Free Baseball Clinic

Riley, Zeke and Anthony participated in a free baseball clinic for a couple of hours today.  It was put on by teens from a Baptist church in Virginia.  The kids loved it and are going back tomorrow!

Big Wheel Transportation Fair

Anthony Says

I hear a lot of tattling at my house.  I've been trying to find some kind of balance between not letting the kids get each other in trouble but still having them report to me when someone is doing something dangerous that they shouldn't.   I've tried to convince them that that tattling isn't good but it seems to fall on deaf ears.  We've talked about coming to me only when someone might get hurt, property is being damaged or I've asked them to keep an eye out for a certain issue.  But I was still getting way too much tattling.  So this morning after yet another tattling session, I finally told the kids that the next time one of them tattled on one of their siblings, both kids would be in trouble.

Ten minutes later, I was in the office and heard Anthony shout in the kitchen,
"I'm telling on you!.......................Wait...................I guess I can't."

Thus ends the tattling spree.

Popcorn and Fishing

Last night my brother popped popcorn for us.  I've always used a hot air popper or the microwave but he actually used my big pot, oil and popcorn kernels.  It tasted phenomenal!  Then he helped Brittney make some of it into popcorn balls.  Who knew it could be so cheap and easy to make such a great snack?! 

Then this morning, he took Brittney, Riley and Taylor fishing.  They didn't catch anything big enough to bring home but they still had fun.  Maybe next time they'll get something we can have for supper.  And now I'd better go check on Taylor.  She has a temp and has been sleeping on and off for most of the afternoon.  But on the way, I'll grab some more popcorn!

Brothers and Fire

One of the coolest parts of having my brother here is that I have someone to tell me about my biological family.  He never minds my questions and always tells me interesting stories to help me get to know relatives I know very little about.  I could listen for hours.  It's even better now because we've hung out together for over 16 years, so we have our own fun history together, too.
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One of my favorites was the time a few year ago when we were camping at a KOA campground in Rapid City.  It was getting pretty late in the evening, so one by one, everyone else in our families went to bed.  Eventually, it was only my two brothers and I sitting around the campfire.  There were a few tears, lots of silent moments and a great deal of laughter.  There was another family party going on across the way who had a family member who worked for C*oke.  He brought tons of cases of outdated C*oke products and happily shared with us.  We were having a great time together but it turned out that the guy in the cabin next to us wasn't.  He kept coming out to tell us to keep it down.  I'm not sure how we ended up right next to the only family in the campground who wanted their kids in bed early, but that's how it was. 

So as it got later, and my brothers ingested more and more alcohol and pop, someone got the bright idea to just move over a couple of campsites to my brother's cabin.  Which was a great idea, unless you're familiar with bonfires.  It takes quite a few hours to burn down the logs to get just that right balance of warmth from the glowing embers, while still putting bigger logs on top to create the fire. 

So at about 1am in the morning, I convinced my brothers to use the fires tools to pick up the log that was in our fire.  The log was about 2 feet in diameter and 3 feet long - and on fire.  They made a mad dash with it and threw it into our new firepit about 50 feet away.  It was a "blazing" success!  Stupid of us, but I must admit, it made me feel pretty powerful to be able to convince my brothers to do my bidding :)

"In order to choose the right path, we don’t have to figure out the wrong one ~ we just need to follow the light."
-Akiane, Path - Journey of Light

Updated Score

Leaky sinks - 0
Handy Brother - 2

My brother has now fixed the leaky faucet in our main bathroom.   He replaced the faucet with one we found in an old sink, put new O rings in the shut-off valves, and put new hoses on the pipes.  He also fixed the leak under my kitchen sink by replacing a pipe.  He's now 4-0!  And I just heard that he's taking the boys out on the back deck to cut their hair.

 Current Score

Doors - 0

Handy Brother - 2

My brother fixed the door to our garage and the patio door in about 30 seconds.  Ironic, since they've been bugging us for about a year now.

I haven't been very good at blogging lately because I've been so darn tired.  I made every day of the 5:30am workouts and then end up staying up later every night.  It been fun but not condusive to writing coherent thoughts.  I'm hoping I can have some today :)  No guarentees though!

Early Morning Workouts

Today made day 4 morning workouts.  Katie had the brilliant idea to meet everyday to workout together and the not-so-brilliant idea to do it at 5:30am.  Even though it's early, I must admit that it's fun.  There are five of us that meet at the church and workout on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and then we walk outside on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  It's also a great opportunity to chat a bit - between huffing and puffing! 

My Brother

My brother is here!!!  And I absolutely adore my brother.  I won't go on and on about how great he is because I've done it before in a previous post but it's so great to have him around.  We stayed up until midnight last night just talking..

Gymnastics Changes

Brittney and I have been talking a lot about gymnastics.  She practices four days a week for three hours a day and loves it.  She'll qualify for the high school gymnastics team in the fall and because it's a school sponsored activity, it's free.  They even provide the uniforms and transportation to meets. 

In the past, she's competed for the Gold Metal Gymnastics team and was anticipating doing that again in the fall, along with competing on the high school team.  She's a level 6 and has fundraised all her booster club money for the past 3 years ($750.00 each year) by selling butterbraids.  But in addition to that money, we still pay $170 per month to the gym.  Brittney and I decided that she would quit club and just participate in high school.   It's was a hard decison because she's so good at what she loves.  But it's hard to argue with free versus really expensive.

I talked to the club coach today and told her that Brittney would practice through the summer and then be competing just at the high school level and not club. She informed me that they don't usually let kids practice there in the summer if they aren't going to be competing on the team in the fall.  So we might be car pooling with a few other girls that already practice in Sioux Falls in the summer.

Zeke Says

Conversation in the back of the van after picking Zeke up from summer school:

Anthony: "Cicely lives by here."
Zeke: "Yep."
Anthony: "When I grow up, I'm going to go to Cicely's house."
Zeke: "When I grow up, I'm going to be Batman!"

Saturday Fun

Wild Water West was a splashing success!  We packed a picnic lunch and ate in the parking lot at noon.  We rode go-carts, played mini golf, hit at the batting cages, rode water slides, played in the wave pool, rode the bumper boats and just generally had fun in the water.  We went out to the van for afternoon snacks of fresh fruit from our cooler and then we closed the park down at 8pm.  I'll admit that I didn't get quite enough sunscreen on myself so I got a bit of a sunburn on my shoulders and back.   The kids were very tired but it was worth it!
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Today after church we went out to lunch at KFC with my folks and the Dubros for Father's Day.    Then This evening, Steve and I finished planting the last of our tomato and pepper plants.  I haven't had time or energy the past few years to garden so I'm excited to start again.  I'll add a bit more every year.
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Wild Water West

We're off to Wild Water West Waterpark today!  The church offered to have a family day and the all-inclusive tickets were only $8.00 each.  I thought we could probably afford it but when I went to pick up the tickets and pay for them, someone had already paid!  Awesome!
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Phone totally fixed as of 9am Thursday morning!  Lots to blog about but it's too nice outside to be inside.  And now I'm heading off to Bunco!  See you later :)

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

THE GOOD:  Jen and I had an awesome road trip to Mitchell today.

THE BAD:  My phone hasn't been working correctly and this morning it ceased to work at all.

THE UGLY:  Zeke mooned a bunch of kids at the Boys & Girls Club this afternoon.  I guess I missed the page in the parenting booklet that specifically says to instruct your child not to pull down his pants and show his rear to the other kids in the room just because he wants their attention.

Feed your faith and your fears will starve.

The New Girl

As I was sitting in our office at home going through paperwork, one of Taylor's new little friends from the neighborhood poked her head around the corner and asked, "Do you work here?"

Sioux Falls Trip

The kids with Grandma Dee, Aunt April and Cousin Carly

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Riley and his Grandma!

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Riley & Cousin Carly

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By the Falls

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Riley absolutely adores his little cousin Carley

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We rode the trolley.  It's free!

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Falls Park

Papa Steve

This picture was taken in August of 2004.  Grandma Connie dared Papa Steve to jump on the trampoline.  He said he would if she did.  She did.  So he did!

Biological Family

We're headed to Sioux Falls this afternoon to see Grandma Dee and some of the boys' other biological relatives.  We'd planned to go to Falls Park but the rain might put a stop to that plan.  I'm not sure what we'll do instead but we'll figure something out.  It'll have to be indoors, fun for kids and involve little to no money.  I borrowed Grandma Connie's camera and am charging the battery now so hopefully I'll get some good pictures!
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It's important to me to keep as many of the boys' biological connections as possible.  Some connections aren't healthy for them yet (if ever).  But there are plenty that are.  Like grandmas, grandpas, aunts and uncles.  Riley has some memories and lots of questions and it's easier if we all help answer them together. 
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I don't want him to grow up feeling lost among his biological relatives that love him.  I want to help walk him through the connection.

Friday is Complete

Friday is complete.  Took Zeke to his one hour of summer school.  Anthony had a friend over to play.  Taylor had a friend over to play.  I had two friends come by to chat.  Baby Matthew came to spend the weekend with us.  Taylor went home with Grace.  Riley and Zeke got to spend some time at the club.  Zeke received his first 'check' of the summer at the club for knocking down other kids' block tower.  Steve worked late.  Brittney cleaned toys at church.  I mowed at the church for 3 1/2 hours.  Now I'm on the computer at 1:30am because the baby woke up hungry.  He's a good baby and went back to sleep but I'm not sleepy anymore.  I think I'll go read until I fall asleep.

"Making the decision to have a child - it's momentous.
It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body."  ~Elizabeth Stone

Taylor Says

As we're driving down the street by our house, Taylor asks, "Is that really the very first assembly of God church ever?"
Me:  "What?  No. There's lots of them."
Tay:  "But the sign says it's the First Assembly of God Church.  Why would they lie?"

Joshua 1:9
Be strong and courageous. 
Do not be terrified;
do not be discouraged,
for the LORD your God will be with you
wherever you go.

Afternoon at the Pickards

I love Wednesdays in the summer.  It's the one day that there is nothing on our schedule.  No gymnastics.  No summer school.  No church activities.  I thought about taking the kids to the pool but the temperature is still in the 70's.  Jen invited us to her house so we took her up on the offer.  Brittney and Anthony stayed home and Riley, Taylor, Zeke and I journeyed out to the country.  We all had popcicles and then I got on the tractor to mow while Jen played with the kids.  She kept thanking me for mowing for her but I just said, "You relax your way and I'll relax mine!"  Two hours of uninterupped silence, except for the roar of the tractor, creating order out of long grass.  When I finished, Jen had made chocolate chip cookies and juice. 

The kids were begging for a ride on the 4 wheeler, so I kept Kassy busy while Jen gave rides.  Meanwhile, Al and Jim came home.  Jen was puttering around the yard with Zeke sitting in front of her and David in front of him.  As Al and I were sitting on the deck chatting, he suddenly jumped up and lept down the stairs of the deck.  I turned to look and saw the 4 wheeler up on it's back two wheels, Zeke flying off backwards, Jen going almost straight up in the air and David flying through the air.  By the time Al reached them,  Zeke was sitting on his butt where he landed and Jen had rushed to grab David, who had landed face down on the ground.  Both kids were scared and crying, but thankfully, it seems like no one was seriously hurt.  Although I'm guessing Jen's feeling the pain today!

Apparently, Zeke was trying to "drive" and suddenly put the throttle all the way down. 
Note to self:  Don't trust Zeke's driving.

PERSPECTIVE

"We were designed to live in a garden, eat freshly ripened produce, and enjoy rich intimacy with God.

Instead we live in boxes, eat stuff outa boxes, and put God in a box." 

-Dr Dave Frahm, ND

It's Tuesday - Don't Forget To Vote

Our youngest child is now training wheel free!  I took off the training wheels.  Brittney held on to the back of his bike seat for about 3 steps and then he was on his own and cruising down the sidewalk.  I'm so glad to be done with training wheels!
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Zeke had his second day of summer school today.  He loves it and I love his teachers but it's kind of a pain to get all the kids in the van and get him to school by 8:30am just to turn around and pick him up in an hour.
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Riley and Taylor spent the lunch hour with Heather, holding signs for Scott Munsterman and reminding people to vote.  I love telling people that my sister was hanging out on the street corner!
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Now we're getting ready to have spagetti and garlic bread for supper.  One of my tricks is to save the ends of bread from the regular packages of bread.  No one seems to want the end for their toast or sandwiches.  I keep the ends in a bag in the freezer and then when we have any kind of pasta, we take them out.  Some butter, garlic salt and a few minutes under the oven broiler creates garlic bread that our whole family loves!

Please Don't Interrupt

I try really hard to teach the kids not to interrupt adult conversations.  If they persist, I usually ask if there's any blood or fire involved.  Ninty-eight percent of the time, there isn't.  So I make them wait their turn to speak.

So this evening after supper, Steve and I were trying to talk.  It wasn't anything really important, but it was still a conversation between us.  Riley came into the dining room and started to talk to me.  I asked him to wait his turn.  I started to visit with Steve again but as soon as I did, Riley tried to butt in.  I glared at him and told him to wait.  Just as I opened my mouth to ask Steve another question, Riley started to talk.  Frustrated, I asked him if it involved any blood or fire.
"No." came his quick answer.
"Then I'm going to answer 'no' to whatever you're asking just because you aren't being patient and waiting." I told him.
There was a long, long pause and I thought I had resolved the situation.
Riley kept eyeing me and thinking, until finally he quickly piped up, "But it's about the toilet."
I don't think I've jumped up off the couch so fast in quite a while!

Who Needs Snow

This afternoon I was trying to finish an email to my VBS teachers when I heard a quick series of thumps and then a loud yell, followed by crying.  I jumped up from the computer to find Taylor laying at the bottom of the stairs surrounded by all the other kids who were peering down at her.  And innocently laying a few feet away from Taylor was a sled.
All Brittney had to say was, "I did it and I didn't get hurt!  And I told her to jump off if it started tipping over!  It's not my fault!"

Previous Blog Post Update

In case anyone is still wondering about a blog post from a while back in which I asked for prayer concerning possible upcoming changes for our family, here's the short version of the story.  I decided to apply for the position of Director of Orchard Drive Preschool.  I felt that I was very qualified, had lots of experience with children, education and administration and would keep God active in our church preschool.  I applied and was one of three people granted an interview.  After much deliberation, the board offered the position to someone whose degree was in elementary education. I have lots of experience with administration and children but my actual degree is in sociology.

I wish the preschool the best but I still think it's their loss!

Brittney in Old Fort Worth

I love this picture of Brittney in downtown Old Fort Worth, Texas.  She was only two and not scared of the steer at all!  And yes, it was a real, live steer.

Zeke Says

Part of the discussion at the breakfast table this morning:

Riley:  "Heather had Aubrey.  Then she had a baby and it died.  Then she had Coby."

Anthony:  "Heather didn't have a baby!"

Riley:  "Yes she did!  Just like mom had Brittney and Taylor!"

Zeke:  "Who did Dad have?"

Proverbs 12:18
Reckless words pierce like a sword,
but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

I Don't Even Have A Title For This Post

Don't read this post if you'd like something light and happy.  My day wasn't the light and happy type today.  Of course, I guess you could smile about how peaceful your house is compared to mine.
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I accomplished quite a bit this morning around the house and ran lots of errands even though I took six kids in the van for all the running around.  We only had a total of 8 kids here today, which is a relatively small number for us.  Lunch went ok but by the time we reached the afternoon, I'm not sure exactly what went wrong. 
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Taylor and a sixth grade neighbor girl decided to hurl 6 rocks the size of baseballs through Brittney's window.  Luckily, no one got hurt.  Zeke had a major meltdown while he was supposed to be doing his exercises.  He started hitting himself, the wall and anything that was even close to him.  Riley was messing around on his bunkbed and slammed his head into the light fixture, shattering it all over himself and the room.  Anthony decided it would be fun to stand outside on the deck and repeatedly throw his shoes at the glass patio door.  I got to him by the fifth throw. 
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By the time Steve got home a few minutes ago, Brittney was quietly playing the Wii and all the other kids were sitting peacefully in time out in various rooms throughout the house.  He probably thinks I didn't do a thing today.  But that's ok.  I'm just glad I survived without killing anyone!
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Remember all the wonderful room switching I did this weekend! 
Can anyone say "Children with Severe Issues with Change and Transition"?

Anthony Says

Steve and I were discussing a church trip to Wild Water West Waterpark.  The church can get all-inclusive tickets for only $8.00 per person.  We plan on going but we're not sure if we are going to take the youngest two boys, partly because we'd like to be able to spend some quality time with the older kids who are much more independent and partly because then our adult to child ratio works out a lot better.  Steve and Riley buddy up and Brit, Taylor and I stick together.  I looked up the height requirements for the bigger rides and Brittney, Riley & Taylor are all over the required 48" but I wasn't sure about Anthony.  So I got out my tape measure and marked off 48" and then I had Anthony stand against the wall.  I called out to Steve, "Just shy!"
Anthony emphatically responded, "I'm not shy!"