Chef in high demand

My boys are sweet, and a little crazy, too. Last night I was TRYING to hang my new curtains with my MIL- she was perched on a chair holding my rod(a lil to the right, no higher, now to the left... you get the idea) when i see my sons ON TOP of my mini van. Why? They thought it would be fun to pretend it was a mountain. I have NO idea how the 2 yr old got up there. After a scolding and kicking them out back to play in the sandbox I thought Id safely bought myself sometime to finish the curtain hanging(surely Sandy had sore arms by now!) then I hear her exclaim "OH! HE's NAKED" I look outside just int ime to see JBrennans buns run by and Jackson mid stride throwing a plastic spear at his brother like some new Guinea native... IN THE FRONT YARD!
NAKED! IN THE FRONT YARD! They are almost 5 and 6- SURELY they know better!They were promptly sent to bed, still naked, (Hey- they wanted to be that way! By morning they had changed their minds- it does get a lil chilly on the willy...) and Sandy and I dissolved in fits of laughter.
As I was tucking them in 10 minutes ago Sweet Jackson says that he doesnt want me to die EVER! See- he'd have to go through LOTS and LOTS of being old without me, and that would be sad. He wants me to always be his mommy and always be here. He piled on the sweet talk and the hugs and love , And then from the bottom bunk comes Brennans voice- 'Yeah- Who would cook for us?"

Sam is our latest pet. Sam is beautiful! Green, smooth, kind of small for his species, and LOVES to snuggle. Sam is a snake. An Eastern garter snake to be precise. Last night Shaun decided we needed some long overdue family time(all the demo in our house has taken time away from lil' boys and mama) so we loaded the family up to go to Uncle Bills. After oohing and aahing over puppies we came home with 2 new fish, and a faux cave for Sam. It has a hole in the top so dear Sam can crawl in and out, and soft moss in the center for Sam to burrow in. We also brought Sam some delicious goldfishes to eat! We rearranged Sams home, and let him be happy as a lark in it. Amy came over today and about died of cardiac failure countless times over Sam- unfortunately my youngest doesn't quite get the whole deathly afraid of snakes, don't open the cage in my presence, or bring it near me type of thing. He-he. I get it, kind of- I panic at the sight of balloons or rubber gloves.
Sam is happily pokign his head out of his cave/rock as I type.
I realize with boys that creepy crawlys are going to be a way of life. We have found countless worms in pockets, once a HANDFULL and I do mean handfull!(cause they were cold, you know?), beetles in shoes(it makes a good cage in a pinch), spiders in jars, and I can't count the times my sons have gone on a wasp hunt, yes actually hunting the mean evil things out, to kill of course... last week it was a bird they were hunting to kill, cook over the fire and roast... I didnt let them of course, but they did try before I found out WHAT IN THE WORLD they were doing!
Glad I had all brothers growing up...
Glad God made such an amazing world for my sons to explore, and terrorize. Glad he has given us modern medicine to counteract the countless bug bits, scratches, broke bones, etc that come from exploring.
Ont hat note enjoy the pictures!

Ah- my drywall is up! Ah- the painter is hired. Ah- we are shopping tomorrow for the necessaties. Our drywall guy suggested a place called 'Assets'- a massive warehouse with anything and everything the remodeler could need- at killer pricing. So- that being said we put the bathroom on hold for 2 days until Shaun was off work. Why pay lowes price when you can pay SA price for new stuff? I thought I would add some pics as to what I am currently living in.


I feel as if there's no point in cleaning- it all seems messy anyways- but a clean house, or somewhat clean, is a must, so... The fishtank is no longer in my living room- WOO-HOO! I love my man but I have never liked that tank in my living space. I mean- how french/provincial country can you make a 65 gallon fish tank look? Things are rolling along. Hopefully they will go at warp speed soon- Shauns brother, his wife and their daughter come into town the end of this month, and a massive deck/pool build begins on the 1st of June.
I have been praying that this whole home remodel project would allow us some oppurtunity for ministering to others. It's funny how God uses things like having a guy in your house doing drywall to work in YOUR life, not neccessarily the non-believers! Example- aren't we usually on our best behavior in front of others. Not fake, not phony, just more aware of how we respond to people, or um, shall we say our children? I have been high strung this week, not feeling well and irritable. Easily impatient, and well, my kids have been out of sorts too. After 2 days of the drywall guy in my home things are back to peacefullness. I realize it is because of MY response to my children. My response changed. Not my children first, not my feeling crummy. My RESPONSE. How convicting! How grateful I am that God chooses to work in my heart still, even as stubborn and crusty as it can be. How I pray that God did use our lives in said drywall guys life to make an impact, and how blessed I am that God used drywall guy being here to work in my heart!

Happy Mothers day to all of those that are blessed to be called mom, momma, mommy, mother, etc! I thoroughly enjoyed a 'nuggle' fest in our bed this morning with 3 little boys all giglly, huggy, and kissy. Quintin refused to say 'Happy Mothers day' much to his fathers prodding, and cajoling. He wanted to know where HIS presents were! I look back on the six and a half years of being a momma and can't believe how time flies! I remember my 1st mothers day- Jackson was barely 3 months, and I was so THRILLED that when Pastor told all the mommas to stand up, I GOT TO STAND, TOO! Since than we have had 2 more sons here on earth to 'nuggle', kiss and love on, and 3 more sweet little ones in heaven. I always said I wanted LOTS of babies! ;-)
I have been amazed at how your heart can grow bigger, and love more with each baby that makes it's way into your life, the living and the gone to heaven ones. I have cried tears of joy, tears of 'I can't take not getting any sleep any longer!, tears of sorrow and tears because I am a woman and I can! And through it all I realize what an awesome responsibility raising these children is. I am humbled and awed that God would see fit to give this job to me. And I realize that only through Him can I even be 1/2 good at it. Being a mom, not a caretaker, is the hardest and most rewarding job I have ever had. I applaud you moms that take the time for your kids, to do the best for them. To put your family first, and realize that some days kids need a LOT and maybe, just maybe the laundry will have to wait a couple of hours, or heck, till the next day.
Keep it up Mommas!

Handy Shauny

My floors are ripped to pieces, window framing is gone, and at 11:15 PM there is still the sound of whacking/banging/vacuming/nailing/de-nailing... You get the idea. Quintin WAS asleep- until Daddy started the impact gun and my son came running from his room, sleepy eyed, SCREAMING and clinging to me as if the Japanese were bombing us and he had 1 night to live. I love how handy Shaun and his dad are. My husband is truly amazing! He and George, my father in law, have done so much over the years! They are both perfectionists about their work, and I love that! If they don't know how to do something they learn. And then they do it RIGHT! No half attempts, no making do. it's done right or not at all. i lvoe that about my husband even if it means jobs take longer than I wish or that he obsesses over the little details many wouldn't. I love the sense os satisfaction he gets out of a job done right!
I realize as we embark on this adventure it will really tell me alot about myself. I already know that I don't do chaos well. I cannot handle many people in one place with no agenda, haphazard dinners, playdates that get started 2 hours late, NOISE, NOISE, NOISE! Now this doesn't mean I am an inflexible personage. I can do playdates 30 minutes late, I can do busy dinners,and many people with purpose and manners. I can handle many kids in my house, or yard as long as they aren't destructive or hang from the ceiling fan. But I dont know how I will do with no floors, drywall dust, and BOTH of my bathrooms being pretty much off limits. I will have to move out with Quin for a few days and wonder HOW will that work? I pray this doesnt affect his asthma in particular too much. The rest of us make do, he however has it pretty bad. You even look at him and think asthma flare and it happens.
Patience, perserverance, and joy will be needed in abundance for this month.
Yet I see how blessed we are to do all of this without having to finance it, not go into debt. The insurance company was MORE than fair, and I never thought Id be happy to have my kid poo and only God knows what else to make a toilet overflow and KEEP overflowing! lol
Ya know come to think of it that toilet has not been right since Jackson and Ella flushed a bean bag filled with Minute rice down it. I know, minute rice expands, dumb idea for a 2 yr olds bean bag game... Or was it? Thank you Ella, jackson and Quintin for the house remodel! I love you lil'turdlets!

First post!

For family and friends that are far away I now have a lace for pictures, stories and updates! I love to write about our sons antics and unfortunately Facebook does not allow that, or at least it's not was great as a blog! SO... That being written, you will now be able to find updates on us HERE! As we begin our remodel I will keep everyone updated on that as well with pictures and stories of how it is or isn't going. So long for now- the groceryis calling and I need to stop ignoring!