Playing dress up!

The girls were upstairs playing.  They all came  down to show me their latest fashions.  Here is their newest creation!

Daddy watch out!  The little girl may kill something before you do!

Gone Hunting!

John Mark and Tyler were invited to go hunting this evening with a drug rep friend who also has kids at the girls' school.  Unfortunately, Tyler left church this morning because he had the stomach bug that Mom stayed home from church with this morning.  Tyler joined Mom at home in the "sick bay" for the rest of the day.  

Dad decided to go ahead and go hunting, but he decided to take Corynne with him.  Sounds like a great idea for our little nature girl, and the drug rep was taking his son who is in Corynne's class at school.  They had a lot of fun.  The did not kill anything. (This is a recurring theme when JM goes hunting!  I love to give him a hard time!)  They did see a bunch of wild hogs that they did try to shoot and missed!  All in all, Corynne and Dad had a wonderful time together with friends!  

Annual Gingerbread Decorating

We had originally planned to go see the lights at Callaway Gardens in GA this evening, but due to some bad planning we were not able to leave this afternoon.  Plan B - I really was not prepared for plan B, but I braved the holiday crowds to go to Wal-Mart and Costco to find gingerbread houses and candies to decorate the houses.  JM stayed at home with the kids, and they enjoyed some outside fun since the weather was quite warm today.  

We had a pizza supper and began decorating.  Lyndsey even got in on the action this year.  She enjoyed putting the candies on the house.  Then she discovered the frosting and candy was better to eat.  We always have fun decorating, and the houses always turn out much different then I expect!  Uncle Michael - the kids missed having you decorate with them.  They all remembered how funny and fun  you were last year!

Here are the kids creations all in a row (birth order to be exact)!

I did not steal!

We returned to the basketball courts this morning.   Corynne played her first game this morning since she missed last Saturday's game.  I was a little late to the game because I had to pick up Tyler from an early morning tennis lesson.  JM sent me a text saying, "What did you do to our daughter?  She had 3 steals, 4 shots and 1 basket in the first period."  This is not the Corynne we know.  Our Corynne is just playing for fun, praying that everyone does their best, and everyone is a winner.  Our Corynne does not compete in sports!  Until this morning.  She made Daddy proud!  The first picture is of Corynne right after she made a basket!

As Dad was walking her out to the car, he told her that she had 4-5 steals and scored twice.  Corynne replied, "I did not steal the ball.  The girl dropped it and I picked it up and took it."  Now that is our Corynne!!!

Don't tell the child labor board!

Problem #1:  JM is 7000 "electronic signatures" behind at work.  

Since he got his new Mac laptop, he has not been able to log on to the hospital website and "sign" his charts.  The IT department said that it was possible to log into the system on a MAC, but after weeks of trying the IT department now says you can not use a MAC.  So, JM took his old laptop back up to the hospital for the IT department to set it up for home login.

Problem #2:  Tyler needs a new bat. 

On Wednesday, Tyler goes to the batting cages with a batting instructor.  This is something he has been doing for over a year.  During his "off season (fall)", we have continued to go to maintain and improve his swing for the spring season.  In Texas, all kids play and love football.  In Alabama, all kids play and love baseball.  During his first 30 minutes in the cage with the machine, his bat broke.  If you have not bought a bat lately, that is a $100-$275 purchase.    It is Christmas, and I am done shopping.

Solution:  Dad taught Tyler how to log on to the hospital and "sign"  his charts.  Okay, don't panic.  Any kid can press a button repetitively 7000 times!  If it were only that fast!  The trick is staying awake between clicks.  You have to wait for the file to load and then click the button.  Wait and click.  Wait and click.  I have seen JM fall asleep many times doing this!   JM promised to pay him 2 cents per chart to be applied toward a new bat.  Okay, don't tell Tyler about minimum wage laws or we are going to be in trouble!  He has currently completed about 800 and it has taken a LONG TIME!

Friday night Basketball Fever!

Tonight Tyler played his first basketball game of the season.  You remember.  The one that was postponed because of the Alabama-Florida game last Saturday. Tyler was so excited because they get to play full court this year.  (We play Upward Basketball where the rules are a little different.)  At half time, all the boys were sweaty, exhausted and thirsty!  

The game time folly of the week was a fast break

 by Tyler's team.  Tyler and another boy raced down the court to get the pass.  They both tripped over each other and went down as the ball passed over them.  Everyone laughed, Tyler's face 

was red when he got up.  The red face was not embarrassment, but ANGER!

Tyler is not a good at losing.  If you have ever played any game with him, you know he tries to change the rules when he is about to lose.  So tonight's loss of 32-18 did not go down too good. 

Happy Birthday Jesus!

The preschool choirs performed tonight at church.  Lauren was so excited about singing her songs.  She even picked out an outfit while at a friends house today--a red santa dress and pink boots.  The friends Mom was laughing as I was picking Lauren up.  She said that it was fine with her, and Lauren really wanted to wear the dress tonight.  Not quite the little smocked Christmas dress I had picked out for her to wear, but I knew this was truly not a battle worth fighting.  I did insist that she find her black shoes to wear instead of the pink boots.  

She sang beautifully in the red Santa dress which she completed with a red Santa hat!  

The sweetest memory of the night for us (the parents) was listening to Lauren sing herself to sleep.  She kept singing "Dear Jesus.  Its your birthday and I have a gift for you.  It something kinda special even though its not brand new.  Though I didn't wrap it and its not under the tree.  Dear Jesus.  Its your birthday and the gift I have is ME!"  The tune got slower and softer until she fell fast asleep!  

A Feast for All

Today I finally did what I had been wanting to do for months.  It is that urge to cook and bake.  It is that time of year.  I did not cook at Thanksgiving, and I am not cooking at Christmas so I think i am feeling a little left out of the holiday kitchen!  Today, John Mark's office staff became my outlet since my children will not eat "fancy" food as they call it!   I prepared a feast of ham, sweet potatoes, apple-cranberry bake, choc pound cake, and dinner rolls for John Mark's office today.  Lauren, Lyndsey and I delivered it hot and fresh to their break room just in time for lunch.  The girls enjoyed visiting with all the ladies at the office and raiding Daddy's chocolate bowl!  We did not stay long - places to go, things to do...it is still Tuesday with the normal activities!

Shh!

We are guilty of breaking that "DO NOT OPEN UNTIL CHRISTMAS" seal.  We just could not wait any longer.  Especially since it came into our house last night.  It had been sitting in our garage for over two weeks, but we could not lift it upstairs.  After JM and I took his PAs and spouses out to a VERY FANCY dinner last night, Patrick (one of the PAs) stopped by to help JM carry the 200+ pound box upstairs.  Now the box is open, and calling out JM's name!  TaDa......

JM will have to teach us all how to play.  JM was very glad that it came with an official game rules book because we all know that Tyler will challenge to rules many times!!  

Thank you Grammy and Papa for the awesome Christmas gift!  We will enjoy hours of great family and friend time over the next generation.  

HO! HO! HO!

 
  

 
After two church musical performances this morning and Misty sitting a room full of 18-24 month old kids for 2 hours, we went to visit Santa.  Tyler did a great job "protecting" Lyndsey who is still a little scared of the big man with a beard and a red suit!  Corynne and Lauren just enjoyed sitting on his lap and sharing what they wanted Santa to bring them.  After we visited with Santa, everyone enjoyed cookies and crafts!  Lyndsey loved the little girl looking back at her in the mirror!

A new season!

Basketball season opened today for us!  Although, Corynne missed her game because of mandatory church musical rehearsal that ran very late, and Tyler's was rescheduled for next Friday night because it conflicted with the BIG GAME - Alabama vs. Florida!  So Lauren was the only one who played.  She played a good game for Lauren.  She did try to shoot the ball a few times.  We will let you all know when she scores a goal for the first time.  At least, she was not talking and fixing her hair the whole time like her first game last year!  It is hard for a princess to be competitive!

Daddy's Date with the Girls

JM was the ultimate great dad today!  He started off the day by taking the big kids to school.  At 11:30 he spoke to Corynne's 3rd grade class about bones and muscles.  They have been studying this chapter for over a week, so the 3rd graders had a lot of questions for Dr. Dad.  JM said he spent most of the time just answering questions.  I asked him if he was stumped by any questions!  JM responded, "It's not whether you know the answer, but convincing everyone that you KNOW the answer!" (i.e. just sounds good! What has your dr. told you lately?!?!)  No pics for mom even though JM had the camera.  He said he felt weird asking the teacher to take pics.  Next time I will tell the teacher ahead of time to get the camera from him and take some pics for the scrapbook!

Then, Dad hung around a few minutes to pick the girls up from school and take them to lunch before he went back to work.  

Tonight was the night of princess dreams.  JM took Corynne and Lauren to the Father Daughter Diamond Princess ball tonight.  The girls were so excited to "take Dad away from Tyler" for the night.   They danced the night away with Dad and some friends, crashed an ER party that Dad was invited to attend, and finished up the night with drinks at Starbucks!  What more could two girls ask for!!!

Reading her 1st real book!

Lauren read her first real story this morning.  I have to admit that when I saw the book in her homework folder, I did sigh inside and think this is going to take awhile.  She was so excited!  And she did it all by herself!  I know...she is 5.  I know it is about time for her to start reading.  I know...you had a kid that started reading at 3 1/2 or 4.  I know..I had one that started reading early also.  IT WAS MY FIRST CHILD.  Lauren is my third, and she learned to read despite my bad parenting!  Way to go Lauren.  Now I know that there is hope for Lyndsey!

The Waltz

I had one of those moments tonight.  I knew Corynne was a "waltzer" in our church Christmas program, and I knew that involved dancing with a boy.  After the adult Bible Study was over, I went into the auditorium to check on the big kids and get a time estimate on them finishing before I went to get the little girls.  Within seconds of my entrance, I saw Corynne on stage in her fancy ballroom gown dancing with a sweet little boy from her school all decked out in a TUX!  Andrew with his perfect waltzing posture and Corynne just gracefully moving to the music.  My heart sank and tears filled my eyes.  She is too young for this!  I am not suppose to have this kind of emotion until prom or weddings!!!  I know now to take a bunch of Kleenex with me on Saturday night and Sunday!

A look into the future...

The busy holiday season is upon us.  The kids started Upward Basketball this week which adds 3 practices to our afternoon/evening schedule.  Fortunately with the exception of this week, they are all back-to-back-to-back on Tuesday!  The first games are on Saturday. 

 

We finally got a new basketball goal up.  Our old one had fallen over while we were at church months ago - by nature or by someone else we do not know.  The end result was a broken base which would not support the goal anymore.  I have been working on getting to new one installed for quite awhile...really!!  Today it went up, and Tyler came home to practice.  Guess what - he missed more than he made!  Guess whose fault it is...mine of course!?!?  Only time will tell if his star quality shot will return!!!

We are in the final week of rehearsals for the church Christmas program.  Tyler and Corynne have small extra parts in the program.  We have a minimum of 1 hour of practice Tues and Wed.  Then dress rehearsal Saturday morning (with basketball sandwiched around this possibly).  The program in Saturday evening and 2 times on Sunday morning.    Done by NOON!?  No, there is brunch with Santa  until 1pm.  Then an adult Sunday School Party on Sunday night!    

I forgot to mention that Friday night is the annual Father/Daughter Diamond Princess Ball.  Corynne and Lauren have been waiting for this event since last year.  Their spirits were not even hampered when I told them I was not buying a new ball gown this year since last year's gowns still fit!  (Although, JM is planning something different!)  This is their date night with Dad complete with dancing!

Saturday evening we also meet up with our PAs and their spouses for dinner and fellowship immediately after the church Christmas program.  It should be a fun evening, but I still have to find a late night babysitter!

This is all extra stuff for this week on top of the normal piano, tennis, and dance!  Oh, I got a call today that I had schedule dentist appointments for kids 6 months ago for TOMORROW!  I think that Ty may have to check out early so we can get to dentist, dance, tennis, basketball, and rehearsal on in one day!!! 

Why are we not home yet?

Our Thanksgiving travels led us four hours away from home.  We had a great time, but we were all eager to get back home.  We were given directions for a short cut back to I-85 which takes us down to Montgomery.  It was a new road that was not open the last time we were up in the northern country!  It was much better than our old route because it avoided all the twists, turns, and zig-zags.  John Mark and I were excited that we had made it back to the interstate (approx 1 hour into the return trip) when Lauren piped up "Dad, I thought that this was a shortcut."  

Dad replied, "It is, Lauren!"  

Lauren snapped, "Then why are we not home yet?"

Happy Thanksgiving!

A Thanksgiving Prayer for You

Thanksgiving prayers & wishes

  that God will smile on you

And send you lots of blessings,

  and lots of happy moments, too!

I know this is a little early, but I will not be at the computer on Thanksgiving Day!  

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Deck the halls!

Or actually deck the house on the outside!  I just wanted to share pictures of our house decorated for Christmas on the outside.  On the inside, I have not really gotten to that!  I did taken down all the autumn/pumpkin decor and decorate the fireplace.  I will have to put up the trees after we get back from Thanksgiving.  I am running out of time.  we are leaving in the morning to go out to the lake for a few days.  Nothing big.  We just want to get away, and good family time is so much easier out at the lake with no distractions and no telephone!

Update on Corynne

"Wow! She is amazing!"  That is all I have to say.  She is so independent and confident.  We checked into Children's South in B'ham at 7:20am this morning.  After we were assigned to our waiting room, Corynne went down to the playroom to hang out with the other kids until it was her turn to go back to the OR.  She made it very clear that I need NOT hang out with her.  "I am fine, Mom."  JM and I enjoyed getting plenty of time to catch up (3 hours to be exact)!  We discussed how this would be different if it was Tyler who would be so nervous that he would make himself sick kinda like his mother, or Lauren who would become the tiny baby for the attention or Lyndsey who would have us running up and down the halls until they placed the gas mask on her face!  God is good!

Corynne had no problems at all today.  Many thanks to all our prayer warriors who held her (and our family) up in prayer today across the country.  We are blessed to have so many who truly care for us and our children.  Corynne came home today very tired, but ready to greet people who stopped by.  We were so humbled by her teacher who drove into Montgomery on a day off to stop by and check on Corynne and bring her a gift.  She is a godly teacher who went above and beyond her "job", and Corynne so appreciated her.  And I must acknowledge Corynne's sweet friends who brought her a cookie cake and balloons.  She is blessed by sweet girlfriends.  Thank you Cami (and family) and Mary Phyfer and Francie (and mom)!  God is good!

I could not resist adding this photo!  I think Lauren has sympathy pains or a need for the attention!!!

Christmas Decorating

I came home from church this afternoon and started my Christmas decorating.  I hung all the outside decorating.  Of course when it came time to plug it all in, I discovered (as always) that the extension cord mouse had visited our house again and misplaced all those cords I bought last year.  JM saved the night by stopping by Target on his way home from work tonight.  Now we look like Christmas is coming on the outside.  I will take some pics tomorrow evening and post them.  It looks great if I do say so myself!!!

****Important **** Corynne gets a new set of tubes and her adenoids removed tomorrow at 8:30am!

Tennis Time.

The kids and I went up to Pelham (about 1 1/2 hours) today for Tyler to play in a tennis tourny. It was very cold when we left the warm house!  It was a small tourny, so he and 3 other boys played a round robin for the 10&under division.  JM signed him up for this tourny verses a bigger one because as we feared - he would be on call and I would have to take him by myself with the girls.  He won his first match 8-1 while the girls watched a movie in the warm car and I froze watching him!  By the second match, it had warmed up a little (maybe 43 by now).  At least sitting in the sun was bearable!  Tyler won 8-2!  

I had packed our lunch and there was a park right next to the courts.  The girls enjoyed playing at the park while Tyler and his opponents played football between matches.  Is this a good idea???  Where did the football come from?  Oh, please not tackle guys!

By the third match, the temp was dropping again!  The girls returned to the car for warmth, popcorn and a movie.  Tyler was playing really good.  He was up 5-2, and my thought was "lets wrap this up and go home."  5-3. 6-4. Come on Tyler! 7-4.  Oh no, Lauren has to have a potty break right now.  Tyler finish this up while I am gone! 7-6.  What happened in those five minutes?  If he losses this championship match, the car ride home will not be pleasant.  Finally,  8-6!  He is a Champion (of a level 5 tourny) complete with a personalized trophy!

 Time to go home for the night and sit by the fire!

It's Cold!

I do not mind the cold if I can enjoy some snow, but this cold wind stuff really gets to me.  It doesn't help that I really don't like sweaters, jackets or coats especially when I am running errands.  My kids do not like dressing warm either!  Tyler in his typical style went to school today in shorts and a short sleeve shirt even after I recommended many times that a long sleeve UnderArmour under the uniform would be a GREAT idea!  Did I mention that it was in the high 30s this morning?  I think I may have to turn on the heater this weekend.  It is suppose to drop to 27 tonight!  

PTO Night

Every fall the girls' school has a PTO program night.  It is a night of songs, quotations and chants by each of the classes.  Basically, the songs are all focused around what they are learning and not the typical seasonal classics!  Every class recites a Bible verse or passage or chapter (or book - oh what class was that- that was so long - i hope that is not next year!) that they have learned.  Then they each have songs about verbs, prepositions, science vocabulary.  My point - while it is fun to listen to your own child - everything else seems to just drag along!  It is a long night!  The girls did a great job, and we were all glad to get home for the night! 

 

Today is my birthday!

I have had a pleasant birthday despite my visit to the gym this morning!  JM took us all out to dinner tonight.  He and the kids had decided on Olive Garden on the way to school this morning!  That sounds good to me since I love their salad and the desserts are great!  Oh yeah, I split the pumpkin cheesecake with JM.  I think that it was the most sugar I have had in months.  A bad headache set in within minutes, but it was worth it.  Yummy!!!!!!

Tyler loves to mess with the girls.  He had them so messed up on my age that Lauren told 2 people sitting around us that I was 55.  JM was laughing.  He said it was payback for the 3 years I remained 29 before Tyler figured out that I never got older!  As many times as I corrected them that I am only 35,  they still kept messing up:(.  Are they just messing with my mind!  

A Week in Review...

I am not good at this daily blog stuff.  My life seems to take up too much time!  I know...my kids are in too too many activities.  One day I will have to say pick one, but for now I just enjoy the fun!

Tuesday, November 11 - A big day for ME.  I got a new Suburban!  Big thanks to my sweet hubby for finding the great deal and setting up everything for me so that all I had to do was go sign and trade!  It was so much fun!  Tyler, Lauren and Lyndsey went with me to make the trade.  Maybe I should have stayed around for the "new car briefing"  because in 4 years, Chevy has moved things around quite a bit.  Let's just say that I find out how things work hourly!  

On Tuesday, JM took Corynne to the Children's Hospital ENT specialist.  Her hearing has gotten worst, and we just gave up on the ENTs here.  The recommendation was a new set of "long term tubes" and having her adenoids removed.  He said this would not fix the problem, but it was a first step in the right direction.    She has a lot of damage in her left ear (the one she does not hear) which will take time to repair and heal- possibly years.   Needless to say, this left me very emotional for my sweet Corynne.  God love her.  She just greets everything with a smile and a "lets just be friends and be happy" attitude.  She deserves to have no struggles!!!

Wednesday, November 12 -  Having completed 2 kid holidays and a lot of fun, Wednesday arrived too fast!  I have not finished my Bible study homework.  I struggled getting dressed this morning because I just do not like going to class incomplete!  I went.  I sat silently and I learned what others studied last week.  I feel so defeated, but that will make me work harder this next week.  I WILL have my homework done next time!

After Bible study, I went straight to the gym for my next trainer visit.  This is the 5th visit and I am physically exhausted.  Today is my leg workout, so my prayer was that I could walk later this evening.

Thursday, November 13 - JM has always joked that I tract exactly how much he spends on chewing gum, cokes, and coffee each week.  I can not help it!  It is the accountant, type A in me! My computer crashed a few weeks ago.  The computer with my "fancy" accounting software that is REALLY out of date(circa 1996).  I have had a new MAC computer for a year now, but I have never switched my bookkeeping over to the MAC.   It was just so much easier to keep going on the old software since it was not MAC compatible.  Now I am 2 bank statements behind and stressing, because I was not able to print any of the reports from my old program to help me set up the new software.  SO MUCH LOST!  All of this to explain that I was at home all day today recreating the past.  I still have a huge gap, and a lot of information to update and figure out before I can compile our tax return this year.  BUT I have finally started.  I just have to learn this new program over the next few months.  BooWho:(  

Friday, November 14 - I had so much fun this morning.  I got a call from Tyler's room mom that the science/ss teacher needed help on Friday morning.   I had to jump on this opportunity since Tyler is always fussing that I spend so much time at the girls school and never at his school.  They were doing Indian weavings, so the activity was right up my alley!  I had a great time with Tyler's class.  Oh, here was the big shocker for the morning!  The teacher told the parents (4 of us) to pick a table to help get started.  I  started walking over to the front table.  A boy sitting next to Tyler said, "Mrs. Vermillion aren't you going to help our table."  I looked at Tyler because I just assumed that this would be unacceptable to him.  His attitude has always been you can come Mom, but do not talk to me and I will not acknowledge you.  To my surprise, he looked up and said, "Come on Mom help us!"  It was a great morning for me and my 5th grader.  He actually told me, "Thanks for coming to help, Mom."  I had to run out of the room before the tears started flowing, and I became the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad mom again!

Saturday, November 16th - The terrible mom returns.  Tyler was late to his team tennis match this morning.   Actually, it was just straight up 10am.  There is no early check in for team tennis, so he was only late by his standard!  I dropped him and Corynne off for their matches.  It was a bit chilly to hang out with the little girls so I decided to go to Sam's for my weekly run that did not get done this past week.  

The neglectful mom returns.   I was a step away from the buggy and I see Lyndsey flipping out of the buggy.  I dropped the items I had in my hand to grab her, but I was not fast enough.  Her little head hit the ground.  I was terrified, but she bounced up crying with a big red knot on her forehead.  A remembered from Corynne's encounter with Tyler's bat 3 years ago, an immediate red knot is good!  I remained calm and sent JM a text.  We were already going to the hospital for lunch in an hour so he could check her out when we arrived!  Did I mention that this is the second time she has done this?!?  The first time was in the grocery store, and I caught her arm as she was flipping out.  I saved her from the fall, but I was so sacred that I had broken her arm when I grabbed it and pulled up.  No harm done :)  Except for my handprint around her arm:(  I can only pray that she will learn to sit still before she kills herself.  She just can not be still.  YES! YES! I buckle her into the cart tight each time, but she can squirm out of it in 2 seconds!   This is probably why I only take her to the store except for emergency runs!

Now, you know what has been going on in our lives this week!  It is never dull in a house of six!

Double the Chaos!

Here we go!  Another crazy week in the Vermillion house.  This is the second time this year that the kids different schools did not coordinate their holidays:(.  I know that technically Veteran's Day is tomorrow, but Monday is a better holiday for parents!  Is is not?!?!  Well, the girls were home today, but Tyler had school.  Tomorrow, Tyler is home, but Corynne has school.  I have a hard time keeping it all straight.  

Tyler is now enjoying time with his cousin who is sleeping over tonight and playing tomorrow morning before he leaves to go back home.  The girls had to tuck in early for school, and I am waiting for JM to get home and save the night!  They are upstairs trying to create a silly utube video of themselves.  I have so much to learn about pre-teens and how this is actually fun!!!  

Another day at the courts

We are in the middle of another tennis weekend here in Montgomery.  The matches were rained out on Friday afternoon, so we actually did not start the tournament until this morning.  Tyler lost his first match 7-6, 6-7, 8-10.  It was a great match, but not the results he wanted to end on.  He played in the first round of consolation late this afternoon.  Tyler won the match 6-2, 6-3.  He was proud of himself!  Many thanks to his cousin, Preston, who shows up to support Tyler when they are at the same tournaments.   You can see Tyler's game and confidence improve when Preston walks up.  Tyler really looks up to him, and Preston is a great role model in tennis for him!

I did not know that a stapler could cause me pain!

Today was my once a month, copy helper day at the girls' school.  I actually do not mind standing at the copy machine for over 2 hours copying and sorting.  On my day, I copy for the 4-6 grade teachers.  Honestly, it is an easy job and the teachers are so grateful for the help.  Today was like all the months past.  I stood there and copied, stapled, hole punched, cut, and bound just like the teachers requested.  And being the type A personality that I am, I checked and rechecked everything to make sure it was perfect.  I was so excited to be almost done when in walked a teacher to explained that last week her papers were not done correctly and she needed them fixed.  I smiled and said, "what would you like me to do?"  She explained that this 7 inch tall pile of copies was stapled together wrong.  She wanted 10 sets of each chapter stapled individually.  No problem!  Wow.  There were ten big sets and had to be broken into 22 chapters each and stapled.  About half way through my arm muscles would not push down any more!   All those push-ups, bench presses and boxing yesterday are paying me back!  I was  in tears as I finished the last batch!   

Great, Now I get to go to Sam's and lift 4 cases of water, 4  cases of cokes, multiple 1 gallon jugs of juice and milk, and much much more.  This should count as a workout!  Right?!?

Still in pain!

When Lyndsey started crying at 3:30 this morning, I jumped out of bed to go quiet her down before everyone woke up.  Did I say jumped?  Actually, I did!  Then I folded over in agony.  I can not move!  I made it to her room and got Lyndsey and Lauren back in their beds to sleep.  It happened again at 6 am when the alarm went off.  This time I tried to go upstairs.  It took forever to get up to Tyler's room to wake him up.  I decided to just sit and bump down the stairs.   I can not believe that I am this out of shape.  I thought that my legs were pretty strong, but I must be wrong.  I get to go back to the trainer tomorrow.  I may have to rent a wheelchair to get there!!!

Exercise is NOT fun!

Okay, I finally did what I thought I had been wanting to do for years.  I signed up to meet with a personal trainer a few times a week.  I just was not seeing the results that I wanted by exercising on the elliptical trainer 3 times a week.  So nervously, I showed up for my first scheduled visit this morning.  Oh my...  He said this would be a "see where you are physically" workout.  Oh my...  I was shaking from head to toe by the end.  Oh my... my legs hurt.  I guess I do have some muscles left in my abdomen, because they hurt.  If I hurt this bad a few hours later, what is tomorrow going to be like!?!

Happy Halloween!

The Vermillion Tribe had a great Halloween with friends and family this year.  No,  it was not my idea for everyone to be Indians!  It actually originated in the upstairs playroom by Corynne and Lauren.  Tyler was NOT happy to say the least, but the girls idea fit into our Halloween plans.  All we needed was a costume for Tyler, so it fit in the budget.  3 out of 4 kids were happy, so the majority wins!  Democracy at its best.  The kids bagged a rather large loot between trunk-or-treat at the church, a hot dog party at a old friends house, and trick-or-treating around the neighborhood!  

This year we started an exchange program which I have intended on doing for years but just never have.   The kids each turned in their candy at the end of the weekend for a special treat.  This year everyone got a new Webkinz.  Wow!  The candy is all gone just like that!

Our little Holy Roller

It was a normal Sunday morning in that we were running late!  Strangely, JM was actually here with us and we were all headed to church in the SAME CAR!  Tyler was fussing because he was almost late to his class, and why did we always have to park all the way over by the preschool and make he and Corynne walk.  So to try the calm the waters, JM pulled up to the children's building entrance to drop T, C, Lauren and me off.  As we were jumping out of the car, Lyndsey starts screaming "I want some JESUS. I want some JESUS!"  We were all laughing which made her scream and cry even louder.  By the time JM got her to her class she had calmed down because she got to go inside and "get some JESUS and Bible"!  Jesus did say, "let the children come to me."  We try our best not to exclude the 4th child!

3 Piggy Opera

My sweet Lauren was the Mommy Pig today at the ECS Kindergarden production of The 3 Piggy Opera.  It was a really cute musical, and the kids did a great job.  I was so nervous for Lauren when I realized she was the first one to sing her solo.  She did it with no problem!  She definitely gets that from her Dad, because I do not "perform" in front of an audience much less sing!  

This is just what I have been doing the last few days!  Planning and cooking for this reception!  It turned out cute and everyone had plenty to eat!

It's your serve!

 
Tyler is playing in a tennis tournament here in Montgomery today.  This is just the first of many things to keep us busy while Jm is gone.  He lost in the first round this morning 6-7,6-4,8-10.  He did a great job and I was proud of his sportsmanship and endurance.  We are playing again in a few hours.  I pray that he does GREAT so the attitude will not be gloom and doom all day tomorrow!  BUT...I am not sure the girls (or I) can handle another 2+ hour match!

Out to the mission field!!

John Mark left this morning with a group from TREC International headed for India.  This is his third medical/mission trip with them.  This trip is planned to be more like the first one- a two shower trip!  One shower when he lands in India.  Then up into the mountains.  Another shower before he leaves to come home!  (Thank goodness!) He was excited to go, and I am more relaxed about him leaving than I have ever been.   Let's just pray that it is a fast 9 days!  It will be...with all that is on the calendar between now and then!

Pumpkin Patch & Corn Maze

We had a great family day today.  Our first stop was the The Grand 'Ole Pumpkin Patch in Canton, AL. 

 

 The girls were really excited about going.  Their favorite part of the pumpkin patch is playing in the hay stack, riding the ponies, and jumping in the inflatables.   The actual pumpkin patch is just pictures for Mom that they endure for the fun!  Lyndsey was such a big girl.  She kept pace with the big kids without missing a beat.  She loved the ponies and watching the helicopter land and take off.  Maybe next year we will she JM and Tyler ride in that helicopter!  

 

We ate lunch ate the pumpkin patch before driving east to the Corn Maze.  We had seen this advertised in a parenting magazine so we decided to give it a try!  It took us a while to get there and we almost lost Lyndsey since it was past nap time!  All the kids enjoyed running through the maze until we found our way out.  It was quite simple to navigate through.  It was not the challenge I faced 5 years ago with my mom, Tyler, Corynne, and infant Lauren in Pennsylvania!  I thought I would be lost in that maze until the rescue squad came in at dust!

Again, the maze was not the highlight of the afternoon.  Lyndsey loved the animals.  They had a goat, pig, calf, rooster with hens and ducks.  Lyndsey would sit and "oink" at the pig.  She pet everything, including the hen who "pecked" her pack.  That was so funny to see.  She was completely taken off guard that the hen did not want her to pet it!  The girls enjoyed to feeding barrel of corn kernals to bury themselves with.  John Mark and Tyler's favorite thing was the shooting range with an airgun that propelled corn cobs into targets.  

Needless to say by the time we finally got home, the kids graciously took baths and were ready for beds.  We were all exhausted from fun!