what's up Wed.

I haven't done a What's up Wednesday in quite a while, so thought I would share some pic's .

These are are my cool new knives that I received for Mother's Day, yes they are stainless steel. I really love them, yet oddly enough I am having a hard time giving up my old set.  Odd right?

Here is a shot of our dinning room, looking into our kitchen.  This is what our finished paint job looks like, ferret cage and all.

Another shot of the finished paint job, this one from the living room, looking into the hallway/bathroom area.

And here is our front entryway.

Z did a great job, as well as the rest of the kids who helped him!  K and I are both thrilled and think it looks great.  Next year, the upstairs!  LOL

Blessings, Beth Ann

Whats up Wendsday . . .

my middle DD's cat, Tina! I love this sphinx like pose on top the computer. She is only six months old and has blue eyes. She loves to get out and go under our above-ground pool/deck. She is soooo hard to keep white, but DD sure gives it a try, much to Tina's chagrin - LOL

Guess it is time for a mid-week round-up. Lets see, whats been going on . . . I have had sinusitis and now a chest cold, which I gave to DH. Got guilted into a Cajun cook-out last Saturday, my sickest day. But it ended up being a great day. Enjoyed supporting a friend at her function, and taking a gazillion kids to a cook=out, got locked in a room with oldest DS (long story) and having a great talk with him . We also backed our motor home out into our second driveway, so we could spring clean it before our annual Mother's Day camping trip (never thought I would want to camp again after last Oct.). We ended up being rednecks and rolling our awning out and sitting under it in camping chairs when our company came over later that night! LOL Lets see, what else . . . DS still is having some bad days, but also some good ones. He still isn't able to go back to work full time, and is struggling to stay awake long enough to catch up on school work. Not much else happening here . . . managed to nickle and dime it all week since we were broke from fixing the Durango. Feel very blessed indeed that we were able to get that part and that DH could fix it himself. He also got a car job for this Friday, so looks like grocery shopping is in our future!

Went to get my permanent crown yesterday, and it didn't fit. How ironic is that, since they have all this fancy new laser and computer equipment to prevent this from happening. I felt the need to point that out and was informed there is still a 10% chance of a refitting. Lucky me, I'm in that percentile. Then they said they needed to re-prep me, would I like to do it now or come back later. Like a dummy I asked what that meant. They explained they had to re-numb me (three needles) and re - drill out my tooth (down to the bone) for a better fitting crown. Then they would retake all the pictures and make a new temporary crown. I laughed and told them they better do it now since I wouldn't come back for that! All I have to say is, it hurt. It still hurts.

Had an impromptu cook out last night. It was a friend of ours b-day and we had been watching her kids. Another friend called out of the blue and said she was on her way over too. Then to wrap it all up, our friends moving to Vegas dropped in after their closing for a final good bye. Great food (wish I could have chewed it), great friends and good times. Kids had a blast playing with all the other kids and neighborhood kids. Only thing missing were the lightening bugs, next time.

Blessings, Beth Ann

What's up Wendsday . . .

our cat, Joe! Joe has discovered a new place to sleep, the top of my kitchen cabinets. As an added bonus he gets to scare the tar out of people. He will seemingly just drop out of the sky and land in front of you on the counter, giving the person a coronary. Most of us have quickly learned to start looking up as we enter the room! There also used to be decorative wooden houses, trees and what not up there. Joe quickly found that he could launch those off as tiny missiles and hit unsuspecting children and other pets before they knew what hit them! Aren't kids, I mean cats, great? LOL

Yesterday was DH day off and we spent the morning going into the "boro" for standardized testing for middle DD. As home schoolers we have a choice to do this. We always chose to do it, so each kid gets done every other year. Helps us to keep track of what level they are currently testing at in all their subjects. So far there has been no major surprises. Then we spent the afternoon helping the grand parents load up their moving truck and cleaning out their house in general. So sad. Two more days and they are gone. We are thinking of going out west to visit maybe next March, God willing and depending on how the medical bill situation is. We are going to have to peel B off of Grandpa, the twins still don't get it. For some reason they think the g-parents are moving into the "city/boro". Not sure why . . .

Today was a tad alarming. As I was driving middle DD home from testing, goes for three days, our Durango started making a WHUMP, WHUMP noise. For me to actually notice it, means alot. Usually DH will ask if I hear . . . fill in noise of your choice here, and I don't. So it was bad. It was making me alarmed to say the least, but I still stopped at the pharmacy (it's on the way) and picked up my perscriptions. By the time I pulled into the driveway, the steering was acting funny. I called DH at work, conviently a car auto parts retailer. He said it sounded like my front wheel shaft/bearing thingy. I told him I wasn't driving it again and he needed to get his own ride home for lunch. Lucky for him that the g-parents are staying in their RV at the funeral home about a block from his store, until their closing on Friday - then their outa here! So grandpa was his taxi. He cam home and looked at it and drove it, confirming his first diagnosis. He said we were lucky we made it home. Even with his discount at work, it's a lot of money. Not sure where we are going to get it. Not sure how we will bet DD to testing tomorrow. Not sure how we will get to church tonight. Not sure of alot of things except that we will pray, and God will provide.

Blessings, Beth Ann

What's up Wendsday

Not much is the answer. It has been a blessedly calm week since last Friday's storms. The kids are plugging away at school work, working towards an end. May be longer for us than we thought since all the sickness, but hey - that's one of the great things about home school! Oldest DS is still suffering what I have now come to call "typical" CFS pain and symptoms (chronic fatigue syndrome). He gets dizzy and light headed every time he moves, splitting headaches, gut aches, chest pains, and muscle/joint pain in general. He usually feels so bad he doesn't want to eat. It is an uphill battle all the way. I have spent the last couple of weeks trying to read everything I can on CFS and am now trying to prepare my first weeks worth of menu plans. Not an easy task. We are trying an elimination diet to see what foods will help and what foods make things worse. There is two pages of not allowed food, such as caffeine and sugar, and only half a page of allowed foods such as vegetables and beans. We have already noticed that when he eats certain foods that are on the don't list that he doubles over in agony and is so weak. Today for lunch I made a pureed cauliflower soup, and it was awesome if I do say so my self! LOL I cajoled DS into trying some. He ended up eating the whole bowl and there has been no pain or a trip to bed to rest. He has been able to sit in the living room with the rest of the family, what a joyous rarity these days! The soup was made to CFS specifications, and all seems to be well. Looks like we are on to something. I will go Friday and do my big weekly shopping at Kroger's and praise God that they carry so many healthy/specialty foods such as cashew butter (he can't have peanuts) and wonderful organic veggies. Most times both DS and I feel tired and overwhelmed, but we know we can get through this - with God!

Blessings, Beth Ann

What's up - April Fool's edition

Hi ya all! Another beautiful day here in middle TN. Almost 70, and sunny! Also the first time in weeks that I am starting to feel like myself. Could the mono be almost gone? All I know is the the twins are better. Oldest son is still a bit weak and having some dizzy spells. His b/p still drops and he has to really push fluids all the time. The anxiety pills seem to help a bit and slowly I see his sleep pattern returning to normal - s -l - o-w -l -y LOL

Here are some photo's of middle dd at her dance workshop open house. The place was the same size as my RV, and packed!!! My dd said she had never worked so hard in her life, and no thank you when we offered her a twelve week class - LOL Maybe next year I can sign the twins up for ballet or something . . .

They did every thing from hip hop to cheer.

They also did a musical number from "Hairspray".

Here is middle dd leaving for the Princess Ball with Grandpa D.

Here they are posing as they entered the Lion's Club. There were about 45- 50 "princesses" and I hear there was a never ending tray of pizza rolls! What more could a girl ask for?

Next year it will be DH turn to take both girls as twin dd will be old enough. Only about 4 more weeks until Grandpa D and Grandma S move to Vegas. We haven't been dwelling on it as we know it will be soooooo sad. It will be worse than when our friends moved back to Mexico and took his kids that I had watched 24/7 for over three years. I guess we will have to plan a trip to Nevada soon, after the recession?

Blessings, Beth Ann

Whats happening at our house this week . . .

Well I hate to bring up more sickness, but . . . Little twin son has been sick for three days now, running a fever and vomiting. Always fun. Oldest son went to the doc on Monday and got some new RX, for his migraines and anxiety. Results there are so-so. I am still feeling tired and now my sinus have become almost insufferable. Other than that . . . LOL

Middle DD took a dance boot camp this week, for spring break. So actually she is a bit soar too, but she is having a blast. We are looking into the possibility of her being able to continue dance after this. We will have to see how finances go. She is also going to the annual Lion's Princess Ball this coming Saturday. Grandpa D always takes her, but this year will be the last as they have sold their house and are moving to Vegas. So we went yesterday and picked out a special dress for this ball, a real princess gown. A lady at our church owns a consignment shop and does alterations, she helped us out. Hope to have pictures to post this week-end.

Today was the first day back to work for my oldest son. He has been out for almost two months due to his illness. He was a bit apprehensive, but all seems to have gone well. Since today was Wed. the clinic was only open until noon, as is the custom down south. Figured it was best to start with half a day. Next week the rabies vaccine clinics start, and he will be working week-ends too. Nice that a little bit of life is getting back to normal.

Well I didn't get to go to church/bible study because of sick twins, so I need to do the dinner thing myself tonight. I am thinking quick and simple eggs and home made toast. Will check back in soon.

Blessings, Beth Ann

Whats up Wendsday

Greetings all! It's been a while since I did a Whats up Wed. Today seemed like a good choice since I have many random pieces of news to share. I hope all had a great St. Patrick's day! That is always a popular holiday here, as we have Irish blood running through us. I always cook up a big pot of bubble & squeak (corned beef and cabbage) in my slow cooker. That is like every one's most favorite meal, ever - but alas we can only afford to eat it just once a year - awe :( Even the twins gobble it up! I also add some Irish soda bread and green cheese cake - yum! So basically I cook for like seven hours and it's all over in like 12 minutes - LOL

I have inserted a picture here of my most favorite coffee cup in the entire world because it recently met an untimely demise! Yes! For the second year in a row my mug has not made it through the year. Last year there was a dishwasher malfunction. This year a four year old was involved. I won't mention names but she lives here and has red hair! LOL My DH said that this year when we return to S.C. for our vacation he is going to buy like a dozen of these mugs. You know what that means right? Yea, I will never break another one if there are back ups!

Well the home health care nurse has been here 3 times now, and what a blessing. Z is doing better as of Monday than he was Friday, but he did have a scare on Sunday. Those nurses are great, and they talked me through getting him re-hydrated and his b/p back up. We took ds in for a check up yesterday and they put him on iron pills. Oh, and he has gained one pound of the sixteen he lost back! Still a long road to walk though. The mono is really making the healing go slow. Z told me he is so glad he is home schooled. He felt like he would never get caught up in public school and not get the rest he needs. His boss, Doc at the animal clinic, said that when he had his tonsils out he missed a whole semester of school. All I know is that I am tired of being tired!

Life has a way of always moving forward though. I am making plans to work at our church for VBS. The twins will be turning five in two months! Our middle dd is getting ready to take some more cheer/dance classes. Our oldest dd is coming for a visit in June and bringing the grand baby!!!!! There are flowers to be planted. A garden to be put in. A pool to open, and fellowship to enjoy. I know many people are apprehensive in these troubling economic times, but I urge all to remember that God is in charge and He will take care of you when you put your trust in Him, not the government! With these comforting thoughts our house looks forward to this coming year and hope you do too!

Blessings, Beth Ann

Whats up Wednesday

Greetings all. I found a cute post yesterday over at http://www.5dollardinners.com/ and wanted to join in the fun. She asked what are your favorite 7 things in your kitchen, and she shared hers. It made me think and I made a list. When I went to take the pictures today, my list changed! LOL For people who like to cook, this is a harder question than it sounds at first. So here I am sharing my favorite 7 things about my kitchen . . .



NUMBER 7.


This is a peek into my pantry. Please don't look to closely and ignore the mess! My mother in-law use to also call this the Harry Potter room since it is under our stair case. Guess if you read those books you get that. It is pretty deep and on the other wall it's got several racks for spices and dry items.


NUMBER 6.
This is my back door, looking out onto our deck/sunroom. Couple years ago we got new doors for the house and our back door has those cool blinds between the glass. So cool, so clean! LOL It allows me to be in the kitchen and look out onto the back porch, pool deck and play ground, while I am cooking away!

NUMBER 5.


Cook books. I LOVE them! This is just a small portion that I have on top of my china cabinet. There are more, believe me - LOL



NUMBER 4,

My dishwasher. I sooooooo don't like doing dishes. With four kids still at home, we generate alot of dirty dishes.

NUMBER 3.

My coffee pot and most favorite cup. Do I need say more?

NUMBER 2.

My radio. I had a nice under the counter CD/radio right here. But it was one of the items stolen from us while we were on vacation last month. If you look closely up at the top you can see marks in the wall they left when they yanked it out. And I do mean yank. They ripped off the entire bottom of my cabinet, smashing all the dishes that were in there. Eventually we will replace it. But in the mean time my oldest DS is letting me borrow his old boom box. And yes, that is a stack of Christmas CD's next to it! LOL

AND MY NUMBER 1 favorite thing in my kitchen is . . .

My fridge. Actually I don't care for this model, with the side by side doors. I am sure I lost some cubic footage here. But it is way better than not having a fridge! Our old one was broke for almost a year, raining inside and freezing things solid. Even had my prayer group pray for the thing. We didn't have money for a new one or even a used one (Craigslist still pretty pricey), my friend found someone from her church who happened to have a spare in their garage. Actually I believe she said they had 3 they weren't using, so they donated this one to us at no cost - bless them! And the kids get a kick out of the ice crusher, our old one didn't have ice/water in the door. So I call this my friendship fridge.

Please share your most favorite kitchen items with us here.

Blessings, Beth Ann

Whats up Wendsday

Hey there. Just popping in to say hey and give a wave - LOL Actually I received lots of positive affirmation on yesterdays post and wanted to add a bit more to it as well. I want to add another example of the southern charity and good nature we have encountered in this sleepy little southern town.

Last week-end I finely got my act together and did a girls day out with my middle dd who is twelve. I try to do one of these ever few weeks, every other month or so on. For some reason time had gotten away form me, and it had been wayyyyyyyy to long, a fact my dd had be haranguing me about for a few weeks. So after our terrible "incident" I felt we needed a pick me up and caved in. I usually enjoy these little jaunts, but she wanted to go to the drive-in, and see the double feature on screen one. Ok, are you prepared to be shocked and horrified? Hold on to your underwear and don't say you weren't warned . . . High School Musical 3 and Beverly Hills Chihuahua. AHHH!!!!!!!!!! Now I wasn't opposed to the second feature( wich was so cute I have to buy it when it comes out on DVD), but I would have rather poked my eye out with a spork than see the first. I have sat through the first two HSM soooooo many times that I still wake up in a cold sweat if I hear the words "bet on it, bet on it". (only funny if you have seen the movie - sorry) Don't even get me started on the movie Camp Rock either. Which reminds me, Kristina if your reading this . . . please send that CD back so your sister will stop bugging me - thank you. Anyway, I digress. So I put my own personal revulsion aside and off we went. When we got to the main gates I was pleasantly surprised to see the owner taking tickets. I had met her like four years ago while doing a stint at the flea market which she and her DH also own (along with a ton of other stuff in town). Hadn't seen her in a while so we chit chatted a few minutes and I mentioned our "incident" to her as some of the vendors at the flea market were recent victims as well. As we wrapped it up I told her we were having our girls night out and she gifted us a free admission for the night. That small gesture not only brightened my evening but help put a bounce back in my step and jumped started my week with a positive attitude and a blessed calm about us and our situation.

So I could walk around saying how sorry I feel for my self and my family and blame this town for what happened, but I believe in the past couple weeks God has gone out of His way to show me the opposite. What a wonderful town full of caring people and now in these trying times it's more important to be closer than ever with your neighbors and lean on your church. I want to feel the light of God not only on my face but shining through my eyes.

Blessings, Beth Ann

It is our business to follow the Lord in simple faith. It is His business to make us into all He wants us to be.

"We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works." Ephesians 2:10 NLV

Whats up Wed. ~ Birthday edition

To day on Whats up Wed. I want to share my dd b-day pics with you. Her birthday was the second of the month, she turned twelve. Big sigh. Almost a teen. I vow to enjoy this last year before aliens take over her sweet disposition - LOL

What could it be? (birthstone earrings)

Such a big box!

Look, the new comforter set I wanted!

B loves to stamp cards and what not, she got a couple new sets of stamps on her b-day.

Here is the little kitten we gave her, taking a nap in her slipper! LOL

We also celebrate my mother, grandma V, DH father and my b-day this month. Happy birthday to everyone and anyone I missed. Hope the up coming year is a blessing to you and all your loved ones.

Blessings, Beth Ann

What's up Wendsday . . .

my youngest dd ! LOL The days are just beautiful here in middle TN and we take full advantage of them. My youngest dd has learned to "pump" and can now swing all by herself. A joyful achievement for her and a blessing for the arms of the rest of the house! The girl can swing for hours!
Here she is on the wind up . . .

making a smooth swing through. . .

and she finishes strong! Yea E!

Blessings, Beth Ann

Whats up Wendesday

Just checking in to let everyone know were still kicking. Been fighting sinus for a week now. Everyone else seems fine. The new to us - fridge got put in place yesterday and seems to be running fine. Although I do still keep expecting a shelf full of water when ever I open the door. Thought I would post a couple more of my favorite pictures from our trip to MI for my dd wedding.

Here is my son Z and my grandson J .

Here is my dd B (in the green) and my new grand daughter M.

Will keep adding pictures as I have time. For now though I have to run and get ready for church.

Blessings, Beth Ann

Whats up Wendsday ~ Twin Teeth

Greetings from our homesteading city lot! LOL Just checking in and still trying to recover from our trip. No, still don't have the picture thing ready yet. DD is now telling me it will be at least another week before she can get me the pictures that she forgot to give me before we left. I asked her, but they had been forgotten at the reception. Oh, well. Just means God STILL needs me to work on my patients. Which is a lesson I worked on today in two fold.

Today was the twins first dentist appointment ever! The appointment it self was great! The technician was great with the kids and they weren't scared at all. They had been two or three times with the older kids, so they knew the drill. Girl twin summed it up best when she said, just give me the stuff! All she cared about was the stickers and a new toothbrush! Ahhhhh, don't you long for the days when all it took to make it a good day was a new toothbrush? Maybe we should work on recapturing that? I know I need to.

The working on my patients came while waiting for the appointment to start. They told me the appt. was at nine ~ thirty. Well ten came and went, nothing. So when DH asked what the hold up was, we were told the appt. was actually at ten but they wanted us to come in early for paper the work. The paper work that took only five minuets? Have they no idea how hard it is to entertain two four year olds in a office with only one toy and one VHS that we already have at home? Anyway, it worked out fine. The twins were good and after I grumbled a bit I settled down and practiced.

It's like Morgan Freeman says, if you pray for patients God doesn't just zap you with it. No, he gives you opportunities to practice it. Thank you Evan Almighty. We just love that movie and watched it again while we were on the road, that and RV, another classic. I believe my most favorite part is how Evan wants to change the world and thinks the best way is through government ~ HA! At the end he finds out that the Ark in not only a metaphor but an acronym as well. You actually can change the world for the better with ARK: one ACT of Random Kindness at a Time = ARK. Cool huh? So remember that the next time you think what your doing isn't big or important. I know I have seen this miracle working in my own life. It's wonderful when you get to the point where you can look back and see how one thing rolled into something bigger, a snowball effect if you will. Can you tell I have been talking to God alot since we got back? Enough of my preaching. Have a great day!

Blessings, Beth Ann

P.S. No cavities for the twins either!!!!!!