Great catfish, Batman! I've been tagged!

Wow! I have been tagged by New York Traveler for a blog game! Here are the rules:

1. Let others know who tagged you.
2. Players start with 8 random facts about themselves.
3. Those who are tagged should post these rules and their 8 random facts.
4. Players should tag 8 other people and notify them they have been tagged.
The above rules need to be posted.

Ok, lemme see.....um

1. Well, to start off with, thanks to my youngest son I am an avid Roy Rogers fan! I would decorate my whole house with Roy Rogers stuff if I had the money! I sometimes wish I had found out about Roy Rogers before his death because I would have loved to have met him and Dale Evans Rogers.

2. I grew up in a huge family by today's standards and because of it I learned to eat fast! To this day, I usually am done before the rest of my family...well, except for DS17!

3. I married my husband a week after our first "date" and have enjoyed 13+ years of marriage with him and our 5+ children! Actually, I married him because GOD chose him for me! How about that for match making?!!

4. If I had the chance, I would take a road trip across the country in a heartbeat. The first place I would go is the Roy Rogers Museum in Branson, MO, then Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum also in MO. From there the list is endless! Dream, dream...

5. I enlisted in the Air Force in my high school senior year. I had taken the written and physical exams and had my departure date all set. Realizing that God had a different path for my life, I actually convinced the recruiter to dismiss my enlistment! I look back on that now with some relief as I am sure that my life would have been WAAAAAAAAYYYY different..and I mean that in the "not so good" sense.

6. When I was 14, I decided to go sledding down a VERY icy hill. My mother had warned me not to go down that hill. Oh, if only I had listened to her! I hit a sapling stump which sent me hurdling through the air to land on a railroad tie..right on my backside. I tore the muscle, exposing my sciatic nerve and was in agony for days. The ER doctor was hopeful that it would heal on its own. Never did, and I still suffer from it on an almost daily basis. The moral: LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER!!! :-S

7. I attended 7 different schools and somehow managed to graduate with my class. That was rough though. It is certainly a motivating factor for homeschooling my own children.

8. For a "country gal" I really enjoy tech toys! I enjoy figuring out how they work, and finding ways to use their full potential!

Tagging the following:

Jules Everyday Mommy

Dana Rare and Beautiful Treasures

Rebekah Sweet Tea With Lemon

Elizabeth The Whole Family

Bunny Trails Bunny Trails

And because I have a house full of wonderfully active sons, I MUST GO NOW!!!!

that was a good'un

DS10 has shown his challenging side lately. Recently as I was leaving my sister's house, DS10 decided that it was not time for HIM to go, so he scurried up a tree. Ugh! I wasn't going to climb up there after him, so DS12 tried to pull him out. Well, after pretending to leave without him and promising remorse later, he decided to come down...but not to get in the car! No, instead he started a flurry of siblings and cousins pursuing him around the yard trying to corral him into the vehicle. DS12 even got the bright idea to spray him with the garden hose, but I was in the line of fire. 'sop!' Today however, it was the other way around! DS12 decided to start a revolt and DS10 took up arms against him! When DS12 was racing toward the door to take cover, DS17 locked him out as DS10 threw a bucketful of water dousing him thoroughly. I am glad it ended with laughter. It was a classic moment.

Druggies

I received an email recently that was so timely for me. Dear Sons 10 & 12 have been a real challenge to me lately. They have reached a stage of needing more "drugs"...read the following and you'll see what I mean!


The other day, someone at a store in our town read that a methamphetamine lab had been found in an old farmhouse in the adjoining county and he asked me a rhetorical question, ‘Why didn’t we have a drug problem when you and I were growing up?’

I replied: “I had a drug problem when I was young. I was drug to church on Sunday morning. I was drug to church for weddings and funerals. I was drug to family reunions and community socials no matter the weather.

“I was drug by my ears when I was disrespectful to adults. I was also drug to the woodshed when I disobeyed my parents, told a lie, brought home a bad report card, did not speak with respect, spoke ill of the teacher or the preacher, or if I didn’t put forth my best effort in everything that was asked of me.

“I was drug to the kitchen sink to have my mouth washed out with soap if I uttered a profane four-letter word.

“I was drug out to pull weeds in mom’s garden and flower beds and cockleburs out of dad’s fields.

“I was drug to the homes of family, friends, and neighbors to help out some poor soul who had no one to mow the yard, repair the clothesline, or chop some firewood; and, if my mother had ever known that I took a single dime as a tip for this kindness, she would have drug me back to the woodshed.

“Those drugs are still in my veins; and they affect my behavior in everything I do, say, and think. They are stronger than meth, weed, cocaine, crack, or heroin; and, if today’s children had this kind of drug problem, America would be a better place.

So, now I will play pharmacist! ;)

I think I have it!

When I started this blog, it really was on a whim. I thought I would use it to post my numerous nature photos. I didn't see this as a really important thing to blog about so I quickly put it aside. Then, I read about the contest going on at Everyday Mommy. After reading everyone else's accounts of raising boys, I entered the contest. Well, I have read all the other entries since mine and browsed their blogs. And then, it hit me! I will make this blog an adventure story of an upstate NY family! I have always wanted to write a book..and I figure that this is about as close as it will get for me, so I may as well. With a house full of boys and animals (sometimes hardly a difference!), there is so much to inspire me, I can't see how I haven't thought of it before!
So, as you see, my previous post was a start. After the contest, I will let you know who won the book. I read one story that touched my heart so much that I am rooting for her!

My most daring, adventurous, and just plain adorable son!

As I was perusing my favorite blog, New York Traveler, I read an interesting contest going on with the blog Everyday Mommy, in which parents are asked to post about their son's adventures to receive a neat-o book.
I have four sons and which one to write about is the real challenge! I could tell you about the time my oldest son tried recharging his batteries using the outlet! OY! Or how about the time when we took my youngest son horseback riding for the first time on his fourth birthday. He tried to get on the horse by himself and told the trainer to "just let go, I can do it myself." :|
My second oldest son. Wow..where do I begin? To know him is to love him! After the first two weeks of newborn sleep wore off, he was AWAKE. This child would take 2 half hour naps during the day and only sleep 3 hours at a time during the night. I guess he had things to do!
I have to say, the first daring thing I saw him do was pulling himself to a stand at 6 months of age! I had a colorful book on the coffee table that caught his eye. He wanted that book and he was going to get it! Having my camera in a strategic position, I was able to snap the event in sequence.


"Oooh, something looks neat up there!"




This is exciting!


"There! I got it! Um, what is it?!"

He only lasted a few short seconds in this position, but that taste of height was all he needed! He has been climbing everything since!
What an amazing adventure my sons have brought me! I really am so blessed! :)