You all REALLY should do this sometime :)

So we made it back a couple hours ago and....... it was the BEST vacation we have ever been on! It was relaxing, fun, adventurous, wonderful and pretty much Perfect. I am describing our mini vacation we just experienced. We went to Arkansas and boarded a houseboat from Friday to Monday. It was the perfect amount of time, the perfect weather and the perfect company. All the adults and kids got along so well. The ladies each took a night and prepared a meal and cleaned up. We had a surprise birthday party for Emma. We ate like Kings and Queens. We went on cruises, took long hikes through the woods, jumped off the top of the boat(I say we loosley). I watched and took pictures. I did however get on the inner tube and float. The kids slid off the slide of the boat and enjoyed the hot tub. They ran off and explored the island's. They made a full fort house with a rock pathway, wall, bench, bed and nightstand. They fished and fished a little more. We sat around a fire every night and ate snacks had a little alcohol and just flat out had a Marvelous time. Tanner found a piece of orange foam that ALL of the children enjoyed. It was a raft, a target for rock throwing, a surf board, boogie board and a boat. It was so enjoyable to watch the kids play so well. We all got a nap if we wanted, slept in if we wanted, worked out if we wanted and just did what we wanted. Sound fun? Well it WAS.. And I think that everyone should experience this wonderfulness. Get a couple of families plan it and go. Here are some of our pictures. Enjoy them while I go switch my laundry :) Oh and I apologize for you having to see all of me :)

The Fergusson's......Doug and Betty Sue some of the best people on this Earth :)

Brotherly love...I have to capture it when I can.

Me....

Some of my Men.

Nature...it was Beautiful.......

Colin just a Chillin'

Jessica

Emma the birthday girl!

Sam jumping so high he was in the clouds :)

Owen

Levi, Owen's brother from another mother!!

Russ and Cheryl under the moonlight that was incredible!!

Lucy and her first love...her daddy!!

Russ, Cheryl and I under the stars.....seriously they were amazing :)

catfish.....

Fire building.

The Slide!

Katlyn

The pilot's.

Falling through the chair!!

A wonderful fire!

Lucy and her new best Friend....DOUG !!

Oh my.........it's COLD!!!

All Aboard.....

Just some of the scenery we were able to enjoy

The Buckwalter's

The Miller's

The Fergusson's with their wonderful grandchildren. .

The whole gang!

All of the children....who by the way were dreamy!!

Jumping from the top of the boat.

Kitchen duty!

Fort benches in front of their fire ring.

Bed with writing tablet for notes.

The couch. The kids made all of this all by themsleves. They all worked together. It was really a neat house. I want them all with me if I ever get stranded. I would be taken care of really well.

Shhhhhhh...........Don't tell my kids.

This is where we will be spending the next few days. The kids have no idea. We will be with 2 other couples and 5 more kids. Yep that's 9 kids and 6 adults. So happy there are 6 bedrooms. We will be on the 83ft. boat. There is a hot tub on the top level and a slide off the back of the boat. I am so excited. I have wanted to do this for a very very long time. We are all making a main meal, sharing snacks and looking forward to some much needed R & R. Ok remember don't say a word to my kids............I will post all the pics when we get back :)

Tis Terrific that TANNER Turns Ten TODAY!!!!!!

Today My Sweet Tanner Turns T………E………N.

My second son. Tanner Bryce Miller . I just can’t believe it. Where has the time gone? He was just my sweet little bear. He got this name because he slept….all……. day……….. long. We said he was a hibernating bear. He was such an easy baby. He had the rest of my heart the moment I laid eyes on him.

Here are the top TEN reasons why I LOVE TANNER :

1. He loves deeply
2. He is so cuddly especially at night
3. He thinks outside the box
4. He is my biggest food critic 
5. He is his Mama’s Bear
6. He loves to be with me in the kitchen
7. He is very easy going
8. He’s smart
9. He loves history ……all history…even mine!!
10. He’s easy to talk too
This list could continue to the moon and back. But in keeping with the ten theme I will stop there. I am sorry about the pictures being all out of sorts. Something is going on with my blog……But this is a day to celebrate not fix things….So this is what we are doing today.

Wake up: with horns to a decorated kitchen and chorizo and egg tacos (yes homemade tortillas) Remember he is my foodie
Outside play time
Lunch: cheese quesadillas
Park time
Dinner : homemade fried chicken ,potatoes, rolls, salad and broccoli.
Then it’s SCAVENGER HUNT TIME He has 10 clues to find his 10 gifts…..It’s gonna be fun. After presents we will have the ice cream candy cake we started making on Sunday. I am going to enjoy my Son all day today.

This is the Scripture I read over him this morning….Jeremiah 29:11
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

This week............

So since I am banned from facebook for a month, texting for a week and a limit of 2 hours on computer and cell phone per day...........let's just say I am getting reacquainted with my kids. And my house.....Well it's Always CLEAN :) But this has been a week and a half to put in the books.....you ready??

Ready or not here I go!!

Last week I purged my home of things we did not need. I gave the boys a basket with their names on it and told them what they could fit in the basket they could keep everything else was to be sold or donated. I am tired of things. I say this often and when I purge.....well I PURGE :)
So Saturday Victoria Smith and I had a garage sale. We did Ok. It was fun to hang out with my neighbor!

Sunday Bryce had to go to work. So the kids and I went to home group and visited till the neighbor called to say our cow was out A--G--A--I--N. Thankfully the neighbors yes neighbors got him back in the yard. The kids and I came home and got him back to the pasture/land we have.

Monday was a a typical get back into school mode. We had a great day.....
And in all this I am having to hand wash all my dishes....because you see our dishwasher broke and they were not scheduled to come till Thursday.

Tuesday...I skipped working out at 5 am because Lucy and the boys all got summer colds and she didn't really fall asleep till 2:23 am. I looked at the alarm that was shceduled to go off at 4:40am and decided to turn it off! We had another day of school and lots of cuddling...it was nice.

Wednesday was a whirlwind...it was pay day, bill day, grocery day, watch a friend's kid day, sit around and wait for AC repair man to show up day and life group. We got school done. Oh and our AC fixed we saved $75 on a service fee because well you see our filter was dirty. I mean DIRTY. It was on my mind just way back in the back of my mind. Then we went and enjoyed breakfast for dinner. Oh it was good. So good I am still thinking about it good :)



Thursday was skip work out day again because I was just plain tired. It's also the end of our school week....and the Blessed day my dishwasher was to be fixed. I got call at 8am stating that the guy would be at my home any time between 8 am and 5 pm. So I waited and schooled and waited and cleaned and waited...You get the picture. It finally happened at 3pm the guy shows up and it was fixed and I think I danced, or smiled, or leaped. Oh I don't remember what I did but I was overjoyed. Colin had basketball practice. The other kids and I met a friend at the park. Then we came home and had a nice family dinner in a really clean house. And that fixed dishwasher well she washed my dishes for me that night and I went to bed smiling!!

Friday was our second Mom's prayer meeting. The Lord told me to start this group over a year ago and well I just started it 2 months ago. It's the 3rd Friday of the month at my house from 10-12. I ask the mom's to pack their kids a lunch and I feed the mom's mom food:) Well the first month just my neighbor came...and this time........NO ONE. But it's ok. You see I am not doing this for any one person or 20 people. I am doing this to be faithful to what God has asked me to do. The kids were disappointed since they didn't have friends to play with. But we worshipped and had prayer time the 5 of us and it was AWESOME!!!

So after running an errand of going to the Menonite farm to get our raw Milk.......we decided to go to the fair.
We had so much fun. In fact I told the kids doesn't it feel good to have all of our chores, school and house work done so we can go play? And they all said YES:) We enjoyed homemade soda and lots of crafts and booths of stuff. I was able to get a couple people marked off my Christmas shopping list. I realized it was 2pm and we needed to head home Lucy needed and nap and I needed to start dinner we were having company.

We walked in the door and the kids had balloons. Tanner decided he was going to inhale and talk funny to us. He did inhale........ the ENTIRE balloon.....he fell over the coffee table onto the floor. I thought he was kidding and told him to get up.......The nightmare had begun. Tanner passed out and was having a full blown seisure. He was convolsing flalling around. Colin called 911 and Bryce. Owen stood over Tanner crying asking him not to die and I..... well I am a Licensed EMT, I went to EMT school I know what to do(my license is expiered). I moved all furniture away from him so he couldn't further hurt himslef. I tried as my son was turning blue and not breathing to begin cpr but then.........I froze. It didn't matter that I have the head knowledge. I was in calm mode. Then I had this overwhelmimg feeling of loss. I could be loosing my son. The one that acts like he is not interested in me during the day, but when it's night he wants to hold both of my hands and cuddle. The one who challenges me and my patience, but loves so deeply it's refreshing. Yes that boy. So after that quick I have no idea stage I went into action but really during a seisure there is nothing I could do, it had to pass and hopefully pass quickly. I sat and cried, I prayed, I waited and then he was back. I had a million questions and he said " What I just woke up. wasn't I sleeping? Why do my head, arms and legs hurt?" I held him close. Still on the phone with 911 and did what they told me. The ambulance got here checked him out and I refused transport. I knew that he would be ok but I was also committed to watching him diligently.
Bryce got home. I melted in his arms from a really emotional 30 minutes. And then the world was ok again.

Now why did I tell you all that story? Becasue you see I KNOW in my heart that that prayer meeting I had just a couple hours before ...you know the one where no one showed up? Well I believe that prayer meeting was just for Tanner and his precious life. I believe we called on the Lord and at 2:10pm he showed up . Not that he wasn't always there. But he kept me from having to go through with those overwhelming feelings of loss I had for those brief moments.....I am so thankful I have a saviour that will never let me down. I am thankful that he hears the prayers of his children. I am thankful that he LOVES you and me. He is there waiting, ready and willing. ALL WE HAVE TO DO IS ASK...........

Challenge................

Well my kids and I were talking over dinner...and guess what? They all said I am on facebook WAY TOO MUCH! So they have asked me to give it up for the next 30 days. They have also told me that I am not allowed to text for a week. And that my phone use is out of control. The Bible says out of the mouth of babes. Well my kids are not babies, but they are my Blessings. So I am going to meet and complete this challenge. How did I become this obessed person with media? I don't like that my kids feel second. So even though I will have a hard time. I am ready. My kids mean more to me than media. I will not put earthly things that will pass away before them any longer! So if you want to get a hold of me you need to call me. But my time is limited on the phone as well. So here we go peeps. I will not shrivel up and die. I will survive and I will enjoy more time with my blessings............

Mating..............

Hmmmm made you look huh? Well this is a lesson on animal mating. Brought to you by my Nature Boy Tanner. This is one of the thousands of reasons why I LOVE HOMESCHOOLING.......... my sweet Blessings. OK so Tanner had a large watering trough that he made into a turtle and frog sanctuary. He worked on design, structure and appearance. Yes he was serious. He made 1/2 dirt and 1/2 water. Took a lot of trial and error but he got it. He had rocks for the turtles to bask in the sun and fresh bowls for fresh water and food. I let him do this because he was really into keeping his animals safe and happy.One day I found these pictures on my camera and thought wow he is Really Serious. He even had done some Internet research and had dates written on calendar. So here is the lesson he taught me.


When Frogs mate, the male frog tends to clasp the female underneath in an embrace called amplexus. He literally climbs on her back, reaches his arms around her "waist", either just in front of the hind legs, just behind the front legs, or even around the head. Amplexus can last several days! Usually, it occurs in the water, though some species, like the bufos on the right mate on land or even in trees!
http://allaboutfrogs.org/weird/general/cycle.html

Here are his pictures to document the "ACT"






Now here are a few pictures of his beloved turtles. We have many many turtles that visit us every spring. They live in our land and we see them daily. The kids have named many of them and we hang out with them for a while them put them right back. We enjoy turtle racing, turtle feeding and turtle love while they visit. We are known to have turtle or two in our tub and walking around the house. YES all areas are thoroughly cleaned afterwards :) The kids have special names like..... Gimpy(he lost a part of his front leg). Fireball because of his coloring and he is the fastest. Maggie because she is one of the few girls. Bigfoot because he is the largest turtle. Little Suzie because she is dainty. Now how do they know which ones is a male or female? The eyes color is a factor, their tails and something to do with their shell :0 Enjoy some turtle love folks!!!