So this is why you get married.

Sometimes I lose track of the big picture. We had a particularly stressful day, lesssons dragging along, oldest child remembers NOTHING of the the last 8 years of education, youngest child is sick in the bed ,and middle child........well... thank heaven for the middle child. A day when everytime that you walk into the room, that laundry pile has gotten BIGGER, and those floors STILL haven't been cleaned. So. It was that kind of day. The kind of day that Satan uses to pull the rug from beneath my feet. To cause me to focus on MY abilities (or lack thereof). The kind of day that makes you want to pull the covers back over your head. I am ashamed to see how easily that I am discouraged.

But that's why I have been given a partner in this adventure. This is when Race steps in and reminds me why we chose this route. He reminds me of the big picture. How when we started down this road it wasn't to produce -fill-in-the-worksheet scholars. We were aiming for the "whole child". To train their hearts as well as their minds. To teach them to THINK on their own. To prepare them to be used by God in whatever way that he sees fit. Because that is our responsibility. And ours alone. And THAT is a big job. And it is one that I am not able to do..... on my own. It is only through God's wonderful grace, and that alone, that success or fulfillment will come.

And Race reminds me that a 13 yr old squirming over theology.....isn't such a bad thing. That a boy who would rather play baseball than do algebra should bring a sigh of relief. And he reminds me that we have great kids. That as PEOPLE they are truly great. They LIKE to learn new things, they are funny and compassionate. They meet new challenges head on. They are well rounded. And they love the Lord.

So. Thank-you Race. Once again you have brought the perspective that helps keep this ship sailing. Thanks for reminding me that this is a marathon and not a sprint.

Savannah and I met Thom yesterday after I got my hair cut, (good cut, I'm happy). We got coffee and chatted for a bit. She is looking quite spiffy with her new found weight loss. Go Girl! We are at the 9 day count down till the beach. I am still doing my work outs. I realized last night that I have been working out close to 2 hrs each day! Abs in the morning, and then switching around at night with different tapes. That is TOTALLY a record for me. But I will be glad when it cools off a bit and I can start running. Sometimes it just seems so much easier to just throw your shoes on and get out the door, kwim? Now....if I can just keep at it, and not sputter out in a few weeks!

Have a great day!
While you're kissin on those babies, don't forget to kiss your spouse too!
Melissa

Allow me to make a few introductions of some of my frequent commenters. Anniesue is one of my college room mates. This poor gal had to put up with me for my entire freshman year of college. Poor, poor girl. (But we did have fun.) She is sweet and good natured, and has a lovely family.

Bridget is a friend from my private, ultra-oppressive ,independent Baptist high school. She escaped before I did, but she helped get me through the early years. We haven't been in touch much till now, but she seems like she is really making it all work with her husband and family. It's great to hear from her.

Lynnette, (waving here) is the wife of one of Race's college room mates. I have only met her once in person. But she is a hardworking gal who is full of personality (and who should be blogging nudge, nudge). She and her husband Greg have a beautiful family.

I have the funniest story to share as sort of a blast from the past. Race's roommate Greg and I dated very briefly. On Easter he had gotten me some roses and a chocolate bunny. Now. The funny thing was that I never knew anything about the chocolate bunny until after Race and I were married. You see, Greg had placed the bunny in the fridge in their dorm room; Race comes in, sees the bunny, and promptly bites off the head and places it back in the fridge. So.....I got the roses and was thrilled! But here's the kicker dear friends and readers........I married the guy that ate the head!!!!!! What does this say about me????? (Feel free to correct me on this story Lynette and Greg). And having lived with Race with for the last 15 years (o.k., at least PART of the last 15 years), I KNOW Greg must have been a saint!!!!!!

Nerf guns have once again invaded our home. We have nerf guns of every shape and size, including the behemoth, bazooka style one. I don't even notice anymore, when I walk throught the house with the laundry and accidently walk into the cross fire. Race gave the little one a few points on room entry, and he is nearly invincible. Last night as I was tucking everyone in, I heard myself say, "Put the guns DOWN, and get under your covers." It was then that I realized that I had fallen for the oldest trick in the book. I walked right into an ambush. Both boys pull out Nerf guns from under their beds. I sailed outta that room with about 30 darts nailing me all over. They ARE amazingly accurate. Not to worry though, eventually they will lose all the ammo. Savannah has learned to horde ammo in her room. The boys are then at her mercy as they try to outdo one another to be awarded the extra foam darts. Smart girl.

Well, I'd better get going today. I am painfully aware of almost every muscle in my body right now. OUCH! My body is rebelling against sculpting!

Have a great day!

What she said:

Check out what Dy is saying over at Classic Adventures. She has articulated so well my own very scattered thoughts and murmmerings on most short term "missions". I would add that this flows over into a world view that is desperately lacking in many of our churches and missions groups today. Check it out!

Race left for the big city at o' dark thirty, and I am off and running this Monday morning....(or, trying to be).
Our Sunday was wonderful. Race really liked the church, (yay!), we ate a nice leisurely lunch out, and then later that evening, we all went to a baseball game. We had a blast. Nothing like a good game on a Sunday. I realized what an unusual (freakish) family we must be to onlookers. Let me explain: We really loathe most current country music. REALLY. And please note the word "current". I grew up on Waylon and Willy and my dad still likes to play Hank Sr. loudly at home. So, don't go emailin' me, I LOVE country.....but I HATE NEW COUNTRY. Anyway, at the baseball game they started playing the song "What I like about Sunday" by Latest Guy To Wear Cowboy Hat. This is just TOO much for my family. We try to ignore it at first, but it's just too much. Race starts making the new lyrics, the kids join in, and we were just howling in no time. Right there, in the front row on the first base line. I don't remember the finished product, but I am sure Jack will be singing it today, as it contained the words "cuttin'cheese" (thank-you, Race). On that same note, have you seen that new Fruit o' the Loom commercial that pokes fun at country music? Now THAT's funny!! So, I use that to comfort myself because there must be others out there who share our somewhat unique (yes, unique, that's it) sense of humor. Right?
The next two weeks are going to be quite busy. School lessons have kicked into high gear, and I am requiring much more out of the kids. I think (no, I know) that I had been guilty of letting them slide a bit without realizing it. I had lessened my demands out of sympathy for them because their dad had been gone so much (as it is a well known fact that I am NOT the fun parent). So, without realizing it, I was letting them slack................ and not doing them any favors. So we have raised the standards back to their appropriate place, and guess what? They work hard to achieve their new goals, and in return feel so good about their accomplishments. I learned a BIG lesson here.
In other news we only have 2 weeks till we converge on Emerald Isle, N.C. for a week of R &R on the beach with my family. I am currently trying to kill myself with The Firm work out tapes. Have y'all ever done these? These are so hard. I am doing an Abs tape each morning and then alternating the upper body, lower body and cardio each evening. I haven't been able to move in a natural manner for about 3 days. I don't need to lose pounds, I need to tone. We'll see how my desperate attempt to not-look-disgusting on the beach, goes.
I was lamenting my approaching birthday to Race last night, while he was busy getting all of his gear packed up (meaning, he was BUSY, he wasn't really wanting to listen to this) and the end of the conversation went like tins:

Me: Man, honey, I just feel SO OLD (whine).....
Race: (In rapid machine gun like manner, while moving about the room packing and making no eye contact) "O.K. , Hon- you're not old. You're hot. When we're old, you'll still be hot. Then we'll be hot together."(leaves the room with packed bag).

Hey- that's all I need (shrug). It's good to have him home *smile*.

Y'all have a great day!
Melissa

Yikes, that was fast!

WOW! Is it Friday already? Race got home, (turns out he got "Top Johnny Bad Ass"*gush*) and although the original plan was that he would have to go in for debriefing for the rest of the week, he ended up getting some extra time off. So, we have all been busy, busy.....just being a family. It has been a great week. Not one exciting thing has happened, and that's been just great!
Race and the kids are in the other room watching Savannah's favorite movie, "The Phantom of the Opera". And don't let him fool you, Race is a huge sucker for a good love story. I remember the first time that I had him watch the BBC version of Pride & Prejudice with me. At the end, I said, "Oh, (sigh) I want to marry Mr. Darcy", and he said, "What are you talkin' about? *I* want to marry Mr. Darcy!"
I have been bent over my big kitchen calendar trying to plot out all of the activities for the fall. Savannah is taking ballet and modern dance as well as a theatre class. Jack is taking martial arts and playing fall baseball. Austin is doing martial arts, jiu jitsu, and of course fall ball. It seems like a lot, but I don't feel like any of the kids are over committed. Jack is doing a bit more than I would prefer at 8, but he really seems to thrive on the activity. The other two just seem to have hit an age where trying out new skills and talents is what they are driven to do. I am thankful that we have the means to support it right now.
In other news in our home, Austin now has the book "Eldest" in his possession, and is reading feverishly. Savannah finished the latest book in the "warriors" series, and now must wait until 2006 for the next one. She is busying herself with good 'ole Nancy Drew for now. Good beach books.
Well, you can mark this phrase among the list of things that I never thought I'd hear myself say: "Hey...now.., wait-no. wait. No more snakes at the breakfast table." To which Jack replied, "But Mommmmm...he's Famileeeeee!" (sigh)
I will try to post a bit more, but I've gotta fight for the computer now that Race is home! Y'all have a great weekend!
Melissa

What a great weekend!

Because Mom and Dad’s house is filled to capacity with other family members, the kids, Thom, and I have been staying at the beach house, (they really had to twist our arms). Last night, Q came back with us to spend the night. This was his first big sleepover with his cousins. He was such a little trooper, and hung right in there with the big kids. There was screaming, and laughing, and running, and hiding. Then…(insert scary music here)…..it was bedtime. That’s when it got hard. When I went to bed at 11:30, Aunt Thomasina was on one end of the sofa reading, and little Q was snuggled under the covers on the other end, drawing pictures. He finally went out around 12:00. Not bad for your first time away!

Today, Mom, Dad, Uncle Roy, Em, and the boys all joined us at the beach house. They brought steamed crabs with them. We had such a nice day at the water. Jackson caught a jellyfish, which he is keeping until nightfall to see if it glows…(yeah, everyone has told him it’s not the glowing kind, but….what do we know?)My friend Janelle and her two girls came out and played as well. We had gorgeous weather, and the kids saw a bald eagle fly over, got to watch the osprey dive for fish, and in the middle of the day, 2 swans with half-grown signets came swimming right up to the beach and the kids got to feed them..(I for one, was SURE that Thom was going to be attacked by the gander when the bread ran out, and found that thought quite amusing, but alas, he decided not to take her on).

Tomorrow, we see RACE!!! His evaluation went incredibly well, and it seems that we have some new prospects on the horizon. We will visit with my family for a few hours, before heading back to our house to regroup, catch up, and…… I don’t know…. I guess just look at each other. We haven’t done that in awhile! We have a lot to discuss, and many decisions to make in a short period of time. We are all thrilled about him coming home for a bit (though we don’t know for how long). We pray for wisdom and guidance, and of course, safety.

Talk to you soon,
Melissa

Fish Fry

On Sunday, Uncle Roy and Uncle Donald were up at 4:00 am, and out the door , headed to the pond fishing. They caught a HUGE “mess of fish”, as we say in the south (which ended up to be about 40). They cleaned all the fish, and then Dad tried out his new, huge, heavy duty, mega, fish fryer. In no time at all 15 family members sat down to fried fish, cheese grits and coleslaw. My family KNOWS how to do a fish fry!

Happy Birthday Walker!

We got to W.’s birthday bash, and all I can say is the Big W. sure knows how to throw a party! The big pool was filled with kids big and small, and the kiddie pool was filled with babies and tots, and lots of adults were milling around eating and talking. W. thoroughly enjoyed himself, as did everyone else.

Happy Birthday W!

Some Pictures From The Road

pit stop.

Goofin' Off!

Stopping en route (literally) to take in the scenery. This was seconds before I realized the sound that I was hearing was the huge 18 wheeler that I had passed miles back, lumbering it's way up the road. Just after the picture was taken, I yelled, "Quick! It's the truck! Load up!"

The scenery

A heads up

I have been getting a ton of unwanted spam in my comments section lately, so rather than not accept annon. comments, (Mom, Aunt D.), I am trying the word verification thing. So, please just type in the the little word that it asks for, and *hopefully* this will put an end to my commenting woes! So, please, keep commenting!!

Those blasted cookies!

O.K., panic averted. I could not log in for 24 hrs, because *somehow* my computer settings had been changed, (Read: Kids had lap top in their hotel room for 2 days).


Hey! We’re back! But not for long……we’re not even unpacking the suburban! One load of wash, and all clothes go back into their respective backpacks by this evening. Gotta hit the road again in the morning, for the big birthday soirée’ for W.

I go away for 2 days, and Dy and Zorak just up and buy a house! Sheesh! Lol! Congratulations guys!!!

Anyway, about our trip. It was Sooooo worth it! The kids did lessons for their first half of the trip, but put away the books after lunch. We were in awe of the breathtaking scenery, and that more than made up for the extra hour of driving. When we arrived, the meaning of “small town” took on a whole new meaning. And I LIVE in a town with one stop light! We got settled into our adjoining rooms in the Middle of Nowhere Hotel (which was surprisingly nice, but had no internet access), and then headed out to the pool. About 1 hour later, a caravan of dusty, rental minivans (one curiously shot all to heck with simunitions paint!) came screeching into the parking lot. We watched as the doors flew open on each one and out piled what at first glance, looked like an army of Race’s.(And they were all looking at US, so we kept thinking we were seeing him!) Apparently Johnny Bad Ass School has it’s own unspoken uniform. The last van flew in and it was Race! We were all so excited to see him again! Race and the kids swam, then A. got out his glove and Race’s catchers mitt, and they threw the ball awhile. At dinner time, we went to eat at the, again, surprisingly upscale restaurant in the hotel. The other guys from J.B.A. school were all in the lounge. Race introduced me and we laughed and chit-chatted very briefly…and.. THAT. WAS. IT. Race spent the rest of the time making sure no one from J.B.A. school saw us for the rest of the visit. *Let me explain* You see all through the Military , the police stuff, the countless TEAMS over the years, Race has always lived by the familiar old adage, “You can trust em’ with your life, but ya can’t trust em’ with your wife!” (snort) He has always kept us sequestered away from these guys. Other military guys would ask him, “Hey, don’t you have a wife?” and he would answer, “Yeah, but YOU’LL never see her.” (And so it is among the males in the animal kingdom.) LoL! So, true to form, we spent all of the rest of our time with Race and Race alone, which was exactly the way that we wanted it. He is doing great, and he kept telling the kids how proud that he is of them. They got a chance to fill him in on the latest happenings in their lives. He was truly grateful that we had come, and it feels good knowing that we really are making this all work. I am very, very thankful.

We should be picking up Race next week some time, and what will happen from there is anybody’s guess. So we will all await the next chapter. We are looking forward to seeing the family this weekend. Uncle Roy is at Mom and Dad’s with his loud little dog. They got in from Louisiana last week, and we can’t wait to visit with them. Thanks so much for all of the well wishes and prayers.
And a HUGE “thanks” to Thom for offering to pick up pizza (for us, not her, she’s dieting) on her way out to our house this evening. Thank-you! Thank-you! from one tired sistah!

Melissa

What a busy day!

Well, we had a day! The day started off with errand type phone calls and lessons for the kids. (My two bright spots this morning were catching up with Dy and Andree'(Races' Mom)). Then we were off to have some fun. We rounded up Thom, and the kids friends and that equals one full suburban! We headed to Putt-Putt golf & games. They did it all: Golf, batting cages, go-karts, and of course GAMES!!! The poor gal working behind the counter had pity on me, and after we had spent XX$$ on tokens, I went to pay for their golf rounds, and she just waved us on, and said, "Wow. Just go play." We had a great day, and I don't think that I have ever been around a better group of kids. They were so fun. Everyone had a great time, and I only had to reprimand Thom once..."Let someone ELSE have a turn at Dance Dance Revolution. O.K.?" (snort, just kidding) I am so thankful that my kids have made such good friends.
The rest of the day was filled with Martial Arts, Jiu Jitsu, and then Applebees for dinner. We finally got home at about 7:30 or 8:00, and saw that our AC man had come by, and left the bill on the table, and closed my upstairs windows so that they weren't rained in( He is so nice). Awesome..........except.....well, it's still not working correctly. Oh, I really don't want to have to call him again....
So, tomorrow we are off to visit Race. Can't wait! We are so excited. And guess what? The nice lady at the front desk of the hotel is giving us the same rate that Race's school is paying, so that's 2 rooms for 2 nights $200. That saved us about $100!! She's not supposed to do that, but we are Soooo glad that she did!
I am taking the lap top with us, because the kids do their Spanish on it, so maybe I will post from our location. Race will still be working during the day, so the kids and I will work on lessons throughout the morning. I am not sure what the afternoons will hold.
Oh, and before I forget, y'all have to go and read my OTHER sister Em's funny, funny post at

Me and The Guys

She cracks me up!

Have a great day!
Melissa
P.S. The kids have decided that Aunt Thom's indian name will be Laughing Snail. (if you know her, this is a perfect fit!)

Well, it turns out that the AC upstairs actually is broken. It worked for a few days, and last night, it just quit cooling. This is our upstairs unit, where the kids bedrooms and bath are. So, I meekly called the AC repairman AGAIN, and he will be out this evening, or in the morning. Seeing as it is after dinner now, I don't hold out much hope for this evening. So, the kids will be camping out down here on our main level AGAIN. The repairman, is one that we have used for about 14 years, and he is getting up in years, and recently lost his wife very unexpectedly. So, we'll wait.
Our school lessons went beautifully today. Everyone's attitude was great, and I crossed out everything on my lesson plan. And it wasn't even too overbearing, because each of the kids took short breaks throughout the day to swim, or jump on the trampoline, whatever. We will see how it goes this week as we take this show on the road. I just made a list of the books, workbooks, CD's, DVD's that we'll take with us(I believe that I shall use the basket method). I will throw in my handy dandy lesson planner, and we just might do this. We have taken school on the road many times before, but as the kids get older, it gets harder, because of the amount of stuff that you have to take. I would love to be one of those flexible mom's who can get it all done just sort of flying along looking at the big picture, but alas, that entire philosophy escapes me. It's beautiful in action, but I am not one that has ever been able to pull it off.
So, unless there is an unforeseen kink, we will leave on Wednesday and travel to meet Race. He will still be in training during the day, but hey, we'll have the evenings. We will come home on Friday in time for the boys to go to Martial Arts, and then we will leave again on Saturday morning to get to W's birthday party. I can't believe that my littlest nephew is turning 2! We will also get to see from family from LA. While we are there, which is always a treat. I am not sure when we will return, as we are hoping that Races training will be ending, and MAYBE he can ride home with us that week!
Well, hey, tomorrow should be fun! After abbreviated lessons, I am piling my 3 kids + 1 friend each, into the suburban for a day at Putt-Putt and the batting cages before Martial Arts. (We were supposed to do this last week, but it worked out better for everyone to put it off till today). Anyway, the kids are really looking forward to it, and me? Well, I am desperately trying to talk Thom into going with me!
So, all is well here. Not exciting, but well. And that's just fine with me.

Good night y'all,
Melissa

Church was great today. I am wondering how Race will like this church. The kids LOVE it. Everyone was so super nice and friendly after the service, and I already knew several of the members. The boys were whisked off immediately and Thom, Savannah and I found them in the gym with the other boys playing soccer. We let them play for a bit, while we got to visit with some of the ladies. After church, we hit Starbucks. The kids all got a treat, and Thom and I got drinks (that iced caramel machiatto really hit the spot). Then we headed over to the quaint little small town hardware store to look at the flowers for sale. I can't pass up a nursery these days! I didn't see any flowers that I needed, but I picked up a bag of Rose tone for which my roses will surely thank me.

The rest of the day has been pretty relaxing. I have done all of my lesson plans for the week, and have everything pulled together. I am waiting to talk to Race, so we can see about coming to meet him. It would be about a 4+hr drive, and the kids would take their lessons with them. We would probably stay 2 nights(2 rooms). Ugh. It adds up quick. But we will probably go anyway.

I am still really sore, and would actually rather run this evening than do that workout again. But it is SOOooo hot. I know, I know, people run in weather like this, but I think that I would surely die. But I'll get some sort of workout in tonight.

We are going to have a busy week this week. But I have found that we all function better when we are on task. So, in my thirst for balance, I have begun making lists again. I am good at following lists. It's the only way that I seem to accomplish the things that need to get done. If it isn't staring up at me from a piece of paper, begging to be checked off, well then, it's all too easy for me to let it slide. Some of the first things to go on any given day would be my Bible reading, my workout, the kids Spanish lesson, etc, etc. You get the picture. I am a calmer Mom when I can just "do the next thing". It brings a bit of perspective. So, we shall see how it goes this week.

I've got to go and run off some math work sheets, and dread my work -out for a little while!
Have a good night,
Melissa

Today was a good day. It was so hot out, that we just had to work outside in small spurts, but the front yard looks great, and the flower bed is weeded out. Other than the work that the kids had to help with, it was a Lego- athon at our home today. The Legos came out at about 9 am, and were in use until 9pm. We had to do a little shopping late this afternoon to get Jack some new church shoes. After that we decided to eat at the new 5 Guys that just opened up in town. Great burgers and fries! (Sorry Thom)

We read from "Adam and His Kin" again tonight. Am I being too much of a purist about this book? Why does it irk me a bit with some of the liberties that she takes in the story? Sometimes it just seems a little strained, or something. I don't know, but the kids like it. Jackson interrupts my reading often, with a little hand raised by his face. I stop and ask what he would like. He usually has some off the wall question. Tonight he asked, "Mom, who was the first person that God created that learned to swim?" Now, the older two get quite a kick out of my apparent facial expressions to such questions, and I always see them snickering to themselves. Tonight, Austin chimed in pretty quickly that it was "probably Adam". So, we continued on with the story.

After clean up, and the story, everyone got off to bed.
I am supposed to be accountable to my sister Thom about working out. I really need to work out. I have zero muscle and tone, and I am hanging on to those few pounds that used to effortlessly melt away. SO. I need to work out, cuz you KNOW I'm not gonna stop eating! So anyway, I did the FIRM workout tonight. 45 minutes of excruciating total body work-out. Proving to myself once again how completely out of shape I am. This should make for an interesting experience at church tomorrow, seeing as how I almost fell (seriously) down my steps tonight after the work out. How can muscle hurt THAT bad! Let's hope there aren't a lot of hymns tomorrow....all that up and down...YIKES!
Austin is still awake upstairs reading a Beckett baseball magazine, and looking at his card collection (last count over 6,000). Savannah is awake reading. Jack is going down fast. All in all it was a good day. I talked to Race tonight, and we might get to go and meet him again. Have to weigh out the $$$ though, so we'll see. Tomorrow, we meet Thom at church, and then I will spend the better part of the day relaxing with the kids and doing my lesson plans for the week. Have a wonderful Sunday,
Melissa

P.S. Thanks for the prayers Anniesue. They are so appreciated. I really am feeling better today.

What is your Indian name?

Tonight I am feeling unbelievably sorry for myself. We really miss Race.

I fixed round steaks with mashed potatoes, broccoli, and biscuits for dinner. After we did our "high-low", Someone started talking about Indians. Somehow, this led me to ask, "So, if you had an Indian name, what would it be?". I was dubbed "Yelling Owl" or "Voice That Carries", Austin was "Running Hare", and Savannah was "Silver Stream" or "Moon Flower", while little "Falling Poop" shall remain nameless. This of course reminds me of "Dy of the Many Chins", which totally cracks me up. Then I thought of the story of a gal that Janelle and Thom and I saw one night. She was appropriately dubbed "Long in the Ti**y". Now, don't go emailing me, we weren't just being mean, she deserved this title, and it's a long, long story, but man this still makes me fall out of my chair laughing. I swear, I can't even type it without laughing!

I have been reading the book "Adam and His Kin", by Ruth Beechick, aloud to the kids at night. They really like it so far. I will let you know what I think when we are done. Have y'all read this book? What do you think?
Oh- hey, guess what? I am almost finished with Don Quixote! Can you believe it? WHy was this book so difficult to get through? I actually found the story quite amusing. Sancho Panza has my kind of sense of humor! But still, I got bogged down. Anyway, I should be finished before the end of the week. Yay me!

Gotta go read!
Melissa

"Please Be Seated, Melissa. You have not spelled the word correctly."

Guffaw!! Hey, way to embarrass oneself on the World Wide Web! So, apparently, ALSO in The World of Melissa, one should NOT post (or spell) after 12 a.m. (see post below).

I thought about trying to redeem myself with lies of a misprint in my dictionary, or my growing brain tumor, but I figured that I will undoubtedly humiliate myself way-more than this soon, so I'd better just save those.

And, oh yeah, did you see below that Cribchick asked me to email her??? Now, assuming that she wasn't emailing to say something like, "Use a dictionary, for pete's sake!", well, then I am just really excited to get to know her. She's got mail!

Bye!
Melissa

O.K., well, it seems that in the World of Melissa, if you don't know how to spell a word, (let's say, the word 'Vacuume" you just keep trying different spellings, without ever going back to correct yourself. Good grief, what am I?- The blog for "This-is-why-parents-can't- educate-their-children"?

I swear I used to be able to spell. What happened? Maybe it's the wine..........yes, that's it. It's the wine...
Oh, well, if I can't spell, I can at least look things up in the dictionary (clearing of throat):
V A C U U M E. "vacuume"

WE MISS RACE SO MUCH!!!!!!!

I got a new vaccume cleaner the other day. Now, I am not one to go and spend a lot of money on a vaccuume, and I didn't. It's a Hoover. It's on the mid to low price end. I've been using it the past 2 days. I will try to remain calm as I tell you that it is a wonder that the authorities have not come and taken these children away, due to the absolute filth that we have apparently been living in. I mean, what was the use of the other vaccuume???? What was that about? Excercise? Why even SELL something like that, if it was leaving all the dirt on the floor???? I would try to vaccuume , and then empty the dust cup quickly before the older children could see. I would avoid eye contact, so as not to see the surprised look on their faces as they glanced at the dirt, and then at me........ But, hey....the floors are clean now.....aren't they? Right? Makes one wonder what the high-end price vaccuumes can do. Anyone care to comment?

In other riveting, house keeping news, our a.c. unit for the upstairs had gone out yesterday. It was running, but not cooling. So, I called our repairman. He would be out the next day. This unit only heats/cools the upstairs of our cape cod home, so last night the kids slept downstairs, as it was just too hot. This morning, in preparing for the repairman to come, I checked the filter. Hey, that looks really dirty! I changed the filter. Air works!
Yeah. O.K., apparently, you're supposed to change those things once in awhile. (slapping forehead!)

School was so-so today. No major light bulb moments. It could've gone better, but we all managed.
I am planning on using the Omnibus II OMNIBUS
with Austin this year. I wanted to go ahead and get him started on reading Eusebius; The History of the Church , so I picked up the Dover addition at B&N. I kept looking at that book thinking, "There is NO WAY! Definitely not 100 pages a week!!" AHHhhhhhhhh!!!!! I cannot tell you how relieved that I was to realize that there is another translation of this book that Veritas uses!!! Whew! So, I have the other translation on order. Major panic induced meltdown averted. We will see how the next one looks.

Oh. before I forget. If you haven't checked out my sister's blog, to see the pic's that she just posted, please do. You see, her current model just happens to be my daughter! Check it out, they are really cool looking. Thom's blog

Have a great night,
Melissa
P.S. We miss Race, Oh-have I already mentioned that?

Boring......but good

We had a good day today! Wednesday is our day to stay at home. I got some house cleaning done first, while the kids all played outside and then on to lessons. Everyone was great, although that youngest one still has an attention span that is simply non-existent, and apparently....a bladder the size of a pea (LOTS of bathroom breaks today, at the most inoportune times!) The older two were nowhere NEAR as fidgety as he is at this age. Savannah is going to be using the writing program called "Writing Strands" this year. She is an excellent writer, and this curriculum seems to be a perfect fit for just giving the basics without messing with the writers style. She likes it. Woo-Hoo!!! We ended lessons with a very cool experiment on Density in Nature. A. thought that it was interesting that the ancient Greek scientists used experiments like these to explain the existence of things like atoms and density. Things that could not be seen, and yet they knew that they were there. Cool! A. is working hard on learning proper lab techniques, and keeping a proper lab notebook-(The "not-so-fun" part of science!).

We are trying to stay busy these days. We are really missing Race, and he is really missing us. And you know, it just gets plain lonely!

We are planning to take my crew + 1 friend each out to Putt-Putt tomorrow afternoon for awhile before martial arts. The kids should all have a great time. The boys are best friends with 2 brothers of the same age (very convenient) that go to a classical school in our area, and Savannah is friends with a little girl from her dance class who goes to another private school in our town. They are all good kids, from good families and they all have a good time together. It will be a long day though!
Bye,
Melissa

Well, just stop right here. Go and readA Day In The Life. (oooo.. look at me..posting a link!) My goodness that sister of mine is funny! Actually, they are both funny. A sense of humor was required in our house growing up, as it is in my own. It tends to make one not quite so thin-skinned ;-). Anyway, her post made me laugh out loud, and I had already heard the story once before.
I just read my comments about the hair stuff. First of all, Dy is SOOooo lying about her hair. It's gorgeous. (And, Dy, if you take a pair of scissors to that hair yourself, and it doesn't turn out good.....well....just don't you call me....you listen to Zorak...you listen to him.) Thom's hair always looks awesome. (I would like to think that I share some small bit of responsibility for introducing her to Big Hair, back in the 80"s. She didn't appreciate it then....oh no...but, well, you just look at her now(sniff, sniff)). And Cribchick, I shall expect a follow-up blog on your stylist adventures. Godspeed my friend.
Today was a killer. Do you people realize that I am home schooling 3 children!!!!!! Oh my gosh! How did this happen!!! My oldest son is 13!!!!! AHHHhhhhh! (O.K., I feel slightly better, but that's the sort of panic that I experience at least once a week.) But you know what? We got it done. We got it ALL done. From Bible to Grammar to Science to Logic to Spanish to History, and everything in between. The productive day of lessons would explain why my house is a disaster. But it feels pretty good, and I am thinking that maybe, just maybe, we aren't gonna screw em' up after all. That they actually seem like they are doing really well. So far, so good (high-fives).
I talked to Race last night. He was sore from fighting all day with his classmates in Johnny Bad Ass School. (snort)
Well, that's about it for me, I have school stuff to do, and a mountain of laundry to conquer. But I shall read a few blogs before I do, of course.
G'night,
Melissa

I talked to Dy last night on the phone. I love that Gal. I do. Dy is a good, good friend. Which, by the way, would you please raise your hand, if you have NOT met, or talked to Dy on the phone yet? O.K., you with your hands raised? You are simply not trying AT ALL. These are some of the friendliest folks that I have ever met......and THAT's saying something to those of you who know my parents! (My sisters and I STILL have old boyfriends that come by the house to see Mom and Dad!) Dy and Charles..er..Zorak are great people who have a truly delightful family. They're the kind of people that just make you gush with happiness to know that they are given to procreation and child rearing ;-). It does give one hope....
On cribchicks blog, she laments her latest attempt to get the hairstyle that she has asked for at the stylist. She got a lot of comments (mine included, ahem, with step-by-step helpful instructions). But what really surprised me is that some ladies cut their own hair!! WHAT!!!!!?? This totally sent my mind to spinning, because I could NEVER do it. My best friend Janelle (who incidentally has a beautiful mane of hair) always told me that it was an act of utter desperation for a girl to take a pair of scissors to he own hair. I have lived by these words....so imagine my shock! But now that I think about it, I think that some of these women are those drop-dead-gorgeous- no-matter-what-I-do girls.(I will not hate them, I will not hate them). My sister Emily is like that. Her worst haircut EVER, she still pulls it off, makes it look good, without even trying. I am not one of those girls.......I'M TRYING. I've ALWAYS been trying....hard. I went to L.U. for crying out loud!
But, you know, I will say that ones stage of life also comes into play here. When my kids were little there just wasn't much time (or $$) for primping in front of the mirror or shopping.....as a matter of fact, I remember when showering was a bonus! I mean, lets face it, you were lucky to get out of the house without spit-up somewhere on your clothing. Actually, I was lucky to get out of the house at all! So. I guess it all works out in the end. To all of you mothers of young children, I offer this encouragement:"Perk Up! You SHALL be able to use the bathroom all by yourself with the door closed, AND fix your hair.... soon!"
But.....STILL, I would NEVER take a pair of scissors to my own head! (shudder). Don't DO that.
Do y'all DO that? Am I the weird one here? Am I?

Oh, hey. By the way, school lessons went pretty well today. I will have to bore you all sometime soon about what we are doing in school for this year.

Before I go, you MUST go and read my sister Thomasina's latest post. Unbelievable! On the sidebar it's "A Day in the Life", (it's so embarrassing that I lack the ability to post a link correctly, I swear I feel like a primate sometimes).

O.k., I'm off to learn of links and things and get our things ready for lessons tomorrow.

BONUS RACE!

When I got home today, I had a message from Dy on my phone, wondering where in the world we had gotten off to so early on a Saturday morning. Well, as it turns out Race had an extra day! It wasn't enough to come all the way home, so he grabbed a couple of hotel rooms, and the kids and I met him half-way. Nothing big, just hangin' out together for a little while longer. A little swimming in the pool, and then going out to eat ALL TOGETHER, and then just spending the evening talking. Well, actually most of us were talking. Jackson was busy wearing out his hotel key-card going in and out of his room (oooooo...the excitement: an electronic KEY CARD). We were so thankful to have the opportunity to spend just a little more time with one another. Totally worth it.
It's back to the old grind here. We are gearing up for school lessons tomorrow, back in full force, (that would be the groans of the children that you are hearing in the background). The things that I see in my immediate future are the dump, the lawn mower, school lessons, composting what's left in the garden.....I could go on, but out of sympathy for you, the reader, I won't.
Whatever sliver of creativity or interest that I am, at random moments, able to call upon when I write, has vanished completely for now. So, I'll catch y'all later!
Melissa

737 Comin' outta the sky........

This song always reminds me of Races' life and travels for some reason. He tends to use just about every mode of transportation known to man in any given month. (HELLO??? AMAZING RACE!! We would totally win that thing!) But, I digress...

Thanks for all of the prayers and well-wishes. We did enjoy our time together. Race got in around 2:00 a.m on Wed. The kids all stayed up to welcome him home. On Thursday, we got to see all of the cool goodies that he brought back for us from other parts of the world. we dressed up, told stories, took pictures, looked at pictures, played baseball, swam, and jumped on the trampoline. We had pizza for lunch, and then fixed bourbon pecan chicken for dinner. It was awesome to sit around the table all together. Since the kids were very little, we do what we call "high-low" at dinner. Everyone has to take a turn saying thier "high" for the day, and thier "low" for the day. Of course everyones high was the same: having dad at home. (And I didn't even HAVE a "low" that day!)

Race had to leave at 3:30 pm on Thursday. A special thanks to Thomasina to filling in for me here at home while I took Race to point X for his next assignment. We didn't realize until Thurs. how badly Race had been banged up this last trip. He knew that he would have to pass a P.T. test first thing Fri. morning, so it was really touch and go for awhile there, with his injury. But he did it, and everything will continue as planned (I just LOVE typing that phrase).

Race said good-bye to the kids, and we hit the road. It was SOOOoooo hard for him to leave. I think that he would have given anything to stay home. He was so down. He kept saying how proud he was of his family, and what troopers we all were. It was hard, but the kids took it so bravely. I think that it was immensly helpful to them to see Dad, and know that everything is O.K., and that we are pressing on, all doing our jobs. I think that they were very comforted by seeing that Mom and Dad are handling it, Mom and Dad are trusting God, and everything is fine.

When Race is down, that's when I kick into high gear, motivational speaker-mode. We spent the drive reminding ourselves of the path that we are on, how we got here, and why we are doing it. By the time we reached our destination, all was well, and Race was ready to tackle evil doers again.

A while back, Cribchick asked what movie characters resemble the relationship that you have with your spouse. When I asked Race about this, he first said "Mr. and Mrs. Smith". Funny man . We later suggested that our relationship most resembled Han Solo and Princess Lea. I was quite satisfied with the comparison, but then later, he said, "Hey, hon, I don't think that you are serious enough to be Lea, I think our relationship is most like Han Solo and Chewbaca." I guess that would explain the whole language barrier thing we've got going sometimes.....(wry grin).

May the force be with you,
Chewy

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The countdown begins.......... Race is coming home!( insert excited squeal, here).

We are planning on having all of his favorite "American" foods while he is home. He has requested Pizza, lasagna,burger'n fries, a good steak , and my bourbon-pecan chicken. Seeing as how how will only be home for just over 24 hours, it looks like we will be eating A LOT! We are so excited!

The kids are going to decorate our front porch tomorrow with "welcome home" stuff. I will try to snap a picture, and post it.

Whenever we get only a brief visit together, it's one of those "rip-your-heart-out" type of things. You are filled with anticipation, and then-you blink- and he's gone. But, we get it done. It's what we do. We are a family, and we love each other. No amount of time or distance could ever change that. And the kids are such troopers. We really try to focus on "the greater good", and working as a team. It also helps that we really BELIEVE in the work that Race does overseas. God has blessed us in so many ways.

*But here's a thought*: Race has not had a pair of scissors or a razor anywhere NEAR that head of his in MONTHS. ACK! Sooooooo.....he is coming in from the Mid East with long hair and a beard!!! Please bear in mind that Race has had a "high-and-tight" military cut for most of married years. *No time to recover from the shock......only have 24 hrs!!!*

I will let you know how things go tomorrow. We have to get lessons done, the house cleaned, etc, etc.

Cheers!,
Melissa