Quote for the day . . .

God prefers fruits of the spirit to religious nuts

- I saw this on a Presbyterian church sign board and it made me smile and think at the same time!  :-)

The Old Woman in the Shoe

I've decided to take this moment to refute the assertions in the nursery rhyme "The old woman in the shoe."  But, let me begin by saying . . . WHO comes up with these nursery rhymes anyway?  For example: Rock a bye baby.  Seriously, what kind of sick person came up with a song to sing to babies that has the baby falling out of a tree??  Anyway, I digress.

There was an old woman who lived in a shoe.  She had so many children she didn't know what to do. So, she gave them some broth without any bread and spanked them all soundly and sent them to bed.  

First of all, it would be entirely impossible to live in a shoe by yourself, let alone with "so many children."  I know this for a fact because I live in a 4 bedroom house with my own so many children and we are still on top of each other all the time . . . I often consider setting up a tent in the backyard.

Secondly, I can guarantee that any woman with "so many children" will always know what to do. I only have six children and I NEVER have trouble finding something to do.  Also, having "so many children" makes one an expert on almost everything (why is the sky blue? How do you get puke stains out of a beige carpet? Why does my sister's bottom look different than mine?  etc.) And anything you're not an expert on you get pretty good at faking! :-) 

Thirdly, as any mom knows, you never give kids broth without bread.  In fact, you really shouldn't give kids broth period . . . they are definitely going to make a HUGE mess trying to eat what is basically water with spoon.  Also, they will scream at you and pretend they are starving and then you will have to go back and make them steak and potatoes or macaroni and cheese anyway, so you might as well save the time and mess of broth and give them actual food to start with. 

However, this line does give me an idea of the reason this old woman was such a mess.  Everyone knows kids sleep better when they have full tummies, so obviously her thinking must have been impaired from her sleep deprivation with all those kids waking her up all night long.

I'm not even going to touch the spanking them all soundly before bed thing.  Let me just say why in the heck would someone put that in a nursery rhyme??

So here is my version: (maybe the rhyming and meter leave something to be desired, but the message is much more suited to a nursery rhyme.  

There was a young woman with fabulous shoes.  She had so many children she always knew what to do.  She gave them some pasta and cheese and some bread and hugged them all tightly and tucked them in bed.

She knew they were precious and sweet it is true.  So she treated them kindly and watched as they grew.  And though it was noisy and crazy at times and she wished they could change from banshees to mimes

She kissed them and loved them with all of her might and knew she was lucky  . . . and she was right!

Side note: as I was typing this out I read it to the kids, and Lindsay decided she wanted to write her own version, so here it is.

There was a young father with a wonderful mother.  He sat in his chair combing his hair. He made a layer on his pear cake. He made a mistake and made it break. He went to the store to buy some more bread and beds.

And here's Nathan's version:

There was an old boy who sat in a chair.  He didn't know what to do so he went to the store and bought another chair.

That's enough randomness for today, but my shutter finger is getting itchy, so soon there should be some new wall pics of the kids and I also have some pictures of Jerry's new office, I just haven't uploaded them yet . . . so that's coming soon too!  :-)

Please read this with humor.

Rule 1

If you pull into my driveway and honk your car horn, you’d better be delivering a package,

because you are not picking anything up.

Rule 2

You will not touch my daughter.

You may glance at her, as long as you do not look at anything below her neck.

If you cannot keep your eyes or hands off my daughter’s body,

I will remove your eyes and hands from your body.

Rule 3

I am aware that it is current fashion for boys of your age to wear their pants so loosely that they are literally falling off their hips.

Still, to be fair and open-minded, I will compromise.

You may come to the door with your pants ten sizes too big,

and your under wear showing, and I will not object.

However, in order to insure that your clothes do not in fact come off during the course of your date with my daughter,

I will take my electric nail gun and fasten your pants securely to your waist.

Rule 4

It is usually understood that in order for us to get to know each other we should talk about sports, politics, or other current events.

Please do not do this.

The only information I require is when you expect to have my daughter safely back at home;

and the only word I need to hear from you on this subject is: early.

Rule 5

I have no doubt you are a popular fellow with many opportunities to date other girls.

This is fine with me as long as it’s ok with my daughter.

Otherwise, once you have gone out with my little girl;

you will continue to date no one else until she is tired of you. If you make her cry, I will make you cry.

Rule 6

As you stand in my house waiting for my daughter to appear, and an hour goes by; do not sigh or fidget.

If you want to be on time for a movie, you should not be dating.

My daughter is putting on her make-up, a process that can take longer than painting a house.

Instead of just standing there, why don’t you do something useful like changing the oil of my car.

Rule 7

The following places are not appropriate for a date with my daughter: places where there are beds, sofas, or anything softer than a wooden stool.

Places where there is darkness. Places where there is dancing, holding hands, or happiness in general.

Places where the temperature is warm enough to induce my daughter to wear shorts, tank tops, cut off T-shirts;

or anything other than overalls, sweaters, and a goose-down parka zipped up to her throat.

Movies with a strong romantic, or sexual theme are to be avoided.

Movies that feature chainsaws are OK. Hockey games are OK. Old folk’s homes are better.

Rule 8

I am sure that you have been taught that in today’s world, sex without using a “barrier method” of some kind can kill you.

Let me elaborate; when it comes to sex I am the barrier, and I will kill you.

Rule 9

Do not lie to me. I may appear to be balding, pot-bellied, middle aged, dimwitted, and a “has been”.

But on issues relating to my daughter I am an all-knowing merciless god of your universe.

Do not toy with me.

 If I ask where and with whom you are going, you have only one chance to tell me the truth,

the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

I have a shotgun, a shovel, and an acre behind the house.

 Hee, Hee, Hee!!  This made me laugh so I though I would share.  :-)  

No, they are not our family dating rules, and I didn't come up with them (I stole them from 36th Avenue @ http://www.the36thavenue.com/), but there are some pretty good rules here!!

Kent Family Reunion 2012

A couple of weeks ago we went to the Kent Family Reunion for 2012.  We had such a great time and it was so fun having Grandma Kent there as well as all the aunts, uncles, cousins and (best of all) Nana and Papa!!  Everyone made it this year except for my oldest brother Mike and his family. And we had a great time!!  Here are some pics of the festivities!

Fun just hanging out!!

 

 

Fun with horses!!!

  

 

 

Fun with water!!

 

Fun with food!!

  

 

So much fun!!!  

Wish we could hang out at Nana and Papa's every week!  :-)

Finally blogging again . . .

I am so far behind in my blogging that if I tried to catch up on all the events and pictures I’ve missed, I know I would get bogged down and just never blog again.  So, I’ve decided that I will just fast forward through these last eight months as though they never happened—although I can assure you that they did—and start fresh with this week.  If you are confused (that is if there is actually anyone reading this) and you need clarification or catching up on something, just leave me a comment J

So, it is late.  Way too late.  And, I should be sleeping.  But, I spent most of the evening fighting with my husband—my stove is broken and has been for a month, and he keeps saying he’ll fix it, but hasn’t yet.  (He’s not handy, I know he’s not handy and I love him anyway, but I still keep expecting him to magically become handy).  The stove story is a saga for another post, or most likely just best forgotten.  Anyway, it has been my experience that fighting with one’s husband is not conducive to quickly dozing off (although, perversely fighting doesn’t seem to have the same effect on my husband who is blissfully snoring away right now).  So, I was lying in bed thinking and contemplating all things important as well as all things irrelevant and odd and I thought maybe it would help to just put some things down on paper (or screen as the case may be).  Just be forewarned . . . I’m feeling tired and random.

We have a new foster child.  He’s a three-year-old little boy; in fact, he is one week and four days older than Jeffrey.  We’ve wanted to try doing foster care again for a while, and we are really having a great time with our new little guy.  However, I have found that having one more child has really added a new level of insanity to our lives.  We now have six kids under the age of nine—and three of them are exactly the same size and almost the same age.  It is really pretty hilarious whenever we try to take the whole crew anywhere.  You though it was funny before?  You should see us now. J

So, I have to ask myself this question . . . what is wrong with me??  Why do I have this compunction to keep bringing more children into our lives (because, let’s face it, Jerry is a great sport about it, but you know he’s not out there signing us up for this!).   I have a confession to make . . . sometimes I watch moms that just have one or two kids and it just looks so much easier.  They have enough hands.  They have enough laps for everyone to sit on etc. etc. etc.  So, it’s not like I’m blind to the fact that life is harder with six children than it is with just a couple.  But, still I keep collecting kiddoes.  Maybe I just like things a little crazy and busy and noisy (oh my gosh, you wouldn’t believe the noise!!!).  I think that might be part of it . . . although a lot of the time the crazy, busy, noisiness absolutely drives me up the wall.   

But, in the midst of all this rushing around and feeding children and changing diapers and cleaning and cleaning some more and feeding more children and feeling like a complete loony toon, there are moments of absolute perfection.  That blissful five minutes when all six kids are playing a game together and being so sweet I just want to ignore the mountain of dishes and watch them play.  Or the first time one of them sees a brother or sister crying and rushes in to help them feel better.   

Every day there are moments when I look at one of my children sitting a certain way or saying a certain thing or looking just so perfect and precious and it’s almost like time stands still for just that one second and my heart fills up and I love that child so much that my I feel a physical ache in my chest.  In that moment I know that it is all worth it.  Whatever craziness may come . . . the early gray hairs, the messy house, the noise, the skeptical looks from observers, the frustrations . . . it’s all worth it for these absolutely perfect little munchkins that can make my heart melt with just a little pat on my cheek or a funny look or a word of wisdom spoken with a lisp.  

That is until they start beating each other up over a favorite toy or all six start screaming at the top of their lungs and racing through the house toppling things and people over as they go.  Then I start looking for the nearest traveling circus we could join, because we are just a complete freak show . . . on second thought, maybe I’ll just send the kids . . . then I could finally have some peace and quiet.  On third thought (as I glance into my kitchen with the still not-functioning, torn-apart stove) maybe that circus needs a new handy man too.  I have one I’d like to trade in for a new model. (hee, hee, hee)

Letter to Santa

I know I've said this before, but sometimes I just get caught up in the business of raising 5 kids. I get bogged down by all the fighting and beating up on each other and whining and grumpiness. I fret and worry over the runny noses and smashed fingers and scraped knees. And I trudge through the cleaning and the laundry and the dirty diapers. But then something brings me up short and makes my heart turn to mush and reminds me of how precious my children are and how much I love them.

This morning Lindsay brought me a crumpled wad of papers that had been in her backpack since school let out 2 weeks ago, and in the mangled mass I found a sweet little letter to Santa written by my eight year old. :-) And, I wanted to share it. So, I'm just going to type it out exactly as it was written.

Dear Santa,

I think I've been pretty good this year. I'm working on not getting too mad at my sister. What I really want for Christmas this year is the movie Rio. I would also like Ipod because my other one is lost. The last thing that I would like is the movie called BOLT.

A wish that I'd like to give my family is helping them. Another wish is playing with my brothers and sister. The last wish is to do as my Mom and Dad say.

My wish for the world is that the people who are homeless and don't have any food that they'd get some. Another wish is that the families that Dads are out in war that they'll come home soon. The last wish is that everybody will have a good Christmas.

Love, Lindsay

Pictures!!

So, it's that time of the year again . . . PICTURES!! I love it when it's time to print new pictures :-)

Here are the ones that made the wall.

These are a couple more of each of the kids. These pics didn't make it on the wall, but I still liked them for one reason or another.

Lindsay! Every time I take pictures of her I am just amazed at how grown-up she looks.

Emma! Her new favorite thing is wearing flowers in her hair . . . and I love how sweet and girly they are!!

It is so fun to take pictures of Nathan right now, he is just in that stage where he is so quick to smile and the smiles always look so natural and sweet!

Jeffrey -- he loves balls and is a great tackler already . . . football here we come.

Noah! I love it that I finally got his super-huge goofy grin on film (he smiles like this All the time!)