Christmas Day 2010

I didn't get a chance to blog about this so here I am blogging it now! I first started this blog as an online scrapbook for myself of our journey.  Our first Christmas while blogging started HERE.  It looks like I had a slide show of all the pics and they somehow disappeared. :(  That's why I don't do slideshows anymore of events. They sometimes disappear because of companies changing policies or leaving. Then I have lost memories.

I just wanted to point out the highlights for our kids to remember. Also to remind them they are truly blessed when they say "But Mom, you never buy us anything!"

Charles and I stayed up till 3am, like I'm sure lots of parents do, assembling toys.  We hide are stuff waaaaay far away so our kids can never find their gifts. We never put them under the tree so they have no clue till Christmas morning.  Even staying up till 3am, we forgot a very important present and never assembled it. It's a really cool wooden Lego table where you can store all the Legos inside of it and build on it.  If I would have put that thing together that night though, I would've never went to bed because it took me 3 hours the next day to do it. 

Ivy and Ashley are still very much in love with this coloring and painting kit. It even folds up together, like a suitcase, where you can carry it around.  It was a Costco item and that's my absolute favorite place to shop for Christmas. All of their toys are excellent quality and lasts a loooong time.  We did 90% of our shopping at Sam's Club and Costco this year.

Chaz (above) begged and begged us for a spy kit.  The watch has a lie detector built in so Chaz thinks it's hilarious to ask you a question without letting you know he's trying to detect whether you are lying or not.  Do you see how it has a snake cam?  Can you imagine what a kid could do with that?  You can put it under people's doors.  Sooooo, we took that part away.  He can still take pictures and video straight from his watch without it. 

It's weird how Caleb knew but when we all first walked into the living room, he went straight for this present and ripped off the wrapping paper.  He was so excited.  I love my little bear. 

Kyle and Ryan (above) showing off their crossbows.  I actually ordered this from a Christian site online and also ordered their air soft guns from it.  Mommy has had lots of fun already with most of their toys.  Ahem.  By the way, Kyle is VERY excited about his gift but is trying to look cool. 

Ryan (above) told me over and over he wanted a bad guy gun or sword.  I was like "How am I gonna find one of those?"  I got lucky while walking in Costco and seeing this. It's General Grevious' sword and gun. He's the only one that got one of those because they are stinking expensive.  We are Star Wars lovers here. 

While we are all unwrapping, Caleb's favorite thing was playing in all the wrapping and boxes. LOL.  He thought it was great. That's how it is right?  You buy a kid a really cool and expensive present and then they take the cardboard boxes to build a fort?  While their nice gift is still sitting there. haha.

This is weird to me but Sam's Club had this really nice wooden, long lasting, doll house for $100.  Costco had a really nice plastic dollhouse for $113. Which one would you get?  I picked the WOODEN ONE.  Seemed practical and just as adorable.  The key words are LONG LASTING.

Caleb takes great joy in making the girl's house furniture disappear.  This was just the start here on Christmas day.  Tee hee...

Lastly, but certainly not least, the kids made sure Henry got a gift.  He is sniffing it here. 

Glue Scare Revisited

I was reading someone's blog about traveling back through memory lane and I instantly thought about the glue scare we did.  Oh man..... We all still laugh at it every time we see it.  Heh heh.  We had our son Ryan, then 8, put glue on his face and hands.  Then we told the kids he was peeling off his skin.  Ryan never gave it away till the end when we finally told them (for the sake of their sanity) that it was just glue and we showed them how to do it.  They look back and think it's funny now but they were SO MAD in the video!

This is 3 weeks before I had my 6th baby.  So my tummy was quite full (and probably my bladder) while laughing and laughing.   It was so hard not to laugh out loud and make the camera shake. 

You gotta see. 

Kids Christmas Play 2010

It is always so fun watching kid plays because there is so much that can happen. It's never expected to be perfect, I hope not, and it's always neat to see which kids are shy and which ones have not a nervous bone in their body. Really cute stuff happened like a little girl tearing up during her really sweet solo. I have to add that picture (Gotta get it to show you). This is my friend's daughter that you see above.  She could hardly finish her solo because her voice was shaking and she was trying so hard not to cry.  Everyone's heart melted for her. After she was done, she took her friend's hand for comfort. Sniff.....  we all wanted to cry for her!

The play was about going through time so different groups of kids had to dress in different eras. The pictures above are obviously the '80's.  I love the leg warmers and scrunchies!




Ashley smiling to me from stage

 Ashley, my 3 year old, asked if I would paint her nails to match her dress so she was showing people all night her pretty nails. Most of the time she didn't sing.  She just kept waving and waving to us.  Smiling and posing.  Then she would start to cry, look over to us, then smile again. 



Chaz is the one lifting up his glasses

 Chaz, above, was doing the 50's era but we weren't able to find a black jacket in time for the play.  Turns out, none of the other parents could either.  So I didn't feel so bad! 


Ivy in bright pink dress and waving

 Ivy, above was dancing big time on the stage. Here they would be singing "Oh Holy niiiiiiight!" and there is Ivy dancing her heart out. Spinning around.  She just has no stage fright.


Ryan smiling to me from stage

 I still have no idea what Ryan's, above, era was supposed to be. Plaid shirt, untucked, and unbuttoned. I racked my brain but even he didn't know. Maybe 90's?  Not sure.


Kyle is in the center raising his hands

 At one point, Kyle took the group mic, lowered it to himself, and just sang right into it!  We were just sitting back and listening when all of a sudden we could hear one kid really, really loud just singing his heart out. Once they found the culprit, my son, they put the mic back.  Charles and I were laughing and laughing!



Little kid playing 70's era.  He was so little but doing disco dancing with his arms. 

 I had to share picture above because we were all laughing so hard when the kids came out from the 70's era.  They were dressed perfect for it and playing the parts really good.  It was so cute!  Of course it ended with the time machine taking them to the birth of Jesus.  The funny part is that they forgot the baby so one of the kids grabbed the nearest box of tissue and they all bowed around it.  LOLOL.

Beginnings of Christmas Fun

I got behind on some of my posts because I really wanted to focus on Olga and Kareen.  I spent most of my waking hours working on it so I didn't get a chance to come here and blog about our Christmas during the last weeks of December.  So I am now!  :D  We had a blast.....

The holidays this year were wonderful. The weather was amazing. We started out early buying gifts so we weren't stressed this year.  With our kids, we always buy them 3 presents a piece.  1 big one and 2 smaller.  Meaning, usually the bigger one cost more. Got that idea from my sis so we don't go out of control.  :) I mean, still, there are 8 of us in the house. That's 24 gifts to buy. 

A family member blessed us with a tree this year. Last years was a Dr. Suess tree.  Hee hee.  I used to worry how the tree was decorated.  It had to look perfect and everything had to match.  This time I just opened the box to the decorations and told the kids to have fun!  the tree decorations were kind of lopsided and there were none on the bottom because baby Caleb helped himself....but it was beautiful!  We never have glass bulbs so I don't have to worry about shattered glass on the floor.  The kids are still in their school uniforms in the pictures because they couldn't wait to decorate the tree after they came home from school.

I don't think next year we will do much candy in the stockings.  I think 90% of it got smashed after pulling it all out and being excited about presents.  Maybe I'll just get creative and only do some candy with some neat stocking stuffers.  Besides, candy is not good for my diet!  Heh heh

Thank You From My Heart

Thank you for reaching out to Olga and Kareen this holiday season.  We may have given during this season  of our life but the gift for them lasts a lifetime.
Totals: Olga $12,549
Kareen $3,256

"Whoever welcomes a child like this in my name welcomes me." Matthew 18:5

Merry Christmas!

Update On Olga

UPDATE: The family has pulled out that was possibly going to adopt Olga. Please pray and lets storm heaven's gates for a miracle! She only has one month left till she is transferred to a mental institution.  Please, please, please pray......

Ivy's School Play

Scroll down below this post to read about Kareen. The little girl we are trying to rescue. :)

Only kindergarten this year did a little play.  More like singing.  Ivy was so happy to see us she did a cute wave as she passed us.

Sweet daddy taking care of the kids while I snap pictures. 

I'm proud of my little girl. She really doesn't have stage fright and sang her heart out.  lol

Gifting a Family

Her Fund: $3,256
Cost of adoption: $20,000-$25,000

Although I'm excited that Godtube is featuring "From Orphanage to Mental Institution", donations are creeping slowly in for Kareen. 

So far, in writing this, there has been 1,830 visitors to see the video.  Even if each person donated $10, do you know what that would amount to for Kareen?  A full amount for adoption.  Can you imagine how easy it could be to let go of $10?  What could you let go of?  A couple of Starbucks coffee's?  One trip to a Mcdonalds?  What could it mean for Kareen to have those small sacrifices from us? 

A family for Kareen in 2011

A family that can rescue her before it's too late and she is transferred. 

Patti is giving the drawing for an iPad because she has a purpose.  She is trying to bring more people to donate. So if you've donated to Kareen, you can put in for an entry HERE!

From Orphanage to Mental Institution

Pssst! Did you know Patti is hosting an iPad Giveaway on her blog if you donate?  5pm on Christmas Eve is the deadline!  If you donated, head to http://babynumber10.blogspot.com to leave a comment and enter!!!

Godtube asked me for a video that they could use to show their audience.  I didn't have one so I figured it was good time to make one.  After watching the original story on it and crying and crying, I finally set out to make this one.  It took about 9 hours but finally finished it at 3am.  I hope it touches your heart like it touched mine making it.  I had to watch it about 50 times while editing and working out the bugs so the song and images really sank in.  REALLY SANK IN. 



We are in a bubble.  Our life is cushioned by shopping, sports, friends, family, money, jobs, etc.  It's easy to turn a blind eye to something that is not right in front of my face every day.  We have it really, really good. 

Then there are little ones that are waiting to be rescued.  Some have families waiting but just don't have the funding.  Even if we can't adopt, we could provide the funds for a family that can. 

Let's rescue Kareen before she has to be transferred to the mental institution forever.  We made a difference for Olga.  Let's do it for Kareen!

HER DIRECT LINK IS: http://reecesrainbow.org/kareen-35-2

REMEMBER: If you didn't see what I said at the top, Patti, who started all this for these precious girls, is hosting an iPad Giveaway on her blog.  So if you donated, please go to http://babynumber10.blogspot.com/ to leave a comment that you did.

New iPad Giveaway! Updated Again!

(Keeping Giveaway at top so scoll down to see latest blog entries!)

You guys are so awesome for giving and spreading the word about Reece's Rainbow!$12,549 was donated for Olga.

Words alone can not express what you gave to Olga. Thank you so much!  Guess what?  A family is already working things out for Olga.  Just imagine that you were able to contribute and give such an amazing gift!  UPDATE: The family has pulled out that was possibly going to adopt Olga.  Please pray and lets storm heaven's gates for a miracle!  She only has one month left till she is transferred.

Because of the success, Reece's Rainbow is now looking to rescue another girl facing the institution and is asking for your help for Christmas!  Together we can make it possible! 

There was such an awesome response from previous giveaway, the winners were posted, and now Patti has a new giveaway! This time it's for an...

iPad!!!

This time you can have 10 entries and Patti tells you how on her blog.  Check out her

Home For Christmas iPad Giveaway!


UPDATED
If you want to see the direct links here, then I will go ahead and post them.  Some have told me they wanted to donate but were unsure where to go:
-------------------------------------------------------
Step 1:
This is the next one Patti would like us to rescue!
 http://reecesrainbow.org/kareen-35-2
($3,256) She needs donations!

Step 2:
After you donate, remember that you can put in an entry for an iPad at: http://babynumber10.blogspot.com/2010/12/winners.html

--------------------------------------------------------
Patti tells you how you can get 10 entries for donating to Kareen. 2 for donating, 2 for tweeting, 2 for following, 2 for blogging, and 2 for facebooking. She tells you how on the link I gave you to her blog. :)

If you would like to watch funds raise yourself then go to http://reecesrainbow.org/sponsorship/angeltree2010/angeltreesponsorpage
Scroll down to the section called "I've Reached My Angel Tree Goal" and look for Kareen.  This is where it shows the correct amount donated. :) Average cost of adopting a child is around $20,000.  With your help, it is becoming possible!

Two Major Celestial Events Will Occur Back To Back!

Whoa!  I am so gonna be around to check this out!  Well, I kind of have to be around because I exist underneath it but I'll be outside watching for it.  Coffee will be in hand because I am rarely ever up that late. 

For the first time in 372 years, the winter equinox and a total lunar eclipse happen on the same day, and North America is one of the best spots to view the show. Find out when to look for it.

Missing The Meteor Shower

I was online late last night editing awesome stuff such as the amount going up for the donations. :D

Anway, a friend writes on Facebook that there is supposed to be a meteor shower?  So I look outside for a shower of some sort and well, um.... I couldn't even find a STAR!  Luck was on my side though and I did see one star though.  Just in case you are another city slicker and you'd like to see 1 star... I will share this with you.  Well, you have to zoom in to see star but it's there.

We could see the moon though and there were clouds in the sky so it was really pretty. I am never in my backyard at midnight but since the website said the meteor shower was gonna peak around 4am, I just know, in my heart of hearts that even if I do set my alarm for 4am, I'm gonna hit the snooze in order to catch my z's instead.

So then we started getting goofy and take pics of our shadow and got this cool picture.

Ask Away by Ellen Ross

Thank you friends for all who support the Olga funding! $12,329 was raised. Although we only made it halfway, there is already someone stepping up to possibly adopt her now that the funding is better.  Exciting!!!  Patti is now starting a new funding and this time the prize is an iPad.  Yup.  An iPad!  Awesome.  Come visit Patti's Blog to read more!  Deadline to donate is Christmas Eve. 

Speaking of.... I had sent out a tweet to Jon Gosselin (I don't care what media says, I've always been a huge supporter). The funny thing is I don't have a TV but I've seen bits and pieces here and there of his family videos. Anyway, then I noticed Ellen Ross, his girlfriend. I've never seen any information about her because I'm always ignoring the news stands (which are only good for sparking backyard fires to roast marshmallows.)  I do like seeing pictures of what people look like and their clothes (I'm such a girlie) but the text next to it just provides a good giggle.  Not to be taken seriously.

Jon and Ellen Ross were kind enough to support the cause for the donation call to Reece's Rainbow by sending out tweets. I know it helped because the same night they did, $1,000 came in. I noticed her blog that she started which is an advice collumn. Come check it out!  Besides, it's kind of fun answering questions and thinking about how we would handle something.  That's what is fun about Yahoo Answers.

Ask Away

by Ellen Ross

"A collection of questions I get asked, that I give my personal advice on. I don't have a degree, I am just offering my 2 cents based off of my personal life experiences. Take it as you will!"

Come answer this!  You know you want to!  Everyone has great ideas we could pitch in.

Sick of the Same Old Same Old

Question: My husband and I have got in that predictable rut. He knows what I will do, I know what he will do.  Try as we might to change it up we just go back into what we know. I have tried, he has tried, we do well for a week then it is like we both just give up.  Our predictable ways have been in the last 4 years. We use to be a family of spontaneity.....read more.

Let me say that when you read stuff by the media about anyone, remember that these guys are getting paid big bucks to write it, take the pictures, etc.  Just getting one good picture could even pay their rent for a whole year.  They don't care about accuracy or getting the truth.  Whatever causes a stir and brings in the money is what they care about.  They will say outrageous things to someone to get them to respond negatively and look bad. So, just imagine, everywhere you go, having a camera in your face or people trying to egg you on and make you angry just to get a reaction.  I know people have a weakness for gossip to make themselves feel better but it would just be nice to try and understand what some people are forced to go through just to give you good bathroom material.  (Sorry about the description).

Be Careful Who You Answer the Door For!

This is hilarious!

Olga's Fund Now At $12,504!!

Below this is my latest blog entry. :)

You still have time to enter to win the iPod Touch by donating before the end of the night! 

• Click here to donate: http://reecesrainbow.org/olga-r-3

• Click here to leave comment at the end of the post for an entry to win: The Most Important Post I've Ever Written

God is doing miracles for little Olga.  Come see a Christmas miracle happen on Patti's blog.

P.S. Remember, the link to Olga is not showing current amount.  Patti is in contact with Reece's Rainbow for current amount and we will keep updating our blogs.  If you want to see the amount shown on Reece's rainbow, Olga is found on the Angel Tree HERE.  She is almost at the bottom of the page and her button is placed under her picture to donate.

Why Mommy Deserves a Break

My conversation tonight with my 10 year old son after church.  We were eating Cup O' Noodles which is a our favorite snack.  Chaz went and got a glass of milk and brought it back to table.

Me:  Chaz, (pointing behind him) what's that???!!  ( I sneak a drink of Chaz's milk).

Chaz: Mommm, why did you do that?  Awww, you drank my milk.  Mommmmm!

Me: Chaz, don't you want your mommy to have some milk after everything I've ever done?  Just think.  I had you in my tummy for nine months. 

Chaz: Mom, that was a long time ago.  You can't bring that up.

Me:  But Chaz, I even had to get a really BIG needle and everyone was there. My parents were there. Your dad's parents were there.  My sisters, nurses, doctors. It was a big day.  A painful one too.  So, thanks for letting me get a drink of your milk.  Heh heh.

Chaz:  Mom, are you declaring war?

Meet New Chickies

Note: New Info about Team Olga under this post.

 

Yesterday Kyle and I went to pick up our order of chicks.  There is a Rhode Island Red rooster and 3 Buff Orphington hens and 1 rooster.  So excited! I'm slowly building them up again but this time I would like to have some breeding.  :)  We'll see if we ended up with any sitting hens.  You never know.  Of course I will keep the two different types seperate.  I will have to section the side of the house into 2 so breeds don't mix.

Right now the chicks are in the boy's room next to the mice cage. The kids are loving it and don't mind the warming light in their room.  It's kinda bright but they insisted it's not bothering them when they sleep.  The only thing is the cage can get stinky! But... we need them inside for at least another week before allowing them outside.

GUESS WHAT????!

OLGA'S FUND HAS REACHED $12,504!!!!!!!!

So, so, so, so, so happy!!! 

It's looking up.  Way up!  Olga is having a better and better chance of adoption before January.  God truly works wonders.  Thank you friends for donating. We're gonna keep pulling for her till the end.  She is halfway there so you if you haven't donated and haven't put in a chance to win a prize, please CLICK HERE!

If this is the first time you've seen this:
Olga turns five next month. In Eastern Europe, babies with Down syndrome are deemed unacceptable at birth. Olga has spent her life in an orphanage...until now. Soon she will be transferred to a mental institution. Forever. 

Lets give her a fighting chance before that happens. Direct link to donate is: http://reecesrainbow.org/olga-r-3

Going Too Far

It's so sad what kind of pressure there is to be super thin.  I mean, of course we want to be healthy.  But calling a ballerina fat when she is fine and beautiful already?  You can read article HERE. 

Her interview on he matter and some clips from The Nutcracker. 



You see these overweight starts who get a lot of criticism and they say they love their body.  Then the next year, all of a sudden they are super thin, beyond healthy. That's when I know the criticism got to them.  There is a lot of pressure in their career.  It's fine to want to be healthy and feel good about yourself. But it's a shame to have them publically humilated like this.

Giveaway Extended

We are keeping Olga as top priority but scroll down below this to see my latest blog entry.  ;)

$12,504!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are still pulling for Olga and desperately need your help.  On facebook I have 250 friends and I told them that if each donated $20, that would add up to $5,000.  If they donated $50, it would add $12,500 towards Olga's adoption.  It's the Christmas season and we have a chance to give the gift of a family to a precious little girl. 

Here is an idea Patti has which is fantastic.  From her blog:

"My husband also got his company to donate $1 for every new subscriber to zipdeals. A zipdeal is a coupon that comes in an email offering 50 to 70% off local restaurants and businesses. If you've ever heard of "groupons" - it's the same thing. Anyway- his company (Ziplocal) will donate a dollar to Olga for every person who subscribes to get these emails. ***they will not spam you, and you can unsubscribe at any time, and Olga will still get the dollar.** Sounds like small potatoes- but if 500 people subscribed, that's $500 for Olga! If you want to subscribe, click here: http://tinyurl.com/RRfundraiser (subscribing is free)"


Lets pull together for Olga guys.  It would mean so much.  If you have a Facebook, Twitter, blog, website....please repost. 

To donate to Olga directly: Click HERE (Remember amount shown is not correct amount donated.  We are updating you here and on Patti's site.)

When you donate, be sure to go put your entry in the comments for a chance to win an iPod Touch for Christmas by going HERE.

Making a Surprise For a Friend



My friend's mom called me from out of town and asked if I could keep her daughter occupied on Saturday.  Kerrie wanted to do a makeover in her apartment. The only thing was that she wanted to come early in the morning without Michele knowing. So we had a dilemma. She asked what I could do to get her out of the house early.  So I said "Well, it's kinda corny but I'll tell her to spend the night.  She's turning 30 so we'll call it her last sleepover."  Haha.  I haven't done that since, well, my teens?  It was kind of embarrassing to ask Michele to have a sleepover but I did it.  I even told her to bring her pajamas.   

Michele came over around 5pm on Friday.  I made her favorite meal and we had lots of ice cream and toppings.  We had so much fun and stayed up till around 2am. By the way, my husband took the kids out of the house the whole time so we had the house to ourselves.  He came home with mine and her kids.  So Charles had 9 kids. He put them all to bed. 

Did I mention how amazing he is?

Charles let us sleep in late and then he made us pancakes, eggs (from our hens), toast, and bacon. Oh, and some coffee and orange juice.  So Michele and I left by ourselves to go out and have some fun.  We went to the mall.  It is so hard to get that girl to spend money on herself.  She kept thinking what everyone else wanted.  I'm extremely girly.  Michele isn't into the makeup and hair stuff.  We are opposites in so many ways but alike in many other ways.  I kept stopping at all the makeup and hair stands.  Constantly. She couldn't figure out why I would spend $10 on an eye shadow.  Well, I talked them down some major dollars!  And it's my favorite stuff.  I don't know if you've ever used MICABELLA but it last a long time, stays on your eyes, AND you can mix water with some of the powder to make it a lip color or into a darker version of that shade on your eyes.  It's fun stuff. 

Finally, Michele's mom texts me and ask to have her come home to see the apartment.  I tried to think of a way to get her to come home. I said, "Do you want to go to your house, get our sweaters on and go to an outdoor type mall?  She said no.  I tried another tactic and she still said no.  Hmmmm... Finally I texted her mom and asked if Michele's husband would call and ask her to come home.  Maybe have him ask if we could all go somewhere together. Chis, me, and Michele.  So Chris calls and just tells her to come home.  Michele was upset so I felt bad! 

We pulled up to the house and I could smell the house (from all the cleaning) from outside the door!  Michele screamed when she saw her mom and then we she saw the house.  It was so worth it.  Her mom had to drive all the way back to her town which is a couple hours away.  It was already 9:30pm and she had been working for 13 hours.  Amazing!  What a nice mom. 

Well, we took off and went to eat at Outback Steakhouse.  We came for their cheese fries!  In the end we both got birthday sundaes and the workers kept wanting to come and talk to us.  We can't help it. We are fun girls to hang out with.  LOL.  Our server looked like she was Clark Kent's (Superman's) daughter.  We were trippin.  So then we had this whole conversation with them about how it could have happened and we just don't know the whole story.  Odd, odd converstation.  Michele and I love comic heroes.  Trust me. We have matching Batman underwear. Heh heh.

After that we went to a place where she would actually like to buy some stuff and so we didn't get her to her house with her kids till midnight!  She said she had a blast so it was all worth it.  Charles was still in a good mood after being with 9 kids for two days. 

My house is a wreck from the kids and me being gone all day but it was still worth it. I will just be cleaning all week.  ;)  We had so much fun and I can't believe Charles took care of that many kids, fed, changed, made them bathe, and put them to bed.  Even when I called him late at night and he had to raise his voice on the phone so I could hear him, he was in a good mood and just told us to have fun. 

Amazing, amazing guy.  Sigh.  I LOVE THAT MAN!

Team Olga

Patti at A Perfect Lily (Click to read current info) has a good idea for Olga (Click here to donate!). 

Remember the girl we are trying to rescue?  She's a beautiful little girl with Down Syndrome.  If she is not rescued by next month, when she turns 5, she will be transferred to a mental institution forever. Patti talks more on the link I gave you.  What life will be like for Olga. 

Why save just one?  I look at my daughter and I imagine if something were to happen to me.  Say she had no living relatives and was put in an orphanage. What if she had a "flaw" that prevented people from choosing her from the others?  What if people did want to rescue her but didn't have the funds?  What if she wasn't chosen and her fate was that of a mental institution?  Just because she was too old for the orphanage? 

What if it was my daughter?  Your daughter/son?  Just saving one means so much to that one. Of course we can't save them all.  But if we worked to save that one, it matters to her. 

Anyway, Patti has an idea about reaching out to local radio stations.  Wouldn't it be neat if we all wrote Dr. Laura an email with the same link?  They read the emails every day.

Lets work together!!

Click here to email Dr. Laura!

The little girl's name is: Olga
Link to her donation page: http://reecesrainbow.org/olga-r-3

Remember, the amount shown so far is not the correct amount.  Patti is updating her site daily of the correct amount added up.

Caleb's Haircut and Making Happy Feet

So I gave Caleb his first haircut!  I was shocked at how he looked. Soooo handsome!  I will have to take a picture when he is awake.  I remember when I found out I was having a boy. I had two thoughts. 
1. Oh no.  Circumcision.
2. More boys' hair to cut.
I don't like to cut hair but it saves us a lot of money.  If 5 men in this house had to go get their hair cut, it could add up monthly.  So it's worth it to save money.

My mom asked me to go to Payless online and pick out some shoes for my kids for Christmas.  I've never bought shoes online since they usually try them on first. So I traced all my kid's feet onto a paper, measured it, triple checked it, then compared it to sizing chart online. I then went through their shoes and did an inventory to see what they needed.  Some needed tennis shoes and some needed church shoes.  Then I looked for sales on their site.  After totalling the cost of shoes for 6 kids, it was pretty good but I knew I could do better. So I went onto facebook and found Payless.  They had a game you could play to win Buy One Get One Half Off.  I played and didn't win so then I logged into my husband's account and play again. That time I won!  So I took the code to my order and applied it. All in all I got the cost down from $108.00 to $64.00!  What a savings!  Not bad for 6 kids.  :D  I was proud.

Another blessing that happened to us was that we needed a new Christmas tree.  We talked about a real one vs. a fake one.  We love real ones but to get a really nice one, they can be around $70.  It feels like a waste of money to us so we decided on a fake one. Last year's was pretty teeny.  It was fine!  LOL.  But we thought it would be neat to get a bigger one.  Well, as we were discussing it, my husband's mom calls to tell us that her sister had a big one for us if we wanted it.  Really?  Sure!  Last night we were gonna have a family decorating night.  I went into the attic and brought down all the Christmas boxes. Only one strand of lights worked so we had to throw out the rest.  So decorating is postponed till Saturday.  We will have cookies and hot cocoa with marshmallows on top.  :)  Yummm.... It'll be wonderful.  We can't wait. 

I keep trying to explain to Ivy the difference between putting MUSHROOMS in your hot cocoa vs. MARSHMALLOWS.  One day I will show her the difference.  Ewwww....

A friend of my son's gave us some mice. I don't know whether to be grossed out or think it's cute. I do think they are so cute.  There is a difference between ones that pick up grossness everywhere and ones from the pet store. So I have to remind myself that.  Often.  It's just funny how us ladies scream when we see a mice but then allow one in a cage to cuddle. Heh heh.  Although I remember years ago when my parents had to put out mice traps. It only happened once but I was soooo sad when I heard the mice squeak when caught.  :(  Broke my heart.  But I was the kid that went and rescued hurt animals all the time.

Tonight, I have a goodie in store for my friend, Michele, who by the way  never updates her blog.  Well, she is having a sleepover while my husband and kids are away.  It's a girl's night!  She is 29 tonight folks. Tomorrow she is 30. So to say goodbye to the young life, we all know you are so not mature at 21, and hello to real adulthood, we are having one last sleepover. 

This is Michele and Chris below.  I'm sure they won't mind that I made this Christmas picture of them.  Haha.