The Mayle Family

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY TANNEN!!!!!

2009-01-09T20:11:00.002-05:00

My baby turns one today. "sniff, sniff" I can't believe that he is one!! He is such a little stinker but we love stinkers around here. Everyone says that he reminds them of Tyler but he reminds me of Justice. I guess he is a mix of them. We didn't celebrate today so when we do I will post pictures. I know he is mine but he is sooooooo cute!!!! Happy Birthday Tannen, we love you very much!!!

2008-12-22T22:18:00.003-05:00

Since Steve will be opening a new chapter in his life or should I say we will be opening a new chapter in our lives, I will be going back to work sometime at the beginning of next year. I think I will go back to Great Lakes Home Health, which is where I was working at before I had Tannen. Only this time I will need to go back full time. Steve will be going back to school and working part time. It has been a year since I have worked outside the home so it will be a bit of an adjustment but we will manage with God's help. It is pretty flexible. Alot more flexible than most nursing jobs. I am just really thankful that we have me to fall back on. I haven't had to work since Justice was a baby & for that I am thankful. But you know, a womans gotta do what a womans gotta do!! I am excited and scared all at the same time. Anyway, Tannen is a little doll. He loves his brothers to pieces!!! He reminds me a lot of Justice. He started walking when he was 9mo!!! Justice was a little younger when he started walking. I love Christmas!!! We are suppose to get together with my in-laws, Matt & Karin, Les and Marcia, and possibly Michael & Ruth Anne. It's going to be a lot of fun!!! Larry is doing good. He has CAT scans every 3 months and so far they have come back showing nothing. So we thank the Lord for that!!! Things have been rough this year but God has been with us all the way. Thats why he came, to help those who could not help themselves. Here are some family pictures that were taken on Sun. One of Tim and Becky's family with Debbie and Larry, one of our family with Debbie and Larry, one with all of us and one of the grandkids-5 boys and 2 girls.

FINALLY a new post!!

2008-12-18T10:38:00.002-05:00

We are still alive and kicking!! The boys are doing fantastic in school. Zach made it to first grade. He started out in KG but is now in first grade. I am so proud of him. He is doing very well on his reading. The school just had their Christmas play and Dakota had the lead role. He did a great job!!
On a more serious note......as you know if you watch or listen to the news, the domestic automakers are not doing so well. And if you didn't know, my husband happens to work for one of them. As do or did alot of his family. I know that not everyone will agree with me but anyone who thinks that Ford, GM or Chrysler should go under does not really know what they are talking about. The familys that will be affected by this would be HUGE!! We are not just talking the workers who work directly for these companies but we are talking much, much more than that. You have suppliers that supply parts to the Big 3 and that is that many more people who are going to lose their houses because they have no job. This will all affect the retail as well because these workers that would have been buying tv's, game systems and the like will no longer be doing that. They will be just barely having groceries!! This will also affect those who work at the dealerships and their families. It will also affect those who have already retired. Do you honestly think that they can go out and get another job? Some are too old or even sick and that would not even be an option!! And not everything you hear on the news is totally accurate. Steve is a UAW member & for those who feel that the UAW has not given up alot should ask a UAW member what they think!! I agree the UAW has not always done things right. I know that I have stepped on a lot of toes. Please excuse my harshness but anybody who would wish that millions of people be out of a job deserves everything they get. I also agree that the automakers need to do some restructuring but it needs to start with the white collar workers. If the UAW members worked for free it would not pull the automakers out of this slump. In 11yrs the top guy has gone from $900,000 to 22 million a year!!! The blue collar workers have steadily lost things over that 11yrs. So don't tell me that the UAW is the reason for the automakers problems!! Yes, Steve does make pretty good money but compare apples to apples. They are not building $1000 seats, they are building a $30,000 vehicles. And just for the fun of it, you should look up work practices before the UAW.
Now that I have made alot of people mad, as of Jan. 1 Steve is no longer a Ford employee. For the sake of millions of families, I hope all goes well for the automakers. If you really think about it, your family may be affected, in some way, by the auto industry. I hope I didn't sound to harsh but it is what it is.
If I don't get to post before Christmas. I hope everyone has a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

So much has happened!!!

2008-09-03T21:57:00.002-04:00

Since family camp so much has happened!!! Steve finished up his truck driving class. He passed and is now a "professional driver". HA!HA! The boys started school last week. They missed the first 2 days of school because we were in Canada. We went to Canada to help at a mission in Blind River. They needed people to help split and stack firewood. I was very proud of my boys, they all worked like men. They worked just as hard as everyone else. I have pictures from that trip but am waiting for them due to the fact that I had to take them on someone elses camera. All the guys were very excited because not only did they work but they also got to do some fishing!! All the boys caught a fish. Tyler got a walleye the others each got a bass. Bro Raines took them all out in his boat. I stayed on shore with the baby. I did get to go out for a little ride in the paddle boat with Justice. We had a great time in Canada!! We worked hard but it was fun. I think I can safely say that we all miss Canada just a little.

Steve and I have been talking and praying and we think we will put our house up for sale. I think it will be a miracle if it sells due to the areas current economic condition. But if its Gods will it will happen. We have been so uncertain of many things in our life right now. Steve is still laid off and probably will not go back till at least Nov and even then we are not for sure on that. We want God to lead us and if he is leading us in a different direction we want to follow. But sometimes it is so hard to know where God is leading. There are times when I wonder is it God or just my own emotions. Some decisions we face right now could mean BIG changes for the whole family. But there was a song we sang in church tonight that said "Where God guides He always supplies". So I feel that wherever God leads you he will supply whatever you have need of. The only problem I have is knowing if it is God leading. So if you think about it pray that I or should I say we will know it is God leading us and that we will be sensitive to his directing.

Larry is doing pretty good. It is really one of those things that is up and down as far as emotionally for both Larry and Debbie. The news that was gotten at the last appt wasn't the best news but it wasn't the worst either. As far as they know they got all the cancer but the bad part is that it was still active when they went in to take it out.

I don't know, this year seems to be holding some major things for our family. There is something I heard when I was much younger and I believe it was Doug Damon that I heard say it, it was "Things are looking right for a miracle". Thats just what I keep thinking about everything that has happened so far this year. And you know what? When I really think about it, God has performed miracles this year for our family!!

This post has been rather long but I have been soooooo busy!! I'll put some pictures on of Canada when I get them and I'll put some on of the boys during the first couple weeks of school. Oh, one more thing, Mr Miller got married over the summer and his new wife has been a great addition to the staff at Bird Lake. From what I understand she is greatly missed in Alaska. I imagine that she has left a big void where she came from in Alaska but we are very happy she has joined the staff at Bird Lake. She has fit right in with everyone at school and church. I am very happy for Mr Miller. (Mr Miller is the principal of Bird Lake Bible School)

Family Camp

2008-08-14T00:37:00.002-04:00

We were at Athens Camp this past week. I had a great time. The services were wonderful. The boys had a good time also. Tannen started running a fever on mon. There was nothing else wrong as far as on the outward. His fever went to 104!!!! On tues he started not wanting to eat. I had a sore throat all last week and Tris and Paris both had strep. So I thought maybe he picked something up from us. I took him to doc on tues and he thought it might be something called roseola virus. Anyway, so it is something we just have to wait out. I think he got it from a baby at camp. At the time I didn't think anything about it but now that the doc told me that I'm pretty sure that is where he got it. Last week the other baby was running a fever with nothing else apparently wrong. The problem with this virus is that the baby can be contagious for a week or more before the fever comes and for about a week after the fever is gone. It's not that common in baby's over 1 year. None of my other boys ever had this. The doc said he sees it mostly in babys that go to daycare. Tannen is much better today. His fever is gone and he is back to eating.

Praise the Lord!!!

2008-07-30T00:49:00.002-04:00

Larry is doing fabulous!!! He is amazing docs and nurses. They said he would be in ICU for at least 2 days but he was able to leave the day after surgery and he was walking in his room by himself!! Then, they took the epidural cath out today and they expected him to be in a lot of pain but he was able to walk up and down the hall!! They got the results back on some tests that were still out and there was cancer in about 5 of the lymph nodes that they took out. They took out 27 lymph nodes, I think. He will have to go thru some more chemo but they said he has a VERY good chance of being cured. So we are so VERY thankful for everything God has done. We went to visit him yesterday and he is in very good spirits.

Larry

2008-07-25T17:41:00.003-04:00

The surgery went very well. As far as they can tell they got all of the cancer. They went in with a scope first to take a look around and see if it was worth going ahead with surgery. The cancer did not invade other organs. Naturally they can't predict the future but they said his chances are very good. He may have to have more chemo. He will be in ICU for a day or 2. It will be a long road of recovery for him but there is relief in knowing the extent of everything. Not knowing if the cancer had invaded other organs was the hard part for everyone. We are just praising the Lord for answered prayers and for being close in our time of need. We don't understand why some things come into our lives but there is comfort in knowing that God is still on the throne. They think that he has had this tumor for over a year so it is kind of amazing that it did not go to other organs. Usually with stomach cancer by the time you discover you have it, it is to late. So we are very thankful that the outlook is positive. Thanks to everyone for your prayers. I know that Larry and Debbie appreciate it dearly. He is going to be in a LOT of pain so continue to pray for him. I believe he has an epidural cath in place right now.

Happenings......

2008-07-23T14:08:00.005-04:00

One quick update, Larry will be having surgery tomorrow. So pray that everything goes well and that God will give all persons concerned strength. He will be in the hospital for about 2-3 wks. At least that is what they told us. My 2 oldest will be going to youth camp today and will stay till Sun. Cody is not really old enough to stay on his own but my brother and sister-in-law are there and they said that he could stay with them. Actually all of the boys except the baby will be staying with Tovie and Germayne tonight. That way Steve and I can both at the hospital tomorrow. I think I am a little more nervous about tomorrow than I thought. I thought I was doing pretty good but it's all I can think about today. Which I guess is pretty normal. A lot of things are on my mind of late. The boys schooling, Larry's surgery, Steve's job. So many major decisions to make and so many things uncertain. Steve is laid off right now which I guess works out ok since he is currently in truck driving school. On a lighter note I was teasing Steve and I told Germayne that it was a good thing that they were not going to be anywhere near our area cause Steve was going to be in a truck and she said maybe I don't even want to be in Michigan. I said yeah maybe not, things could get messy with Steve at the wheel of a semi. The bad part about this being laid off thing,is you have to wait weeks for your money to come in. But I guess all will work out. The issue with the schooling is the gas. I drive 160 miles per day to take them to and from school and honestly we can't afford it without God's help. My only other option is homeschooling and that is not on my dying-to-do list. The Lord knows what we should do, the problem is us knowing what the Lord wants us to do. Anyway, keep us in your prayers.

Happy Birthday

2008-07-21T11:01:00.004-04:00

I'm a day late on this but I want to say Happy Birthday to my mom. She is the best mom ever. She is a great example for me. I love you. Oh, and you have some awesome kids!! :-)

Tannen & friends

2008-07-18T11:34:00.005-04:00

This is Tannen with a couple of "friends". Left to right is Tirzah, Tannen, & Liberty. Tirzah & Tannen are a week apart. Tirzah is Chad & Adileah's baby. The other little girl is Liberty and she belongs to Destiny & Adam. I hope I spelled their names right ;-) They are so cute!!!

Favorite list

2008-07-17T22:19:00.002-04:00

The one of Justice in the stream I took but Germayne fixed it up for me the rest of these she did. These are at the top of my favorite list.

The family

2008-07-17T22:10:00.001-04:00

The one picture where you can hardly see Tyler didn't turn out right so we are going to redo it next week when they come up for youth camp.

Germayne's work

2008-07-17T22:00:00.002-04:00

The last time Germayne took pictures for us the store wouldn't let me print them out because they said they were professional and I needed her signature.

Part of our photo session

2008-07-17T21:53:00.004-04:00

Germayne took family pictures for us again while we were there. Here is just one of each of the kids. There are others and just like last time I love them all. She just has an eye for this stuff!! I know I'm there mother, but my boys are so adorable!!! Or I guess I should say handsome.

Me and my bro

2008-07-17T21:48:00.003-04:00

We're back!!

2008-07-17T21:22:00.003-04:00

It was nice to get away but nice to be home as well. We had a great time with Tovie and Germayne. I didn't get a whole lot of pictures of stuff but we went swimming, did some 4-wheelin', and mostly just hung out. Germayne and I went out for coffee one day and did some shopping. Well, she had coffee. I'm not a coffee person but she is a big coffee person. Tristen really enjoyed riding Zach's dirt bike. Just before we got down there he had a bit of an accident on someone elses dirt bike. He ran into a barbed wire fence and scrapped himself up pretty good. He had one gash on his cheek about an inch long that was pretty bad but he was a tough little guy and he got right back on the bike and wanted to ride some more. Steve almost flipped on his 4-wheeler. He said that he isn't really sure how it didn't flip on him. He was doing a jump and another guy they were riding with was in front of him and just stopped. Steve was to far into the jump to stop and he landed on his back wheels on the side of the ditch they were jumping with the rest of the quad straight in the air!! Other than that no other damage to any one. These pictures are not from vacation, they are my mom, Ward, Tristen and Paris. These are pictures that Germayne took when mom and Ward were down there. Paris is my mom's only grand-daughter.

Vacation

2008-07-05T07:19:00.003-04:00

We are leaving today for vacation to IN. My brother lives in Shoals and we are going down there to ride 4-wheelers. Can you imagine that!! :-) Anyway, Justice said good-bye to his girl yesterday. I felt really bad for the 2 of them. He might think I'm just blowin' smoke when I say I know how he feels, but I really do. I'm old but not that old, I remember what it's like to like someone so much you feel like your heart could break. If it's any encouragement to them at all, I have always wanted to go to Alaska. So you never know. In a round about way I do have family there. Ward, my moms husband, has 2 daughters that live there. Justice wanted to have Kaitlin go 4-wheelin' with us while she was here but it didn't work out. Maybe they will get a chance sometime. From the sounds of it, Kaitlin likes to ride just as much as the rest of us. Hopefully I will have pictures of vacation on here when I get back. Until then, take care. Everyone is waiting for me in the car. :-)

Bath time!!

2008-07-02T23:46:00.004-04:00

I gave Tannen a bath today and he was so cute!! He kept trying to grab the stream of water and put it in his mouth. He was trying to rub his face and he stuck his head in the water and got some water up his nose, after that he was done with the bath. Up until then he liked it.

Family Reunion

2008-07-02T23:29:00.004-04:00

We had a great time at the reunion!! I forgot my camera so I'll have to get pics off of Germayne. So when I get them I'll put them on here. It rained off and on the whole week-end but it was still fun. My mom and Ward live in CO so I don't get to see them very much and they were able to make it. We also seen a bear and her 3 cubs. That was exciting!!! She came right up behind our cabin. I guess she was looking for food. Tannen also got his first tooth over the week-end. It seems like he is doing something new everyday. He is going to crawl any day now. He gets up on his hands and knees and rocks but he doesn't have his hands and knees coordinated yet. He is growing so fast!!

Info on Larry's condition

2008-06-30T21:02:00.004-04:00

Larry was suppose to have his surgery this coming Wed. Well, he went to the doc today and he has a blood clot in his leg so they can not do the surgery. As of right now they are treating him for the clot. I don't really know anymore than that right now. I guess they are hoping for surgery in 2 weeks.

Happy Birthday to......

2008-06-11T00:49:00.002-04:00

my brother-in-law, Tim (June 10)!!! And also Happy Anniversary to Tim and Becky (June 10)!!! It's a little bit early but Happy Birthday to Larry (June 14) and Happy Birthday to Dakota (June 20)!!!! Oh, and Happy Anniversary to me and I guess Steve, too because I guess I couldn't have one of those without him :-) (June 18)!!!! And Happy Birthday to me (June 25)!!!! You know when you are a mom of younger children you have to tell yourself happy birthday because the only ones who remember are your own mom and maybe your husband. You also might have to buy your own birthday present. :-) In case you haven't noticed June is somewhat busy for us. Something I have to point out right now is that Steve's Grandma Kennedy has 7 daughters and there is 13 grandkids on that side. All of the grandkids that are married have been married in June. They are Steve, Becky, Matt, Ruth Anne, and Russell. There is 14 great grandchildren just from those five and out of that there is only 4 girls. Just thought I'd share that bit of info with ya'all.

To be a part of this Mayle family you have to.......

2008-06-11T00:28:00.004-04:00

like to ride!!! Even the little guy likes to ride. And who cares if it's a motorcycle or a 4-wheeler. I prefer 4-wheelers. I feel safer with 4 wheels under me and not just 2. But I guess it's fine for the younger ones. Over the week-end we were able to take the bikes out to my in-laws property and I was able to take the LTZ into 5th gear!! That was exciting!! It was awesome going so fast!!! Justice forfeited going 4-wheelin' to see a girl. Can you believe that? ;-) These pictures where taken in our backyard.

Memorial Day!!!

2008-05-27T23:12:00.003-04:00

We were boring for Memorial Day. Steve mowed the lawn and the most exciting thing we did was go to the hospital to visit Larry. Oh, by the way he is out of the hospital now. We did go to a picnic on Sat. that Michael and Ruth Anne Arnolds church was having. Matt, Steve's cousin, came over Sun. night and we were up till 3am talking!!!! Karin had to work which was kind of a bummer but I guess that's life. I was tired but it was fun. You know, when you have a baby you are kind of on their schedule so I was thankful that Tannen decided to sleep a little longer than usual the next morning. Justice is still in Missouri having fun, I hope. He did all of his events on Mon. except track. He did that today. I guess it was nice to get them out of the way that way he can relax and not be nervous for the rest of the week. I don't know if I already said this in a previous post but If you go to Mark and Gretchens blog from my blog she posted a couple video clips of Justice doing 2 of his performances. One more thing before I sign off. I want to say Thank You to all those who have served or are currently serving in the armed forces. With out your sacrifices and the sacrifices of your loved ones, my family and I would not enjoy the freedoms that we have today. I admire you!!

Time is fleeting

2008-05-23T20:45:00.003-04:00

BLBS left for Internationals last night after the awards banquet. I have mixed emotions as Justice is gone. I'm excited for his accomplishments but sad that he is growing up so fast. It seems that he should not be old enough to do all this on his own. The song in my play list to the right by Mark Harris called "Find Your Wings" was played at Tannen's dedication and everytime I hear it I want to cry because that is my song to all of my children. When I reflect on the life of my kids, I purpose in my heart to spend more time with them and not worry about finger prints on windows and walls and not to spend my time making lots of money. There will always be time to wash windows and walls but time with my children is all to fleeting. I realize that a person has to have money to live but that shouldn't be what it's all about. I want to take the time to take them to the park or play a game with them because the time will come when they won't want to do things like that anymore. And one never knows when our time together will be cut short. I know when they are small it seems that it will never end but it will and you'll sit back and wonder where the time has gone. Justice is only 13 and it seems that it has went so fast. In 5 years he will be graduating from high school. If 13 years has gone this fast, I'm going to blink and 5 years will be gone. So I'm trying not to blink :-) One other thing I am totally not ready for is girls!!! If you know what I mean ;-) That subject is for some other time.

Eyes

2008-05-20T20:44:00.003-04:00

So, Dakota and Tannen had their eye appt. today and we got good news all the way around. First, there is nothing wrong with Tannen's eyes. They are perfectly fine. Second, Cody gained some more with his bad eye!!!! The doc is completely amazed!!! He told me today that he expected this to be our last appt. but since Cody made more progress he said we will cont. with what we are doing and he will see him back in 5 months. Cody is 20/25 now. When we started out almost 4 years ago he was 20/60 or maybe 20/50. At that time they told me that after a certain age there wasn't really anything to be done and Cody was almost at that age. I don't think that they were certain if any progress could even be made. So the doc really did not expect for him to make so much progress. The only way to explain this is God!! What is wrong with his eye is optic nerve deformity so there is not any kind of surgery that they can do to fix this. So the only explanation IS God. I am so thankful that there is nothing wrong with Tannen's eyes and that Cody continues to make progress. On our first appt. the doc told Cody that if he ever got to 20/20 that he would buy him a shake and Cody is not letting him forget. :-)

Another update on Larry

2008-05-20T17:52:00.005-04:00

They have been doing scans and things on Larry since he has been in the hospital. They did say that there is a very small spot on his liver but they did not say it was cancer. The doc said that there is no way for them to know until they open him up. They also discovered that he has pneumonia. So he is getting abx. That explains the fever and SOB that he has been having. I got to tell you this seems like a nightmare. I wish it was and we could all just wake up and everything would ok. But the truth is everything is not ok. I hope and pray that everything turns out ok. It is really hard to say, at this point, that God knows best. I know deep in my heart that God does know best and I'm glad that he understands our humanness. It is really hard to just take your hands off and say God your will. I'm not sure why we try to hang on because there is nothing we can do anyway. I guess it is in our nature to try to fix things and when we can't it frustrates us. The only thing we manage to do when we hang on is to hinder God. I can't help but think of the dramatic dialog that Justice and Tyler Masters did for convention. The message of it was if we think on things that are pure, just, upright and of good report we become less frustrated and upset. It is when we dwell on the things that we can't do or the things that are going wrong that we become upset and angry and we start to question God. God wants us to just close our eyes and put our hand in His. He will NEVER steer us wrong or take us through anything that we cannot handle. We may think that we can't handle it but with His grace and strength we can .

Larry update

2008-05-19T23:05:00.000-04:00

Things are still pretty much the same. I just thought I would let everyone know so they aren't wondering. This hospital stay is going slightly better than the last hospital stay.

My little graduate and his goofy brothers!

2008-05-19T19:04:00.000-04:00

Zach had his little graduation thing this morning. He successfully completed the reading readiness program. That leads me to mention that I will be doing something this summer that I have never done before and I can't say as I'm really anxious to do it either. I will attempt, with God's help, to take Zach through the learning to read program. So please say a prayer for me. They had their last chapel service today and they gave out prizes to all those who sold candy bars and Justice picked out this crazy hat. So here are a few pics of some of them in the hat. I have several new posts today so scroll down to see more.

Who gave him that?

2008-05-19T18:55:00.000-04:00

The other day I was holding Tannen and I looked down and he was sucking on a marshmallow. I got on the boys case and asked which one gave him the marshmallow and they all said "I didn't give it to him". There was a bag of marshmallows on the desk and apparently he had grabbed one for himself. He had marshmallow all over his face and shirt and of course his hands. He was really enjoying that marshmallow!! I got a picture of him but at that point I had cleaned him off some.

Who's getting who??

2008-05-19T18:51:00.001-04:00

I'm not sure if Tannen is getting the dino or if the dino is getting him. :) Either way he looks cute.

Little angel sleeping

2008-05-19T18:46:00.000-04:00

Tannen looks so adorable sleeping.

another update

2008-05-17T19:40:00.001-04:00

Larry is doing better so far about eating. They did not do the NG tube. Debbie said so far today he has been eating. They are giving pain meds before he eats so that it doesn't hurt when he eats. Hopefully he keeps this up. The surgery is still on the original date of around june 16. We appreciate every prayer that is said and every person who says it. May God bless you!!

Little update

2008-05-16T22:30:00.000-04:00

I guess they have determined that the tumor has not ruptured but there is still the issue of him not eating or drinking. Steven and Becky had to get frank with him tonight. The doc gave him 2 options, eat and drink appropriatly or have the NG tube. So it is up to him. They are going to see how he does tomorrow and if he doesn't do any better then he will have to have the tube. The family is not doing well emotionally. I am doing ok if I don't think about it. Steven has always told me that I am very good at putting things out of my mind. That's not always the best thing but I guess in times like these it comes in handy. I will try to keep updated as I have time to do so.

Prayers needed

2008-05-16T18:45:00.000-04:00

Prayer is needed for Larry. For those who don't know he has stomach cancer. Debbie had to take him to the ER today because he has been running a temp. A low grade fever is normal but these have been around 102. When she took him in they said that they were just going to admit him and give him an NG tube because he hasn't been eating. They are trying to prepare him for surgery. He has lost about 30 lbs. and trust me he did not have it to lose. The doc also said that his color was not good. They may end up having to do the surgery before they expected. They don't know for sure but there is a possibility that the tumor has ruptured and that might be causing the fevers. The problem right now is that they are having a hard time getting the tube in place. They want it to go into the small intestine but so far they haven't been able to get it. They are going to try again in the AM so pray that they are successful. It was very hard on Debbie for them to keep trying and trying. Steve has been up there with her so I'm sure that helped. If surgery goes as scheduled right now it will be around June 16. We are hoping and praying that they don't have to take all of his stomach. We would appreciate your prayers as the Lord brings it to your mind. As of right now they intend to keep him in the hospital for about a week if no surgery right now. Thanks so much for your prayers.

Not to be left out..........

2008-05-14T23:13:00.000-04:00

Ok, so not to be left out I must say something about graduation since my fellow classmates have both posted a thing or two about it. It is hard to believe that it has been 15 years ago today that I graduated from Fredonia Christian Academy with Carl Damon and Gretchen (Cross) Gordon. In one instance it seems like it was yesterday and in another it seems like a distant memory. Alot has happened in 15 years. Some of it pleasant and some of it not so pleasant but mostly pleasant. One thing I have learned in 15 years is that when you are in school and you think you have it bad............you don't even have any idea of how bad it can be. 15 years later you sometimes wish that all you had to worry about was your next Chemistry or Math test. That being said, I have to say that in those 15 years I have been married to a wonderful man for 14 years (almost) and I have 5 beautiful boys. Can boys be beautiful??? I don't know. I'm pretty sure that they wouldn't want to be told that they were beautiful. Anyway, all 6 of them are my life and I love them very much. You know, things may not turn out how you planned it when you were 16 but it all works out if you put your trust in God. God knows best!!!

More pictures

2008-05-12T21:30:00.000-04:00

The boys with my Grandpa Rhoads
My cousin (Henryetta's little girl)
Zach and Tris
Paris, the only girl in the family at this point (on my side of the family)
Tannen getting ready to take his first ride on Papa's 4-wheeler.

Pictures

2008-05-12T20:53:00.000-04:00

Here are the pictures that I have been meaning to get on here. The first 2 are of Justice with his medals from convention. The other 2 are of our precious bundle of joy at around 31/2 to 4 months.

Congratulations BLBS!!!

2008-05-09T19:49:00.000-04:00

Today was the last day for State Convention. It was the end to a very busy week for BLBS. I am so proud of Justice!! As I said in a previous post that this was his first year for State Convention. He placed third in track and science engineering, second in male trio and one act play, and best of all he got first in poetry recitation!!!! All of the students did a very good job!! I am so happy for all of them. I think everyone got a place in at least one thing. I will try to get a picture of Justice and his medals on here. I have to tell you that there was a part of Justice that came out in his performances that I didn't know was in him. Justice is a serious, quiet boy but he has more drama in him than anyone would think. I know he probably thinks his mom is overboard but I really am proud of him. You know, part of this makes me sad because this is just the beginning of his many adventures where he doesn't need his mom any more. It almost makes me cry : ( But I know it would be completely abnormal if he didn't want to do and do all of these things. I guess it is just hard thinking about your "baby" growing up. I know he wouldn't want to be referred to as my "baby" but that is what he will always be, my "baby". I really don't think I am old enough to have a child that is this old. In fact, I'm sure of it. Anyway, Congratulations to all of the BLBS students that competed this week. I know God will be with you when you take it to Internationals!!!

The latest news and Happy Birthday Zach!!!

2008-04-23T20:17:00.000-04:00

It seems that I either have nothing going on or everything going on in 1 week!!! Justice has been working on projects for a state convention that BLBS goes to every year. This is his first year for this convention. He had been going to the Jr convention. Which is what Dakota went to this year. Dakota entered 11 categories and placed in alot of them. I know he got a 1st, a 2nd and a 3rd. place. Anyway, back to Justice. His convention is May 6-9 and we have been working on memorizing a play, poem, skit, dramatic dialog, and song. All together he entered 10 categories. Like I said this is his first year "running with the big dogs" so we hope he places but we won't be to disappointed if he doesn't. The cool thing about him doing a poem recitation is that Bro. Edwards is helping him do this and Bro. Edwards also taught my dad in this same area back in South Dakota probably about 35 years ago. BLBS has the best teachers anywhere and my boys do very well there. I couldn't ask for a better place for my boys to attend. They have been on the honor roll every semester!! I am very proud of them. It does take a bit of a sacrifice of both time and money for them to go there but it is totally worth it!!! I would do anything for my boys. It takes us about 50 min to an hour to get there. I am happy with the academic and spiritually influence. It is good for them to do well academically but spiritual is the most important. I want my boys to be strong spiritual leaders. If we lose our kids we have lost EVERYTHING!!! (Just had to add that little piece in.) All of the boys are on the basketball team except Zach because he is to young. They will be having there first home game in our new gym this Fri. night!!! I wish I could be there but my nephew, Tristen, is graduating from Kindergarden this Fri night and he wanted Zach and his Aunt Tanj to come so that is where I will be. Justice will be at the game but the others will be with me. It will be a quick trip as we will be coming back on Sat.

Today is Zach's birthday. My baby is 6!! I can't believe it. We will have a little party in a few days. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZACH!!!!

I've been tagged!!!

2008-04-23T19:37:00.000-04:00

I have been tagged by Gretchen, silly girl!!!

What was I doing 10 years ago?
I was in my early 20's and my second baby, Dakota, was 10mo. Other than that my memory is fuzzy :)

To do list today
Since my day is almost over, help the kids finish up homework and get them in bed.

Snacks I enjoy
Well, Steve would say anything with sugar in it. I wouldn't say anything but pretty close to anything with sugar in it.

If I were a billionaire
I would pay off my house and stuff
Give to BLBS to finish the building project
Give to missions, specifically Native American
Put some away for my kids
Pay off my mom and Ward's debts
Pay off my in-laws debts

My worst habits
Changing my clothes 500 times before I go with the outfit I had on first :)
Not hanging up my clothes promtly

Places I have lived
Nebraska
South Dakota
Indiana
Arizona
Michigan
I think that's it

Jobs I have held
babysitting
cleaning in a nursing home
Little Ceasars
Taco Bell
bakery
nurse
Best of all a MOM!!!

I would like to tag Melanie and Lydia.

God working

2008-04-03T21:09:00.000-04:00

I just wanted to Praise God and share with you all how He is working in our family. As most people know my father-in-law, Larry, was diagnosed with cancer at the beginning of March. As you can well imagine it threw everyone for a loop. I just wanted to share that even in the midst of all that our family is going thru, God is still working and He cares so much about our problems. Even when we feel like God is no where in sight and he has forgotten about us, He comes to us with a peace and reassurence. He is still in control!!! I can see changes in both Steve and the boys. I can see real spiritual growth in everyone. God has really been working in the lives of my boys and Steve and I. Sometimes as busy moms we don't always get to pray like we would like to but I believe God understands our situation on moms. Being a mom is the greatest calling of all and the biggest responsibliliy. Sometimes I feel like I haven't even prayed or I feel like I am praying here and there all day long. But as I said God understands and hears our prayers no matter where or when we say them. Justice came to me the other day and was asking me about spiritual things that I know I was not even thinking about at his age. But it made me happy that he is wanting to please God and do what He wants him to do. Tyler also came to Steve and I last night and was crying and said that he was worried about his soul and he wanted us to pray with him. We prayed together and I feel that God really helped him. I am very proud of my boys and they are good boys. I often get compliments on them when we are in public and it is not really anything that we have done but God has helped Steve and I. Sometimes I panic as I think of raising my boys and I hope I have done the right thing. I pray for guidance everyday because I have no idea what I am doing. My kids are far from raised and by no means are they perfect but I pray that they will all give their hearts to God and always do His will. I am for sure not perfect and sometimes when we get those compliments I think "HA, yeah right, you should live with them." They are normal boys and I wouldn't have it any other way. My prayer is that we continue to let God do His work in our lives. And that we will be open to his will always.

The dentist

2008-04-01T18:37:00.000-04:00

Zach had to have a tooth pulled today. He was such a tuff little boy. He didn't even cry. It was more dramatic for me!!! Even the dentist said, "Mom, you have a tuff little guy there." I guess you have to be tuff when you are the 4th out of 5 boys. Anyway, I was really proud of him!!! I tried to get Steve to go in with him but no, he is apparently to ill. Poor guy I have picked on him enough. Well, now the tooth fairy can come for Zach's tooth. The kids always like for the tooth fairy to come.

Men and sickness

2008-03-31T09:45:00.001-04:00

Ok!! Does anyone agree with me that men are big babies when they get sick? Steve is now sick and you would think it is the end of the world. Not to float my own boat but I am driving kids to school taking care of a baby and everything else that needs to happen in my day all with a 101 temp, sore throat, headache and by whole body aching. He is just laying in bed saying "I'm not doing well." Well, no duh, take some tylenol but no he would rather suffer I guess. So I say don't complain to me if you are not going to take medication to help. Anyway, maybe I'm a mean wife and I'm being to harsh. No, seriously, he probably is bad off.

I did it!!!!!!!

2008-03-30T21:48:00.000-04:00

Thanks Gretchen!!! I tried this before but you know what I did wrong? I didn't check the accept terms box and that is why they didn't load. I am so happy now!!

These are some of the pictures that Germayne took for us. I told her she should start charging for this. Not me of course but everyone else. Anyway, I think these are awsome pictures!! I have my own personal photographer. She is available by appointment only. Just kidding!! She has done pictures for people down where she lives and they turned out excellent!!!

Our Trip

2008-03-30T15:52:00.000-04:00

We went to Indiana last week-end and we had a good time. My Aunt Henryetta and my Grandpa came up from Kentucky and we had a cook-out on Sat. night. James, my uncle, will be going to Iraq in April or sometime around there. I must have picked up something while I was down there because the day after we got back I ended up with Strep throat. It was pretty bad. It's not fun being sick but it is especially not fun when you still have to take care of your family and get them back and forth to school and get up with a baby!! But I made it and all is well with me now.

This week-end Tovie and Steve had a board meeting to attend so we were out at Athens Camp on Sat. Steve's coming up in the world, he is on a board. LOL Some of us got together and went to the mall. That was fun!! There was 4 moms and 11 kids!! Almost half were mine.

Before I forget Germayne took some pictures of our family last week-end and they turned out really good!! So good in fact that Wal-mart wouldn't let me print them out without having her permission on paper. That was kind of crazy. I have put 3 on here. I am absolutly in love with all of the pictures!!!

By the way, I am trying to figure out how to put pictures in my post area and have not been able to figure it out. So if someone could help me out please do. Thanks in advance.

This week-end

2008-03-18T17:26:00.000-04:00

We are hoping to go down to my brothers house this week-end. He lives out in the middle of no mans land. The very first time I went to his house I thought that the road they live off of was his driveway. The longer we were on it I thought "WOW, he has a long driveway." Then I realized, after we turned into the real driveway, that we had been on a road. Anyway, I could go on about living in the sticks but I'll leave it be for now. Seriously, they live in a nice secluded area. I sometimes envy it until I want to go shopping. I can't wait to see my family. Tristen, my nephew, said he was going to get married, pack up his toys and move to Michigan with his Aunt Tanj.

New to blogging

2008-03-18T11:52:00.000-04:00

Since I am new at this I am still trying to figure some things out. I am going to try to put some pictures of my boys on here. For those of you who do not know, we have 5 boys. Well, I have 6 if you count Steve. HA HA