Check this out...

This is WONDERFUL!
Battle Hymn

Basketball...

We won our first game last Thursday... it was a pretty good game too - except that the coaches put in three 6th graders and never pulled them out so the upper classmen hardly got to play! I am SO PISSED at how the season is going so far... then - last night - the 2nd game of the season and they only play Bubba 2 quarters of the "B" game. So, of course - he thinks he is going to get to play in the "A" game... WRONG!! Not ONE SECOND!!! He came home in TEARS and now he wants to QUIT! I could understand if we were going for something like a state championship or something... I mean - I realize that those 6th graders are good... one of them IS a better player than Bubba - the other two are NOT though!... AND - this is MIDDLE SCHOOL!! This is were they learn to play - and you don't learn to play by sitting on the bench!!! Bubba is planning on talking to the head coach today at practice... and then we shall see... something had better change - or they are going to have a lot of ticked off parents!

UPDATE:
One of the coaches basicly told Bubba that he hasn't been playing because he was not making it to Saturday morning practices... Well - in KS they can not make weekend practices mandatory for middle school and there can not be any punishment... since Bubba has been going deer hunting every Saturday he has not made it to the practices... *sigh* not sure what to do with that one...

Tonight Starts Basketball Season...

Well - football went well... much better than I had thought it would... Bubba has always HATED football, but now... well... looks like we will have another sport to follow until he graduates! :) But, now it is on to basketball - his FAVORITE sport... I'm not sure what to expect... he did really well last year, but I'm not sure he has mastered coordination with this growth spurt he has been on... I guess we shall see later tonight! :)

Prayer

(I don’t know if Paul Harvey really said this – but if he didn’t – he should have...)


Paul Harvey says:

I don't believe in Santa Claus, but I'm not going to sue somebody for singing a Ho-Ho-Ho song in December. I don't agree with Darwin, but I didn't go out and hire a lawyer when my high school teacher taught his Theory of Evolution.

Life, liberty or your pursuit of happiness will not be endangered because someone says a 30-second prayer before a football game. So what's the big deal? It's not like somebody is up there reading the entire Book of Acts. They're just talking to a God they believe in and asking him to grant safety to the players on the field and the fans going home from the game.

But it's a Christian prayer, some will argue.

Yes, and this is the United States of America , a country founded on Christian principles. According to our very own phone book, Christian churches outnumber all others better than 200-to-1. So what would you expect -- somebody chanting Hare Krishna?

If I went to a football game in Jerusalem, I would expect to hear a Jewish prayer.

If I went to a soccer game in Baghdad, I would expect to hear a Muslim prayer.

If I went to a ping pong match in China, I would expect to hear someone pray to Buddha.

And I wouldn't be offended. It wouldn't bother me one bit.
When in Rome...

But what about the atheists? Is another argument.

What about them? Nobody is asking them to be baptized. We're not going to pass the collection plate. Just humor us for 30 seconds. If that's asking too much, bring a Walkman or a pair of ear plugs. Go to the bathroom. Visit the concession stand. Call your lawyer!

Unfortunately, one or two will make that call. One or two will tell thousands what they can and cannot do. I don't think a short prayer at a football game is going to shake the world's foundations. Christians are just sick and tired of turning the other cheek while our courts strip us of all our rights. Our parents and grandparents taught us to pray before eating, to pray before we go to sleep. Our Bible tells us to pray without ceasing. Now a handful of people and their lawyers are telling us to cease praying.

God, help us. And if that last sentence offends you, well, just sue me.

The silent majority has been silent too long. It's time we tell that one or two who scream loud enough to be heard that the vast majority doesn't care what they want. It is time that the majority Rules! It's time we tell them, you don't have to pray; you don't have to say the Pledge of Allegiance; you don't have to believe in God or attend services that honor Him. That is your right, and we will honor your right; but by golly, you are no longer going to take our rights away. We are fighting back, and we WILL WIN!

God bless us one and all .. especially those who denounce Him , God bless America, despite all her faults. & She is still the greatest nation of all. God bless our service men who are fighting to protect our right to pray and worship God.


Let's make 2008 the year the silent majority is heard and we put God back as the foundation of our families and institutions. And our military forces come home from all the wars.

Football is over...

But Bubba made quite the impression on everyone at the last game of the season last night! The first THREE touchdowns for us were made by HIM! WOW! And then he ended up also making 5 of the 2 point conversions and running over 120 yards total for the game! =) I am a very proud Mommy right now! He has decided that he will play football next year - but he is not sure about in high school... I told him that was fine - it is HIS choice, but his coach can't believe it - Bubba is really good at football... but I will not push him. It drives me crazy when parents do that... :) And he LOVES basketball and that is just fine by me - you can watch it in a nice warm gym! It was SO cold last night! :(

Things to Think about...

My Dad sent me an email today with several things mentioned... but the two that really caught my eye were these -

Why is it that our children can't read a Bible in school, but they can in prison?
Why do I have to swear on the Bible in court when the Ten Commandments cannot be displayed outside?

You know - people want to know why our world is so much more violent than it was 50 years ago? Here is your reason! Until a lot of children end up in jail and DO read the bible they don't realize that there really is someone much MUCH higher than them that they have to answer to... it is very VERY sad that so many families have lost touch with God. And so many children that may never know God because their parents don't... makes me sad...

Good News is - No Cast...

Bad news is - no cast because of all the swelling! UH! So now I have the really pretty black boot on my foot... I go back next Monday to make sure everything is still lined up and starting to heal... man - this SUCKS!

How Nice is This...?

Yes - that is my leg and foot in a really pretty brace... I go tomorrow for a cast and I'm looking at 6-8 weeks of crutches. I fractured my ankle bone by falling down the stairs in my house. I have bruises and pulled muscles everywhere! I can't believe how sore I am besides my ankle! And now - it is time for a nap... pain pills are kicking in! :)

First Football Game

WE WON!!! YAY! And D had TWO touchdowns and one interception!! HECK YEAH! Not too bad for a 7th grader in his first ball game!!! :D The whole team really played really good! The final score was 44 - 26.
Here are some pix... he is number 33 -


And #42 is his best friend B that basically lives at our house... they are kinda funny to see together because D is SO much taller than B!

I HAVE A TEENAGER!!

How scary is that? I have a teen!!! NO WAY!!! I'm not old enough!!! LOL Anyway - at least he isn't acting any worse than he has been in the last 6 months... I keep telling him that puberty is eating his brain! I swear - he can't remember anything for more than about 5 seconds... pretty annoying!
But - I suppose I will live through it... most parents make it, right? =)

I have pictures from his birthday that I will post later...

My Great Grandma...

My Great Grandma was 102 years old as of June 30th. She passed away on Saturday, August 16th, 2008. It is sad, but at the same time I'm happy for her. She was always such an outgoing person. Very independent and always going and doing. When she was around 95 years old, she finally moved into assisted living. About 2 months before her 100th birthday she had a stroke and it completely changed her. She started confusing people and it was no longer "her" if you know what I mean. She would have hated the way she has been living for the last 2 years. I know she is happier now. It is still sad though...

My Soon to be Teen...

I can't believe I am old enough to have a teenager! It doesn't seem possible... but - since he is now 2 inches taller than me - I guess I HAVE to believe it! :( I "stole" a couple of pix of him last night... he is a STRING BEAN!

Sorry about the delay!

The stupid camera battery was dead... anyway...

Here are the pictures of the butterflies -

This one was actually "born" this morning...

Then - as they grow they get more color. This one was "born" two days ago. They will "eat" oranges. I haven't really figured that one out yet - but they do seem to spend a lot of time sitting on it. And the red you see on the napkin is the "left overs" from the protein they had to form into butterflies. It gets everywhere when they are hatched! -

And this is one opened up -


These are Painted Lady butterflies. When they are closed they kinda look like moths, that is part of their protection. They are really pretty when the open up! And let me tell you - it was hard to get good pictures of them without letting them loose in the house! HA!

WE HAVE BUTTERFLIES!!!

I came home from work today to discover we have three pretty butterflies in the treehouse! =) I will try and get some good pix of them later... right now they are slowly opening and closing their wings. I think they are drying them. I can't wait until V gets home tonight - he will be SO excited!!

How Exciting!

I'm off on a new business venture! :) I have started selling Uppercase Living wall words! You can view my site at jamesmarie.uppercaseliving.net and the product catalog is under "products" and then click on "idea catalog" on the right side. If you would like to place an order - let me know!! :)

Butterflies?

That is what they tell me! V is "growing" butterflies in his bedroom... it is actually quite interesting! His Uncle and Aunt bought him the "Butterfly Treehouse" for his birthday...
it is pretty neat really... after we got the "treehouse" we sent off for the "butterflies". They came in their own little cup the bottom of which is filled with food... they were little tiny when they got here and they grew really quick! They are now attached to the top of the cup to a thin piece of paper. I've tried to take pictures... not sure if you can tell what they are though!

Here they all are... 3 are in their cacoons and one is hanging getting ready to make his... then the last one is crawling around all the others...
Here is the late bloomer...
Here is the one getting ready to transform into his cacoon

Here is one of the fully formed cacoons... pretty neat! :)
I honestly think I'm just about as excited as V to see them change into butterflies!! =)

Back to School...

It is just about that time again! I went Wednesday night and bought most of the boys stuff for school... including school shoes for both of them, football cleats for D, and dress shoes for both - 5 pairs of jeans for both, and about 10-15 shirts for both. New underwear was also necessary!
And then all the school supplies... I don't even want to admit how much I spent! But - at least it is all bought now! Next is school fees! YAY! More money to spend! :D I swear - if it is not one thing it is another! LOL Oh well - it's just money! =)

Red Shirts

I received this in my email today... I don't know how long this email has been going around, but it is the first I've seen of it... I think it is a wonderful idea and I plan on wearing red every Friday from now on...

Here is the email -

If the red shirt thing is new to you, read below how it went for a man...

Last week, while traveling to Chicago on business, I noticed a Marine sergeant traveling with a folded flag, but did not put two and two together.

After we boarded our flight, I turned to the sergeant, who'd been invited to sit in First Class (across from me), and inquired if he was heading home.

No, he responded.

Heading out I asked?

No. I'm escorting a soldier home.

Going to pick him up?

No. He is with me right now. He was killed inIraq , I'm taking him home to his family.

The realization of what he had been asked to do hit me like a punch to the gut. It was an honor for him. He told me that, although he didn't know the soldier, he had delivered the news of his passing to the soldier's family and felt as if he knew them after many conversations in so few days.

I turned back to him, extended my hand, and said, Thank you. Thank you for doing what you do so my family and I can do what we do.

Upon landing in Chicago , the pilot stopped short of the gate and made the following announcement over the intercom.

'Ladies! and gentlemen, I would like to note that we have had the honor of having Sergeant Steeley of the United States Marine Corps join us on this flight. He is escorting a fallen co mrade back home to his family. I ask that you please remain in your seats when we open the forward door to allow Sergeant Steeley to deplane and receive his fellow soldier. We will then turn off the seat belt sign.'

Without a sound, all went as requested. I noticed the sergeant saluting the casket as it was brought off the plane, and his action made me realize that I am proud to be an American.

So here's a public Thank You to our military Men and Women for what you do so we can live the way we do.

Red Fridays.

Very soon, you will see a great many people wearing Red every Friday. The reason? Americans who support our troops used to be called the 'silent majority.' We are no longer silent, and are voicing our love for God, country and home in record breaking numbers. We are not organized, boisterous or overbe aring.

Many Americans, like you, me and all our friends, simply want to recognize that the vast majority of American's supports our troops. Our idea of showing solidarity and support for our troops with dignity and respect starts this Friday -- and continues each and every Friday until the troops all come home, sending a deafening message that .. every red-blooded American who supports our men and women afar, will wear something red.

By word of mouth, press, TV -- let's make the United States on every Friday a sea of red much like a homecoming football game in the bleachers. If every one of us who loves this country will share this with acquaintances, coworkers , friends, and family, it will not be long before the USA is covered in RED and it will let our troops know the once 'silent' majority is on their side more than ever, certainly more than the media lets on.

The first thing a soldier says when asked 'What can we do to make things better for you?' is 'We need your support and your prayers.' Let's get the word out and lead with class and dignity, by example, and wear something red every Friday.

Well - tonight was

the last night of VBS at my church... we held the community wide Vacation Bible School this year for the first time in around 20 years! I was the craft teacher - which fit me pretty well I think!! :) We had a really good time, but I'm very glad it is over... I'm pretty tired tonight! And tomorrow is the big demo derby here in town... *sigh* if it is not one thing it is another! LOL Next weekend starts the local fairs, which I have to work all of them... Oh well - OVERTIME!!! =D

tifn! =)

WOW! It's been a while since I was on here...

Well, we've been SUPER busy around here! D has started a bait business. Basically it gives him an excuse to go fishing all day! LOL But he is having fun and staying out of trouble, so that is the main thing... he is also making some money this week - his grandpa is fishing all week and is keeping D busy catching him some bait! :) He will be 13 in a few short weeks and that makes me so sad... he is now around 2 inches taller than me and that ALSO makes me sad! Why do they have to grow up SO FAST?!? I want to do something super fun for his first TEEN birthday, just not real sure yet what it will be... I'll come up with something though!

I am the craft teacher for VBS this week. We have 66 kids enrolled this year... I'm so tired after last night and it was only the FIRST night!! I may have to start sneaking in some naps at lunch to make it through the week! HA! Like that will happen! VBS is from 6 until 8:30 everynight this week... between that, homework, and all the new websites we are getting at work I'm just about overwhelmed! And things were going so nice and smooth for so long! I guess I should have known it wouldn't last... Hopefully next week will be somewhat back to normal... and then the local fairs start and I have to work each of them... but at least it is OVERTIME!! YAY! :D

Well, I think that is it for now... I have some new pix of the boys I need to get posted... I will try and do that one night this week...

ttyl!

We are BACK!!!

Man - now that was a busy couple of days! LOL We got back from KC around 11 Wed night (which was also V's birthday). We had only been home about 20 minutes when D starts yelling that the dogs are gone! :( So - we spent the next 2 hours looking all over town for them... we didn't find them that night - but we did finally find them yesterday at lunch! THANK GOODNESS!!! I was getting SO worried!! But - they are home safe and sound now...

D had a game last night - their second game of the tournament. His team had won the first game while we were gone to KC - they lost last night 18-2! :( The boys were just not in the game... not sure what the problem was... but they play again tonight and this team they have beat both times they played them... hopefully this will help get their spirits back up! This will mean a weekend full of ball games! *sigh* but that is OK - this will be D's last year to get to play, so I guess I had better enjoy it! :)

Vacation!

I can’t wait! Next week we are going to KC from Sunday to Wednesday for FREE! We get to go to World’s of Fun and Ocean’s of Fun, then to a Royal’s game on Monday. Tuesday we go to a Ranch amusement park for horse back riding, hay rides, go cart races, bingo and lots of other fun stuff… and we don’t have to pay for any of it! We also have all of our meals paid for! It will be so nice! ☺ And the boys are so excited! Devan is excited about the Royal’s game and Vance is excited about riding a horse! LOL Oh well – I’m just excited that we get to do all of this and we don’t have to pay for it!

16 - 2!!! We WON!!

What an awesome game! Started off the game with 6 runs in the first inning and 3 up - 3 down. And the game just got better from there. D had a nice little hit between the 3rd baseman and shortstop that ended up being a double when they had an overthrow in to home. The only thing bad about the game was the wicked lightning that started about the middle of the 3rd inning! It was crazy there for a while! We ended up winning by run rule in the 4th inning though! :D
Of course - I got pictures!

Racing...

Well - we didn't do any good racing... didn't even make it to the final race... Oh well - it was still an interesting night... we ended up driving through quite a bit of water to make it home! LOL But that's ok - at least we made it! :) Here are a few pix from the night...

And this was nice... this was Travis loosing his radiator hose... he is number 13 if you can't tell...

Schools OUT!

As of tonight I will be out of school for a month! YAY!! I'm doing pretty good so far in school... straight A's! And this class is going to end no different - I hope! So far I have a 97%... as long as I didn't bomb my final I'm good to go! :) It will be nice to have a break from classes though...

We Won!

What an awesome game! We won 6-5... that was such a back and forth game! They were ahead 0-3... We started to come back and made it 2-3... then they got 2 more runs... it was now 2-5 in the 5th inning... we had 2 GREAT hits - I believe it was Weston and then Trent - both triples! That, combined with a couple of walks and a couple of other nice hits and we were ahead! Then 3 up and 3 down in the 6th inning and WE WON! Man - those boys played just a GREAT game! :)

Now - tomorrow night it is my hubby's turn... he has a figure 8 race tomorrow night... hopefully he finishes in the money!! :)

Weekend Ball Games

Well - we lost... but the boys played really hard! Then - they turned around and played the same team on Saturday night and led the game 5 - 0 until the 4th inning! That inning was not the best one for the boys and the Conway team ended up beating us 5-8... I really thought they had won that one! Well - here is a pic of the Friday night game...

Baseball Season Again!

Well, ball season started for us again last week. This will probably be D's last year to play ball. They normally do not have a team for the older boys. But that is OK... he is wanting to focus on basketball anyway...

The first game was great! We won 10-3 and run ruled them in the 5th inning! YAY! They boys were SO excited! And I think D was happy he decided to pay. He almost didn't because they normally pulled him up to play with the older boys... so he had never played ball with these younger boys... but that is OK - he will just have to step up and be a team leader!

I didn't get any pix this game - but the next game is tomorrow night and I will get some then. :)