Settling in with Boobie & Saxon...

We are 10 days into having Bobby & Saxon live with us here at our apartment. Here's a little humor for ya: Lincoln calls Bobby "Boobie". Because Lincoln has no understanding of volume control yet, he screams for Boobie loudly while in public places. This causes Bobby to laugh out loud & then his face turns beet red. It's a hoot overe here with 4 boys and me. I'm a little outnumbered!
They are settling in quite nicely, enjoying home-cooked meals & daily showers. They are at Rocketown every day with Ben, & hopefully by the end of the 30-day mark, they will be allowed to return home. Please continue praying that this will be the case.

Thank you to everyone who has given so freely in the ways that they have for our situation right now. Every gift card, piece of clothing, & check has been greatly appreciated & it is so special to us that you are all willing to help us. I do believe that God is performing a miracle to achieve a purpose so much greater than we can see with our own eyes. To Him be the glory.

xoxo

boo. hiss. growl.

Well friends, the season of American Idol has finally come to a close, thank God. I've been robbed. I still harbor serious resentment about Melinda being kicked off. I think it's a consensus by all that we are all furious at our DVR/Tivo machines today. It cut off the entire drum-rolling, tears-flowing, sobs-shaking, voice-trembling, awful "This is my Now" moment by Miss Seventeen. YouTube to the Rescue! Whew.

So many things to talk about. Let's get down to it. First thing on my list is Randy's jacket. What the?!? I have nothing to say about that except "it was kinda pitchy for me, dawg..." And when I say pitchy, I mean so ugly that it never should have existed. And oh dear Paula, what will we do with you? A broken nose caused by a crazy fall with your Chihuaha "Tulip", WAY-TOO long extensions, and not to mention the swaying & walrus-clapping. This summer just simply won't be the same without you in my living room every week. And I'm fairly certain that I caught Simon sleeping once or twice throughout the show. Poor Brit was so bored.

I don't have much else to say about Idol, simply because I got sucked into Lost last night. Way to go Hurley! I was sad to see Charlie die, but ratings come first. I was a little slow in realizing that we were not experiencing a flash-back, but a flash-forward. Ben caught onto that point way faster than I did. I was still reeling from Jack having a full-grown beard & being drunk all the time...I'm not sure what to think about the finale except good, good, and more good. Does this mean next year will be nothing but episodes filled with flash-forwards, while everyone returns to their normal life? Or does it mean that they're never getting off that god-forsaken island? We shall see in 7 months.

More coming soon.

It's a Monumental Day!

As you can see from this picture, Lincoln is learning how to be a big boy now. I bought him his very own toilet seat today, in which he could not have cared less. We came home, I plopped him on the seat & I acted like it was the best thing in the universe. This, in case you were wondering, involved me jumping up & down in the bathroom, clapping my hands, & hollering "Yea for the Big Boy Potty!"

I'm not sure if this is "official potty-training business", but it is an official introduction to it. I'm completely clueless on how to do this, but I do sit down next to him, read him his favorite books, & offer a cookie for any trickle I may hear. And sure enough, about five minutes into his book, a trickle I heard. Nilla Wafers are a great thing. Then came the pride. I made such a big deal out of it that he thought he was pretty cool. So now he never wants to get off the thing. I guess that's better than never wanting to get on, right?

Talk to you soon. In the meantime, wish me potty luck.
xoxo

Meet our new roommates, Bobby & Saxon

Hi Friends! These are pictures of Bobby & Saxon, the two kids that are living with us as of yesterday. We are the legal guardians of them for the next thirty days. Bobby & Saxon (14 & 12, respectively) are regulars at Rocketown, & they have grown extremely close with Ben over the past six months. Their parents are suffering from severe addictions & are trying to pull their lives back together. As they try to do this, we have offered to take care of the boys. They live in a trailer in Nashville with no AC. Their clothes are washed in the creek behind the trailer park. We had to shave their heads when they got here because they had lice. They are sad for their parents' addictions & confused about why they are here & how long they will be here with us. Please join us in praying for Bobby & Saxon, as well as Andrea & Bobby Sr. (the parents). Please pray that Andrea & Bobby Sr. stick with the rehabiliation program & get better. Pray that Ben & I will be good stewards & show Christ's love to Bobby & Saxon. Most importantly, please pray that God will be glorified through every step of this story.

A lot of people are asking what they can do to help us while the boys are here. They are lacking simple items, such as toothbrushes, underwear, socks & jeans. What they really love are "Tech-Decks" (finger-skateboards, found at Wal-Mart) & anything dealing with skateboarding. If you feel led to help out with this endeavor, feel free to let us know.

We'll keep you all posted.
xoxo

He discovered the skateboard.

the house is up.

It's America's Fault.

In the wise words of my husband Ben: "It's not American Idol's fault; it's AMERICA'S fault." I'm shocked that Melinda got kicked off tonight; so shocked in fact, that I may not even watch next week. It's a sad sad day.

and then there were three...

First things first. Does anyone else think Paula is starting to look like a clown? I think either her make-up artist is going blind, or Paula has started doing her own make-up when she gets drunk before the show.

Jordin: She sounded good, although I liked the second song much better than the first. Hard for the Money was "Mmm...Bop-Good". I like Jordin sometimes, not always. I think she's a little, ok, I mean way, too dramatic. That third song was just right for my senior high school musical.

Blake: Wowsa. Y'all know I'm not a huge Blake fan, but slap me silly--tonight he kicked it up. And I think he may be bringing sweater vests back because I hate sweater vests & I thought he was sex-ay. Oh Simon, for crying out loud, just say it was fantastic already. The Maroon 5 song sounded yummy too.

Melinda: I believe that she will win. Good song, Randy Johnson. When she sings, her voice sounds like a chord. And because she's a fellow Belmontian, she's the highest on my list. And my list goes. You go girl. And Hit Me Again Ike!--her Tina Turner song was so good. "That was Hot." Randy, get some new material.

Until next time, friends.

RETIRED!!

Hi friends!
The three of us just got back from Texas, where my dad had his very last flight with Southwest Airlines. He is 60 years old today, & at the age of 60, all pilots are required to retire. He has been a captain for 26 years, & we all were passengers on his flight, & then my mom threw a huge swaree, Texas Style, at their country club on Saturday night. Here are some pictures from the event. We had lots of fun, lots of dancing, & of course, lots of laughing.

Ummm...can you please look at how hot my parents are? They're still like teenagers. They danced more than anyone else out there & had the best time...what a hoot.

I, on the other hand, had to literally draaag Ben out on the dancefloor...he hates dancing of all types. And because he hates all dancing, I enjoy torturing him to dance with me.

It was such a fun weekend.
Congratulations Dad.

Get Packin', Boobies

Poor Lakisha's going home, y'all. Blake, Jordin & Melinda are all staying put for now. Although I haven't liked one song that Lakisha has done in a very long time, her farewell song of "Stayin Alive" was super sassy & well, pretty good. Go fig.
Other than the final decision, I nearly slept through that whole hour. It was so booooooring. Barry Gibb was horrendous and we are fairly certain that we saw his nipples through his see-through shirt. And when I say we, I mean me & Ben (yes, Ben joined the AI fun last night).
Oh, and Blake, I'm pretty sure tuxedo shirts went out by 1983.
Umm, has anyone decided to send in an audition tape for the American Idol Band competition? FOX, what have you done now?!?

Catcha on the flip side.