Meet our campers

This is Miko. You all have met her sister before, Sarah. I think every picture I have of Miko she is posing. Even when I tried to sneak up on her she always got her pose in first. Isn't she a cutie.

This is Melissa P. It always amazes me how much teenagers can sleep.
Who are these people you ask. Just random people. That's Jeff for ya.
The guy on the right is Kyle. He is fighting it out with Ryan, the camp speaker, while they play ultimate chicken.
You all know my Jeffrey. He was sure to point out that I didn't get any pictures of him catching the chicken. But you gotta admire that he went for it. What a team player.
Not, our camper, but the camp speaker, Ryan.
I don't know this kid but by day two this was the camp 'do. By the end of camp his hair was colored too.
Even the girls were doing it.
Here is Samantha S. She joined percussion.
This is Samantha B. and Valarie. They were always together so I thought they should appear that way on the blog. Samantha B. was another poser.
Here is Michele. I chose this picture because even enjoying a cool drink on a hot day she is adorable. Michele could be picking her nose and still be as cute as a button.Now this, this is a JT, or to other people a Jonathan. If you haven't noticed his glaring shorts yet they are made from duct tape. He is fun.
This is Kate. She loves Myspace. And SixDaysLater. JT got himself a camp boyfriend. No worries though. Just a few minutes after this shot was taken they had a fight over which college they would be going to and it's over now.

That may be my favorite camp picture. Oh, the wonders of perception.

Camp

previously written

We are on our last full day of camp. Tomorrow, I believe, we will be packing up and cleaning up. I had this nifty plan about how I was going to write everyday so you all could enjoy our camp experience but we have just been so darn busy. I had even considered writing out our days right now but our days seem to run together in my mind. I'm sure it is even more so for the kids, they keep 'em hoppin.

They begin with breakfast, the most important meal of the day, and then its
8:00 Quiet time
9:00 Rec
10:00 Bible Study
11:00 Lesson with Camp speaker
12:00 Lunch
1:30 -3:30 Track Time
3:30- 5:30 Free Time
Dinner
7:00 Worship/Lesson with Camp speaker
9:00 Lesson with our own youth group
10:00 Night Life
11:00 Back to your rooms
11:30 Lights out (yeah right!)

On the go, on the go, must be this camps motto but the kids love it. Their days are filled with activities like, in line skating, drama, volleyball, backpacking, Girl time, precussions, crafts, crafts with duct tape, battle ball, ultimate Frisbee and so much more. And yet with all the "fun" things to do at camp more than one girl told me her favorite thing at camp was Bible time or worship. That just melts my heart. And I have to say it was my favorite part as well.

Our speaker for the week is Ryan Fontenot. What a blessing it has been to hear him. It seems today that so many ministers, youth and adult alike, want to fancy foot around issues, "If we tell that that they wont comae back to church," they say. Well honey, let me tell you there is no fancy footin' with Ryan. He just lays it out for ya. Youth today need that.

After our evening worship we would get together as a group with our kids. We don't really know where these kids stand with the Lord. They all have varying backgrounds. So Kyle has gone back to the basics. "What does it mean to be a christian" "How do you become a christian" and my favorite lesson was "Cut that crap out". No one gasp, you know the kids talk like that. He challenged the kids to quite faking it. Don't pretend things are fine. Stop acting like you have it all together. You could tell the kids were uncomfortable, some convicted, but for most just uncomfortable. I'm glad he did it. Maybe they need to be uncomfortable and/or convicted.

I am glad Kyle and Michele have come to our church. Kyle is upfront and strong while Michele is tenderhearted and soft. I think that is a great mix for our youth.


I will be back at some point with pictures and what not.

It's okay to laugh

because you don't know who I am talking about.

So on the way home from camp Jeffrey sees this truck pulling a huge and I mean huge Eddie Murphy head. Yes, you heard right, a huge cast of Eddie Murphy's head. Unfortunately me and all the youth missed it.

Eddie Murphy was really more our time, I mean I know he has had some box office stuff now, but really he was more our time. So anyway, one of the kids leans forward and says "Hey, what movie has he been in? I can't remember what he looks like." Another youth pops up and says, "He was the donkey on Shrek".

Insert cricket music here.

I promise I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, we have just been away at camp all week. I told Jeff we just really needed a laptop so I could blog while I was gone. I guess your reading pleasures (or nightmares) aren't as important as things like eating so he said no. Sorry.

Eventually I will be posting about camp and our precious boys first birthday but since we went straight from camp into VBS I still don't have a lot of extra time. I still haven't caught up on life since we have been home.

Until I can return, hopefully in a day or two, I want to share these two things with you..........

While Grandma was changing Timothy's diaper cousin Kyle was looking on (Kyle hasn't seen Timbo since he was about two months) and said "Grandma, that's the littlest pee-pee I have ever seen."

While driving in the car Bear told me his nose hurt.
I'm sorry buddy. What's wrong with it?
It has issues. I need a tissue.
A tissue for your issues?
Yeah.

Hope I made you smile. See ya soon.

Last night while I was cooking some grease flew up and got in my eye. While Jeffrey was looking me over, and I was trying not jump around like an idiot, Daddy called my name. I hollered back "yeah?", he hollered back "'yeah?', don't you mean 'sir'?"

Just goes to show that even at twenty-six you are never to old to get schooled by your dad.
That's fine Daddy, as Brendon says "you (meaning me) don't know everything", so you just keep on correcting. I love you Daddy, Happy Father's Day!

Why, Thank You

So I took my little camera card thingy to Wal-mart to have those pictures printed. I figured if I was going to wait for the oil to get changed in the car I could wait for one hour photo as well. I wanted to take some pictures of the kids to the camp with me. What I should have done was print pictures of Jeff and me for the kids to keep. It's not like I am going to forget what they look like in six days but Timbo might. I kidd, but man am I going to miss them.

God must know how much I am needing special time with the kids before I go because they have been acting like angels. We waited for over an hour and a half at the store and they were so good. We strolled over to the photo center were I waited impatiently, oh wait I mean patiently, in line behind another couple. It's sad to say but this is only the second time I have had photo's printed of Timbo, so I couldn't wait to see them. I finally make it to the head of the line and she asks me for my copyright photo release.

"My what?"

"Whenever you make copies of professional photo's you have to have a release from the photographer."

"But these are my photo's."

"But they look professional so I have to have a release."

Now I am getting a little mad, "But I (jabbing myself in the chest) just took the pictures yesterday in my living room"

We just stood there looking at each other and then she went off to get some paper. She had me sign something saying that I the photographer was releasing my own self to copy my own pictures. Crazy. I just stood there the whole time shaking my head while I filled it all out.

I guess I could take it as a complement.

Just wanted to share some pictures I took this afternoon. I should be packing and cleaning but this was more fun. I always avoid doing the necessarily when I am overwhelmed.

I love my kids

In seven days I was at the zoo three times. Is there some kind of award for that?

No?

Maybe there should be. We went on Monday and after being there for four hours I was ready to pack it up and go home. The response that I got....... "But Mom, we haven't seen anything yet!"

Here are some things we didn't see

This is Betty the snake. Kati literally climbed over me to get away, but she didn't see it.

Here is Domino, who is six years old but I don't know how I know that since we didn't see that either.


This is Mack who says his name is Barbara.

(I wish I could have someone push me around all day while I propped my feet up.)

Here are some other things we didn't see

penguins

otters

We also didn't see Kangaroos, Gahril, various reptiles, bears, tropical fish, Jaguars, bald eagles, coyotes, bats, insects, and a mountain lion. Clearly you can see why they were upset to be leaving.

Just in case your day wasn't complete, here is a Silver Back Gorilla eating his own barf.

Date Night

Life gets busy with three kids and at times ya don't get out much. Around here "gettin' out" usually just means a trip to Wal-mart so when I planned our bought the tickets for our special date you could just see the gleam of excitement from Jeffrey's eyes.

Not really.

I kind of want to be vague about things to protect any hint of where we may or may not live but we went to a place to eat. And eat. And eat. Lots of food. A pregnant girls dream, which I am not (I just thought I would rub a little salt in the wound).

When we first got there we had to make a long walk across the parking lot and along the way I felt so light and bubbly looking at all the other happy people. We were one in our love for food and music. It was going to be so fun! And then I walked inside and thought "What have I got myself into?" I don't like crowds and there were people all around us. I also don't like to stand in lines because someone I don't know might touch me or I might feel their body heat. There were lines every where. If it hadn't been for the price of the tickets I might have booked it but instead I just stood there looking overwhelmed. So of course Jeffrey took charge and lead my throw the crowds of people and got us started. I am ever grateful for his ability to take charge.

Jeff and I decided to be adventurous and just try everything, wither we thought we would like it or not. The first place we stopped was a hit, but you can't really go wrong with a quisadilla can you? The next stop had some cold concoction with shrimp, avocado, and raw tomato, all things I hate. Big surprise, even though you put it in a pretty glass it's still gross.

We had other things like cake, fondue, lamb, creme brulle, what I thought was Susi but maybe not, sweet potato chips, key lime pie, some kind of cheese that was like eating glue, and many other things.

I wish I had a picture to share with you all but who wants to look at that. It was so dang hot by the end of the night or clothes were sticking to us. And plus my make-up had just melted clean off.

My boys

LOOK AT MY BABY

The weening war

**Warning**
**Okay boys, I know y'all have been to war and can handle all kinds of things, but before you proceed with this post, be warned, it does involve nursing so feel free to click away**

We leave for camp in a little over a week. And although I am excited about a chance to bond with the youth kids it is killing me to leave my own children for a week. I have never been away from them for that long and certainly never that far of a distance from them. I know they will be in good hands and that I am also only a phone call away, but that's just it, they are not my hands and a phone call just isn't the same. A break from wiping bums and tying shoes is nice but a mommy never needs a break from sloppy kisses and Lego towers. Oh how I will miss them.

And Timothy. A week in baby time is forever. Who knows all the things he could learn to do in one week. The little guy is cutting three teeth, two on top and one on bottom. The bottom one is shinning out now but those two top ones are taking forever. By the time I come home he will look like a different baby. And the walking..... He is trying. He has taken about five steps or so and from time to time he tries to take off on his own only to stumble and fall with a big smile on his face. I am sure he will get it just right while I am gone and I will miss it. The worst of all is the weening. He is so angry. He screams and slaps me. We are down to only twice a day now and that's good but it's killing me. Truth be told if we weren't leaving for camp I probably would have nursed longer than a year. Eventually Jeff would have said that it was time to stop and I would have resented that, so it's probably better this way. You can't really be mad at a camp, so it works out that I have no one to blame. I know that I am the one making this choice but it's hard. He is my last baby. I will never get to do this again.

Unless you have nursed a baby I don't think you can truly understand this. For me it is like an extension of pregnancy. I am sustaining life. I am giving my child something that no one else can give them. Those are bonding tender moments. My Katibug was our noisy eater and unless you ever heard her eat there is no describing it with words, only sounds. She took large gulps. It was nearly impossible to nurse her privately in church. She also would hold onto my bottom lip sometimes. Who knows what that was about. Maybe she wanted to eat in peace and quiet but let me tell you getting a cut on your gums hurts. Those little tiny baby nails are sharp! Brendon on the other hand wasn't noisy he just wanted to know that it was available at any moment, where ever and whenever he wanted it. I kid you not, on his first three night home he would cry as soon as I got all covered up after nursing. He didn't even want to eat anymore he just wanted to know that he still could if he so choose. As he got older he held onto my bra while he ate. What I thought were tender cuddling holds have now become clear to me. I think they were really about making sure he ate until he was full. If you know my Bear then you know he is never full. Now my Timbo is different. There are no cute sounds or holds, the boy just can't be still. As soon as he had control over his limbs he began swinging his feet while he nursed. And swinging. And swinging. And swinging. When we sideline he likes to try to lay on his belly and put his hiney in the air and when I sit up he thinks he need to sit after a while himself. Never still. If this is a sign of things to come then I am in trouble. At least we will have found someone to give Bear a run for his money.

I am not looking forward to the very last time I nurse him. It will be bittersweet. There will be freedom but much will be lost for me. I will cry knowing it's my last time. Knowing that this stage of our lives is over. No more pregnancies. No more nursing. No more babies.

Boys will be boys

We had our own mini-episode of Cops tonight, up at the church. It was nothing major really, but still breaking the law none the less. After an evening of swimming at a youths home we headed back to the church and two of our boys got a little rambunctious in their cars less then a quarter of a mile from the church. The officer might have even over looked it but I think seeing them pull into an empty parking lot compelled him into action. He pulled out from the apartments and sped by us. We then pulled into the church parking lot to swirling red and blue lights and were met by more cars of on looking youth. The officer threatened jail and delivered a ticket. One of the boys was quit lucky really, considering he doesn't have a drivers license (we didn't know that).

Brendon declared that "racing is not bad" but fun. And truth be told, if this were just eight years ago my bleach blond Jeffrey would have been one of those boys getting a ticket.