Bring it On Home

Twitter, Facebook, and Blogs OH MY!

2009-05-02T15:55:00.002-05:00

Well guys. I was starting to do so good at blogging and then I was introduced to Twitter and Facebook, almost at the same time. Facebook if used appropriately can be a world of fun and finding long lost friends and classmates.

I am addicted, yes I said addicted to both twitter and facebook. A blog is nice and can be creative and a place to log your pictures with a journal to go along with. I am having a hard time finding time for all of them.

I am about to hit the busiest month of the year for me. Christmas is a breeze compared to May and early June. I love every minute of it, oh, ok, almost each and every minute. Baseball/softball season is upon us and the practices have begun. We have already had numerous rain outs in softball so there might be a truckload of double headers on Saturdays.

In the month of May alone I literally have only 3 days that are OPEN with no events scheduled. For some reason I am getting invited to every home party that has been created and I simply can not attend them all. In May, I will be attending a Tastefully Simple, Lia Sophia, 31 Something, Creative Memories, and one I can't remember the name of. I have declined on two other purse parties, one jewelry party, and an invite to purchase books and toys online. OK, here this people....IF I can squeeze you in, please understand I can't buy from each of you. Even if I only purchased a $10 item at each, well, in this economy, I have children to raise and dh's income is not absolute. All this to say, Please, Please, don't take it personally if I can't make it or do make it and don't buy anything. It's nothing personal at all. (ps. I had 3 nieces and newphews on my side of the family to buy for birthdays this past month so there was $60 spent) dh's family is too big and I can't even keep up with sending cards on his side. I know, I know, I'm bad...really bad..

I will be sharing pictures in a day or two of an exciting and eventful night I had last night. I can't tell you now, just suffice it to say....It was HUGE. Very HUGE. And no one was more surprised than I!

Hopefully, I can keep blogging going, because, you can go to blurb.com or something like that and have your entire blog put into a book. That would be nice since I find no time to scrapbook ever anymore.

Chat to ya later and check me out on twitter(LanaKMPF) and Facebook (Lana Searcy Kempf)!

Lysol take me away!

2009-04-01T09:32:00.004-05:00

Oh the joys of later winter/early spring sickness. Last week son#1 had sore throat, high fever, congestion, runny nose and body aches. DH had almost the same yuckies over the weekend. I had a slight cough on Sunday, by Sunday night I had it, every single symptom, and like clockwork lo and behold, little sweetie came down it with it too. We are home today, (I missed work Monday and stayed in bed all day). She is on the sofa miserable. Her tonsils were so swollen last night she felt like she couldn't breath. We sat up with her until around midnight, getting her to spit out all the sinus drainage she could, getting her to sip motrin and trying to keep her calm. She is better today, but not well enough to go to school.

I AM SO READY FOR SPRING!!!!

I was a bit nervous about getting on the computer today with the Conficker C worm attack scare, but it seems it was as they say, much ado about nothing.

Since I am home today with a sicky, I am going to try to get in my Beth Moore bibly study of Esther, hang some pictures on the wall and get 3 tubs of "treasures" put away. When I came home from my Grandma's funeral I brought a van load of "treasures" home with me. I haven't found room for any of it yet. But I was not about to part it with anyone else since most of it was sentimental to only me.

Please, please remember to pray for Stellan over at McMama's.

MU and NO SNOW ICE SLEET....

2009-03-29T08:53:00.007-05:00

uhm, MU fell apart last night. No final four. No championships. There's always next year.

We didn't get the awful sleet/ice/snow they were calling for. Oh we got plenty of rain yesterday and we did get a light dusting of a mixture, but they sun is shining oh so BRIGHTLY today. Maybe SPRING is just around the corner!

I went computer shopping yesterday. I was so excited and thrilled! My current dinosaur is almost 10 years old! I have the old CRT monitor-YIKES! Anyhoo, I went to several stores and finished up at Best Buy. There's not too many stores unless I want to drive over 100 miles to KC.

Having no luck finding the one I was searching for, I was hoping Best Buy would have something close. I found a very nice Geek Squad guy and he helped me find not only the computer but the works that went with it. My excitement was building as we took all the boxes to the register. He began ringing it up and when he hit the total button, I nearly fell over right on the spot!

$1051.00!!!!!

I just couldn't bring myself to pay that much. So we picked out another monitor, another all in one printer and it still was over $900.00!

My heart broke as I left the store. I was so looking forward to a new one. I wanted a quad four processor, 8 gig of memory, and at least a 19" monitor. A decent all in one printer would have been the icing on the cake.

I cooked my own goose though. Circuit City had the EXACT one before they went out of business, the ENTIRE package with monitor and all in one printer for $779.00!

So as I sit here typing on my old plunker, I'm being thankful I have one that works, albeit slowly, and deal with it. I am going to keep an eye on Best Buy Sales though and newegg.com and maybe, just maybe, I'll get one before summer.

On a much more serious note.

Please click on the button on my sidebar, praying for Stellan. He needs all the prayers he can get. He's in PICU with SVT and he's been in and out of V tach over the last several days.

GO MU!!!!

2009-03-28T10:31:00.002-05:00

My world fell apart in a moment

2009-03-27T20:59:00.003-05:00

Friday the 13th.
4:53 pm
cell phone rings.
"Hey, what are you doin?"
I'm out getting groceries, gas, and wally world running, why?
hysterical sobbing begins......from both of us.
"She's gone, the sheriff just called me and said they found her."
Who's gone? What are you talking about?
"Grandma Gen, she's gone." They found her a while ago on the floor in her bedroom."
I don't really believe it, how can it be?
"hang on, I gotta another call"
Circling in and out of the gas station, listening to silence in my ear, trying to process what I just heard and heading towards home, I just had to get to dh and the kids.
"I'm back".
I can't believe it. I just can't. Does Dad and everyone else know?
"He's on his way out to her house now to meet with the sheriff.
Ok, I'm on my way home, I'll call you back and let you know if I'm coming up tonight or in the morning.

I don't remember anything else until I got home and collapsed in dh's arms and the kids. We all stood in the doorway and hugged each other. I somehow managed to spit out that Grandma Gen had died.

My grandma meant the absolute world to me. My mother died in 1992, ironically, also on a Friday the 13th. I was so close to my grandma. We chatted every Sunday evening for about an hour. I could list the things I loved about her and I'd never run out of things to say. She was the world.

She had the flu last April and then came down with what the Dr's. thought were shingles. She battled that all summer and in August broke her hip and had to have that replaced. She had recuperated from that well, and it was determined late fall that she had blistering disease and not shingles after all. They were able to give her medicines that had finally healed up all but one spot on her cheek. After trying umpteen gazillion different medicines, the pathology report came back that it was Anthrax poisoning! It was then they decided to put a port in to administer antibiotics intravenously. They gave her the first dose on the 12th. As far as we know she got up the morning of the 13th, was getting dressed and died at that point in time. We'll never know if it was a heart attack, stroke, or the medicines were too strong for her. I do know she was sooooo tired of fighting the sore on her face. It stung badly, tingled, oozed, blistered, and was raw all of the time. It started out the size of a half-dollar and ended up being all over the side of her face and down her neck. I am so thankful she's in a place where she is healed perfectly. I'm grateful for all the years I had with her. But God, I miss her more than life itself. When I would hear people say they couldn't wait to be reunited with their loved ones in heaven, I didn't understand that until now. I know the time here is just a blip on our way to our eternal home, and I have a family here on this earth to take care of, but I know I will rejoice the day I get to be with her again.

Grandma Gen, I love you and miss you with every ounce of my being. God rest your soul. "Teen"

Not Me Monday

2009-03-09T06:00:00.004-05:00

Hello chickeepoos! I thought I would participate in a Not Me! Monday Blog Carnival.

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I can relate to so many of the Not Me! Monday posts, so I thought why not share with the rest of the world.

For instance, I did ~~not~~ take several quarters ~~dollars~~ in change out of dh’s mason jar to buy my 44 oz. Cherry Cokes for the week. He knows he would not miss any of it, because after all, the quarters are mostly on the bottom. What’s a few quarters ~~dollars~~ anyhow?

I did ~~not~~ use the last roll of toilet paper in the master bath leaving none on the roll for you know who. Not me, who would do such a thing?

It was not me who ;) at the hunkiest, sweetest, married orthodontist at her appointment on Friday. After all, we’re both married, happily with children. (But dang, that man is candy to the eyes. did i just really say that? Nope, not me.

Oh and I’m just sure it wasn’t me who read through all my child’s emails and found out some juicy gossip to bribe/bargain/blackmail him with later down the road when the timing’s right. Of course, I have parental controls on their email addy’s, but I usually don’t snoop just to be nosy. Nope nada here.

There, that was pretty painless, unless you count my red face from winking at my orthodontist this week. ;)

Did you change your clocks?

2009-03-08T08:11:00.004-05:00

Apparently dh did change some of ours, but not all. I totally forgot. I woke up this mornin and found my family gone! And my clock said 6:49 am! I climbed my big you know what out of bed and was sad because I was thinking they went out to breakfast without me. The phone rings and I'm thinking who is calling so dang early on a Sunday morning????? Wrong #. Good thing I was out of bed or I would have been NASTY! Anyone who knows me at all, knows NOT to call before 9am to our house. ANYWAY....When the phone rang I noticed the clock on the lighted dial read 7:49 am. It dawned on me that my family got themselves up and went to Mass. Yes, we have our first Mass on Sunday morning at 7:30am. Our priest has to work 2 different parishes and by having it that early he can drive to the other one, come back to ours, and we have another at 11:00am. Today is dh and my day to count money(collection basket and envelopes) at church. We'll have to do that later and... I've got to go now, we're having a nice early spring thunderstorm, complete with lightening and blogger keeps popping up with a message it can't save this post. Goin for now.

All That I Need

2009-03-07T14:38:00.005-06:00

Jesus said, "...If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." (Matthew 17:14-20)

Friends, today, I need a mountain to move. God knows my heart and what this mountain is. I've always been so very private when it comes to my spirituality and rarely share that openly with anyone. I won't go into details because I'm sure it would seem trivial to anyone not walking in my shoes.

The problem is....I don't know if my faith today is as big as a mustard seed. But humbly and openly I am asking for your prayer today for my mountain to move. I am hoping that maybe someone out there in cyberland has many mustard seeds of faith that they can spread over my mountain for me.

Without trying to sound trite because I know you can't hear my words, I would be eternally grateful. And at some point I can maybe share with you some of the things that has led me to this point in my life. Before rumors get started, it has nothing to do with the kids, they're fine! Greg is healthy and well too.

Psalm 131 (New International Version)

My heart is not proud, O LORD,

my eyes are not haughty;

I do not concern myself with great matters

or things too wonderful for me.
But I have stilled and quieted my soul;

like a weaned child with its mother,

like a weaned child is my soul within me.
O Israel, put your hope in the LORD

both now and forevermore.

Twitter Help Please!

2009-03-06T14:48:00.003-06:00

I have the day off work, been trying to figure out how to Twitter. I set up an account a few weeks ago, I don't know if I am following people or they're following me. I tried to login today and it keeps telling me my password and user id don't match. They sent me an email to change the password, but it takes me to a broken link that won't work. Has anyone else had problems? Do you know how to help me? They are behind in their support issues and I still haven't heard back from them.

It's a gorgeous day here in Mid-Missouri. Absolutely beautiful for the 6th day of March. I STILL have the darn rash. It's slowly creeping around my neck. I think it's better though. And on a much more positive note....the orthodontist told me to make the appointment with the dentist to see where were at. That means that I am almost ready to get my braces off! OH MY golly! It was 2 years in January that I got them on. Of course I'll have retainers indefinitely, but at least I will be able to take them out and put them back in.

Goldilocks is going to a lock-in tonight at her friends church and won't be home until after 8am in the morning. Son #1 is going to a National Junior Honor Society Dance tonight that will last until 10 or so. I am going to try to get dh to watch a movie with me tonight, or at least take me out to dinner. I'm shooting for the latter.

I have heard so much about this book.....anyone read it yet? I picked it up at Tarjay today. Well I did pay for it after all. I do have the receipt. I'll let you know my thoughts after the weekend. I should get in some good reading time tomorrow. NO BASKETBALL GAMES AT ALL. ugh...just practice. but that don't count.

As a side and completely off topic...if you have clicked on any of the buttons on the sidebar and went to Bring the Rain, that is where I found the first two songs that play on my player. I heard them and they just simply move me. Angie Smith has some powerful testimoney if you have the time to jump over to her blog. She has a way of living real and living with God in her life. Take a moment, you'll be glad you did.

I am going to be doing some revamping of the blog soon, new colors, new layout etc. Black is getting depressing to me, but i have so loved the way most of the pics look against the black. Anyhoo, hollerback at me if ya can help me with the Twitter thingy.

Hot here....NOT!!

2009-02-26T22:07:00.003-06:00

Today we were blessed with early spring rains and temps in the upper 60's. They're calling for the white stuff tomorrow night, about 1-2" worth. Only in Missouri, only in Missouri. She is such a teasing state to live in. She and mother nature work overtime to keep you guessing what it will be like each and every day. I am a Missourian through and through, born in this state, eons ago, but I've decided over the last two winters that as soon as the kids graduate from high school, we're loadin' up the truck and movin' to Beverly, Hills that is, Swimmin pools, movie stars.

Well, at least to a warmer winter location. Winter never used to bother me in the least, got my 4 wheel drive truck out and away we went, all over KC. But this stinkin less than 32 degrees day in day out gets on your last nerve. I loved the rain today. Smells fresh. Calms you, soothes you, until some idiot slams on his breaks right in front of you on oily pavement. Nice going jerk. How's the weather in Hilton Head about this time of year, Raleigh? Murfreesborough? Y'all have nice drivers there? Save me a spot and leave the light on. I'm on my way.

Yoo hoo? Anybody out there know what the best remedy is for hives? I think that's what's plaguing my neck and shoulder area. It's a rash that is welty all over and itches intensely. I take Benadryl at night, but it lays me out so I can't take it during the day and that's when the itching tunes up. I know they have to run their course, but ye gads, you can only scratch so much.

Goodnight Daddy

2009-02-25T23:32:00.004-06:00

This is the Goodnight Daddy bear hugs at our house around 8:30-9:00. As you can see, Stephanie loves her Daddy most in all the world. Ethan, the jealous one decides on occasion he needs a Daddy hug too! Apparently he forgot he's taller than his Daddy!
And his dear father won't admit it either. It's becoming a nightly ritual at our house to measure them. Stephanie will stand on a chair to see who's the tallest. DH got a hair cut today and so we had to measure. Ethan would measure taller even if they had shaved heads. Ethan is a little over 6', otherwise dh is shrinking. Dear Mama stays up too late on the computer to get a goodnight hug, so no pics of her! ttfn, bbbf's and good night all.

The Picture Above

2009-02-21T08:05:00.002-06:00

Just a quickie post this am. Ethan off to Jeff City for 2 games today and 2 tomorrow. I couldn't go this morning :( because I have to coach Stephanies game at 11am and Greg is forever working-when doesn't he?

The picture is circa 1968'ish. It is my Aunt who is 9 years older than me and my little sister who was about 5 at the time. It must have been during the school year since I was sporting fabulous attire for the picture. Yeah, right. Look at those knobby knees. Whoa girlfriend! They're so round now you wouldn't know what shape they were.

I loved kitties ever since I can remember. I always had cats around me. I had who knows how many cuz if something happened to one of them, I just got another. We lived in a small town and there were always cats readily available at a moments notice.

Little sister? Quite the brat and that's all I have to say about that, Forrest.

'nough for now, gotta run

Winners and Losers

2009-02-16T21:45:00.003-06:00

Did you ever feel like a loser when you were younger, growing up? I did. I always had hand me down clothes, that's what they were called back then. I never got to wear the latest fashion or the cutest styles. Mainly worn out used and faded hand me downs. If I ever did get a new item, it was because it was in the bargain bin at the dime store(remember Ben Franklins and T, G & Y's-yeah I know that really dates me, I digress).

I distinctly remember to this day the desire that consumed me in 4th grade. NO it's not what you're thinking! shame, shame! I wanted a pair of Go-Go boots just like Mary Jo had. She got everything brand spankin new!! I was always jealous of what she wore, the friends she had, everything in her represented in me what I didn't have. As a 10 year old, you haven't discerned yet that God doesn't want you to be jealous of anything or anyone. So I dreamed of having a pair of Go-Go boots. I imagined what I would look like in them, what they would feel like, the sound they would make walking down the hall way at school, the smell of the leather when I opened the box for the first time. I thought about them day and night. Consumed and jealous. My parents in their poverty couldn't afford them and I didn't have a clue that I would not get them. I asked for them on my birthday and got clothes instead. I asked for them at Christmas, believing with all my heart they would be the only thing under the tree since that's all I asked for. Again clothes, no boots. My desire for them was fading as quickly as Mary Jo's boots were wearing out. Spring, then summer came. No boots.

Finally having give up all hope of ever possessing the most stylish white boots ever, I let myself think I was never to own them. Besides, all most none of the other girls my age were wearing their's anymore since the fad had passed and it was summer after all. School was about to start and if I was lucky I would get not one but TWO new outfits to wear and if I was on the top side of extreme luck, one of my new outfits would be sent all the way from the fashionable east coast via my Aunt. About a week before school started, my Mother(God rest her soul) brought to me in our living room a brown paper sack. As I anxiously opened it to see what was inside, I was so surprised to find......you're already ahead of the game here......Go-Go Boots! Yes! but then it hit me. They were not in a box. The did not have the new smell of leather. They were not shiny brand spankin new. The heels were scuffed. They had crinkled on the side. But.....I had a pair of boots!

Fast forward to the first day of school. I was all decked out in my new duds and my so very used Go-Go boots. I went off to school proudly wearing them on my feet(after they had a coat of shoe polish) and thinking I had now joined the "club". I would be one of them. I would be "in". It didn't happen. I was not "in". I was BIG TIME "OUT". I was laughed at all day long and made fun of until I thought I would die from embarrassment. I couldn't wait for the bell to ring and run home(we walked all the way to/from back then) and get them off my feet, tears stinging my eyes all the way home.

I never knew who's hand me down boots they were. But I had a pretty good guess. My parents were friends with Mary Jo's parents. Life's not fair when you're 10. Especially when all you wanted was just a pair of NEW Go-GO boots.

As a side...Stephanie's YMCA team, coached by a wonderful Mom with a penchant for white boots, WON her game this weekend 18-4! WOO HOO TEAM DYNAMITE!!! I have awesome girls that all play well together and want to learn. We've had so much fun this season. So much so, I am going to ask to Coach a team next year too.

Uh, Ethan's travelling team lost all 3 of his tournament games. They stunk! They are all 8th graders and they were tromped by a team of 7th graders! There is heavy duty talent on his team, but lack of desire to win and play intensely from start to finish has kept them in the losers division.

Tonight, I'll end my post by asking you, which would you rather be? A winner or a loser?

I'm Baaaaaaaaaaaack!

2009-02-13T20:55:00.003-06:00

Time for my hiatus to be over wouldn't ya think? Whew, I sure needed that!

There's no way I can catch you all up on what's been going on with us, so I'll just jump right in where we are.

Ethan is playing in a basketball tournament tomorrow about an hour away and Stephanie has a YMCA basketball game at 2pm here in town. I love basketball just as much as baseball. I ended up being the Coach for Stephanie's team. We're supposed to have some freezing drizzle tonight so we'll see how it all plays out tomorrow.

I think....tomorrow is also Valentines Day....right? Yes, I know it is. Just checking to see if you knew it or not. Got your honey anything? sweeeeeeeeeet!

I can't stop talking about the movie Fire Proof. If you've not had a chance to see it, you should. Rent it, buy it, borrow it, whatever, just watch it KO? Then buy the book if you're married. It's called the LOVE DARE.

Greg and I are taking a Dave Ramsey Financial Peace Seminar at our church and it is very enlightening. Mostly common sense practices for your money, whether you have some or not. It's a 13 week course and the videos are very entertaining. He knows how to catch and keep your attention. If you get a chance to take this seminar/class, I'd highly recommend it as well.

I know I've got a gajillion things to talk about, but seein as how we need to leave at 7ish am, I need to hit the hay stacks for now.

Glad to be back, and I'll try to get some new pictures up soon too.

Lana

Tuesday Ramblings

2008-09-23T23:43:00.003-05:00

Sorry guys for not posting the last couple of days. I don't know how these working moms get it all done. I leave the house at 7:30am to take the kids to school and by the time I pick Stephanie up at day care in the afternoon and get home it's close to 5:30-5:45. I usually try to get a load or two of laundry done, run the dishwasher and get supper cooked, served and cleaned up. By then it's almost 7:30 and our nighttime routine begins at 8 when Stephanie has to get in the shower followed by Ethan at 8:30. They're old enough to get their own selves ready to bed now, but the next thing I know it's bedtime for me. I fell asleep on the couch tonight 3 times. Now I'm wide awake. I'll crash in the morning at 5:30 when it's time to get up and start all over again. When do you have time to get anything done at your house (those with kiddo's anyway). My yard is neglected(pool is still up with water infested mosquito hatchery), my house is fairly clutter free, but needs a good cleaning and I just can't find the time. Help....calgon take me away!!!

I talked to my Dad and Grandma tonight. She is doing so much better, but has such a long ways to go. They have finally figured out what she has. It is called Blistering Disease. Don't look that up on Google, you'll be grossed out and it's not curable. They did a CT scan yesterday and took blood samples to see which type it is. Sometimes, this is caused by an internal tumor somewhere, so we're praying that's not the case. AT least her voice sounded good. I won't get to go up and see her for another few weeks or so. I'll keep you posted on what they find out.

Hopefully, I can get the photo's downloaded soon. I need to get caught back up again. I have parade pics and maybe a birthday pic or two. Eventually, I want to put my blogs into a blog book. If you have time, check out blurb.com I think it is to see how to turn your blog into a great book to have for a keepsake.

Okey dokey then. I need to hit the hay. 5:30 comes so early for this night owl.

CAN WE ALL SAY LOTTERY! LOTTERY! LOTTERY! LOTTERY! I need to win part of the powerball so I can work part time and get some sleep and work done around home! lol!!!

bye now, y'all come back now ya here!

Happy Birthday to Me!! Happy Birthday to Me!!!

2008-09-21T07:29:00.005-05:00

Yep, today is the big 50! Who knew that 50years could fly by so fast. My mom and my Grandma always have told me to enjoy the time you have each day, because they all go so fast. And how true I'm realizing that is. I don't feel 50. And age is just a number right? Other than being overweight, I still feel like I did when I was in my early 30's. I have always thought that my parents were old, know what I mean? Well just wait until you get to be the age they were when you thought they were old. That's not very funny either. :(

I got to scrapbook yesterday with some gals and it was like heaven! I absolutely love doing that and for 4 1/2 hours we scrapped. Then we all went out with our families to La Hacienda. I had beef nacho's. Yummmmmm. I like other things on the menu too, but just wasn't sure about the carbs. With nacho's, it's cheese and beef, so I'm hoping it wasn't too bad for my diet. When we got done there, Greg, Ethan and I went down and walked across the river bridge. I think if you walk all the way over and back it's a mile. We got to watch a train stop, unload the crew, load up a fresh crew and take off. I had no idea that went on here at Boonville. There was a train coming behind it so as soon as it took off, the other finally started up and came on through. It took about 15-20 minutes for the first one to clear. There were only 3 engines but there were a boatload of coal cars on there. Anyway, it was dark and watching the trains with their lights on and the men with lights walking around was kind of neat.

We came home and Ethan wanted to play Risk. I had never played before and guess what, I WON! Beginner's luck I guess. Stephanie is spending the night with a friend who's also having a birthday. She'll be home sometime this afternoon as we have to count money at church this morning (11am) and won't be done till about 1:00pm. I hate to think about working on my birthday, but I've got a gajillion loads of laundry, dishes, cleaning, and taking down the pool to do. I/m not a procastinator but I have not been home all weekend so off I go to get that done.

Thanks for checking in on us guys.

Busier than...

2008-09-20T07:30:00.003-05:00

Whew! We've had a busy week. Yesterday was Homecoming here and I'll have pictures to share soon. I've got them, just don't have time to load them right now. I took off work and went to the parade. Stephanie was dressed in 50's style clothing and walked with her school float. David Barton where she goes has been around 50 years this year, so they are celebrating in a big way. They had a balloon launch on Thursday to kick off and EVERY student in school got a balloon to release. I wish I could have seen that. I made a quick trip to Columbia last night to Hobby Lobby and Michael's for a scrapbook haul. I get to scrapbook today with Stephanie's daycare provider and her Pastor's wife. I haven't got to do that in sooooooooo long. So today I'm working from 8ish to 11ish, scrapbooking from 1-4 and then laundry, dishes cleaning, supper after that.

I FORGOT to let you know how my Grandma was doing. I talked to her Thursday evening and she is so much better. Her skin still hasn't healed but dr's think it's improving. She won't have the biopsy results until this week sometime. Her hip repair is going so great that she can put 50% weight on and it's not hurt in several days now. She finally got to sleep in her bed the other day and she sounded so much better on the phone. Maybe she's on the road to a full recovery after all. Thank you VERY much for all the prayers on her behalf.

Gotta run!

Yo Mon, Jamaican ME CRAZY!!!

2008-09-18T00:15:00.005-05:00

BURSTING WITH EXCITEMENT TODAY!!!! Our local radio station KWRT, plays a syndicated national show from about 11am on. Currently, they are qualifying listeners to go on a CRUISE called Classic Country Cruise!
Visit http://www.opry.com/OpryCruise/PortsOfCall.aspx

I am excited for several reasons. I was able to get through the phone lines and get qualified! I had the right answer to the dj's question. The cruise includes airfare as well as one whole week cruising. One of the Ports of Call is where Greg and I went on our honeymoon, Ocho Rios Jamaica. OH MY GOSH would I be so excited if I won. We will be married 15 years this year and what an awesome thing that would be. The trip is in February 8-14 so perfect for Valentines too,(he could cover two romantic dates in one) and we've never been on a cruise before. Don't have a clue what we'd do with the kiddo's, but believe me you, if we win this thing, we're goin! They are going to take more names for another week or so and then they'll have a drawing. Please oh please, if you're the praying person out there reading this, please pray that I win. If you don't pray, could ya just send good vibes my way?

Ok, now that I got that out of the way...Here's Ethan's excitement for the week hopefully. He has been attending and YMCA Youth Fitness class and it isn't too structured or organized, go figure. Anyhoo, Monday afternoon, the instructor took the 4 kids to the creek on the grounds of the Y and let them play around it. Notice I said around. Well, at one point, Ethan jumped across to the other side and got his shoes muddy. He said he knew I'd be mad, so he went to wash them off in the creek water. In the meantime, one of the 5th grade boys, jumped in the sandy/muddy area and sunk up close to his waist. (He got stuck) The instructor thought it was hillarious as did a couple other kids. Ethan went over to this kid and started digging him out of the mud. He had on fairly new clothes and he was trying hard not to get them covered in mud. Apparently, the stuck 5th grader thought it would be oh so funny to get Ethan with mud. He picked up two big handfuls and slopped Ethan with it, all the while Ethan's trying to get him out. (We've had boat loads of rain with Gustav and Ike) He road his bike on home and took off his clothes so he could soak them. I immediately threw the shorts in the washer and soaked his WHITE t-shirt overnight in Oxy Clean. I had to scrub some places pretty hard, but after washing it's wearable. Needless to say, he is not going back to the class. But we were proud of him for stepping in to get the 5th grader out when it should have been on the shoulders of the instructor. Makes you feel good when your teenager does something responsible like that and especially when the adult present didn't know what to do.

Gotta run, it's really late and dieting doesn't work so well if you don't get enough sleep. And I don't want to get run down, you never want to stay on your diet when that happens.

Till next time,
Lana

New Blog and stuff

2008-09-16T07:02:00.004-05:00

Hey all, good morning!

I have a new blog. It is going to be devoted entirely to my weight loss journey. They always say to keep a journal, and I know that means what you eat, but I am keeping a log of my gains/losses and all things diet related. I am going to give South Beach a whirl. I know people who've done really well with it. I don't want to pay for Weight Watchers this time.

Ethan has received two more special school awards this week and after last evening, I think he's more than just the average kid. More on that later.

Stephanie and I are going to go shopping for jeans and long pants today. She is excited to be shopping and fall has hit here with cool temps in the morning, enough for a jacket.

With all the negative news in the economy, Greg is busier than ever and people just keep calling for work to be done. Doesn't appear that Boonville is in a downturn just yet. Hope this trend keeps up.

As for me, check out my new blog at
For the Last Time
http://4thelasttimelana.blogspot.com/
Work is great as usual and I mean that. I love my job.

Have a good day, all for now, more on Ethan tonight.

Lana

Fun in the Sun, tee hee tee hee

2008-09-08T20:43:00.006-05:00

CHECK THIS OUT!

Yesterday's weather was mild, and for Missouri in September, let's just say it was almost jacket weather. We did not get the pool down before now. Donning swim suits the 2 yayhoos decided to help the water get to somewhere other than our back yard. Our yard does not drain well and it always makes a huge water puddle till it finally starts draining. One would think that one would put the drain hole on the side that flows down and out, not on the uphill side. Go figure. Went in the house for a few minutes to start a load of laundry and I came back out to this....

Good thing our yard backs up to woods. Uh, the trench, hand dug by Ethan was a masterpiece! Not sure how many of the thousands of gallons of chlorinated water ran that way, but I think he was proud of his accomplishment. Before you green savers go harping about the chemicals released into the ground, the only thing I ever put in our pool is the chlorine tabs. The water here is treated with so much stuff, I never have to treat our pool. I do cover it when it rains, but otherwise change a filter 1-2 times a season and we're good to go.

I didn't have the heart to tell her her bucket wasn't big enough :(

Surprisingly, it only took a couple of hours to drain, maybe not quite that long even. And each year I'm getting faster and faster about getting it up. Don't think I'll put it up next year though. With both kids in baseball/softball we just didn't have much free time and when we did it was either raining or too cold. With all the woods near us, we get a whole bazooka load of horse flies and what bigger mosquito trap can you ask for? ahhh, but the kids love it and by the time next year rolls around, I'll have changed my mind and forgot about the woes of this year.

On a final note, PLEASE, PLEASE keep my Grandma Gen in your prayers. She went to the infection disease specialist today and it was not very good news. They now say what she has is NOT shingles but something else. They biopsied her skin in several places and we should know something in 3-4 days. Pray for healing from whatever it is, that it is curable, and her pain to lessen. She is still in a great deal of pain. The hip surgery went fine and she got a glowing report from that doctor. Thank you, and I'll keep you posted.

Good Saturday Morn'in to ya!

2008-09-06T09:26:00.007-05:00

I've got a few more pictures to share but more on that later. I FINALLY GOT TO SLEEP IN TODAY! Anyone who really knows me, knows that I am NOT a morning person. Greg didn't even wake me up when he got up before dawn to go to work. There is nothing better in my world than sleeping in. I love being up late at night when it's quiet. I know, I know, ya all say it's just as quiet before sunrise. But when you have kiddo's, you know they'll stay in bed at 9pm, but in the morning, they could wake up and ruin that quiet time. Don't get me wrong I love my kids, but there's a reason for the quiet time too. Besides, I had to reserve my energy ;) we are going to work 8 hours at the Steam Engine Show with the Knights of Columbus. We are by far the youngest couple to help out, uhmmmm, ok, Greg is the youngest. We serve fried chicken, pork steak, catfish, and all the fixin's. So if you're in the area of I-70 and Brady Showgrounds by Columbia, stop by. It's a whole lot of fun for the family. Many things for the younger crowd to do.

Can't get a picture of an almost 14 year old, otherwise I'd show you why I'm proud of Ethan this week. I have to brag just a wee bit. All in one week, he received the highest honor at school for respectful, responsible and honorable in his actions. For that it was High Flyin' Hawk award. He received a nomination for the Y-Pals program in which a teacher nominated him for this program. In that, he will mentor to a younger child through the YMCA. He also achieved all A's on his homework this week, managed to get all his chores done, and attended 3 nights of class for youth fitness. Yep, I guess we're doing the right thing with him. And you will never hear him toot his horn, so I guess it's ok that Mom does once in a while.

Now for the pictures.....

Let me explain. I know you know that it's a penguin who's arms wilted and a dragon made from balloons. The story behind them is: Last Saturday night, Greg drove all the way to St. Joseph with the kids to meet me at the hospital where I was seeing my Grandma. They had stopped in Kansas City to eat supper, that I knew. He had called me and I met him out in front of the hospital, (they didn't get there until 11:30pm). The kids were waving these things out the window. I said, "Where did you get those?" Ethan said, "WALLY'S BALLOON WORLD". huh? I never heard of the place, so I said where did you eat then? He replied again, "Wally's Balloon World." I asked what kind of food a balloon place served. It was then Stephanie burst out laughing and said, "We ate at Joe's Crab Shack, Mom." Just so happened they had a balloonist(I don't know what they're called)making anything a kid wanted. They had more fun watching him create them than the experience of eating at Joe's.

Here's a quick video of Ethan and Stephanie at the hotel pool in St. Joe this past weekend. He was trying to splash big and she was trying to float upside down. Mission accomplished I think.

It's off to do the Saturday morning chores which I hate with a passion, but thankful I am healthy and able to do them and that I have a home and the mess to clean. Some people are not so lucky, and I am truly blessed with what I have. Till next time, Lana.

Finally getting back

2008-09-04T20:35:00.007-05:00

Been gone a while again. Lots always happen'in. This past weekend my Grandma fell, broke her hip and ended up in the hospital having surgery last Saturday morning. That went exceedingly well and she was released on Tuesday of this week. But.....she has a horrendous case of shingles that has just about put her down and out. She could still use all the prayers she can get not only for her hip healing but the end of the shingles. She's had to live with them since late spring. She will 84 in November. She has ALWAYS been like a Mother to me. I am so close to her and it was all too familiar having to go to the hospital to see her in that condition. My mom died November 10, 1992(T-cell Lymphoma). I really love my Grandma, please pray for her.

Now for the picture deluge.
Know what these are? Umm hmm. That's right, THE SPINNERS! Ok, Santa Claus, this year when Stephanie asks for "Wheelies" can you make sure the elves package up exactly what she asks for. Let's just say Spinners were not only what she didn't ask for, but they ended up costing mom and dad a small boat load of cash at the ER office!

Moving on...I always make the kids pose for the first day of school pics. As each year passes, it's getting harder and harder for them to be excited however. This year was no exception. Here's a few of the better ones.

We caught this thing and kept it in a bug catcher for 2 or 3 days! Well, I admit I didn't catch it. Ethan and Stephanie did. They nabbed a grand daddy long leg, a cricket and a roly poly bug and tossed them in with it. We wanted a show. Bets were on as to whose demise would come first. At first both spiders checked each other out, but immediately the "garden spider" started webbing. I use the term garden spider loosely because that's what Greg said it was. He tells me stuff like that even if it's not the truth;) On about the third day he appeared to be dying, so we made the kids turn all the critters loose. I put him/her back by the window where we'd found it and within 24 hours it was webbing all over the window again. I suppose he lived. Haven't seen him since.(thank goodness)
Check out the zig zag cotton it was weaving! cool huh?

Greg and Ethan were having a discussion at supper the other night and I just happened to have the camera nearby. Stephanie soaks up daddy's love any chance she gets, and after supper is as good as time as any. Gotta catch him before desk work. She was having so much fun while they were deep in politics, or maybe it was girls outnumber boys in his pre-algebra class.

I found this really neat counter on the net the other day and it tells you how many hits you have on your blog and whether they are unique hits or return visitors. I am amazed at the number! Kind of neat for the geek in me! Anyhoo, gotta toodle.

By the way, out of the blue here, how old were you, or your kids when Santa Claus really came out of the closet ;) ;)

Worlds of Fun On a Blistering Hot Day!!!

2008-08-25T00:41:00.003-05:00

Ok, go back a day or two. Remember the Barbie stewardess in Toy Story who was riding in the car and was waving and saying bye now, buh bye, byyyye byyyye, that's all, bye bye and holding her hand just so the entire time. (Think Barbie voice) Well, that's the wave the boys were giving me going around in circles on their trustworthy steeds!
A little Barbie wave from Stephanie with the good arm.
Us'uns girls tried to catch them boys in their toy, but dawg gone it, ours just didn't have the stuff. We managed to get the nerds taking pictures of us though!
I sure hope if you click on the above picture it will reopen in the larger size because in the very front seat was Stephanie and Greg. They rode ALL the roller coasters! She enjoyed them all and her fav was the Patriot.
This was the old Finnish Fling that's been there since day one I think. Even Ethan finally got in the action on this one. By then I was down at the picnic tables holding multiple stuffed animals, drink bottles, camera, purse, and other stuff, so I didn't get him in this thing. Greg said it's a good ride to pull the hair off your legs. humph!

That Sunday we were there was the hottest day of the year and I swore I won't ever do that again. Might as well go out and lay in the street naked on pavement on a hot day, at least it's right out your front door and doesn't cost an arm and a leg to park your vehicle.

As you can see by the dates in the pictures, I'm slowly catching up. Not there yet.

I've got a new book to start, well actually two. Randy Pausch's, The Last Lecture and The Ends of the Earth by Ken Follet. One easy reader, one not. Judging by the time I can't start them tonight either. Ahhhh, such is life.

The rest of the sites

2008-08-22T20:38:00.011-05:00

Pictures of Cape to share. The top 2 are of the murals painted on the flood walls of the riverfront. The wall is over 7000 feet long I think and the murals depict Cape's history and famous Missourians on the Wall of Fame. It's really interesting if it's not one of the hottest days of the year to visit. You can see how high the floods were during different years. Of course '93 topped them all. The bottom two were on the back side of the levee wall.

On from there we traveled to Burfordville, where only 1 of a few covered bridges are still standing in Missouri. Very nice off the beaten path kind of place. Only take the tour if you're really interested in history of the mill, it lasts almost an hour!

Another hot spot was Elephant Rocks State Park. If you're in to hiking and climbing and big honkin' rocks....GO, you'll have a great time. I didn't get into the whole elephant thing so I didn't get the best picture of the "elephant". If you study the picture below, you can make out the elephant and his ears/trunk in the red rock to the left.

We've had quite the busy schedule and finally I think we're settling in to our school routine. Ethan is not going out for football, so fall should be a little more relaxed for us. Maybe I can catch some craft shows, Hatton anyone?

Hopefully, I'll get the rest of the pictures posted this weekend and get up to the first day of school this past week. Stephanie really likes her teacher and Ethan uh, well not so fun when you're an 8th grader and all the fun stuff has been taken out by a drill seargent of a principal. 'nough said.

Till next time, Lana

Continuing on....

2008-08-16T20:18:00.007-05:00

A little chubby baby anyone? Maybe it's a Kempf thing? Or is this just a good pic to hold over them someday! lol! The girls and Elaine had to head back home after a awesomely fun week! Even though we hate to see them leave, it was time to prepare for the weekend as we headed to Chaffee Missouri to play in the Junior Babe Ruth 13 year old State Tournament. This was Ethan's first year to be housed. When players at this age go to State, Regionals or Nationals, they have host families who volunteer to house the boys. The tournament saw a lot of rain off and on and one afternoon lightening struck the ground behind 2nd base. It burnt the grass and made a hole in the ground. The hole was very hot for quite a while afterward.

If you ever go to Cape Girardeau down in the bootheel, you have to go see some of the sites. They have a beautiful bridge spanning the Mississippi, especially the night pictures.
St. Vincents is on the trail as you walk towards the bridge. You have to fight the "skeeters" and take this walk. It is lighted and so close to the river and with everything lit up....it's just the coolest. More site pictures next time.

Changes

2008-08-13T21:15:00.021-05:00

It's almost time for school to start and I didn't get ANY of the July pics up yet. Sooooo.... I am going to try over the next week or so to post lots of pics and what's been going on with us. First up in July was Bible School. Stephanie went to the Luthern & Catholic Church Bible Schools this year. She went to the Luthern Church with her day care provider. Maggie was having a great time, getting into all the songs! Then, that same night we hopped in the car just as soon as the last song was sung and just in time as Ethan was on the field for A & W. His team finished 1st place this year. It was nice to finally be a part of a winning team for once. This is what you could find Stephanie doing at brother's ball games. Building volcano's with dirt, leaves, and rocks, arm cast and all. Speaking of casts, Stephanie's cousin broke her arm just a couple days later. Here they are sporting their matching arm wear. The next several are of cousin time. Greg's sister Elaine, and her two girls Lauren and Mackenzie came in for a week from Arizona. As you can see, it's MUCHO FUNNO at the Kempf's when the cousins get together! I know there are 30+ some cousins, plus the cousins kids. Let's see if I can name them all.....

I'll start in no particular order and you can count them yourself! lol! Mitch, Gina, Haley, Krista, Michael M., Kyle, Melissa M, Parker, Xavier, Kelly, Nick, Julie, Justin, Nicole, David, Grace, Lindsay, Josh, Heidi, Michael K, Hendrick, Philip, Elizabeth, Margaret, Brad, Tracy, Melissa K, Jordan, Pat, Amy, Asher, Cory, Abby, Nathan, Dustin, Dale, Ashley, Danny, Melanie, Tyler, Debbie, Chris, Cole, Kim, Kristen, Aaron, Lauren, Mackenzie, Kayla, Becca, Bruce, Zach, Ethan, and Stephanie. There are currently 3 more that I know of coming in the next 6 months! Add to this Greg's sisters and brothers and spouses....Mary, George, David Candy, Darryl, Nancy, Jerry, Denise, Linda, Eddie, Carol, John S., Elaine, Mike, Chris, Roylene, John, Cheryl, Charlie, Greg, and me, Lana. Harold and Mary Ann. That's a lot of people when we all get together. That's just immediate family folks!!!! We only have a few repeats on names imagine that! The angels among us are Michael Monnig, David Kempf, and Mary Ann.

Ok, till next time, that's enough. Test on names next week!

News from our house this month

2008-07-10T19:37:00.003-05:00

What would June 29th be without fireworks? Oh yeah, only Boonville has 2 celebrations with fireworks.

Little Sweetie broke her arm on July 5th, in Ethan's room. She was rolling around with her wheelie, heelie, spinners or whatever they're called and fell over backwards landing all her weight on left hand. The photo below is her finally napping the day after. She had a good dose of narcotics, 2 frozen pea bags and a comfy sofa to sleep off some of the pain. Look what a little nappin will do for ya. You're ready to swat the biggest brother you have up side the head! Just jokin'. She was proud she could do that without too much pain. I didn't bother to tell her she was still feeling the effects of the pain medicine!
I don't have any pics to show you of what Ethan's been up to. Baseball, workin' with Greg and helping around the house. Plus, he's at that age.....13ish going on crabby.

We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of family from Arizona, Greg's sister, Elaine and her girls Lauren and Mackenzie. They'll be here Saturday and stay over a week. Should have lots of fun and pictures from next week to share.

Anyone out there a reader? Have you read Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett? OMG! It's a on the edge of your seat book with over 900 pages that keeps it in your hands at all times. Fairly explicit, more than a PG13 rating, but never the less a very good read and I'm only half way through.

Off to help the kiddo with her bath, Glad Press and Seal works wonders!

Lana

SO MUCH FUN!!!!

2008-06-18T23:43:00.003-05:00

HOW ABOUT A LITTLE TRIP TO KANSAS CITY TO SEE JASON ALDEAN AND TIM MCGRAW ANYONE?

The kids had so much fun! Greg's sister Carol had purchased tickets and had ended up asking us to go. She had 3 tickets, so Greg took the kids. They were FRONT ROW FLOOR! Can you believe it????? The kids collected several picks, got to shake hands with Jason and Tim, and have their hats signed by Tim! Stephanie was on the big screen (do they still call those things JumboTrons?), and Greg called me on his cell phone so I could listen at home! They have memories that will last their lifetimes. How cool is that? A GREAT BIG THANK YOU TO CAROL FOR THE TICKETS. Sorry Kristen.... you really missed out. (Kristen is Carol's daughter who chose to go with her church group to rebuild homes in the state of Louisiana instead of going to the concert). What a girl to give up Tim McGraw for that. God be with you always Kristen.

It's late again, we're ball parkin' all week, tonight was Ethan's game, they won 16-6 I think, and tomorrow is Stephanie's last game. She plays at 8pm and then Ethan plays Friday and Saturday.

I couldn't hardly stay awake at work today, so tomorrow will most likely be a repeat.
Later,
Lana

Live Like You Were Dying....

2008-06-18T00:02:00.003-05:00

Ok, that's all for tonight, wait until you read my next post! Please forgive me for not getting the hog roast pics up yet. I've got lots to share, but right this very minute I'm about to doze off. 'Till the Stars go Blue....in a Hick Town......

Lana

Last Day of School!

2008-05-22T22:15:00.004-05:00

aaaahhhhhhhhhh....the last day of school! I was able to take the day off and make it to Stephanie's award ceremony and then got to go back and pick her up when school was out. The top pic is of her best friends Hannah and Paige. The second picture I took when the teacher handed her grade card to her. Not sure what she was checking for????? The bottom picture is just her and classmates clowning around. They were all about to fall over at this point. There were 90 3rd graders this year. We didn't find out who her teacher was. They are thinking of dividing the 5th graders into 6 classrooms next year and scaling down 4th graders to only 4 classrooms. If they do this, then all the teacher assignments will change. The note we got said we wouldn't find out until the first week of August.

She did well this school year. She completed her reading circle, got 2nd place in the Math & Logic team for 3rd grade, and an award for B's or Better on her grade card. I think she's glad school's finally out.

Ethan on the other hand. You don't get many pictures of a teenager, especially a boy. He came running out from school with his arms full of books, a bag full and grinning from ear to ear. Our son, the library aide, took full advantage of discarded library books! If you know Ethan...only him. The same son who's been carrying his cleats around in his shoe box to baseball games. You just never know how your kids personality will develop and where they come up with some of this stuff.

I loved having the day off and it made me wish for the days of not working full time outside the home. I took the kids to school, got a Sonic Cherry Coke, came home got 2 loads of laundry done, dishes washed, tidied up the living room, picked the kids up at 1:00, came home & took a 45 minute nap, got the rest of the laundry done, made a scrumpdillylicious meal for supper (chicken enchiladas from scratch) and watched my Tivo'ed shows and it's only 10:45! Work tomorrow though. Then with Monday being a holiday, I've got 4 day work weeks in a row! I love my job, but it's so good to get a day off here and there and breathe. Don't think I'll ever get caught up as long as the kids are home.

okey dokey, all for now, lana

Take Me Out to the Ball GAME!!!

2008-05-17T22:05:00.005-05:00

Today was Opening Day for Junior Babe Ruth. As luck would have it, Stephanie had a game today at 2:00, so when Ethan's started at 3:00, Dad had to miss some of it. For his first time out on this field, he did fairly well. It seems surreal that he should even be old enough to play on the "Big Field" as it's known around town. The bottom picture is one I took with my camera in 3 frames. It automatically freezes a frame for you and after the 3rd shot it pastes them together. That was the only way I could get all the teams in. They were handing out awards to the 15 year olds from playing in National's this past summer.

Ethan's team won 11-1 against Medical Arts! They won by the 10 run rule. We stayed and watched the second game and KFC beat KWRT by the 10 run rule also, and I watched half of the last game where Potter Transport was winning over Carstar 5-0. The games shouldn't be so lopsided once the 15 year olds come back to play. Right now, they have won districs with High School ball and they're going to State. So they haven't practiced with the teams at all. Should be some closer games once they return.

Stephanie lost her game 5-3. She went with a friend afterwards to spend the night with her. I'm sure she's having a good time. And not having to spend the day at the ball park would thrill her to death.

The COUNTDOWN has begun! Only 4 more days of school left! Whew! This fall I'll have a 4th grader and an 8th grader! I haven't told Stephanie yet, but I took the day off work so I can go to all the last day activities. She'll have awards at 9:15, then they do something called Field Day at 10:15 (I think they just go outside to get out of the teachers hair ;) and get out at 1:00pm.

I'm going to try and post a video below. Don't shoot me if it doesn't work. It'll be my first time and the video isn't that great to begin with.

An Evening to Relax! Ha!

2008-05-15T22:45:00.008-05:00

For those of you with little tikes at home, be ever so THANKFUL they are still little enough to BE at home with you. Enjoy those moments of time. TAKE the time to just "be" with them. Record their cute sayings on paper or video or both. I say these things because from May 1st to July something or other, between both kids, we will not be home at all except for maybe a Saturday here and there. EVERY NIGHT the kids either have practices or games, or Ethan umpires. Don't get me wrong, I love baseball season, but it makes me realize how fast time has gone and my kids are not toddlers any more! :(

Tonight, I came home from work, started supper, put a load of laundry in, had the kids help with picking up clutter around the house, ate supper, got Ethan to practice, put dishes in dishwasher, managed to get 3 more loads of laundry washed/dried/folded/put away, helped Stephanie with homework, read the paper, got Ethans phone switched to his new one, chatted with Greg briefly about the day, and finally got to watch ER and my TIVO'ed Days episode. Here it is 11:00pm. This is how my relaxing days go during baseball season! lol!

I am sharing the picture of the kids on the first day of school this past year. It hit me that Stephanie can no longer wear those shorts this spring because she's grown so much. Poor Ethan's puppy dog feet just keep growing and he's now wearing 11 1/2's! She's counting down the days and Ethan never says too much, but I think he's looking forward to the last day. My car's in the background. As old and dilapidated as it was, I sure do miss it. I'm glad it kept Ethan and I safe from harm when we were in the wreck last September.

Book: I'm not reading this week, but I bought Ethan the book he wanted that just came out, titled "The Battle of the Labyrinth" by Rick Riordan. He hasn't put it down, so guess it's good for a teen read

Gratitude Journal: I keep a notebook in the van right beside the seat and every morning when I get to work I write the day's date and jot down 5 things I'm thankful for. This keeps me grounded for the day.

Household hint/tip: I absolutely HATE to clean my bathrooms. I think it's the size of the room, you can never work comfortably in a bathroom and all the nooks and crannies you have to get into. Anyhow, I have made myself wipe down the sink as soon as I get finished in there. And I swish around the toilet bowl with the brush and a squirt or two of the Clorox bathroom spray. Leaves the bathroom smelling fresh and I'm always ready for company that way ;)

Someone emailed me the other day asking why I named my blog spot, Bring it On Home. Well it's actually bringitonhome2me.blogspot.com or something like that. wellllllll....... I really like that song by Little Big Town and it was on my MP3 player the night I put my blog up and running.

That's all for t'nite. So much for relaxing! lol!

Long Time AGAIN!

2008-05-11T22:07:00.010-05:00

Ok, so here's what's been going on in our world since my last post. The second picture cracks me up! The candles were sparkle candles with glitter and they sort of "sparked" like a sparkler when she would blow on them! So she wouldn't even get close! It seems sooooo hard to believe my little 2 pound preemie is now 9 years old!!!! Where has the time gone? She is into Hannah Montanna, Zoey 101, Josh & Drake and Dora and Little Pet Shop are only a faded memory. wahhhh..... She got tons of moolah from family, some HM clothes, Uno Attack and Ethan got her a Taylor Swift CD. We partied at my Grandma's house in the country with my side of the family.

Not to leave the boys out....here's a little showing of what they were doing....The pics aren't that great, but I can say Dad was in the wagon. Good thing Ethan's only driving a lawn mower. They were hauling off fish guts! By the way, you can click on the pictures and it will bring up a larger view!

I just love being at my Grandma's house. It's so peaceful there. You can't see any neighbors looking in any direction and there is plenty of wild life to see all the time. I spent every summer at her house as long as my parent's would let me stay.

We are in full swing with ball season and between practices and games and rain, I don't think we have a free night until July sometime! 's ok though, I love baseball and good times at the park. Stephanie's games have a little bit to be desired and at Lion's Park, well, let's just say it can be interesting and leave it at that.

I haven't had a chance to read in the last 2 or 3 weeks I don't think, but am still floundering with A New Earth. I have had too many things going on and reading is a luxury at this point in my life.

I'm thinking of trying a diet again real soon. I joined Weight Watchers last fall and lost about 15 pounds. I've kept that off, but am wanting to do something on my own that doesn't cost a weekly fee. I need to try to go to the Y more often. I just don't know when I can fit it in.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day. Greg and Ethan made me breakfast, (bacon/egg/cheese biscuit and hash browns), gave me a card from each of them, put up a ceiling fan in the living room, went to the cemetery to see Greg's mom's stone that was recently put up, grilled out with Aunt Mary and Grandpa Kempf, and when Stephanie got home from camping all weekend, she gave me a handmade card, a glass angel from Arrow Rock, and a little refrigerator memo board she made at school. All in all, it was a good day!

Till next time, and hopefully won't be so long!

Lana

Guess Who's Back at Our House?

2008-04-13T22:29:00.008-05:00

Flat Stanley came home this weekend. He has been to Washington DC to visit Ms. Stupica and her Kindergarten class. While there, he got to see many national landmarks including the White House and many other sites! He arrived back in Boonville and had a short stay at David Barton Elementary before coming home-home this weekend. He was greeted by the cats who couldn't remember him and didn't care that he came back. Stephanie was glad to have him back though. She convinced me to make him some new clothes and let him help cook supper one night! woui!!! He also traveled with us to Columbia to do some sports shopping for the kids. (by the way, the cat is Bandit, Mom's cat, and the pots on the stove are what the kid's fixed for supper-chicken and dumplings and mashed potatoes!)

How's the Fly Lady going for everyone? I had too much going on this past week to do one single task. Oh, well that's not completely true, as I got dressed to the shoes every day, did a load of laundry every day, cleaned my sink every day- ok guess I did do some of it, just not zone cleaning. I miss doing a 27 fling thing each week. I had been taking 2 garbage bagsfull to Unlimited Opportunities about every other week for a while. That makes you feel so good to know it's going to a good cause. http://www.flylady.net/

I am still reading a chapter a week on A New Earth, see previous post for more info. Since Ethan and I figured out how to download Oprah's class on my MP3 player, I can keep up with it now!

Speaking of Oprah.... and along the lines of what the book is about....have you all seen the episode where Professor Randy Pausch talks about leaving this earth and saying goodbye because he's dying of pancreatic cancer? He actually gave this as a lecture to his college students, but it is very worthwhile to watch and very thought provoking. Only 11 minutes long. Find it here: http://video.stumbleupon.com/#p=ithct48cqw and I hope that link works.

Finally, how many of you know about Beth Moore? Does anyone know where I can find her on TV? She is supposed to have a show on TV called Wednesday's with Beth, but so far I can't find it. Let me know if you do.

All for tonight,

Lana

Ding, Dang, Dung, and Blah

2008-04-05T19:06:00.003-05:00

Did you ever just have an all out blah kind of day and nothing really seemed to make it snap? I'm having one of those days. Got to sleep in-woo hoo! and about 10:30ish I took Stephanie to her cousins house. They were going to a rabbit show! Anyhoo-then I dropped Ethan off at the barber shop, yes he is really called a barber(pretty extinct breed I guess). I then came home to clean, oh yippee!

But as I trudged through my flylady emails, I managed to purge a trash bag full of trash and then went on to cull about 2 bags to go to goodwill. I go and put the bags in the van immediately when they're full, then I can't make excuses about not running them by there. They're already loaded and I always need the empty space in the van. I didn't get anything done in the kids rooms, maybe tomorrow on that.

I was wondering....why do people email me about my blog but not leave comments here? Is there something as far as virus'es or other reasons I'm not aware of? I get frequent emails directly, but never see a comment here. Whaz up?

Oh, back to the blah kind of day, just nothing exciting happen'in ya know? Cleaning is never fun. I'm sure tomorrow's another day, Annie(as in Little Orphan).

love,
l

Who & Hair????

2008-03-29T23:48:00.003-05:00

Normally, Saturday's are cleaning days around here. All the FlyLady emails I let pile up seem to get checked off one by one on Saturday's. The kids and I got most of it done, minus laundry however...there's always tomorrow. They got their rooms cleaned, did their challenges for the week and I went to work. Usually, I don't work on Saturday's, but we were really busy yesterday and it was looking like today would be no exception. So I went in for a couple of hours. I had planned to go to Wal-Mart and get all the staple items. But in the back of my mind, I was thinking the kids really wanted to see Horton Hears a Who. So I called them, told them to get ready to go and I'd pick them up. They thought we were going to Wal-Mart so imagine their surprise when I passed it up. We really liked the movie. We all agreed our favorite character had a minor part, but Katie was the cutest! We all loved the movie. (Greg was working). Go see it if you get the chance.

Now for the hair in the title. Stephanie has been wanting to get her hair cut for a longggggggggg time now. She's only had it cut one time, ok maybe twice in her almost 9 years. Only this time, she wants to do Locks of Love and get it ALL cut off. Her hair is HER. If you know Stephanie, you know her beautiful golden locks that curl up in ringlets the longer the day goes. You know that when it's really clean it's silky and golden. You know that she always has some doo-dad in it, and it's never in her eyes. It's just a part of her. But when I think of some little girl that has no hair from cancer or lukemia getting Stephanie's hair, how can I tell her no? It will grow back I'm sure. I just can't imagine her without it. She's asked Dad and he's not too in favor of the idea either. Grandpa Kempf doesn't want her to do it. Maybe if she does it now, it will be longer by picture time this fall.

Prayers: www.ethanpowell.com
Book: still reading A NEW EARTH
Hint: Shine the sink(sink reflections by Marla Cilley) and put your shoes on EVERY DAY-it does make a difference.

A Month Gone By???

2008-03-27T21:34:00.006-05:00

Where did this past month go? I had taken 3 day's off for my mother in law's funeral, then had 2 following work days off for that flu bug I had, got far behind at work......Actually, we've not had a restful week until this past week. ds (Ethan) has been on a traveling basketball team and we were gone every Saturday and Sunday all day both days. He also had practice 2-3 nights a week. And if he wasn't involved with that, then dd (Stephanie) was. Oh the joys of having both kids involved in outside activities.

I've been working on getting my scrapbooking area back in action. I've been out of the loop way to long and am longing for that kind of thing again. I love to coordinate the pages and dream up idea after idea for my pages. I love that each page tells a story. With Spring ahead, I'm hoping to get in some serious layout projects!

Baseball Season anyone? ds and dd both were signed up in the last couple of weeks and ds will have tryouts in a couple of weekends. Dad is going to manage Stephanie's softball team this summer. Soooo in just a matter of a few weeks, we'll be in full swing of another sporting season. Actually, I don't know which I like better, basketball or baseball. Both are my favs. Since we live so close to the park, we can walk always and with the rising cost of gas, all the better!

I am trying and struggling to read this book, A New Earth. Is anyone else reading this? Ethan and I just figured out tonight how to get the audio downloaded to my MP3 player. I will try to catch up on the classes over the weekend. I am just starting chapter 4. I really had an "aha" moment while reading chapter 3 and found the paragraphs on pages 64-67 very eye opening.

I found a website also that I am going to download the workbook that goes along with this. Growing up in my generation, you did NOT write in a book, so to this day, I find it hard to underline or make notes in a book. Yikes, my 4th grade teacher might come back to haunt me!

Remember the websites of the boys I posted about before? Well, young Peter Barr went on to heaven to be with his heavenly Father. His earthly father has been keeping his caring bridge page up to date. You should take a moment to stop by his site and read his words. He speaks so eloquently. And Ethan Powell, the little guy that's just barely over a year old is struggling so much right now. His parents have just received devastating news over the last few days and they need all the prayers they can get too. I'll post both sites again, and the links are in an older post as well.

www.caringbridge.org/visit/peterbarr

www.ethanpowell.com

My people prayer request list for today (in addition to the boys above):

Ted M.-undergoing treatment for cancer
Cynthia R. -passed away yesterday from lukemia
Linda G.-for peace in her life
T.H., T.I., M.P. -for financial resolutions
Lastly, for all the needs of those whose prayers go unspoken.

Helpful household hint for the day: I bought one of those expandable folders in what else but purple and the labels came with it for A-Z. It's one that the top folds over on. Well, I once heard for EVERY piece of paper that comes into your life, OHIO it. O=Only H=Handle I=It O=Once Ok, so I don't quite have that down pat, but this expandable folder is working well because as soon as that paper touches my hands, it goes alphabetically in that file. Bills, school papers, coupons, whatever. Then, when I need something I know exactly where it is. And when I need to cull it every two weeks, I can take one letter pocket at a time and weed through it. Oh, is it ever saving me time, and space, because before I bought it, I had papers stacked all over the place.

G'night, L

Death and Flu

2008-02-28T22:24:00.006-06:00

I've been out of the loop for a couple of weeks. My very sweet mother in law passed away after a long battle with PSP(supra-nuclear palsy). She declined rapidly around the 15th and passed away the morning of the 18th. With my husband being the youngest of 11 children, there were bunches of family members to visit with over the last week and a half. Actually, all said, there are 76 of us with another due in May. There were some good times of reminiscing but with 40+ family members all in one house at any given time, well... let's just say sickness this time of year was inevitable. DS came down with the flu on Monday during the day and it hit me during the night. Finally after two days in bed, I went back to work today, but the extremely bad sore throat lingers, wahhhhh.

Has anyone gotten the book Oprah is telling everyone to read? The New Earth? Waz up with that? Worth the read?

With everything that has gone on at my house the last couple of weeks, I haven't started a new book to recommend (sorry)

There are still a couple of little guys in need of prayers at this time:
Ethan, a baby who's just passed his first birthday, struggling at ST. Jude's.
http://www.ethanpowell.com/

And
Peter, who's at home surrounded by family, getting closer to his heavenly home with each passing day
www.caringbridge.org/visit/peterbarr
if the above link doesn't work, you'll just need to type in his name in the "visit" space. (peter barr)

ARGH!!!

2008-02-10T11:04:00.000-06:00

I just typed an entire page (ok, not the whole thing) but clicked on publish post and I got an error page and my entire post was gone! CRIPES!

Long story short, please go visit http://www.ethanpowell.com/

Until I cool off and remember what all I just posted,

Lana

ps, the pic above is of ds who is 13. dd has her photo on the side. she's almost 9!

Whooped! BUT FOUND MY LOST ENTRY

2008-02-10T10:29:00.002-06:00

Here is the entry I thought I'd lost! That was so frustrating! I decided to put it on anyway!

Ya ever get plain old tired and run down? Feeling like you need a calgon moment? I always think it's my age catching up with me! lol! But since this past week, I have felt out of steam. Hopefully, not coming down with something.

With the lack of energy, my daily routines have went down the drain. The weekend has provided lots of laundry, dishes, cleaning that I don't normally do on weekends. And letting it go has made it feel worse about doing/not doing it. Did that make any sense?

On a lighter note, ds, dd, and I all got MP3 players for Christmas. We're finally getting around to loading all our fav's on them. It's so weird, my 13 yo ds is downloading all the stuff I listened to when I was his age! arrghhhh! where did the time go? He;s putting Eagles, Queen, Super Tramp, Van Halen, Bon Jovi on his while dd is listening to Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift and Sara Evans. (she's almost 9) Me, well I'm putting a HUGE mix on mine. Yesterday, I put some Sugar Ray, Blaque, Dwight Yoakam, Stevie Nicks, Sara McLachlan, Jimmy Buffet, Lifehouse. I wish I could find Mercy Me's version of I Can Only Imagine.

With both dd and ds involved in winter basketball, I will be needing to bump up my daily house work, so that weekends are totally open to attend their games. We only allow our kids to be involved in one outside activity per quarter of school. Even so, they have practices 4 nights a week, (her 1 and him 3) and then 3-4 games every weekend. The silver lining is that she's almost done and ds is just getting started.

Helpful hint/tip for the day: I read this somewhere, so I can't take credit, but don't remember the source :(

Turn all your hangers around (hook side facing towards you). Mark your calendar on the day you do it. Then 3-4 weeks later, see how many items you haven't worn. Take a serious look at those items, determine if they really need to be there or not. If not, donate them to the goodwill/salvation army. They hang there so long they become permanent fixtures and we don't even realize we haven't worn them in ages. This works extremely well in the kids closets, unless they go and turn the hangers back around on you ;)

Spiritual words for the day: I hope you have faith and religion in your life, it is there for you when nothing or no one else is. ALWAYS. I keep up with several children who must go to St. Jude's Hospital in Memphis Tenn. for treatment of rare and life threatening cancers. There is a toddler with whom I've kept up with since his daddy started his website. His name is Ethan Powell and he was diagnosed at 2 months of age. He just passed his first birthday and he's not doing so good. His parents have been given the worst news yet in their journey. Please take a moment and visit his site, leave some encouraging words for his mommy and daddy and pray for them. His website is http://www.ethanpowell.com/

Until the next time,

Lana

ps. I'm learning how to post pics and in so doing, I'll be introducing you to my family a little at a time. I've posted a pic of ds who is 13 and dd who's almost 9. They are just the beginning. I'm married to a man who's the youngest of 11 children and I have 60-70 members on his side in his immediate family alone!

Ash Wednesday

2008-02-06T06:53:00.000-06:00

Good morning fellow bloggers,
Have you got your load of laundry in yet this morning? As soon as I get out of the shower and dressed, that is my very next step. BEFORE I eat breakfast, before I do anything else. After loading the laundry, I swish and swipe the toilets, and spray down my glass shower doors with my bleach solution. All of that takes me less than 5 minutes! I then help dd with her hair if she needs it. Get my breakfast in, do a little hot spot prevention and pick one thing that needs to be done and work on it as long as I have time for before leaving to drop the kids off at school and get to work. This is usually my mornings. Oh, and forever shine your sink---that is so habitual for me I don't even think about it ;) ;)

Today marks the first day of Lent. Many religions including mine will fast today. I will attend Mass tonight. Have you contemplated what you're working on this Lenten season? Now is the time ;) In a letter to our parish, our Priest wrote....Any act of charity, penance, or self-denial can be fruitful if it is practiced for the right reason: to focus on God and His love. He goes on to say to suggest a different kind of fast this year: to refrain from gloominess(giving something up) and instead radiate the joy of being a Christian('nough said).

Handy tip for this morning: What have your kids done to do their share around the home this morning? And if you don't have kids, what about dh? Engage them in helping you. I find the more I make it fun for the kids, the more willing they are to help. (and they also know that if they don't get their own laundry to the laundry room, it doesn't get done :( I have 2 kids and dh, if all 4 of us take one task every morning, it's not so overwhelming for me on the weekend. Make it age appropriate, so that if you have little ones they can help too. The earlier you begin a habit, the more blessed you'll be as they age.

Did you go and listen to Rick Burgess about Bronner yet? If not, take time to do that, and soon. Powerful testimoney to God.

all for now,
lana

Super Sunday

2008-02-03T17:10:00.000-06:00

Well, we didn't get the snow last week as predicted. Oh, we got some, just not the 4-8", it was more like 2-3". The kids didn't get out of school, wahhhh!

Yesterday, I made a list of things to do for the kids and I and stuck it on the frig. I included things like sweeping the tile floors, scrubbing the tubs, putting away laundry, you know the general weekly stuff. They seem to like having the control over what order they complete a task in and being able to do it without mom having to bark an order at them. We always set a timer for 15 minutes and see how much we can get done. We tackled it all in just a little while. We always purge 10 items from our bedrooms each Saturday and I know eventually, all that will be left is what we truly love and want to be around us. It made it into a game and was fun.

Flylady was just overwhelming to me this week. I couldn't keep up with all the emails and I don't think I like all the stuff she "advertises" as helpful tools. Her philosophy is about getting rid of all the clutter, except it is ok to buy her stuff and bring it back in because we "need" it to help us with our organization. I think that's where Peter Walsh has a better spin on ridding the clutter from your life. There's not a constant barrage of emails and he's not telling you to go out and buy more stuff. I have my basic cleaners, a few "tools" and that's it. I have a bleach solution in a spray bottle CLEARLY MARKED to clean the stools and sinks in the bathrooms. A vinegar solution to do windows. Mr. Clean Magic Erasers, a feather duster, a scrub brush, and I buy a name brand floor cleaner for my ceramic tile as I haven't found anything else to work. All of these I keep in a plastic tote with a handle and can carry from room to room. Then I put them away under the kitchen sink.

With FAT Tuesday this week and Lent fast approaching, have you been contemplating something to give up? Maybe it's chocolate, soda, candy, or the like. For a few years now, I have decided that I will abstain from something, but also, I will ADD something to enrich my life. When we just give up something, we almost count the days until we can have it again. Is that really what lent's about? Just for the 40 days of Lent, why not choose something that GIVES of you and ADDs something to your life. For instance, one year, I chose to smile at everyone I met, EVERY TIME even when I was feeling down, ill, or even angry. Try smiling when you're frustrated! It takes a lot of effort to do it each and every time. Then, after Lent, don't just quit doing it, keep on giving of yourself. It can and will change your life! Trust me.

Recommended reading: The Bible

until next time,
L

Snow, snow, snow and then some!

2008-01-30T06:59:00.000-06:00

Good morning fellow bloggers,
It seems as though we're headed for 4-8 inches tomorrow! Which means school will get out early AAAAAANNNNNNDDDDD the kids will be home to take care of their rooms! Woo Hoo!

Helpful hint today: Every time I go from one room to the other, I make sure to take one item from that room that belongs to another and put it away. Kills 2 birds with one stone right? You're up and about heading off in another direction for something else anyway, so put something away while you're going.

Spiritual thought for today: May God grant you always .... A sunbeam to warm you, a moonbeam to charm you, a sheltering Angel so nothing can harm you. Laughter to cheer you. Faithful friends near you. And whenever you pray, Heaven to hear you. -An Irish Blessing

Till next time,
l

It's about TIME

2008-01-29T19:45:00.000-06:00

Finally after several attempts to get back into my new blog, I've finally figured out that cookies have to be enabled, or something to that effect. Anyway, I'm back.

The Flylady thing is going pretty good this week. Even though I'm always about 20 emails behind, I still just jump right in and delete, delete. delete to get caught up! ;) If you want to start somewhere, you should just visit her website or check out her book from the library. If you need direction like I do, she'll get you going. When I signed up with her group several years ago, the emails weren't so daunting and annoying like they are now. You have to know what to read and what to skip over, just use what you need.

Anyway, the kids are doing their share with keeping up the Riley Challenge (again a Flylady thing). DD finds it fun and is always ready to find new things to do, she loves checking off the lists. uh, DS, not so much, but what can you expect from a male teenager?

This past weekend I took off all the border in the kitchen and in the process had to remove all the excess clutter from the counters and table tops. The last few days when I've walked into that room, it's so refreshing. There are not papers all over the counter, books on the table, bills piled everywhere, gloves, watches or whatever other clutter thing that finds it's way to the kitchen lying there. It's almost the same feeling as when DH and I looked at the house when we were thinking about buying it. That NEW feeling ya know? Clutter robs of us so much time. I dont' think we realize just how much.

Handy hints to use or lose ;) Every day before leaving for work, I load the washer, with detergent, (liquid in the Tide ball), get it all ready to go except start it. When ds gets home from school, he just has to push the start knob. Depending on the load, he also puts it in the dryer so that when I get home, it can be folded and put away. An every day task at our house is 7:30 pm is put away time, no matter what. All 4 of us take part. We do this for 10-15 minutes, usually less now that the house is getting less and less cluttered.

Good resource books to read : It's All Too Much by Peter Walsh, really easy read, Sink Reflections by Marla Cilley-print version of her website, and while you're trying to work on finances.... The Richest Man in Babylon by George Clason.

No bible verse today, just go visit, youtube, search Rick Burgess - A Father's Heart part 1 . There is part 2 and 3. This father, lost his 2 year old son in the last couple of weeks to an accidental drowning in the family pool. He chose to speak at his son's funeral. So moving, so touching, and so much to reflect upon. ( I think the link will work).

Until the next time,

Lana

Creating a New Blog

2008-01-23T20:40:00.000-06:00

A little info to get you started....
I am a married, working mom with 2 kids. I have a son and daughter 4 1/2 years apart. I have a job I love. Over the years I have tried and tried to figure out how to get more out the time I have in a day to do ALL the things I want to, yet still have time for my family. After doing lots of research, reading lots of books, watching learning television, talking to countless other moms, I've finally found what is working for me.

I have wanted to do create a blog for some time now. Ha! Time! What every Momma wants more of right? Once I get this blogger up and runnin', I will invite all mom's to join me here for good ideas on how to make the time we have work better for us. How to best "budget" our time for that precious time we want to spend with our kiddos and our honeys. There are so many good things out there to get us through our day, and help us to realize we don't have to be She-Ra's to have it all!

So......for now and until I get this all lined out, if you're reading this, check back regularly as I will be adding helpful hints, tips, and great ideas for getting what we want! YAYYYYYYY!!! My intention is to post daily, leading with a bible verse for women only, thought for the day, or some tidbit of advice followed by whatever I can share with you about organizing and budgeting your time for the day.