Four Year Time Warp

~ alliehowell9 ~ Leave a comment

Wow. Has it really been that long?

I have been skimming over my old posts and realize- I miss writing. I think I’ll take a few minutes and catch you up on some of the changes while you were in suspended animation (‘Cause that is what Covid did to us).

Benjamin is now 4 1/2 years old. He is still my runt, but so cute and squeaky. His love is wild animals (and dinosaurs, but because there is no actual Jurassic Park, he likes animals more). From a tiny tyke he has mimicked their sounds and gaits. He wants to kill and eat them all. Yes. With no hunters in this household, he was born one. The only way to get him to eat some dinners is to tell him it is bear meat (pot roast) or deer meat (teriyaki flank steak). He takes advantage of my mommy heart as my last baby. I give in way too easy (and with him so little, it is easy). I may grow to regret that.

Israel just turned 6. Two years ago he walked up to me with his beautiful long blonde locks (to his waist) and said, “Mom- I want to look like a boy, not a girl. Can we cut my hair?” Well, seeing that he just spoke the most well formed sentence of his young life, we cut his hair. Still so handsome, but he looked like a different kid. He is a sweet, sensitive, deep thinker. Not long ago he asked me how he can be sure we go to heaven. I told him the Bible says “If you believe in your heart that Jesus died for your sins and rose again, and tell it with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, you will be saved.” He replied softly, “I do believe that.” Then, with great urgency, he looked me in the eyes and yelled “Jesus is Lord!” Need I say more?

Eva is now 8 1/2. The lone girl with two boys on either side of her. She is high energy, athletic, smart, and funny. She already helps changing Madeline, as well as feeding her, etc…. She loves to sing- loudly. We are trying to convince her that her voice sounds better when she doesn’t strain it by being so… enthusiastic. The other kids stared me down when I bought her a microphone for her birthday last year. We sing duets and can empty a room in no time.

Cory is almost 11 now. He is smart, funny and quick. Quick witted that is. Quick to work- not so much. He has a natural way of delegating while he ends up just standing around watching. That may help him some day, but as I tell all my kids, “None of you are Einsteins. You need to learn how to be hard workers.” He loves playing with the little boys, studying prophecy and Genesis 6/Daniel 2:43 related things.

J’onn is 13 now. That means there are again 3 teenagers in my home. He loves reading and is a hard worker. He has a habit of continually rubbing his hands together (think mad scientist) and walking in circles- literally making me motion sick. He does not have to change Madeline, but he can suction and feed her, give her meds, and care for her. Although he does gag when he has to suction her, it is quite funny.

Presley is 15 and finished with Driver’s Ed. She has passed her tests and is counting the days util September when she can drive without me. Actually, so am I. Her 15 year old cousin, Erin, is with us about half the time, so she buddies around with her a lot. She house-sits, dog-sits, baby-sits, Madeline-sits and is an all around hard worker. She is very thoughtful and is growing up too quickly for me.

Clara… oh, sorry, Clarabella, is 19 this week. She has flown to sunny California for her cousin’s bridal shower and will have her birthday down there. She worked at Chick-Fil-A for eight months, but quit because they were starting a vaccine mandate. But that fizzled so after a 4 month hiatus, she is starting work there again when she returns from Cali. She also wants to start college. “What for,” you ask? Funeral Sciences. She wants to embalm, cremate, reconstruct for viewings- all the stuff you and I would never do. Actually, her dad’s cousin and her husband own a funeral home, so she traveled to get some first hand experience and liked what she saw. This just adds to the list of things we just have to shake our heads at when it comes to Clara(bella).

Madeline is now 21, but I am her legal guardian. She is pretty much the same. Maybe a few more issues to tackle. But she still loves movies and her Kindle and the tetherball hanging from the ceiling. She goes to church and reaches out and grabs people’s hands and says “Hello”- but like Scooby Doo says Hello except replace the Rs with Ws. So basically she made herself a greeter. One that catches people by surprise. It is half fun to see their expressions, and half embarrassing as I often have to apologize and tell her to “let go of the nice lady’s hand.”

Tristan would be 23 now. He’s been gone 13 1/2 years. I appreciate Madeline’s former nurses that never forget to text me that they are remembering him on his birthday. Amber, Colette and Rainey – Thank you.

Adrian III is 25. He and Hannah just had their 1 year wedding anniversary a week ago, and they gave us Mackenzie 6 weeks ago. Our first granddaughter. She is an angel. Adrian is still in the Costco Tires Center, and a volunteer firefighter. Hannah is ending her career at Target with maternity leave and will be here two days a week (with Kenzie!) caring for Madeline starting in 6 weeks or so. They live about 30 minutes north of us and still go to the same church. I love Sundays. After teaching the 3-4 year olds at the 9 am service, I get to sit in the 11 am service and hold Kenzie. I will admit, it is difficult to pay attention at times when I have this sweet baby in my arms.

Hailey is almost 27. She and Mike have THREE BOYS!!! Asher (3), Elias (2), and Rowen ( 9 mo.). They are here playing with gramma, grandpa, their uncles and aunts four days a week while Hailey cares for Madeline. As I consider this, part of why I have not written is because I am loving being a busy Gramma. It is so sweet to have them stair-step with their uncles. In July, it will be Israel-6, Ben-5, Asher-4, Elias-3, Rowen-1, (and Kenzie- 6 mo). They live about 20 minutes from us, go to church with us, and I rarely go a day without talking to Hailey. I am so blessed to have my adult daughter as one of my closest friends.

Well, two years ago, we moved. We were in our tiny home for 19 years, then one day the Lord set up some circumstances (as we were not looking to move) and- BAM! I saw my dream house in person and bought it within 10 hours. We were blessed to get to know the owner and actually bought many of his household items and furniture, as he wanted to drive away in a van with at trailer and his three dogs from this 6500 square foot home. So now we are on 5 acres in Chattaroy, about 25 minutes north of our old house. The kids can play outside without worry of speeding cars or weirdos. However, we have had moose, bobcat, cougar, and even a wolf, so there are other things to be aware of.

Our neighborhood has (mostly) welcomed us with open arms. Of the 9 houses on our dead-end dirt road, 6 of them walk EVERY MORNING. Six am rain or shine, warm or freezing, soft light or stars like midnight. Oh, and their dogs outnumber us humans. (No, I don’t take ours, this is my morning escape!) But I so love my neighbors and look forward to every walk with them. So much so that twice a week I take two walks just so I can see everyone, since there are a few sane people who wait until 7:30 to hit the road.

Adrian still works nights for the Spokane Police Department and loves it. Of course, he works nights as it is more action-packed. I thought I would love sleeping by myself alone in a king sized bed while he was away at night. Maybe I would, but I rarely have the bed to myself as he tells Israel and Benjamin that they need to sleep in mom’s room and take care of me. I have a hard time saying no to that anyway. It’s not so bad. I might get two nights a month to myself. The other nights it is like a pig pile, and I am the unfortunate one on the bottom of the pile.

As for me… I am older, heavier, and hopefully wiser. The Lord is so good and as soon as I stopped having babies, my kids gave me grand babies. I am hoping to marry Clara off soon and keep that party rolling. In fact, I may be selling raffle tickets for that prize.

The world is nearing its judgment, so things are increasingly black and white for those with discernment. The spiritual battle is intensifying, and the effects of it in the physical realm are manifesting. I know Christ will come for his bride before the 70th week of Daniel, but we may see much of the set up to Ezekiel 38 and the Time of Jacob’s Trouble. Which means things will grow increasingly difficult. Of course they will- how else could it be?

I hope to catch up more often. I wish blessings on all 13 of you who will receive this post.

My life (*roll-eyes face*)

~ alliehowell9 ~ Leave a comment

So… yesterday. Thank goodness it’s over.

I ran around like a chicken with my head cut off until 2:00 (did you see the recent article about the chicken with it’s head cut off that’s still “thriving” after a week?!). That’s when my son, Adrian (A3), and I went and rented a 90-lb jackhammer and air compressor and we (A3) demolished our front porch down past the first step. This was a last minute demolition so we could get our new porch and ramp today… so it had to be done. And it couldn’t be done until I met with the contractor at 2:00. So anyway… A3 (who miraculously had the day off from the Fire Station, just an evening class to attend) jackhammered like a madman while I moved rubble from 3:00-5:15. It was at that time that I was down to 15 minutes to get J’onn, Cory, Eva, Israel, Benjamin and my sweaty self ready for church. After a whirlwind readiness campaign, we stopped for some McD’s near church, eventually arriving on time and heading to our respective classes.

Now, I love my class Wednesday nights. I am the teacher in the Pre-K room (4 year olds) and do their craft with them, then trade kids with the three-year-olds and do their craft while my kids are having lesson time, then we trade back again. Oh, and Benjamin stays with me because he is far happier watching a bunch of big kids play and soaking up the sounds rather than screaming his head off in the otherwise quiet, calm baby’s room. Anyway…. Usually I have about 10 kids (Madeline wasn’t there because there was no front porch to connect to her ramp so she was trapped inside) so I only had 7 kids last night. I mean- I take more kids than that to Target on a regular basis. So I don’t know how the 2 hours was so crazy it seemed like 30 minutes.

Anyway, when all was said and done, I was exhausted. After rounding up all the kids, and finding Clara and Presley (who had gone to church early for other activities), I just wanted to go home and go to bed. I did know that since it was a late night for Adrian, I would have to iron the same uniform he had worn that day for the next day and pack his (pre-made) lunch up once I got home, but that would be quick, then I was going to melt into my memory foam mattress and play dead for 8 hours.

On the way home I was telling the kids that I just wanted their help and for everyone to do what they know they need to do to get themselves and the little kids ready for bed. That’s when the State Patrol turned his lights on and pulled me over.

Now, there have been plenty of times I have deliberately broken the speed limit and deserved a ticket. There have been plenty of times my stomach did a little flip-flop and I said to myself, “Please don’t pull me over!” But not last night. Once I saw him pull into traffic I knew I must have been speeding, but since I had no idea how fast I had been going before my foot had instinctively stepped on the brake, (Doesn’t everyone automatically do that when we see law enforcement?) my stomach never even flipped let alone flopped. I wasn’t surprised when he told me I was going 68 in a 55, I was just thankful it wasn’t 78… because I really wasn’t paying attention.

Oh, and my friend, Christi, passed me right after I handed the Trooper my license and registration, so I was texting her. She actually pulled over about a half mile ahead to text me back and wait… maybe to see if she needed to rescue my kids after I was arrested on several out of state felony warrants. Good thinking, Christi! So glad the Trooper didn’t see those on his computer!

Anyway… after getting home, Adrian told me his clothes from that day were too dirty and they would be having inspection the next day, so I would need a different uniform. This was 12 hours after he told me the trick of getting the awful stains out of his uniform pants from grass and oily tractor tires (deposited during training exercises) was to soak them in Oxyclean for 24 hours. (exasperated face here) So Clara put the still-soaking pants on a speed wash for me… and she even dried them and had them to me in 2 hours. Unfortunately, this was an hour after Adrian told me I could iron them in the morning because he had a late day the next day. (crying face here- for me AND Clara)

Now it is after 11:00 and I just want to go to bed. But at some point during my crazy day someone- some kid- had spilled water ALL OVER my side of the bed. Not a little spot. ALL OVER. THROUGH ALL THE LAYERS AND INTO THE MATTRESS. (sobbing face here) So Benjamin and I slept on the sofa. Slept may be pushing it. Intermittently napped is more like it.

Now we are at today. A3 and I woke up early- he had to return the air compressor and jack hammer while I continued to move rubble. But before I got outside, Benjamin rolled off the sofa onto pillows and was crying (in his sleep it seemed). Cory, who had joined us on the sofa earlier, was, while still sleeping, trying to pull Benjamin up by 1 arm back onto the sofa. But you see, we just got a new, awesome, rotatable glass table. I had rotated it toward the sofa the night before and while Cory was puling on Benjamin’s arm, his face was pinned under the glass. That’s when the “real” crying started. I grabbed Benjamin, just in time to keep his arm in the socket, and Cory stayed asleep.

Clara did get even with him for Benjamin’s sake. She sacrificed him to the neighbor’s dog- twice- as she moved a fence board and squeezed him through to retrieve her ball. His high pitched squeal probably terrified the dog more than the dog terrified him.

Oh, and my husband, Officer Howell. Love him! His comments this morning… “Now I’m the one who enforces the law and you break it.” “You have no proof I have ever had a speeding ticket, but I have a ticket here to prove you are a speeder.” Says the man with a lead foot. So then he sends this text to his buddy at State Patrol and asked him to forward it to the Trooper who pulled me over:

Thank you for ticketing my wife last night. We have been married for 24 years but she’s been speeding for 28 years and this was her first speeding ticket, so it’s well deserved. Thank you.

No worries here, with his new job we get LegalShield at a low rate, so my attorney has already seen my ticket and we’ve talked. Not a problem.

It all just makes me glad I don’t have to try to finagle my way out of my many sins like I am doing with my speeding ticket. “Redeemed” is stamped in red letters on the front cover of the book of my life. Open it up and there’s a bunch of redacted lines- and paragraphs- things I’ve done that no longer count against me because Jesus is my defending attorney and Judge. I gladly and ever so thankfully accept His payment in full for my sins (the wages of which are death and eternal separation from God). In light of this, nothing else matters. I just want to magnify him forever in gratitude and awe of His mercy and grace. I eagerly await the day I can lay my crowns at his feet in worship. I can’t even think about it without crying.

In light of this, I hope you all have a very blessed Resurrection Sunday as you consider the price Jesus willingly paid for you, and as you worship the Risen King!

 

 

What about me?

~ alliehowell9 ~ Leave a comment

I have been told this blog has become about Eva. Let’s see…

“Mom, look at my special pocket.” I turn to see:

IMG_5587

“Eva, go brush your teeth.”

“I can’t! There’s a wrinkle in my toothbrush!”

I should just leave it there, but you should know I discovered that there was dried toothpaste on her toothbrush so it was “wrinkled.” I told her to run it under hot water for a minute and it would be fine. Ten minutes later I told her to turn off the water and I had to scrub toothpaste off of places in the bathroom that should never have toothpaste near them.

 

And then there’s this:

 

And this:

 

So I guess if you want to run around “nervously” wearing a coconut bra and grass skirt (that I MADE her wear shorts under and was in trouble every time she saw them sticking out) and had a light up fidget spinner in your “special pocket,” you’d get some “air-time” as well.

But at this point, maybe you should be thankful I’m NOT taking video of you.

Situationally Aware

~ alliehowell9 ~ Leave a comment

I was in Other Mother’s a few days ago with J’onn, Cory, Eva and Benjamin. After a while I asked J’onn to hold Benjamin for a couple of minutes. I was only about 8 feet from him so I could hear him talking to a girl. He was explaining that this baby was his brother and that he is, in fact, Benjamin’s favorite person in the whole family. After a minute of listening I looked over at the play house they were in and saw a girl- maybe 10- holding Benjamin while J’onn talked. Not wanting to embarrass him, but also not wanting her to be holding Benjamin, I said it was time to go. So he took Benjamin back and walked to the front with me- with two girls in tow. And, on the way out the door I heard them say, “Bye, J’onn.”

You know those movies where the guy uses a puppy or a baby to pick up girls in the park? That is exactly what it felt like. He was, in fact, situationally aware.

I was going to Walmart today and explained to the kids that the world will continue to get worse as we get closer to the return of Jesus. I told them they need to be aware of what was going on around them, where exits were, if the same person kept showing up near them, etc… I believe that is what sparked Cory’s comment to me as I went out this evening.

On my way out the door he called, “Let us know if you get murdered, Mom!” I turned to him and said, “Cory, you’re a dork.” J’onn added his two cents: “Yeah, Cory. Mom can’t call us if she’s murdered.” Thanks, J’onn. In the end, I made it home.

Presley is having a skating party Sunday. She worked hard on extra school in order to move up early, and we changed our minds about that transition, so we are letting her take people roller skating as a reward for all her diligent, hard work. I got a text today- and RSVP for her BIRTHDAY party. I explained it was not her birthday- but now I’m wondering is anyone is going to show up with a gift. I think we’ll need Presley to clarify at church Wednesday night that her guests should not bring gifts. It does make sense though- who has a skating party just for the heck of it? Just us crazy Howells.

Meanwhile, Benjamin just turned 7 months. He’s an expert crawler… and much of his crawling is done hands and feet rather than hands and knees. And this crazy baby squats with 1 hand on the floor and tries to stand. And he’s so little! (He’s 25th percentile, so having a runt crawl around and trying to stand is… like having Clara all over again…. Lord come quickly!) But he’s so cute and full of kisses. Mostly for his favorite person- which happens to be me, not J’onn,- but J’onn is a close second, and maybe Little Adrian is third.

Anyway, Adrian had a uniform inspection today and they liked his pleats in his pants and the shine on his boots (Yay, A3!) Lord knows I had supernatural help pressing those- I am terrible at ironing! Which is why I need to get started on it for tomorrow.

Blessings, friends!

Eva Pfening???

~ alliehowell9 ~ Leave a comment

Alright, Colin, this one’s for you!

So Eva was talking about being a grown-up today. She was asking me if she would still have to share a bed with Presley when she was grown up. I told her, “No, you will live in your own place with your husband.” That got her wheels turning. For the first time she realized she’d have to marry a grown-up, so her mind shifted to grown-up boys she knows. First she said, “Mike?” “Nope,” I replied, “Mike already has a wife.”

She then realized, “I don’t know who it will be.” “That’s right,” I said. “I didn’t know who my husband would be, either. You should pray that Jesus takes care of whoever He chooses to be your husband. That Jesus would save him just for you and that he would love Jesus and be ready to be a good husband.”

Her wheels were still spinning amid the unusual silence – even if it was only 7 seconds.

And then you could see the revelation on her face before she even spoke. Enlightenment in the highest form. “Colin. It’s Colin. Colin will be my husband!”

“Really? Well, I guess we’ll have to wait and see!”

I don’t even know what to say at this point. Umm… I guess if you really want to wait 14 more years, Colin….

I didn’t want to stifle her “out-of-the-box” thinking, or the conversation about praying for her future husband, but I’m hoping the raptue happens long before Eva is ready to get married! Or a teenager for that matter! Come, Lord Jesus-PLEASE!!!

P.S. Heads up, Colin…. I hear there are several three and four-year-old girls at church who consider you their boyfriend, Mr. Popular! Oh the eventual disappointment….

 

Speech Therapy

~ alliehowell9 ~ Leave a comment

So if any of you know Cory, you know that you have to pay very close attention to understand ANYTHING he says.  He did go to Speech therapy for about 6 months…and graduated out of it. Yup. Multiple times a day I have to tell him to slow down and pronounce his words carefully. Which usually comes out as “I have no idea what just came out of your mouth.” Or, as his dad says, “Speak the King’s english, Boy!”

If he wants to tell you his favorite part in the movie, Justice League, it will probably sound like, “YouknowthepartwhereAquamansaysallthatstuff (laugh) becausehe’ssittingonWonderWoman’slasso?!” Add a slight lisp and a missing front tooth with that slurred, spittle speed round and you might feel my constant pain. I thought he’d grow out of it..but no.  I have a feeling he might not be the only one.

Eva likes Lucky Charms. I’ve been buying them lately (thanks to Tim Hawkins and his set about parents hiding in the corner of the laundry room scarfing down their favorite childhood cereals before their kids find them), and she shares her mom’s love of them. Except that she calls them Lucky Germs.

Sometimes when we go to Target I’ll get the kids popcorn and a drink. Every so often that drink is a Slushy. Now when we go- EVERY TIME- Eva asks if she can get a Flushy. To which I have to laugh and ask her if she’s really sure she wants a flushy, because I’m willing to get her a slushy and her hair can stay dry.

And then there’s my precious Eber. Israel is 23 months and is a good talker, if you speak Eber-ese. He says Madawin, Cwara, J’onn, Cory, Baby, HeHe and Mike, Adwian… but Presley and Eva are difficult. So he named them. The same name. Hanah (rhymes with Shauna- which he says with the S). He pronounces it very clearly and he knows exactly who he’s talking about- although we are left to guess which one he is referring to. I’m left wondering if, in Eber-ese, hanah is the base word for servant. The prefix S could mean favorite… just wondering.

Last Thanksgiving J’onn and Cory continually referred to that holiday as Valentine’s Day- which drove me crazy! They did it so often that by the time Thanksgiving arrived, I had called it Valentine’s Day at least two or three times. So what do you think happened two weeks ago when Valentine’s Day was approaching? They didn’t have one problem calling it by it’s correct name. I only got it right about 30% of the time. Yup, it was Thanksgiving. *eye roll*

Ok, well, it’s past my bedtime. Goodnighteveryone,I’lltalktoyoulater!

Fruit Socks

~ alliehowell9 ~ Leave a comment

So we, along with millions of other Americans, finally got it. “It” creates a lot of quality mom and child time- although that time has to often be shared because there is an abundance of “it” in our home. It has given us days free from any other plans where we can just relax at home. We have even had 7 nights of campouts! Soooo fun!!!

What is “it,” you ask? Well, that would be the flu. At first I thought it was a bad cold, but with the fevers and some kids puking… definitely the flu.

This started around January 25th when little Benjamin became sick with a “cold.” That grew progressively worse. Then, at 2 am on January 31st, 8 hours before we had to leave to watch my husband’s swearing in as a Spokane Police Officer, he was so sick that I was trying to decide if I could get to the ER to have him 1) treated and sent home in time to go to Adrian’s event, or 2) get him admitted and call a friend to sit with him while I went to Adrian’s event. Because he fell back asleep, I ironed everyone’s clothes and got ready for the day. By 3 am I had everything packed up. I went to the pantry to get a granola bar and could hear Israel SCREAMING for me from downstairs. I quietly waited to see if his sister would be able to calm him down. I breathed a sigh of relief as he quieted, only to groan- he quieted down because Presley was bringing him to see Mommy. I got him set up on the sofa with Clara and loaded up the car. When I came back, he was screaming again. I had to quiet him down quickly as Adrian’s first day of work started in a few hours and I didn’t want to wake him. So I decided to wait it out, knowing that I couldn’t get to the Doctor for 10 hours once making that decision.

(That was night 1 on the sofa. Last night was night 7 with no end in sight. *SIGH*)

After the swearing in (which was great- SO proud of Adrian, and so thankful the Lord moved mountains to bring us here), I took Benjamin to the doctor who diagnosed him with RSV. Because he was dehydrated and puking tons every time I tried to give him medicine for his fever and ear infections, we decided on 2 antibiotic shots that day and acetaminophen suppositories. (Which, by the way, sound great because they can’t puke it up… but it doesn’t mean they can’t shoot it out at you- with diarrhea- with amazing force!) She wanted to see him the following morning- and if he was any worse she may admit him.

Well, he wasn’t better, but he wasn’t worse. Thankfully, she gave him another 2 antibiotic shots and we went home. By the time we got there, other kids were getting sick. And it has basically been spiraling downward- no- swirling around the bowl- since then. Oh yes- quality mom and child time. Cancelling of all plans. Campouts on the sofa (with up to 5 kids) so dad can sleep and be able to go to work, and mom can give meds, monitor fevers, give nebulizer treatments, change diarrhea diapers, give fluids, and sleep. Oh no, wait, not that last one. What was I thinking, I must be tired.

My kitchen table looks like a pharmacy- loaded with OTC and prescription drugs and vitamins. Last night I had to go to Walmart at 3 am for more medicine and popsicles. Eva and Israel were getting no other fluids but popsicles. Israel is now on antibiotics for an ear infection, and so the Table Pharmacy keeps growing. I even had a friend bring me some more Albuterol for our nebulizer- I wasn’t expecting Cory and Eva to need it- and I was down to rationing it out!

So that is the background for the conversation Becca heard today.

Presley and J’onn were sitting at the table, and J’onn was about to take some medicine and vitamins. She told him to “take the orange pill, I love it, it’s yummy!” (A Vitamin C chewable.) Eva, barely coherent on the sofa, chimed in with a completely monotone voice, “No it isn’t – it’s disgusting.” Presley again, “It’s good, it tastes like fruit!” Monotone Eva, “No it doesn’t, it tastes like fruit socks.”

So chew up those fruit socks, J’onny. Stop puking when I give you Elderberry juice, Cory. Stop fighting me on EVERY SINGLE PILL OR LIQUID I come at you with, Eva. Stop pushing those suppositories out like a bullet, Benjamin.

I know the Lord will see us through this. And I need to feign competence here, as I don’t want my husband to think his wife can’t handle this now that he has a job he has to be there for at scheduled times! (It’s been years!) I’m just thankful my flu has been minimal, so I have just enough energy left to clean the kitchen chairs Cory just puked all over. Every single leg, really?

 

On a more positive note, Benjamin took his first crawls yesterday, and today has been crawling all over. Just one more thing to keep an eye on….

 

 

 

 

Hello, Stranger!

~ alliehowell9 ~ Leave a comment

It has been Sooo Long! Not because I don’t have anything to say, but because I don’t have time to write!

I have a list I made for “cute things to post when I finally get around to it.”  It says:

Eber hand slap

Presley- NUCLEAR

Presley- Lysdexic

Eber Nickname

Mudder

Who (illegible) most to get out (hut or lint… IDK)

Shapes/paste & screws

J’onn speaking double

Hailey fall

Cory- Groundhog Day

Those sound really fun to describe! I’m sure I left myself great clues with that list. Unfortunately I can only remember what a couple of them mean! Seriously, I must be getting old.

I do remember that I raised my hand to slap Eber’s hand for touching something I told him not to. Before I could hit it he raised his hand and gave me a high five. So that didn’t work.

Israels nickname is Eber (Thanks, Madeline). He is called Eber far more often than he’s called Israel. Cory asked me what Eber’s nickname is. I said, “Eber.” “No,” he said, “EBER’s nickname.” “Eber!” I said, again. “NO! Eber’s Nickna… oh….” (insert sheepish laugh here).

I’m willing to bet the one about Hailey Falling is hilarious- unless fall means autumn- then it’s not so funny. But I just have no clue. And who did WHAT with shapes, paste and screws?!! We may never know.

I’m actually posting because I am adding a new page. I started writing a very short devotional about a year ago, but got too busy to finish. It’s directed towards moms who are hurting with sick kids. I’m actually putting it on a new page, so you’ll have to click on that tab if you want to read it. I’m hoping that this puts pressure on me to add to it!

The only other thing is that I should add that Benjamin is 4 months old! He’s super fun. Here’s are some more recent pics:

IMG_4727Benjamin!

IMG_4257Madeline admiring her baby brother!

IMG_4624 Daddy with Batman (Israel)- in his man-bun!

IMG_5687 Adrian, J’onn & Cory

IMG_5758 Clara & Presley

IMG_4762 Eva

IMG_4663 Mike & Hailey

Alright! I’ve got a half hour to work on that other page! See you later!

 

 

Grudges

~ alliehowell9 ~ Leave a comment

So Israel, 13 months now, really loves Shauna (Adrian’s girlfriend). I told her someday we’ll figure out how all these Randol girls cast a spell on all my boys. But anyway, some days I’m pretty sure he likes Shauna more than he likes me. Um, most days. (I’m pretty sure he said “Shauna” about a week after he said “mama”-and it’s not like “Shauna” isn’t 10 times more difficult to pronounce than “mama”- and he definitely said Shauna before “Dada.”) Anyway… yesterday she stopped by while her sister, Becca, was here. Becca had her baby, Ellie, with her and Shauna was holding her. The jealous mom part of me wishes I would have seen this, but when Shauna kissed Ellie, Israel apparently glared ferociously at Shauna. (This is where my jealousy would normally say – good!- but I love Shauna, so it doesn’t really bother me- until she leaves and I can’t console him because he only wants her!) Today Becca told me he walked into Madeline’s mom and saw Ellie and said “Bad, bad, bad, Sha, no, no, no!” I guess I’m not the only one who can hold a grudge.

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I must say that he has to have strong feelings about this because he doesn’t say too many phrases. I mean- he  shouldn’t even be saying phrases at 13 months. So Adrian might have his hands full fighting the one-year-old over his girlfriend.

I guess we like babies in this house because Eva has been asking everyone how many months old they are. “Um… just a second (grabbing a calculator)…515.” Wow… that sounds a lot worse than almost 43, I’m glad we go by years.

Adrian (my husband) has always liked basketball. Now days he watches the condensed games on YouTube. Cory has always liked to watch them with him. Because Adrian is from the Bay Area, he has always liked the Warriors- which is great now that they are a good team. So now Cory asks me all the time about when the next game is on, who is playing, etc… Like I know any of this information. He just can’t understand how I don’t know these facts. He turns 7 tomorrow, and I can’t wait until Thursday so I can start saying, “Nope- stop- we are not discussing your next birthday until April of next year.”

On days when I sub in the church pre-school, or stay home with sick kids, the boys go with their dad to second service. Which they really don’t like. But it’s good for them, so we make them go. Cory told me last time I had to stay home that he didn’t want to go because he didn’t want to stay for second service. I told him that one day soon that will be his classroom and he’ll be in there listening to Pastor Terry every week. His reply? “No! Remember- the Rapture?!” So basically he is banking on the rapture to get out of listening to Pastor Terry every week. Love it. He also told me today that Israel won’t see two-years-old because Jesus is coming to get us. I wonder what he knows!

Hailey & Mike got me an amazing Mother’s Day/ Birthday gift. This Friday I get to see Terry Fator perform! I have wanted to see him since he won the second season of America’s Got Talent. He headlines at the Mirage, and when Adrian worked for McDonald’s we went 3 or 4 times to Vegas, but I always had a baby with me, and there are no kids under 5 allowed. Finally, the one time I was going to be able to go with no kids and ditch everyone and everything to go see him, Adrian decided he didn’t want to go to Vegas. So I thought I’d never get to see him. I didn’t even know he was coming to town so I was totally surprised and am super excited.

We are working hard to finish up school by the end of next week so we can have a 3 week break before starting next year’s Math books. We are trying to finish Math before Edmond arrives in mid-July. Then we will not have to start the rest of the books until mid September. It’s been a little stressful doing so much lately, especially with Adrian at school 48 hours a week, but we are pushing through.

Speaking of having Edmond…. My doctor (who I’ve mentioned before) is quitting on JUNE 30TH!!! I’m due less than 3 weeks from then. So I will have a new doctor for the last 2 weeks plus delivery. Sad end to an era of a handsome doctor (especially now that he shaved that hipster beard!) who delivered the last 4 of my kids (a record for both of us).

Adrian is the star pupil in his CDL (trucking) classes. He also got a “verbal powerball” in his English class last night. That means he gets an automatic A for the first half of his class. So I obviously had to ask, “What on earth is a verbal powerball and how does that give you an A?!” Well, he disagreed with the teacher’s assessment on the short story they read, and he told him he was assuming and adding a lot of info that wasn’t in the story to make it mean what he wanted it to mean. Adrian upheld his case and by doing so overrode anything else he’s done in the first half of the class (midterms are in a week) and therefore has an A. I’ve never heard of anything so crazy (even he couldn’t believe it). The closest my college professors came to anything like that was offering an A on the final if you got 100% on the exam leading up to it. Dumbed down society anyone?

And this morning I’m trying to explain to Clara why she’s skipping Egyptian symbols but not Roman Numerals in her Math review. My example of why she’ll need them- because every Super Bowl (which I haven’t watched in years) is written in Roman Numerals. How will you know which Super Bowl it is if you don’t know them? Nothing about outlines or note taking, nope, I didn’t think of that. But I stand by my decision because I doubt the Egyptian symbols will come back in style.

Praying for Adrian’s team today as they were sent to recover an 18-month-old’s body. She was swept from her mother’s arms in a flash flood. While I want that family to be able to have some kind of closure (the mom also lost her 4 year old son, but his body was found yesterday), and I know it’s what Adrian’s trained for, I still feel for anyone who actually locates her. It makes me cry just to think about it.

Well I didn’t mention J’onn or Presley. Not that they haven’t done anything fun lately. But really my brain is next to mush (thanks, Edmond) so I’m lucky I’ve remembered what I already have.

Cory is begging to get to school (?) so I need to quit writing. I figure if I don’t publish this I never will, so I’ll end here. Hope you have a great day! Yay Spring (finally)!