Adventures of the Supersized 6

She may have 134K miles on her, but she gets the job done. My van got new tires yesterday. The brakes were still good, they just needed some adjusting and the brake fluid topped off. She drives like she did when we got her. I am glad and thank God that it wasn't much more like I was expecting. I hope she will continue to be great for at least another year.

yeah!!

TLM

At least it seems like that was one of the phrases that my grandparents would say. There was also "what ever floats your boat." Aaron's family has said my now favorite "6 and 1 half a dozen of the other." I still can't completely figure that one out. But in a conversation my grandfather would sometimes say, "Well that is when the rubber meets the road." I guess to say they needed to move on, leave, I guess in the geographical sense or when I told him I left my ex-husband he said it then. Yesterday the Rubber didn't meet the road, and it wasn't pretty.
I was on my way home with the girls. We were on a Walmart run for some things. I heard a popping noise and the car was swerving a bit. I managed to stop and pull of the road. I got out to inspect things, I inteed had a blown tire. It was on the rim. Aaron to the rescue. He stopped his demanding task at work and came to change my tire. Not that I don't know how. My dad raised his only daughter well. I used to change my own spark plugs and distributor cap. But with 2 screaming girls it would have been tough. I have always dealt with the spare being in the trunk as well. Well my van has it neatly tucked under the van somehow. Aaron couldn't get it down so my van is currently parked in my drive with the spare from his car on it. My brake lights are all light up, which I can only assume means that I did something while I was trying to regain control and get the van off the road. It has been about 40,000 miles since we had the brakes changed....and it has been about 50,000 miles on those tires, which I found out is how long the life of the tire is. I remembered my dad telling me to put a penny upside down in the treads. If you can see Lincolns hair, get new tires. You know what, that old guy still has it. It even says it on many "auto expert" websites. Well as much as I would like history to rewrite it and say that Lincoln had a receding hairline, I can see the top of his head and some of the words too.

I guess I take how great that van is for granted. It is the only way I get 4 kids around. Baby needs a new pair of....shoes, er tires. And I am more than sure that new brakes will be part of that equation as well.
what was that about Murphy's Law? Oh yeah, don't remind me. My neighbor Marsha asked what happened when she saw the lovely donut. I tried to make light of the ordeal but she said at least I have my sense of humor about it. Needless to say I am so stressed out over this not being our year, but really. If I cry, get mad, or depressed is it going to change the fact that my van is in the shape that it is in? doubtful. I might as well count the blessing that we are safe and that we still have Aaron's car so he can get to work and back.

Oh the fun of life, family, cars and those blasted tires.

TLM

TV is such a wonderful yet harmful invention. There are councils and groups and organizations that both support and oppose all the amazing things it can do, show and not show. It is either a tool of education, or evil depending on whose side you listen to. I grew up with TV being a main fixture in the home. My mom named me after her favorite TV star, and I can never think of a time when there wasn't a TV on somewhere in the house while I was growing up. I got my own TV for my 4th birthday. Exessive yes but you gotta remember my family is well...eccentric. It did promote "family togetherness" though. We would watch game shows together, and anything showing nature or history was a crowd pleaser. I sometimes wonder if I learned more from those shows than I did with my California public school education? The comfort of a TV was never more appearent than it was when I was in the hospital after the accident. Something I thought I knew from TV was not reality. The ICU is not a quiet and peaceful place. It is full of beeps, buzzed, constant interuptions. That whole, "quiet, let them rest." line in all the shows and movies is a lie. Someone was in to poke and move me every five minutes it seemed. The machines made all sorts of noises and the chest tube was connected to a box full of water that made noises like a high powered fish tank. The sound of "Jeopardy" was a comfort. Any sound from the TV was more soothing than the chaos that surrounded me. Like a baby likes to hear a heart beat, I guess at that time I liked the Tellie.

Any more all the TV I get is a quick look at headline news with a cup of java before my day starts. Through out the day the little people that cohabitate in the house like to watch shows like blue's clue's and dora the explorer. The baby enjoys her "baby einstein" DVD's. I do have my evening shows that I like to watch. The happen to be Aaron's favorites as well. We acquired the most amazing thing in the fall. Dish network with the DVR. An amazing device that allows you to rewind whatever you are watching, you can pause it to change a diaper or help a little one in the bathroom and come back to where you were. It also records your shows on the hard drive. Aaron and I will record our shows and watch them together when we find some time. We were set on just one TV in the house. We held to it for a while. But we did put the spare TV/VCR set in the boys room so the kids could watch movies. Then we caved again and had it wired for dish when we got it installed. We caved yet again and put a TV in our room. It proved to be a great purchase when I had surgery and was in bed for a week. I loved being able to watch some movies I DVR'd. It is not as bad as it was when I was at my parents house. To equal that I would have a TV in the kitchen and one on the patio so I can watch TV while I watch the kids play outside. Yes that would be exessive.

Now for the sad news. As spring has bloomed and our lovely trees have gained thier follage, so have I lost the signal on my satalite dish. They are in the way, well one in particular. At first it was just a few interuptions but now all we are getting is the locals without too much fuss. The kids were sad this morning that they couldn't watch a little bit of boomerang before they hopped on the bus. They like the smurfs. Who can blame them those cute little blue guys and gal. So as I type Aaron is outside getting ready to remove the thorn in our dishes, well view of the south east sky. Yes an inoccent tree will die, but we will have TV. Oh and mulch galore. There will be a chipper at the park this weekend. You can take your limbs to be chipped down for mulch. So it's life will not be lost in vain, it will live again in the yard. Aaron can continue to garden while I watch the weather channel with no interuptions. Well from tree's anyhow, I can't do anything about the little people that bring the welcome interuptions.


TLM

I remember having a period in my life where I regreted some of the choices that I had made. I found that I had made a lot of poor choices and the concequences were costly. But I made it through only slightly worse for the wear and I earned another badge, or medal or what ever symbol/award would show my victory of that battle in the war of life lessons. At a mere 29 I sometimes feel that I am the eqevelant of a four star general with all the life experiences I have some how endured. I also went through a period of jubilation of my battles and scars. I felt that had I not made those choices I would not be who I was that day, I would not have the resources to deal with the next crisis. Regret was futile since those consequences made me stronger and I guess we will for this instance say wiser.

I am currently faced with a few issues that leaves me wondering what the consequences to some of these choices could be. It is hard to make some serious commitments without really knowing what it will cost, yet we do it all the time. We marry, have children, buy homes, or cars or switch careers. We step out in faith and follow the direction that God calls us to. All the while walking in a faith that some mock. I am a black and white kind of person. I need to know the facts, I need to assess the risks, and I need to know all of the pro's and con's. I seek expert council, Aaron and I discuss, and we both pray for guidance. I need information in order to function and move forward with a choice. These issues I now have are being presented with vague information, dispite my intense investigations. Some have very clear consequences and some have less than a glimps. Yet choices must be made, and no doubt there will be a consequence for those choices. And the stakes are high. I have my children to think about in each of these issues. One issue in particular has kept me up in circles. The more I think about it and answer questions in my head, the more questions I have.

A choice will be made for each situation, hopefully each will be adressed as an individual "case". And what consequences result will hopefully be looked upon later as a victory/lesson in my long journey.
I want to think that my regrets are actually my friends.

TLM

Easter Greetings.

We celebrated the resurection of our Lord Jesus Christ on Sunday. As I am sure many did around the globe.
Aaron and I decided that this Easter we would tone down the basket frenzy that usually goes into excess year after year. As a child Easter usually meant chocolate bunnies, candy, gifts and dinner at my grandparents. We rarely talked about what it meant, but somehow I knew that it had something to do with Jesus coming out of a cave of some sort. Nice huh. Then I married and had my own children. I want them to know the Easter story and experience thier own Easter. Our pastor's sermon was about the indivdual Easter experience. In the bible it was the dozens of people he showed himself to after his resurection. They experienced Easter in a way I can only imagine with the help of the gospels. My own Easter experience was just as amazing even though it was more intimate, and not as newsworthy. I pray that each of my children will at some point have their individual Easter story, and they are willing to share that story with me, and many.

In preparation we carefully planned out what we do this year. We assumed that we would make our journey to Springfield to spend the occasion with family there. I purchased roughly 200 plastic eggs and several bags of candy to fill said eggs. I gave half to the church for their egg hunt that they would host following the service Sunday morning, and put the other half away for all the kids to collect in Springfielf. Plans change, so we would be Bethel bound this year. Oh, wait....I have 100 eggs? Yes for 3.5 children. (Annika counts as a half this Easter since she really isn't "hunting certified" yet.) We went light this year and planned on the Easter bunny giving each child 2 small gifts. Each had to be priced under $10 and then they would get the customary chocolate bunny and a few other candy items. Usually the Easter bunny was more into the stuff rather than candy, but this year we figured that candy is cheaper and easier to get rid of. The Easter bunny also got the Chronicles of Narnia DVD for the family and a week long supply of peeps. Off to church. The kids did a great job of bell ringing and singing. The service was great as was the message. Now for the hunt. I gave each child a bucket and they lined up in their roped off age appropriate section. Even Annika was ready in the nursery area. Within a mere matter of minutes they were done. loot collected and ready to go. I was too afraid to count to damage then. We just emptied the buckets into a paper bag in preparation of round two from the Easter bunny at mamaw and papaws house. The ham was amazing and my sweet potato casserole was a hit. I also made caramel puff corn which disappeared fast. Then it was time. Roughly 110 plastic eggs found their hiding spots and the kids were let loose. It was funny to watch them but the did get them all. It required several plastic shopping bags but all the eggs found that day made it home.Sunday night after they were drained of their sugar buzzes and tucked into bed I emptied more eggs than I could count into 3 of their buckets. Plus the larger candy items like the bunnies and whopper boxes. Oh yes it was a whopper of an Easter! I decided today to snap back together, count and put away all the eggs to be filled next year. My kids hunted dowm 275 eggs. Yes two hundred and seventy five candy filled easter eggs. But what I am thankful more than all those Reeses peanut butter cups and those yummy pink bunny peeps is that my children can tell you why they celebrate Easter, and what it means to Christians around the world.

Easter was exessive, but it was a blessing all the same.

TLM

This summer will be a turning point for our family. Jake will as he puts it "finally get out of the first grade". Madison will graduate Kindergarten and get to some serious school. She finds kindergarten boring, and feels she needs the challenge that first grade can offer. We are on the fence with what to do with Noah. He will be 5 in June and we are faced with a choice, kindergarten or no kindergarten. He is ready academically, but the maturity well has some maturing to do. I meet tomorrow with the wonderful team who have helped him get to this point with the tools of his IEP. I already know that they will say he no longer requires the IEP and will be out of the program at the end of the school year (31 days and Jake counting). That leaves us with the options of 1.) register him for kindergarten 2.) enroll him in a preschool program that will equal the same amount of hours each week as the every other day kindergarten program yet cost us over $100 a month or 3.) keep him home and homeschool him. I turned in his registration packet to the school yesterday. Hands trembling. So as of now Noah will be a kindergartener next year. In addition to the kids I will also be a student come fall. I got my award offer and it was more than what I needed to attend. I will have more than enough grants to cover tuition and books. Praise God. I am just waiting to register for fall classes which should be easy.

With all this education going on I am sure that walmart, and target will love to see us coming in August. Or it might be the other way around if they have good enough back to school sales. No doubt a great portion of Aaron's check will go to one place or the other to get each of us stocked up on all the latest tools to better our attempts at being studious students. It us fun, all the folders, pencils, pens, highlighters, and the yummy fruit smelling erasers!

TLM

The spring season of soccer is in full swing for us. Madie and Noah are on the same dribblers team this season. It will be the last time this happens. Madie will move up to U-7 next year. All girls and there will be more instruction and of course strategy. She will learn the dynamics of the game and hopefully where she is best suited on the field. Jake caught on quickly his first season, but then he has an amazing coach. I can only hope that all my kids have experiences like that with a coach, but I know that might not be the reality. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

So far this season Jake has been a strong forward. He got goals his first game. The last 3 games have been against undefeated teams. I think that the psychological game that plays with the boys heads was rough at first, but this last game they really gave it all they had and gave the opposition a run for their money. I am the mom that yells from the sidelines, and knowing soccer I am on Jake alot. I have been told (by Jake) to stop yelling at him. I didn't know that he was also telling the coaches the same request. Needless to say he now knows that he needs to follow direction to be a better player. Noah is Noah on the field. He follows the swarm and offers an elbow here and there to anyone that gets in his way. I see him becoming a very great defensive player, but on ice rather than turf. He would make an awesome defender in hockey. Madie, well while she is blonde she is grasping the game more. She got her first goal this last week. I was so happy and her little face was full of sunshine. She seemed content enough in her one acheivment that she spent a great deal of the rest of the game on the bench.
Mia Hamm doesn't need to worry yet, but Madie is starting to get some skill.

TLM

Havn't felt like posting much lately. I guess my mind and thoughts are somewhat ADD. Good points of the last 2 weeks: Jake turned 8. He had an awesome birthday and was happy to get his first set of golf clubs. My dishwasher is back into it's rightful home doing what it does best, helping me. It was giving a new motor, and although it sounds as if it wants to take off with the back wall of my house, it is taking care of business.

Aaron also went in for his vasectomy today. He is home resting, sore. It was a strange feeling to know that that part of our lives is now finished. I realize that 4 is plenty of blessing, but it was strange all the same. So on with the next chapter on our adventures.


TLM