So we joined this produce coop a few weeks ago. I bought 'one share' for $28. We get hand-picked produce from the manager at our main grocery store. Each friday we pick it up, and the kids are making friends with the family that coordinates it...they are a military-homeschooling-family-with-9-kids. The kids wanted me to post a picture of our fresh fruit and veggies for the week...

Boxing Day Run 2006
This was a fun event for our family. My stepbrother, Jason, ran in the race with the kids. Jason is a Marine, served our country in Iraq in 2006, and is slated to return for another 6 month term this spring. Memorable for the kids to have Uncle Jason run with them. BTW, Doug ran too, but I'm not allowed to post the picture I took of him LOL.




Notice the BOW in Ellie's hair?!
Emma ran a personal best...8:58 for the mile! She was so proud of herself. And so are we.

Merry Christmas! Wish we were with you. Hope you enjoy these pictures.

We discovered Everson sound asleep on the ottoman this afternoon and HAD to take a picture of it. Doug put the bean bags down in case he rolled off...which he did and then woke up in a very unhappy mood...
Our little Nutcracker soldier. For the performance, she had red circles on her cheeks and carried a white rifle (a fake one, of course).
Erik is enjoying his birthday present...a Star Wars battle game. It's quite a workout! He is having a blast fighting the bad guys of Star Wars, while learning some tricks from Jedi heroes. Doug is pretty good at the Qui Gon Jin Stike LOL.

Emma and her best friend Maddie in their cake baker costumes. So incredibly elegant! They carried beautiful artificial cakes. Didn't get a picture of Emmas...but since I'm in charge of props, I can get a picture if I get enough requests...

We survived The Nutcracker!
My pictures are all overexposed (still trying to figure out the flash w/my digital camera). I have a friend who worked in Emma's dressing room and took some pictures. She's supposed to email them to me and I'll post them as soon as I can! I promise! Emma had a wonderful time. A nervous meltdown Friday before the performance and we managed to escape "The Nutcracker Flu" that was taking out cast members. There were just a few glitches with the props, but all were relatively minor. I worked in the lobby for each performance - the soda station. All stickiness aside...the perk was that I was able to save great seats for Doug and the kids and I one night, and seats for my mom, stepfather and aunt another night. I even received a fun thank you gift - a fancy nutcracker mug. In it was a thank you note, telling me to get lots of rest because "in just 8 1/2 short months, we start again!"

Now I need to get on with Christmas...after we move out the props Tuesday afternoon...

Brrrrr!
According to my computer, it's 18 degrees outside! I think every night this week it should be like this, but go into maybe the 50s by afternoon. I won't complain too much though...the memories of 105 degree days are still fresh in my mind.

Saturday night, we rode in the San Angelo Christmas Light parade. It's only the 3rd or 4th year of the parade and was the biggest yet...about 30-40 entries, I believe. My stepfather Tom, who builds and repairs wagons (among 1000 other things he tinkers with), had an 'extra' wagon. It's actually been in our yard since February, because he thought the kids needed a wagon to play on LOL. Anyhow, my mom decorated the wagon with garland and lights, hooked up a generator, and we were the only non church/business/organization to be in the parade. The kids had a blast...and this town is so small, that we saw many people we knew along the parade route.

Nutcracker practice officially started yesterday in the Auditorium. As Props Manager, I was anticipating a very stressful afternoon. I'm pleased to report that I actually sat with some friends and did some knitting! There were some glitches to iron out - very minimal. Tonight we should have just about everything taken care of. The best thing for me, is that I DO NOT have to work backstage! I get to sit and enjoy the show...and help sell flowers in the lobby (that's my free ticket).

Well, Everson just woke up, so I'll go now.

Nutcracker Update
THE production starts next Friday. Tomorrow is only a 3 hour rehearsal...then we start to move props from 2 locations (studio & storage) for Tech Week. Sunday 2-8, M-Th is every evening starting around 5...going to 9:30 or 10. Then we have to have Emma at the theater 2 hours before the performance! For 3 days. Then we get to move all of the props OUT of the theater (as soon as the performance is over) and get to the cast party, then to the church kids Christmas musical. We would skip this in a heartbeat, but one of Emma's best homeschool friends is in the lead role... I took pictures of her in her costume a couple of weeks ago, but the lighting was bad. I'll try for more this week and I'll post them.

Running continues for all of us...walking for me ;-) We've even recruited a few more homeschool families. It's such a great program! $12 for a family for a year! That's 2 weekly 1 hour practices... And we pay $2/person for races. A much much much cheaper route than ballet LOL.

Basketball practice starts for Erik next week...during tech week...last year he had a nightly basketball camp. This year it's only 1 night.

School is plucking along. Seem to be needing to revamp my curriculum plans. I have been trying to get Erik and Ellie to follow along with Emma's 4th grade historical fiction readings...not a good plan. We've put that on the shelf for now and are working on a unit study on Explorers of North America...with hands on activities which the kids seem to enjoy. The great joy I have now is seeing Erik read every book he can get his hands on! We check out close to 40 books EACH WEEK from the library. Lots of picture books for the younger 2. Emma and Erik get 3-5 chapter books, plus other books that interest them for that week. I pat myself on the back and say, "I taught them to read!" It's a great feeling.

Well, it's not freezing outside anymore, so I need to get these kids outside for some fresh air. Then I'm going to do some baking...muffins to snack on during our busy week. Cranberry, banana, and pumpkin! Yum!

Pictures from our Harvest Festival a few weeks ago...can you guess who Ellie was?

Well 3/4 of my children are sick with chest colds. Erik fell this morning to the bug...of course with his asthma, his chest cough always seems worse. So now I'm pumping Emma with vitamin c and encouraging more hand washing than normal to keep her healthy. We're 3 1/2 weeks away from The Nutcracker production...hoping she can make it unscathed. Colds come and go. I think the average kid has 4-6 colds a year. But with 4 kids...that's 16-24 colds/year...almost seems like someone is sick all the time, though I know it's not true.

Haven't posted pictures because I think my camera is broken. I discovered my #3 child playing photographer with it recently and haven't been able to turn it on since then. I'm in a state of denial about it. I was just starting to really like the digital camera...now I'm camera-less. ARGH!

Well I need to tend to some sick kiddos.

Race Results

The girls ran in their first Road Lizards race this Saturday. It was about 45 degrees at race start and they were shivering! Erik placed 2nd and ran 9:04, Emma placed 3rd and ran a 9:38 and Ellie won a Finishers Medal for her 14:31 mile!!! Ellie ran much of the way, but she also stopped and hugged a few of her new best friends, picked up a few rocks along the way, and stopped to watch some of the big kids run by...Erik and Emma were not in competition with eachother, the results are boy/girl and broken into 2-year age categories. At any rate, the girls were very pleased with themselves. Ellie was so excited to earn a finishers medal that she skipped and jumped her way up to the coach to receive it...like she had just won and Olympic gold! She came home, proudly wearing her medal and exclaimed to her daddy, "Daddy, I won a finishers medal, because I didn't quit!!" There was another race the next day and the girls had tasted victory enough to want to try it again, but we didn't. Emma was so proud of herself that she wanted to wear her medal to Nutcracker rehearsal that afternoon. I told her that it would get in the way LOL. The next race is a big Veteran's Day race. We're really enjoying this activity, even Everson runs a bit at practice...and I get in some of my doctor-prescibed exercise.

In August, Emma and Erik learned to knit. I snapped this pic recently . Emma keeps unraveling her projects, because she can't seem to make up her mind what to do. She made a little pink purse for Ellie's birthday. Now, when she's invited to a birthday party, we buy a skein of yarn and some knitting needles and enclose a coupon for knitting lessons. I had to learn along with the kids, so that I could help them. It was stressful at first, but now I find knitting to be actually relaxing and easy to do while Doug is watching football or when we're watching a movie with the kids. Erik can get a row or 2 done, then thinks it doesn't look right, so he unravels his before I get a chance to check it. It keeps them busy a couple times a week for 20 minutes or so at least LOL.

The Armstrong Runners...
After a visit to the doctor last week to follow up my pleurisy I'm compelled to lose a few of these baby pounds, eat less junk food, and exercise. So now not only Erik runs with the Lil Lizards. The girls started running this week and I started walking with the club. Not a leisurly stroll, but actually moving to get my heart beating. It has felt good. Much to her surprise, Emma can run a mile effortlessly, while Ellie has surprised me and has given 100% to run a mile with short walks to catch her breath. I don't see myself running anytime in the near future, but a good aerobic walk seems doable 2x/week. The dr 'recommended' I exercise at least 5 days/week and suggested that 1 mile each time out wasn't enough, "I'd recommend you work up to running 2-3 miles each day." I wanted to laugh, hard. Walking 1 1/2 mile twice a week is the most exercise I've done since having kids!

We've been reading about Columbus in school, which led us to a study on slave ships in the 1500s to work on Spanish plantations. When Ellie realized how slaves were packed onto ships for 50-day journeys from Portugal to the Indies...she exclaimed, "I'm glad my skin is white! That must have been horrible to be a slave." Erik's emotional response to the lesson was, "You mean they just went to the bathroom right where they were chained?! They had to lie down in their b.m.?!?! That's gross!"

Everson continues to spend his days dressed as a knight, building castles out of legos and playing with Erik's old Imaginext castle sets...can you get a picture of the world Everson lives in...a brave knight, fighting dragons and rescuing princesses. Occasionally he wants to play pirate with the big kids. On the trampoline, the 4 of them play super heroes, or a game I have yet to understand, called Shamu - Ev is Shamu and the girls are mermaids and I think Erik is Neptune. Since our trip to Seaworld a few weeks ago, we have checked out a dozen books on dolphins and whales for little Everson. He's quite fascinated with Shamu Shamu Shamu. We watched Free Willy last week and I thought he'd explode with the footage of the killer whale LOL.

Well, time to get on with our day. Remember to pray for Will.

So I've been told that I must go on and live my life. Can't help but feel a deep sense of guilt over doing that, because Sam and Angies lives will never be the same now that they are fighting Leukemia. But here's what convinced me this morning that I needed to update this site on the life of my kids...Angie checked our blog. So while our family in NC are on the forefront of our minds, my kids still make forts in the livingroom, fight over toys and whine when I tell them to do their chores. I'll take it. I find myself hugging my kids more these days, being less impatient with the silliness (okay, most of the time), and grateful for their good health.

A message from Angie, Will's brave mom....

Dear Friends and Family,
I created a CaringBridge site to keep you up to date on William Armstrong. CaringBridge is a nonprofit organization that helps friends and families stay connected.You can visit William's CaringBridge site at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/williamarmstrong.
If your e-mail program does not allow you to click on the above link, just copy and paste the address into your Internet browser address location.
Please visit the CaringBridge site anytime. You can use the site to check in onWilliam, read journal entries and sign the guestbook.
Please print and save this e-mail for future reference.
CaringBridge enables unique and personal communities of support that enrich family andfriend connections during times of need.
www.caringbridge.org

*i'm sorry if you've received this email twice, i'm just trying to quickly get it out to as many folks as possible. if you'd rather not receive updates, please let me know and we'll take you off our list. also feel free and please do forward the caring bridge site address on to whoever you think would like to have it. i may have unintentionally left someone out.
thanks,
aa

Will has Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Just googled it...it's the more agressive type of leukemia (just our luck). Sam and Angie are meeting with the dr this afternoon to come up with his treatment plan. Spoke briefly with Angie this am...she says she does fine as long as she's with Will...but when she's not with him... Keep them in your prayers. The next few days and weeks will be trying.

LEUKEMIA

My phone rang at 7:30 this morning. It was Sam, Doug's brother (who now lives in Cary, NC). Their 2 1/2 year old son, our only nephew, Will had just been diagnosed with Leukemia. They are awaiting transfer to another hospital (where one of the top Leukemia doctors in the country works). Once there, more tests will be run to determine what kind of Leukemia Will has, and how to treat it. Naturally, everyone is reeling. Will has not liked being stuck with needles (who does), but has been very good through all of this. This afternoon Sam told me that Will has been friendly to everyone, saying, "Thanks for coming," as people left the room. So pray for Will, for Sam, Angie and 14 month old Katie. They are in for a long journey.

Here's Emma, all ready for her Little House on the Prairie party this morning. When she gets home, she's off to Nutcracker rehearsal, then we're going bowling with my stepbrother, Jason (who is a 20 year old Marine, just returning from 7 months in Iraq), then a family with 6 children is coming over this evening so the mom and I can go out to dinner... Read that last part again...Doug is staying home with 10 kids (age 1-13) so that I can go out with a friend. Her husband is a Chaplain in the Air Force and has been away at a training school for 4 weeks. Doug's a saint for this one!!!

Hi, this is Emma and I'm writing in the blog for now. Actually, my mom is writing, but I'm telling her what to write.

I'm excited to be in The Nutcracker. It's fun. I have to go to the studio 4 times this week. 2 are for classes, and 2 are for rehearsals.

I have school this morning, and after school, I'm going to one of my best friend's houses. Her name is Katie Stoup. We usually play American Girl Dolls or Barbies with her HUMONGOUS Barbie dollhouse - it goes all the way up to the ceiling (almost that high). Ellie is coming too, so she can play with Katie's little sisters, Kenzie and Karlee. Katie has a big sister names, Kaycee...did you notice that they all have "K" names? They are adopting a baby boy, whose name will be Kelby. He's from Ethiopia. They homeschool their kids, too. We might go swimming today, if Katie's mom cleaned out the pool...it was very yuccy the last time I went over there.

Tomorrow, I'm going to go to a birthday party for a friend turning 8. It's a Little House on the Prairie party.

I'm doing AWANA again this year. I have LOTS of friends in AWANA. The new 3rd grader girls are on my team so I got to make friends with them too. I have 2 3rd grade friends, Karalee and Cali.

That's all for now. Goodbye.

Here's the kids on the Komodo Dragon statue. They were so cute lined up.
Everson reluctantly posed on this Giant Tortoise statue. He got to see one at eye level about 2 feet from him. What a thrill! Behind him is a river...wading was actually encouraged by the zoo.

We're back from our getaway weekend in San Antonio! What a great time we had with my dad and stepmom. The older 3 kids acted like they saw my parents just last week. Everson needed to warm up a bit and was very good at playing catch with Grandpa Quale by the time we left. Here's a glimpse of our few days:

SEAWORLD was amazing! We fed dolphins, saw sharks up close, penguins, sea lions and walruses, otters, coral reef display, and Eversons favorite: Shamu Shamu Shamu. We adults loved the fact that all of the vendors and rides and restaurants were closed. We didn't hear, "Mom,I'm hungry can I get one of those? I don't want to ride that ride alone. Can I get one of those to take home?" You get the point. And at just $8/person and a parking place right at the front gate, you couldn't beat the day. Thanks Seaworld, for making this available just for homeschoolers (and grandparents).

The San Antonio Zoo was our Friday excursion. Because my parents have memberships at the Buffalo Zoo, we were able to get in for half price...always a plus. We spent 5 1/2 hours at the zoo! There was a great hands on area for children 5 and under (and a few older sibs and grandparents). We crawled around in prarie dog tunnels and went fishing and saw giant tortoises. The rest of the zoo was pretty cool too. No surprise that the zoo is one of the top 10 in the country. www.sazoo-aq.org/

The Alamo and Riverwalk were on our Saturday agenda. I think Emma wanted to go on the narrated tour, but was outvoted...maybe next time. We took a riverboat cruise and learned some interesting facts about the riverwalk. Then we had lunch at The Rainforest Cafe. I can't even describe how fun it was walking in this 3-story restaurant decorated lavishly like a rainforest. Complete with thunderstorms and lightning! www.rainforestcafe.com Definately memorable for the kids. And Erik had a heaping plate of spaghetti!

Each afternoon while Everson (and Doug) napped, the older 3 kids went swimming in the pool for hours. Then dinner, play time and bed to rest up for the next day. Doug and I went out for dessert one evening. It was so nice to get out in a fun place like San Antonio. We had some nachos and then the most expensive ice cream cone I've ever had! I think our 2 cones were over $12!!

It was fun to spend some time with my dad and Maureen. Maureen wants to go to Corpus Christi the next time they come to TX...sounds like fun. My father mentioned us all going to Florida. Ellie said that we could do that, when Everson is 10 years old. Don't ask me where she came up with that one.

The battery in my camera died this morning, so I can't post any pictures until I get a new battery. But I promise I will do that so you can see us having fun in S.A.

WE'RE OFF TO SAN ANTONIO!!! We leave Wednesday for a few days of fun and more fun. My dad and stepmom from Buffalo are meeting us there. The 8 of us will stay in a suite and will take in the sights, sounds and smells (and tastes!) of San Antonio. On Thursday, we're going to Sea World for an Instructional Field Experience, especially for homeschoolers. Basically its a regular day at the park, minus the bells and whistles (and upset stomachs) of the rides and concessions. But the cost is only $8 per person...which makes it much much more affordable than the $30-$40/person regular charge! We'll see The Alamo and The Riverwalk and visit the San Antonio Zoo and play in the pool at the hotel. The temps here are in the mid 80s, so it will be a beautiful weekend. I'll post some pics when we return.

Here's Erik after one of his races. I think his best time is 8 minutes and some change for a mile. Not bad for a 7 year old. I don't think I ever could run a mile in less time LOL.

Lil Lizards is a great name for this West Texas running club. We have all kinds of lizards around these parts. Erik is our biggest lizard! He has had 2 practices this week. The coach recognized Erik and even remembered his times from his 3 races this summer! He put Erik in the "2-mile group". This means that Erik runs a 1/2 mile warm up with the whole club, then takes off for a 2 mile run...that's right...a 2 mile run. My stepfather, Tom, told Erik that he was his hero. Tom said, "I couldn't even run across the street for a donut." I'm with Tom.

We are entering our first week of 'full-swing' Fall activities: ballet classes, Lil Lizards running club practice (for Erik), AWANA, coop and Nutcracker rehearsals. Add the regular stuff like school, allergy shots, visiting my 95 year old Great Grandmother, cooking, cleaning and playing, and you get a sense of what life is like with 4 kiddos. Emma had her first Nutcracker rehearsal on Saturday. After an hour, she realized that the Battle Scene is a v-e-r-y l-o-n-g scene and the music is fast paced. In a few weeks she'll start practice on the Cake Baker part. I wish I could sing the music for you so you know what she'll be dancing to. It's a recognizable tune. She'll be dancing with 7 other girls, holding elaborately decorated cakes. Oh, and after being asked by 2 more people (5 different people asked me), I've taken the helm as the Props Manager for The Nutcracker. YIKES! I have an assistant, who wants to manage everything once it gets to the theater...so I just have to get it all together and to the theater... Aren't you glad your life is the way it is.... By the way, how is YOUR life? You get to read all about mine...how about an email letting me know what's up with you and yours? We'd love to hear from you.

Before I get to the news of Emma's Nutcracker roles, I'll let you know that Doug will be in Albany this weekend. His grandpa Armstrong passed away Monday evening and there is a memorial service for him on Friday. Doug is leaving this afternoon and will be returning to TX on Sunday. He's staying with some friends in Delmar so if you want to send anything back to TX with him (Dunkin Donuts coffee, ILOVENYPIZZA tee hee), call or email me and I'll get you his contact info for the weekend. We're all sad about grandpa passing, but at 94, he's lived a full life of loving the Lord, and he is worshipping God now. The sad part for the kids and I is staying behind. It never occurred to us that our next trip to NY would be a family vacation, not a funeral. Keep Doug and the kids and I in your prayers this weekend. I haven't been feeling well this past week (I was diagnosed with Pleurisy last Friday night in the ER), and Erik especially is upset about Doug's going. NUTCRACKER NEWS... Emma has earned 2 parts in this year's production. She is going to be a soldier in the battle scene, and she's also in the second act as a "cake baker". Don't ask me what that is, but she'll be in one of the special dances performed for Clara and the Prince in the Land of Sweets. She was disappointed to learn that she won't be in the opening Party Scene, but then realized that the Battle Scene is lengthy and that all of the parts are being played by her Ballet 2A and 2B peers. So we're in for another interesting fall full of 2 weekly ballet classes, and 1 to 2 Nutcracker rehearsals each week until the performance. BTW, the performance is the weekend of 12/8...feel free to come on down ;-)

Ellie turned 6 last monday. I'm still getting over it! She's enjoying her new status as a 6 year old AND in the 1st grade (at church at least). I can't find the camera right now, but I'll post a picture of her as soon as it turns up ;-) Doug and Erik ran in another race on Saturday. This was a different course, all grass. It was hard for Erik...the different course made it seem like a much much longer race to him. They ran a week ago as well, Doug took a whole minute off of his time and Erik was down 30 seconds. In a few weeks (when it's not still 100 at 5pm-hopefully), we'll start Erik with 'official' running practice with the Road Lizards running club. He'll run tuesdays and thursdays from 4:30-5:30...don't worry he won't run that WHOLE hour. Once basketball starts up in November, we'll pull him out of the running and let him just play basketball, then baseball. The girls started ballet this past week. Emma is now in 2A..which means 2 1-hour classes each week. And Ellie is in a 1 hour pre ballet class. Nutcracker Auditions were yesterday and Emma is eager to see what part(s) she earned. The list will be posted on Wednesday...I promise I'll blog the results! Send me an email if I forget. I've been asked to head up the props for The Nutcracker production...Doug and I are deciding if our family can take that kind of a time committment from mama... And AWANA and coop start up after Labor Day too...my calendar is already full of kids scheduled activities.

We've been here for ONE YEAR! It seems hard to believe that. In some ways it's been a very long year, but Doug feels like the weeks went quickly. What do we miss? Family and Friends. Fall. What don't we miss? Just about everything else LOL. We just had some guests this week, David and Becky Pence. They flew down for the week and are already planning their next trip for April. So, we've had both family and friends come down to see us in our new home. We're off to San Antonio for 4 days in September and will meet up with my Dad and stepmother, Maureen. (Doug only has 5 days of vacation until August 2007...with so many dear people to visit in NY, it's not likely that we'll come up before then.) So you'll just have to come down here ;-)

Not much to report. It's hot. Emma and Erik are participating in Music Camp at our church this week. They'll put on a musical next Sunday. Emma has a speaking part and Erik will do an "Elvis-type" lip sync solo...provided he's healthy. He woke this morning with a fever. Doug and Erik ran in a 1 mile race on Saturday. There were about 100 people in the race. Erik came in 2nd in his age group and Doug...drum roll...Doug came in 1st in his age group. I won't post his time because he'd be mad. He said it was humbling. This from the guy who still held a high school running record until this spring. I'm proud of my boys! They both came home with medals! Erik was so excited, Doug was tired LOL.

My cousin sells vintage clothing on ebay and had been saving some goodies for the girls to play dressup with. She dropped them off this week and the girls have spent HOURS playing with their new threads.
I found the boys playing in Eversons bed the other day. He's been in the bottom bunk for quite a while now. Its so fun to see their relationship develop. They can really PLAY together, even with the 5 year spread between them.
Thought I attached these pics to the last entry, but they aren't showing up...I used to consider myself savvy when it came to computers...not any more! I'm all thumbs!

Okay, I know it's been a couple of weeks...Can't seem to keep all the balls up in the air. Not sure it will ever get easier LOL. So here's a synopsis: During the time of the car fire, Ellie came down with a virus which produced a well over 100 fever for 3 days. I took her to the dr and came home with antibiotics. About 2 hours after that dr appt, Erik and Everson were goofing around in the living room and I hear a scream from Football (Ev). One of those screams that is followed by long silence...because he's crying so hard he hasn't taken a breath. By the time I get to him, I hear from Erik, "I didn't do it." If I had a penny for every time I heard that... Anyhow Everson hurt his foot. Bad. He wasn't putting any weight on it, standing like a flamingo. His little toe and area around it were purple. Poor thing. Since he's kid #4, we didn't rush to the dr...we waited 2 days. When I took him we discussed options: immobilize the foot, xray, do nothing. Since he's so little, his bones are like rubber so there was little chance of a broken bone (we learned that when Ellie broke her arm at 23 mos). So we went with the "do nothing" and wait to see how he's doing. 4 days after the injury, Everson realized that he could in fact put his foot down and walk without pain. Can't seem to figure out how to make a new paragraph so this is going to be really long..... We had a storm over the weekend. A 'tornado-like event' happened here. Right here. Moved our trampoline and swingset 8 feet. Broke 3 of the $75 wooden bows on our covered wagon. Bent our chain link fence down to the ground. Took shingles off our garage. Threw debris all over the place. Brought hail. The national weather service didn't call it a tornado...but you should see the damage that occurred about 1/2 mile down the road from us... A close call for us. Fireworks with the San Angelo Symphony on the 3rd...from my 95 year old Great Grandmother's front porch. We spent the 4th of July missing our annual Armstrong Reunion at Huletts Landing on Lake George. We went to a bbq on a cotton farm. The hosts were friends of my parents. It was fun for the kids. There were cows and calfs and chickens...along with a black sky that threatened hail and tornadoes. It was relaxing for us. So now you're fully caught up on the last 2 weeks.

HONEY! WAKE UP! I NEED YOUR HELP! MY CAR WAS JUST ON FIRE! That's how my day started at 5:30 this morning. As I go from zero to 1000 in 5 seconds, I'm thinking to myself, "Oh no. We can't afford a new car now!" When I got outside...in my nightgown and sandals, I disovered that the fire was in the backseat of Doug's 1994 Ford Escort. "Whew it was just the backseat...we don't have to buy a new car." So the best we can tell, here's what we think happened: Doug had serviced one of his customers early Saturday morning by exchanging some floor mats. For some reason it had to get done on Saturday. These are those big black rugs you see as you walk into restaurants and stores. So he had 2 big rugs rolled up and folded in half in the back seat of his car on Saturday. We rolled up the windows b/c there was a threat of thunderstorms. The windows stayed rolled up all Sunday as well. In the close to 100 heat. So when he went out to his car around 5:15 this morning, the windows were cloudy and he couldn't understand why. Then he opened the door and was overwhelmed with smoke and then saw the flames in the backseat... Now 5:30 and WIDE AWAKE, we are outside with the hose saturating the car and rugs in the driveway ashes and globs of melted rubber. You can't imagine the smell... I still havent' gotten it out of my nose or hands... That's my Monday.

You know it's HOT when.... Your central air thermostat is set at 81...and it's refreshing when coming in from the yard. It's still 90 outside at 11pm. The ground is so dry that there are huge cracks in the dirt. When you water your drought-resistant plants and the water runs because the ground is too dry to soak it all up. You have to put a cooler in your trunk just for your frozen/refrigerated items you buy at the grocery store...for the trip home. The birds are flocking to the drip pan under the outdoor faucet for water...when the kids are just 2 feet away splashing in the pool. When Texas summer is like NY winter...you're cooped up inside. So how do we cope with it all? We go to VBS at our church, with the church thermostats set at 73. (There were 424 kids registered for VBS last week!) We play outside starting around 8 am and go in for lunch, then swim and hang out inside (mostly) until dinner time. Many nights, we're swimming in our pool at 8pm to cool off. I'm glad we brought our intex pool with us from New York!!!

One of my new favorite picturesof the boys! Baseball season is finally over. In one week, we had 6 games (between Erik and Ellie), 3 ballet classes, an AWANA awards ceremony, a dress rehearsal for dance recital, and 2 dance recital performances! During that week, Ellie had a chance to play catcher for her tball team. When her coach told her what position she'd be playing for the game, she exclaimed, "Catcher?! I finally made it to catcher?! I never thought I'd make it to catcher!!" Then we spent the next week recovering. This week has been full of preparations for VBS which starts Monday morning at 8am! We're expecting close to 400 kids!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANNIE! My Great Grandmother, Emma Boisse, turned 95 this past Saturday! We celebrated with a party. Close to 40 people were there. Mostly family, a few cherished friends. One day my children will realize how special their relationship with their Great Great Grandmother is. Two of our kids are named for her and her husband: Emma and Everson POLO (Polo was her husband. He died in the 80s).

Tornado Fatigue... I've learned the tradeoff in living here versus NY...tornadoes! In NY we didn't look to the skies every thunderstorm and wonder if a funnel cloud would appear. Would the tornado sirens go off? The kids and I are doing a unit study on tornadoes this week and are learning quite a bit. A friend of mine who lives in Orlando once told me that they were suffering from "Hurricane Fatigue", boarding up the windows, cleaning out the laundry room so there was room for the whole family to fit, and waiting... We seem to have the same thing here. The weather over the last week or so has kept us glued to the tv, and hustling in the hallway for tornado sirens once. The kids are a bit freaked out by the whole thing (hence the unit study), wondering if the tornado would whisk away all of their precious things from their bedrooms. Then there is the HAIL! We've seen (and heard) quarter-sized hail. Friends 20 minutes away have had golf ball and BASEBALL-SIZED HAIL! That's serious car and roof and plant damage. My flowers and vines have all been beaten from last week's hail. I said to Doug one night, "Upstate NY snowstorms aren't stressful like this." His response, "They are if you have to go to work..." A nice break in the weather today...yesterday it was 101! Today is only to be in the 80s.

ALLERGY SHOTS for Erik started last week. He went twice last week and will again go twice weekly for about another month. The first shot went well, the second hurt a bit more and left a bruise. By the weekend, Erik was reconsidering this whole shot thing. When he said he didn't mind shots if they were going to help him out grow his allergies... He thought that he'd be able to drink milk after these shots... After a long talk about what these shots are really for (his long-term ability to B-R-E-A-T-H-E), his first reaction was, "Maybe we can get a cat, then!" He went prepared for the shot yesterday...with a very realistic scorpion tatoo on his shot arm. It was hidden under his shirt, to scare the "shot nurse" when she lifted his sleeve for the shot. He was pretty impressed with himself. His 'boy-ness' was really shining at that moment ;-)

This is Grandma and Poppy with the kids outside our new Visitor's Center, just down the road from my mom's house on the beautiful Concho River (do I sound like a tour guide?)
The kids couldn't wait for the pool to be completely filled with water! The temp that day was in the 90s and the Brach girls wanted to swim outside in April!
Life has been very very busy these past 3 weeks. I've received several emails from folks up North wondering if we're doing alright. We're fine, simply in the throes of life and dialup internet access...But here's what's been happening (aside from the regular school, coop, ballet, tball, baseball and AWANA). On Sunday the 2nd, Doug's mom and stepfather showed up on our doorstep... Doug and I knew they were coming, but the kids were completely dumbfounded by their appearance. We had 4 great days with them before they went back to NY. Then 12 days later, my friend Melanie Brach and her 3 girls came for 3 1/2 days. They had traveled from NY to Kansas City and decided to make the trek down to San Angelo to see us. With 3 more girls in the house (8 1/2, 5 and 2), Erik got to spend a day at his friend, Joel's house. His "play with boys tank" got filled with Joel and his 3 brothers. We had so much fun showing our NY friends and family around our new hometown. And the weather was great...I even have roses blooming! Book your flight and come on down!

Baseball Opening Day! We had a great day at the ballfield. Erik had 2 games and Ellie played 1. Erik plays in the Farm League. His team is the Tigers (the Dee-troit Tigers). Ellie plays for the A's. Ellie is quite amusing to watch, as are most kids who play tball. The ball is hit, and the entire team runs to get the ball. But she's having fun..even though she was hot and tired before her game even started. And she thinks she looks soo cute in her baseball outfit. Erik calls it a uniform LOL. Erik is enjoying the challenges of a new division which includes the use of a pitching machine. There is a pitching machine on the pitchers mound and the balls come at a consistent (and fast) speed. His first time at bat, he hit a ball over 2nd base and hit in 2 runs. He was very pleased! We have 8 more weeks of this...practices and games and more practices.

It's been a rather uneventful week. Thankfully. Erik has had some "wheat treats" this week: wheat pasta mixed with rice pasta, chicken nuggets. He also has itchy skin...so now we are having no wheat treats this week and mom is making donuts, muffins and pudding. I've also ordered 4 boxes of cookies and 12 bags of pretzels he loves (for $1.89/bag instead of buying it at a store here for $3.49). The UPS man will be VERY popular this week ;-) A family in our Sunday School class just received a 'severe food allergy' diagnosis for their 3 1/2 year old son. Many of the same allergies, but a few differences. Erik and I baked little Samuel banana muffins this afternoon. It was very important to Erik to help Samuel and his family. I'm so glad he has a big heart, and could identify with Samuel...of course I identify with mom, Judy. I remember feeling so alone when Erik was first diagnosed with all these crazy allergies 7 years ago. So glad we get to help another family. Well I need to go...Everson is spitting on Ellie ;-)

It's been a long week... Erik has struggled with his new diet...especially missing wheat in his pasta and pizza. And chicken nuggets. And saltines. And ice cream cones. And tortillas. We've made some headway though in seeing some of his symptoms getting better. I pointed that out to Erik today and he agreed that it's better to feel better than to have wheat food...now it's mom's job to make it taste better. We've gone from him crying at meals last weekend to asking for another piece of pizza this evening!

I found a cookbook online that our library 'happened' to have called Cooking Free. It's written primarily for folks with Celiac Disease, AND for those with additional sensitivities to milk and eggs! Just published last year! Where was this book when we started this journey7 years ago?!?!? She's done all of the kitchen mad scientist stuff that I never knew how to do. Mix these funky flours with these ingredients and, voila! And the pizza crust tonight was tasty (Doug even said so!) Tomorrow is pancakes. I actually feel like I can do this for Erik...and cook from scratch, instead of buying the stuff.

The challenge now, however, is actually getting the stuff I need here in San Angelo! Ah the joys of living off the beaten path and having to order things from the health food store on Friday and waiting until Monday or Tuesday to get it...if their distributor even carries the product, that is. We've had one store bend over backwards to get some of our staples. It's been a blessing. They've tried to order some other things, but their dist. doesn't carry the item. This weekend, I'm actually going to order stuff online myself and have the UPS man bring it do our door! So there's been progress...due largely to the discovery of this cookbook! I told Doug that I had to buy the book if we're going to stay wheat-free for Erik (which we are assuming will happen).

Sam and Angie and kids are leaving Albany tomorrow... I know I shouldn't be upset about it, since WE left Albany 7 1/2 months ago. But now, when we go back to NY to visit...they won't be there! They'll be in Raleigh, NC! Sam is going to college for a business degree, and they are getting a fresh start in warmer North Carolina. I'm thrilled for their new chapter, having recently begun one myself, just sad for us. I'm realizing it will be much harder to see them, with Sam working and in school, and us working and living in TX. I'm thankful for email and telephones, though. You can check out their blog for the full story behind their leaving...follow the link. I will say this about the huge difference in the cost of living of the Albany area and San Angelo...Sam and Angies house was within the city of Albany and they sold it for almost 2 1/2 times the cost of our house here! Mindblowing!

Allergy news... We visited the allergist this morning to learn the results of Erik's blood tests a few weeks ago. I left with questions answered, and a heavy heart. I'll start at the beginning. Dr. Charlesworth showed me the numbers (which is very helpful for me). A 'normal' non-allergenic 7 year old has IgE levels under 90. Erik's stand at 464.1. The IgE determines the allergens in a person's system, what you are allergic to. Then those IgE's are placed in 'Classes' from 0 to 6. Class 0 meaning no allergy to a substance, and Class 6 being the strongest. Dr. Charlesworth told me "We don't often see Class 6 allergies." On the environmental things, Erik scored in the Class 2-3 range for Cedar, Oak, Ragweed (2 kinds!), and Cocklebur (a southern fall weed). He suggested we consider beginning allergy shots for these things. We go back in 4 weeks with our decision. Now on to animals...I now understand why Erik had such a hard time at the rodeo...He has a Class 4 allergy to both Horses AND Cows!!! Cats, dogs, sheep and goats are also 3-4. Makes for an interesting life with rodeo and all kinds of horse competitions, not to mention sheep and goat ranches throughout the region. The foods all stayed the same...guess what milk was...an OFF THE CHART 6!!!! He's never had a patient with that high score. And now peanuts are on the screen. He's never had a peanut...now he can't at all. The dr. strongly urged me to get a medicalert bracelet for peanut and milk... But here's the heavy heart part...we are going wheat free for a month. His numbers suggested what Doug and I had been suspecting (and I've been in denial about). We've seen some symptoms in Erik that have made us wonder. Now we're going to try it. So this afternoon while Emma is at ballet, we're off to the Natural Food store to stock up on wheat-free baking stuff, etc. I'm really mad about it, but Erik seems willing to go with it to see if it will help him feel better. The heart wrenching thing for me is that in the past few weeks, Erik has been complaining about his allergies. Wondering why God allowed it and praying for God to take away his allergies. I'm feeling like this is going to be some kind of faith journey for all of us. I'll keep you posted.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EMMA!
It's hard to believe that our little girl is 9 today. Doug is very very wistful these days at the thought. Last night he told her that she was halfway to being an adult...then his eyes got teary...

A great homeschooling moment this morning....

I had to write this down so I could use it as proof in the future with my kiddos... I emerged from bed this morning around 7:30 as my Everson-clock was calling my name. When I walked into the living room, I found Emma sitting in the chair reading her latest library book. On the couch right next to her, was Erik, READING his latest library book (a early reader mystery that Emma picked out for him). I had 2 kids voluntarily reading at 7:30 in the morning!

Erik was determined to finish the book. He went to bed reading it with a book light and was reading in bed in the morning before he realized that Emma was up.

I taught them to read! They love to read! It was a BIG rewarding moment for this homeschooling mom of 4! Erik has really just started to read proficiently and is enjoying reading. Just had to share it.

RODEO REPORT
I'll start by saying that I have no pictures of the rodeo. I took my camera, took some pictures, but they were all to dark. I am still trying to figure out how to use this digital camera of mine...

We had a good time, though it was all dampened by Erik's reaction to the allergens in the air. He took a large dose of benadryl before we left for the Coliseum, and had his inhaler on hand. Erik was also armed with a blue dust mask to wear. When we arrived, a local utility company was giving away orange bandannas at the front gate. Naturally, all 4 of my children wanted one. The girls decided to put them in their hair. Erik wanted his tied as well, "like a pirate". So there we sat...5 rows up from the bottom with, my great uncle and aunt and the kids. Erik wearing an orange bandanna on his head and a dust mask covering his nose and mouth. I said to Doug, "How long do you think it will take for someone from make-a-wish to come and talk to us?" Erik really looked funny to us, but I'm sure some folks were wondering.

After about half an hour, Erik started coughing. Within 45 minutes from walking in the door, he was begging to leave. So Doug and I took turns taking Erik for fresh air. Made me mad. Here we are in West Texas. At the 6th largest rodeo in the country. And my kid can't take the air. His lungs are still recovering from it!

We saw an allergist 2 weeks ago and he ordered bloodwork on Erik. Even tested for "San Angelo Environmental Allergens". We go back in 2 weeks for the results.

I think Everson had the best time though. He got to see LOTS of neigh neighs. And bulls. And cows. And even sheep! There is an event called Mutton Busting...little kids (Erik and Ellie's age) suit up and ride sheep like they are bulls. It's hysterical! Of course, none of my kids are willing to try it! Everson liked the rodeo so much that he was upset this afternoon...Emma received an invitation to go to the rodeo with some homeschool friends, so we dropped her off at the rodeo. Everson heard rodeo and got excited. When we pulled back into our driveway, he started crying HARD saying, "Rodeo! More neigh neighs!" Sure to be our little cowboy.

Well I've been staying up too many nights watching the Olympics and am determined to get to bed before midnight!

The windchill is 11 degrees here today! There's some freezing rain and we are staying INSIDE. The kids are kind of loopy. Yesterday, Ellie said, "We have to stay inside ALL day?!" They've grown so accustomed to going outside everyday with a sweatshirt at most...Erik doesn't even have a heavy winter coat!

Ev and Ellie have colds with coughs. Poor Ellie, she still gets that horrible deep chest cough with every cold. But she's a trooper.

It's RODEO time here in San Angelo. For 2 weeks, the 6th largest Rodeo in the US is happening here. We're taking the kids Sunday afternoon. Actually, my Uncle Polo and Aunt Ann are taking US. They have box seats right near where the bulls and calves are released (not at the same time LOL). It should be a lot of fun for us all. We're just hoping that Erik's asthma holds off long enough for him to actually enjoy being there. We went to a calf roping competition in the fall and he lasted about 25 minutes before the eyes started to water and the coughs started. But we're going better prepared this time: Erik will be wearing a bandanna around his face "like a robber". And we'll be armed with his inhaler. I'm really hopeful that he can enjoy it. I'll be sure to take my camera and post some pictures.

Our house came with 2 empty lots...so we have a really really big yard. The yard needs some work. We're not quite sure what to do with it yet, as there is little rain here. I want grass just in front of the house. We might just keep the rest of it at dirt for a while. The yard (with all the dirt) makes for a great baseball field, a place for the kids to run laps during Weekly-Gym-Class-With-Daddy...and a go cart track (we have THREE battery-operated jeeps!).

Here's a picture of the kids, taken on Valentine's Day. They had to take a break on the porch steps after shoveling ALL THAT SNOW that fell over the weekend...tee hee. We miss many things about our lives in NY...shoveling snow is DEFINATELY not one of them! And yes, they are BAREFOOT. It is 72 here today.

I LOVE NY
Growing up in NY, one grows accustomed to seeing the logo "I(big red heart)NY". You don't even seem to notice it after a point. But living in Texas, that logo has a deeper meaning. One of Emma's ballet teachers came to class one day sporting her ILOVENY t shirt. The other night I ran into a friend at the grocery store, and she was wearing one of the famous shirts. She was surprised to learn that I didn't own anything with that well known logo...funny, it just didn't seem important when I lived in NY. Its now the first thing on my list to buy when we come back to NY...

Here's our 4 beauties! Emma (almost 9), Erik (7), Ellie (5 1/2), Everson 2

Here's a picture of Everson (aka Football) after a fun time in the dirt.

I just had to write this down...
We've been studying Vikings in school. Today we read about a Viking funeral. So Emma had the idea to pretend that they were Vikings and wanted to draw a picture from a bird's viewpoint, of their Viking grave and their prized possessions. Note this: wealthy and powerful vikings were buried WITH THEIR BOATS and most prized possessions much like the pharoahs...
Emma had so many things she wanted to take, that she couldn't make pictures, so she just wrote the items (ballet shoes, AWANA workbook, paper and pencils, books, her pillow...very practical). Ellie wanted her dress up outfit (she was buried in it), her mermaid that she sleeps with, a blankie and some books. Erik wanted to have his best friend, Joel buried with him. And some clothes. Tells you what he thinks of Joel...and the rest of us...

Thought I'd take a few minutes to give a kiddo update...

Emma is turning 9 in about 5 or 6 weeks...I can hardly believe it! It was this time last year that Emma began her mission of helping homeless children in Albany. We had a fun time reminiscing about her Tea Party last year and all of the goodies she helped raise for the Womens and Childrens Shelter at the Rescue Mission. Just the other day she asked me for a bag and told me that she had a lot of things that she wanted to give away and could I find some needy children to give them to... She has a friend whose family takes regular trips to Mexico (just a few hours drive) to help a small church. I think we'll save the bag of toys for their next trip. Emma is taking 2 ballet classes each week. One with the San Angelo Civic Ballet (who staged The Nutcracker) and the other class is for homeschooled girls and is taught by a 15 year old homeschooler. It's great fun for Emma to be with other girls her age who love the Lord AND ballet. She's reading everything in sight and continues to be our drama queen.

Erik had his 3rd basketball game this morning. They are 2 and 1. He's enjoying running up and down the court, is pretty good at defense and is learning the mechanics of the sport. He played flag football this fall and is registered for little league beginning 4/1. He's working on his reading in school and yesterday worked through the first chapter of a Magic Tree House book, Viking Ships at Sunrise to complement our current study of Vikings. He has a best buddy, Joel. They share a love of drawing and its so fun to see them inseparable at our coop, trading drawings that they made for eachother during the week.

Ellie, now that she's 5 is enjoying the benefits of being 5: having her own library card, taking ballet, and participating in AWANA. She attacks all 3 with her usual intensity. She's not overly interested in her own school work of reading, writing and math, but enjoys geography and history with Emma and Erik. She can sing you the Africa countries song...there's I think 55 different countries she has memorized. She can tell you all about the reign of Charlemagne and why Viking longships have flat bottoms....So I guess she's getting an education ;-)

Everson continues to bring much laughter. He refers to himself as "Football". He tried out "Soccer Ball" for a few days, but has stuck with "Football". Its really amusing. Erik is "Guy", Emma is either "Emmie" or "Balleena", and Ellie is simply Ellie. He can hike the ball, shoot a "foop", and kick a soc-cer-ball. He loves neigh neighs, neigh neigh boots, neigh neigh belts and neigh neigh hats. And ducks too. Digging in the dirt in a longsleeved shirt in January is pretty fun too.

I know I promised to do this a month ago...my perfectionism has kept me from it. I've wanted to make it "just right" from the start. Include a fantastic picture of the kids. Only problem is that whenever I've thought to take a picture...the kids are sound asleep. And I don't even have the camera software installed on the computer yet. (Santa Doug bought be a really nice digital camera for Christmas...ours was stolen in July).

So here's the first post. No frills, just a bit of news. You can bookmark our site and visit as often as you like. Hopefully this blog will help you keep abreast of our lives here in the Lone Star State.

Here's the highlights of our first 6 months in Texas:

We bought a house. 3 bedroom, 2 bath about 1800 square feet with an enclosed 10x20 garage that is slowly becoming a multi-funtion room: school, air hockey, guest. The neat thing is that the house came with the 2 empty lots adjacent to it. So we have a REALLY BIG yard, right in town. You really have to be outside of the city to have this much property...or be really really rich. We've just completed fencing the property. Looks like a compound. I've added to my resume "chain like fence installer". My stepdad, Tom, did most of the work, but Doug and I learned a lot in the process. We also came across some privacy mesh to put on the fence. Its like the kind that you see on tennis courts. So our 5 foot fence with the dark screen keeps our brood of 4 shielded.

We found a great church (www.gmbc.org). Must be close to 1000 people. Fantastic children's program, AWANA, children's choir. Adult Sunday School class of about 30 couples - with monthly socials at the church (and FREE childcare).

Joined the local homeschool association (www.sachsa.org) and a coop of about 15 families. This has been the place the kids have found some new friends, and so have I.

Doug enjoys his job. Doesn't mind driving around a truck in the winter...of course it's not 20 degrees here, either ;-) I think he has something like 150 customers...so he gets around town quite a bit. He has some good relationships at work. We're really enjoying the fact that Doug is HOME on Saturdays and Sundays for the first time since Emma was born.

We're enjoying living close to my mom. About 2 miles from her house. I think she has finally adjusted to having her 4 grandchildren living close to her after missing out on the last 8 1/2 years. I would have to count, but I think we've seen here maybe 10 times in those 8 1/2 years. On our property is a large 2 car garage which we are letting Tom use as his shop. So we seem him just about every day (he really likes my coffee).

And living near my great grandmother has been great! For being 94, I am amazed that she still lives alone, manages her finances, and cooks and cleans! I think it was really hard for her when we moved out after 3 months. So now we try to visit her a couple of times a week and take her to the store when she needs to go. What a blessing it is to see my kids have a relationship with their great great grandmother. She has a special bond with each of them that is something I cherish and in time I know they will as well.

Well, thats enough for now. The kids need an education and I'm still in my pjs. I'll try to get a picture of them on soon. And I know that each of them have MUCH to tell you, so I'll have them take turns dictating entries. I'm sure that will be interesting....