1st Day of School

School started yesterday.
Have you ever wanted to choke a kid?
Oh, yeah - if you have one, then of course, you've wanted to at some point!

After the boys left, I was cleaning and found some papers.
Oopps, there was Austin's summer assignment for Civics class.
Was it done, and he'd simply forgotten to take it? NO!
Had I reminded him various times over the summer that it need to be done? YES!
Had he even started it? NO!
Has he had it since June? YES!
Was I ready to choke him at that point? YES!

I texted him.
Here's how it went:
Oh my gosh - here's ur summer civics assignment! U didn't do it and it's 150 pts!
It's ok - I don't have civic till next semester.
(Keep in mind that would be okay - IF he had known that all along. He didn't. He just found out his schedule 2 weeks ago.)
Why do u have ur phone out in class?
Why r u texting me during school?
Don't change the subject!

I WILL survive! - Won't I???

Austin's 1st Day as a Senior


Darrell's 1st Day as an 8th Grader


Leila - Just Because

Adoption Seminar

We're going to be helping out with an Adoption Seminar hosted by our agency (America World)next Sat.
The invitation to open to one and all to join us.

It will be at:
LifeSong Church
1100 Greenup Avenue
Ashland, KY 41101
August 28th 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

PLEASE REGISTER AT: AWAA Events
Call to register today.
8 8 8 - O N E - C H I L D

Riding Rides

We took Leila to our county fair.
(The boys went almost every night, but we only went a couple.)
She LOVED it!
She loved everything about it - the animals, the music, the people, the rides...
She liked the rides enough to ride by herself - and if you know Leila, that's saying something.


Then boys and I went to Kings Island with the church this past week.
We like going this time of year because most OH schools have already gone back, which means it's not crowded.
Although the weather is still hot, we got lucky and had a good day - not too hot, not too muggy.

I learned a few things that day:
I'm getting too old for some of the rides.
I take longer and longer to recover from each one every year.
It is possible to drag bottom on the log ride.
Some people REALLY do NOT like heights (Drop Zone).

Lots of fun - Lots of good memories though.


On another note, I would like to catch a break.
In fact - winning the lottery would be nice.
(Yes, I do realize that having a ticket would greatly increase my odds - but still ... )

We've had David's truck in the shop - not once, but twice in the past month.
Now, Austin's truck in there. And I'm scared to death to get a verdict on the repairs this time.
We have another water leak. (At least this one's small and not doing much damage though.)
And someone got David's debit card info!
I was checking the bank balance one morning last week, and found several hundred $'s had been charged to a French airline.
I blocked the card immediately, and we've filed to get our money back.
The bank assured us that we won't actually lose our money.
BUT in the meantime - someone (other than us) still has it, and is going somewhere that I might really want to go.

4-Wheeler Ride

David went on a big 4-wheeler ride last week.
He was SO excited. He's been planning this for months.
He went over to McDowell County with a bunch of guys.
This was his 'guys' trip - his equivalent of my 'girls' trip to the beach.
He was having fun - until he rolled his 4-wheeler and came home a day early.
No, he wasn't doing anything stupid at the time. It was just a freak accident.
The bike (I think) only has minor damage.
David, on the other hand, has been off work all week.
This is his back:

I won't post one of his butt (you're welcome).
Let's just say, it's bad too.
Hoping he gets to feeling better soon - because men to be a little whiny when they don't feel good (sshhh!).

Busy, Busy, Busy

It's been a while since I posted.
We've been BUSY!

2 weeks ago, we had our annual swimming party for the church.
Some of the 'regulars' couldn't make it for one reason or the other, but the ones that did - had a good time.
We swam and ate all afternoon.

Then sports started full-swing.
Austin's been weight-lifting in preparation for wrestling for about a month now.
He also decided to go out for golf this year.
Golf is a little different in that they only take the top 4-6 'qualifiers' to each tournament.
Austin just started playing golf this summer. Most people on the team have been playing since they were like 6.
Chances are - he may never 'qualify' at all this year.
He was a little disheartened by that thought at first.
(And it didn't help that there's a couple snotty brats on the team too.)
But after thinking/talking about it - it's okay.
He's still getting FREE golf lessons and FREE play time every day. (And since golf is such an expensive sport - that's pretty good.)
Learning this now is something he will be able to enjoy the rest of his life.
(I love his wrestling, but let's be honest - after high school, wrestling is pretty much over.)
Darrell started cross-country. He likes track season, but he loves cross-country.
He says he gets bored just running in circles. Cross-country gives him variety.

I took Austin to buy a suit for senior pictures and all that 'senior' stuff.
(Not really ready for that.)

Can't believe school starts in about a week and a half!
Austin will be a senior, and Darrell will be in the 8th grade.
And then there's Leila.
Boy we've got them spread out, don't we?

After about a month lull, Leila started with (another) new speech teacher.
She seems to be doing really well with her though.
Hopefully we'll be able to keep this one until she ages out of the program in Oct.

One of my (many, many) cousins had a birthday last week.
We had a little mini reunion to celebrate.
Actually I believe the birthday was just an excuse to get together and party a bit.
This is just a few of them: