When Will It End.......

I just got a call that a friend of mine's son A.J. Phillips was seriously injured in a bombing in Afgahnastan..... The details are still very Sketchy but as it sounds like now he has severe facial lacerations and may have lost one of his eyes... This brings much sadness to me...

Every day there are many injuries and / or deaths over there and every night I pray for their safety as do all of you... A few years back we lost Jerimah Schmunk from our small town due to a roadside bomb. And a week ago we had 5 more of our local boys head out with the local unit... These young men believe in what they are doing & I thank the Lord everyday we have them fighting for our freedom but at what cost???

I spoke with A.J.'s dad this morning. I can't even imagine getting that phone call.. Please take the time to say an extra prayer for our service men and women and their families.. So much of what we take for grantid we have them to thank ....

Diane, George & family - my prayers go out to you for your strength, A.J's recovery & safety..

God bless you all...

A Must See........

Have you seen this movie????

I have yet to get cable, so everyonce in a while I'll pick up a dvd for the kids.. I picked this one up sometime ago & I bet they have watched it 15 times if not more..I have yet to see the whole thing but by the sounds of the giggles from both of the boys, it is a keeper...

Otis is the carefree cow who spends his days singing, dancing and playing trics on humans... much to the dismay of his father, Ben. They have barndances which include star performances from a gopher doing a rap song , to a cow singing to all the ladies, now on the movie "Cars" they go tractor tippin' but in this movie they go "Boy" tippin .... now the only problem I have found is the boy cows all have udders.. Now to a 9 yr old & a 6 yr old.. You can only imagine the questions I got about why they had udders and not B-A-*-*-S?.... and no a simple expaination was not satisfying nor was I only asked once without all the laughing.... OH MY....

Well I still think it's a must see ...... I love movies where you don't have to think, you can sit back and laugh, and language isn't an issue..... I give this a 4 thumbs up even though we are udderly incorrect *lol*.

On the road again.......

7:00 - On hwy 17 headed to work & drop boys at bus in Warden

7:45 - On I-90 headed to Moses Lake for paint removal on car

8:30 - Sitting in Heather's nice detailed car headed back to Warden for work

9:45 - Borrowed Yukon from work - headed back to Moses Lake - Jenn extremely sick

1:15 - Headed to Dr's office with Jenn

2:30 - Headed back home to drop off Jenn

3:20 - Headed back to Warden to get boys off bus

4:00 - Sittin in Heather's car again with boys headed to Moses Lake to pick up my car

4:45 - Headed back to Warden for Adrian's soccer practice

6:30 - Headed back to Moses to go home.....


Life in my world today ....................

Tina & Lena - Going On The Road

I've decided that Heather & I could take our show on the road.

Now this a.m. I needed to pick up Heather from dropping off her car to get the overspray of paint removed (the painter saga from before)... and she jumps in my car.. and I start to vent...

Adult kids, adult kids - boyfriends, adult kids that can't seem to make up their mind if they are going right or left or than the little ones. 2nd day of school -phone call from teacher - Elijah seems to think he is the class clown, has somewhat of a discipline problem & would like my full support in emphazing that he can't behave that way at school.. the ranting lunatic at the soccer practice... the list goes on .. and on...

And then Heather takes her turn - Dog -vs- Porcuppine - (dog lost) - 1st day of school - running a tad behind - child freaks out cuz you can't be late- other child won't let go of leg, doesn't want to go to school.... the bat incident while coming to work., the Thelma & Louse escapade at Tricities .. think of all the funny stories..

And all of a sudden I start to laugh.. we could have our own show "The new & improved Tina & Lina".... Now these two women are hilarious, not sure we could do them justice but we could sure try. I think I'm more like Tina., she's the softer spoken, more shy one and does most of the instrument playing .. *lol* and then there is Lena - I think Heather is so her.. Lena is the more out spoken one, she can sing.. oh she can sing (just like Heather driving down the road) . These two tell stories of their daily lives with their husbands, their kids, their grand kids.

I think we've had our new calling!!!!

Another Wonderful Mom Moment!!

You know, if God would have just gave me mouth that would have worked after my brain thought things thru instead of speaking before clearly thinking things thru.. I may have avoided that wonderful mom moment that has probably deamed me "CRANKIEST MOM OF THE YEAR AWARD"!!!

We were at soccer tonight, and Adrian & another little boy on the team seemed to be enjoying wrestling, hitting, kicking, just about anything but watching what was going on.. I politely had asked him to stop several times before someone got hurt but you know why would he listen to me. Well, the play fighting was getting out of hand, and was turning pretty aggressive towards one another, when I loudly yelled "Adrian, stop the kicking." Well, by the time I got the words out they were going at it with their feet and it was not teasingly either it was mean!! So I jumped up from the sidelines.. yelled his name, pointed my pointer finger & scolded him (oh yeah & went on to the field) , not only in front of his team mates but EVERYONE!!!! .... and then I pointed my finger at the other little guy & told him he needed to stop & keep his feet to himself(his parents weren't there, they are famous for dropping the boys off and leaving) ...OOPS!!! I felt as if I had 20 million eyes on me *lol*... They both stopped, and I apologized to the coach for abruptly stopping his practice & I do give him credit, he was trying to stop it in a soft spoken voice that has a very bad Spainish accent... *lol*

Well, I went and sat back down on the sidelines... Well, one of the mom's was stating she had to figure out what to do .. She had several kids playing, lives in Moses & needed to try and coordinate.. I know her from previous years & told her I'd be glad to drop her son off because I had to be up there at practice anyways for Adrian.
Well, she politely declined... I was a tad suprised and then it hit me like a ton of bricks!!!!
"Why would she want me to bring her kid home, I had just stopped a soccer practice, & went directly on the field and scolded to little boys and I ask myself why???"
Oh well chalk this one up to the Mom Hall of Famers!!!!!

First Day of School 2008

Well, today was the first day of School. Elijah is a first grader & Adrian is in the 4th grade.

Wow, it's amazing to me, they have grown up so much.

Elijah had some major anxiety going on this morning & last night. He was so worried about who his new teacher was, what if he didn't know how to do her math, what if I couldn't read 1st grade books, what if.... this conversation went on for quite some time ..

Brotherly love - Don't let this pic fool you :)

They both had a good day & Adrian started his soccer practice. We are back into it in full swing.

Honestly, I think the kids will adjust fine.. it's me *lol*... I forgot how much time it took to get thru all we needed to do that morning.... I'm sure tomorrow will be a better morning *lol*

Headaches!!!!

Today, was Cynthia's memorial service & I missed it..

I've been having headaches a little more frequent these days, and for the past 3 days I've had a doozy.. Yesterday, I came home about 1:30 & slept for several hours hoping to be rid of it...
With a little sleep, a little Excedrin migraine, a little Excedrin Tension, a couple pain aide EFS, it had eased up.. I was in bed by about 10:30 and when I woke at about 2:00 a.m. , I thought I was going to die.. My head was pounding, I was so sick to my stomach... It was a doozy!!!
By the time 5:00 a.m. came around I knew I was done for...

Today was a busy day, not only was I to attend the service, a group of us Scrapper's were going to go to lunch after the service. I also had a wedding reception to go to tonight... After making the phone calls to Heather, & Dolly (she was going to watch the boys)... I buried myself infront of the fan & slept.... I slept hard till about 10:00 a.m. and then on and off ..(mainly on) till about 1:30. When I woke, it was gone!!!! Halalujiah!!!! I was able to eat a little, picked up a little, & ended up back on the couch watching t.v. Well, 4:00 came around and it was nap time again.. I slept for another hour.

I feel so much better...... Hopefully tomorrow will be a headacheless day!!!

Sorry to the Milligan family for not attending the service, and sorry to you all for not attending lunch... I hope you all know I would have been there if I could have :)

My Turn at a Coltonism.....

Thursday night, I had Heather's 2 boys for a few hours while she attended a meeting.. Thanks to Annette & Don out of our Othello office I had 4 gunnysacks of corn to cut off the cob & freeze.. I started shucking the corn & decided to put those 4 energized boys to work.. I asked each one to shuck 5 ears a piece.. Well Chance (Heather's oldest) jumped right in & got his done right off the bat,I told him I bet he'd get 10 done before the others had 5 and you know what he proved me wrong... *lol* Adrian wasn't far behind & then you have Colton (Heather's youngest) and Elijah... Hmmmm Elijah did much better once the little neighbor girl came over & we started saying "Girls rule, Boys Drool" cuz she was beating them both.. Now Colton.. he got one done threw the corn in the garbage bucket and then the shucks in the corn bucket & then started on his 2nd one... He only got it partially finished when the rest of the kids were done, they all (including Colton) turn to leave & I say thanks to them all & Colton without missing a beat says"

"No problem Darla, if you need anymore help you know who to call..." He turned and ran off into the sunset... I laughed so hard... The kid is so funny!!! That was hard work!!! *lol*

Thanks boys and thanks to my mom, she came over & helped too.. .. I got 51 pints of corn froze ... yipee!!!

Gas Pump Etiquette 101

Last Friday evening, I had the Gas Pump experience from HellO!!!


I pulled up at a local gas pump and at this certain station, each pump has only one handle. A lady had pulled in on one side to the pump closest to her & I pulled into the one closest to me. I get out of my car & start to head to pre-pay and this horn behind me honks. The nice gentlemen is waving his arms franticlly wanting me to pull up to the next pump. I just motion my head no & walk towards the door & he litterally screams at the top of his lungs F*#& Y*& B*&#$... I was appalled... He was screaming at me because I wouldn't pull up & wait for that lady to finish so he could get gas... I was pretty angry... I turned away shaking my head, trying to gather my thoughts, & walked into pay. Well I gave the lady a big enough bill to hold the pump open cuz I needed to fill it... So I turn & walk out & head for my car & low & behold he starts screaming at me again... Now, there are a few things you need to know... #1 this gas station is packed, #2 his boss is also there trying to fill up all his company vehicles, & # 3 I know who he is - he is one of the painters that have been painting tanks at Wilbur Ellis. I had had enough!!! No one was going to yell at me like that.. So I turn to him & I try to explain in a loud tone that I wasn't going to pull up cuz there was only one pump... He continued.. so than I told him he needed to back off... and then I politely told him to shut up... and then I lost my cool... & I told him that he needed to shut up & he better watch himself ...I then informed him that I knew who he was, and I was currently employed by Wilbur Ellis... Well, his boss had come out of the station & caught the tail end of the confrontation & approached me and asked what was going on (he didn't recognize me either but Wilbur Ellis rung a bell). So I explained (I'm shaking at this point) to him in a loud voice about the altercation, he than tries to explain to the other guy in a loud voice he needs to SHUT UP!! Well, low & behold I have troubles with the pump & I have to go back in... I'm so frustrated.. I go in and the girl refuses to believe me that the pump shut off.. I asked her politely if she put in the amount with out enough zeros. she assured me she hadn't.. I go back out and the boss approaches me & starts fumbling for words to apologize. I wasn't very nice, told him that that was completely uncalled for & he needed to get away from me.. The poor guy kept trying but I didn't care.. I had had enough.. I get to my car (Pump still won't work) and the guy than approaches me to apologize... I explained in a very loud matter that I didn't want his apology, he needed to get away from me, and whether or not I should have pulled up or not did not matter, he had no right to talk to anyone that way. AND TO GET AWAY FROM ME!!!!

I then go back into the lady pump still won't work asking form my change and explaining why, she than looks & goes Oh I'm sorry I messed up you can go finish now.... AGHHH!!! Isn't that what I tried to explain to her... So I go back out.. I get my gas.. .I'm shaking... What an experience.



Well the other part of the story is.. the painters had a bunch of overspray & 32 of our company owned & personally owned vehicles including mine have a gritt on the paintjob & windows that won't come off, and are way behind schedule... So Monday morning, they called the boss to arrange a meeting.. Norm (my boss) and Tom ( Heather & I's fencepost/protector) were discussing it so I decided to inform them of what happened... They were not happy...



The meeting was held, & I expected to be the last topic of discussion & Norm politely said good morning, did the polite chit chat & started with : " I heard there was a vocal altercation between my employee and yours & I want you to know I DO NOT WANT HIM ON OUR PROPERTY"..

I sat at my desk ( not being seen & thought .. that will teach him - the adult thing to do *lol*)of course listening with everything I had... He than tells Norm.. that he was there and it was very unfortunate that that took place.... UNFORTUNATE??? It was all I could do to stay in my corner & keep my dainty little mouth shut... Norm proceeded to tell him again that the painter was not allowed on our property at any time... I soooo wanted to say "He can officially call me a B*#$* now :) but I didn't. The rest of the meeting didn't go so well either... I'm afraid they may have to get legal advice to get the overspraying on to the cars taken care of .. but that's another story...

Thanks Norm & Tom for watching out for us girls....

I KNOW SOMETHING YOU DON'T KNOW!!!!!!

Every year about this time Annette taunts Heather & I with.... "Guess what I got in the mail??"

" I got your guys Chrismas Presents"... and "Guess what ... you are gonna LOVE em".....

Well, yesterday was the beginning... So only 4 more months till we gather for lunch and exchange gifts... & yes we always love what she's done... She also knows that both of us tend to procrastanate a little more than some *lol*

Well guess what.. Annette hates it when you turn the tables... Yep, Yep Yep... It's driving her crazy... Cuz today I emailed her & told her that I knew something that she didn't know.. I had to clarify it was nothing bad & that " SHE WAS GOING TO LOVE IT"..... oh my gosh.. I think I've sent this poor women over the edge... She even tried to use the "80 yr old mother" trump card... I didn't budge... Did you know that your birthday on a Jewish calender and or a Chinese calender are on different dates (or so she said) *lol*...

Well will it be Christmas, birthday, good-mail,....hmmmm I'm not sure but one thing I do know is ................

"SHE'S GONNA LOVE IT"!!!!!!

Things have been so crazy in my world. It seems since the beginning of spring life has been a whirl wind.. I can't believe I haven't even taken time to blog.. I was sittin back today wandering "Where the time had gone" and also thinking about Cynthia & how we need to slow down, stop & smell the roses... life is so short... It made me think....

What have I been up to.. Why no blog since July.... Well here goes.. Hope your sitting down this has been a busy month *lol*

After vacation, we were home for 3 days & packed up again and headed for Hat Rock. It's in Umatilla, Oregon. for another camping trip... It was the boat weekend from HellO... but I liked the little campground. It had a pool & helped ease the pain of the boat not wanting to run... Nick had invited a few friends from work for the day, promising them a bbq, with hot dogs, hamburgers, salads, chips & etc... Hmmm that was nice of him!!! Well, all was good but I will say we were both a tad suprise when one of the men had brought his 2 kids, and stayed the whole weekend. Yep, he brought sleepin bags, a tent , and hmmmm that was it ... and Nick wanders why I always take extra food... to say the least I bit my tongue quite a bit that weekend but we were still able to get a way...

Kevin turned 18 on July 27th...
10 things I love about you -
1. Your always respectful 2. Always Friendly 3. Don't have any ememies
4. Helpful 5. Loyal 6. Beautiful Smile 7. Sense of Humor 8. Aim to Please
9. Caring of Others Last but not least - You have always been there for me. Thru all the good times but you were always there thru the tough ones too... Not only lending me a hand but a shoulder or what ever I needed at the time... Happy 18th Birthday Kevin aka Woody!!!



Eric turned 22 on July 31, 2008...
10 Thing I love about you:
1. Your sense of humor 2. When you say "Now come on ma"... 3. Your work Ethic 4. How much you have grown up in this past year 5. How you are always there for both your brother & sister
6. You call for a recipe & then gently break it to me yours was as good as mine 7. Our 1 1/2 hour talks every couple weeks 7. Your respect 8. How you let little things roll off your back (I so wish I was like that) 9. Your Protector side 10. How much you are always there for me... assuring me that your childhood was just as good or better without all the expensive toys, trips & etc. I also love how you are you. You respect how others feel but aren't afraid to be yourself... I love you Eric!!!

On August 1st - we had the company picnic. It was held at the aquatic center. Heather & I spent all day Friday buying all the necessities... It was a very long, hard working day as I remember but if you want a good laugh & somewhat of the truth you should read the post she wrote on her blog . "Thelma & Louise " ... who would have thunk *lol* The picnic was great.. lots of good food, hotdogs, hamburgers, all types of salads, watermeleon, vegie trays, oh yeah & did I mention we had the aquatic center all to our selves, oh yeah and that Scwhann's comes & we get icecream, all the icecream you can eat... THANKS WILBUR ELLIS!!!! We got home around 11:00 p.m. . I was to leave on Saturday at 6:00 a.m. to meet Deb to go to the East meets West Crop in Bellingham...
On August 2nd - Deb & I headed for the first annual East meets West Crop held in Bellingham at "The Treasury of Memories". I had been up since 4:00 a.m. trying to pack, downsize & leave for this crop. Adrian had woke up about 5:30.. Oh my his eyes were swollen shut, couldn't breathe... Allergies.. gotta love em' ..Do I go.. not go... I get ahold of Jenn, she's agreed to take him to walk-in clinic. So I'm off..
I meet Deb at Dodson road, she loads up and off we go... We stopped off at Mad Scrapper (gotta love it) Then we headed for another store (for the life of me I can't think of the name), stopped to have lunch at Round Robin ( for Deb's sake I will leave out all the details of her trying to give me directions, while talking on the phone to Donna as the cop was following me cuz I was driving down the middle of both lanes cuz Deb wouln't make up her mind if I was to go right or left) *lol* While at lunch.. I text Jenn to see how Adrian is doing at the appointment.. She says he's having xrays... I hear nothing more so a few later I text back & say "Well"... she than text's me and says.. "Mom, he has a marble stuck in his nose".... I'm looking at Deb, go pale & begin to explain it to her... What am I to do... how will they get it out... So we are discussing that we will turn around and go home so I can be with him knowing they will probably have to knock him out to get it out... and so I text Jenn & ask.. Will they have to put him to sleep.... and then my phone rings... it's Jenn to explain all the details...She is laughing uncontrollable... "Gottcha Mom".. no marble just a sinus infection..... If I could have reached thru that phone... oh my....
so after I've calmed we head for the scrap store... Low & behold they are having a swap / garage sale.. Lots of scrap stuff used & new marked way down... Wow!! and the store.. was awesome too!! We then head for Bellingham!!! We finally get to the store & say "Hello!!!!" and all of a sudden from behind... Jumps out Nicole.. she scared the jeebies out of me *lol* Payback for my hello at the retreat :) Well, we got lots of freebies, a 40 % of coupon, snacks & were able to see Donna, Nicole, Sandy, Sonjia (did you know she is a contractor) *lol*, Anita , Tracy, and met a few new ladies too!!! Donna & Sandy thank you so much.. I'm sorry this thank you is late but Oh how I appreciated you setting that up for us!!! It was Nicoles 25th birthday so we even got cake 2!!! Donna was so gracious to let Deb & I stay at her house.. She even got up and made us some cinnamon rolls...

I got home on Sunday just in time to pick up the house & prepare for company. Actually just the kids & my mom. We had a birthday bbq for the boys. It was fun .. good food, good company & great cake (thanks to Jane's recipe of the week ). The boys are Seahawk fans, so I bought the material to tie them each a throw... (still have to get those done)... Monday thru Wednesday was a really busy week at work, as we were to leave for Conconully on Thursday. We left early afternoon Thursday & came home on Sunday.. We had a great time. My cousin Kelly and her family were already there with my Aunt and her husband. Annette, her mom & daughter went. Keith & Ricki Beamer joined us. Dave, Dolly their kids and Dolly's sisters and their families. Eric & Kevin, Jenn & Gabe all joined us. There was something extremely special about this trip. This was the 1st time in 11yrs (that is when my dad passed) that my mom had been back & stayed. They always went camping there every year. It had alot of special memories for her and finally talked her into going back.. She had a blast!!!! Even asked if she could go along if we went back!!! I was so happy for her.. we were all on the edge at first wandering if she'd be ok... This was the 1st time every that there were bear warnings.... and we had terrible lightning storms but once it passed we had great weather & a great time!!!!

In all of my spare time, I managed to do some canning .. .I believe it was 42 quarts of pickles & yes with lots of blood, sweat & tears but they are finished.

Elijah turned 6 on August 13.... Wow!!! The first thing that always comes to mind is.. "how does his birth mom feel? What goes thru her head... And then I it and reminisce about the first time I picked him up. It was Easter of 2003, he had had a combined visist with Adrian who was staying at his great grandparents . I was going to respite care for the foster mom for the week.

I went & picked up this little boy, who was 8 months old, whom I had only seen once at a few days old. He came to me with open arms & a huge smile. We had so much fun playing with him & didn't want to put him to sleep... We had a wonderful week & I so cried when having to take him back.... So instead of the memories of labor, back pain & swelling legs, I sit and think about the first time I got to see those big eyes with that huge smile :)

Ten reasons why I love you so much : 1-Your beautiful eyes & eye lashes, 2-your infectious giggle, 3- your love for sports, 4- your energy -5- your willingness & eagerness to help 6- your personality 7-The expression you put into your stories when telling them 8-the way you try to convince me you are innocent when your eyes sparkle your guiltiness 9- the love for your family, 10- Elijah, you have brought such joy to my life. I'm so thankful I was chosen to be your mom. I'm so proud of you and love you very much!!

Heather & I took the boys to the demolition derby on Wednesday night. We look forward to it every year and then wander why we put our selves thru that *lol*.. The boys had a ball and that is what's important.

Well, now that I've bored the whole blog world to death. I should really post *lol*.. Sorry it's a long one but really did need to catch up on my journaling....

Hope you all have a great day!!!

Cynthia Milligan

I have so much catching up to do in blogland but it will all have to wait......

I'm not sure where to even begin.... I as like many of you met Cynthia thru Deb & Jane's Scrapbook retreat about 4 - 5 yrs ago. When I first met her, she was so quiet, seemed very shy, & kept to herself. She'd put on those head phones & she'd become the scrappin machine.. She'd always get anywhere from 70-100 pages done... We were all so envious. During one of the Ditties Jane put on , she gave a tip about having a 3 ring binder, having it tabbed, for different subjects and she would take her magazines and if there were ideas / layouts that she liked she would put them under a tab in the binder. I loved that idea, she shared her binder with me & to this day I have used that tip. As the retreats went on I got to know more and more about her. She & her husband, had also adopted not 2 but 3 children, for a total of 6. The youngest son, Ty had some of the similar problems I had been dealing with Adrian, & Elijah.

Then came blog world. Thru her blog I was able to learn so much about Cynthia. About her family, what a wonderful husband & what great children she had. When I would be struggling with Adrian and his Adhd, she was right there offering support & Matt's advice*lol*... I just loved being around her. A group of us would get together & go to card classes.. She loved them, Heather & I would try to get her all wound up but she was always so calm.. She just laugh at us. Well this past November Retreat, Heather & I vowed we'd get her out of her shell. We'd get those headphones off. Now you need to realize we had no alterior motive(sabatoging her page count was not an intention *lol)... We didnot succeed completely but we did get her wrapped up in our conversations a few times... I went back thru my pics... I absolutely love this one.

Cynthia, My heart is saddened today with your passing... Thank you for sharing apart of you with us!! May you rest in peace...........