Alex is 15!!!

Our first born son.....2nd child, emerged from my body into his daddy's arms on August 27th, 1993, weighing in at 8 lbs. 2 oz. with a head full of black hair. What a sweety. His skin was red and he looked like a little indian baby. We called him our little indian boy (among other cute baby hood names, but I won't go there.....I must protect the innocent).

Chunk-Chester Alex is an excellent artist and is a wiz at science. Poindexter Alex also has finally grown taller than his very tall sister, Elyse....by about a hair. :o)

Buck He works along side Todd every moment we can get him to and is learning a lot so that one day he can train his own sons to be Mr. fix-its.

Tiger Cub Alex loves to read and is a huge help to me with the younger kids.

Chunkster Alex chose Lamb Chops for his birthday meal. We were all able to share this meal, but now we're broke and thankful we don't celebrate any more birthdays till March! Whew!

I love you, Love Muffin Son!

Elyse is 19 today!

August 26th, 1989...our first miracle came into this world. I just can't believe that was 19 years ago. She was the tiniest one of our 6 pack, weighing in at 7 lbs. 15 oz. She is a wonderful pianist and loves to do sign language to praise music. She is growing into a beautiful young woman and I'm so thankful to be her mother.

Elyse chose crab legs as her birthday meal (what's with these expensive meals my kids are choosing????!) and not only got her nose buttered, but her eyes as well. I guess I was just trying to shake things up a bit. :o)

Happy Birthday, Sweetness!

How To Decorate A Boot...

1. First, show love, tenderness, compassion and concern.

2. Then, get the stickers out and get creative!

3. Stand back and... Voila! The finished product!


4. And, and don't forget to put on a happy face, of course.

Love,
Lisa

Maybe we should call it "Life In A BOOT"??

A boot? Yes! A boot. That's what I'll be "living" in for the next few weeks. I was chasing Mark around after church, trying to keep him out of trouble (I've decided that's next to impossible), when I stepped half on and half off the sidewalk and buckled my foot over, which apparently broke it (my foot, not the sidewalk). I felt a crunch and then slammed fell to the ground as if someone snatched my legs out from under me.
We have a few firefighters and EMT's, as well as a nurse at our church. No need to call 911. :o) Within minutes I had ice on it and young men helping into my van, and an EMT and firefighter assessing the tragedy. No one could determine whether it was broken or not, but shortly after getting home, the swelling had gotten worse and my foot turned a beautiful shade of blue. So, off to the ER we went where the nurse referred to the swelling on my foot as a globe. OK, it really wasn't that big.
X-rays were taken and it was determined my foot was "busted", as the dr. put it. I got a pretty black boot and shiney silver crotches crunches crutches and they turned me over to the ever loving care of my wonderful husband.

This morning, Anna, Erika, and Jonathan were disappointed I didn't have a cast for them to draw on, so they have decorated my boot with about 1000 stickers (pictures coming soon).

What a way to start the week. My sale is in about 3 weeks. Hopefully, I'll be done with the crotches crunches crutches by then and will be able to hobble around with just the boot.

Here are some photos of my foot and me being pitiful in the ER. Enjoy.





Lisa

Our Jonny Boy is 8!

Our third born....2nd son....my how time flies. Jonathan Todd was born at 9:10 am on August 20th, 2000, just one day past his due date. He weighed in at a hefty 9 lbs. 14 oz.!!! Our biggest baby.

Today he's still a big boy and eats most everything in sight, as he always has. He love to ride his bike and pester his siblings. He reads pretty well and loves to draw.

Jonathan also loves to ponder things. For instance....the other day, he asked Todd a few questions that were difficult to answer, like, "Daddy...are mice afraid of heights?" The other day he asked, "Mommy, when you swallowed your babies to put them into your tummy, did you swallow them whole, or did you chew them up?"

Hmmmmmmmm........................ those are tough (the questions...not the babies).

As a family tradition, each birthday person gets his/her nose buttered and the dinner of his/her choice. So, Jonathan chose Lobster. Unfortunately, the lobster was served to only him. The rest of us ate bread and water other things. Here are some pictures for you to enjoy. ~Lisa

Happy birthday, Juicy Jo!

Christmas Money Saving Tip!

**This originally happened a few weeks ago, and I sent this slightly embellished story out to my friends. Here it is for everyone in Blogville to see! Enjoy!

Hi Everyone!

With gas prices soaring sky high and Christmas quickly approaching I thought I would share and idea I had today that might help those of us who need to find creative ways to save money during the holidays without taking away the joy and excitement our children all have every Christmas morning.

Today Todd and I felt it was high time we cleaned out from behind, and underneath, the sofa. We have a large sectional sofa and used to make it a point to clean it out each year around spring. But ever since our 6th child came along (he's 2 now), it just didn't seem as much of a priority and we didn't seem to ever have the time.

Well, I'm telling you.....it was great. We've decided to do this each year every Christmas morning! Some of you might say "Ewwwww!" But I do beg to differ. Let me explain. Have you ever found an old toy that your kids "forgot" about and had them react as if it were something new you just brought home from the toy store? It's just like that! Some of this stuff was perfectly good stuff. Yes, there was a lot popcorn and dust bunnies. Oh...and there was an apple core (or two) and a banana (ok, that really was gross). But aside from all of that, look at what else we found!

Anna and Erika got tons of hair barrettes and bracelets. Jonathan and Mark got about 20 match box cars and some legos. Alex got a pocket knife and some new underwear. Elyse got money and a few books. Not to mention all the crayons, markers, socks, DVD's, cassette tapes, toys, and candy they all shared.

Hey, Todd and I weren't left out. We got a missing remote, 2 pairs of scissors, a spoon, and 4 keys to our locking living room cabinets. And we still had bags of "wrappers" to pick up and throw away.....gum wrappers, candy wrappers, toy wrappers.....AND of course, what's Christmas without enjoying the sight of 6 precious children enjoying their new treasures. The smiles on their faces were priceless! And we didn't spend a single penny!

That's my money saving tip of the day. I'd like to see you top that one!

What Do We Do AAAAALLLLLL Winter???

Many wonder what the kids do all winter long here in Antarctica Vermont. Why, they go uphill sledding, of course! This video has some of our kids in it.....somewhere. I won't try to tell you who is who, but I think Alex has a bright orange hat on, Anna has a bright pink hat, and bright pink snow pants on, Elyse has a light blue coat... Just enjoy watching. The guy in the very beginning is our pastor, and the sledding parties take place on his drive way. Wanna come for a visit? Don't forget to pause the music before viewing the video.

All Grown Up

The is a video gift we gave Elyse for her graduation last year. Don't forget to go to pause the music before watching.