About Me

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Married twenty-five years to my wonderful husband and best friend. We have 3 "home-grown" kids and 1 hand-picked by God from Africa. Our life is blessed. We are a close knit family with strong Christian beliefs. Come along with us on our journey…you might have a great laugh or two.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

There are not enough books on the planet....

...to prepare you to cheer on your child, loudly I might add, (as he pees) in a public restroom FILLED with women (whom I might add are "giggling to themselves" because they have been there too)

...to prepare you to live by your 30 minute timer at home since you decided (at your wits end) that he should wear "big boy underwear" the entire day

...to prepare you on how to figure out and calculate the distance you are from a bathroom and how fast you can bolt there the minute you walk through the door at Walmart if needed

...to prepare you to sing and dance the "potty dance" NO MATTER WHAT public bathroom you are located in

...to prepare you to know and have visited EVERY public bathroom in Disneyland...but you drew the line in the sand...at "pit toilets" in Yosemite (no way, no how...a tree looked better)

...to prepare you for the incredible amount of time that you will spend on the bathroom floor..."entertaining your little one"

...to prepare you for the depths of patience that you will need to survive and I am certain it can only come from God above

...to prepare you for the road in which there is no turning back once you decide to go down it....the road of potty training

...there are just not enough books on the planet

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Yosemite...

After Disney we decided that we needed to see some of the "natural wonders" of California. So we packed up and went about 6 hours north to Yosemite National park. The children were so very excited for this part of the trip as well, because "grandmom" (my mom) was meeting us there. (She lives on the west coast)


We had rented a house inside the national park and were going to spend some much needed time together. The kids were not disappointed. My mother is a "play on the floor" kind of grandmother and she just adores her grandkids.

It was nice to slow down and see some of the beautiful things that Yosemite has to offer. They have beautiful Sequoia trees and waterfalls and overwhelming views. We hiked everyday, picnicked one afternoon and snuggled up close in the evenings and watched the Sound of Music (one of my personal favorites). We even got to see a mama bear and her cubs (from the comfort of our car...thank goodness) and a rather large coyote.


It was hard to say goodbye after four days of being together, but we are so very thankful for that time together.

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Happiest place on earth...






For the past two days we have been at (what I like to call) the "happiest place on earth"...otherwise known as Disneyland. Man, oh man, I had forgotten just how much fun you can have there.

On the first day we only went to California Disney (which is connected to Disneyland) and rode the rides there. We were able to get in early to the park and for the rest of the morning the crowds were incredibly light. There was really no waiting in lines...way too cool! We just couldn't believe it. By the afternoon, we caught an Aladdin show that would have put Broadway to shame (okay, maybe not seriously...but still VERY GOOD for a Disney production). That evening we slipped away to get dinner at the hotel restaurant (we stayed at Disneyland so our walk was very short) and returned later for the best show ever...a water and color show. It was amazing! I think I stood for 30 minutes just in awe. They use sprays of water and color and movies...oh so hard to do it justice in pictures. You just would not have believed it.

On the second day we only went to the Disneyland side. It truly is a happy place. Sure there were lots of people there...we expected that. Sure the cost of food is crazy high there...we expected that too. But the entire family had a fantastic time. I honestly think you can't be cranky there. You should have seen my husband spinning (as fast as he possible could) the tea cups in Fantasyland with the biggest grin on his face. I thought for sure that I would have 4 sick kids after that...but noooo...they wanted so much more. We rocked, rolled, spinned, plummeted and swayed our way all the way through until we shut the lights off for them at the end of the evening. It was the happiest place on earth...

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Sea World...

I have one word to describe our trip to Sea World...phenomenal. The shows are just phenomenal. I'll be honest and tell you that I really had no idea what to expect here. I kind of thought it would be like going and looking at a lot of different kinds of fish in aquariums and such. But, no way Hosea...these are highly elaborate shows with choreographed animal tricks, jokes and lots of water. It was just amazing. I kept telling the kids as the day went on...okay, that one was my favorite...no, that one was my favorite. Who would of thought it?

For example, they have a show with all different kinds of animals (dogs, cats, birds, pigs, kangaroos, etc.) that is seriously funny. The animals do incredible stunts, intertwined with wonderful humor. For example during one part of the program, they had a large group of black and white cats running from some other animal and then they ran into a large white milk canister. Two seconds later out popped a large group of just plain white cats...too clever.