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  • yesterday my brother jesse [who is 10] was working on his math assignment at the dining room table.  

    [for those of you who don't know - most of my siblings are/have been home schooled]

    mom and i were in the living room talking when he came out all proud of himself...

    'i'm done mom!'

    'great honey - let me look at your work.'

    [he presents his paper]

    'ummmm - jesse - what did you do here?'

    'i thought it would be more interesting to write all my answers in roman numerals mom!'

    [me shaking head]

    did i mention that there is never a dull moment?

    never a dull moment

  • We have two new residents at our home for a while - my sister Hannah and nephew Ian.
    Hannah is 34 weeks pregnant and had some complications this last week.  After spending a few days in the hospital, she was released but told that she had to be on strict bed rest.  As you can imagine, with a 21 month old, bed rest is not able to happen while chasing a busy toddler.  With my brother in love needing to be at work, the only other real option was for her to move back home until she has the baby or is taken off her restrictions.

    It has been fun to have my sister back home - fun also to have a baby in the house.  There have been some adjustments to be sure, but not ones that any of us have minded making.
    Last night we took Ian to the park for a little bit - here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure...

    Isn't he a pretty boy?

    Ian with his aunt Jannah

    Ian and uncle Sam

    With aunt Havah

    These pictures just made me laugh - my brother Sam and brother in love John [Ian's dad] were having 'monkey bar wars' - they are so silly - but make me smile big...

    Never a dull moment when you have nine brothers and sisters....

  • Today I was reminded what Grace looks like - by my 15 year old sister.
    Wonder when I am going to 'get' it...

  • Oh yes, I know this tension that you speak of

    We're in the palm of a hand making a fist

    It'd be best for one of us to speak up

    But we prefer to pretend it does not exist

    And you can't see past the blood on my hands

    To see that you've been aptly damned

    To fail and fail again

    Cause we're all guilty of the same things

    We think the thoughts whether or not we see them through

    And I know that I have been forgiven

    And I just hope you can forgive me too

    So don't you dare blame me for

    Prying open the door

    That's unleashed the bitterness

    That's here in the midst of this

    Sometimes we live for no one but ourselves

    And what we've been striving for

    Has turned into nothing more

    Than bodies limp on the floor

    Victims of falling short

    We kiss goodbye the cheek of our true love

    'Forgiven'
    by Reliant K

  • As many of you may know, I like my feet.

    Weird, I know - but true...they are large [but not when considered in proportion to the rest of my body] but have always been a nice shape and if pressed for a favorite body part [*on MY body, not others* - yeah, that would probably be the one that I would pick.  My feet are the one thing that have always been THIN on my body - that probably has something to do with it...

    Here is a great shot of my feet on the beach the very first morning of vacation.

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    I digress.

    Hopefully you all remember that I went on vacation a couple of weeks ago [you remember - the one that I was supposed to have posted pictures of and STILL HAVEN'T?  Ummmmm - Christina - apparently 'the Lazy' has gotten out and is spreading through the land of xanga ].  Anyway - for those who don't know - I went to the Gulf Shores in Alabama with the families of two dear friends - it was to be a week of fun and sand and surf...good times all around.

    We arrived in AL on Sunday evening - and got up Monday morning raring and ready to go spend the entire day on the beach...we loaded up the towels and the books and the sunscreen and the shovels and the chairs and the cooler and just about everything except the kitchen sink before traipsing down to the shore [which was really not the trek that I am making it sound - really only a hundred yards or so].

    We set up camp and dug right in - literally...burying one of our group in the sand and shaping the sand around him to look as 'mermaid-ish' as possible... [yeah - we know - we kinda suck at the sand shaping - he looks more like a starfish really - we were proud anyway...]

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    We got a bit sandy in the process, and although we knew the water was going to be cold, I talked these girls into running into the ocean to rinse off the sand with me...

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    So I grabbed each of them by the hand [a Sydney and Sidney sandwich - gotta love that! ], and we took off running into the water - laughing all the way...

    We got out to a little above my knees before a biggish wave [and I only say biggish because it was not HUGE or anything - rather not - but bigger than the ones before and certainly big enough to cause the following] came and quite literally knocked us off of our feet.  I knew that I was going down and had let go of the girls hands by this point....

    The following is what went through my head in the next 5-10 seconds.

    [Hitting the water as I fell] 
    '...blow out through your nose so you don't get a face full of salt water...'

    [Beginning to come up out of the water]
    '...CRAP - my sunglasses just fell off my head - I really liked those sunglasses - maybe I can find them as soon as I get this salt water and mess of hair out of my eyes...'

    [Standing up at this point]
    '...SUPER CRAP - I just broke my foot somehow...this hurts and I can't stand on it!!!'

    All of that happened in about 2 seconds - and so there I am standing there trying to orient myself and stand on one foot and wondering how I am going to get back to the shore and our sea of towels on one foot.  I turned to Sydney S. to tell her that I thought I was hurt, only to find her looking at me with no small amount of horror as she pointed at my chest and said '....ummmmm - AUNT HAVAH!!!...'

    Looking down I realized that my ENTIRE right breasticle had been dislodged in the fall and was exposed for the entire world to see.

    For a moment I forgot that my foot was broken.

    After ensuring that all of my appendages were appropriately covered and in their correct spots, I limped back to our little island in the sand and sat down to look at the damage.  My left foot was already turning all shades of purple and swelling like a little balloon had been inserted under the skin.  Sick.

    This is what it looked like that night...

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    Believe it or not - it got worse - with the swelling wrapping up to my ankle and making my toes look like tiny vienna sausages...I don't think I got pictures of that - too gross really.

    Having actually broken my foot before [not the same bone and not this severely apparently] - I figured that I didn't need to go to the emergency room - knew that they would tell me that it was broken, that they couldn't really do anything for me - to keep it elevated, iced, take ibuprofen for the pain and to stay off of it, etc. 

    Not really able to do much else - Aundrea and I drove into town to buy some crutches and an ace bandage to wrap it with and headed back to the beach, where I spent the rest of vacation on crutches [SUPER fun, let me tell you ] - which incidentally is not the easiest thing in the world when you are IN SAND.  It is easy to store said crutches however....

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    In this shot you can see the swelling and bruising a bit more...this would be mine, LG's and Audreas feet in the sand ...awwwwww

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    This would be how I spent the rest of vacation...

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    Notice that I am LAYING DOWN in every single one of those...

    It could have been a ton worse however - as it was, I was able to spend my convalescing time on the beach in the sand - being waited on hand and foot [they guys even made us ladies breakfast in bed the day after - total heroes] and loved on...

    When we got back from vacation, I went immediately to my doctor since I was still in a lot of pain...She walked into the room, took one look at me [my foot] and said - 'oh that doesn't look good'.

     ummmm - okay......

    I was packed off for x-rays - turns out it was a pretty bad break of my 5th Metatarsal...

     

    So - there you go...that is where I have been and what has been going on with me.  The week after getting back from vacation was filled with doctor visits [they put me in a removable cast - I will try to get a picture of it soon], and paperwork since I can't go back to work at least until next week...

    I go back to be re-xrayed and checked next week - and will try to keep you all posted better.  For now - I am doing alright - resting lots, enjoying relaxing and sleeping and being waited on.  Ahhhhh - too bad there is pain involved - otherwise it would be perfect...

    Gotta run.  [okay - not really run - but at least hobble away from the computer....]  more later.

     

     

  • I am sorry everyone - for reasons that have yet to be explained, I am wiped out and not doing a very good job at updating on the vacation...so just to appease you - go HERE for some of the highlights...I will try my best to fill you all in soon...

  • We're Baaaaccckkkkk!
    Anyone miss me?
    Have some great pictures and stories to share - they will be forthcoming over the next couple of days.
    Stay tuned.

  • This time next week, I will be sitting on the beach with this girl on one side and this girl on the other.

    I can't hardly wait!   Argh!

  • it is 8pm on Monday night....

    85 hours until I go on vacation.

    I'm too excited to sleep!


  • WARNING!!  EXTREMELY LONG AND POTENTIALLY FILLED WITH NOTHING POST AHEAD!!

    Today we celebrated my mom's birthday - technically, it was on Tuesday, but everyone was working and doing other stuff on Tuesday, so we decided to all get together today.  Sometimes the sheer enormity of my family is overwhelming and they wear me out....today however, was one of those days that it was just fun to all be together.  One of the days that I am glad to be the oldest of 10 children - glad that we all live close - glad that we [for the most part] can enjoy spending time together....

    We started the evening early - went to a local Chinese buffet that is super yummy - of course we took over a whole corner of the restaurant...

    [L to R] - Sam, Jannah, Addison [in the car seat], and my sister in love Brittney.

    [L to R] - Abe, Joe, Ben, Caleb and Alex [in the highchair].

    [L to R] - Ian [in the highchair, John, Jordan, Jesse, Mom, Hannah, and Dad.

     

    [L to R] - David, Bethany, Tabitha and Michael.

    Have you ever played the game where you open your fortune cookies and read them attaching the words 'in bed' at the end of the fortune?  Try it some time - funny, funny stuff - here are a few of my favorites from tonight...

    'Passionate new romance appears in your life unexpectedly - in bed'
    'You will take a chance on something in the near future - in bed'
    'A persons reach should exceed their grasp - in bed'
    'Unexpected financial gifts surprise and delight you - in bed'
    'Happiness is a state of mind.  It is always available at bargain prices - in bed'
    'Acceptance is the key to happiness - in bed'
    'Our virtues are often our vices disguised - in bed'
    'Someone you recently met will play an important role in your life - in bed'
    [And my personal favorite] - 'The truly generous shares with even the undeserving - in bed'

    See now?  Perhaps it isn't funny at all to read - it may not translate very well, but it was FUNNY in the restaurant.  I promise you.

    After everyone was through eating, we headed home and unloaded - decided rather on a whim that since all of us were together at one time, [which even on the holidays is rare anymore] we would try to get a shot of the entire family.  This one is a tiny bit fuzzy, but everyone looks good to me..so here is the clan...wish I could blow it up bigger for you all to see - hard to believe looking at this crowd that this is with only three siblings married and with children - can you imagine what this picture is going to look like in another ten years?  Holy cow.

    I got some great shots as my dad and seven month pregnant sister started to compare belly size...

    Guess which one is bigger?  That would be my dad - by three inches.  Impressive.  Very impressive.  Hannah thought it was great... [isn't she one of the most beautiful pregnant girls you have ever seen?  I get that I am biased, but still....]

    One of the things that I love about my family is the degree of 'comfort-ableness' that we have with children and babies.  It makes it so fun when we are all together if someone is hurt or crying or just needs to be held there are many, many pairs of arms around to oblige and love on them.  I think that is cool.

    How many 21 year olds do you know that do not have children of their own, but are totally comfortable comforting and holding a nephew with an 'owie'? [That would be my brother Joe and nephew David]

    My sister Jannah with our niece Addison curled up and cozy...

    Dad [or pawpaw as they call him] with Addison. [please excuse the red eye - I was too lazy to photoshop it out before posting]

    Me with nephews Ian and Alex

    My sister Hannah and I took the opportunity for a couple more 'sister' shots together.

    Awwwww - aren't we sweet?  You would think so - and then we decided to have a 'toe war' - which is really just the game 'mercy' [you know the game where you interlock fingers with someone and try to bend their fingers back until they say mercy?] only with your toes instead....[I know, I know - we are strange folk]

    Here is the visual.

    I was doing so well - then got a horrific cramp in my foot and had to stop.   Sucks to lose to your little sister.

    In lieu of the traditional birthday cake for the celebration, tonight we did pie instead - because mom likes pie better than cake, and it was her birthday after all - so there was cherry cheesecake, chocolate silk, lemon meringue and banana cream pie to feast on after the chinese settled....ahhhhhh.....

    The other thing that I like about being from a big family?  The fact that there are so many of you around that clean up is a breeze - it takes next to no time with everyone working together...[yes - that would be a wooden spoon in my sister in love Joanna's back pocket - she has three very active little boys and apparently needed it easily accessible this evening  ]

    All in all - a super fun and relaxing night.  I love how it blesses my moms heart to see all of us together and having a good time.  Mission accomplished for the evening. 

    I love you Mom - Happy Birthday.