5 Things

Sigh...Missy tagged me, AGAIN, and now I have to think of 5 random things about myself to share with you guys. Here it goes:
1. I love listening to ESPN radio, especially Mike and Mike in the morning. Don't ask me why, but I think they're funny and informative at the same time! My favorite show so far was the one where they spent about an hour discussing who was more likely to wear deoderant: Brett Favre or Tom Brady. It was hilarious!
2. In middle school and high school, I LOVED politics. I would read all about it in the paper, and I would follow all of the election stuff and thought it was so great. But, now I am almost indifferent to it. I know it's backwards, and I'm trying very hard to get involved and interested again because it is important.
3. I love puzzle games. Give me Dr. Mario, Tetris, Super Bubble Pop, and I'm good. Missy even got me hooked on an online game called Chain Factor. I don't like crossword puzzles, though!
4. I love to work in the yard. I love digging in the dirt, planting new things, and taking out things that I don't like. Since we've moved in this house, I think I've changed the shrubs in the backyard about 3 times. I've pulled about 5 shrubs from the front and I've planted quite a bit more around the house. I think it goes back to my childhood and my love of eating and playing in the dirt. I feel most relaxed when I am in the yard working.
5. I sing all the time to my kids and it drives them nuts! I sing in opera-style, country, rap, you name it and they beg me to stop, but the only way I will is if they tell me to stop by singing it in the style that I'm singing in. They end up laughing hysterically as they try to sing "stop please mommy" in an opera voice. Anna's opera and country are pretty bad, but she's way better at rap than I am! Tommy is just too funny as he tries to sing in any style!

Easier Access

Okay, so I've removed the restrictions from my blog, and hopefully, I won't get anymore wierdo guys commenting on my blog. If I do, I will restrict access again, but I'm hoping that I won't have to!

FOUND

After reading Missy's blog of the week, I decided to copy it and do my own FOUND post. I found this one in Tommy's backpack today when he came home from school. Tommy had inclusion today, but instead of doing it with the Head-Start kids, like his class always does, they did it with a 1st grade class. The first graders were so excited that Tommy knew his alphabet, and he apparently was a big hit with these three girls who wrote this note. They also practiced their reading skills by reading to him. My little boy is already hitting on the older girls! Anna's friends better watch out!

Danny found this one on his pillow the other night. We each have about a hundred notes that are similar to this, so he almost tossed it aside without reading it, but he was glad that he didn't. It's so funny! Oh, and Knock, Knock is a game that Anna made up that is like a twisted version of a knock, knock joke. Very physical with lots of running, screaming, and strange noises.

My life this week

Tommy LOVES Darth Vader and plays Lego Star Wars all the time. The game is great because it has the actual movie soundtrack on it, so Tommy now goes around the house singing the Imperial March (Darth Vader's theme). Danny and I looked in our music library and were shocked when we discovered that we didn't have the Star Wars soundtrack! We quickly went on to itunes and downloaded the Imperial March for Tommy and he listened to it as long as we could stand it! We were awakened to Tommy singing it this morning at 6am!
Here is our new tree (a shumard red oak) that I bought last Saturday after the hail. It's small, I know, but it will soon be very big! The kids loved digging a huge hole in the backyard to plant it in!


And yes, this is my sad mailbox. Well, it's not ALL mine, I share it with my neighbor. As you can see, the brick is deteriorating and flaking off. You can see some the bricks sitting on top that have come off. It's so bad on my neighbor's side that he has no flag! It fell off long ago along. I first noticed this about 2 years ago after a heavy freeze, and contacted Lennar (my homebuilder) about it, but it was no longer under warranty. I thought that we would have to fix it ourselves if it got really bad and the HOA told us to, but I contacted Acme and told them what was happening. They sent a guy out the next week to look at the mailbox, and he came and took some pictures and samples, and said that they would fix it right up! On Tuesday, while I was teaching, a large stack of bricks was delivered, and they now sit on my lawn waiting for the guys to come reconstruct my mailbox. For FREE!

There were 5 in the bed....

...and the little ones said "we're scared!" Yep. At 6:30 this morning, a terrific storm blew in with plenty of rain, thunder, lightning, and hail. After checking the radar to make sure that no tornadoes were on their way, we all jumped into my bed and tried to go back to sleep, but that was almost impossible considering there was nickle, quarter, and an occaisional golf ball sized hail raining upon our house! It sounded like the roof was coming down! Anna and Tommy were really freaked out, but the hail only lasted about 5-10 minutes. We had more than an inch of rain last night, and fortunately, there was no damage. We never got back to sleep, so our day started at 6:30 am. Not ideal for a Saturday, but hopefully we'll get to bed early tonight!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!

I hope everyone has a great Valentine's Day!

Stake Conference Sunday

Stake Conference was on Sunday, and for those of you who knew, my choir (McKinney 2nd Ward) was asked to sing during the second session. This was my second time to do this , but there were only about 600 in attendance this time. The first was a year and a half ago with the McKinney 5th Ward choir with more than 1,000 people in attendance. It went really well, except I forgot to tell the choir to stand up for the first song and my pianist had to remind me to do it! I was prompted to sing a fantastic arrangement of "Love at Home" for the closing hymn and I'm so glad I obeyed, because it fit PERFECTLY with what was talked about. I couldn't look up at my choir because I knew I would start crying, and as soon as I cut them off, I looked up and saw tears streaming down some of their faces. I don't know how we got through it! The choir sounded amazing and it was such a great experience for me! I actually got to sit through conference and listen to what the speakers had to say, as opposed to running after my children. It's been a long time since I was able to do that, and I really needed to be spiritually fed. I don't want to sound self-centered or anything, but I think the my choir was asked to sing so that I could have that opportunity to listen without interruption. I was a nervous wreck, but it was so worth it. We went to mom's later that day, so I could have a break from cooking, and see my family and I posted some pictures that she took while we were there.

Have you hugged your kids today?

There is a wonderful family that used to be in my ward, and actually lived a couple of streets away from me. They are amazing people and they have a son with an inoperable brain tumor in his brain stem. They keep an online journal of their experiences and this family never ceases to amaze me with their remarkable strength. Today's journal entry is simply heartbreaking and it makes me SO grateful for what I have. It reminds me a little of what we went through with dad, but the poor kid is only 8 years old. So, read the entry, then go and hug your children. http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/peterbarr

Eddie's new teeth!

Eddie has TWO teeth! The first came in about a week and a half ago and the second came in on Saturday. They are on the bottom center. You can sort of see them, if you look closely, in the second picture.

Anna's great new hair

Here are some better pictures of her hair, although it sort of blends in with the dark backgound. I just can't get over how different she looks! I love it!

SHE DID IT!!!!

She actually cut her hair 10 inches! Can you believe it!? I can't. Ginny came over yesterday and when I got Anna from school, I informed her that Ginny was waiting to cut her hair. She freaked out and ran to her room crying, refusing to come out! I finally bribed her out with some chocolates (thanks mom!) and talked her into getting it cut. I did the big 10 inch cut, and Ginny took it from there.
Doesn't she look SO cute? Her hair is super soft and so pretty! She looks SO much like her cousin Laura Catherine!
10 inches of hair that I don't have to brush anymore!
Just a reminder of what what her hair looked like before.