DH's 40th gift

For Darling Husband's 40th birthday, we took a fabulous trip for 3 nights. It was fantastic! As his gift, I gave him this belt. It is needlepoint and even MORE BEAUTIFUL in person! You can order one too from Smathers & Branson. It is called a "life belt" and has most of DH's big events for his first 40 years. I love it! He has already worn it proudly!

I emailed directly with one of the owners, Austin Branson, and he was so kind. He designed the belt in the exact order that I desired and it was on our doorstep one day before Dh's birthday. He rushed my order and I am so thankful!

Toilet Cleaners beware....

A local man had to call the police because he almost killed himself while cleaning his toilet. His fatal mistake was mixing an ammonia cleaning product with clorox because he was in search of a more powerful product. The result was a chemical mixture that is often used in terrorist bombings. He couldn't breathe, and the police/firemen had to come in and scrub his walls to get rid of the fumes. So.... toilet cleaners beware... do not mix these substances! I need to tell my children because I taught them how to clean toilets yesterday!!

40 Reasons I love the BIRTHDAY BOY

1. I knew you were special the night I met you.
2. You are persistent.
3. You have wonderful blue eyes.
4. Your relationship with the Lord is most important to you.
5. You had a great relationship with your father; you all were best friends.
6. You are a great friend to other men.
7. You are so funny!!! You always make others laugh.
8. You know how to make others feel comfortable.
9. You have soft feet:).
10. You are very handsome.
11. You are affectionate.
12. You are a man of integrity.
13. You have a great sense of what to wear; I love how you dress.
14. You are patient.
15. You are wise.
16. You are calm.
17. You are strong.
18. You put others before yourself.
19. You are very honest.
20. You are loyal.
21. You are faithful.
22. You are an incredible father.
23. You love to learn.
24. You know all about History.
25. You love to travel.
26. You're a good listener.
27. I love holding hands with you!
28. You take care of me.
29. You protect me.
30. You look for the best in others.
31. You love to teach our children.
32. You enjoy eating at different restaurants.
33. You try new things.
34. You love Mi Cocina as much as I do!
35. You take the time for date nights and trips away for just the two of us.
36. You love having a big family.
37. You rarely tell me, "No."
38. You are a great gift giver.
39. You are so enjoyable that I miss you whenever I'm not with you.
40. You are my best friend and the love of my life. I love you more than anything!! (except the Lord, of course)

More of the BUG

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine,
you make me happy when skies are gray,
you'll never know, dear, how much I love you...
please don't take my sunshine away!!

Dear K,
You are our sunshine. You make us all happy with your sweet spirit and wonderful energy. May you use those gifts for God's good. We love you! Happy #6, baby girl!!!!

Our Bug

We were told we couldn't have children, and so we prayed and prayed about what to do. We felt led to fertility treatments, and pursued them cautiously. Our triplets were a great surprise and blessing, as I have posted in the past here and here. What a blessing to be given three little angels. As crazy as it may sound, we didn't feel like our family was full and we prayed for more children. The doctors let us know that we would probably not be able to have another child without fertility treatments. DH & I were ready for more babies, and did not do anything to prevent the possibility of a baby, though I had never been pregnant without medical intervention. On a very cold December day, in the midst of the worst ice storm in the history of NC, I took a pregnancy test at Target. Now let me tell you something, this was not unusual. I was so hopeful for another baby that I took HUNDREDS of those tests over the years. They were always negative. So the fact that I took one when I was just a few days late was just par for the course! Imagine my surprise when it was POSITIVE!!!!!

And so began the path that led us to our BUG. Buggy was a great JOY, born just 2 years after the triplets. The night she was born, the nurse told us, "THIS is a particularly FUSSY baby!" I asked if she could be hungry, and she said, "No." I finally fed that sweet baby, and she hardly ever cried after that. Our Bug was an EASY, HAPPY, Funny baby. Her sense of humor was evident at an early age. She possesses a spunk and pizzazz for life that very few have. Not only is she funny, but she is kind. At school, our Bug is often the one who reaches out to the new child in her class. She is a leader around peers who are younger. As a baby, we called her our "mensa baby" because she was so smart. That baby has brought us so much joy, and we just loved that she was a shock, a surprise, a miracle.

Today marks the day that our Bug entered this world 6 years ago. I can hardly believe she is already six. In fact, it makes me cry thinking about it. She is beautiful, kind, loves Jesus, loves being part of a big family, and is very funny and smart. As she began opening gifts this morning, she happily played with each thing and hugged her siblings with so much enthusiasm! She is a delight. We are so thankful for this little angel, who graced our lives on July 28, 2003. Thank you, Lord, for our Bug. Thank you for the gift she is to our family. Please, Lord, bless her, protect her, grow her into a woman who puts you first in all things. Happy 6th birthday, BUGABOO!

Today

Today has been a day like any other day. I awoke to the sounds of, "Hold me, mommy. I want Mommy's bed," while little fingers pulled my head to hers. "Dip it, mommy, dip my paci... in da water. Dip it." So I obliged. And yet another day began with a quick shower before suiting up in my short order cook paraphernalia to hand out breakfast to our 5 chirping little ones. "I want milk! May I have a waffle with cream cheese? He took my seat!!!" Ahhh.... what a peaceful way to start the day!

Our Tiny girl has had terrible asthma for the last few days. She was looking too pekid, so we called our pediatrician and settled on an 11am appointment. After struggling to get everyone dressed and all beds made, we tumbled out the door and ran a few errands before Tiny's appointment. The frame shop is not open on Mondays, so we went to the library to return books. Apparently I am not a good book caretaker, and was told I would be charged for the book I just read because of some water damage (note to self, you just can't read in the bathtub!). This made me mad at myself that I had wasted money on a book I've already read when I am trying to watch how I spend. It ate me UP as I drove to fill the car with gas. Everyone was still happy go lucky as we refilled the car on our way to the bank.

Next we had to have four forms notarized for school. Imagine the bank's delight when I walked in with not one, not two, but FIVE little ducklings all in a row. Everyone began to shift and wiggle and giggle and drive their mama crazy at this point. "Are they all YOURS?" and other questions followed. You've never seen a notary fly through forms so quickly. I think that will be my new plan of action when I need to be in and out quickly!

At last we went to the pediatrician where the crowd was even gigglier, wigglier, and wilder. We beat all pediatrician world records and were in and out of the appointment and BUCKLED IN THE CAR in 22 minutes. Perhaps Dr. B was ready to move on to the next patient after being accosted with 45 thousand questions! Tiny was given a steroid to help her little lungs, so it was off to Publix.

We sashayed into the store amidst looks of terror and fear. The questions began immediately. "Are they all YOURS? Certainly there are twins in there somewhere. Two girls and a boy. That's unusual, isn't it? At least you got your boy. I know your husband's happy." I smiled, answered as best as I could, and moved on.

My brilliant friend, W, had told me that you can EAT right there in the Publix. It was 11:30am and the troops were beginning to show signs of hunger, and my short order cook ensemble was at home. We meandered over to the hot and cold food section and managed to eat for $10!!! That is less than $1.70 a person! You beat that! While I was waiting to pay, the Publix lady let a man go in front of me. After he realized that I was waiting to pay too, he apologized and said he thought I was waiting for something. I was a little miffed because I had been waiting for a lONG time to pay (they didn't have a cashier so a sub maker had to do it), but I kept quiet. I told him it was okay, and was glad to know he didn't do it on purpose. Well, wouldn't you know we were sitting there eating our goodies and someone came from behind, put their hand on my shoulder, and said, "I felt so bad about jumping in front of you, so I bought you all dessert." He handed me some delicious Klondike bars and we all thanked him profusely. I told him he did not need to do that, and he said, "Yes, but it's kinda fun," and walked off. The children were so surprised and happily gobbled their treats!!

Then, as we left, the bagger, an older man in his 70s, gave each child a quarter. They left saying, "This is the NICEST store! I can't believe that! That man gave us ice cream and then the other man gave us a quarter!"

So, if you need to borrow 5 little peeps for your shopping pleasure, just give me a holler!

Wish List

I love European antiques. I have wanted a Swedish Mora grandfather clock for many years. Do you like them? Which one is your favorite?