Fultz 'N IT!!!

Fultz 'N IT!!!: Where's My KEYS!?!?!?!?!

2010-02-07T02:52:00.000-08:00

Fultz 'N IT!!!: Where's My KEYS!?!?!?!?!

The Great Rusty Mater Search

2009-06-17T01:03:00.000-07:00

A few years back our satellite went on the blink. It was several days before the tech man could come to evaluate our problem. We remained in TV purgatory for what seemed like an eternity. During this intermission in this particular outside world communication, Luke watched Cars: The Movie on the computer over and over and over and over.....and over. He developed quite a liking to the movie and to this day it remains his favorite.

Shortly thereafter, we began to collect the little "hot wheels" type cars of the characters from the movie. This may not have ever happened if in advance I had known that every single car that appears in any part of the movie there is a die cast replica in the collection including 15 red Lightning McQueens. CA CHOW!!!!

Luke turns 4 today. My precious little man, how could this be! He stayed with a friend yesterday while his sister and I drove to Little Rock to buy him some presents. We bought clothes, toys of different kinds, and Cars gift bags but.....no Cars toys! He already has a gazillion of those little boogers laying around the house.

Often I have these super fantastic ideas that float in my head. Normally, I am incapable of getting the idea from my brain to my hands to make the idea a reality. Also, I have a hard time explaining to someone who is an artiste. So, most of my great ideas remain floating around like scissors in space. While driving around in the city, I got a vision of the perfect cake for my son. It needed to be like a field with Lightning McQueen, his buddy Mater, a tractor, and Frank (the combine). Tractor-tipping!!!! That's it! It would be perfect. (If you have never seen the movie, this means nothing to you) I called my friend Kim, to my surprise she said, "I'm seeing it! I know what you're saying!"

"Do wut?" You mean that idea actually made it out of my head. Oh, this has to be a God thing. Someone else saw it too!!! I'm excited!! Kim calls her friend, Paula, who makes the world's greatest cakes. She tweaks the idea a little and Kim calls to tell me that I need to sterilize my cars to use on the cake.

I went digging through the toy boxes. Sidebar: We really need to have a yard sale or start culling the herd. There in the depths I found one of many Lightning McQueens. I managed to locate one with Moriah's help that still had most of the paint on it. Very close by is Frank the Combine and tractor. Great! All I have left is Mater. Yea! I just saw him the day before. I knew right where he was.

Have you ever participated in one of those radio contests where they hide and object and take pictures and you can go by their broadcast stations and look at the pictures and then you go and look for it along with thousands of others? This is how I felt. Mater was nowhere to be found. I visualized him sitting against the wall on the beige carpet right there in plain sight. I searched and searched and searched all by myself.

This is ridiculous. I encouraged the kids to help look. Moriah and I were running around looking frantically to no avail. If you want to know something go to the source, right? "Luke, where is rusty Mater?" This was followed by his classic standard answer of "I don't know....must be somewhere!" If it wasn't so cute, I would be so irritated at this point.

Okay, nothing is getting accomplished and it is 9:30. Vacation Bible School is in the morning at 8:30 and I'm getting tired. So, I resort to idle threats. "NOBODY is going to bed until we find Rusty Mater!" This didn't really seem to light any fires but still, neither of them tried to go to bed. Moriah was tired but Luke was thinking "BONUS! No bed!"

Finally, at 10:30, I caved. I admitted my failure and said, "Moriah get some shoes on...we're going to WAL-MART!" Insane. I am INSANE. (Also, means nothing to you if you haven't seen the movie.) We loaded up and started out on our late night journey. Did I mention that we live 15 miles from the nearest WalMart? :-)

Moriah suggests that we drive to Greenwood to get my niece, Marleigh's Tow Mater. Well, that makes perfect sense. Why didn't I think to spend $30 in gas to drive 90 miles one way to get one for free when I could drive 30 miles round trip, spend $5 in gas, and get the Mater for $3? Bless her heart! I know she is just trying to help.

Have you ever had a random thought that came to you and for no particular reason you felt compelled to share it even if it in no way was related to the topic of conversation? My daughter is a genius at this!!! She gets it from me! We are driving along and she says, "My friend Kelsie had a stomach virus last year and her little brother Mason did too. She says their brother, Chandler didn't because he has a strong stomach but she and Mason do not."............Huh? Luke pipes in, "Alright! Go Mason!"......What? I had no idea what any of that really meant. I broke out in laughter. Luke says, "Oh, sorry Mom!" I said, "I love you guys! You make me laugh."

Then, without notice, Luke's head drops ever so slightly to the side. He's asleep. I told Moriah we should have taken him for a drive sooner. I woke him to get him out of the car. He raises his little head off of my shoulder and says, "Are we leaving Chloe in the 'quoia?" I tried to explain to him that Chloe was at home. Moriah says, "Yeah! She's in BED!!!" Do I sense a little hostility in the ranks? Perhaps some "friendly fire" is next!

We arrive in WalMart. It is now close to 11:00pm. Do you know what kind of people go to WalMart at 11 o'clock at night? Shift workers, associates of the store, crazy people, and mothers in a relentless pursuit of the one thing that will make the perfect cake (or I guess that would fit under crazy people as well).

We go straight to the Toys because we are going to be home in bed by 11:30 (Yeah. Right.). Upon arriving to the Cars section, there it is right in front of me. I can hear the 'Hallelujah Chorus' playing in the background and all of the angels in Heaven are singing it. I picked it up and held it to my face and stroked it ever so gently. It smelled so purty, like the air right after a Spring rain! Awwwwww. I sighed a sigh of relief. Moriah spoke up and affirmed what most people already knew..."Mom, you are CRAZY!" You know, I had an idea that this was true but there is no greater confirmation than that of a 12 year old.

We went to checkout, of course, there were no lines...at 11:00!!!!!! I purchased a Diet Pepsi so I wouldn't fall asleep on the trip home. I noticed on the way up that someone had cut some trees that had fallen in a recent storm. I have to ask myself--why when a tree falls across the road do people cut the tree from white line to white line and leave the rest there for weary travelers to dose off and hit? I didn't want this to happen to me in what was otherwise a perfect evening. So, I drank the Diet Pepsi down pretty fast, some even came out my nose. Yes, it hurt! But, that brings me to you now! It is 12:46am on my baby's 4th birthday, I have to get up for VBS in a few hours, and I am TOTALLY strung out on CAFFEINE!!!! I think I will go bounce off the walls for a while!!!! HEHEHEHEHHE!!!!!

Kelsie and Moriah

2009-05-29T09:15:00.000-07:00

Kelsie and Moriah

Run to My Father

2009-02-23T21:35:00.001-08:00

There's something about my children that make them want to call us Mother and Father. With Moriah as soon as she turned 4, Mommy and Daddy were no more for Mother and Father had been born. Luke, on the other hand, calls us Momma and Daddy when addressing us. However, if he is speaking about us to anyone, he refers to us as "my mother" or "my father." Actually, it's mutter and fotter; but we won't get technical. This is a disclaimer that is necessary to lead into this story.....

One cold evening in December, the kids and I were traveling back to Perryville trying to make it home for the local Christmas Parade. The tank was on empty and we had not a minute to spare to make it in time. We drove in on fumes and a prayer.

As we topped the hill coming into our quaint little town, I could see that the parade had already started. The police had the road blocked and I could see the lights and hear the sirens of the many firetrucks that were participating. I quickly made a detour and headed down the back streets. I knew that if I drove quickly but carefully we could make it to the Courthouse Square before the parade.

We arrived safely to our destination. I grabbed Luke and all of the blankets (and the keys too, you know I don't always do that). Moriah had already ran ahead of us because it just wouldn't be cool to wait. We found a spot on the sidewalk in front of the courthouse. We cuddled up in the blankets and got settled in to watch the festivities.

There were firetrucks loaded with firemen and families from every community sounding their sirens, flashing their lights, and throwing candy to the children. Policemen with their blue lights on shouting "Merry Christmas" to everyone. Motorcycles and horses adorned in wreaths and lights. It was a truly happy time.

In the distance, I could hear the marching band coming. This is always especially exciting for us. Luke starts jumping up and down screaming, "I hear the band. My father's coming." It was a sweet little voice that had all of the ladies "ooh"ing and "ahh"ing and had me on cheek-pinching alert. As the band got closer and closer, the excitement built. Finally, the point was reached when Luke got a visual on his long awaited quest.

"It's my Father! It's my Father! I see him, he's coming" He throws his blanket off, runs out into the street, and grabs his daddy by the legs. "I love you!" he says to his father.

"I love you too Son!" John says as he bends over, wraps him in his arms, lifts him up, and gives him a kiss. "I'll be back for you in a little bit."

The band was passing by where we were seated and John had to go. Luke seemed content to watch the rest of the parade knowing that he would get to see his daddy again soon.

What an awesome thing that had just happened in front of my very eyes. Eyes that sometimes can't see the obvious. Eyes that sometimes let my thoughts wander to where is God in all of this. And there He is....EVERYWHERE in EVERYTHING! No matter where I am, I can run to Him and be assured that My Father will never be too busy to wrap me in his arms, lift me up,and let me know I am loved. I can continue to enjoy the blessings that He has given me. And, Praise HIM! He WILL be back for me in a little bit. Isn't that a great feeling?

Proverbs 8:17--"I love those who love me,
and those who seek me find me."

Christmas--It's OURS now, so GET OVER IT!!!!

2008-12-13T19:59:00.001-08:00

This week I was watching a news show on tv about how many people are in an uproar about the word Christmas. It always irritates me. It seems like there is a different group each year wanting to celebrate their own little 'holiday' in December. Halloween was suddenly not enough! And, whatever you do don't use the word 'Christmas' because it might offend a non-Christian. It's like a bunch of people woke up one day and realized that the word Christmas had Christ's name in it and we can't have that!!!!! I mean, it isn't like we haven't already commercialized it beyond recognition anyway. But, the more I thought about it the angrier I got and I had to take a chill pill and settle down for a moment.

This is what I came to realize. This will come as a shock to my husband who has been telling me this for over 13 years. Winter Solstice was a pagan holiday. I know that much but little more about it since I'm NOT A PAGAN!!!!! Christians decided that "we" needed a holiday to celebrate the birth of our Savior. Which is true and I am WAY cool with that decision. I totally understand that Jesus was more than likely born in the summer even though....is it not hot in the desert most of the time? My argument has always been 'it doesn't really matter when Jesus birthday actually is, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Martin Luther King, Jr. were not born on Monday (and yes I actually looked it up) but we are more than happy to take a Monday off each year to celebrate. Not to mention, George and Abe DO NOT share the same birthday!!!! BUT, December 25th is the day set aside to celebrate Jesus' birthday.' I have always thought that EVERYBODY should just accept that and be cool with it.

When the chill pill started taking effect, I began to wonder why we as Christians were just sitting around and letting this happen without really much of a fight. I then had a thought (yes it did hurt because it doesn't happen that often)"Bless their hearts!!" The pagans and all those who are offended by the word Christmas--bless their hearts, their poor misguided little hearts. All they are doing is trying to take back what was originally theirs to begin with. We, after all, had taken it away from them so long ago.

This brought to my mind something that happened a few years back (totally unrelated to Christmas). We were playing in a playoff game in a land far far away. The team's mascot was the Indian. Of course, their call to battle was the 'Tomahawk Chop.' You would expect nothing less of any self respecting Indian team. But, what they hadn't realized until that night was their team/fans were not the only was all charged up by the "Chop." Their band started playing the "Chop" and our band fired it up as well. But, of course, if you're going to do it (especially in Indian territory)...You have to do it right! So each time the Indians would start pounding their war drums, our band would do it too, only with more veracity and ummph! Each time it was louder and louder and louder. Until finally, their band just quit playing it altogether. They tried an elevator music version of Tomahawk Chop over the PA system but we were all thinking who brought that mess out here!!!! Not that it mattered since we now had the band playing, the fans singing, and the football team charging down the field. We couldn't hear anything other than ours! At that moment, one of our fans stood up and yelled, "THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKIN' ABOUT! TAKE THEIR STUFF AND BREAK IT OFF IN 'EM!!!"

So, really the pagan folk are just upset that Christians took Winter Solstice and BROKE IT OFF IN 'EM! Oh yeah! Whoop! Whoop! It's ours now! Get over it!!! We won that football game on that very cold November night. Just like so many years ago, when we took Winter Solstice and made it forevermore our Christmas! Now, it is our job to not let them take it back from us in the last seconds of the 4th quarter!!! Go FIGHT WIN!!!!

Where's My KEYS!?!?!?!?!

2008-10-28T12:41:00.000-07:00

Now that deer season is in full swing, I don't get to see John much but I have constant quality time with my children of whom I love and treasure each moment that I have. But, sometimes I feel the need for a little "me" time. I've been feeling a little stressed lately; not really anything that I can put my finger on as a cause but it is there nonetheless.

I awoke Sunday morning feeling particularly good. I got up and assisted the kids in getting dressed for church. One acquired a little more assistance as he usually fights it every step of the way; not that he doesn't like going to church....he just doesn't care for putting clothes on for ANYTHING!!! John got dressed and announced as he was heading out the door that he had to be at church early for choir practice . I said, "Wait! Take the kids with you."

He said, "Are you not going to Sunday School?" I told him that I thought I would just stay home. He inquired as to why I was not going to Sunday School. I told him, "I'm just staying home today." He asked, "Are you coming for church?"

"Nope." I said, "Just consider it my 'deer hunting' day." He kissed me called me a 'sinner' and headed out the door. I went back to bed and just lay there. It was so peaceful. The birds were chirping right outside my window. No noise. No children playing well together only to suddenly turn into a WWF match. Total and complete blissful peace. Ahhhhhhhhhh.

Two hours later, everybody returned. It was a good afternoon. John went hunting...of course. The kids and I had a relatively good afternoon just relaxing. Moriah and I studied her AWANA scriptures so that she could finish her 2nd book. Luke pestered as much as he possibly could just like normal. All was well.

John came home, changed, and headed off for choir practice....again! About 5 o'clock, I got up and started getting things together for evening services which is AWANA. We all were dressed and ready to go.

"Where are my keys?" I couldn't find them anywhere. The only thing that I could think of was that John had carried them off with him. I tried to call him; but like a decent person he didn't have his cell phone turned on in the church. Darn him! The first message I left near as I remember was something like..."I need my keys do you know where they are?" The second, a little more intense. By the third, "KEYS! Need 'em! NOW!" I was steamed!!! I had looked everywhere I could think of that made sense (my first mistake, thinking that anything would make sense).

We couldn't miss AWANA and everybody that we know was at the church. I found myself getting ever close to the edge (tick tick tick tick). I said, "Come on ya'll. We're walking to church." SURPRISE!!!! No complaining (right now). We walked out the front door. The air was crisp and cool but the sun was shining. It was beautiful. We only live like a 1/2 mile from the church. If the neighbors can walk to the smoke shop and get their cigarettes; we can walk to church. It was good for us, er, it was good for ME to work off the irritation and no children were harmed in the process.

We cut through the Sonic parking lot. There were several people enjoying their evening meal. We rounded the corner to the main "drag" through town. I saw a couple walking toward us on the opposite side of the road. I could tell little more about these people from this distance other than there were 2 of them. I turned to make sure my daughter was behind me; she smiled that gentle smile she has and giggled a little. I looked down at the curly headed little boy that had me by the hand. I got this overwhelming feeling of poverty. I almost cried. We have 3 vehicles, a house, warm clothes, and plenty of food; yet we were walking to town. Not walking around the track; not walking at the park; WE were walking to town. We are SO uneleivably blessed beyond words and yet, I felt poor. And, redneck!!! I felt extremely redneck! We are so blessed and yet, uh well, actually we are redneck. I just felt it a little more right then. So, there I am walking down the highway with 2 children in tow. All I needed were a couple of bags, a cigarette hanging out of the corner of my mouth, and a fly on the end of Luke's snot infested nose and an episode of Feed the Children was in the making.

As the approaching couple neared, I realized that it was the retired band director (the one before John) and his wife. I at this point no longer perceived walking as appearing impoverished but rather as a sign of how little the salary of a band director must be in this town. He said, "Are you out getting your exercise?" I responded, "Well actually, I think John made off with our keys and we are walking to church." They acted like they wanted to help in some way. I told them, "We are fine. The walk is doing us good."

We crossed the highway, cut through another parking lot, and what do you know. There is the church just one block away. I said, "See that wasn't that bad." Luke said, "My leds hut." I won't translate because I know that you understood that too.

Thankfully, John was there and he gave us a ride home after AWANA. He did NOT however have any knowledge as to the whereabouts of the keys. We got home and searched for a few hours. I got up the next morning and searched some more but to no avail. Where were they? I knew they hadn't got up and walked off....or at least I didn't think they did.

I asked Luke several times where they were and I got his standard answer. "I don't know. They must be somewhere." That's cute. But, when the taunting and harassment started it was about to get the best of me. It was obvious that he was the culprit. He knew where they were the whole time; I just know that he did. He crawled into the cabinet on the Lazy Susan and opened up the toaster oven and excitedly said, "Mom!!!! (pause) No keys in here!" This was followed by evil laughter. Keep it up Lil' Man, it's gonna be more than your leds hutting.

I decided to take a break and call the dealership to ask about a new key for the Toyota. Oh! Did I mention that the lost keys contained the only key we have to our main vehicle?! I explained my dilemma to the nice parts man. He was very helpful and encouraging. He began to spout out all kinds of information that I did NOT want to hear. I began to feel like I was making a Master Card commercial. "Computer Chip key $85, Computer to replace the old one because it can't be reprogrammed for a new key without the old one $282, Towing charge to get the keyless vehicle 30 miles to the nearest dealer probably around $100...." Ok! Where's the priceless part? That's the part I can afford!!!! I guess that would be where I piped in and told him, "You've been so helpful. Thank you very much. I think I will go look for my keys some more now." He wished me luck with a chuckle and we hung up.

I called John and asked what his plans for the evening were. He said, "I don't know. I thought I might come home and look for some keys. Is that what you had in mind?" We are so on the same page sometimes it's just scary!!!

I thoroughly cleaned several rooms during my search. Still no keys but at least half the house is in order. John arrived home. I assigned Moriah the task of taking care of Luke (which consisted of watching TV with him) because I knew that if she helped us look for keys we would just have to look there again. When I am looking for something, I trust no one until I've seen for myself (actually that applies to other things as well, like, uh, gossip!!!). I asked John to get his flashlight and search in all of the air vents because the covers are often removed and redistributed through the house so I'm sure that there are things lurking in the depths. There, everyone has their purpose set before them.

I began the nastiest part of my day...digging through the trash. Thankfully, it was only one bag. But, when I reached the bottom of the bag and no keys, I had that feeling like the 2nd place finisher on Fear Factor. "You mean, I went through all of THAT and didn't win. ARRRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!" I returned to the inside of the house and continued my room by room search. I searched the bathrooms all the while praying that the bodacious bundle that I call 'my keys' would have been too large to be flushed. I searched the hallway closets. I searched our bedroom. I found things under the bed that I had forgotten that we owned. I found things under the bed that were no longer identifiable. Until, wouldn't you know it. There in the corner of the room behind the dresser lay....MY KEYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Funny, isn't it...How they are always the last place you look? I realize that even if it was the first place I looked, if I found them, it would STILL be the last place that I looked because I wouldn't need to look anymore. Duh! Technically, that was my only motivation for continuing the search. If I didn't find them, I knew they "must be somewhere!" I'm pretty sure that God was giving me a lesson in patience otherwise the "last place I looked" would NOT have been TWEN-TEE FOUR HOURS LATER!!!!!!

Did I See That Right?

2008-10-16T08:05:00.000-07:00

I had an experience the other day that was UNBELIEVABLE. You know those annoying people that no matter what subject you are discussing, it has happened to them or someone they know. I'm in deep fear that I may either be one of those people or I am quickly becoming one. If you've read even just one of my stories you know that I am well on my way to levels of insanity that would test the skills of the most talented psychological examiner. But, THIS (the event of which I speak)was just too much....sad thing...it happens way too often.

Monday, my kids and I set off on a journey over the river and through the woods to Grandma's (and Grandpa's)house A.K.A. Nana and Papa. Moriah had a dentist appointment on Tuesday. We went the night before so that the kids could visit and then we wouldn't have to get up so early in the morning to go to the appointment. But, that is really irrelevant to this story. So......

We were traveling through Danville on Highway 10. For those of you who aren't familiar with the area, Highway 10 while no interstate is the main highway going through the town and is no stranger to speeders, tired or late-to-work shift workers, 18 wheelers, log trucks, and other potentially dangerous traffic.

Normally, if not stopping for gas, we would just bebop on through and not give it a second thought. The kids are in the backseat watching a movie. I'm listening to Tamara's Favorites. We all seem to be content. I see something on the sidewalk that caught my attention. I tapped my brakes but went on because I thought I was seeing things. I looked in my side mirror and saw a couple pulling out of Dollar General parking lot. They stopped and looked and then pulled out behind me. I turned around and went back.

NO ONE WAS STOPPING!!!! What is the deal? Did I see that right or was I dreaming?

Now that I have you all wondering....IT was a baby girl about 15 or 18 months old toddling down this relatively busy highway and NO ADULT anywhere around. When I got back to where the child was, she was standing in front of Dollar General playing in some flower pot dirt. Still, no one around. There was a little girl in the store trying to open the door for the child and I questioned her "Is this your little sister?" The little girl shook her head 'no.' "Is she with you?" I asked to which she also answered by shaking her head 'no.'

By this time, I had the little girl by the hand and she was trying to pull away from me. Bless her little heart, she didn't realize that I had the 'Great Escape Artist' in my SUV. It really wasn't a big challenge to keep hold of this little hand. Which is odd? Since she was BY her-SELF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I asked the people in Dollar General to make sure that she did not belong to someone in the store. No one claimed any knowledge of who this child was. I was in an out-of-body experience mode at this point. I couldn't believe this. I told the people there that I noticed a family at the car wash (2 blocks down) when I was turning around. I would take her there.

The little girl was still a little reluctant to go with me. I knelt down, tickled her a little bit, smiled at her, and said, "Where did you come from Baby Girl?" Scary thing. She let me pick her right up at that point.

I left my kids. Yeah! I know. I wasn't thinking straight. Moriah was freaking out a bit like me and Luke was asleep. I told Moriah I'd be right back. I walked down to the laundromat. I learned in that trek that I DO NOT spend enough time on my Wii Fit.

I got there and the lady looked over at me and said something to the man with her. There were several little children running around as they were loading their car. He came over to me, not slowly, but on the other hand, not running to me in a panic and falling down on the ground in sheer terror either. I asked "Is this your child?" He said "Yes." I'm not sure he spoke English. I don't know a lot of Spanish but Dora has helped me some. I looked at him and with a confused tone said, "La Nina?" He said, "Ci." I immediately went back into my comfort zone and said, "This is your daughter?" He said, "Yes." The little girl reached out for him and it appeared that she knew who he was. I then got my old out of shape second wind and let loose with a rant that probably sounded a lot like you would think someone speaking a different language would sound like to you when they are VERY upset!!!

I said to him, "She was walking down the highway BY HER SELF!!!!!" She was in DOLLAR GENERAL parking lot, TWO blocks away, BY HER SELF!!!!" Rinse and repeat. Several times!!!!! He just looked at me very bewildered and said, "Thank you." The little girl gave me a sweet little smile and waved 'bye' to me. I said to her "Bye Bye Baby Girl." The mother continued loading her car and just looked at the little girl and smiled and patted her on the head.

I turned and walked away. As I walked back to Dollar General, TWO blocks away, where I had left my own two children, the very unfit tired old lady in me took over again. I thought to myself, 'Thank you?' Thank you for what? For yelling at me that I let my baby walk away and I was loading my clean clothes in my car and not even noticing that one of my children was walking down a highway by themselves...OR...thank you for bringing her back....or, maybe....thank you for not calling the cops.

A lady leaving Dollar General stopped and asked me if her family was at the laundromat. I said I guess so. They took her. She told me that the cashier in Dollar General said that she thought she had noticed the little girl out playing in the laundromat parking lot with some other children when she came to work just a few minutes before. I told this lady that I know that your kids can get away from you (Lord knows how well I know that) but that it was just really scary to see that.

I stuck my head in Dollar General and told the cashier that she was with the family at the laundromat. She asked if they were looking for her. I said, "NO. They weren't. They were loading their car. I guess they would have noticed at some point that they were missing something."

I got back in with my kids and started down the road. I noticed as we were driving by that the "Parents of the Year" had left said laundromat. I guess so. Hurry, before anyone else comes up carrying one of our kids and we end up in jail.

Am I being too hard on them? I would normally, because of my experience(s) with Luke, say yes. But each (and EVERY)time that my child got out of my sight, I was running around like a madman cut loose from the chain trying to find my baby. And, furthermore, I'm not sure that when Luke was THAT age that I ever let him walk. Some of you, know that to be a fact!

So, anyway, short story long....because that's what I do! I called almost everybody I know freaking out about it. Then, I called the Sheriff's office. I tried to explain to them what had happened and that I was pretty confident because of the way the baby responded to the man that he was indeed her father but I thought they should be aware of the situation in case that anyone else reported it. The lady I was reporting this to asked if I spoke with the family. I said, "I spoke with the father and I wasn't really nice to him but I'm not sure that he spoke English." She asked for my name and thanked me for calling. She probably thought I was some raving lunatic for not reporting it first.

I see now that I should have, especially since I noticed on the trip home that the Fire Station and EMS was right next to Dollar General and it would have been a shorter trek for me. But, I was not exactly thinking really straight at the moment. I drive a lot and the sight of baby toddling down the side of the highway just through me for a loop. I know I did the right things but not in the right order. Someone told me, "next time..." NEXT TIME! Really! I hope there isn't a next time for this!!!!

I'm Important!

2008-10-15T19:01:00.000-07:00

WOW! It has been so long since I posted anything on here but here is a very cute Lukeism. Not that he hasn't done 10x this everyday but this one was a little special to me.

Last night, Moriah and I were working on some of her homework for Language. She had to write sentences and identify the common and proper nouns. Since she had missed class that day, we had a mini-refresher course on the subject. I was trying to explain to her that proper nouns were specific names of people, places, or things. I feel no "such as" is necessary; we all know what proper nouns are, right?

Luke chose to be ever-present during our mini-refresher course. This is good. I may not have to have this mini-course again! Yeah, right, whatever!!!

When I explained that people's names were proper nouns I used the example of girl=common noun, Moriah=proper noun. I reminded her that proper nouns needed to be capitalized because they are important.

Luke piped up and said, "Like my name, LUKE FULTZ!"

I said, "You are SO right Luke. Your name is very important."

He looks over at me with the sweetest look on his face and says, "Yeah, my name's important 'cause it's in the bible."

The Voting Age in Perry County

2008-05-21T09:30:00.000-07:00

I took the kids with me yesterday to vote in the primary. It was mostly local races and I really didn't know any of the candidates but keeping with the democratic spirit I voted any way. I figure if I let God lead me I won't vote for the wrong person. But yesterday, He provided me with a little extra help.

I pulled into the polling place and rolled down the windows in the SUV so that the kids would not suffocate in the oven. It was 90 degrees outside. I should have taken them in with me but it would be embarrassing to be asked to leave.

I was next in line to vote when I heard screams coming from the distant. I turned to my vehicle only to see Moriah sitting in the "way back" and Luke in his car seat. This can only mean one thing...............she moves faster than sound! I ran to see what was wrong. "I pretend hit him." ??????????????? My response? I said nothing. How do you pretend hit someone and make them wail loud enough for the whole town to hear. People were staring as they filed in robbing me of my "next" status. She stayed in the vehicle and I could hear her crying but not loudly. I felt really bad for just a second and then I realized that she was only "pretend" crying. So, I went on.

I took Luke in with me. I had lost my place in line. ARGGHHHH!!!! All of the ladies working the election were making over Luke's curls. He acted shy but I knew he was soaking all of it in.

As my time approached, I had to let him walk. He was very careful not to throw a fit in front of these nice ladies that had given him their utmost attention. I walked over to my voting machine and begin the process.

I didn't know any of these people but I knew which ones had actually asked me to vote for them. I carefully touched the boxes of the candidates that I believed that I needed to vote for. Luke comes up beside me and with that little pudgy finger reaches up and votes for some lady. I told him no. The election official asked me if I needed to change anything I could do it at the end. I told her that I believed that it was OK.

I figured since I don't know any of them anyway. Luke's guess was as good as mine. And, children seem to have a 6th sense about people. Maybe Luke was using his gift of discernment. I let it be.

In that particular race, the lady that Luke voted for won with 68% of the votes. Way to go Luke!!! Perhaps I should take him with me in November. I am really going to need some extra help on the presidential race.

Wonder what that Farmer Did?

2008-05-20T11:44:00.000-07:00

I remember as a kid having the See'n'say that played the farm animal noises. It was as big as a bicycle tire and had a pull-string. It was tons of fun!
I went to buy Luke one and couldn't believe how small it was. It has more animal sounds and plays 2 songs (Old McDonald and Farmer's in the Dell). Not to mention, it has a handle that you pull instead of the string.
For a year or two, it laid in the toy box not being touched. However, it has recently been rediscovered.
Last night as I sat watching TV, Luke walks up to me with the sweetest little smile on his face, flinging curls around everywhere as he danced to the music of his See'N'Say. He sat down beside me and sang "The Farmer's in the jail. The Farmer's in the jail. Hi-Ho the Dairy-O. The Farmer's in the jail."
Wonder what happened there?

Rambling--Another Kid-Raising Philosophy

2008-03-20T09:19:00.000-07:00

I was visiting with some old high school chums a while back. We were discussing our kids, life, and how we were definitely not getting any younger. Someone brought up the "G" word. Is anybody from our class a grandparent? I grew up in a small town in Arkansas and we were a pro-lific young class. It was inevitable that at our age someone was going to be a grandparent. We knew of one for sure. We also knew of several that had grandchildren by stepkids that they had helped raise.

I shared with them an email that I received some 5 years ago with pictures attached of our classmates new grandbaby. I sat in front of the computer and cried for 30 minutes because it couldn't be possible that we were old enough for GRANDKIDS!!!!! Then, several days after that mind-boggling revelation I received an email from another classmate informing me that she was expecting her third child. Happy! Happy! Joy! Joy! We are not too old!!!

During our visit, one of our classmates joined in the grandparent conversation. This girl was (in high school) a very quiet girl who never said a whole lot and when she did it wasn't loud or outrageous. She was, back in the day, in a group of girls that got married the week before we graduated from high school. Her husband was in the military, she moved to Greenland right after graduation and started having babies. Now, it's not like she had a gaggle but she had 2 pretty close together.

On this day, she added some ingredients to the conversation that left the rest of us trying to find something to neutralize the topic and get back to the 'good ol' days' talk we were sharing. She started out by saying, "I put my girls on birth control when they became teenagers." Dang! That was bold to come right out and say in public for everybody to hear...don't ya' think?

A few faltered away and began talking to other people. She didn't stop, she was on a roll. I can understand that to an extent. But, also when people are intrigued by what I am saying, if only for a moment, I tend to talk louder. I am the center of attention and that doesn't happen often so I must make the most of it. Such was the case with my friend.

"I told my girls since they were little bitty," she continued, "that I didn't intend on being a grandmother at 35 and I didn't care if I had to chop up birth control pills and put it in their oatmeal and orange juice. I was NOT going to be a grandmother at 35." Again, Dang! Not just 'Dang!', but can you imagine the horror of being told at 5 or 6 that your breakfast had been spiked with some sort of drug. I know it is the most important meal of the day; but, Flintstone chewable birth control seems a bit much.

At this point, she pretty much lost her audience. But, did this cause her rantings to cease? Not at all. In fact, she chose to focus her ramblings loudly to the one person in the group who was cursed with the gift of making great eye contact even though they were somewhere in the tropics in their happy place! That would be me! She kept on going! I couldn't tell you exactly what she was saying because I was on the beach (in my head) basking in the sun.

This had to stop. The Caribbean beat that was soothing me was turning into Mayan war drums and it was busting up my happiness. I said to her, "You know how I took care of that? I insured that I would not be a grandmother at 35 by having my children at the ages of 29 and 37. Kinda hard to be a granny when you don't have kids yet!"

We brought a few people back into the conversation and got off of this topic. It's amazing how 20 something years will change a person. Just a mention of that type of thing in high school would have embarrassed the fire out of this girl. Now, she was embarrassing everyone around her .

Did Sarah have to Deal with People like this?

2008-03-20T07:35:00.000-07:00

When I was in school I had a bad case of diarrhea of the mouth. In other words, when I had something to say...I said it. But, it wasn't just me, all of my friends had this problem. I remember in 7th grade; we were assigned the task of writing a paper about our career plans after school. One of my backup plans was to be a radio disc jockey. One of my good friends piped up, "you certainly have a big enough mouth for it." My response was "you must be going to be a belly dancer then." We never had to guess what our friends were thinking, we always knew. Perhaps that is why after 20 plus years we are all still friends.

However, over the years, I have learned to restrain my self somewhat. I have learned to refrain from expressing myself fully and immediately since most people that I come in contact with I haven't known all of my life. But, sometimes I have to just let it go. I take it for as long as I can, red-faced and about to bust, until no amount of imodium could hold back the explosion. This baby is going to blow.

My mother didn't want to start her family until after she graduated from college; she did so at the age of 35. She gave birth to 3 beautiful children; the last one (moi) born 2 weeks before she turned 43. While my mother did an awesome job with my brother and I (our sister, her first born, passed away at 6 weeks old), this is not a path that I would have chosen for myself. But, God had other plans for me. And, his plan is always PERFECT! I had my first child at age 29 and my second at THIRTY-SEVEN!!!!!!!!!!! I repeat! I would not have chosen this plan for myself; but, I have come to trust that He knew what he was doing.

Having said that. What is with people who think there "God-given" plan is more perfect than yours??????

Not too long ago, I was sitting around with a few friends. Each of us were at different points in our lives. One was in her twenties and expecting her second child; another was 35--her youngest was entering 5th grade and the oldest a senior in high school, while her husband was 20 years her elder; and me. We were discussing our children and where we would be in 10 years.

My 35 year old friend was sure that her life was set up perfectly. God has blessed her richly; but she was certain that I was being scourged because I am 40 with a toddler. She said, "In 7 years, my baby will graduate and be out of the house." ***My mother would have, of course, intervened at this point because my brother and I neither one were out of her house by the age of 18.*** I bit my tongue and said nothing. She went on, "I AM going to be FREE from kids at the age of 42 and I am going to GO OUT AND HAVE SOME FUN. While you, at age 42, will have a 4 year old, barely out of diapers and you will be tied down with kids until you are 55." Now, this is true. But, she was saying it like it was a bad thing. You know, like her perfect plan was better than mine. She went on and on and on and on and on; laughing all the way at the demise that I was facing while she will be out enjoying life with her friends.

I had turned the other cheek and when it got slapped, I was out of cheeks. There was nothing left but for Ol' Faithful to erupt. I took a deep breath and thought carefully to make sure that I didn't leave anything out of MY assessment of her life much like she had done me. She gave me the respect of expressing her true feelings and she deserved the same.

My oral presentation was something like a political campaign speech and went like this--

"When I graduated from high school, I went to college. While in college, I went out with my friends on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights and had SOME FUN. When I graduated from college, I got a job. On Friday and Saturday nights, I went out with my friends; still enjoying life. I got married when I was 27. When you were the age that I was then you were at home with THREE kids; the youngest was 2 and the oldest was 9! Some of us chose to 'enjoy life' as you call it when we were young. I enjoyed life when I was a kid instead of raising babies when I was a teenager. Good luck, going out partying with your friends when your 40 something and too old to kick up the proverbial heels and enjoy life. While it is true that I will be at home with a 4 year old at the age of 42, he WILL....hopefully be out of diapers at that time. You on the other hand will have all of your kids out of the house and just in time for that 'old man' of yours to be back in diapers. And, let's not forget that by that time, your kids will have probably shot out a couple of grandkids and you will of course be left with the responsibility of caring for them while your daughters go out and 'have some fun.' While when I am 42, my oldest child will be at the perfect age to babysit her 4 year old brother while my husband and I go out for an occasional life enjoying experience."

That was all. I was done. In the words of Forrest Gump, 'That's all I got t' say 'bout that.'

She took a step back looked at me, cocked her head to the side and with a big ol' grin on her face said, "It's gonna be like that is it."

I said, "YEP! I guess it is!" We had a good laugh and we are still friends. She is still blessed with her perfect plan and I am still blessed with mine. I just wonder though...When Sarah gave birth to Isaac at such a perfect age, did she go through the same thing? I guess I'll ask her that when I am in that "Old Ladies with Babies" Club-Heaven Chapter.

Disappointment

2008-03-09T12:07:00.000-07:00

A few days ago my daughter was sitting in the floor beside me after a day of being semi-tortured by her little brother. She asked me "Do you remember when I was in the 1st or 2nd grade and I wanted you to have a baby?"

I looked at her with a smile on my face. "Yes I remember that. Are you rethinking that now?"

Her response was simple. "No, I'm not rethinking it. But, do you also remember that I wanted a baby sister?"

I paused for a moment. I remember the scenario well. She prayed for almost a year asking for a baby sister. She told everyone in the town where we were that I was going to have a baby girl. For almost a year, I had people coming up to me with congratulations. Some people even inquired as to how I knew that I was having a girl when I wasn't even showing yet. It got so annoying after a while, I had to threaten her. Another child was not in our plans.
After this year of prayer and meditation by my young daughter, I learned that I was pregnant at the age of 36. I was devastated. I would be 37 when this child was born. I was already tired and worn out and now I was starting over!!!! No more going out with my friends during the day or just being able to drop everything and go.....anywhere. I was very disappointed to say the least.
I knew without a doubt that this child had to be a girl. Moriah had already told everyone that she was having a baby sister and she had known that for over a year. It isn't often that you come across that kind of prophecy. But, it didn't matter to me. People would come up to me and ask if I wanted a boy or a girl. My response was always the same, "Moriah wants a sister, John wants a son, and it doesn't matter to me because I really didn't want either one." That was hard for some people to get. I was just being honest. I didn't want to be pregnant so it didn't really matter which flavor it was, I would be okay with it.
I also remember that moment in the doctor's office when it was obvious from the ultrasound that it was a brother we were a-having and not the long awaited sister. I remember the screams of "NO! NO! Change your mind! It's a girl!" that were heard throughout the doctor's office. Oddly enough, John and I were crying as well. John-tears of joy and well, I had been crying for months about the whole thing. But, as you know, I could not change my mind about the pregnancy or the gender. It was indeed a boy and a-coming he was...like it or not.
But, some 3 years later, I have acquired a somewhat different attitude about the situation. On this particular day, I thought for a moment about how to respond to my distressed daughter. She was exhausted from hiding from her brother for fear of yet again having her hair yanked until her head flung back like a little Moriah Pez dispenser. I knew how she felt. It appears to bring him so much joy.

This is the response that I came up with--"I know that you are disappointed that you didn't get the little sister that you wanted. We don't always get exactly what we want but we get what God knows that we need. How cool is it that out of all the little girls on this earth that God could have sent Luke to live with, he sent him to be your little brother? Isn't that cool?"

"Yeah Mom." she said, "that is cool. But.......I STILL had rather had a sister." We laughed and went on with the rest of our blessed day.

This morning in church the thought of this conversation with her and the answer I had given came back to me. The preacher was defining the prefix "dis" as apart from or a negative or reversing force. That hit me in the face like a ton of bricks (which was evident by my swollen face that I tried to pass off as a sinus issue). I realized that while expressing my disappointment, I had neglected to see that I was proclaiming my apartness (is that a word?) from my appointment. God said to me at that moment: "While I could have entrusted that precious little boy to any mother in the world, it was YOUR appointment!"

How cool is that?

Hymn of A Band Director's Kids!

2008-03-01T19:32:00.000-08:00

I was on (another) trip from my parents' home to ours with my two children. Moriah was in the front seat with me and Luke safely strapped into the backseat. As we were leaving city limits and the speed limit increased, I sped up to set my speed control to the maximum limit of 55 (okay, I set it to 60 but that's usually allowed, right?).

I noticed out of the corner of my eye that my daughter was leaning over to my side of the car. "What are you doing?" I inquired. I was unaware at that particular time but that one question set the tone, if you will, for the rest of the trip.

"Uh, I was just checking that speed thingy and noticed that you are driving a little moderato."

'What?' I thought but didn't say anything. I didn't have time to respond. Out of the backseat came screams of laughter and joy. "ALLEGRO! Momma!!!"

"No, no, NO Luke! You do not want her driving Allegro!"

I yell out "Presto!" She screams in dramatic terror as only she can do. I start to laugh. She asks if I am aware of how fast I am going. I said, "Yes. I have the speed control set on 60."

"SIXTY!!!!!!!!!!! It looked like 48 from over here."

"Uh! Yeah! That's what I meant....48. I'm going 48 miles per hour."

"You are not! You really ARE going 60, aren't you? That IS Allegro!!!"

Luke is getting all excited and yelling 'Allegro, allegro, Momma!'

"Mom," Moriah pipes in, "You should always drive Adagio!"

At this point, I'm thinking 'Layoff you little Staccato!' But instead, I answered with "If I drive adagio we will never make it home! Can I at least go Moderato?"

I thought we had reached the finale but apparently it was only a coda. When we came into a small town, without thinking of the consequences of my notes, I said in what I thought was a piano voice, "Is this adagio enough for ya'?" Oh no! I was flat wrong....mezzo forte!! She heard me!

She glances over at the speedometer and quirks, "Yes!"

As we reach the city limits on the opposite side of this town, I said in the most uncool smart aleck voice I could come up with, "Crescendo!" She says "What does that mean?" HAH!!! Something she didn't know. I realized at this point that it had nothing to do with speed. I had to act quickly so as to not appear like a total moron. I said, "It means to gradually get louder; like this..." as I reached over and turned the volume up on the radio to fortissimo.

She turned it down and began to tell me about a dream in which she had the night before. An interlude if you will. In this dream, she and her friends that live across the street were building party buses like Miley Cyrus has and when they finished they helped Luke and Baby Carly (from across the street) build little baby party buses. This drone went on for 25 miles. But, since we are cruising along at allegro, is it really that long??

We came to the next town, it seemed only natural to stay on the motif. I interrupted her dream sequence to say "Duh-min-u-end-O." She pauses for a moment and then says, "Mom!!! Diminuendo has nothing to do with speed! Do you know nothing about music?....." This was followed by a reprise of musical knowledge that made me feel like a complete and total drooling ritard and turned my whole evening into a deceptive cadence.

I learned valuable information from this evening though. The key to survival in our little Capriccio is (even though you might feel the need to on occasion) refrain from choking your children with a chord and never beat them; instead, keep harmony in your household by treating each precious little one like a fermata. Hold them. Fine (Fin-A).

Prerequisites

2008-02-22T08:34:00.000-08:00

I remember when I was in college and I had to take something called prerequisites. I thought: "what in the world is a prerequisite?" I dared not ask for fear of looking like a stupid freshman. I took the word into my internal memory and kept it in a file with other words such as syllabus that I was sure that I would only need for the next four years (or 6 but who's counting).
A prerequisite is a class that you must take in order to gain necessary knowledge for classes that you will take in the future. For example, I had to take College Algebra before I could take Agricultural Economics. I'm still trying to figure that one out! But, then again, I DID breeze through both of them with a 'D.' Hey! I passed! Layoff!!!
I'm not sure I figured out what prerequisite really meant until I had children. I'm constantly having flashbacks of things that I have gone through in my life that left me with a feeling of 'Why me?' only to be now left with a feeling of 'Eureka! Thanks God!' One such event came to me last night as I was reminiscing over the last 2 1/2 years and the many episodes of 'Revenge Nudity' (where all clothes and diapers are ripped off to make a point of control) and incidence of a little curly head leaning over the bath tub, staring down the drain because he's sure that Sally the Turtle is down there somewhere and the fear that he would somehow get blamed for her disappearance.
When I was employed by Children and Family Services, I had the pleasure of meeting and developing a friendship with a little boy. "Little Johnny" was your basic 7 year old, oldest sibling of a whole gaggle of kids. He came into my life one day as a result of a responsible adult who left he and his younger siblings alone with a pack of cigarettes and a bottle of whiskey. Once the party got started, things got out of control due to an intoxicated toddler that the others were afraid was going to torch the place with the cigarette he was smoking. 9-1-1 was called by one of the children and the rest is history.
I had the honor of escorting "Little Johnny" to his doctor's appointments and parental visits. He was a delight to be around and never a dull moment was to be had. I was fresh out of college and still pretty proud of my little dark red sports car only to have it ripped apart by this child that I couldn't 'hit.' "Little Johnny" did everything from pushing all my buttons (both figuratively and literally) to taking off his seat belt and trying to jump out of the car going down the interstate. Thank God the speed limit was still just 55 then because another 10 or 15 miles an hour and I might have had to "push" him. Tee hee! Not really!!!!
After a few weeks, "Little Johnny" became the Dennis the Menace of our office and believe it or not some people actually hated him. I didn't particularly care for his behavior but I had a brand spanking new degree in "Human Development and Family Studies," tons and tons of prerequisites under my belt, and an undying belief that there was good in everyone (some of us just require a little deeper dig than most). The nearest I can describe as to how I felt about him is the character of "Little Nicky" from the Adam Sandler movie of the same name--while still the son of Satan he was more pitiful than the evil ones who had abused him all of his life.
One dreary day, I was scheduled to escort "Little Nicky, er, I mean, uh Johnny" to the pediatrician. Now, being a worker for DHS, I was not allowed to disclose to anyone who I was. It wasn't necessary because the office employees at the pediatric clinic knew and it wasn't really the business of anyone else. That worked really well for most children in the system but this Precious was a different story. He tried every bit of patience that I had but not before he had in some way annoyed every other adult in the waiting room. I was receiving glares that would bring the devil himself to his knees. I took it for as long as I could and then I announced to the entire waiting room with apparent despair in my voice, "HE IS NOT MINE, OK!"
A question from a mother whose child had been assaulted, "He's not yours?"
"No Ma'am. I am doing a favor for a friend who is at work." That was my standard answer because I did after all kind of like my supervisor (she was one of my bridesmaids) and she was at work. They didn't need to know that she wasn't the mother either.
The lady responded with, "You're a better friend than I am. I wouldn't put up with that."
I managed to get "Johnny" wrapped up in my arms preventing him from hitting anyone else and he couldn't throw anything. As he screamed for me to let go of him, I was headbutted and kicked. While I could have probably drawn Worker's Compensation, I refused to acknowledge getting beat down by a 7 year old. Those bruises were from running into the wall, yeah that's it! I managed to get one leg wrapped around him and explained to him while it was embarrassing to sit like this in the full-to-capacity waiting room, I was going to sit here and hold him until he calmed down. After about 5 minutes of intense pain for both of us, he settled down. Eventually, they called us back to the exam room. I'm sure that they put us in front of others just to get him out of there but I didn't care and neither did the other patients and their parents/guardians. "Johnny" and I got up from a seat and walked back together and he even took my hand and let me lead him back. *SHOCK!!!!*
Once the pediatrician came in the room, all of the calmness went out the window. The second he hopped up on the exam table it was like WWF. The doc handed him a tongue depressor....OK???? Does anybody else see this as a problem? I had no children at the time but I figured that handing this kid something that could easily be made into a shank was probably not the best idea. But, he was in the doctor's care now. ~smile~
The little boy took the tongue depressor and quickly slapped the doctor on both sides of his face like something straight out of the 'stooges' and screamed at him "ELVIS!!!!" OK! Minus the sideburns, he could have passed for the King....I guess! This invoked an unbelievably calm response from the doc of "Have you ever thought about maybe Elvis faked his death and he really still is alive?"
WHAT??????????? Where in the world did that come from? "Uh....no, Doc, can't say that I ever gave that a pondering?" Still, I was impressed at his calmness. Apparently, this wasn't his first "Little Johnny." Although, the tongue depressor strategy still remains a mystery. I guess it worked at some point.
Later, the doctor caved. "Is there anything you can do to help me keep him still while I finish his physical exam?"
"Ooooohhhh! I don't know let me see. I haven't had much luck before." I walked over to the exam table and said softly to the child. "Do I need to hop up there on the table and give you a hug like I gave you in the waiting room?" He looked at me with the sweetest expression in those deep dark eyes and said, "Noooooooooooo." He laid down on the exam table and allowed the doctor to finish the exam. All was well, until the inevitable examination of the unmentionable area. "Johnny" grabbed his pants, threw his leg over to protect himself, and screamed "HEY MAN!!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING??????" Thank the Lord and all things good this was the END of the exam.
We left the office that day, got in the car, and put on our seat belts. I said, "Look! I'm making a deal with you. From this point on, when you are with me, every time you break a rule, no matter where we are there will be a 5 minute time out." He agreed to the deal. For any infraction occurring while traveling down the road, we pulled over to the side of the road for 5 minutes. It took us 1 1/2 hours to drive 15 miles. I heard 'I'm sorry' more that day than I have the rest of my life combined. Each time, I explained to "Little Johnny" that if I let him off with less than the agreed to time of "5 minutes" then I would be a liar. "I will never lie to you!"
While other CFS workers hated even being in the room with this child, I never had another problem with him. They even called me a few times to calm him down. I think sometimes he just wanted a hug. I never gave him the "super hug" again after "that" day; but he was only 7!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Even though he was "Johnny the Barbarian," he still needed hugs! Something had happened to him in his short life that caused this behavior.
I still think of him regularly...especially, when I'm getting my lip busted and collar bone thrashed from head butting. Thank God for the curls that cushion the blows and another prerequisite on my life's transcript.

Calm in the Midst of the Storm

2008-02-11T09:43:00.000-08:00

We had gone to my parents' home and spent the night for dentist appointments on the next day. We had a good trip with no significant out of the ordinary events; which in itself for our household could be some humourous situations. This day was filled with smiles, laughter, fun, and thankfulness like others but nothing to really blog about.
We went to the dental appointments and still nothing really to write home about. It was Luke's first experience at the dentist. He tried to escape several times. They were amazed at his abilities to open doors (as are we); especially the big heavy duty doors that are supposed be difficult for small children to open. He screamed during the appointment but this just made it easier for Dr. Willis to count his teeth. Nothing that really inspired me to write.
We left the office and headed back to my parents' to pack up. I had heard from other parents in the waiting room that there were thunderstorms headed for the area . I wasn't overly concerned. I was sure that we would be home by the time they hit. A weather bulletin came on the radio informing that a severe thunderstorm was to hit the area around 5:00. It was about 3:30. I thought to myself: I can pack, get out of town, and be halfway home before they hit here. Still, not overly concerned for our safety.
We got to my folks and I was packing our belongings, putting the car seat back, etc. It started raining. I told Moriah to get her things and get in because it was starting to rain. I got Luke loaded. I went back in the house to do the benediction and jump in and go. It was 4:10. I got in the vehicle. The wind was blowing and it was raining very hard by now. Moriah was extremely concerned but I told her to pray for our trip home and God would take care of us. But, before we left town, I had to stop and get gas. The rain was blowing sideways; I put my back to the rain and went on with my gas pumping. I had on a rain resistant wind suit; which I found out, means "difficult to keep pulled up on leather seats."
I was scanning the radio for weather reports not nearly concerned with the genre of music playing. We have traction control on our vehicle that has a little alarm that sounds and flashing warning lights when you start to slip followed by the vehicle grabbing a-hold of your car to stop the sliding. It is a very handy tool to have once you get used to the process. Every time this would happen (which was quite often in the first 30 minutes of our trip), Luke would say "I'm alright Momma. Are you okay?" I'm okay! Isn't that precious? Moriah, who is deathly afraid of storms, was watching 'Barbie as the Island Princess.' I was thinking to myself, 'Thank the Lord for headphones and tunnel vision.' I thought she didn't realize we were driving through a storm.
It still wasn't 5:00; the time in which the big storm was going to hit. I was driving 35 and 40 miles per hour. Police officers were pulled over and parked under awnings which made me wonder what they knew that I didn't. John calls me on the cell phone to tell me a tornado had touched down in Ola. I have to drive through Ola on the way home. While I appreciated the fact that he was keeping me informed about the wall cloud that was hovering over my vehicle, I expressed that this was a time that my hands needed to be at 10 and 2 and my knees did not need to be on the steering wheel so that I could hold the phone (I hate speakerphone and hands-free devices).
I see many things that should have scared the living daylights out of me. One particular event was the lightning that struck a tree right in front of me and I saw the specific tree catch on fire. I kept thinking to myself 'it doesn't usually rain during an actual tornado so I'm okay.' The rain stopped for a few minutes; a brief sigh of relief. Then, it came back blowing the other way. Again, a bit scary but I managed to convince myself that it was a different storm that had started. I said to Luke who had been silent for a while, "I'm okay, Luke! Are you okay?"
"No Momma! I'm not okay!" was the response. At this point, I started singing 'Faith is the Victory' and wishing that I knew all of the words. Those 4 seemed to help calm me down quite a bit so I just kept humming the song and filling in what words I did know. I could see the clouds over to the East and was so thankful that wasn't the way I was traveling. I was traveling on Highway 10 (if you know anything about how our highway system is set up in this country; you know that odd numbers run North and South while even numbered roads run East and West). I tell you this to let you know that the road had taken a slight curve to the South and I was about to turn and go East.
We arrived in Ola (where the tornado had allegedly touched down earlier). John called once more and asked where I was. He told me to pull over and sit for 20 minutes and the storm would be gone. What? I was 30 miles from home and I had driven in this the whole way (a usual 90 minute trip had already taken 2 hours and I had 30 more minutes to go). I wanted to be home. But, I listened. While we were at the Ola Mall (???), the employees there said that nothing had touched down there and they had been receiving calls all night about the damage to their town. They said that Atkins was hit pretty hard but nothing in Ola. Me, being totally geographically ignorant in the "way the crow flies" thought I had been concerned for nothing. We ate our snacks, drank our drinks, and came home.
I have to admit....John was right! We drove home to dry highways, no rain, and virtually no wind. We arrived in Perryville at about 7:20 (remember we left for our 90 minute trip home at 4:10). John said when I walked in the door, "you still have time to go vote before the polls close." I grabbed the doorknob to go; but I couldn't bring myself to walk out. John McCain and Mike Huckabee neither seemed very appealing to me at the moment; not to mention Romney, Hillary, and Obama! Yuck! So, I didn't vote!
In the days following, I watched the reports of the storm; all of the loss and devastation. I had driven the entire trip parallel to the storm. It was right beside me all the way. I was driving in to it! When the rain stopped and switched direction, was more than likely the "eye" passing over. While I was scared a bit, I never felt less than safe. It was a calmness of sorts that I can't explain with anything other than God's hand being over us. It was similar to the calmness I felt during the birth of Moriah. I am thankful for the blessing of ignorance shielding me from the seriousness of the situation.
Last night, Moriah's choir teacher at church told me about Moriah telling them Wednesday evening about how terrified she was driving home Tuesday. She had told them how she prayed that God would keep us safe and he did. I thought that she was back there in the back seat watching TV and was oblivious to our surroundings. What a little prayer warrior she is!
This past weekend, Luke broke one of my Precious Moments figurines. He gained access to it through the door of the curio cabinet that is absent of glass due to a faulty clubhouse that was built by 2 unlicensed contractors that pushed a winged-back chair directly into the cabinet and broke it. I packed the remainder of Precious Moments away and left the broken one (he just ripped the tail off of a lion--he's a ruthless kid) to be repaired. I discovered this morning that Luke had drawn on the walls of the livingroom for the 4th or 5th time. I cleaned it up and let him help me. I helped him rebuild the living room clubhouse that I swore would never be rebuilt. Right now, as I am writing this, a crash comes from his room. I go to see what it is (THIS TIME) discovering that he had thrown his lamp and shattered the bulb. I picked up the lamp, vacuumed up the glass, changed his diaper, cleaned his nose, hugged his neck, kissed him and came back to finish this story. Some things are not worth getting upset about. The "REAL" Precious Moments are much more valuable. If we had not been so richly blessed, nothing in our lives would ever get broken! How much more empty would we be?

I'm Turning Into My Mother......in-Law!

2008-01-22T10:20:00.000-08:00

John tells the story of growing up with 5 kids in the backseat of a car with his mom driving down the road. Invariably, two or all three of his sisters would get into a fight. He explains it as "Mom would never take her eyes off the road and just start slapping at the backseat." He goes on to say that he and his brother would slither into the floor board or anything they could do to escape the flying phalanges.

Yesterday, Moriah, Luke, and I went to Greenwood to visit with my parents since Moriah had the day off from school. All was well until we loaded in the car to go home. It was starting to rain and it was hovering just above the freezing mark so time was of the essence to get home. We had just started out on our 1 1/2 hour trip when Luke decided that he want to yank on Moriah's seat belt. Bless her heart. She was sitting there, for once, not bothering anyone. When all of a sudden she begins to beg for mercy. Of course, this was funny to Luke who is right slap dab in the middle of the terrible twos (oh please Lord! Let it at LEAST be the middle).

I calmly said, "Luke, Baby, you are choking your sister. Please let go of her seat belt." The response of "NO!" rang out through our small tight quarters. I said with a little less calmness, "Luke! Let go!"

My little boy. He's so polite to everyone. He says 'please;' he says 'thank you;' he says 'excuse me' when he belches. At this particular moment though, his choice of words happened to be, "YOU SHUT UP, Momma!" WHAT??????????????????????????

You know when Bugs Bunny would do some despicable unthinkable act to Elmer Fudd and smoke would come out Elmer's ears? I never thought that was physically possible until that very moment. I could feel it. You could even smell the smoke in the car!!

I put my hand over the back of the seat. Moriah ducked. I start slapping at Luke's legs. Mostly to no avail since his car seat sides are higher than my arm. "Those words better never come out of your mouth again Little Boy." He DIDN'T cry; he didn't even try squirming to get out of the way. He sat there and looked at me as if some crazy had broken free from the chain and was running wild in the car. It was obvious that the several layers of clothes that he had on was shielding him and I was losing this battle. So, I stopped. I then explained that if he ever felt the need to use those words with me again I would pull over and take him out of the car in the freezing rain where my hand and his rear end would procede with a full contact debate. "You never tell Momma to shut up." At this point, Moriah was about to bust to get her 2 cents in so she outs with "or Dad!" I reminded her of the advantages of staying out of the conversation when Luke was getting in trouble. Well, not trouble so much, he didn't seem to care!

All was quiet for a few minutes. I was still flustered. I had to turn the heat down in the car. I glanced back to his car seat at him seated there just as sweet, innocent, and happy as can be. I said, "No telling how many times you've said that to us that we couldn't understand what you were saying." He busted out laughing!?! I had flashbacks of Sunday School and Shannon speaking of possible demon possession in her household. Moriah was sitting across from me with her finger over her mouth and her lips clenched tight to hold back her laughter. I looked at her with inquiry as to the humor of the situation. She quickly responded, "Nothing Mom! Nothing is funny at all!"

TIMBER!!!!!

2007-12-13T13:06:00.000-08:00

If a tree falls in a forest and there is no one there to hear it, does it make any noise?
If a tree falls in the living room and there is no one there except a two year old, did he knock it over?
Two weeks ago as I put the tree up and started decorating it, with the little guy around my feet saying "I have a turn" (meaning that he wants to help), I said to the tree "Will we make it through Christmas?"
Of course the tree didn't answer. But, if it could have, the answer would have been "Quick! Put me back in the box, I don't want to die."
I wrapped all of the presents and placed them neatly under the tree. Some of them I have wrapped twice since then. It looked so pretty.
Last night, I hear a slight noise that seemed a bit out of the ordinary. By that I mean, it wasn't a crash. Then, my little Luke comes running to the den yelling "Tree! Fall!"
0

Word for the Day: Custody

2007-11-29T06:18:00.000-08:00

Sunday, after having been gone to Kingston for Thanksgiving, Moriah sat in her room and played with her Barbies. They were all sitting around in her room like some sort of beauty queen convention. They were even seperated into social groups; you know, The Malibu Group, The Fairytopia Group, The Superhero Group, and the Social Outcasts (the ones whose origin cannot be established any longer or they aren't really Barbies at all). Ken was there too. He always hangs out with the girls.

A Barbie convention all by itself would not be too stressful or devastating. It was the apparent cyclone that had accompanied the convention. I expressed my concern in a calm manner over the obvious natural disaster that had struck because we had just arrived home that afternoon and it would not have been possible for ALL of those things to have been dragged out of the closets and strewn about the room. There could only be one of two explanations: natural disaster or "we've been robbed." And, since none of our stuff appears to have been "jack'd," it has to have been a twister.

Moriah has never been one to comprehend the whole "Clean your room!" concept. We usually try to approach it with baby steps; one small event at a time until the room is straight. While this usually works, it takes too long and doesn't fill my need for instant gratification.

I explained to Moriah that if her dolls were not out of the floor by morning she would most definitely lose custody of them. "What is custody?" I explained to her in elementary terms what custody meant and proceeded to give her a lesson in the antics of social services when we don't care for the blessings that God has given us. Followed by a reiteration of the definition of "foster care."

Monday morning, she had forgotten all of this. Had she not listened!? Am I shouting (not actually shouting, I wouldn't do that **bashful grin with my fingernail in my teeth**) into the wind? It sadden me deeply. But, I had to stick to my guns! No more spinelessness. I went into her room and got down on my knees.

One by one, I gathered their helpless little bodies into my arms. Some were clothed with swimsuits, some fully clothed, others tops and no bottoms and vice versa, and still others were completely naked. And, then.....bless his heart, there is Ken! There were 20 gathered in my arms. Twenty? Is that all!?!! How could that be? There must be more somewhere in the muck! Nope! The rest was mere aftermath of the storm. There were two small "Kelly" dolls on the floor still....but come on, I'm not totally heartless; even the Mormons left the small ones at Mountain Meadows.

Last night, I walked in Moriah's room. She had misplaced her progress reports that had to be returned to school. Is it any wonder? I started to help her look for them and then I stopped. "Moriah, I specifically remember telling you that I was done cleaning your room for you all by myself!" This was followed by a lecture on how we had only been home from Thanksgiving for 3 days and she was already growing mold and losing things in her room. There wasn't even a blank spot where the Barbies once lay!

She found the progress reports and as I signed them I started talking about the conversation of Sunday night about "Custody" and "Foster Care." She claims to recall something about it. I asked her where her Barbies were. She retorted, "In the drawers...where they belong!" That little head shake that she has acquired somewhere over the past four years! ARGHHH!!!!
"Are you sure?" I asked. "YES!" Ohmigosh! More head shaking...this time with a snarl!
I questioned how the Barbies could be in the drawers where they belonged when most of the drawers were scattered around the room.

She ran to her closet! Oh! The deafening sound of plastic and glass breaking and metal bending as it is trampled under feet. Could it be? Had Mom actually finally flipped her lid and threw her stuff away? I witnessed the oncoming birth of an attitude which was quickly aborted by the reminder of the word "CUSTODY!"

"Why? why? why? They are my family! I take care of them! They have no one but me!" By the way, that is not an embellished statement! She actually said that to me!!!! Just what are Hannah Montana and Drake and Josh covering in their story lines these days? Where does this stuff come from? You can't make that up! That came from the heart.

But, it was too late. Cruella had struck. The puppies were gone!

"When we are entrusted with caring for things, such as family, and we fail to do so. Sometimes, when it gets really really bad, someone comes in and takes them away. They aren't gone. They have gone to live in a safe place until we get our ACTS together. Your beloved family has been gone for 3 days and you didn't even notice."

"Acts? What acts?" I'm so glad she asked because it's been so long since I was able to exercise my social work skills. I continued.............

"Sometimes one must attend classes that teach us how to care for our entrusted ones. Sometimes we must merely clean up our environment. Once it has been approved by the court, then and only then, can our beloved ones be returned to us." Amen! So it has been said, so, it shall be done!

Throughout the night, I heard crying. Not just crying. Crying isn't a strong enough word but I'm not sure what the Hebrew word for 'whimpering that gradually progresses into crying out to the mountains to fall on you while pulling the hair and gnashing the teeth' actually is. That would be a more accurate description of the emotions that were oozing under the door to her room. So, thank you King James for simplifying things like....crying.

It was hard on me. I won't go as far as to say it was harder on me than it was on her; but it was hard nonetheless and started getting annoying after a few hours (okay, that was a little heartless).

This morning, I arose from my slumber. I walked into her room. Much to my astonishment, there is carpet in her room! The sun was shining. The birds were singing. The flowers were blooming. It was there for the whole world to see! Gosh bess 'er! (That is borrowed from Luke's prayers.) I have no idea where all of that "stuff" went. I know that the investigators will discover it before the children are returned. After the court approves, they will come back home and another social tragedy will have been diverted. You know, until the next time.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

2007-11-20T10:46:00.000-08:00

As I sit here taking a break from the preparation for the trip over the river and through the woods, I think of my morning. I have washed 4 loads of clothes, dried 3, and put away 2 of them. I have packed 2 suitcases of clothes for the kids (hopefully, John and I will have some packed by the end of the day. I have picked up all toys in the family room and put them in their appropriate rooms (not necessarily in their appropriate places in said rooms but I am hopeful that they will make it their eventually). I have located the little treasure chest that Dr. Willis gave Moriah to put her baby teeth in when she loses them........................empty. I need to vacuum and there is popcorn and more than likely baby teeth in the floor. Luke is running around the house playing the tamborine and chanting. I took the kids suitcases out and load them in the vehicle. I fed the turtle and checked on the dog. I fed Luke his usual dose of "chick." Loaded and started the dishwasher due to noticing that the last load of clothes had finished the last cycle.

As I sit here taking a breath from the realization that I have been busy this morning, I think of the blessings that I have to be thankful for (this is, of course, a short list of the many). I am thankful for a washer and dryer that works (and the spare of each that is in storage because this house came with a washer and dryer). I am thankful for both warm clothes and warm weather clothes and enough closet space for all of it. I am thankful for children to pack for and family to go visit on holidays. I am thankful for a loving (most of the time) husband that is healthy, strong, can do anything and has a good job. I am thankful for healthy kids that feel like playing with every toy they have and had rather play with them in the den with mom and dad than in their rooms by themselves. I am thankful for my vacuum cleaner and the new found ability to realize that they are just teeth and it isn't necessary to keep them for all eternity so if they are gone they are gone and stress isn't worth it (it took a 2 year old to teach me that).....I am thankful for the towel that cleaned up the water from the expedition to determine whether or not it is possible to empty the refrigerator water dispenser. I am blessed by the realization that the chanting is actually prayer of "Gosh bless Momma, Daddy, Nanna, Papa, Mam, Paw, Yi-Yah.........." I am thankful for a vehicle filled with gas (for a few miles anyway) to make the trek over the river and through the woods (in our case this is a literal description). I am thankful for a pet small enough that it can make the trip with us or resilient enough to not eat for a day or two. I am thankful for automatic dog feeders and waterers. I am thankful for food in the fridge, a dishwasher, dishes, and dishwasher tabs. For if I lacked one of these items in this day, I would be unable to sit here on the computer (also very thankful for) and take a break.

I know you all have billions of things to be thankful for this time of year. Hopefully, you are constantly reminded of the little things as well as the big. Love to you all and enjoy this time with friends and family even if it is just in thought of days gone by. Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Moriah and Luke at AWANA Clubs

2007-11-15T10:39:00.001-08:00

These are pix of Moriah with her AWANA group the night she finished her Book 1. And, Luke being Luke in Puggles.

The One (or Two) that Got Away!?!?!?!

2007-11-15T10:38:00.000-08:00

Last week (or a few weeks ago, I'm not sure because time runs together on me now), John went bow hunting and he called me and told me he had just shot a buck. He looked and looked and looked and never found the deer. He had the Supt and a few others out helping him look for it. He had given up, thought he might have missed it.
Then, he went out again and found the carcus of the deer with nothing left but the antlers and bones. I asked how do you know it was the one you shot. Of course, he recognized the rack and then there was the whole retrieval of his arrow from the rotting corpse. I told him you know, circle of life, yadda yadda and so on and so on. At least the animals of God's kingdom had a feast.
Again yesterday, he calls me and says, "I just shot a big deer that made the other one look like a dwarf. It has the biggest rack I have ever seen." I was at my parents with the kids and we all got a little excited. This was fairly early in the day so surely, this time he would find the deer right. I called back a few hours later; he was looking for it. He had someone helping him. Then again, a few more hours passed; still looking. I called a third time; he had given up the search. I was a little irritated by this. "Why did you give up? It isn't dark yet." He told me it did no good to keep walking and walking over the same terrain with no signs whatsoever.
"Are you sure that you shot it?" He assured me he knows he shot it. "Did you have your glasses on?" No, but he had his contacts in. "Did you have new contacts or those old ones that I painted the little bucks on as a cruel joke?" We must have lost cell signal at this point; I'm sure he wouldn't have hung up on me.
I got home and he seemed a bit distraught. I looked at him and said, "This is twice that you have used this story. So, next time you call me and tell me you just shot a deer with a BIG OL' RACK, there best be either a freezer full of meat when I get home or a dead Hooter's waitress strapped to the hood of your truck."

Luke Increases His Vocabulary, Part 2

2007-11-06T07:58:00.001-08:00

Here it is 5 days later, Luke is still "Buttface"-ing. However, it lost some of the humor when John walked in the door and Luke proudly proclaimed, "Hey Buttface!" He is sneaky about it. He will be talking to you and slip it in and go on like nothing has happened. By the time you realize it, he's on to something else and you didn't even get a chance to say, "No!"

Feeling the Heat!!!

2007-11-05T09:14:00.000-08:00

Normally on a Friday night we would be at a football game. This week, thankfully, our game was on Thursday night. The kids were wound up because their grandparents were here. John was preparing to go bow hunting the next morning. I started a load of laundry because their was an essential garment that John needed to go hunting.

I went to the linen closet to get a sheet for the airbed that John's parents were sleeping on. It smelled of burning plastic in the closet where by no coincidence the breaker box is located. I called John without drawing attention to it (because it goes without saying that Moriah will panic). John got his dad and they both agreed that it needed attention but they both thought it would be okay until morning. We all went to bed.

About 11:30, Moriah comes in huffing and puffing. Not the huffing and puffing that comes after running a marathon (like I would know what that was like)but the huff and puff of a bad dream or something serious was coming down. "Moriah, What's wrong?" "Mom, we don't have electricity."

I woke John up. "I'll check it in the morning, go to bed." HUH?!?!? I thought to myself. I was in a stupor from being awakened; but I just lay there stewing over his lack of concern as the aroma of burning plastic fills the house and now, we HAVE NO ELECTRICITY. I'm fairly sure that visions of big white-tailed bucks danced in his head. I got up to take care of some business that otherwise would have waited until morning.

I walked by the linen closet on my way to the room where you take care of such business. The smell of burning plastic had become somewhat stronger. I again woke John up. "I really wish you would reconsider waiting until morning to check out the breaker box thing."

Reluctantly, he drug himself out of bed and came into the hallway. Oh, by the way, we still have no electricity. He stumbles through the dark and feels of the breaker box. It was hot. Uh...is anyone else surprised by this revelation? Now, he stumbles through the house to get his flashlight. Then, we have to locate a flat-head screwdriver. He takes the cover off of the breaker box and lo and behold, there was evidence of a fire that once burned. I asked John if he now wanted me to wake his dad (sidebar: his dad is an electrician). So, I did.

Mr. Fultz was asleep in Moriah's room. It was in it's normal condition. He managed to make the trek to the hallway without tripping and breaking any toes or such. John and his dad managed to rewire some breakers and get electricity for the rest of the night. During the ordeal, John's mom announced, "Something is on fire!" "No, it isn't!" "Yes, it is. I smell plastic burning." Thanks, Mom!!!! Moriah is huffing and puffing uncontrollably again. It's an understandable response if you recall her light switch catching on fire a few years back.

John crawled up in the attic and checked for the nice autumn glow that would usually accompany fire in the walls. It was determined that all was safe. We all went back to bed and slept soundly all night. Oh yeah, right!

Saturday morning, it was determined that the washer, dryer, and freezer were all on the same breaker. They were all running at the same time. This is not an uncommon occurrence. But, while I was doing laundry, someone had started a load of dishes in the dishwasher. I told John that I was fairly certain that this was a message from God that I wasn't supposed to do housework anymore.

I don't think he bought it!

Luke Increases His Vocabulary

2007-11-01T20:04:00.001-07:00

Tonight, while at the football game, one of our flag girls told their instructor who was bent over, I didn't really want your butt in my face. She said, "Well, don't bend over. It's not like I've got eyes back there that I can see who's behind me." The girl said, "No, I guess you don't....or do you?" I said, "If she did, it would give a whole new meaning to the term..'buttface.'" ARGGGHHHHH!!!!!

I knew better. It's just been so long since I had to watch what I say in front of a child. From that point on, Luke has called everyone that he sees "Buttface."

"Hey! Buttface! Go Buttface! Buttface face. Butt Buttface. In the pressbox at halftime, "BUTTFACE!!!" "BUTTFACE BAND" All night long, "Momma Buttface. Yiyah Buttface." Again, ARGHHHHH!!!!!!!

Oh well, maybe he will sleep it off tonight. My luck though..............probably not!

How Rude!?!?!?!?!

2007-11-01T19:53:00.000-07:00

Tonight, we played Harding Academy here in Perryville. It was Senior night. The last high school football game for the seniors. Harding brought their band. The director said that their show was only going to take a few minutes. A few minutes turned into 8 or 10. Our band didn't get to complete their show because of this. They had a percussion feature and one more tune to play that they didn't get to do. Normally, the clockkeeper can stop the clock and sneak a few seconds here and there. Not tonight, the officials actually walked out onto the 50 yard line and stood while our band was performing. If you are performing and the clock runs down to zero, your team gets a penalty. Our senior drummers had parents there that didn't get to see their feature.

And, if that isn't bad enough, as soon as halftime was over. The Harding Band loaded their bus and left. So, pretty much, let's show up late, ruin senior night, and go home. Just my opinion, I think that is rude and disrespectful....especially since next year....we go there!!!! Maybe we can do our entire performance and let them see the percussion feature that they missed tonight.

It's a MIRACLE!!!!!

2007-10-24T08:16:00.000-07:00

Recently, Luke began Puggles at Perryville FBC. In case you didn't know, Puggles is a group in AWANA Clubs for 2-3 year-olds. They have these cutsie little T-shirt uniforms that are baby blue with navy trim. The shirt has a platypus coming from behind the word "Puggles" on the front. It looks great with Navy blue shorts, bright blue eyes, and lots of blond curls.

A few weeks ago, I washed the shirt. As I was taking it out of the washing machine I saw some spots on it. I pulled it out. Mildew stains!!!! All over the front of it!! It had been in the bottom of the laundry basket and wet washcloths were thrown on top of it.

Since that day, I have tried everything from Borax to Hydrogen Peroxide; color safe bleach to vinegar; and other various products. I have tried combinations of the aforementioned products as well; all to no avail. I have spent well over the cost of a new shirt trying to get the stain out. All I have managed to accomplish is the stains are now grey instead of black and one tiny minuscule spot that was not even stained is now white.

I went ahead and let him wear it Sunday night. I had explained to the leaders what had happened. They were very encouraging stating "there will be worse stains than that on it by the end of the year." That may very well be; but, those will be earned stains that Luke made while he was learning about God.

In all of this, you may ask, "Where is the miracle?" As I stand in the bathroom gathering dirty clothes for washing, I look at the pile of washcloths on the side of the tub and the dirty clothes of a 10 year old girl that lay beside an almost completely empty laundry basket(hey, her dad is a band director; not a coach!). All of a sudden, it hits me. "Hey! Luke put his shirt in the dirty clothes!!!!!"

You see God performs little miracles everyday and His wonders never cease!!!

Josh????

2007-10-04T07:14:00.000-07:00

Luke is in AWANA Puggles here. It is really cute. There are 3 little 2-3 year olds and they learn about light, clouds, trees, flowers, and different things that God made. They ask the children, "Who made the flowers?" The little boys don't usually answer but the little girl always says "God." If we ask Luke at home, "Who made the trees?" his normal anwer is "I dunno" with that sweet little smile.
This morning, Luke and I were watching Dora the Explorer and she was in outer space. She asks "Do you see the turtle constellation?" Luke's patented answer, "No!" "Do you see the chicken constellation?" "No!"
Luke points at the TV and says "Moon, Momma!"
I answered, "Yes Luke! Who made the Moon and Stars?" He looks at me with that sweet smile and proudly proclaims, "Josh!"
"Yes Luke! God made the moon and stars."
Moments pass. "Luke, who is Josh?"
"I dunno."

I plead insanity!!!

2007-09-29T17:23:00.000-07:00

The only thing keeping me sane is that I think daily that I'm insane. Since a crazy person is incapable of having the rationale necessary to realize they are insane, I must still be sane. Yeah! That's it! I'm not as nuts after all.

I've Got the Golden Tickets!!!!

2007-09-18T09:31:00.000-07:00

There has been a lot of hype about this Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus concert in NLR on December 1. I don't see what the big deal is myself. I would have been one of those parents waiting in line that really didn't know who it was I was buying tickets to see.
I know she is Billy Ray Cyrus' daughter. I know that he is just a poor ol' boy from Flat Woods, KY. I know that because when Achy Break Heart was out that is how he always introduced himself.
Moriah wanted to go and tickets were $700 before the tickets actually went on sale. People waited in line, there was a big ordeal. Tickets were limited to 4 per person and the concert sold out in 30 minutes. They actually told people there would be no advantage to going to the arena. "If you have internet access, stay in the comforts of your own home and buy your tickets."
I was out of town on the morning that the tickets went on sale. I had luckily cued in on the anticipated hype of the tickets; I asked John if he would get online to get tickets. We have the fastest internet available and that was good for upper level tickets. It wasn't what I was hoping. But, after talking to friends and realizing that not everybody got tickets (even those who were on the internet), I was happy that we had tickets.
All I know is that now, I could sell these tickets for $400-$600 a ticket and then turn around and buy tickets for the same concert in Bossier City, LA for $150 a piece. Or, I could have done what the guy in Houston, TX did. He bought 4 tickets. Sold 2 of them for twice face value and now he takes his daughter to the concert for free. Or, for $15 a ticket I could take Luke to see the Doodlebops and sit in the same seat!!!!
I hope Moriah enjoys the concert. I guess we can take John's binoculars so we can see Hannah/Miley. It is important to remember, this is Moriah's money and this is how she chose to spend it. It is important to HER to go to this concert.

We won't have it!!!!

2007-09-13T06:14:00.001-07:00

Moriah's new school has the Pinnacle Internet Viewer where parents can track their child's progress or lack there of and be sent notices about their child's grades, etc. I was so excited about this that I put to receive reports daily. After 2 weeks, I decided that weekly reports were sufficient; unless her grades fall below a certain point.
Yesterday, we reached that point. I received a report about her Social Studies grade. So, when she came home from school, "So, Dear, how was your day?" and all of the daily rituals we go through. I asked, "How's your grade in Social Studies?" She seemed a bit taken back. "It's fine," was her response. "Well, Babe, I got a notice from the school about your grade in Social Studies."

"WHAT?".........."This won't happen again!"............as she storms to her room and shuts the door.

A few moments later............"Did they email you? That is so wrong!"

Later on in the afternoon, "When I get to school tomorrow, I'm going to have a talk with them about this emailing you my grades. It needs to stop. I will tell you my grades. They don't need to be telling you my business. This will not happen again!"

How funny!!!! I love Pinnacle.

The Importance of the letter R in Cactus

2007-09-10T15:23:00.000-07:00

I love Luke!!!! He is so cute. We went out to eat after church yesterday. We went to a Mexican restaurant in Morrilton. They were decorated with southwest paintings and such. In several of the paintings were Cacti. You know, the tall ones like you see in the desert. Luke is under the impression they resemble green forks.

We were sitting in the restaurant enjoying our lunch with the rest of the Sunday after-church crowd. Luke screams out, "Momma, Fok! Momma, Fok!" Oh my!!!! We tried to go right along with him, "Yes Luke! It looks like a fork!" To which he laughed and screamed louder. "FOK! FOK! FOK! FOK!" We gave up and started answering with "Cactus! Luke it is a cactus!" He kept this up by yelling it 3 or 4 more times before we managed to get out of the restaurant. Far, far away from anything that resembled a cactus or a fork!

Montana Mania

2007-09-10T15:15:00.001-07:00

If you have a young daughter; then, no doubt you have also heard of Hannah Montana. My daughter is just in love with her. She is the coolest!!!! And, if you don't have a young daughter, Hannah Montana is Miley Cyrus. Does that last name look familiar? Yes, she is the daughter of Billy Ray. I have been informed recently about the Cyrus family tree...as if I didn't have enough; useless knowledge crammed in my head.

Well, lo and behold, guess who is coming to Alltel Arena? Everybody who is anybody is going!!! So I'm told. I got online to see about tickets. Tickets have not officially gone on sale yet. I signed up to get an update about ticket information. There are some tickets for sale out there. I found some for $700 a piece?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!? Excuse Me!!!!! I don't think so. I showed it to Moriah. She got all excited. "Can we go? Can we go?"
"No, not at that price!"
"Is that a lot?"
"Uhhhhh! That would break my achy breaky checkbook!"
"What????"
Exactly!!!!
We are waiting until they go on sale where we can get a reasonably priced ticket.

A Pleasant Memory!

2007-08-31T06:07:00.000-07:00

Something happened this morning that reminded me of a time when I was a child.

It is a cool very pleasant morning. Quiet. Moriah and John have left for school. Luke is still in bed. I was out in the garage (door still up) doing a load of laundry before it got so hot! I heard squawking. I sat the laundry basket down and went to the opening of the garage and just stood and watched. When I was young, I so enjoyed in the Fall when the geese would fly over headed South. I loved watching them; their formation, their noise. It was exciting in a way.

For the last six years, I have lived in places where geese congregated all year long. I loved seeing them and they often flew around town in their formations and trumpeting (more like saxophoning). But, I guess you just learn to take the little things like that for granted. It was good to be reminded of how great God really is!

Something New!

2007-08-30T15:43:00.001-07:00

Well, I haven't had to be jump started in front of the school anymore; but, Moriah held out for the riding the bus option. She started yesterday. It's 2 blocks to the corner where she catches the bus. There are 5 little girls in our neighborhood and they all ride the bus. Moriah has been itching to ride the bus anyway and the embarassment of all embarassments happened and that just caused a rash.

She has never riden a bus to anywhere except band trips. It was really hard...............for us! John said he almost cried when she got out of his truck at the corner. Yes, she rides 2 blocks in the truck with Daddy. She walks home in the afternoon.

The 2 of the little girls that live across the street came over to play today. It was nice. Not since we were in Atlanta has Moriah had neighborhood friends to play with. John is even psyched about it. Tonight, we are putting up the air hockey table.

Perryville Band 07 in the Fair Parade

2007-08-25T10:29:00.000-07:00

We just got home from the Perry County Fair Parade. Luke was all hyped up about all of the candy he was going to get. Then, the first piece of candy that flew his way hit him right smack in the middle of the forehead. He was done. It was John's debut performance as the PHS band director.

Paranoid--as performed by the Mustang Band

2007-08-25T10:25:00.001-07:00

Mustand Band 07 from Fultz N' It and Vimeo.

Pix of the First Day of School in Perryville.

2007-08-24T14:25:00.000-07:00

Moriah on the first day of school! The sign in front of the Perryville Elem. Luke chillin'

Aw, Mom!

2007-08-24T13:49:00.000-07:00

Well, it happened to Moriah today. That thing that all kids fear. Momma came to school and embarrassed her royally.

Perryville Elementary School has a finely tuned system of picking up kids in front of the school. It works well. It is similar to what they attempted to do at Atlanta Primary but most people actually participate fully without venturing away from the process.

The thing is you have to get there early or your child has to wait and Moriah doesn't like to wait; especially when it is 100 degrees outside (and who can blame her).

So, Luke and I start the "leaving the house" process at 2:45. The school is about 4 blocks away. We get there at 2:50. I let the motor run for about 5 minutes to cool the vehicle down. Then, so as to not waste the precious gasoline. I turn the motor off; not realizing that the lights are on.

I sat there in the parking lot of the elementary school for 10 minutes with all of the windows down. There was a cool breeze (as cool as it can be when it is 100 degrees)blowing. It was bearable. I am abou 5th in the endless line of waiting parents. At 3:10 the bell rings, I turn and look at Luke and said "Let's fire this puppy up so it will be cool when Sissy gets in!" Luke, of course, says "NO!"

I reached and turned the key. Wha, wha, wha. "Uh-uh!" Luke or I one said that. I'm not sure which. I ran up, leaving Luke in the car (windows were all down remember), to the "head usher" (for lack of a better term)and said "I have a problem." She looked scared, I guess I probably did too.

I'm new in this town. I just want to fit in. I don't want to draw attention to myself. I just want to live life and blend. So, hear I am, #5 in line at Moriah's new school, in this huge "bus" called the Sequoia............not blending!!!!

I told the lady what I had done. She said, "No, you didn't. This does not happen." I asked if there was somebody that could jump start me. She asked if I could go to the office and tell them to call someone to help me. What??!!!! That will take like forever (is what I was thinking). But, I ran up the steps to the office. Again, Luke is still in the Sequoia (uh, windows still down).

I explained my situation as rapidly as I could. I knew pandomonium was going to break out when that 4th child got in the car and I was not moving. Not to mention, I knew Luke would be screaming when I got back. The secretary turns to the principal, Mr. Magee (whom I have never met but I recognized him because John told me he reminded him of Kirby McCord--if you don't know Kirby too bad...he's a nice guy). They called the maintenance guy.

When I got back to the vehicle, Luke was NOT crying (yea!). One less thing I have to deal with. They ladies loading the children went to get Moriah and put her in the car. She inquired as to what was happening. When I explained it to her, she said, "If you EVER do this again, I will ride the bus from now on." Gee....thanks Moriah....I knew you would understand Mom is having a difficult day.

Tony the nice maintenance man shows up with his power booster. I had jumper cables but this actually worked out better because we got out sooner. While Tony is hooking up his box, Mr. Magee says, "Tony, this is the band director's wife." Now, remember, I had never met Mr. Magee. Tony looks at me grins and rolls his eyes.

After apologizes a gazillion times and then thanking them another gazillion. Mr. Magee stopped the massive flow of traffic to let me back out and go on my merry way. Moriah wouldn't look at me all the way home. The nerve......embarrassing her at her new school, and on the first week too.

Luke's Comment of the Day!

2007-08-18T18:48:00.000-07:00

I got this awesome profile image from picklemylayout.com!

You Can't Take It With You....Thank God!

2007-08-11T11:33:00.000-07:00

As we have completed our move but still not totally settled, I spoke with my brother on the phone yesterday about the entire moving experience. My brother and his family moved in October, my parents in May, and our little family unit in June.

I was sharing with my brother about a rebellious Moriah moment that my daughter had. She announced to her dad, "Mom hates it here too!"

I joined in, "No I don't!"

"You said you didn't want to move."

"I didn't want to move. But, I like living here."

We haven't really been here long enough to like or dislike it. It is more like being 'content' with where God has placed you. The unknown is a little scary and I don't particularly care for the changing churchs. The part where you can start over, make more friends, keep in touch with old ones, redecorate (!!!!) is nice and fun!!!

When we moved the first time as a family back in 4 B.L. (before Luke), once was not enough. We moved 2 more times in the next 2 years. ARGGGHHH!!!!
This last move was the hardest. I was still working. The kids spent most of the summer with grandparents (thus, the onset of one really bad case of separation anxiety). John was starting a new job. It was very trying. I don't know how many times we were asked if our relationship was going to survive the move.

I hate packing. After 8 two and 1/2 hour one way trips to Perryville to find a house, we started packing. Not to mention, we made 4 trips moving, one in a U-Haul and 3 with an open trailer. It rained 3 of the 4 days we moved (Guess which day was sunny! You got it....the U-Haul day!) In hindsight, I should have started packing when John got the second interview. But, I hate it, hate it, hate it and I was being stubborn (Know where the kids get it!). Plus, I had to do most of the packing for my parents move as well.

As my brother and I were sharing in the pain and anguish of moving. I said, "I hate it! I don't mind moving. I hate packing." At this point, I blurted out, "I wouldn't even want to move to Heaven if I had to pack to go!" My brother laughed. "You can't take it with you? Thank God!!!!" This is a statement people should not say to me. You can't take it with you!? I just feeling extremely blessed that we get to leave it all here!

How Did That Happen?

2007-08-10T11:26:00.000-07:00

Today, as we were driving to Nashville to pick up my last paycheck (YEA!), we came upon a pretty bad wreck in Hot Springs. There were at least 2 and maybe 3 ambulances, 2 firetrucks, and a whole host of police cars. Moriah seemed a bit taken by all of it. She is very sensitive to danger and people being injured and such. We are not gauckers. We didn't look hard but were unable to see the actual cars that were involved in the accident. When we were past the wreck, from the backseat Moriah inquires, "Now, how did all of those ambulances and firetrucks run into each other?" I looked in the rearview mirror at the mess behind me (the wreck!) and could say nothing except "My lord, Moriah?????"

What is Branson Breath?

2007-06-07T11:14:00.000-07:00

Today, as I sit here with Luke giving me "raspberries" and trying to lift my shirt up and saying "Boo-bay," we are watching Spongebob. Patrick and Spongebob thought that people are scared of them because they are so ugly. It turns out that it was Spongebob's Sunday that was giving them "Rancid Breath." This announcement brings from my daughter, "Mom, what is Branson Breath?"

Happy Mother's Day!

2007-05-14T16:27:00.000-07:00

I had the greatest Mother's Day ever!!! First, we drove to Waldron to visit my mother.
Sunday morning, I was brought a beautiful piece of artwork from my daughter that said I was "the greatest mother of her whole life." I got a cute card from my husband. Then, I heard "Moriah, what are you doing?" followed by "I'm making my mom breakfast for Mother's Day." How sweet!!! It arrives in the bedroom and it was my favorite.........Jelly Sandwich. No peanut butter because it was the "BAD" code. While I was enjoying this very special breakfast in bed, Curly Top enters the room with a big smile on his face, jumps in bed with me, and we watched Little Einsteins together and ate jelly sandwich. I also got a card from the kids...they both signed it...yes even Luke!
We went to church with Mom and Dad and then out for lunch. After visiting Marty (my bro), Theresa, and Marleigh, we drove through Perryville trying to find a place to live.
It was a GREAT DAY!

Spring Break Pix

2007-05-07T17:33:00.000-07:00

Luke Playing TeeBall

2007-03-20T19:14:00.000-07:00

Luke and Tee Ball on Vimeo

What's up with that?

2007-01-02T19:23:00.000-08:00

Well, babysitter #2 crapped out on me tonight. Yes, tonight! I was to return to work tomorrow morning at 8:00am and went to Walmart this evening. She called around 7:00 and told John it just wasn't working out for her and she didn't want to keep Luke anymore. I got home between 7:30 and 8:00 and John didn't tell me and until about 9:00. Now, I can't go to work tomorrow because I don't have child care. He could have gone and asked babysitter #1 (our next door neighbor) if she would keep him tomorrow for me but he didn't. Oh well! I feel it is too late now and I'm not really feeling too well anyway.

Happy New Year!!!

2006-12-31T22:03:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year EVERYBODY!!!!

Moriah and I are the only 2 in this house that stayed up to see the New Year come in! Hope you had a wonderful 2006 and hope that you all have a wonderful 2007.

Love you all!

Moriah and Tamara

Scared Straight--Ghetto Style!

2006-12-08T15:19:00.000-08:00

John decided to go hunting early one morning and took a half day off. I told him he was killing me but did he listen? Of course, not!!!

Moriah is a creature of habit. We must adhere to a strict schedule and not deviate from said schedule. The Morning Ritual at our house includes Daddy. When Daddy is not here, the schedule goes a wry.

Moriah, Luke, and I were getting dressed and ready for work and school. We try to let Luke sleep as long as we can but "as long as we can" was not long enough on this morning. Why? Because Daddy wasn't here and the schedule had been deviated from. I was running amuck (this is the only part of the schedule that remained constant). I realized suddenly that we had 5 minutes before we had to leave.

I said, "Moriah, we have to leave in 5 minutes and you haven't put your shoe and socks on or brushed your teeth or hair!" In her new found juvenile delinquency she retorts, "I don't care!" As you can imagine, this went over well.

We made it up to 6 weeks of being grounded before we managed to shut the overdrive down on her mouth. Luke was crying because he must be held every waking moment. Major Problem, we now have 1 minute and counting before we are out the door and the hair and teeth are still not brushed and the shoes and socks are not being worn. So, I said, "Moriah! Go brush your teeth, grab a hairbrush, your shoes, and socks and let's go!"

Moriah begins to cry, "I don't want to be grounded Momma!" She has been grounded (which pretty much means she loses her TV privileges) so much lately for various offenses that if she were a house she would have the strongest foundation in the neighborhood. My reply to her cry was, "I don't want a little girl who backtalks and is disrespectful. How can we both get what we want Moriah?" Hmmmmmm! Novel concept. "I don't know," she replies. I told her to think about it and we would talk more when we got to school.

I explained to her that because of our delay that I had to take her to work with me because I had already been late once and as a result the babysitter's husband was late for work (that is a story that is much like where Cain's wife came from....you don't really need to know to grasp the concept of the story.). One important thing you do need to know is that Moriah and I had previously discussed where I work and why some kids come to this place. So, she already knew that where Mom works is not a pleasant place.

We drive through Mineral Springs and slap dab in front of me at the intersection is the clock at the bank which reads, "7:45 *flash* 19" YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS!!! I did not just 6 minutes prior to this time make my child run outside into 19 degree weather with no shoes and socks on. Looks like that Mother of the Year plaque will have to wait another year!!!! We arrive in Tollette at the ILC and the babysitter isn't there yet and neither are the kids. This is good! Maybe I can get Moriah straightened out and put her on the shuttle bus to go to Mineral Springs.

Mrs. Sherri arrives and picks up Luke. One down, one to go. Uh-oh! Here comes the bus of lovelies that I have to spend the day. I called the elementary school to let them know that I had Moriah and she would be at school as soon as we straightened out a little incident that happened this morning. I got the hairbrush and began to brush Moriah's hair. She told me once again, "I don't want to be grounded." And again, "I don't want a little girl who backtalks and is disrespectful. How can we both get what we want?" And, AGAIN, "I don't know." We went through this cycle several times before the answer became.. "We could both get what we want by me not backtalking and being disrespectful." Ohmigosh! Ding*Ding*Ding*Ding! We have a winner!

I gave her a hug and said "Ok! You are still grounded for the weekend which is 2 days and that's better than 6 weeks right!" We both agreed on that. I explained that I was glad that she understood what she had done but the 2 days was because she had actually done something that needed correcting. I felt so good!!!! Another tragedy had been averted. I went to tell Mr. Lampkins that I was going to run her to school really quickly and would be right back.

As I was walking to the front of the room, a "situation" occurred with one of the kids. Moriah turned and faced the wall and began to cry. The kid that was misbehaving asked if that was my daughter and I answered that it was. He said, "Why is she crying?" I said, "She's scared too death!" He wondered why she was scared and why she was there. I explained, "She is here because she was disrespectful to me this morning much like you are doing right now to Mr. Lampkins with the exception of she isn't use to kids acting like you are!"

Bless her heart! She cried all the way back to school. It's just a 5 mile trip but it seemed like longer today. We got to school. I told Moriah that I was going to go in and "sign you in." I wiped her face off and sent her to class. Her class is right across the hallway from the office. I noticed that she came out of the class and went to the restroom. It wasn't until later that I fully understood why she needed to go wash her face again.

Apparently, when I used the phrase "sign you in" it was misinterpreted. Moriah went back to class and explained that to the substitute teacher for the day that "As we speak, my mom is in the office signing me into ILC because I was disrespectful and talked back to her this morning and that place is horrible!"

What's so Freaking Funny?

2006-11-07T19:09:00.000-08:00

Have you ever had one of those times that was so funny and then again not really?

Moriah got a 10/10 on her reading tests. This is a big deal for us. So, treats were deserved. Moriah decided the proper thing was McDonald's. We loaded up and went to Mickey D's.

Moriah asked me something. I responded. Then, John responded to what I said. We both started laughing. I hadn't finished eating so I had to cover my mouth to keep cheese and meat byproducts from flying all over the place. Then, everything from that moment on, regardless of how ridiculous or unfunny, was hilarious. We couldn't stop laughing. I'm sure it was annoying to everyone in the place. I know it was for Moriah. Don't you just love the thought of embarrassing your kids in public!!!!! Well, except Luke of course, he was laughing right along with us as if to say "Momma, Daddy funny!" I told John, "we are the reason that restaurants panic when a school bus pulls up out front!"

WE mananged to get control of ourselves before Depends became necessary. After we got home, everything was calm until John said something that set me off. It started again!! Moriah just sighed and said, "I'm going to bed!"

Long Time no See!

2006-11-05T13:08:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I've reported any stories. Not that there has been a lack of excitement at our house because there is never a dull moment. We've been really busy!!! There's football season, sick Moms and Dads, kids running here and there, I started to work. It's just never ending! Hopefully, things will level off and I can get back to reporting the cuteness that is our children!!!

The Little Black Box!

2006-10-08T21:04:00.000-07:00

Most of my blog entries are stories about the kids--things they have done or said that are funny or entertaining. This one is none of that.
The other day I was driving home from Waldron with the kids in the back seat. Moriah was watching a movie (probably Narnia); Luke was asleep or basking in the cuteness that is he. I was in the front (which is good since I was driving). Everything was just beautiful. The grass was green, the trees as well, the sky was blue, and I'm sure the birds were singing. A deer trotted across the road in front of me (in case you didn't know we live in Deer Central; it isn't uncommon to see 20 or more deer from where we turn off at Wickes on 71 to Nashville).
It is so common in fact that I try not to look for them anymore. I figure that if one runs out in front of me and I don't see it; then, I won't swerve. If I swerve, I might miss it but flip the car. This one particular deer, while it posed no danger to us, got me to thinking about something.
What if our vehicles were equipped with the Little Black Boxes that are in airplanes. Then, if an animal ran out in front of us and caused us to wreck, we would have an audio account of what was going on in the car at the time of the accident. Or, what if our heads were equipped with just such a box? What were our thoughts right at the very moment the accident happened? Would we be having pleasant thoughts? WOuld we be focused on Godly things or worldly things? This is more of a "Rambling of a Wandering Mind" episode than anything!! Besides, newer vehicles are already equipped with such a device...........it's called ONSTAR!!!

The Sacrificial Pig

2006-10-03T19:00:00.000-07:00

Ever had one of those days that seemed like a dream. Not a nightmare but not necessarily a good dream; kinda like you are watching what is going on. Then, when you least expect it, God sends something your way, even if just for a moment, to shock or awe you; or just make you laugh.
One day last week, I was having just such a day. I won't get into the details; most of you already know; prayer brought me through it. I was on my way to Fort Smith with Dad talking to John on the phone telling him what was going. When lo and behold, on the side of the road lay roadkill. Aw yes! Roadkill. It comes in many forms in Arkansas...skunks, snakes, dogs, cats, deer, opossums, birds, and my personal favorite is the belly up armadillo with the strategically placed beverage bottles laying around it. Roadkill in it's self is not anything that would normally cause me a second thought. This particular roadkill, however, was a PIG!!!!!!! Yes, just a lil' ol' Miss Piggy pig laying silently on the side of the road! It made me laugh. Is that demented? A pig gave his/her life to brighten my day?!?!?!?! Thanks! I needed that!

Cinderluke

2006-09-29T09:27:00.000-07:00

Look what we caught Luke doing!

Luke's Chores on Vimeo

I Aged 10 Years Today!

2006-09-21T12:44:00.000-07:00

Well, it happened today. I knew that it would but you never really are prepared for such a travesty. Luke and I went to WalMart today. It was a beautiful day, slightly overcast, nice breeze, and the smell of rain a'coming.

We had a really enjoyable time. Double clicking on each other. Luke has been playing with a computer mouse. He and I have started "double-clicking" each other; because, what do you do when you want to choose something on the computer.

We came outside and there were two nice ladies picking at Luke. One of them asked me that question that I knew would eventually pass my ears. "Are you his grandmother?"

The very Nerve of Some People

2006-09-06T10:47:00.000-07:00

Friday night, we went to Norphlet. It is between Camden and El Dorado. The nicest people that I met all night was the EMTs (See previous statement regarding stories). When I was paying for Moriah's ticket into the game, I stood Luke on the ground in front of me. I handed the lady my money and Moriah screamed "Mom! Luke's in the road!" I thought that it was a little dirt walk way. It was INSIDE the stadium!!!! Out of the corner of my eye I see a car barreling down the path (granted, the young lady driving was not breaking the speed of sound but was too fast for Friday night INSIDE a football stadium). I dropped everything and ran and grabbed Luke. When I got back to the "money box" lady, the little idget told me that she had already given me my change. She argued with me that she had. I said, "No ma'am you didn't! You may have given it to someone else but not to me." She said, "Are you sure?" I said, "Yes I am. It played out like this. You made me pay for my daughter! I handed you a $10. The baby wandered out into the road. My daughter screamed 'Luke's in the road!' Car came, dropped my stuff, ran to get the baby, came back for my change." She said, "Yeah! You're right!" THEN, she handed me the $6 that she was holding in her hand the ENTIRE time!!!!
At halftime, I went to watch the band. We stood bold and proud in our green and gold. We ignored the way they nonchalantly talked about how bad they thought they were going to beat us and couldn't believe they were only up 3 points. When the band was coming onto the field, I went to sit down while I was hold Luke. I totally missed the seat and fell. Luke began to scream. I didn't know if he was hurt or scared. I was unsure if he had bumped his head on the metal bleachers or if I had fallen on one of his limbs. I sat there on the ground with people actually stepping over me. People were sitting in the bleachers right behind where I fell. NO ONE asked me if I was okay, if Luke was okay, or even questioned that there was a middle aged woman sitting on the ground with a screaming baby. I sat there for what seemed like an eternity but was probably only like 2 minutes. I checked Luke's arms and legs for protruding bones or torn flesh. I checked his head for contusions and/or lacerations. He seemed fine but he was still screaming. I asked Moriah if she would take Luke. Then, I managed to get myself up off the ground and I took Luke back. Still, no sign of concern from the Norphlet people, they just watched in amazement. By the time that I got back to the visitor side, my back was tightening up. Our supt. wife made me go talk to the EMTs to make a report in case I had actually hurt something; there was a report. When we were walking back to the stands, John walks up with the Norphlet band director. So, following proper etiquette and protocol, John introduces me to the young man by slapping me on the back and saying "This is my wife!" If ever I would hit John, this would have been it. But, my back hurt too bad! I guess that is payback for the torture that I put him through when he fell out of the tree and broke his back.
OH by the way, we won the game by 30 points. Who dat talkin' bout beatin' da Hornets?

Satan is a TeleMarketer!

2006-08-31T21:08:00.000-07:00

Didn't we really all already know this?
I have just started a new Beth Moore Bible study. This is the first study that I have been hyped about before I actually started it. Wednesday afternoon, I finally got Luke down for a nap that could potentially give me enough time to get through one day of the study.
During my prayer, I asked the Lord to let Luke rest long enough for me to get through this day of my study. I know we are to pray specifically but I forgot to mention something very important. As I was drawing near the end of my study for the day (about 10 minutes left). The phone rings. I jumped and ran to the phone just to try to get to it before Luke awakened. Of course, to no avail!!!!!!!!!
I answered. There was no one there. You know that means they will call again because I have just provided them with a time of day that someone will be home. I was aggravated because I just needed 10 minutes!!!!!!!! Is that too much to ask? I looked down at Luke who was now looking up at me with both precious little hands on my leg and those little tired eyes, smile on his face. I said, "Baby Doll, Momma needs just a few more minutes and I will hold you for the rest of the day."
I had the remote control sitting beside me. And, there is always at least one Baby Einstein ready to go. I chose Baby Mozart because there are no words to the music (so I won't be distracted from my reading) and Luke loves them all. He sat his preciousness at my feet almost as if he understood what I meant. He watched his video and I finished my Bible study with the soothing sounds of Mozart in the back ground.
When I was finished, Luke crawled up in my lap and stayed there for the rest of the afternoon (which wasn't really that long). I praise the Lord for this precious moment!

Can you see me now?

2006-08-23T09:36:00.000-07:00

Here are pix of our little man.

Can you hear me now?

2006-08-22T09:19:00.000-07:00

John is constantly nagging at me for not carrying my cell phone. I don't keep it charged. Well, excuse me (first of all) for not being at the beckon call of the world. No one ever calls me unless of course it is John. That could be because I never carry the phone.
It turns out that Luke is a real mover and shaker. The particular "moved and shaken" item of the week is my rarely used cell phone. Normally, this would not be a problem. He looks kinda cute walking around the house with a cell phone attached to his ear saying "'lo!" But as afore mentioned, I hardly ever charge my phone!" Somewhere in this house is a nearly new telecommunicator with a dead battery. So, it's not like I can call on the house phone and follow the ring around until I find the phone (yes, this is a practice that we use often at our house!).
Luke knows where it is. I know that he does. This morning as I was playing Crouching Tiger Hidden Cell Phone Luke was following me around the house laughing. I have crawled through the entire house and no cell phone anywhere.
When I do finally locate my phone, there is a treat waiting for me! I have left myself several messages while trying to find it. I will feel important if only for a moment a to my very self.

The Good Ol' Days

2006-08-18T13:19:00.000-07:00

Recently, I was communicating via email with a friend from high school. She was talking about when we were in grade school and used to have disco dance-offs. Even though I have forgotten that particular recess activity, how fun!!!!

I do, however, remember other things. I remember playing kickball. I remember being naive. I remember teachers being concerned because the kids (boyand girl couples)were holding hands on the playground. I remember the pain of telling my mother "I am too old to wear ruffles and lace now Mom." I remember being obnoxious to substiute teachers (something I have paid dearly for in recent years). I remember selling fundraiser stuff and thinking that I was the greatest salesperson in the world. I remember the hurt of not making pee wee cheerleader.

Now, we had our fair share of hardships. I remember one boy getting caught with illegal drugs in 4th grade (he got it from his parents stash). But, overall, we can look back and say we were pretty sheltered in our younger days (or at least most of us).

Having said all of that......Almighty God please be with our children! Times have changed. Not all is bad. I like to sit and watch my daughter play on the playground with her little friends. It all seems so innocent much like we were. But, the things that parents (most of them our age and younger) allow their precious young ones to be exposed. Kids have more access to information through the media than we did.

I don't think I want to know exactly what my child knows. We were watching TV together the other day and they were reviewing a book that had the word "Sex" in the title. It was on the evening news so I know it wasn't porn or anything. Moriah says "Gross! Did you hear that word he said?" The news guy repeated the title. "That is so disgusting!" she retorted. I wanted so bad to ask but my heart just ached and what the actual answer would be. I am not sticking my head in the sand. I have asked this question on a different too-young-to-know phrase that came up before and I literally felt my body melt and ooze out of the chair in which I was sitting when I got the answer.

So, I guess all things considered, it is still safe to say, "Oh! To be young again!" But, oh to be young again in the 1970s (to steal a quote from my 9 year old). I wouldn't want to be growing up in today's world and dealing with what my daughter does.

Things I've Learned in the Past Year!

2006-08-16T11:43:00.000-07:00

*Always place the clean diaper over the cleaned target area before reaching for the ointment.

*You are what you eat explains why little boys are made of snips, snails, and puppy dog tails.

*A Playskool ball fits perfectly in the speaker of a subwoofer.

*Always leave the toilet lid down and the bathroom door shut.

*Nap time doesn't end until you are seated in your nice hot relaxing bath.

*Baby Einstein cures what ails you.

*A crashed computer is not always an indication of a virus.

*A Personal Floatation Device, regardless of what government agency approved it, will not float the way you need it to if your child was born to snorkel.

*Chocolate may be harmful to dogs but is apparently quite tasty to a little boy.

*First steps are used as manipulation and control.

*There is no such thing as a child safety lock.

*The pains of child birth are nothing compared to the lacerations caused by pearlly white little pirahnna teeth.

*Toddlers are little terrorists.

*I have at least 1 and maybe 2 weapons of mass destruction living in my house.

*I have been richly blessed more than I could have ever imagined!!

Hey Baby, You got style!

2006-08-05T09:03:00.000-07:00

We were in Waldron driving down West 2nd Street headed to Wal-Mart. There was a middle aged man riding down the side of the street on a bicycle. He was peddling away doing his thing. I said, "That is so uncool!"
Moriah asked what I was talking about. I pointed out to her that the man had on shorts with teenies and black socks. Moriah said, "Ew! That is not stylish!"
I said, "It just isn't right is it?"
She said, "No, it's not. I know this because I have a good Fashion Sense!"
Where does she come up with this stuff?

Grosser than Gross!!!!

2006-08-03T08:39:00.000-07:00

Last week we were at the Arkansas Bandmasters Association convention. It is always lots of fun. We have some good friends that we always hang out with at the convention. They have 2 little girls, ages 7 and 2 1/2. Moriah and the 7 year old get along really well.
I'm sure that the baby and Luke will get along well when Luke is a little older. They have some of the same bad habits. For instance, they both put everything they come in contact with in their mouths.
Anna Claire is a beautiful little girl. She looks just like a little doll. Over a period of 3 days these are a few things that she put in her mouth: a cheeto she found under the bed in our room (that belonged to neither family), water from the pool, and beads. Her parents had told us that she likes to chew on baby wipes and they had caught her with as many as 5 totally in her mouth.
On Thursday evening, we went to dinner at Olive Garden. That was a different experience but the grossest thing happened when we got back to the hotel. John was changing Luke's diaper and it required several wipes. Of course, it was chaotic with the 2 other girls running around the room playing. Not to mention, Luke flopping around like a fish out of water and screaming because he can't be still while you are changing him. AnnaClaire reached over and grabbed a wipe from the soiled diaper and stuck it in her mouth. John said in the midst of the madness, "Uh! Anna Claire has a dirty wipe in her mouth!" Her mother began to struggle to get it out. When the mom got it away from the child, Anna Claire stood there with her little blond pigtails, a big ol' grin on her face, and a brown substance in the corner of her mouth. John started whining, "I think she ate a turd!"
I was on the bed laughing so hard I almost wet myself. In fact, I may have just a little. When we were leaving Olive Garden, the waitress gave us some chocolate mints. As Anna Claire was walking into our hotel room I noticed that she had chocolate on her mouth. Apparently, John did not!

Long time no see!

2006-08-02T10:47:00.000-07:00

Wow! It's been a long time since I posted. We have been SO busy. Mostly with band director stuff. John had band camp 9-14 and ABA (Arkansas Bandmasters Association).
Moriah has a dark tan. She spends a lot of time in the water and sun. She is ready for school. By that I mean, she has all of her supplies and clothes. Otherwise, probably would rather it stay summer forever.
Luke is walking now. But, he still prefers to crawl, probably because he is really good at it! He gets a little turbo action thing going when he crawls. We just found out that he is going to wear glasses at least for a while. This should be interesting.
John is gearing up for band. Their show this year is 70s Disco. It should be pretty cheesy which usually goes over well. They are playing Disco Inferno, Night Fever, and Play that Funky Music. Tune in later to hear about how it works out.
With me, it is just the same old same old. Fighting off allergens, a messy house, and the teeth of Piranha Baby.

Boyz R So Mean!

2006-07-07T00:10:00.000-07:00

We have been watching videos of Moriah when she was a little. She was such a Sweetie! With her Christmas and Birthday "I wonder what it is!" with every present she opened. Her Pebbles Poof hairdo on top of her head was just too cute!

Now there is Luke. In the immortal words of Pooh, "Oh Bother!" He looks just like Moriah (in the face anyway) when she was that age. He is sweet in his own litte ways. The way he laughs when we are laughing; the way he makes his "S" sound; and the way he smiles and bounces on my lap when I sing "To God Be the Glory" to him...especially on the verse about him (don't look in your hymnal, he and I wrote it one morning when he was having trouble going to sleep); it all makes me realize how richly blessed we are with 2 beautiful healthy lovable children.

When Moriah was about Luke's age, she bit me one day. This was a shock! All of the Child Development hoopla that had been drilled into my head during college went right out the window. I spatted her on the leg (not hard; don't feel like you need to call the child abuse hotline on me for something that the statute of limitations has more than likely expired on) and said "No!" She cried for a little bit but not long. A few days later, same story different parent, she bit John. Same result, he spatted her and said "no!" and she cried a bit. It worked. She never bit us or anyone else again. Man, we are such good parents!! We mastered the "biting child" problem..........yeah, uh, WHATEVER!

Then came Luke! Luke bites. Luke bites hard. He has never even tried to bite anyone except family. I tried to tell myself and others that he was trying to kiss. I don't know though. He really seems to enjoy the pain it inflicts on us. We have tried everything short of running from him (Well, actually, Moriah has done that too!). His favorite now is coming up to you, biting you, looking up, smiling, SPATTING HIMSELF, and laughing because you are in deep pain! I want to hurt him just so he will know exactly how bad it hurts! But, just at that very moment, I have an out of body experience (like I'm watching the whole thing on TV) and it is pretty funny! I can't laugh though! Not because of the inappropriateness of it all, but because there is blood dripping down my face where those sharp little razor blades have penetrated my skin and I'm gritting my teeth to keep from screaming out in agony.

I'm sure that John and I did something in our childhood that caused our parents severe pain and this is our punishment!!!!!!

Happy 4th of July!

2006-07-04T21:33:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July everyone! It hard to believe our country is 230 years old. I remember when it was merely 200. We had a pretty good day. We took Luke to his fireworks display. He loved it! He didn't get upset until the "lights" stopped.

WE sure missed Moriah! I think Luke is missing her too. She is at her Nanna and Papa's for the past few weeks. Mom takes her swimming at the pool and she loves that. I can't wait to see her. We are going up Saturday on our way to band camp. It has become tradition to spend the week with Aunt Laura during band camp.

We have talked to Moriah about everyday. She doesn't seem to be homesick. She is playing outside a lot (this is good). Mom and Dad only have one dog. He is old and is skiddish around everybody but them. Here at home, Moriah doesn't like Chloe jumping on her.

July 1--What a Special Day!!

2006-07-01T20:03:00.000-07:00

Eleven years ago today, John and I got married. One year later, at the top of the Eiffel Tower, I told John that I thought I might be pregnant. Seven months later Moriah was born. In 2005, Luke was due on July 1st. He came on June 17th by scheduled c-section. But, today, July 1st 2006, one year and 2 weeks after he was born.......Luke took his first steps. He walked a few and sat down. I ran and got the camcorder, recorded 4 steps and he was done. Good night Sweet Luke! You've had a good day!

WORD!

2006-06-29T21:15:00.000-07:00

"Word!"
Word is a common expression that John uses since we have been here in Southwest Arkansas. He started using it because the kids did. The kids don't use it anymore because John over-used the 'word.' I think next he will start wearing saggy britches so they can see how silly that is.
The other day we were in Mena and suddenly I realized we were not in a land of ethnic diversity. We were walking through Wal-Mart and this little boy was walking by us. John held his fist up (palm outward; he wasn't trying to hit anybody) and said to the child, "Word!"
John walked on probably not thinking anymore about it. To him, it was like saying 'hello' to the boy. I noticed out of the corner of my eye that the child stopped and was looking in our direction with bewilderment on his face.
Then, I hear "Wurd to yor own self!" I turned only to see a little blond streak disappearing into the store. John never even noticed, well, until I explained my laughter.

Move Over Milk, Farting Does a Body Good

2006-06-28T20:57:00.000-07:00

When we were coming home from our trek through Northwest Arkansas, we stopped at Sutherland's Home Center in Ft. Smith. Luke got a sand and water table for his birthday and we found no play sand in Nashville, AR. We knew that we wouldn't need it until we came home and we didn't want to take the chance of Waldron or Mena Wal-Mart not having it (Ft. Smith Wal-Mart didn't have any either). Luke was asleep and we gave Moriah the option of going in the store or we would wait while John went in and checked for sand. She opted to stay in the car.
Half the fun of having a baby in the family is being able to blame the origin of the foul odors that arise. We have tried to instill this in Moriah but she just hasn't gotten the hang of it yet.
We were sitting there in the parking lot and I began to smell something mal-odorous (that is a FultzN'It originale word). I was pretty sure the origin of the scent was from somewhere other than the inside of our vehicle (maybe not though).
"What is that smell? Did you do that?" I said to Moriah. The proper and expected response was 'No it wasn't me! It was Luke!' But instead.............
"Actually, Nickelodeon says that a healthy body does that." Moriah proudly proclaimed.
It took a moment for this to soak in to my thickness. Then, it hit me. "Does what? Fart?"
I questioned.
"Yes!" She said laughing.
John got in (with sand I might add). I was telling him the story. He turned and looked at Mo and asked her, "Moriah, are you healthy?"
"Yes! (Teeheehee)" She answered.
We may not have many amenities here on earth; but, at least we have our health!

The One That Got Away..oh, wait...I guess not!

2006-06-25T17:28:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we were awakened at 7:30am by the sound of a LOUD boom only to discover that there was no electricity. John's mom called Carroll Electric. Of course, it was automated and she got the recording stating that they had received several calls regarding this matter. For those of you who know nothing about living in the country, when the electric goes it isn't just a time without lights. The well pump is electric so no showers or toilets flushing. The gas stove has an electric pilot light so no breakfast. John's mother called several times because the natives were getting restless not to mention smelly. Finally, she called the sheriff's department to see if a wreck or something had knocked the power out. The sheriff's department said that pretty much the entire area was out of electricity and they had no idea why.
John and his mom were out on the porch and saw a squirrel sitting in a tree eating something bright red. John was looking for the camera and he told his dad. His dad told him to get the gun because the squirrels had been in his garden eating his tomatoes. After all, there was no electricity, we WERE in the country.............hey! I know! Let's shoot something!!!!
Needless to say, John and his dad both grabbed a gun (John with a rifle and his dad with a pistol) and went out in front of the house and commenced firing. I think they each fired about 4 times. The first shot fired the squirrel ran a little further up the tree; but, he dropped his luscious appetizer. The 2nd shot, missed again, and a little further up the tree. It reminded me of watching an episode of Walker, Texas Ranger. John and his dad being the bad guys firing at Walker (the squirrel). You know, those guys can never hit Walker. But, shoot away they did. Bang! Bang! Bang!
After the last shot, a minute or so past. Lo and behold, down came the squirrel. Dead weight from the top of the tree all the way to the ground. Bless his heart! He had a heart attack and died. Isn't that a mess? Wouldn't you hate wasting all of that energy dodging bullets only to have a heart attack and plunge to the ground?
The great white hunters went to retrieve the animal and found the munchie that it was enjoying. It was a peach. They also found another dead squirrel that was laying directly under the transformer. It had entrance and exit wounds. It had been electrocuted.
A while later the Carroll Electric truck pulled up. The men went to converse with them. They said that everyone's electric was back on except for ours and they had no idea what had caused the black-out. The men showed them the fried squirrel. Wouldn't you know? Apparently, this little rodent had blown out the power for the whole countryside. This could have all been avoided if John and his dad had been out shooting pesky squirrels at 7:30 in the morning. They probably wouldn't have shot the squirrel but it would have more than likely had a heart attack before it caused the whole mountain to go dark!

Sabatical

2006-06-23T20:06:00.000-07:00

We are in NW Ark this week. We spent a few days with my parents. We had a wonderful visit with my brother Marty and his little one, Marleigh. Luke got a new wagon for his birthday and Marleigh and Moriah really enjoyed it. Moriah pulled Marleigh down a little embankment and was kind enough to let go of the handle as Marleigh barreled uncontrollably into the fence. Gee thanks Mo! Sorry we didn't get to see you Theresa maybe when we come back through.

Luke had a check up today. 30" and 23 lb. 2 oz. He has an eye appt. on 7-31. He is a little cross eyed sometimes so we are going to get it checked out. I'm sure it is just a product of his environment. We are all a little cock-eyed at our house sometimes. Moriah opted to leave the room when Luke got his 12 month shots. She doesn't like to see "flawless skin" get "messed with."

We are visiting with John's parents right now. It's been a good afternoon. John and his dad went shooting. We could hear them and Moriah wondered "what in the world are they doing?" Luke is enjoying exploring new territory. If anybody wants to see us, feel free to come by here. We will be here all weekend!

I don't have any "kid" stories today. I have a John story but I must edit it in my head before I blog it.

Happy Father's Day

2006-06-18T15:39:00.000-07:00

If anybody calls you "Dad," I hope you had a blessed day. Our church didn't have evening services tonight so that we could spend time with our dads. John and I didn't get to see our dads today but we did call them. We will see them this next week. Moriah and Luke are so lucky that they spent the whole day with their dad. John got some hunting boots and the lunch of his choice (which turned out to be all you can eat crab legs at the china buffet). I also added some more pix to his ever growing Father's Day card (I gave him a card 2 years ago of all of the good pix of he and Moriah, this year I added some more of he and Mo, he and Luke, and he and both!
If you are still lucky enough to have your dad, call him and tell him hello and Happy Father's Day. If you don't read this until later, call him and tell him you love him and wish him a belated happy father's day. God bless 'em aren't we glad we have them!!

Happy Birthday, Luke!!!!

2006-06-17T20:20:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that it has been 1 year. Our little man! I got to say for the first time "1 year ago today at this very time (12:53pm), you came into our lives." We had a really good day. We went to CiCi's and ate pizza and then went to the Best Western in Atlanta to spend the night. We ate cake and opened presents and fun was had by all. Luke dove into the cake and wiped the chocolate icing all over him. It was great! John told Moriah to hold Luke so he wouldn't crawl off of the table. Moriah started gagging like 'Ol' Faithful' was about to erupt and saying that it looked like poop. I had to eat some of the icing that was on Luke's leg to show her there was nothing to barf about. I must admit that it was a bit hard to choke it down since she was gagging over it!
When we left the hotel, John told them there was a towel in the room that was soiled. He said, "I wanted you to know that it is just chocolate!" Some man was checking into the hotel and he said, "I don't know! He (Luke) looks like he just did something on'ry!"
Which reminds me, we got him a t-shirt for his birthday that says "I'm definitely up to something!"

What is a Scontion?

2006-06-15T11:16:00.000-07:00

The Mineral Springs fight song is On Wisconsin! Not so much a fight song; but, it's what the band plays when the Hornets score. John always sings, "On Wisconsin, on Wisconsin, on Wisconsin, On!," over and over and over all the way through the song. Of course, you live with insanity and it starts to rub off. I sing it. I thought Moriah did too! (Sad little sidenote: Some of the band kids thought that those were the actual words....so sheltered and naive; yet, so worldly!)
Last night, Moriah was doing some of her "cheerleading kicks." She said, "I need to practice dancing. What is that song that the band plays that always makes the cheerleaders start doing their dance?"
"I don't know." I answered.
She said, "Yeah you do. You know, On Your Scontion."

Indian?????

2006-06-14T12:27:00.000-07:00

After we got to Mom and Dad's house from Precious Moments, we spent a few days with them. I had talked with my sister-in-law, Theresa, before we went to Missouri and we had made plans to go to the Alma water park with the kids. My niece, Marleigh, rode to the park with Moriah, Luke, and me. We had a blast! We cranked the tunes (Chicken Little Soundtrack) and rocked all the way there.
Before we arrived at the AquaPark, Moriah started putting on her sunscreen. She always puts sunscreen on when she goes swimming. Although this is a good habit to get into at a young age, it is unnecessary during those times that the pool is INDOORS!!!! On this particular day, however, sunscreen was very necessary for the pigment-impaired.
She offered her cousin Marleigh some of her sunscreen. Marleigh told Moriah that she didn't need sunscreen because she didn't burn. Moriah, of course, asked, "How come?"
Marleigh replied, "Because I'm Indian."
Moriah stated, "Uh-uh! You ain't from no India!"
I explained to Moriah that Marleigh is an Indian but not from India; she is a Native American Indian. Marleigh began her own explanation. "Yes." she said, "It is on the Glasgow side. Not all Indians are dark-skinned, some are light like me and have blue eyes."
Moriah was amazed at this new revelation. "Really?"
Marleigh said, "Really! That's what they call me. A blond, blue-eyed white Indian girl!"

Precious Moments

2006-06-13T22:57:00.000-07:00

Recently, Mom, Moriah, Luke, and I went to Carthage, Missouri to visit the Precious Moments chapel. We spent the night at the Best Western Precious Moments Hotel. It was the color of this font. Moriah loved it!!! She jumped out of the car and pulled her pink shirt out and said, "Mom, LOOK! What do I match?" (Because everything has to be in the form of a question). She was so excited and kept saying "Look! The whole place is PINK!" I didn't think we would ever get checked in because much like Fatal Attraction, she will not be ignored.
The highlight of the evening was the indoor pool. It was wonderful because it rained all night. The pool was open until midnight but by the Grace of God she wore down before then. Mom was in the room and wasn't feeling well. Luke was getting a little waterlogged. And, there were like 12 kids in the pool area. I find myself with what seems to be less and less toleration of other people's. Even though they weren't really that bad, the third time I got walloped up the side of the head with one of those neoprene sponge balls, I was done. I had managed to talk Moriah in to going to bed, yea!
As we were leaving the pool area, the Pizza Hut delivery guy walked in with about 4 pizzas and handed to one of the ladies that was in there with the mob. Moriah trotted over to me and exclaimed "Momma! That guy just walked in here and gave them PIZZA!!!!" Oh please, let me be the only one that heard that! My cry-out was to no avail. The lady carrying the pizza over to the table grinned at me. I told her "You know, we do get out a little more than that." She asked "Would it be okay if she has a piece of pizza with the kids?" I graciously declined stating that we had just eaten before we came to the pool. It was actually about an hour before but it was around 10:30 at that moment, much too late for anyone to be eating. I thanked her for asking. It geniunely was kind and I did appreciate that.
But. you know, the more I think about it, I don't ever remember us having pizza delivered anywhere. We have always either picked it up or eaten it there. It had never occurred to me that a man walking in and handing someone a pizza would be foreign to her.

Scuba MoLuke

2006-06-13T08:28:00.000-07:00

We FINALLY put Moriah's pool up. She has one of the little 12 X 3 feet pools that you get at Wal-Mart. You know how it goes. We bought it last year and a few weeks after we got it...we could have gotten the 18' for the same price. But, that is just my luck and I shouldn't dwell on that. We put it in our driveway which is the most level place we could find. We tried the backyard and it ended up being more like 2 feet deep.
ANYHOW!!!!!!!!!! (I ramble a lot)
Moriah took swim lessons last year in Waldron. She really enjoyed it and learned quite a bit but we still haven't mastered jumping in from the side. Can't jump in from the side of this pool so that isn't really a problem. However, John has managed to prove his abilities by running to dive into the pool.
We kept noticing the sheer joy that Luke was getting when Moriah would go under to get her diving rings. We thought that he just thought it was funny, like peek-a-boo. Apparently though, he thought it looked fun.
I had him in his baby boat and he leaned over and put his face in the water. It was about time for his afternoon nap so I thought he was just tired so I took him out of the pool. John took him back in the pool later that afternoon. John just held him. He literally jumped from his daddy's arms trying to get under the water.
I guess we will have to be very careful with this one. We already knew that though.

Badonkadonk Boy!!!!!!!!!

2006-06-07T19:23:00.000-07:00

He's not even 1 and he is already acting like a man! We were watching Trace Adkins sing "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk." Luke was sitting in the middle of our family room floor, bottle hanging out of his mouth, and dancing. When I asked John if he was watching his son, Luke turned to look at me. He had a big smile on his face, dropped the bottle, and milk ran all down his face and shirt. He just started screaming and laughing. Oh my! Where is the camcorder when you need it?

Here's a Proud Moment for Ya!

2006-06-02T19:47:00.000-07:00

Recently, we went with John's band to Wild River Country in LR. This was Luke's first trip to a water park. He seemed to really enjoy the Lazy River. Which, coincidentally, was the only thing I could do on last year's trip to WRC. He has a little boat that he sits in and swats at the water. It's really cute to watch.
Luke has recently put himself on a schedule. I guess it's a good thing one of us is organized. He wakes up between 7 and 7:30; takes a nap at 10; and takes another nap around 2. One of these naps will be about 20 minutes and the other is usually 2 hours (this is not important to this story just an FYI). Both of these naps fell during the time period we were at the park.
The afternoon nap, I laid down on a chaise lounge chair and sat Luke on top of me. He was laying on my tummy so peacefully and cute. He sat up rather suddenly and looked at me (seemed to be a little scared). Then, I felt a warm feeling come over me. Ah Luke, that was just wrong. Those Lil Swimmers DO NOT absorb liquids very well.
John came and took his shift. He had the honor of changing Luke. He was a little muddy; if you get my drift. He said, famous last words, "I'm just going to take him in the shower and wash him off."
John takes Luke in the men's showers. He is gone and gone and gone.....and gone for what seemed like forever. He returns and I asked what had taken him so long. "Well," he said, "there was no warm water and when I held Luke's bare butt to the the cold water it put him in some sort of shock and he pooped all over the shower! It just started shootin' out of him!"
Ewwwwwww!!!!!!! That is so gross!!!!

Not the Outdoorsy Kind of Guy

2006-05-28T09:37:00.000-07:00

This weekend we decided to go camping (in our back yard). Last year (or year before), we bought a tent on clearance at Wally World. It was a 3 room tent that was marked down to practically nothing. Which just so happens that is all we have.
The kids and I are going to Missouri with my mother this next week so it really didn't make sense to take 2 trips so close together. So, we decided on the back yard camping adventure.
Luke loved the tent. He crawled from one room to the other, laughing, and having a great time. We roasted marshmallows and hot dogs. Lots of fun.
All was well and good until bedtime. All of a sudden the fun was over. He cried and fussed incessantly. This went on for what seemed like hours! Finally, John folded and took him in the house. He leaped out of John's arms and into his bed, rolled over, and went to sleep.
John says he slept all night. I, however, would not know because I was outside in the tent with Moriah, "Queen of the Back Yard Camping."
On a brighter note, maybe he won't complain anymore about sleeping in his bed!

Writer's Block

2006-05-26T13:29:00.000-07:00

Wow! It's been over a month since I blogged. We've been busy winding school down and nothing has really happened that is worthy of a blog.
Luke is still biting. He has two more teeth so it hurts even more. He hit the back of Moriah's computer and broke it. We may have lost most of our digitial pix. Luke has discovered the joys of splashing in the toilet. I will blog pix of that later.
Moriah is ready for school to be out. Luke pesters the poop out of her. She is still camping out in the living room. She will not go back to her room. I think she has pediatric post traumatic stress disorder.
Laura and Karen came and visited last weekend. We had a good visit. We all walked (except for Luke, he strolled) to the park and went to a SONICFLOOD concert. THat was fun! Especially because it was free.
Moriah, Luke, and I will go next week to Carthage, MO with Nanna to the Precious Moments Chapel.

Spaghetti Arms

2006-04-25T09:55:00.000-07:00

Year before last, John and I purchased a "Slam Dunk" basketball game at Wal-Mart. It had regularly been around 80 bucks. We paid $15 for it during an after Christmas clearance sale. Our original intention was to put it on eBay and sell it for $80 bucks or so. We got it home and Moriah wanted to keep it. Time passed and it was still in the box and every once in a while Moriah would say, "Will you put my basketball game together?" We never did. Then, came Luke and it just kept getting pushed to the side. Not literally of course because it was kind of heavy.

On Moriah's 9th birthday she had a sleepover and I started putting it together. I thought it would be fun for the girls to play while they were here. Although it wasn't complicated to assemble, it started taking up too much time because much like everything else, I had procrastinated to the last minute. So, again, it got pushed to the side. This time literally.

We had originally planned to put it in our family room which is a fairly large room. But, with the recent influx of small, medium, AND large baby toys, we thought our screened in back porch would be a better choice. That is, after all, Moriah's playroom....And will be Luke's as soon as he figures out how to open the door by himself.

John finished the assembly process last night. And, if you don't know exactly what it is I'm talking about. It is like an arcade basketball game similar to the ones you see at Chuck E. Cheese. John and Moriah played it for a bit. I went and played for a while. John played a 1 minute game and scored 50 points. Not to be outdone (so I thought), I tried to beat his score. I got 48. I played again, 49 points. John comes back out to play. We start playing against each other. He won; then, I won one. So, we had to because of the laws of marriage had to play best 2 out of 3. But, this was not just throwing basketballs at a goal this was cut throat Bill Lambehr elbowing, pulling of hair, gnashing of teeth action. I won the 3rd game fair and square, well, except for the hair pulling and elbowing. John calls for 3 out of 5. No can do.

We stopped playing for maybe an hour. I went back out to the porch after Moriah went to bed at 9:30. She heard the action and got up. She and I played a few games. It was fun. Then, she decided to call it a night....Again! I kept playing because I still hadn't beat that 50 points in 1 minute score. John came and stood right behind me because he knows that it gets on my nerves for someone to stand over my shoulder like that. And, if he didn't know that, he will after he reads this. We started playing again. We played a few games of 2 minutes or so. Then, Mr. Smartypants thinks it a good idea to set the time at 4 minutes. Ohmigosh! Everything was okay for the first 2 minutes. Then, the fatigue started setting in. We already had the elbows, hair, and teeth thing going but we both started getting spaghetti arms. If you have ever seen someone whose legs are cramped up try to go ahead and finish that marathon, this is kinda what our arms looked and felt like. We were laughing at each other; crying from the pain and agony!
Moriah again gets out of bed and comes out to the porch. She screamed at us, "ENOUGH BASKETBALL! We ALL need to go to bed! Stop that game!" But, we couldn't!!!!!!!!!!!! There was one minute left. She was sighing with disbelief, I mean really, it was her toy!

When the buzzer rang, and time was no more. We walked back in the house and fell on the couch. Our arms dragging the floor. It would have been impossible to try to pick anything up. It was lots of fun and I can't believe we went to that extreme. I woke up this morning with my arms still sore and couldn't remember what I had done. Then, I saw it on the porch. Sitting there staring at me as if to say..."You never got that 50 points, Loser!" I have not caved to it's calling. I don't even remember what the score was last night. But, if I lost, I'm sure John can fill you in on that later!!!!

Love Bites!!!!

2006-04-24T17:40:00.000-07:00

Luke has been biting everyone. He bites us, he bites the ladies that babysit while I sub. Gnaw, Gnaw, Gnaw!!!!

I think part of it is because his teeth bother him. However, there are a few other theories that are becoming more and more believable.

For instance, he has this little grin that he does. He puts his bottom teeth on his top lip like he has an underbite. It looks a little impish; but, really really cute. The other day I was emailing LeaEtta (my Sunday School teacher) and Luke looks up at me grinning like this, puts both hands on my arm, and chomps down! Grinning and laughing.

The most popular bite...........this one hurts the worst....the LOVE bite! He will be sitting in your lap playing and put his hands on your face and lay into you. He did it on the hand of one of his babysitters. She said, "He probably thought my hand was a chicken bone." I thought that was cute. Today, he bit the other babysitter, the first lady's daughter. She said that it didn't hurt and he was loving on her when he did it. As far as I know, he has only broken skin once. He latched onto one of my eyes one Sunday afternoon. It hurt!!!! I had visions of pictures I saw when I worked at DHS of things that people had done to babies. I now assume that this the reason that someone could find it reasonable to throw a baby against the wall.
He also bit Moriah today. You can imagine the response. She started saying, "Not my skin, not my skin!" Oh but yes, her skin! He dug the little razorblades in and she screamed, "You have damaged my beautiful flawless skin, Luke! Why did you damage my flawless skin?"
Flawless skin? Yeah right! But anyway! She was severely irritated.

Moriah was never a biter. Well, pretty much never. She bit me once and I administered her first of many politically incorrect form of child discipline. She bit John once and with the same result. Except big bad Dad cried just a little that he had to do this to his baby girl! But, we never had another bite mark on us. Well, until now!!!!

A Walk Home from the Park

2006-04-19T06:55:00.001-07:00

While we were at the park, we saw the Mineral Springs School resource officer and his family. So, John and he had to talk shop for a while. It started thundering and lightning. We started our trek back to the house.

Before we even got out of the park, there was a big flash of lightning. It seemed like it was just right there. It couldn't have been more than a few miles away. Now, I can't say that I wasn't a bit concerned. But, Moriah panics in storms (she isn't scared of anything except big brown bugs, burning light switches, and storms).

I grabbed her by the hand and started walking faster. She was starting to get the 'I'm going to cry' respirations. I said, "There is nothing to be scared of Moriah, the lightning is just God's way of telling us that we need to go home." Then, CRASH BOOM RUMBLE!!!!! She looked at me with fear in her eyes. I said, "Ok, that's His way of sayint 'RIGHT NOW!'"

We hurried home. We didn't even stop to play with Winter (Winter is a big dog that lives in our path to the park that we called White Dog for a year and a half before we found out her name; anyway, Winter is a whole 'nother blog all by herself; maybe I'll get to that later). Moriah explained to Winter as we hurried by that we had to get home and didn't have time to play. I'm sure she understood. Lightning and thunder were right on our heels. I had my teeth gritted. So, did Luke, all 6 of them.

We made it safely home. We were all glad to be home. All of us were hot and sweaty.......except for Luke and he didn't have to put out much energy. We came in the house and sat down. John was holding Luke, he was kissing (more like licking) his daddy's neck, when he said, "Ewwwwwwwwwww!" Was this a coincidence? I think not!!!!

I better go for now. Luke has started his daily trek to the other end of the house. I would hate to lose him..........................AGAIN!

Can you say that?

2006-04-19T06:51:00.000-07:00

I may have already told you this but in case I haven't....we live about 2 blocks (if Nashville even has blocks) from Nashville's City Park. It is a pleasant place. There are 2 walking tracks; one is 1 mile and the other is just pretty with trees and flowers and such. There is also a playground and every evening there are plenty of children there to play with. We walk because, well, we all need the exercise and his only 2 blocks for Heaven's sake. Except for Luke, he rides in his Lukemobile.

Last evening we walked over there. John and Luke walked around the track twice and Moriah and I went to the playground. There weren't very many kids there when we arrived but they started coming in right at dusk. There was a little Hispanic girl that came over and started playing with Moriah. There were the basic introductions and hellos.

Moriah asked the little girl, "Where do you live?" The little girl stammered a little saying, "I live, I live, I live...." Moriah said, "Do you live in Nashville?" The little girl said, "I live in a trailer." Moriah said, "You mean, a mobile home." The little girl said proudly, "Yes! I live in a noble home."

I just sat there thinking 'how sweet!' followed by thoughts of 'do I live in a noble home?' How many of us can say that our home is noble?

Happy Easter!

2006-04-18T07:16:00.001-07:00

I hope you all had a Happy Easter! We had the tradtional Fultz Family Easter. We drug ourselves out of bed for the early service at church and when John was through playing his trumpet in the 10:50 service we went outside and made Easter pictures. It is always so peaceful. I guess because most everyone in the whole country is in church on Easter morning. This year was particularly interesting. When we started doing this, Moriah was old enough not to eat the flowers and the dirt. Not to mention, she would not have done that anyway. She never was really bad about putting things in her mouth as an infant. Luke, on the other hand, it matters not the size, texture, taste...........IT WILL BE IN THE MOUTH!!!!! I really didn't know what to expect but he did really well. Of course, I can't get either one of them to pose like I want them; usually the facial expressions says it all anyway.

Spring Break

2006-04-18T06:27:00.000-07:00

We had a nice Spring Break considering there were no beaches involved. We spent most of the week with John's family. It was fun.
We went to Atlanta (TX) for church on 04-09. Moriah's choir sang. As always, she sang beautifully. It's amazing how well she does when she doesn't realize you can hear her. Sunday evening after choir, we drove to Waldron and spent the night with my parents.
Then, Monday we went to the big ol' city of Kingston, AR and spent most of the week. For you who aren't family, John's parents live up on top of the mountain. It is beautiful. I enjoyed just sitting out on the front porch looking out at the hills and watching the monarch butterflies fluttering by.
Wednesday, we went to Springfield, MO and met our new great niece, Delsa Dawn. She was 6 days old on that day. You do the math. I'm not fully functional at this time in the morning. She is a beautiful little girl just like her momma. And, if you know John, it was a must to go by Bass Pro Shop. It was okay though. Moriah and I played like we were at an amusement park. We rode the elevator (A LOT!). We found John talking shop with some guy at the gun counter. We snuck up, walked off with the cart (that had my purse and the camera in it), and hid around the corner and watched him panic just a bit. Good times! We came back through Harrison and ate dinner with John's brother, David, and his family. John's parents also met us there. I got sick after we got home. I made the comment that I hadn't thrown up that much since I was pregnant with Luke. I think my mother-in-law was in a panic for a moment.
Thursday, we went to Harrison again. We ate dinner with John's brother and family again. Karl came over (John's sister, Karen's oldest). He had never seen Luke (in person). Moriah didn't go with us. I think she wanted some Memaw and Pa time without Luke and us. And, from what I understand, it was a great time of partying and jumping on the bed. When we left Harrison, we drove through Ponca (?). I think that is where the elk are. We always go and watch the elk. They don't come out until around dusk so I've yet to get any good pictures. We saw about 17 this time.
Friday, we went to Springdale and visited with John's best friend, Jonny Hammond. It was good to see them. I hadn't seen them in about 4 years. They have a 3 1/2 year old boy. I am so bad. It was good to see them. The girls have sure grown a lot in those 4 years. Cassie still had baby fat the last time I saw her and now Jack is calling her wanting his beanstalk back. We took Moriah to the Jones Center to swim Friday afternoon. In case you don't know what that is, the Jones Center is a community center in Springdale that is free. If you have ever heard of Jones Truck Lines, this is the family. Their foundation has provided so much for the NWA community and the whole state of Arkansas. They have an indoor leisure pool and lap pool; ice skating rink; and various other activities. You have to call and get tickets but if you are ever in NWA; it is a good thing. Did I mention that it was free?
We ate dinner with Laura (John's oldest sister) and her son Keith. We always have a blast with Aunt Laura. Also, Keith had never seen Luke. Keith lives in Smyrna, TN which is right outside of Nashville. This is strange, we live in Nashville (AR) and we moved here from Smyrna (a community outside of Atlanta, TX). Hmmmmm! Then, we spent Friday night with them.
Saturday, I felt like we were on World Tour. We ate lunch in Bentonville; then, went back to Springdale and visited with the Hammonds again (we got to see Heidi this time; I just love her!). We left there and drove to Waldron visited with my parents for about and hour; drove to Nashville (unloaded and got the Easter clothes); and headed back to Texas.

Smarter Every Day!

2006-04-14T07:43:00.000-07:00

Well, Luke is getting much better with his electronic skills. He managed last week to turn the TV on with the remote and then crawl over and turn the DVD player on so he could watch his Baby Einstein. John walked in and turned the TV and DVD off. Luke went through the process again and smiled at John.

We are on Spring Break right now. I will blog about that next week after I recover. Happy Easter everyone!!!!

Turn that Trash OFF!!!!!

2006-04-05T09:31:00.000-07:00

Before Luke was born, John and I went to Toys R Us and spent $8 on a piece of plexiglass that fits over the TV buttons. We knew from previous experience that once he started crawling this would be a vital piece of furniture in our home.

Now that he is pulling up, we have learned just how convenient that little piece of plexiglass is. It is annoying to Moriah; she can't turn the TV off without the remote control now. But, I think she is beginning to realize, too, how important it is. One thing we didn't take into account was you cannot put a piece of plexiglass over a DVD player. So, after figuring out that the front of the TV was smooth and nothing happens when you bang on it......................naturally, we must push buttons on the DVD player.

Actually, this wasn't a problem until this past week. Luke loves his Baby Einstein videos. His favorite is Baby Beethoven; he falls into a comatose state when this is on. He likes Baby Mozart but not to the extent of the Beethoven. We purchased Language Nursery over the weekend. I think we may have wasted $15. He has shown no interest in this video. To be honest, neither have I. I, like Luke, also enjoyed the other two. But, this one has failed to capture my attention. I know that it is much like the other two except it is more language than music. And, not just English, it is also Spanish and French and maybe something else. I mean how would I know. The only other languages I speak besides English are Redneck and some Ebonics. I wondered, "What are they telling my baby to do?"

I began to think that maybe the timing was off of the watching. So, I put it in again. Luke crawls over to the TV, pulls up, and puts his little chubby fingers on the power button and turns the video off. He just crawls away. I thought it was a mistake. I turned it back on with the same result. He turned it off and crawls away. I thought this was a little funny. I looked at him and said, "Do you not like this show?" He looked at me, grinned, shook his head side to side (merely coincidental.....I think?!), and said "Da-da;" which means "NO!" So, I stopped trying.

A day or so later, we were watching Baby Beethoven. Luke crawled over to the TV, pulls up, turns the DVD player off, and begins to cry. I turned it back on for him and he giggled, showed me his muscles, and said, "Da-da;" which means "Thank you!"

Now, we have developed a new skill in higher level thinking. This morning, he was watching his daily dose of Baby Beethoven. He goes to the DVD player and turned it off. He begins to cry. I have the remote. So, I just push a few buttons and turn it back on. It comes back on; Luke looks at it; but, this time, he continues to cry. He turns it off again; then, crawls over to me (still crying). Instead of turning it back on immediately, I picked him up. He stopped crying. But, he starts looking around at the TV and starts to fuss. Apparently now, we must be held while watching our shows.

And, we finally made it through Language Nursery. I have narrowed the message they are trying to send Luke with this video. It is one of two things. It is either the Operation Manual for the DVD player or 'Quick! Take control of the house before the Girl gets home from school!"

Just this.........

2006-04-04T12:27:00.000-07:00

This is not mine. I received it in an email.

Just for this morning, I am going to smile when I see your face and laugh when I feel like crying.
Just for this morning, I will let you choose what you want to wear, and smile and say how perfect it is.
Just for this morning, I am going to step over the laundry, and pick you up and take you to the park to play.
Just for this morning, I will leave the dishes in the sink, and let you teach me how to put that puzzle of yours together.
Just for this afternoon, I will unplug the telephone and keep the computer off, and sit with you in the backyard and blow bubbles..
Just for this afternoon, I will not yell once, not even a tiny grumble when you scream and whine for the ice cream truck, and I will buy you one if he comes by.
Just for this afternoon, I won't worr

y about what you are going to be when you grow up, or second guess every decision I have made where you are concerned.

Just for this afternoon, I will let you help me bake cookies, and I won't stand over you trying to fix them.
Just for this afternoon, I will take us to McDonald's and buy us both a Happy Meal so you can have both toys.. !
Just for this evening, I will hold you in my arms and tell you a story about how you were born and how much I love you.
Just for this evening, I will let you splash in the tub and not get angry.Just for this evening, I will let you stay up late while we sit on the porch and count all all the stars.

Just for this evening, I will snuggle beside you for hours, and miss my favorite TV shows.

Just for this evening when I run my finger through your hair as you pray, I will simply be grateful that God has given me the greatest gift ever given.I will think about the mothers and fathers who are searching for their missing children, the mothers and fathers who are visiting their children's graves instead of their bedrooms, and mothers and fathers who are in hospital room s watching their children suffer senselessly, and screaming inside that they can't handle it anymore.

And when I kiss you good night I will hold you a little tighter, a little longer. It is then, that I will thank God for you, and ask him for nothing, except one more day..............

She's only 9; yet we are already getting DUMB!

2006-04-03T07:19:00.000-07:00

This weekend John, Moriah, and I went with two of his band students to the Arkansas All-Star clinic in Atkins. Moriah will readily take care of her little brother when she is asked to but "her needs" are always first priority. I can see that! She was IT for over 8 years!

Saturday morning, she was on the bed watching TV. John and I were getting things ready to go home. John asked Moriah to watch Luke and not to let him fall off the bed (AGAIN!). Moriah put her hand on Luke and went on watching her "shows." I was taking the luggage cart out in the hallway to get it out of the way. I heard John say "Moriah! You were supposed to be watching him!" I paused for a moment waiting to hear a "THUD!" If you have never heard a baby fall off of a bed it is a very distinctive sound followed by the screams of what must be a thousand babies. No thud! Everything must be OK! John had seen Luke going for the edge and managed to get there before the "thud!"

Every time something like this happens. Moriah, being very sensitive, starts to cry. I went back in the room and of course, the tears they were a flowin'. I told her to come help me load the car up so we could leave. She gladly came to avoid further scourging. We were talking as we were loading up the car. It is always good in this type situation to actually avoid conversation about the actual happenings of the preceding event. Moriah asked, "Momma, why did Dad hit me?"
I inquired, "Dad hit you?"
"Yes," she said, "when I wasn't watching Luke very well."
"How did he hit you?"
"Like this." forming her hand like she was going to "thump" someone.
I told her that isn't really hitting. I tried to explain to her how important it is that Luke not continually fall on his head that eventually it's going to hurt....................really bad. She said, "I know but sometimes Dad has..........................................."
"Issues?" I asked.
"Well, I think he isn't very smart." she said. I looked at her and she was serious!
I laughed. Then, I said, "Moriah, that isn't nice. Don't say things like that about your daddy. Besides, if he heard you say that don't you think you would get in trouble." She giggled.

Every time I would think about it, I would start laughing on the inside and a smile would break. Then, when he finally asked. I told him I would tell him later, maybe years later. But, I kept it for as long as I could. I had to share it! I told him not to be mad at her she has to vent sometimes. I'd rather she share her true thoughts (not that John being "not smart" is a true thought) than to bottle them up and explode when she is a teenager and unload the whole truck of what bad parents we are all at once. Even though, I know realistically this is going to happen anyway. John's only comment upon this new thorn in his ego, "It's started already! She's 9 and we are already getting dumber!"

Saturday night in the hotel in Atlanta, we were playing on the bed and Moriah was being her usually jolly self. She said something along the lines that she was smart like me (which is SO NOT true, I can only dream about having the creativity that she does.). John said, "I'm smart!"
She said, "No, no, no! You are UNsmart! You have a tiny brain." I'm pretty sure that I lost consciousness for a moment. The next thing I remember is this statement from her: "I heard somewhere that babies have little brains. So Luke isn't very smart either."
"Like who?" I asked. "Like Dad!" she said giggling.

After laughing for a while, I think I told her again that wasn't nice to say about her daddy and brother. I think I did. I may not have. Oh well, I thought it my massively BIG ol' GIRL brain!!!!!

Psycho Baby

2006-04-01T08:32:00.000-08:00

I haven't written many stories about Luke. He is fine and doing super well. It's just that he seems to bring out the best (and worst) in Moriah and that makes for more interesting stories than endless stories about how he crawls everywhere (I've lost him in the house twice...he was under the kitchen table both times), pulls hair just so he can chew on it, and thinks he is a computer genius and he can do anything just by sitting on the keyboard. Luke is a happy child. His life has pretty much consisted of eating, sleeping, and smiling. But, for the past few weeks he has had some problems that has made him very irritable (at least now he fits in with the rest of us).

A couple of months ago Luke had 2 teeth on the bottom make their grand appearance. This seemed to cause him little pain...........us on the other hand, it hurts considerably when he gnaws on our faces. Those two little pearls were so cute in his mouth! But............................................ this past week he started waking up in the middle of the night, screaming in agony, and nothing seemed to help. We knew that he was teething but we didn't know the severity of it until this weekend. He gnaws and chews on everything from his own thumb to my face. Not to mention, the soles of his shoes, stuffed animals, teething toys, or (the one that irritates John the most) my Victoria's Secret underwear are favorites. Pretty much anything that he can get his mouth on has been used as a "chew" toy. He could not be consoled at times....no holding, no sitting, no standing, no playing.......just jump up and down, flailing about, and screaming as if to say "It's my party and I'll cry if I want to!"

Yesterday, "EUREKA!" He seemed to be in a good mood. Luke threw his head back and grinned really big and lo and behold.........the TEETH! He has 4 that erupted in a 24 hour period. Bless his heart. A few molars and he will be gnawing on T-bones.

Fultz'N It

2006-03-30T12:39:00.000-08:00

In case anyone is wondering what Fultz'N It! means, there is a story. Isn't there always a story? When John was teaching in Waldron and a kid's horn would break, John would do a temporary fix on it using JBWeld. The guy that worked on and repaired most of the band instruments in that area started calling any repair with JBWeld "Fultz'N it." So, it was said, so it shall be done.

Snap, Crackle, Pop...........NOT Rice Krispies!!!!!!!!

2006-03-24T00:05:00.000-08:00

The insanity reality show that is our lives has just finished another episode. It is about 2AM CST and I am in the popason chair in our family room (den). John, Moriah, and Luke are asleep on the sleeper sofa. We put Luke in his bed around 10pm. He was long since asleep. Moriah was asleep on the couch and I told John to wake her up when he came to bed. Remember! We still don't have heat!

I was in bed trying to get comfortable. I hear the jingle of the butterfly bead curtains on Moriah's bedroom door as she goes to her room. John comes to get in bed.

We had just settled down when Moriah walks in our bedroom. I said to her, "Hey Baby! What's wrong?" Before this finished coming out of my mouth John says, "I smell something burning!" Moriah replies with a bit of fear in her voice, "It's my light switch!" (Which coincidentally is next to the furnace!!)

John and I both jump out of bed. Moriah starts to panic. I asked her what the light switch was doing. She told me that it was cracking and popping. John told me to grab Luke out of his bed. I was prepared to run for the door. Moriah, Luke, and I were standing in the hallway waiting for the word to go.

John was in Moriah's room. He says, "Tamara, put Luke down on our bed and Moriah, you stay with Luke." He told me to come in Moriah's room. The wall around Moriah's light switch was hot. The switch would not move up or down. There was a touch of black on the side. John takes the light switch cover off and the whole inside of the switch was burned. It had been on fire. We were trying to figure out what to do when the light in the room started flickering. It hadn't been on.

Okay, I'm panicking now! John has me go out to the breaker box to turn off the breaker for Moriah's room. I go out and start flipping switches. John yells to tell me that I had flipped the breaker. I go back in the house; had just started to calm a bit; the light starts to flicker AGAIN!!!!! Now, this is a bit unsettling.

So, we figure out that was not the breaker for her room (geniuses, eh?). So, John being the intelligent man that he is (I'm not kidding about that), gives me the cell phone, he gets the home phone, calls the cell phone and now we can communicate so I will know exactly which breaker is the right one. Everything is hunky dorry now, right? I'm going down that breaker box flipping switches like a mad woman. "No, No, No, that's not it, not that one...." The phone goes dead. I'm thinking was it the cell phone or the house phone. It was the house phone! I had flipped the breaker for the house phone. I turned it back on and tried to call John back. Our house phone is plugged in an outlet in the kitchen; Moriah's room is on the other end of the house. John comes to the laundry room door (where the breaker box is) and tells me "You're not going to believe this but the switch in her room and the phone are on the same breaker." At this point, I'm irrational but I have now reached John on the house phone. Actually, I think maybe he called me back. However, I do know that we are standing about 12 inches apart talking to each other on the phone and it was not at all humorous at the time. So, I flipped the breaker to the phone/light switch on the other end of the hallway.

Okay, so no doubt, Moriah will not re-enter her room..........probably EVER!!!!!!!!! I am now agreeing with her that we need to move back to Atlanta. She's saying "I never liked this house anyway!" Luke is smiling (as always, oh to be a baby again!). We start to prepare for our little "camping" adventure in the den. I packed a suitcase with a change of clothes for each of us and plenty of clean undies and placed it by the door along with the kids' Easter clothes, the car keys, my wallet, the camera, and this computer (well, when I get through with this). I figure if I'm going to be left with only the clothes on my back...............I don't want to only wear sweats. We now have an escape plan (just in case).

John says "Will you fix Luke a bottle?" I go to the refrigerator, open the door, and the light isn't on. I close the door, push the water dispenser button on the freezer door, and nothing happens. I walk back into the family room, look at John, and say "Guess what! The refrigerator is on the same breaker with the phone and Moriah's room." OH PUH-LEEEEEEEEEEEEZZZZZ!!!!! Will this ever stop? I doubt that our neighbor's have any electricity because I just bet their house is on the same breaker with Moriah's room.........and the phone!!!!!

Anyway, please pray for our safety. Moriah is a little scared to even go in her room. I'm a little scared to go to sleep. John (Mr. PANIC USA) is relatively calm; asleep; and snoring right now which is scary in itself. Luke is just being Luke which is probably the only normalcy that is keeping us from cracking!!! I guess we will be spending some quality time with our landlord tomorrow, or today................when daylight comes! Day-O! Day-O! Daylight comes and me want go home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Flame Thrower

2006-03-21T21:34:00.000-08:00

Well, well, well! Here we are in the early stages of Spring. Flowers are blooming, trees are budding, and it's freakin' cold outside. But, aren't we lucky? It isn't just cold outside but it is cold inside as well.

A few weeks ago when we had the "Tornado Drill," our electricity went off. When the power came back on, our central heat/air was making a strange noise so I turned it off. Luke and I were in the hallway and I wasn't really excited about dealing with the belching furnace and dodging funnel clouds all at the same time.

This was fine for a few days until the global cooling took effect and we enter the "near" ice age. John went to turn the heat on and it never came on. We noticed that it hadn't come on but we are relatively slow at times (not to mention that I sit next to a space heater a lot of the time anyway) and didn't really become concerned until it went from cold to freakin' cold.

John wanted to call our landlord but I insisted that the house be in a somewhat clean state before we called anyone to come to our house. So, today our landlord sent a heating and air guy from Dierks to see what the problem was with the unit.

It turns out that the unit had been struck by lightning during "the drill." He got that fixed and turned the heat on and John started taking down the curtains and blankets that we had put up to block off the rooms that we didn't need heat. John says the guy tells him to wait a minute. Apparently, when the heat kicked on a 6 inch flame shot out of the furnace and there were actual burn marks on the wall inside where the unit was sitting where this had happened before. He told John it was amazing that the house had not burned to the ground before now. Thank God it got struck by lightning.

There are a few problems we are now facing. #1-It is still freakin' cold outside. It is so close to warm weather that our landlord will more than likely not want to replace the furnace right now (which I can't say that I would blame him). We DO have the one space heater. We went to WalMart to get another one; but they are a small store and only received one shipment of heaters and they are long gone.
#2-The nice heating and air guy tells John all of this with Moriah present. Now, Moriah is a little reluctant to go to bed because she thinks that the house is going to catch on fire. She wants to know if all furnaces have fire in them. But, my favorite is the statement she made this evening........."I don't like the furance in this house. We need to move back to Atlanta, Texas!" As if a furnace in Atlanta would not catch on fire. Oh well, the last part is still a good idea!!!!

So, I am sitting here in the family room, everyone else is gone to bed, and my nose is frozen because the one heater is in the hallway outside our bedrooms. BUT, how thankful I am for that ONE HEATER and how thankful I am that lightning struck our house. I know that sounds very strange but if it hadn't we could be without a home tonight. Or, to look at it from a different angle, the furnace sits right in the hallway next to all 3 of our bedrooms. Thank you God for your hedge of protection!

A Fultz Family Doctor Visit.

2006-03-18T13:02:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Moriah, Luke, and I made the pilgrimage to Dr. Cheshier in Ft. Smith. It was Moriah's check up for 9 years and Luke's for 9 months. It was, of course, eventful.

Luke was first. I got him undressed to be weighed. This is always exciting...to see how long he is and how much weight he has gained. I carried him to the scale, put him on the pad, and he proceeded to "pee-pee".................all over the place! He sat there and grinned up at us as he soaked everything around him. He was 21 lbs by the way. I guess that includes a quart of peepee.

Dr. Cheshier came in. Moriah was first. He didn't say much except, of course, about her weight. Which was not as bad as what I thought. He said she was 20 lbs. over weight. He tickled her and talked to her about school and all of the Moriah stuff. Then, he started to examine Luke. I asked him if it would be okay if Moriah went out and sat with her Nanna while he was examining Luke. I was wanting to talk to him about Moriah. He said they were going to do some lab work on Moriah so he needed her to stay.

Moriah thought it would be fun to watch as Luke was poked and prodded on. Luke didn't have any immunizations at 9 months so I figured this was going to be Easy Street. Moriah did really well and enjoyed Luke's portion of the visit until it came time for Dr. Cheshier to examine Luke's little boy parts. When that diaper came off, Moriah screamed and ran to the corner and buried her face. Dr. Cheshier rolled his eyes back in his head. And, much to my amazement and relief, Luke didn't laugh during the examination. Luke enjoys having his diaper changed and laughs the "Beavis and Butthead" laugh when you touch him in his "special" place.

Then, the nurses came in to do the lab work on Moriah. I don't know what I was expecting for lab work on a 9 year old, but I am certain it was not as traumatic as it turned out to be. I took Luke out to my mother in the waiting room. It was my job to hold Moriah's hand while they tortured her. She looked up at me and said, "Why are you letting them hurt me?" One nurse was taking the blood sample, one was hold her arm, and I was holding her hand and rubbing her face as her legs were flailing about. She screamed and cried and begged them to stop. Don't you know....just my luck...they didn't get a vein the first time. We had to take a break and try again. They tried again, this time it was successful (????? Define successful??????) She cried, screamed, gnashed teeth. All the time looking at me and asking why I was letting them do this to her. I tried to reassure her by telling her it would be okay and it was almost over and they were almost finished. In the meantime, she was screaming "IT IS NOT OKAY, IT IS NOT ALMOST OVER, IT IS OVER NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THIS IS IT, IT IS FINISHED, THIS IS THE END!!!!!!!!!!" Yes, I am a bad mother. I had to look away because I thought that statement was funny. Then, the nurse drew the last drop of blood that she needed. Moriah took a deep breath, sighed, and said, "WELL, That was exciting!" One of the nurses said, "You know, I don't think I've ever heard it expressed quite that way."

Then, we left the doctor's office and went to eat pizza. All is well in the Fultz house once again!

btw, the blood work was to test for thyroid disease.

I see green people?

2006-03-13T10:01:00.000-08:00

Friday evening, Moriah handed me an invitation to a birthday party for one of her classmates and another child. She asked if she could go to the party. I told her that she could go but we -would have to go to Wal-Mart and get Tajuana a present. I didn't know the other child that was on the invitation. I asked Moriah, "Who is Devant'a? Is this a boy or girl? Do we need to get them a present too?" She told me that she didn't know Devant'a but it was a boy and she thought he was Tajuana's cousin.
John knows a few more of the elementary kids. He asked Moriah, "Is this Devant'a Green?" Moriah answered, (**Now pay close attention**) "No, he is black like Tajuana."

Fire Ants

2006-03-11T23:01:00.000-08:00

I just received an email from a friend of mine in Waldron (AR) regarding how to treat your yard for fire ants. This got me to thinking. I never remember seeing fire ants in Waldron the whole time I lived there. I only recall hearing about these creatures invading my hometown after John, Moriah, and I moved to Atlanta, TX.

Which makes me wonder..............did we, on one of our weekend visits, transport these little, nasty, more painful than smashing your toe in a car door creatures? I don't even remember seeing the pesticides that will take care of them in Waldron. I guess fire ants are gradually moving North. Maybe they will all go to Michigan and freeze to death.

When we lived in Texas, they were horrible in our yards. We treated our yards on a weekly basis. We could not even let Moriah out in the yard to play unless we were out there with her to make sure they had built no mounds around where she was playing.

I remember one time when the fire ants built a mound under our doghouse. They invaded Chloe's house and decided to move in. Chloe did not care for this. It was a few weeks later that we noticed she was not sleeping in her house. We didn't really think a whole lot about it (she is a strange dog, anyway) until one night when it came a gully-washer. Chloe did not get under the overhang of the house, or under a tree, or even scratch on the back door. She simply sat out in the rain (in front of her doghouse) and cried (BAHHHHWOOOOOOO! BAHHHHHWOOOOO!). If you know anything about Basset Hounds, you know exactly how that sounds. We finally got the house treated and took care of her pest problem. She still has trouble sleeping in that house even though it know sits on a brick patio with virtually no chance of infestation (except what was on her to begin with).

Tornado Drill

2006-03-10T13:50:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a pretty hairy day as far as weather. There was a tornado spotted about 15 minutes from the school. Luke and I were at home in the hallway and John and Moriah were at school. The school postponed the benchmark until today because the kids spent the better part of the morning in the hallway with their little heads tucked between their knees.

Moriah was telling me this morning while she was getting ready for school about the experience. She told me about her daddy coming and rubbing her on the back of the head because he thought she was asleep. She told me about one of her friends that was crying. I asked why the little girl had cried. Moriah said, "b ecause their was a tornado in Lockesburg and she was afraid that it was coming to our school."

I asked her, "Were you scared, Moriah?"
She said, "Nah."
I said, "Really? How come?"
Moriah said, "It was just a tornado drill."
I asked, "Are you sure it was just a drill?"
She said (as if to say 'duh, Mom!'), "Yeah. No tornado came to our school, did it?"

A Penny Saved.....

2006-03-10T12:52:00.000-08:00

Luke is learning to crawl and his big sister is keeping a watchful eye on him. I think not so much to take care of him as to make sure that he doesn't touch her stuff! He has begun to time himself on how long it takes to get from our family room to the kitchen. He is getting pretty fast.

Moriah screamed, "PENNY!" John and I both come running. Moriah is prying a penny out of Luke's hand which had been in his mouth. Luke begins to cry because he hates for anybody to take anything from him.

John picks up Luke and says, "Moriah, you did a good thing!" She said, "Yeah! I saved the penny!" Her daddy said, "You may have saved your little brother from choking." She replied, "Yeah, and....I have a penny now. How lucky am I?" I told her "you are very lucky and Luke is very lucky to have you for a big sister!"

She still thinks the good thing she did was saving the penny.