Toothless Ariel

FINALLY

As you all can see Ariel finally lost her first tooth. At school so I missed it but she said she didn't even cry. What a big girl I have she even gave Hayden an honorable mention in her letter to home explaining she lost her tooth. Brian is at the knee surgeon as we speak so we'll see what comes of that very soon. Please pray for rain, so I don't kill all Julie's plants and trees while she's in New York. Just kidding Julie, Alissa has my back and she knows more than me. It's just if I spend to much time with them they'll die. looking good so far and I'll try to not look or talk to them while watering. Any who. not much else going on in my boring life. Will try to remember to put note and tooth holder under Ariel's pillow tonight we forgot to last night. I'm pretty excited about keeping Martha's baby (one of amber's friends at work) tomorrow. There so cute when they are that age and can't talk back like mine does. I am so looking forward to also to a women's only get away this Friday and Saturday. Ariel will be having a sleep over with Amber, Jerry and Hayden. Pray for them this is the first time Ariel has been anywhere overnight without Brian or I. Guess I better go for now will update more soon. Love and blessings to all reading this sorry it's so boring but that's my life.

Things not to do continued

Make the coffee pot explode grounds all in the coffee and everywhere else. I'm banned from make coffee any more. Maybe that never happens to you but I seen other do it ooopps. Hurray school is in session. I am starting to get into the swing of things here. I started financial peace university by Dave Ramsey for the next 13 weeks. I am looking for to learning how to work our money and not let it work us. Barbara G would be so happy with me. Ariel has kid activities while i"m doing that so we both have fun while Brian is working and taking the course via CD but hope we can stay on board and make a difference in our lives by doing so. OT Starts week after next so here we go that 's three nights a week that we have after school activities oh boy didn't take long for that to start back up. busy busy busy. to much for all the calm I've grown accustom to since April. We are going to scottnwhite on the 2nd to a neurologist will keep you posted on that. Brian has been refered to a surgeon for his knee no news yet on when. Lots got done this week personal, legal and medically won't bore you with details but I kept the ball rolling which wasn't' easy as each person I spoke with had me doing something differant. I even have to find my marriage license to get a Texas driving license boy the are picky about who they let in here. But I remember my TX lic # and everything I think they are just picking on me. I'm sure ready for the long weekend, anyone else. Let me know what all you are doing with your time off.

things not to do while living with your mother-in-law

SET THE KITCHEN ON FIRE! After a week of telling Julie I would cook diner that evening and not, I managed to move a pan with gresse to fast and set the burner on fire. After three times of blowing it out and it coming back bigger, no big suprise to some of you. I say hu JULIE. who runs over grasps the salt shacker which doesn't do anything and quickly grabbing the container of salt and smothering the flames. Not that impressive of action on my cooking skills I'd say. Never claimed to be a chef but would like you all to know I do cook sometime without burning down the kitchen. Julie and Don haven't band me from the kitchen yet but Brian did cook for us last night so maybe they just have a ploy between the three of them to keep me OUT. no more cooking maybe I should have tried that years ago. HAHA!

Yesterday was Ariel's first day of first grade. I did everything I thought I should took the supplies the day before, met the teacher, showed Ariel her new class, new outfit, check, check check. So Hayden and I went about our day with play and errands ect. then 350 came and I was out front waiting on the bus to drop off my big first grader. the Middle school bus came and went and then pulled up the bus with the magic # number on it and no Ariel. I jumped on thinking she must have been distracted and not noticed where the bus was but much to my suprise she was no where to be found. Scary!!! The schools number of course was busy and then I called the transportation department who put me on hold to find her. I waited as long as my nerve would let me and told Brian to just go to the school and get her. I called Julie to see if bus had taken her home and no so I made one last frantic call to the school and sure enough the answered and she was sitting in foyer with all the other lost kids of the day. THANK GOD! a few min later Brian pulled in with her and all was well again. boy o boy. I am still in shock that she is back in school it may take till next week to start enjoying it. More later on my adjustment to a life without my school aged child under toe. Till then!

So serious!

My girl is getting so big.

I'm old and can no longer stay up past 10pm. Stayed up till 1220am last night to see the meteor shower and did see several shooting stars and one up close meteor which was pretty cool. I however am going to pay for it tonight. I found a bible study and mom's group to join as soon as school starts so hello to my life back. Ariel and Hayden are so lovey today. I can't get enough of that! I will skip working out today for errands and appointments but will pick up tomorrow. Wanted to put on a couple of camp pictures of Ariel, she looked so serious the who program all the kids did. Can you belive they shot guns with the older kids at camp, Yes we are defiantly in TX Toto! Going on line to hopefully find video and take test to see what motovates me and my immediate family members. I'll let you know how that goes. Later.

Not a baby any more.

On with the show.

I know some TX folks have seen a similar picture to this on Amber's blogg but Hayden looks like such a big boy in this picture and what a great smile! He is a joy and Ariel's best bud.

Well I have confirmed at least one person is reading, thank you Tammie. So here I go.

I am officially ready to get back into the swing of "normal" life. Working out, Bible Study ect. I am not volunteering yet as I need to balance give and take. I'm pretty happy receiving for now altho the guilt sometimes worms it's way in but only a little. Brian drove to Cedar Park (about an hour and half away at least the way the map told him to go) for his mri on knee only to find the machine had broken so he'll be going back on Friday. It's only 2 months since his doctor requested it, grrrrrrrrrrrrr! I can't wait till school starts. except I have to wake up early, double grrrrr! Ariel says Hi to everyone! now we are going to practice our letter writing and reading. Bye for now and thanks to my many fans. HA HA!

Summer fun TX style

I know it's been forever. We've had a busy couple of weeks. first week Ariel and I both took naps every day to catch up from Camp week. This was a great adventure for all the kids. I'm so thankful we were close enough to be invited. I have gotten Ariel started with speech and OT and have an appointment at scootnwhite hospital first of sept for further evaluation. I joined a gym yesterday oh how I miss our YMCA. Here's to a healthier and hopefully thinner me in no time. Sweet tea is hard to resist. Things I like about tx: blue belle ice cream, Mrs Baird's bread, stars and moon and sunset (seem to be better here to me anyway). Things I miss about CO cooler weather, my church/friends, Ariel's friends. Counting my blessings for our family. I know this is jumbled if you could live in my shoes for one day you'd know why. I went down to feed the fish in pond last night and they were (all according to Don) floating belly up. Yikes! We estimate we tossed about 200 lbs of fish. Thank goodness it was trash day today. Poor trash guys. We can only hope some of the baby cat fish ,we know are in there, will make it. Don't know why yet but sure would like to find out so it won't happen again. School starts in three weeks. Yikes! All other life plans will go back on line when that happens altho I don't know what Hayden will do without Ariel to copy and wrestle around with. Quite nap times for me tho. My goal is to get caught up on Tax input and get my historic computer out of Amber's home office. Well I hope you enjoy the photo of the kids at camp I'm posting from Julies website. I ALMOST FORGOT. I posted a prayer request last week. James D from CO was in car accident. He has been released and home doing quite well. I spoke with him yesterday. He is still slowly bouncing back with slow search for some words ect but is planned to make a full recovery. Keep supporting him with that and PRAISE GOD he's made it this far. better go see what the quite is about that can be scary with these two kids. Can't wait to see my husband again were are not on the same time zone right now, soon tho. Is anyone even reading this???? Is anybody out there??

I have nothing to add to Gema's report today. I do however have prayer request. One of the youth from my Colorado church was in an accident Tuesday the 14th. Head injury and still not awake please keep him in your prayers for recovery. Blessings! and thank you!

Tuesday's Camp Report
It was much hotter today. Cheeks were rosey. But still, they spent most of afternoon outdoors. Girls got banned from chickens for closing gates that were propped open locking the chickens away from their water. Also, left gate to goat pen open. Big no-no's. But they learned their lesson.Everyone hungry after camp so was good idea to pick up pizza then and eat really early. Everyone had their favorite soda. Oatmeal pies for dessert. You can tell I spent lots of time cooking today....All wanted to swim in pond so that is what they did. I sat on a hot rock and took pictures. It was hot and still with thunderheads in the west. Huddy could feel a storm coming so wanted to sit in my lap--he gets so scared in storms. Kids and Pop-pop had a blast. Ariel is really doing well at learning to swim and turn flips in the water. She is a brave little girl. Don was a little ansy about kids swimming far from him into deeper water so made the rule they all had to have a noodle. Girls enjoyed jumping in the deep from the shore. Watching Bailey was like dejavue--my many memories of Amy (her mom) at that age jumping in. They look so much alike. I got a great shot of Bailey jumping in but it was just too dark and the photo was blurry. It was getting pretty dark and I could see lightning beginning so that gave me a good excuse to get them out of water. But, that was all of the storm we got. So many times yesterday it looked like we were fixin to get a good rain and it just went all around us.I tried a new ploy last night in that we kept them up late hoping that they would then fall asleep quickly. It did not work. But we did have fun watching movie SAMANTHA , another American girl movie, and Don popped us two big bowls of popcorn. After the movie everyone was hungry so had bowls of cereal before bed. They maybe got in bed by 11. Boys bathed last night. Tonight girls have to bathe. Sorry parents but that is best I can do. They were really pretty clean after the pond swim.....I know that Bailey was supposed to wash her hair three times while here...we might make it yet.KIDS COMMENTS ABOUT CAMP:Brock eats three helpings at lunch.Girls got to shoot BB guns, bows and arrows, and slingshots. Brock was envious.Boys went canoeing.Girls went fishing and everyone caught fish as soon as put pole in water.Two boys fight every day and one gets a bloody nose.Mason got to go to a cave where Indians lived.Brock and Blaine went horseback riding. Blaine got the biggest horse and Brock got the lead horse but it was little.Girls got to play on BLOB the first day and boys the second day.The water in lake is really low.During devotionals a kid asked what God's phone number was. Another wanted to know if he had a wife.Ariel sings songs she learns on the way home--remember LITTLE BUNNY FOO FOO?I know that is not much info but they are pretty wiped out when they get in the car and seem most excited about the air conditioning and food. I am going to try to get more camp info out of them today.I have failed in getting them to write you letters. Will give them chance today. It is hard to get them all together in one place for anything. Today we have a craft project for them when they get home. They are each going to make a stepping stone for my garden and put their hand or foot print in it and name and decorate it. Hope this goes well.Today, I promised them we would hit Sonic's Happy Hour and get them a cold drink when we pick them up. And I have a box of granola bars to go with it. Then tonight is homemade burgers, fries, and shakes. And probably another pond swim. I think I might join them this time.That's all for today.


We are on to Day 2 of camp
All the kids seemed to have a good first day at camp. Thankfully, it was overcast and cooler than last week so I am sure that helped. They were all a tad tired--especially Blaine and Ariel who were down right drooping like a flower in the hot sun. They were all starving, too, even though they described the food at camp as being ok. We had lots of snacks and an early spaghetti supper. Everyone perked up when we got home. I thought they might want to just veg out in the AC for a bit so I put on MOLLY, An American Girl DVD, but the girls headed outside to swim in the stock tank which I had filled up during the day. (Tammy and I enjoyed the part of the movie we got to watch.) Girls could not get over how COLD that well water was. No one was inclined to go pond swimming today, thank goodness, as Don and Brian had gone to the ranch to take our home goats back to ranch where there is actually something green to eat. Next, they discovered the old tree house from their parent's growing up days and began gathering all sorts of weird things--like snake skins, old chicken spines, various bones they found around, to decorate the treehouse with. Don't worry, Pop-pop checked out the treehouse and said it was sound.After supper the chickens were the main attraction as everyone wanted to catch and carry a chicken around. Bailey made the first catch, then Morgan, then everyone had one. Poor chickens did not know what hit them. Feathers were flying and much clucking and protest going on in the chicken world. But the kids all had fun and got their picture taken with their favorite chicken.I made snickerdoodles for a bedtime snack and got them in bed a little after 9 but it took awhile to get them to sleep--especially the girls. All were overtired and needed sleep (including me) and were cranky and not too nice to their bedmates but finally, everyone had the right blanket and pillow and place to suit them and adjusted to giving in to those who wanted a night light and wanted to listen to a tape...and then Blaine needed a breathing treatment as Dickens, the cat, had snuck in their room. I removed the cat and gave him a treatment while the other boys fell asleep and at last it was quiet. I actually got to sleep by 11:30.This morning, I did have to drag them out of bed, even with the aroma of sweet rolls coming from the oven. I would not let them eat til they were all dressed, shoes on, and bags by door. They all were cheery and very cooperative and left for camp with smiles on their faces. I will fill you in on more news from camp later. We have a meeting to go to. I plan to pick up pizza when I pick up kids and have real early dinner, then outside time if they want, then come in early for popcorn and a movie, in hopes that will make the transition to bedtime easier. Will let you know how this plan works.Rebecca gets a star for being the kindest and most helpful to Ariel.

Sumer camp at the barlow's

I'm using Julie's versions of camp week and will add when I need to. Sorry if your reading this twice but not all my friends read Gema's delights so hang in there all you tx folk. OK heres my take so far. Seeing Julie buzz around from room to room making sure cats are not where allergy kids sleep, finding another fuzzy blanket (cause everyone wants one of those) and baking cookies for dessert all this while making sure the bathroom doesn't get flooded; is truly a treasure. by 830pm Monday (prospected bed time) Julie and I meet face to face in the all and she said something that made no senses at all (but I totally understood exactly what she was meant), then and there we agreed that nothing either of us said this week would be held against us (just keep that in mind if you call or email). I try to help when I can but two chiefs really don't work well so I sometimes just went to my room waited for the cell phone call or knock on the door to assist. As you can see from my second picture even Brian is getting into the mix so don't let him tell you he isn't having fun too. GO GEMA! Monday night review of days events: How delusional I was last night when I wrote the previous post from upstairs where the air conditioner drowns out all the noise below me. I headed to bed only to find everyone was still wide awake but Ariel. The three older girls were all set on sleeping in the twin bed while Ariel alone was on the far edge of the double bed. It was crazy. Bailey had maybe six inches of space to sleep in. I tried and tried to get them to spread out into the double bed but to no avail. So I told them to just be quiet and go to bed. Next, the boys room was rockin'--Brock has some really "creative" ideas. I fussed at them and got them all back in bed--the teddy bear fan pull was making too much noise for Brock (yeah, right) so I clothespinned the fan pull to the light cover so it would not move and disturb Brock. Then Blaine had allergies--I had already medicated him so put that new nose medicine on him which, of course, required the other two boys to watch me doing it with Brock telling me how much he hates that stuff. Finally, they were all settled back into bed so I went to bed myself. I could hear them all talking and laughing for some time but I let it be as I figured additional fussing would not solve anything. At last it was quiet by midnight but now I was wide awake. By 1, I think I fell asleep. Hank, you really let me down tonight. My worries of having the kids be hard to get up the next morning so early were entirely unfounded. The boys were up at 6:45 and all HUNGRY so Tammy fed them. Girls were easy to wake up and got ready quickly. The morning went very smoothly. I forced the kids to pose for a group photo outside before we loaded up for camp. Don took the boys in his truck and I took the girls. The three big vans were already at HEB when we arrived and took our information and meds and seemed to be old hands at doing all this stuff. So you parents can relax knowing they are in vans with seat belts and not a school bus. They all got in the same van and sat together. There were quite a few other groups of kids with grandparents or aunts. All the kids did great--no tears or demands to go back home with me. So off they went. One little girl, who looked about six, was busy telling the counselor that she better be nice to her cuz she had a 14 year old brother who would beat up anyone who was mean to her. She was quite the little spitfire but the counselor looked rather experienced in her job and took it all in stride. Can't wait to hear camp stories when they come home. And I do plan to sit them all down and lay out a few house rules-- Like stay out of closets. This morning I could not find the boys and they were all three piled in the toy room closet with a flash light. This would have been no big deal but you see, Tammy and I cleaned out the toy room (remember Ariel's stuff has been added to mine) to give more space for beds and suitcases and boys and it was all stuffed in that closet--you could hardly close the door--yet the boys were squished in there, too. And the girls kept asking over and over if the camp seperated the boys and girls---and Rebecca said she sure hoped not. Not sure what that means..... Sunday night review of days events: LET THE WILD RUMPUS BEGIN ! Sunday, 7 of my grandkids--ages 6-10 arrived to spend the week and go to day camp. There are three boys and four girls. They are all super great kids who love to be together. They quickly moved into the "toy room" (boy's dorm) and Beki's old room (girl's dorm) and began to play and talk and explore the house. Then I served them what will probably be the most nutritious meal of the week--a true "Sunday dinner" : pork roast, augratin potatoes, corn casserole, and a salad right out of the garden. They were not impressed. Pop-Pop told them they had to eat a tomato and a cucumber slice in order to get dessert…..they were all very clever in how they managed to get those veggies down, but they did it cheerfully. Brock had no problem with anything as his plate was clean quickly and Blaine only wanted his salad so that suited him. But we had a fun dinner and conversation anyway, then we headed outside to gather eggs and do the barn chores--the girls, Mason, and I. Blaine and Brock were having too much fun playing with a marble game. They gathered eggs, helped feed the goats, and just ran around looking at everything. Then we had our Dump Cake and ice cream dessert and said farewell to Micah and Tania who left dreaming of their quiet week ahead. Then, Pop-Pop took them down to the pond--all but Brock and Blaine who were still engrossed in the marble game. Tammy and I took that time to finish cleaning the kitchen and try and get the bedrooms organized for sleeping. It was getting pretty dark outside and still the pond group was not back so I turned on the lights outside to give them a hint; told the two boys to get their pajamas, on when in trooped some very soaking wet kids--ALL OF THEM, INCLUDING POP-POP. They had all gone swimming in their clothes in the pond and had a total blast doing so. Don said they exclaimed over and over how " my mama wouldn't like this" but he said he had never heard so much giggling and screaming and laughing. A good time was had by all. The floor was like a skating rink it was so wet; the laundry room was piled with soggy clothes and towels; the bathroom after they all bathed was flooded with water…and those girls played in the tub with all the bath toys from their parents babyhood and giggled some more. (sorry about the not bathing together rule, but I learned my lesson). They already asked if they could swim in the pond again tomorrow--but I think we will opt for swim suits next time and I will hose them off outside or have them dunk in the swim tank afterwards. I did force them all to let me put alcohol in their ears afterwards to avoid any pond germies. Finally, by 9:45 we had them all tucked in bed and bless Hank the Cowdog as they were all asleep by 10. (I got Hank books on tape from library and put them on in each bedroom for them to listen to as they went to sleep). That was a trick we used to use at the ranch when my younger kids were out there and we wanted them to go to sleep and it always worked. So glad it still does. It is blissfully quiet and I am going to bed. Morning comes early. I can't wait to hear of their adventures at camp. Thank you parents for loaning me your children for a few days--it all brings back so many wonderful memories as I make new ones. I am truly a blessed Gema.

Half of our Crazy Family; Brian's side that is.

Just gives you an ideal why the gators didn't bother us. Can't belive we got this many people in one picture and you can still see everyone. Jenny has a great talent.

Yesterday was the perfect day of play, nap, play, lunch, nap, play,big people time at the library, quick diner, and then bed time altho I went to bed way to late and am paying for it today. But we started of good with play, breakfast and nap so far today, thank you GOD! As you can tell by the picture we had water time. When it's 104 you have to get in the water if your outside.

I picked another book out of the Barlow library to start and did so yesterday. Oooh I forgot that part. Any way it's "I'm glad you know where we're going Lord". and boy am I. Cause I forget one room to the next what the heck I'm doing or why I went there.

I seem to see light at the end of the uncertain tunnel we've been in this year and plans coming together for the near future. I'm glad to say that includes continuing to take care of Hayden for Amber , if she still wants me to. I do so enjoy it and once again allows me to have Ariel with me while I'm working. Those two are so cute together with their morning love snuggles all flopping around on the floor together. I'm not sure if Hayden will like me much once school starts and Ariels not around as much but I'm sure I will find a way to bribe him into liking me. I'll close till next nap time so sleep well. Ha Ha! Glory to God for all of you reading.

summer fun

posting

We'll I know it's been a while. Last week I just couldn't beat the heat and was draggin butt. This week I feel refreshed and ready for another week of fun with Ariel and Hayden. I hope to get us on a schedule of fun and learning, I"m sure the teachers with appreciate that come the new school year. Guess I should be making a list of all the cool things I want to plan before I lose the energy. Amber and Jerry did alot of work on their house this week. Looking good Bekah your birthday present to her put mine to shame. VERY NICE. Family weekend was fun. Hurray that Ariel is big enough to go off and play with the many kids that were in attendance. We didn't lose any of them to the alligators. Thankfully we never saw one just warning signs that they MAY be there. I'm thinking they were hiding from all of us. Smart gators. It was really nice to see everyone and have the time to talk and play games with one another, no cell service or TV does have that effect on people. I finished my book the shack which is record time for me. It was good. I know some might have issues with some the ideals of God's image in it but it is fiction, so I categorize it as one of those things that each person needs to take away from it what they need for where they are on their journey. I really got refreshed by the story and hope it will be a tool I can use to strengthen my relationships with God and the people in my life. Next week Ariel and 6 of her many cousins will be attending camp peniel. Julie has taken it upon herself to manage this all on her on, braaaave women. I am sure it will be a fun and meaningful week for them all. I can't wait to see how tired and grumpy they are at the end of the week. I'm so grateful that Ariel will have this experiance. Glad Amber got the note to dress Hayden red today. TWINKIES! I hope my week is as protective and organized as I'm thinking it to be today. But it's only Monday so we'll see. Hope all is well with whomever is reading this. Please comment so I know your out there.

keeping in touch

Hope the videos are not blurry. They were better on my phone. I needed to show of Ariel's muscles to her therapist back in CO so now you all can see. I promised I'd keep in touch and haven't do that. Sorry Development Pediatrics. But will do better in the future. Ariel is getting strong as you can see from the videos. Her vocabulary is getting large to. She loves to pick worms out of Geema's garden and take them to Pop Pop's fish in his green house so they can eat. She also loves to feed the goats, jump on trampoline, play on the monkey bars and of course and no suprise swing. We have not got into private therapy yet but think that she is making leaps and bounds just having the freedom to play for hours on "Geema's playground" We will see at the end of summer about starting up again. Fine motor skills are still really hard for her. We tried the patch for ADHD and altho it helped some in the class, not really with one on one hard work. A house hold family census is that she does better with out them so we discontinued use. I will have her write you all at DPs this summer. Miss you all. Love and Blessings to you all.

Today is my 39th birthday and yes it's my first and only 39th birthday I don't care how old you know I am I do however care how old y0u see me as. Don't look today tho cause I'm feeling older than I like but I guess being a Gran might do that to you. I'm sure playing ball and rolling around on the blanky will have me feeling young again in no time. Thank you Ariel and Hayden.

Ariel is in VBS this week and boy am I'm being spoiled the church van picks her up and drops her off and with 400 + kids I'm glad I'm not in charge. I am keeping FBC VBS in my thoughts and prayers this week and hope all is well. Ariel's favorite thing so far is her Teacher from school is helping with VBS she love to see Ms Sales.

Guess I better go finish my book (I know I should have finished it yesterday but) before quite time is over. Till next time...

I'm a pro

Well It's official I am a blogger. I have successfully posted words and pictures so I'm well on my way. Posted are the pics of my co-workers. I'm sure I will be talking about them alot so thought you should know their faces. Please bare with me as start on this journey as I'm sure you will learn, spelling and grammar aren't my best qualities. But if your reading this you already know that.

Hayden looks so grown up in this picture and I couldn't really post him and not Ariel so there you have it my smiling (still has all her teeth) girl.

I'm going to leave now so maybe I can finish my book A JOYFUL JOURNEY today before nap time is over. I have already picked out my next book. THE SHACK if anyone wants to read along let me know and we can talk about them I'm really easy to keep up with on book reading. Blessings to you all!

First Posting

Well I finally got on board with the blog fast track. Great way for you to find out (if you want) what's up with our family. As I get more knowledgeable about the program the more info you will get. For now I'll get back to work and figure out what to post next. Can't belive I almost for got... Ariel has her first loose tooth, hooray.