April Tidbits

I can't believe it has been so long since I blogged last. The days have been so busy, and I've been walk/running!! At least a number of days. I got started and then got the milk fever so was down a few days. Got started again and doing better. Hopefully I can keep it up this week.

Our big news lately was that Drum & Dime graduated from EPS with CAP. They had a very intense weekend of getting yelled at, doing PT outside before 6:00am., learning to iron their beds to pass inspections, taking classes, and tons more PT. :-) The officer that Drum is shaking hands with was so nice and cheerful! She greeted the parents, and when the cadets were cleaning the building before they could leave, she gave an impromtu parents meeting with lots of helpful information. What a blessing. Our boys had a challenging learning experience and came back changed. This last week, I woke up one morning to find Drum, Dime, & Duke out jogging!! I have had trouble getting Dime out of bed, and his brother getting up and getting out motivated him to get going. They were out in their PT gear singing marching songs. I've seen improved attitudes in other areas and it has been such a blessing.


Dot had an orthodontist appointment this past week. She now has rubber connecting her jaws. Her poor sore cheeks and teeth! She been trying to wear them nonstop so she can get them off asap. She had wires coming out both side, and being the great mom that I am, I thought it would be a great blackmail picture. But despite my sneakiness in getting out the camera, she noticed and put up her hands! :-)


Little Darling got to try a chocolate candy bar for the first time. It was a good day!!
This week Dunk got a job!! He heads out-of-state for a few days each week for a few weeks. It's so nice to have in-laws live next door and family close. We are so thankful for his job. Please pray for the kids as they make the adjustment to Dad being gone. PTL for cell phones. The rest of us at home will be busy wrapping up the last few weeks of school. Dot got a job in town, and I can't believe my oldest is a wage earner. It is starting slow, but the change is happening.

This book is an EXCELLENT book!!!

These past couple of weeks I have been trying to read a book by 18 year olds, Alex & Brett Harris, called “Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion against Low Expectations.” I say “trying to read” because I have had trouble finding the book! Dot, Dunk, and Dime were reading it at the same time I was. At one time there were 3 bookmarks in the same book!

This book was written by teens, for teens. Alex and Brett say, “Most people don’t expect you to understand what we’re going to tell you in this book. And even if you understand, they don’t expect you to care. And even if you care, they don’t expect you to do anything about it. And even if you do something about it, they don’t expect it to last – WE DO.”

To say it simply: This book is an EXCELLENT book!!! It is a must-read for parents, grand-parents, singles, and of course any age teen!!! Alex & Brett have done a dynamic job getting their simple but profound word out – Do Hard Things!! They make it clear in the beginning of the book that it is not stupid things they encourage doing, but rather "to grab hold of a more exciting option for your teen years." This book challenged my husband and I, as well as our children who have read it.

Read page 30 to find out when the word "teenager" was first introduced.
Read page 38 to find out how low our expectations of teenagers has gone. Ouch!
Read page 42 to find out where the Bible talks about teens.
Read more to find out how to take YOUR first steps toward doing "hard things."

I would strongly encourage and highly recommend everyone read this book, especially if you were a teen, have a teen, or know a teen. Alex & Brett Harris coined the term "rebelution" to define what they are aiming to do - Rebel at the low expectations set for teens.
Visit http://www.therebelution.com/ to read more about the rebelution that is sweeping the country. You can also find out when they are visiting your area!
To purchase the book at Amazon.com, go to: Do Hard Things
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1601421125
Author Bio:
Alex and Brett Harris founded TheRebelution.com in August 2005 and today at age 19 are the most popular Christian teen writers on the Web. The twins are frequent contributors to Focus on the Family’s Boundless webzine, serve as the main speakers for the Rebelution Tour conferences, and have been featured in WORLD magazine, Breakaway, The Old Schoolhouse, and the New York Daily News. Sons of homeschool pioneer Gregg Harris and younger brothers of best-selling author Joshua Harris (I Kissed Dating Goodbye), Alex and Brett live near Portland, Oregon.

Gotta read your own copy of this book? Comment below by April 22 for your chance to win a copy of “Do Hard Things.”

"My Soul to Keep" Book Review

This past week I read the book, "My Soul to Keep" by Melanie Wells. It is a gripping suspense novel. I was a bit lost in the beginning and found out why closer to the end of the book. It is the second in a series!

Dylan Foster's friend's child is abducted at a birthday party in the park. The police are baffled, and psychology professor Dylan has a number of wierd clues turn up. Freaky stranger, Peter Terry, keeps trying to bother Dylan with a number of wierd events. Turns out Peter Terry is a demon! He also is a connecting piece between Dylan and the child abductors of this story.

Melanie is kind enough (for those with children) to give enough information to not feel totally afraid for the abducted child. The birthday girl has a connection with her abducted friend. Dylan's relationship with the birthday girl is very moving. I was in this book from start to finish. I enjoyed the way the story stuck with Dylan Foster and what she was going through. She was a believable character who had a ton of courage. I'm looking forward to reading the first book- "When the Day of Evil comes" - as soon as I can get it!

"My Soul to Keep" by Melanie Wells can be purchased at your local Christian bookstore. It is published by Multnomah. Be sure to buy both books at the same time!!

Dime Has Wings

Monday, Dime got his wings!!

Per tradition, I pinned on his wings at promtions.

This weekend, Dunk, Drum, and Dime are at a CAP conference. They made it through the snow, and are having a fantastic time.

Deer had a great time at her friend's overnight birthday party. They got to go swimming!! She learned how to play a new dance pad game, and got to be the first in the family to try out a Wii. :-)

The younger crew got to go to G & G W's, while Dot & I had a grand time learning from KB how to play the snare drum (so FUN!), watch a interesting movie, and have great food & fellowship!

Can you believe these pictures are chronologically correct!
These pictures are less than a week apart!!

Spring Flowers :-)

Dirt Bikes are out!

Our two dogs, Lady & Rosie.

Winter snuggle weather! In April?!!!!

Dot got buried in snow!!

Happy Birthday!!

Happy Birthday Drum!!

Drum had a great time celebrating his birthday with his good friend K. He has grown in height so much this past year. Dunk & I have also noticed a growth in his character. He's getting older. :-) It is hard to believe he is in the middle of the change from being a young boy to being a young adult.

We love you, Drum.

Speech Party!!

Last night we had an awesome end-of-the-year speech party!!! Dunk & I, Dot, Drum, Dime, and Deer went to the party. Duke, Dessert, and Darling were at Gma & Gpa's. We had pizza and snacks, listened to speeches, and played games. Dot got the "Still Water Runs Deep" Award for her intellectual thinking, Drum got the "Defender of Life" Award for his piece on Horton and "A person's a person no matter how small", Dime got the "Barnabas Award" for his encouraging smile and positive demeanor at speech club, and Deer got the "Awesome Timer" Award for her reliability with timing. We sure had a great year, and already look forward to next year!! The grown-ups were as reluctant to leave as the children. :-)
It is going to be fun to have a quieter weekend. At least be home more of the weekend. Dunk's got a guy's event on Sat. for a couple hours. It's an open house with motorcycles!! The boys are all looking forward to it. :-) I think the girls and I are going to stay home. :-) Yeah! I think I'm going to make another batch of tapioca pudding. I love it warm and cold. I also got a ton of raking to do, to put my rocks back in the driveway and off the grass. Papa likes to plow way back. It is so nice to have the sunshine to rake in. Maybe I should get out my shorts and start on my tan while I'm raking. :-) Well, maybe a little early.
I'm looking forward to next weekend already. Dunk and the older boys are going to be gone at a CAP event, Deer has a birthday party to go to, and so Dot has invited a couple friends over, and I invited their Mom over!! We are going to walk, watch a movie, and have a grand time. I may have to check with Gma & Gpa for the younger boys. :-) My good friend also has her birthday that weekend and I can't wait to celebrate it with her. Lot's of girl time ahead!! :-)
I was talking to Dime about his fun weekends ahead. He said yeah, but I've got so many days inbetween that are so awful!! He means school days! Good grief!! He's not that overworked at all! He needs an attitude adjustment about school. He's got too many days ahead, to think so negative about it already. He just is overwhelmed right now, because he puts things off, and now he has a heap of work to do to catch up. He's learning to do today's work today and get about the process. Then it won't seem so much. He's my kid who can spend an hour eating breakfast, 30 min getting his schoolbooks out, 20 minutes finding the right pencil, and 10 minutes telling his brother to be quiet. Then after 10 minutes of school, complain about how long school takes! I've got too much to do to always be right on his tail. Plus, he's got to learn to want to get his stuff done. We've come up with some motivators and he's learning! :-) (I hope.)
Well, better get my kiddos moving. On time Deer is already up and at 'em, but gotta get the rest moving. They are slow from our late party!!