't mention.

I'm so afraid of this happening to us one of these days. We live in a two story town house that has water damage upstairs.

So bothersome

Things that I consider to be a tad bit bothersome.

-Having one car.
-Anything spilling. (Especially in our one and only car).
-Joshua and Caleb leaving their teeny tiny toys on the bathroom floor.
-Being rushed. Don't they know I'm trying to finish something?
-Being a slave to the Computer/Phone/TV/Magazines.
-Any kind of puzzle/maze. (Both of which Joshua and Caleb are obsessed with).
-Any kind of whining/screaming/begging. (I can handle crying if there's something really wrong).

OH-MY-GOSH! I've turned into Bruce! What to do, what to do? And all this time I was putting on the Rae Sheild. I can't do both the Bruce And the Rae sheild! I just can't handle that kind of pressure. Seriously though, I know I'll miss some of these bothersome things when they go away. And if I do turn into my parents, then I think God will have blessed me immensely.

Tired of livin' in the stone age

I finally got a cell phone. It's sooo sweeet. My lovely husband got me one for my birthday last month. I'm not used to it. I feel like Wilma, because it's something new and digital. I think I'm the last person in my family to get one. Even my grandma had one before I did. Wow.

Have I turned into Joshua, or has he turned into me?

My sister-in-law awoke to the sight of me eating a taco bell burrito in her room...with ketchup. I didn't really think anything of it, until she said, "Kar, is that ketchup you have on your plate?" Me, "Uh, ya?" Christine, "Karlene, you've turned into Josh!" Me, "Ahhhh!" Aren't the kids supposed to turn into the parents? The parents aren't supposed to regress into childhood, are they?
I've regressed into the following:
-Biting my nails/ inside of my cheeks/lips
-Cracking my knuckles/knees/ankles
-Having ketchup with everything
-Potty humor
-Not wanting to go to the restroom, because I'm too busy

Ah, to be a youth again:

- Scrapbooking, and making invitations remind me of my sister and I when we were little. We loved having parties.
- Planning a vacation reminds me of playing "Travel Agent," with Kandy. She always had to be the travel agent, and I liked it that way. (I wasn't organized enough to do that job).
- I miss riding bikes with Kandy and Sophi, (our best friend).
- I wanted Kandy to go to high school with me. At least we had one year together, huh?
- I believe that Kandy has been blessed with all of the good qualities of our dad, and I have been blessed with all of the good qualities of our mom. This is why we get along so good. Not to say that our parents don't :-)

Oh Yes!
Please, please look at this. It's the funniest thing I've seen since the "Stealth Disco."

You are Psalms.


Which book of the Bible are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Cool! How did they know I sing in my worship team at church?

Which Dr. Seuss character are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

I agree with this one too. So, I'm an Elephant, and a Cat. Humph. Well, how do you like that? At least I wasn't a Mouse and and an Elephant. Eek!

Which Dr. Seuss character are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

I totally agree... except for the part where I'm an Elephant.

So... got a whole four and a half hours of sleep last night. I woke up to the sound of some person calling my name at 6am. The alarm had been going off for about 20 min. straight. I did not hear it... at all. I sat up, and tried really hard to walk into the bathroom with my eyes closed. That didn't work out too well, obviously. I pried my eyes open, only to find that my eyes were crossed. I couldn't speak correctly. I felt like I was drunk, even though I had never been drunk before. This, my friends, is what happens when you only get four and a half hours of sleep.

Buying and wearing clothes, yes. Cleaning them, no.
The current decor of our bedroom is Clothes. It's not because we have kids, or that we're so busy and tired that our brains are on auto pilot half of the time. No, there's really no excuse, I've just been in a laundry slump for the past 20 years. Dirty, clean, folded, not folded, in the basket, on the floor, wrinkled, ironed. The most consistant thing about this decor is that these clothes are never, ever put away. (unless my saint of a husband puts them away). A miracle happened on Monday. I changed the decor of our bedroom. I not only washed, dried, and folded, but, now get ready for this, I IRONED AND HUNG THESE CLOTHES UP! Now, anyone and everyone who has ever known me, knows that I hate, hate, hate laundry. I've always been like this. If you've seen the Newlyweds on MTV with Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey, then you'll know how much I hate laundry. As much as Jessica does. The difference between me and her is that I actually know how to do laundry. (there's many more differences between us than that).

So sleepy
For the first time in two years, I took a nap. All of us have been getting up at 5:50 am every morning. Bob is in training for another postion at work, and he has to be there at 7:30am. We only have one car, so he has to drop me and the boys off at his mom's house at 6:30am. This is why I fell asleep on the couch when the daycare kids took a nap. I slept for two hours! Don't worry, I was in the same room with them. Bob also used to be able to take Joshua to school in the morning. Now my dad has been taking Josh and picking him up from school. Then my dad also takes me and my boys home after the daycare kids leave. Bob and I get home almost at the same time. I get home at 4:45pm and Bob gets home at 5:15pm. I feel bad for Joshua, he's not aloud to take a nap at school. He stopped taking a nap as soon as he found out that little baby Caleb was in mommy's tummy. He was 2 and a half when naptime bliss was over for him. I was very upset about this, to say the least. Caleb still takes a nap and he's 3 and a half years old. *thank you Jesus*

Kandy, here's my answers to your questions:
Q. If the kids were taken care of and you had free reign to do as you wish, what would you be doing right now?

A. Pedicure, while eating "Mint Chocolate Brussel's", sipping on a "Caramel Frapp," and flipping through "Style" magazine.

Q. Cheesiest thing you have ever seen. Not counting something that is actually made of cheese or something that your husband has done. Total cheese.

A. There's this site that Bob showed me. These people go up to total stangers behind their backs, and do a "Stealth Disco." It was pretty funny, but very cheesy.

Q. Nicest thing someone has done for you.

A. On our wedding day, I was getting ready in the "Bridal room." Bob had someone send me a card that he wrote for me and one single rose, right before the ceremony started. I was crying, he was so sweet!

Q. So, what were you and Sophi laughing so hard about that day when you both, umm, you know, had an 'accident'? Do you remember? Come on now, I know you do.

A. Well, let's see now. We were "Double riding" on my "Banana Seat" bike. We lost control of the bike, and almost fell on our butts. Then we just started laughing and being silly, and the next thing we know, we're stumbling into her bathroom, and we peed our pants. Oops! (we were only like 7 and 9 years old).

Q. Top 5 favorite songs of all time. Or right now.

A.
1. Jesus Etc. By Wilco
2. Reservations By Wilco
3. Come away with me By Norah Jones
4. The Scientist By Coldplay
5. Landslide By Dixie Chicks

OK, here it goes Kandy.

1. What is your best memory of your childhood?

2. What are you and Kip going to do for your Anniversary this coming March 11? (Since it's so dang close to Bryan and Kristin's Wedding and all).

3. Kandy, do you have A pen? Just how many pens does one really need, anyhow?

4. How many cats have you owned at one time? (hee-hee)

5. When one of your friends would come over to our house, and you guys would lock me out of your room, what the heck where you talking about? Seriously? You have to tell me, cause ya can't just do that to the younger sister, and then never ever tell her, ya know?! You're not friends with them anymore. It's ok. Really. I won't tell.

So, there we have it. I hope you enjoyed my questions. See, I don't know everything about you Kandy-Kane-that-lived-down-the-lane.

Don't Forget:::
If you would like to participate too, here are your instructions:
1. Leave me a comment saying "interview me."
2. I will respond by asking you five questions (not the same as you see here).
3. You will update your blog/site with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.::

I asked Dawn to ask me some questions. Here are my answers:

Q. What is the most difficult thing about your sister living so far away?

A. Kandy and I were so used to being there for each other, for anything and everything. And all of a sudden she's not here anymore. Sure we talk on the phone and we're best friends still. But I really miss seeing her laugh, cry, and play with my boys. The thing that I miss most about her, though is her hugs, and long talks 'till late at night.

Q. Are you ever going to visit her in Ohio?

A. Yes, I will go and visit her. First she has to give me a chance. She comes to So. CA like twice a year for weddings that we're all in. I kinda wanna wait 'till my boys are a little older.

Q. What is it like to live in a household where you're the only female?

A. I feel good most of the time about being the only female in my house. I get sad sometimes, but God knows what he's doing. I will be joyful in the Lord for giving me a family and sons to carry on the Chapa name. My husband and his father are the only boys in their families. So, we're grateful for more than one Chapa boy in the family.

Q. My husband and I are coming over unexpectedly for dinner tonight. What do you serve us?

A. My three younger brothers are always dropping by. I love it, and I love to have company. I'm always ready for people to come over. Even if they don't call first. God wants us to be ready at all times. My husband is the cook most of the time, he would make Chinese food or BBQ steaks, make baked potatos, and CA veggies. I like to bake more than cook, so I would probably bake cookies and serve it with vanilla ice cream. Mmm- mmm!

Q. Why don't you link my blog? (grin)

A. I'm so sorry for not linking you on my blog. We'll have to take care of that ASAP! Thank you for linking all of us on your blog. Thanks for the cool questions, Dawn!

Don't Forget:::
If you would like to participate too, here are your instructions:
1. Leave me a comment saying "interview me."
2. I will respond by asking you five questions (not the same as you see here).
3. You will update your blog/site with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.::

Emotionally, and spiritually drained...

My mom and I just got back from a Women's retreat for her church this weekend. It was... how do I put this, different, and quite interesting. I don't want to step on anyone's toes or anything. But... well, what the heck. I'll do it just this one time. You'll forgive me, right? OK, I am a Christian, and I do think that God is a God of order, not a God of Chaos. I really, really missed my sisters in Christ from my own church this weekend. I didn't ever feel like this until God made it so clear to me, how much I am connected to other women of my church. It was like the first time going away to camp. Without your mom, dad, siblings, and friends. It's just you, and God. And He allows you to feel lonely, anxious, and wanting so much more than this camp has to offer you. You know that there should be a balance of Scripture reading, Praying, stories, and testimony's, in the sermons. But for some reason this Woman-Pastor-Speaker hasn't gotten the memo. She got some other voices that apparently talk to her, and I quote, "Holy Spirit? Is that you?" I guess if that voice doesn't answer her, it's Satan, or his demons that were "Speaking" to her. Um... Yah. What are you, and who sent you? At this point, you're wondering why she hasn't mentioned any scriptures, unless it's those token ones. But then she doesn't even finish reading it! She just says, "and you know, whatever..." Ahhhh!!! So-incredibly-not-right! Wow! She clearly came here to show that she did not study the Holy Scriptures, or to even just talk about how wonderful and great our God is. No, she had an agenda. It was to lead souls to Christ. To cast "Demons" out. To tell us all of the gory little details of everything that has happened to her. To have alter calls and "Prophecy" over lives that she knows nothing about. Why do we need to go up to the alter, make specticles out of ourselves, and be turned into crying, blubbering, emotional basket cases? So, this is why I am spiritually drained. Emotionally, that's a different story. I won't get into that right now. It just all too much to handle at this point. Pray for my sanity, that's all I have to say.
ps: by the way, if you were wondering, no I did not go up to the alter call, speak in tongues, or raise/clap my hands.