Freaky Bus Driver

(Note: Just kidding about the pic. I'm not gonna kill anyone. But you know, if I ever have to protect my family, this is the gun I'm getting. None of the guns I have are this cool)

I temporarily pulled the boys out of school because of bad situations we were having with their bus driver. With Chaz having Asperger Syndrome, you don't know how hard it's been finding a school that can work with him. Most of them would just throw him in a self-contained classroom where he didn't learn anything. In fact, I had to homeschool him just to catch him up. Now that I did that, he is doing excellent. Chaz has the worlds greatest teacher who's been trained to work with kids like him. He even gets to be in a regular classroom to boot. Just so awesome. Here is my issue. The bus driver needs serious anger management control. This is a Charter school so they don't have the same regulations. In any other school, this lady would have been fired. But because there are only two bus drivers and no replacements, they are keeping her. No matter how many violations she's had. Recently my husband and I were gone and didn't know that Chaz and Kyle had been throwing up badly and we needed to come get them from school. Since they couldn't get a hold of me, they called my friend. They didn't bother to look at my emergency contact list. My friend has no vehicle and they demanded that she come and get my kids. Very rudely demanded. My friend had to take an hour and a half bus ride to the school and take my 3 boys, along with her 3 kids back on the city bus. Chaz was throwing up on the city bus and had to walk half a mile in 105 heat to her house. It's completely ridiculous that they never bothered to look at my contact list and see that my mom was able to come get them... in a car. Of course as soon as I got the message I came right away. The thing is, when my friend reached the school, they had Chaz laying on the floor, outside of the office, behind a trash can. They were treating him harshly. It makes me so upset just thinking about it. Yesterday was just my last straw. When the bus driver pulled up on the bus in front of our house, she screamed at the top of her lungs, "GET OFF THE BUS RIGHT NOW!!!". They didn't know they had arrived. On top of it, she wrote up my five year old for squeezing my other sons cheek. Ryan said it didn't even hurt and Kyle was given no warning. This stuff happens with Helyn all the time and it's been torture ever since they started school. In all the schools my kids have attended, I have never been put through so much stress with any bus driver or even teacher. The curriculum here is AMAZING. Chaz's teacher that he so desperately need is AMAZING. There are no other schools around here that can give that to Chaz. We are not able to drive him right now. Am I being too sensitive? I've written letters to the principal and he treats it mildly. This whole situation is breaking my heart.

My Awesome Vegetables!!!

I'm so incredibly excited. In two weeks I will be planting these beauties. They are in my window sill right now so they can get sunlight. It is not cool enough outside to plant them just yet. There are seven different types there. Far left is Cilantro, then Jalepeno, Strawberry, Bell Pepper, Serrano, two Tomato, and then finally 9 lettuce. I use most of all of those constantly in meals so I'm excited. Next is figuring out exactly where I want them. The dogs can't be near them (they are not vegetarians but they'll eat them you know). The only option is in the large chicken area. A farmer I know said the chickens won't mess with them and they'll even keep the bugs out. If anyone with chickens agrees or disagrees about this, please tell me! I won't be planting for two more weeks so I'm trying to figure out where they'll go. Of course I'm gonna do at least a couple of each. Not just want. I just wanted to start out small for now. :)

Fun Swimming!

My kids were pulled out their school today (I'll tell you later why) so I decided to finally blow up this pool and let them swim. The only thing is... I really didn't want to have to blow this up myself. I mean, look at it! LOL. So I went in the garage and got into the tools. I used the blower to blow it up. I just put it up to the nozzle and it worked quickly. Awwwesome. My husband laughed at the idea till he saw how quickly it worked. Hee hee. Chaz seems to be very cautious of the sun. He told me he didn't want to get burned. That is Chaz for you. Oh, I had to put the dogs in the kennel because they would've popped the pool. :P

Another Animal Friend

Okay, so I had a cute little chihuahua and infortunately he dug a hole and ran away. I mean, come on, did my kids really scare him that bad? Or was he mad that I named him Taco? So I was really sad. My friends, you see in the pic, called me and said they had a dog for me. She really is sweet. She does like my chickens for sure because she appears to be very fascinated by them. It's like watching a cat stare at a fish bowl. I can just see her wondering what she might be able to do if she could just get that cage open. Maybe chase them in circles till they collapse?
LOL. We named her Lilly since we already have a Daisy. Both flowers. We try to let her inside as often as she wants. but whenever we do, she whines to be let back out so she can be with Daisy, her newfound friend. Anyhow, they said she is part greyhound and part ?. What do you guys think? She is pretty small. We think maybe the other half might be jack russel?

Blast from the Past

It's been kind of fun going to look for old friends from high school and also from my church I grew up in. I have found so many! I have rekindled friendships from long ago and it has been so incredibly neat. So many different paths taken in life. Some sad, some surprising, and some just such a blessing to see. I thank God that he brought me from the miry clay. For so long I was so stubborn, never wanted to listen to anybody. I was on my own path of destruction. Charles was the one that really steered me back to Christ. I headed down a really scary path. I give all the credit because if I had gone my own way, I wouldn't be married to my best friend and have my five little blessings. This life is so short. Thank God I was pulled out of my mess. Down the road, I look back and think "Phew, I was so close from missing all this that I have". If you see picture on the left, I had just turned 16. I really started to go downhill there. The picture to the right, with my family, I was moving to California at 17. Just wanting to run away. I guess from myself. To get away from my problems. But you know how it goes... wherever you go, there you are.

Nice Award

Thank you Michelle for this nice award! :D

Also from Shannon a month ago!

Kyle Got in a Fight!

Gosh, I meant to tell you how my 5 year old got in a fight at school! It took awhile to get all the information. I was so shocked because he is my cute little, sweet Kyle. That is so unlike him! This is what happened. A big (bully) kid was picking on his little friend. His friend is only four. So Kyle kicked this boy in the, you know, private area. The poor kid was on the ground and Kyle just went at it. I asked Kyle why. He said that the kid is a bully. He's an older kid too. I guess Kyle stood in for his little friend and taught this kid a lesson. So I told Kyle, "well, why did you have to kick him in his privates? Why didn't you punch him instead?"

Kyle's response?

"Well, I couldn't reach his face."

First Place We Lived

When my husband and I were first married we had lived here. Do you see the pretty view? Sooo pretty! It is actually where he grew up basically. It burned down so there is nothing left. We took our kids there and told them this was where mommy and daddy lived before any of them were born. They climbed on the steps that were left and looked around. They found the chain that is still there where Charles' dogs were kept in the backyard. They were escape artists so the chains kept them from escaping but they were not always kept on it. (I can just imagine PETA people groaning). My kids thought the place was pretty neat and I even picked up a large rock to keep with us as at our house to remember that place by. Boy, these last 10 years have FLOWN by. It's just so crazy. My kids are gonna grow fast. I'm gonna give them an extra hug. XOXOXO.

Outreaching In Such a Fun Way!

We had another fun night of outreaching and fun at the same time. It such a relaxing way for visitors to come with their family and eat, listen to music, watch dramas, and have their kids play. What makes it all so worth it is seeing souls get saved! My kids so love Fantastic Family Fun Day and always make sure we make it right on time. LOL. People always volunteer to paint kid's faces, someone to watch the jumping stuff, and the BBQing and other fun stuff. No musicians in our church or any cleaners are paid. Lots of hours are put into this stuff every single week (outreaches and inside the church) but they do it for Jesus and they know their reward is in Heaven. Awesome, huh? I LOVE IT!

"Ivy, What'd You Do Now???"

I was on my computer last night doing some work when Charles came in the room and said, "Virginia, you would never believe what Ivy got into now!" Oh nooo... it's always something every day. He said, "go back in the bedroom and look." Ivy knew she did something naughty so she was crying and so was Ashley. I was really worried so I ran in there quickly. The site I saw was so funny I had to walk out of the room for a second to contain myself and walk back in with a straight face. Ivy had emptied an entire Nesquick box all over her and Ashley. So it was everywhere. My mouth dropped open. It was on the floor, in the crib, in their hair, on their clothes! Charles looked at me and I looked at him.... I said, "stay right there. I'm grabbing the camera!" LOL! I ran back in and Ivy was still crying thinking she was in big trouble. Well, she SHOULD be because she just depleted my "Wendy's Frosty" supply. I make Wendy's Frosty's by mixing vanilla ice cream and Nesquick. Ha ha! Sooo, I forgave the incident and saw the humor. We finally just doubled over laughing seeing them both crying and hanging over the crib. The pic you see of Ashley laughing in the crib is because we were laughing. She was crying at first. They thought they scored even better when they got to have a bath at midnight.

Playing With Kids on Guitar

We were having fun just goofing around. The video is such low quality because the lighting was bad. So I made it look even older by adding the lines to the video. Ha ha! I wish it was brighter so you could see better. It's so cute. When Ivy was playing guitar next to me, she was watching me real close so she could copy all my head moves. Just watch and see...

Make sure to turn music off in the sidebar first. :)

Work With Animals?

Since my husband is currently looking for work in the day, I might be taking on a part time night job. Nooo, I don't want to be a waitress. I really, really love animals. Being that I have not "worked" in a decade, I would probably have to go for something with pretty low pay. LOL. Dang, I used to do pretty well back when I was secretary/customer service. That was long ago. So I thought, if I have to have low pay, what should I do? Well, something I love for sure. I was visiting a pet store recently (again) and I thought maybe I should work with animals. That would be a dream. Who cares of the pay? I could care for them and learn even more about animals and the different breeds and such. It would only be part time. On top of it, you get commission for the ones you sell. I'm one heck of a salesperson so that's easy. But I just care for the animals though so it would be awesome. We'll see what happens.

P.S. This is one of my little baby chicks I am raising up. So cute! This one is 3 weeks old.

A Proverbs 31 Heart

Ruth Bell Graham

I came across this absolutely beautiful web page dedicated to Ruth Bell Graham. She truly was a beautiful woman inside and out. Just looking at her pictures. Can you imagine her life at home while he was away? She stood behind him all these years while she raised their five children. Just watching the pictures as they tell the story behind it makes me want to cry because it's so convicting. She understood true love... Her faith in Jesus and her closeness to Him was more important than anything.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game!

A friend of ours works at the baseball stadium so gave each of us tickets to see a game. When I got there, I was prepared to go up high in the bleachers. So when I looked at the tickets to find our seats, I couldn't believe we were only eight rows from the front! I had never been that close to the grass. Plus, I love baseball. So all of us had fun and I got to explain to the boys again all about how the game works. I mean, we play in the backyard sometimes but this was professional! Ha ha.. so we had fun and Ashley got to jump up with me a few times while I yelled and hollered. It was so, so, so fun. It was such a blessing because I knew those were expensive seats and it was so great to be closer and almost catch a fly ball! Of course I couldn't of caught it because I was watching out for my all my kid's heads and ready to throw myself on top of them so they wouldn't get hurt. Lol. Yesterday we were driving home from somewhere and my three year old Ivy said, "Mommy, can we go see baseball again?" Definitely!

Ashley's 1st Year Timeline

***Make sure to turn OFF music to the right in my sidebar before playing this video.***



I wanted to make this for Ashley for her birthday since first birthdays are always so special. I waited since I was 15 to name a daughter Ashley Rose and I finally got to with my fifth little one! I put her one year timeline with this song to remind myself that every breath is a gift from God. Our time here on earth is but a vapor and I need to cherish every bit of time I have with my little ones who grow, oh, so fast. This past year passed by so fast I felt like it left me spinning. My little princess Ashley. Thank you God for my five little precious gifts that You entrusted to me. I love You.

Ashley Rose's 1st Birthday!

(Make sure you pause music in sidebar before playing video)
Today is an extra special day because it is Ashley's 1st bday. So sweet! This cute video is of my husband's parents singing Happy Birthday to her over the phone on a message. I played it to her several times and she loved it. So cute. Boy does time fly! I hope to have a get together for her birthday soon. 1st birthdays are extra special!

My Happy Time

Yup, this is my happy time every morning. Going out to water the trees, feed the chickens, and collect the eggs. Of course make sure the baby chicks get their water and food also. I love it! Ivy gets really upset when I go out there without. She loves the whole routine too. Jill always lays her eggs in the morning but Sadie always in the afternoon so I usually make two trips. Today I tried to just sneak out real quick by myself and she said, "Mommy, I wanted to go feed the chickens too"! So I took her back out to see them. We have to watch out for the rooster though because he sometimes will come at us. The little pool you see is actually My Great Dane's pool. She swims and drinks out of it so I have to empty it out every morning and give her fresh water. Do you see the before and after pic of my backyard? That was right when we moved in and the other picture is showing one of my citrus trees I planted and the grass we have been working so hard for. Awesome. Hee hee... I finally got to mow it the other day, it's one of my favorite chores.

Our Little Night Owl

Even though we lay the boys down around 8pm, ever since Ivy was born she was our little night owl. That girl doesn't sleep. Well, I take it back. She'll sleep in till 9 or 10am. Then she doesn't nap in the day. My boys are totally different. They get up early. I remember when Ivy was just a little baby she would have her little eyes open in the dark trying to look around. Really late, too! You would just walk in the room and see her just looking around and it would be midnight. She convinced her daddy here to read a book to her real late at night. He has our other little girl who is sleeping on his right. Then of course there is out sweetheart Great Dane Daisy on the floor. Charles just had all his girls around him. Hee hee. Such cuteness.

My All Time Favorite American (biblical) Family! My Heroes.

So she is due with her 18th in January of 2009. Awesome!!! Oh, I would love to just move in with this family or at least be a fly on the wall. They are the most amazing family to observe. Love 'em like crazy!

The Old McDonalds!

Do you remember when you were little and Mcdonald's playgrounds were outside? I totally remember. It was hot outside and so the metal on the slide would burn our butts. It was a favorite of our family's though to go there after Sunday morning service and we had a blast! Here I am (the blondie) playing with a friend outside. Fun right? Ha ha. The playgrounds now are sooo much COOLER!!! I keep trying to tell the kids they have it so good playing inside these cool tubes with air conditioning. They don't believe me so I have proof. Ha.

Out of Work but In His Grace

My husband was laid off today but not to my surprise. My husband is Project Manager for an Engineering firm. Well, as you know, the building industry isn't doing that hot right now. He had the world's greatest boss for sure. He was family to us. His boss so much didn't want to let him go that he sacrificed his own paychecks in order to keep him for awhile now. I am sad mostly because I thought he was such a great boss! They got an hour lunch daily and didn't have to clock out for it. He also stocked up a fridge for them all to eat from everyday, PLUS he would take them all out twice a week to a restaurant and pay. So my husband was not only paid to take a lunch break, he also had his lunches paid for. Because of his lunch hour being paid for, they only had to work for half a day on Fridays. Isn't that cool or what??! We soooo loved this place. To top it all off, he was just the nicest and most family oriented boss. He was so sad to let Charles go and he did everything in his power to change it.

So, what happens now?

I have to put my faith and trust in the Lord. Didn't this same God bring me the most wonderful and kind husband I could've ever found? He gave us this job when there was a time of drought in the industry. I'm grateful for the time we had there. I cried a lot today. Not just because I'm worried. But because I loved Mark and his wife.

I know God is gonna take care of us. He promises us in the bible. Whatever happens. God gives and God takes. It all belongs to Him. I still have my treasure... my family. :)

Here Goes...

(Ha ha! I love that picture of the lady ironing. I get a giggle every time I see it.)

So, you know... I used to write more in depth about my life. Daily happenings. But when I started getting criticism from the crazies, I stopped. I made my life blogs more about highlights. Which is good! But... that is not always real writing. So, I would like to share more. I've been blogging 2 years now and I have over 700 posts. Yay! I love, love, love looking back on my old posts and seeing how much has changed. I even begun to print out the pages from day one and put them in a book. I would love to share more. I just hope the crazies stay away just a tad. Especially you "anonymous" ones. You are the worst. Homeschool and Etc. would agree. Ha ha!

Readers Rally to Injured Blogger Mom

Did you hear about this sweet mom who is a fellow blogger? Her and her husband were in a crash and are badly burned. Their story is here. It will also lead you to her blog.

Blogger mom hurt in crash inspires support

Here is a clip of something she was discussing in her blog. It really, really touched my heart. Why do I sometimes rush through my days? I love my little ones! I have so much more to show them, to teach them, to love them. I don't want them to grow up. I just want them here with me. Why do I forget??? I love my kids so much. I don't ever want to send them off to daycare, or to someone else. I even hate sending them off to school. They are my babies and I feel they are quickly growing up, much faster than I can grasp a hold of! I hope this mommy gets another chance to kiss her husband and kiss her little ones....

clipped from www.nieniedialogues.blogspot.com

"Author Anna Quindlen reminds us not to rush past the fleeting moments.{or if I could enter here-the basket-head mother syndrome} She said: “The biggest mistake I made [as a parent] is the one that most of us make. . . . I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of [my three children] sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages six, four, and one. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less”(Loud and Clear [2004], 10–11)

Someone's Buying Me Steak...

Brianne, just so you know. About our bet. I'm not gonna get pregnant by the end of January. So you are gonna be the one buying me steak. Just so you know I love Logan's Roadhouse. Really good steakhouse. Never mind that I've never made it past the "year mark" of one of my babies turning one before getting pregnant again. This is different! I already have 5 sweet, adorable, (messy), incredibly cute kids. And just because I heard a sweet, sweet newborn cry (so sweet) today doesn't mean I will desire another one soon. I have a baby! She is gonna be one next week. (Ohhhh, isn't that newborn picture so cute of Ashley a year ago)? Man, oh, man... babies are just so cute! STILL! I'm gonna win that bet. Yes I know..... you wonder why my site says Amazing Six. We are a family of 7 and we have 5 kids. So what does that mean? Well, when I made my site, we were a family of 6. I got a sweet surprise baby and so it made the site name inaccurate. So, don't worry. I'll even it out someday. I at least want one more sweet little baby so the Amazing Six will stand for my little amazing six kids. NOT RIGHT NOW! So, Brianne, you should make your reservations. Oh yeah, make sure to bring your wallet because you're paying... Ha!

Witnessing to Chain Gang

This is my friend Dennis. He is now an evangelist and he goes to all the prisons to minister there for services. Dennis used to be part of the Charles Manson group year ago before it was split up. Dennis spent time in prison for trying to break Charles Manson out. Years later, he gave his heart to Christ and he now uses his life as a testimony to others. He has a wife and two sons, one that is deployed overseas right now. Dennis was driving down the rode and saw this chain gang doing some work. So, he stopped and witnessed to all of them and gave his testimony. When he sent the picture to me it reminded me that nothing is more important in life than winning souls to Christ. Sometimes I get caught up in my own little world and my own little problems. But... I'm making Heaven my home and others deserve to hear about Christ's love too! Eternity is forever.

Logan, the Sky Angel Cowboy

I love, love, love this video. It truly touches the heart.

Dear Mr. Obama

Papa's Girl

You know, Ivy thinks she really belongs to my parents. She begs my mom and dad every single service if she can go spend the day with them. Every time we see them, and we pull her away from them, she just cries and cries. You know, my daddy that you see in the picture, his mom's name was Ivy. That is where I got the name. She did not live passed 22. I always thought Ivy was a beautiful name and I knew it would mean a lot to him. Her middle name is Joy. It has a two-fold meaning. Joy after my Grandma Ivy's sister who means a lot to my dad. Also because she is the joy of my heart and I finally got her after my 3 boys! My little princess. Her second middle name is after my mom and I. We truly did not know we were gonna have a little girl so I tried to cram a lot into that name. Ha ha! My second little girl is Ashley Rose. I've wanted to name my girl that since I was about 15. I had to wait 13 years but I finally got the chance! Hee hee. If I ever have another little girl someday, I really want to name her Jessica. I don't know though. Can I handle any more girls? Uh... yeah. Hmm.....