Reflecting & Rejoicing

I cannot believe this is the last day of 2008. This year has really flown by. Last year at this time I had no idea we'd be blessed to have a new daughter. Nor did I have any idea we'd end up in Iowa! I am so thankful for the blessings God has given us. I have my thankful list on my sidebar but didn't exactly use it like I wanted. I am thankful for more than what's listed there! I hope that in 2009 I can add at least 1 thing a day to be thankful for. I read a lot of books this year. We bought our second house. The kids learned to fish. We went to Michigan for the first time for Thanksgiving. We found a new church & new church family. I've learned how to be a mom to 4 children; how to waddle through the store with three ducklings behind me while I push a loaded shopping cart where the baby is buried. I've made new recipes. I've relied on God and put my hope in Him in so many situations, both big & small. But there are things I wish I'd done more of. Things of which I don't want to dwell on because I'm still blessed & still loved by my Lord. It has been a good year. The best thing was the addition of Sweet Pea.

In 2009 I hope to be more thankful, even for the little things. Today I'm thankful for fun games I can play with Chatterbox. It is crazy that my daughter is old enough to play games but it is so much fun! In 2009 I hope to draw nearer to Jesus. I hope to read my Bible daily & to be more like Jesus. I hope to pray more, to trust more, to hope more. I hope to make new friends here in Iowa. I hope to be more hospitable. I hope to be more patient with my children, to yell less and enjoy them more. I hope to play more, laugh more & smile more. I hope the Lord uses me to bless others & that I will be his willing tool.

Happy New Year my friends!!!

Deals over the days

We finally made it to Ames today so I could go to the consignment store. I made like $29 there and I wanted to see what I could find the kids. A month ago I had a big list of things they needed but it wasn't as big since we just had Christmas so I guess its a good thing I held off! Here's what I got:

-1 pair of Oshkosh jeans for Sweet Pea
-1 pair of Gap jeans for SP
-1 pair of Carter's jeans for SP
-1 jean skirt for Chatterbox
AND a Bumbo seat!!!

Guess how much I spent out of pocket? Only $12!!! I am so psyched! I had never heard of Bumbo seats until my friend Sara told me about them and I've been eyeing them for awhile now (as if I need more baby stuff around...the living room is starting to look like a daycare). I love finding 'deals'. I can't wait to see what else I sell!!! Sweet Pea seems to like the seat. How neat.

Yesterday we ran to downtown Des Moines. We had to get new plates for the vehicles finally. Thankfully Zach brought in his paper saying he's in the military- it only cost like $34 instead of what would have been $300!!! What a savings! It took over an hour- you should have seen the long line. And then the worker was a huge jerk. Oh well, at least we got our deal! So, no more Mississippi plates for us!

We plan on taking the kids to see Marly & Me soon. That movie looks so cute & funny. The families from our church are getting together & we'll probably join them. It will be nice to fellowship & get together outside of church. Thursday morning I'm going to go out with one of Zach's co-workers wives & her friend (who also homeschools). I look forward to getting out and getting to know people! I just hope its not as windy as it is today. That wind is so strong & biting cold! Yuck!

I can't believe tomorrow is the last day of the year. Unreal. It FLEW by!!!

Here I Am

I just haven't felt like being online as much as usual. Well, we played quite a bit of games (Sequence) when Zach's dad was here. Turns out I became the champ! I've been enjoying the kids, seeing them play with their new toys and all. And I've been cleaning up after everybody (for what feels like constantly). I've been watching TV too. Today we went to exchange a few gifts...things that weren't the right sizes. Just the kids and I. Was nice to get out. We didn't make it to church as we weren't' sure how the roads would be after our huge ice storm the other night (turns out they were ok though). Yesterday morning we had tons of ice covered everywhere! Yuck! Zach's dad left today. We had a good time but I'm also looking forward to life getting back to normal. It will be nice to take down the tree soon and I'd like to rearrange the living room a bit (hopefully I can figure out a way). Chatterbox keeps asking if we're going to start school soon....nope I'm enjoying vacation & no schedules & sleeping in! Well, I'm off to read my book I think. Feeling restless and not sure what to do! Goodnight y'all!

Chatterbox's Pictures

You can click here and here to see CB's pictures. Her camera sure takes nice ones!

Christmas 2008

Sweet Pea's First Christmas

Merry Belated Christmas!

I can't believe I didn't even have a Christmas post yesterday (and barely one today). I just haven't had much time to be on the computer lately, nor much desire. We had a wonderful Christmas. The kiddos were excited for their presents, we had delicious food that I cooked and an overall great day. Chatterbox got a digital camera & American girl clothes for her doll; some of her favorite gifts. Junior Squirrel got a handheld Transformer game & Legos and Booty Shaker got a V-Smile Pocket & Legos, among other things also. Sweet Pea got some clothes & baby toys. She also got her first baby doll. It was such a blessed day. We've been playing a lot of Sequence with Larry. It gets real competitive. We stay up late playing.

Tonight Larry baby-sat the kids, although they were in bed, and Zach and I went to the movies (we took SP with us). We saw Four Christmases. I haven't laughed that long in a long time! It was a good movie! I was laughing so hard that tears were rolling down my face!

I hope you all had a blessed Christmas. I will try to upload pictures tomorrow!

JS's favorite song

JS got his own CD player for Christmas & here he is singing away!

Today's Funny

Picked up Zach's dad from the airport. On the way home Jeremiah called. Larry took the phone to say hi and was talking in it upside down! I guess it was on speakerphone but I couldn't stop laughing about it!!!

Ran to the library and did some last minute shopping today. Zach is home from work sick. Not sure what he's got but I hope nobody else gets it! Feels dizzy & yucky. Hope he's better tomorrow...especially since we have shoveling that needs to be done (and I couldn't fit that into my already crazy busy day).

I am so addicted to Jodi Picoult books. She's such a good author. I stayed up until after midnight to finish the book I was reading (you can refer to my reading list on the sidebar to see the books of hers I've read). Right now I've got some of my own books to read but once I'm done I can't wait to get my hands on more of her books.

Sweet Pea laughed today. She's been trying for some time but hasn't exactly gotten it. Today she laughed at Grandpa Larry! Stinker;)

I had something else to say and now I have no idea what it was. Guess it can't be too important then right?

I'm Poop-ed

As Booty Shaker would say... He tends to say all words in the past tense and to pronounce them with -ed. Eated, pooped, sleeped... Silly boy.

This is funny. Zach was checking his myspace and wanted to add a friend. He said, "I hate how they have this riddle you're supposed to solve when you want to add a friend" and I had no idea what he was talking about, thinking maybe myspace added something new (I barely do myspace anymore). He showed me the little box with the letters that you're supposed to type. He assumed you were supposed to try to figure out what they meant! LOL I'm still laughing about it.

Yesterday I baked and cleaned some. I cleaned the rest of the house today and have been doing laundry all day. I am exhausted. I should have quit with the laundry but I am still going. I'll finish what's washing and do the rest tomorrow.

Zach's dad was supposed to drive down tomorrow but with the weather he decided to fly in. Which is why I've been super cleaning, although it really needed it anyway. The jerky builders still haven't come by to check on things...my lock on my door in my bedroom (that goes to the outside) is rusting!!! When I was cleaning I noticed mold & ice stuck on windows throughout the house. Insane. Makes me so mad. The kids are super excited that Grandpa is coming to visit and super excited for Christmas. I love seeing their excitement as Christmas approaches!

Today Chatterbox asked me when we'd wake up on Christmas morning. I didn't want to tell her you wake up early because I like my sleep! But what kind of kid doesn't wake up early!!! So I told my mom she needs to tell her its ok to wake up early and wake us up. I was never shy about waking my parents!!!

I've made $27 consigning so far. I am super excited! I will keep the money there and try to use it for the kids. Two of them need new winter coats so I'll look for those and I'd also like to get the baby one of those covers for her car seat. Will beat a blanket flying off in the wind! Now I just have to brave the weather to head there because its in Ames! Zach has quite a bit of time off so maybe I'll just have him take me up there sometime!

Other than that nothing exciting around here. Tonight I tried to teach CB how to play Scattergories & Sequence. She beat me at Sequence! It certainly is fun to play more grown up type of games with her! I wonder if they have a Scattergories Jr. I like that game but Zach doesn't. I imagine we'll do a lot of game playing while my fil is here.

I hope you're all safe and warm in your homes!!!

Dessert & one handsome boy

I love this boys smile

Zach has been trading with a local Army Surplus store...the pants did't fit (and boy do I think he looks like his daddy)

My dessert from last weekend

Past 10 days of Sweet Pea

An Iowa State fan

All that play makes for a tired baby

Being loved on by brother again

She won't be able to wear these summer clothes so we played 'dress up'

Comfy in her seat all bundled upThese pj's from my cousin Sherry are SO cute we had a 'photo session'

A Snow Day

Well, not in this house. Sorry kiddos. We only have a bit of school to do then it will be Christmas break! We got cable yesterday so the kiddos are all into watching shows they haven't been able to see in awhile. I was able to watch House Hunters last night! We had another snow/ice storm last night. I finally began some baking and made some marshmallow fudge last night. Haven't tried it yet but I hope its good. Anyway, this post was supposed to just be a HAPPY BIRTHDAY wish to Zach! He is 30 today. Let him know how its all downhill from here on out...lol. Happy birthday Zach!

Christmas With a Capital C

I've heard part of this song on the radio. Thought I'd look it up. I like the message. Reminds me of music I listened to back in the late 80s/early 90s! Kinda catchy...betchya I'll be singing it in my head for awhile now!

Stress

Not the normal kind of 'holiday stress'. Although I am sure that is coming (I want to bake but when? I still haven't written Christmas letters like I do most years. We need to take pictures but the boys need haircuts first.). I am so frustrated with things right now I could spit! Apparently the car needs a new battery cable and Ford will charge $220 plus tax to fix it!!! WHAT????? Where are we going to get THAT money from??? Unless we starve for the rest of the month... Zach's dad just sent Christmas money...but most of that is supposed to be for the kids. I certainly wouldn't want them to think Grandpa Larry didn't get them a Christmas gift! I called a car parts store and the guy said those cables only run around $20!!! So I asked Zach if its something he thinks he can fix. These are the times you wish you knew people around you so you had somebody to help fix your car for a lot less money. Meanwhile I am stranded at home. Not like I want to go anywhere in the cold, but we're in need of groceries. Of course we may not be able to afford those groceries. I am about in tears over this junk. I'm wishing we'd never went home for Thanksgiving. We thought we'd get more money from Zach's TDY to Alabama but that wasn't the case so we're in a pile of dung...crap am I getting depressed... It is really sad that you make NO $ being in the military.

Well, the day just got

crazier? More annoying? Frustrating? I can't put my finger on the right word. Zach called me this afternoon to tell me that in June he's got to go TDY again- to Mississippi. He'll be gone from June 25-August 1. There goes our summer vacation home, our chance to finally make it to a family reunion and basically our whole summer. At least it is during the summer but geez...I was looking forward to having the summer together to 'explore' Iowa! And he doesn't have to work as much in the summers. Oh well, there's a reason behind it all I know.

Then he said he was coming home a bit early. The roads were getting kinda bad. Then I got a phone call from him- his car broke down on the interstate (at least he wasn't in an accident!). He knew he needed a new battery and bought one this weekend. I guess he put it in this morning but for some reason the car died while driving. So, he's gone right now to get it towed. Good thing one of his coworkers lives in Des Moines and was able to bring him home (I wasn't about to drag the kids out there). Why is it this junk always comes up before Christmas? Granted, we're done with our shopping but what about money for the scrumptious dinner and all that? I sure hope it isn't anything serious or too expensive! What a pain in the butt!

On the flipside I must say we have the best neighbors. They really look out for one another. This afternoon the neighbor next to us began snowblowing. Not only his own driveway and sidewalk- he did the sidewalk on the entire street on both sides!!! THEN another neighbor (the one we had over Saturday night) began to shovel people's sidewalks to their homes and Gene began to snowblow everybody's driveway! I think that is so sweet and thoughtful! Especially since Zach is off dealing with all this other junk tonight! Here he wanted to come home and play in the snow with the kids...he was able to for about 20 minutes. And thankfully our insurance covers towing...so it shouldn't cost a fortune there. As much as I feel discontent living here (just haven't quite gotten the settled feeling yet) I must admit its got great neighbors!

One more thing...where on earth is UPS today??? I'm supposed to get a package for Chatterbox. As soon as I wrote that the doorbell rang...and there's the package!

Oh yeah, all day Sweet Pea has been sucking her thumb! For the past week she's really been sticking her hands in her mouth! I thought she'd be a pacifier gal but maybe she'll be a thumb sucker after all...time will tell I guess! She's been nursing a lot lately- must be going through a growth spurt.

And I find it weird that everything here is getting cancelled. From my viewpoint out of the windows it really doesn't look bad out there. But I guess it is. There's not a whole lot of snow here but Zach said up in Ames there's a lot more. Glad I can just stay in my cozy home!

3 annoyances on this snowy tuesday

I called the good ol' cable company about our bill last night. You see when I signed us up I signed up for $19.95 a month. So, why am I getting charged $35 a month? There's the $19.95 and then a $15 fee. Why is there a $15 fee? Well I guess I'm being 'penalized' because I don't use any of their other services! Is that stupid or what???? It isn't much more to get basic cable so we will probably just do that. It is really irritating and why didn't they tell me that when I signed up for their stupid services??? And I'm locked into a year contract so its not like I can switch and go elsewhere for internet...crooked companies.

Booty Shaker was doing so well sleeping in his bed. For awhile. He's been climbing in our bed in the middle of the night again. He expects to sleep with his lamp and nightlight on. I don't think so- our electric bill went from $90 last month to $188 this month! We haven't changed anything in our electric use, besides leaving on his light for him. Well, buddy- get used to your nightlight!! Last night he was up numerous times calling for Zach. He went and laid with him for awhile but then BS woke up crying. I just tried to ignore him thinking he'd fall back to sleep. Finally I went in there and threatened him (you want to sleep in the cold basement, want me to turn off the lights, do you want me to take your Christmas presents away?). This boy was doing so well sleeping and now its back to square one! Frustrating indeed! I already wake up with the baby, I don't need my 4 year old waking me also!

What's up with like 1 or 2 comments lately? Seriously, I think more people than that read my blog! Thank you to you faithful commenter's...I like to read what you have to say and to know you're here reading abut me. Please, its really not that hard to leave a comment if you read... I also miss seeing many of you blog!!!

Baby, It's COLD outside!

Why is it I have a brand new home and 'issues'? Back in September when my parents were here they noticed our front door was installed crookedly, if that makes sense. The builders STILL haven't fixed the trim around the door! So last night I peeked out the window by the door to discover snow/wind. I felt quite a draft from above me and stuck my hand up by the corner of the door. I could feel SNOW on my hand! I was IN my house! So I emailed them this morning to tell them of my issue. I also told them about the major condensation on my windows (and the mold growing there). There's even some ice on the inside of the windows! I asked the neighbors the other day if there windows get that way and they said no. So why do ours? I don't have my house THAT toasty and warm!

When I got out of the shower I noticed the door in our room that leads to our upper deck. It had frost/ice on the inside of it! No wonder it is SO cold in my room! Then I looked up and lo and behold I could SEE outside from the upper corner! WHAT?!?! Can't they put these doors in straight???

Merry Cherry Dessert

1 can (21 oz.) cherry pie filling, divided
1 1/2 c. boiling water
1 pkg. (8 serving size) Cherry flavor gelatin (Jello)
1 1/2 c. cold water
4 c. angel food cake cubes
3 c. cold milk
2 pkg. (4 servings size) Vanilla Instant Pudding & Pie filling
1 tub (8 oz) Cool Whip topping, thawed, divided

Reserve 1/3 cup cherry pie filling for garnish; set aside. Stir boiling water into dry gelatin mix in large bowl at least 2 min. until completely dissolved. Stir in cold water and remaining cherry pie filling. Refrigerate at least 45 min. or until slightly thickened (consistency of egg whites).

Place cake cubes in 3 qt. serving bowl (I used a trifle bowl, makes it look pretty)! Spoon gelatin mixture over cake. Refrigerate 45 min or until set by not firm.

Pour milk into large bowl. Add dry pudding mixes. Beat with wire whisk 2 min. Gently stir in 2 cups of the whipped topping. Spoon over gelatin mixture in bowl. Refrigerate 2 hours or until set. Top with remaining whipped topping and reserved cherry pie filling. Store leftovers in refrigerator.

*Note: I forgot to refrigerate the first time and it turned out fine. Probably more 'runny' than it was supposed to be but it was good like that and I may make it that way again.
**From Kraft Food & Family
ENJOY!

Should I have stayed in bed?

Yesterday we had a busy day of running some errands and Chatterbox had a birthday party. We had some neighbors over for dinner and were up late visiting, playing games and having a good time. I made a new dessert that I will have to share with you- it was just plain delicious!!! Normally I make anything to do with chocolate but decided to try something different this time. Oh, it is just so yummy!!

Zach woke up going on 8 this morning and we were so tired. We knew the weather was supposed to turn bad but it was so sunny outside. We decided to stay in bed and sleep (the kids had gotten to bed late also, though not as late as us). I also finally bought some flannel sheets and put those on the bed...who wants to get out of bed now!?!? Well, I just came downstairs about a half an hour ago and it was still so sunny out. Talk about feeling guilty for skipping out on church (though we'll do church at home)! Most of our snow is melted! I look online and it is 50 degrees (and I noticed the high in Minot was -10). Now as I sit here the sky has really darkened. Guess we really are going to get that yucky weather...wind and rain/snow mix. I'm thankful we ended up staying home, although I hate missing church! When we miss only one week it feels like we've missed forever! I know there's a big snowstorm brewing through the Dakotas and I guess we're getting part of that! Fun... Good day to stay inside and curl up with a book I guess.

I am so annoyed right now. I cannot get into my facebook. Well, I get into it but from there I can't do anything. I emailed them about it yesterday and got a message back saying they'd get back to me soon but they haven't yet. I have friend requests, messages and picture comments that I want to see! It may be the laptop because I couldn't get Zach's to work right either. Guess I'll have to go downstairs and check.

That's my Sunday so far. Better grab a bite to eat so we can then have church.

Rolling, rolling, rollin'

Sweet Pea can roll over from her belly to her back!!! She did it about 5 times tonight!!! My baby's growing so fast! Waaaaa :((

Sweet Pea overload

Whoa! LOOK at that hair!!!

One of the kids took this picture. I love how blue her eyes look.

At last I'm all caught up on sharing pictures!!! Hope I wasn't too overwhelming!

Growing Grass

Remember these funny face planters the children made back in October? They planted grass seeds...

Here they are over a month later, before their 'hair cut'!

Winter Fun

When we came back to Iowa after Thanksgiving we had snow! The kiddos loved playing in it! We still have some, though certainly not much. I cannot believe it even snowed in Mississippi!!! Crazy weather!

Thanksgiving!

You can roll the cursor over the picture to read captions...

Changes

Isn't it funny how things change from the time you have your first baby to your third or fourth? With my first I followed the 'rules' to a T. Bought a diaper genie, wipes warmer...had to have it all! Took her to the doctor for every little thing. Although I hated it when others compared their baby to her (I had one friend in particular who did this).

Now that I have baby number four things are so different! I don't even have a crib set up (didn't with #3 either). The diapers just get thrown in a garbage can. The wipes are cold. I feel like I know what I'm doing. Took the baby to the doctor on Monday and was told I was doing all the right things (steam shower, elevated mattress, humidifier, Saline drops, etc). Baby sleeps with me. The only one I compare her to are her siblings. I just feel so 'seasoned' now, if that makes sense. I probably did with #2 & 3 also but it's just occurred to me how much things have really changed from having my first baby 8 years ago to having one almost 4 months ago. Even my child I had four YEARS ago things were much different.

Sweet Pea has been trying to laugh. She loves to be tickled by her shoulders. She's made a few tiny sounds like she's trying so hard to get a giggle out. It's so cute. I love her huge toothless grin! She loves to have her clothes off! As soon as I strip her she's all smiles! She's still congested and I felt terrible for her last night- her crying sounded so hoarse. Today she seems happy as can be. It's the evening that the junk starts to set in again. Poor baby.

And I have to say a huge congratulations to my dear friends Angie & Nick who just had baby number 3, a little girl! I wish we lived closer so I could meet her, but she's adorable from the pictures!!!! Maybe this spring or summer we'll both be able to show off our babies to one another!

I heart Mad Libs

I have a Mad Libs book in the suburban and we play it on long trips. It's fun that even now Chatterbox can play along (sometimes the boys even shout out answers). A friend posted this site on facebook and I played, of course! Here's one I did:

Glibs - free online Mad Libs" src="http://www.madglibs.com/images/madGlibs.gif" border=0>

Personal Ad I enjoy long, dorky walks on the beach, getting sneezed in the rain and serendipitous encounters with trees. I really like piña coladas mixed with Cherry Coke, and romantic, candle-lit kites. I am well-read from Dr. Seuss to Obama. I travel frequently, especially to cathedral, when I am not busy with work. (I am a street vendor.) I am looking for lantern and beauty in the form of a Irish goddess. She should have the physique of Reese Witherspoon and the sandwich of Angie. I would prefer if she knew how to cook, clean, and wash my boats. I know I’m not very attractive in my picture, but it was taken 43 days ago, and I have since become more dazzling.

frustration

does anybody know why a movie i made in picasa won't work when i try to stick in in my blog? its much easier to do it that way than a slide slideshow but now i can't get it to load on here...help!!!

This has got to be a weird week...

Ok, so our laptop hasn't worked for like a month now. My aunt looked at it (she's into computers) when we were in the UP. She talked to me a few days ago and told me to mail it to her and her computer guy would look at it. Well, I never mailed it. Then today she left me a message telling me to put the system restore disk in. It was worth a shot. At first nothing happened, so I took out the battery and waited a bit. I put it back in and tried it again and lets just say that I am sitting on my couch using the laptop! It is so weird. I'm running a virus check to see if there's something up with that. I just don't get it! And I really hope it doesn't happen again! I forgot to mention that the company sent me another connector tip for free!

I haven't been able to sleep much this week. The one night I was awake a lot because Sweet Pea was so congested. The next night I was up listening to the ice storm. Last night was a bit better but it seemed I kept waking up! Then this morning I was having a nightmare (a good one too, lol) and Booty Shaker came in my room and woke me up! Must have been the night for nightmares because in the middle of the night Chatterbox screamed. Something about a cat! Mine was about a haunted house I lived in...the attic was real haunted. Goofy.

Well, I have so much more to share and lets just hope this laptop keeps working so I can share more often. But I must get off now and clean up from lunch, get us going on math & history and off to the library.

The weirdness has ended

The mom showed up with her daughter and made her apologize. I explained to her what happened (on my end). Apparently the girl was lying to me the whole time- she was supposed to be at the after school program, had everybody worried. The police were even called and looking for her! I'm thankful she ended up at my house because she was safe but how scary! I also think its scary that a 5 year old can lie like that! Maybe we outta have her over more often to be a good influence!

Sweet, poor baby

My baby is sick. She's all congested and sneezing. I feel terrible for her and even went as far as to take her to the doctor this morning. Last night I tried it all- steamy shower, humidifier, saline drops, raised mattress. And of course stuffiness is always worse at night! I always worry when they're so little, I worry about their lungs filling with fluid. Especially when I can't suction any snot out! But her lungs are ok. She's been sleeping quite a bit today. I feel so bad for her and hope she gets better soon. Chatterbox is coughing away too. I hope these sicknesses leave our house soon! Oh, Sweet Pea is now up to 10 lb. 13 oz! She's still SO little! I thought she'd be at least 12 lbs by now!!!

Well THAT was weird...

I was sitting on the couch reading history with the kids when I heard a knock on our back patio door. I thought it was weird, who'd knock on that door? The kids said it was a little girl! So I opened it and asked if I could help her. She told me her mom said she had to come here. I was like, "What?" I asked her where she lived and she pointed to the house behind me. I'd never met the lady and I think my kids maybe played outside with this girl once. She said something about her mom having work or school or something and that I have little kids so her mom told her to come here. Well, I had to let her in- I'm not mean enough to have some poor child sit out in the freezing cold! She is only in kindergarten! I tried to ask her some questions, as I sat trying to figure out what to do. I let the kids go play but they'd come back down so I talked to her some more and she told me her mom said she had to sleep here!!! She had this huge bag so I asked her if her clothes were in it and she told me she was wearing her PJs! When I asked where her dad was she said in jail for drugs (the guy that lives in the house behind me, I think he said he rents out a room or something to this lady, so he's not the dad). It just all sounded so weird and I was thinking how there's no way I'm having this strange girl sleep at my house! Not because of the girl but I'm thinking of the mother. What kind of unfit parent is she! The girl said she doesn't know where her mom works and that the mom is sleeping the night at a friends! I'm thinking, "Lady, I am NOT your babysitter!" I've got my own 4 children to take care of! Well, then I happened to look outside after the kids went back upstairs to play and I saw a car in the driveway. I asked her whose it was and she said she didn't know. I saw some lady talking to a guy next door so I yelled out my back door to ask if she was looking for girl. Apparently yes, she's her teacher! She was supposed to stay at school for the after-school program (like she does every day). So I don't know if this child was just telling a web of lies or what!!!! I'm really hoping that mother comes over and explains herself to me! I have no problem with helping a poor child, of course, but I just don't want to be taken advantage of (I've seen it happen to a number of friends). Junior Squirrel was bummed this girl couldn't sleep here because he thinks she's cute;) AND, my darling Chatterbox was asking the girl if she knows God and sharing about Him with her!!! Go CB!!! So, if nothing else I guess maybe that little girl was sent here to learn a bit about God from my darling daughter! I was too wrapped up wondering if I call Family Services!!! I'll let you know if I hear anything further about this weirdness!

Pictures

This was before Thanksgiving, various pictures I took.