Ava's "Meclipse"

Ava came home frome school the other day with a picture of her "meclipse".  Apparently they had learned about the lunar eclipse that was available for viewing the night before.  She explained how the moon was all covered and red.  I didn't even know the eclipse was happening.  When Micaela came home I asked her if she knew it was happening and why didn't she tell me?  Apparently she did in the car on the way home from basketball.  Sadly, we will not be able to view another lunar eclipse until 2010.   I started thinking about all the other things I'm missing out on because I'm just not paying attention.  All the moments with Micaela, Izzy, Ava and Brandon that won't be repeated in two years, or ever.  We're working on seeing the hand of God in our lives as a family this year and I think one of the keys for me is to pay attention.  Too often I'm busy and preoccupied and miss out.  Last week we drove to soccer practice and I was busy and annoyed that I had to drive that far.  Izzy and Ava were doing "twirling" on the grass until they fell down giggling.  Ava stumbled over to me and pointed out the gorgeous bright orange sunset that she thought made the sky look like it is "fired up".  Something I was too busy being annoyed to notice.  I often complain about Ava's ability to demand my attention but maybe that is exactly what I need.  One more example of the hand of God in my life.

Do ALL THOSE children belong to YOU?

3 tanks of gas:  $300.00

6 meals at fast food restaurants:  $180.00

800 diet cokes:  $800.00

500 snacks:  $500.00

Detour into New Orleans:  $50.00 and one more hour in the car

30 + hours in Big Red with 6 children:  -$600.00 (Factoring in future trips to the therapist)

12 movies (including multiple playings of RV):  $240.00

A drive through Louisiana:  -$20,000 (factoring in future health related costs and years lost on our lives)

Being asked at a service station on the Louisiana/Texas line "Do ALL THOSE children belong to YOU?":  Priceless

We asked ourselves as we buckled up in Atlanta if this was a good idea and despite our better judgment, hit the road for Texas.  Alabama made us again question whether this road trip was the right move but we kept on truckin.  Once we hit Mississippi we were too far in and turning around was not an option, but it was only lunch time and Texas seemed a short distance away.  Louisiana hit us like a brick wall and we spent most of the six hours crossing Louisiana reviewing the Louisiana Purchase and drafting a letter to congress to reverse the whole thing.  "Don't Breathe In"  was our mantra as we passed refinery after refinery spitting who knows what into the air.  As we neared the end of Louisiana we tried to stop multiple places for a "snack",  Big Boob (Grand Tete), Whiskey Bay, and Rosy Butt, where we finally made our last stop.  We went into the bathroom and the girls flushed every toilet before they figured out that yellow is just the color of the water there.  We needed Grandma Nelson with us to approve bathrooms along the way!

Texas was a breath of fresh air-at least the refineries had pretty lights and we couldn't see the nasty exhaust because of the dark.  We were excited to see Nana and Papa, Uncle Mike and Aunt Gretchen and of course excited to reunite the six chicks!  The Not So Silent but deadly foursome (Jack, Stephen, Sam and Wally) mixed it up too.  Thanks to the cousins for sharing your house, your toys, and your beds.  We can't wait to see you again soon!  Some of our favorite things from the weekend were:

• Maddie's Baptism

• Abby's excellent lay up and Mike's eerily calm coaching!
• Rip stick lessons-without the need for medical attention even
• Jumping on the trampoline
• Jack's directions in the car- if only we all could hold on to the excitement to discover new places!

• Sam's reintroduction every time he came into a room-"Hey it's me Sam.  I just turned four!"
  

• Cousin sleep overs!

• The carrot race- Ava jack and sam raced to finish their "retchables" at lunch on Sunday.  They all came out winners- each getting a popscicle for their efforts.  Bribing your children to eat your vegetables with negative nutrition items- the mark of great parents!

As Isabella Turns 9

Isabella celebrated her ninth birthday in between sports practices and music lessons.  She had a great birthday and even scored a free huge piece of cheesecake from Longhorn because of Brandon's connections.  It was a fun day for her and the day I caved as a mom.  All she wanted for her birthday was an ipod shuffle-something that I have repeatedly said I am opposed to giving your children because you will spoil them rotten and they will be ruined for life, never knowing the value of hard work.  I went to the store with the best of intentions and looked at all the other, less expensive mp3 players that serve exactly the same purpose and left the store with a purple ipod shuffle.  Ironically, less than a week after my caving in, the price of the ipod shuffle has decreased by $30.  I think it's my form of "caving" tax!  Micaela also scored a hand-me-down ipod the same day.  She quickly lost access to hers after it went to school on the bus with her the very next morning.  When she came home from school and pulled it out of her pocket she simply asked "how long do I get it taken away?"  That prompted what can only be described as WW3 at our house and we are the proud parents of our first "I hate you" letter from our preteen who we thought was pretty close to perfect!  We must be doing something right!

Patriots Pain

After a perfect season of 0 losses and 6 wins I can truly say I feel the Patriots pain! At 3:00 today our team showed up to play the championship game of the season(if you can say we were not already champions)and in he end we lost 21-17.  I now actualy feel sorry for Tom Brady because I Can say Championships STINK! ( so does that Ref!!!!!!!!!!!!)  

That's the ref!!!

Alllstars

We're finally in!!!!!!!!  I think the five minutes was actually 30 but we're not exactly the smartest computer geeks in the world.  Anyway My life is pretty simple Basketball, Middle school, piano , violin, soccer, friends, and the Wii.  Well mostly basketball where the regular season ended with a perfect record for our team and I'm now playing on the all star team for Lumpkin County.  Go Indians!!Have a good one !  

   Me with my game face on!

Going Live

Despite my better judgement we have joined the blogging world.  We're still not even sure what a blog is and most days are lucky if we can get our computer to function, and by function I mean type!  Welcome to our world!  We're excited to share life in the south where the excitement of the week involves a trip to Wal Mart or Dairy Queen.  If we get really lucky, we see three or four people we know along the way.  Attending the local 12 and under girls basketball games will have you up on the town gossip for the week and at last count only 4 students dropped out of middle school this week due to illness (pregnancy) or vacation plans (jail-handcuffs and all)!  Y'all have a good one!