Up Too Early

Because I can't stop blowing my nose.  Grrr......

So I decided to do my Bible study.  I love love LOVE this precept method!  Jen is doing it with me and we're studying Philippians.  One of the first things I learned is that so often I approach the Word subjectively instead of objectively...as in reading to gain something for myself instead of reading to know God better.  I am thankful for this revelation.  And as I pray and approach the Word objectively God shows me just how to apply it in ways I never would've thought of.   The verse I'm mulling over now...

"And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God."  Phil 1:9-11

~I turned on the tv and saw that there is nothing on in the early hours except the news.  And since we've lived here I have not watched the news even one single time.  So I turned it on and do you know what the story was?  A new lawn mowing service called Bikini Mowing where girls in bikinis come and mow your yard. 

Seriously.  That made the news. 

~A whole week of vacation!  Honey is off work, we're off school.  Glory!! 

~Last night Honey brought home new music.  101 songs from back in the day...like when we were first married.  My man knows how to make a girl smile. 

~Our big boys were over last night eating pizza and watching a movie.  Well, they're over most every night but this weekend their parents are off camping so they'll be here all weekend I'm guessing.  It's to the point where if they aren't here it feels like we're missing some people.  I like that.  My family has grown from 11 to 13. 

I think they're going to help us pull out bushes.  A big job!  Anyone want some bushes for your yard??

~Off to sleep.  I hope.

A Little Bit Of Lately

Sick kids. And sick Momma. Coughing coughing coughing.

~So I spent the whole morning outside.

~I vacuumed both cars. And have decided that we're a family of slobs. WHY is all this junk in the car?? And I can't believe the back of the van looked like that and nobody cared! And what is worse, is the thought of all the guests that have ridden back there lately. Oh mercy. Sorry people if you had to ride with us in the filth. I'm guessing you made it out ok since I didn't uncover any bodies.

While the littles did this with all the stuff I pulled out. And yep, that is a froggy potty that was in the van too.

~But then.... I accidentally left the car unlocked and guess what?  It got broken into!  I know.  Seems that we're a target for that sorta thing.  And we never leave our cars unlocked.  Well, never except for the times that they get broken into.   But since it was all cleaned out, the thieves only made out with about fifty-seven cents. 

~We moved to the back yard and planted flower seeds. I've been wanting to do this to talk about reaping and sowing with the little kids. We planted 7 blueberry bushes. Then I ran out of dirt.

~I weeded the garden and re-tied the ties on the stakes b/c I did it wrong the first time. But oh, my garden is pretty and growing wonderfully! I love my baby tomatoes.

~Mayfee busted his head open climbing on something he shouldn't have. The next day was a bloody nose.

~No story time or feast this week. And no Bible study at Legacy that I was really looking forward to. I HATE sickness.

~But I love to watch as everyone pulls together to keep things going. Those who are not as sick working to help with dishes and food and making lots of juice. I slept in this morning and when I got up breakfast was done, the dishwasher started, school at the table, and Meg took the babies for a walk around the block. AND they made me some orange juice! Thank you my wonderful kids!

~Meg and Ethan made a new recipe for us for dinner tonight. Tuna Cakes. A no go. So they pulled everything else out of the fridge and everyone ate something different.

Today's meals...

Breakfast - leftover breakfast burritos

Lunch - leftover other stuff

Dinner - we already talked about that

Tea - nothing..BUT Meg did make us some brownies later so tomorrow's meals will be sweeter!

A First Time

SCORE!

She's HOME!

Waiting.  (Some kids are sick and couldn't make it.)

First glimpse of Meg

Happy!!

Meg Comes Home Today!!

In fact she's in the air as I type.  Only 3 more hours!

A Looong Week

I can't even remember the last time I've said that.  Seems like for years now the days and weeks have flown by and it's bedtime before I know it.   Well, maybe that means the weekend will be long too??
I hope!

~The garden is growing beautifully.  One tomato plant already has 4 tiny tomatoes! 

~Perhaps the garden is looking so good because of the great storms we've had.  I love a good storm!  I love waking up in the night and hearing the rain and thunder.

~Hit a big sale at Lowe's and bought 8 blueberry bushes that were marked down 2/$1.25.  Sweet!  I think I bought them all, but if you're interested in grapes there were a lot of those left.

~Tired of saying the same things over and over and tired of stepping over another pile of toys, Honey told the boys to pick 5 things to keep.  The rest goes.  They picked their favorite 5 and everything else is in the garage on the trailer.  Not sure where it'll go from here.  We'll see how they do with taking care of 5. 

~I changed my mind in the middle of cooking supper.  That meant I had a pound of penne pasta with nothing to do with it.  I should've stuck it in the freezer.  But I didn't.  I kept it in the fridge and looked at it for a couple of days.  Then I decided to make pasta salad.  I dumped it in a big bowl and started adding other ingredients.  It grew.  Problem is that I'm the only one that likes pasta salad.  And the other problem is that every year I always forget that I don't like pasta salad all that much either.  So in trying to save a seventy-nine cent box of pasta I used up a can of peas, a cucumber, some tomatoes, salad dressing, etc.  Now I have a huge bowl of stuff that I'll probably end up throwing out.  Anyone want some pasta salad?  

~Meg comes home in 2 sleeps!

~If you're going to order from Azure Standard, hurry up!  The deadline is soon.  I'm looking forward to trying some new stuff this time. 

~My family is helping out another church's VBS in June.  I'm looking over the stuff and praying over it.  Never done this kind of thing before. 

~Airsofting at the Wings tomorrow.  Happy people!

Today's meals...
Breakfast - cereal
Lunch - pasta salad and tomato soup.  Guess what everyone picked? 
Dinner - pizza and ice cream
Tea - blueberry muffins

Guest Post...Because Little Boys Write About Funny Stuff

Zeke wanted a blankey.
One day Zeke went to the store and brought his red blankey home.
Then he saw a black blankey.
It attacked Zeke.
Then the red blankey punched the black blankey.
And the black blankey died. (properly spelled...dide)
The end.

Once upon a time there was a snake.
The snake was very mean.
One day it was mopping the floor.
Then a mammoth came.
The mammoth ate the snake. 

A Little Bit Of Lately

~Meg is in CO for 2 whole weeks!  Actually just a little over a week as of now.  We've missed her around here and Ethan has a loooong face.  But she's happy and having a great time.  There is a lot of fun going on during these 2 weeks in CO and I'm glad she has the opportunity to be a part of it.  Today she's in Estes Park at a writer's conference.  I hear there's even snow. 

~60# of apples is down to about 10#.  What did I do with the 50lbs?  5 quarts of apple sauce plus 2 full crockpots working on more as I type.  Apple cake, apple strudel, spiced apples, and just sliced fresh ones too.  Maybe I'll make another apple cake for breakfast in the morning. 

~The big question is what to do with 10lbs of carrots when your family doesn't really like carrots?  I bought 5lbs with the intention of storing up some carrot cake in the freezer.  But when my MIL brought over 5 more pounds, that made me think it was a bit more carrot cake than I was wanting to make. 

~New talents in the Tagg house. 

And as if that weren't enough, Joshua learned to snap, Mally can click her tongue, and LB is learning to ride a unicycle.  Sweet growth!

~The weather is getting hotter.  I was getting into the habit of walking nearly every day around 2pm but it is now getting too hot for that.  My friend and I have moved our walk up to 7:15.  It's nice to have it done so early in the day and I'm happy to get to continue my new habit!

~You should see our front yard!  Honey and the boys have pulled everything out of the garage to clean it up.  All the cars are moved out of the driveway and it is full of junk useful garage stuff.   A guy just drove by very slooooowly to see if there was anything he wanted.  It does look like a pretty good garage sale!

~And the whole reason we need to clean out the garage is to make room for a boat!  My parents brought us a BOAT a couple of weeks ago.  Much fun-ness for my guys and girlys. 

A HUGE thank you to my parents!  And Honey asked if I'd like to go out with him sometime...just the 2 of us.  And he would set me up with a chair and umbrella and book to read while he fishes. 

~I hit the jackpot at our homeschool used book sale this year.   I had $58 in my envelope to spend.  I prayed over this money and asked God to show me just the best way to use it or keep it.  I can't believe all I came home with!  Lots of stuff to use for next year, a full curriculum for 3rd grade that I was interested in starting, and something new for just about everyone.  AND... I still had about $15 in my envelope.  But it gets even better.  LB was a bit disappointed that I didn't find the new science she had been wanting, but when I went to RENEW later in the night, it was all there on the free table just waiting for me!  Thank You God!   I'm loving our new cash system and enjoy how God is showing me just how to use it. 

~Speaking of budget, Honey and I are working on a new one this weekend. 

~2 books I'm reading..

I'm doing this one with Jen.

And...

Every time I need advise from Momma Tweeten I open it up.  I'm guessing I'll have it memorized pretty soon.

Tonight's dinner...

Big turkey, mashed potatoes, salad, apple cake.

Courtship According To The Momma Part 2

This is my new fave.

But I like this one too.

And this one.  Ok, I like them all!

Meg and Ethan's courtship has provided me the opportunity to share with others what courtship actually means.   At least what it means to us.  And really I had no idea that people were watching or cared.  But I should've known... I mean when the Jacks and Hobbs were courting I was all over it!  I wanted to know all the ins and outs and what it looked like for them. 

Its a curious thing and I hadn't even heard the word until Meg was about 4.  I listened to the tape series Courtship: From Toddlers To Teens and was hooked.   Still, when you're oldest is 4 you have a long way to go..but its the best time to start.  In my opinion. 

One of the first things we wanted to know from Ethan was what courtship meant to him.  Because it looks different for every family, and even every kid in the family probably, there was a lot of room for misunderstanding if we didn't clear it up from the start.  Thankfully, his definition matched ours perfectly. 

What courtship is NOT....

~An arranged marriage where my daughter has no choice or say.

~A temporary relationship with an easy out. 

What it IS....

~A relationship that includes all the family praying together for God's will in the matter.

~A relationship that has a purpose...a future marriage. 

Remember we've been working on this since she was 4.  Praying for her future husband and talking to her about the characteristics she would want in a man.  Therefore, when the guy actually came it wasn't that hard to recognize him. 

Ethan has actually set the "rules" here... no touching, no kissing, no being left alone. 

This is to help them keep themselves pure til the end.  The alter.  This is also what both families have agreed to help them with by praying for them and providing chaperones.   So what do they do?  They e-mail, FB chat, text, and spend a LOT of time together with both families. 

And since you actually marry the whole family, its nice to get to know them ahead of time.  Ethan makes that easy.  He's easy to have around.  And he's around all the time.  Even when Meg's not here.  He comes over and eats dinner, sweeps the floor, works in the yard, plays with the littles, and just blends into life.  He's getting to know all of us...not just her. 

And she spends time with his family...at church, dinners, the farm, bowling, etc.  

It's a nice blending/extending of families. 

And Now The End...Saying Goodbye

Thank you guys!

Graduation Part 3

Here she is!

There's not a lot of pix from the actual ceremony.  Each graduate had a slide show with pictures from their lives from babyhood to now set to a special song that they picked.  

There were a couple of songs the seniors preformed in between.  This was one musical group!  And Meg played keyboard. 

Then each graduate's parents walked up with their graduate to turn the tassel and present their diploma. 

Me and my baby girl! We did it!

At the reception....

Friends!! This is about the time I realized that I left chickens in the oven that had been cooking since 10am.  It's like 5pm now!  PANIC!  So Pam, Jen, and Rommel ran home to turn them off.  whew!

Family!

Meg and Ethan

Sisters

Meg's Table

All the graduates decorated a card table with special things from their lives.

What a wonderful time it all was.  And it was just fun to plan and to get to work with all the 17 families who participated.  Sweet to see all the slide shows and remember when these kids were about 5.  I'm so thankful Meg got to graduate with her class and with the friends she's known since she was little. 

Thank you to everyone who helped make this day so special for her.

Look at this face!! (Graduation Part 2)

Remember that I said there was a big surprise?  Well Pam and Jen (from our church) flew/drove all the way from Colorado on Friday before graduation.  None of the kids knew anything about it.  They called when they got close so we could get the camera ready and make sure that Meg opened the door.   I've never seen her so surprised and happy!  I think this is my new all-time fave. 

Big hugs from Jen.

And Pam!

Happy girls!

And just when she thought she'd never be more surprised than this, there was something else in the works.    You see just a few weeks ago, Rommel told me HE was coming too!  And all the way from Virginia.   I didn't expect him until Saturday... and maybe not until the actual graduation.   Turns out that he was driving all the way and would be here in just a couple of hours.  Oh bless him!

So about 10pm, he walks up to the front porch and Honey tells Meg to step out and look at the rain (wink wink!). 

Uncle Mel!!

Beautiful.

Lots of hugs again and a super happy girl!

And a happy reunion with Pam and Jen since they hadn't seen each other since Christmas!

This is funny...He comes in and walks down the hall towards the bathroom.  My boys are camped out in our bedroom when they see him coming towards them.  They sit up and say, "Rommelllll?????"

(Like, could it really be you and our house??) I totally understand as it all seemed a little too good to be true. 

So he sat and visited with them all for bit and made some little boys very happy.

Let the fun begin!!

We have the best friends ever.

Graduation Part 1

I have lots to blog about and that's a happy thing. So where to start?? Maybe way back months ago when our Mabb family said they were coming for graduation. YAY!! But THEN, the very next day Pam and Jen said they were coming too! Really? For us? Awwww.....



So we waited and thought about all the things we could do when they came and what we would eat and where everyone would sleep and every other thing we could possibly think of to make it fun for them. The hard part was that Pam and Jen were a surprise. Me? Keep such a huge secret for sooo long? Yikes. So I just walked around with a goofy smile and my own little secret. (Of course I had to tell everyone else about it except my own family.)

And then finally the day came! And the Mabbs were staying for a whole week.

There were shopping trips, and long walks, and loooong talks, and lots of hugs, food, fun, and laughing.

Meg and Cherry

Visiting...

Lots of this.

The Nature Center

And just being together.

Sweet times after being separated for so long.

Seniors 2010

a fun year....