The weekend...

I went home this weekend. It was very nice. I actually went home to celebrate my brother's birthday, but I was able to relax and just enjoy life. In fact I told my mom I was not going to make any choices I was just going to enjoy my weekend. So as you can tell not much happened.

One week later and I am still feeling the effects of my purse being stolen. You will not believe all the things that you don't realize are in your purse. Each day I remember something new that I don't have any more. For example my glasses, membership cards to different places, and gift cards. Speaking of membership cards mom and went to Sam's Club to renew her membership and add me. They won't let me get the membership card because I didn't have a picture ID. Even though I had a temporary Drivers License, which I had to come up with 3 forms of ID for that. I wonder if this person even realizes what he has done.

Some day he will and all I can do now is pray that he may find God in all of this.

Well that is all for now, but look for an update tomorrow.

Ten Ways of Looking at Children

I
Through the bars of a crib
Just after awakening from a nap
And awaiting your return.

II
Through the bus window
With tears running down
As you wave good bye.

III
Through a window
While the snow falls all around
And they make snow angels with smiles on their faces.

IV
Through the camera
Wearing special evening wear
As you tell them how wonderful they look.

V
Through tears of joy
As they walk down the aisle
To receive their diploma.

VI
Through the bags
As they leave home
To spread their wings and fly.

VII
Through the flowers
Making promises to last a life time,
Sharing their love with others.

VIII
Through the hospital nursery window
Holding their new bundle of joy,
Creating a family of their own.

IX
Through the window
As the visit ends
Hoping to see them again soon.

X
Through the clouds of heaven
As they venture through life
Watching their children grow up.
~ Kali Wiseman

A wake up call!

WAKE UP CALL!!!

REALITY IS HERE!!!

Today I was reminded of where I live and that I shouldn't take things for granted. I went and dropped off Tiesha at the office. Sarah and I went in to say Hello to Ms. Noelle and were only there for about 20minutes when we decide it was time to go.

Sarah got outside the door and came running back in saying Ms. Kali your car, your car. I said what about my car. I walked outside to see what she was talking about and found my car window destroyed and my purse missing. Here start the roller coaster!

Noelle called the police and I started canceling my credit cards, etc. Noelle and Mr. Macoy walked the streets to see if the culprit might have taken the cash and ditched the purse, but no such luck.

To make a long story short I had to get the window in my car replaced and lost a purse with lots of important stuff.

BUT, I am counting my blessings that I was not with the purse and that I didn't have all my fortunes in the purse--- hahaha (poor college student ring a bell)!

P.S. I will be taking my purse every where with me or locking it in my trunk!!!

** The post below is new too.

Snowed in!!

Just a few of the things we have been doing while the snow was falling. Snowed in for 2 days makes you think outside of the box for entertainment.

This weekend was "GIRLS " weekend. Noelle and I were up stairs cleaning the kids' room while the girls made a tent/fort with all the blankets in our house. Let tell that they were pretty proud of it too.

On Saturday it was time to ship the girls outside to run of some energy. This just gives you some idea of how much snow we got. When the girls laid down to make snow angels you could hardly see them.

Those crazy boys!! Damonic (left) and his cousin Dytona (right) walked over in the blizzard to hang out, because they were board. They ended up crashing in on the girls weekend, because we could not get out of the driveway to take them home.

Sunday afternoon the kids wanted to go outside and play again so we said go for it. When there is 5 kids the walls start to close in on you. They were making tunnels in the snow mounds (they were big enough for the kids to put their heads in and look at each other).

Today with school canceled and running out of ideas for entertaining the kids and myself, I decide to do a spa day for the girls. They got facials, pedicures, and manicures. Let me just tell you, Sarah (left) and Ty (right) thought they were living the high life.

A daughter for a month

Well as most of you know I am mentoring Sarah on Monday's, but what you didn't know is that, that mentoring turned into her living with us for a month plus.

Sarah's mom is in Africa visiting family and friends. Sarah is a true African, but she has been living in the U.S. for 8 years now. When mom left to go back to Africa she left Sarah with her Sisters who are only in high school themselves. Like most siblings Sarah and her sister have not been getting along. So to take some pressure of Sarah's sisters we decided to let her move in for a while. Noelle and I are adjusting to becoming "mom like".

We have come to realize that we do not have enough clothes that fit her. So last night I dropped her off at her house to get some of her clothes. Well then this morning we were looking at the sizes and there is no way what she brought was going to work. Most of clothes were 10-12 and she fits nicely into a 16. So I guess we will have to make a trip to Good Will.

Well that is what has been happening around our house lately. I just have to add I have a better appreciation for my cousin who while going to college, and being married to a unworthy guy raised a child. I just have to do it for a month and I have Noelle to help. More power to you. (I am not recommending that anyone try it though.)

Once again I appologize for not keeping you all updated more. You will have to cut me some slack this semester as I am taking a full load at school, babysitting, working at the office, and trying to keep up with kids. Do not get me wrong I am enjoying it or at least most of it. Still do not enjoy school, but I am almost done so that is nice.

On Monday nights I have started to mentor a girl named Sarah. So hopefully my time with her will give me some post for you all to read. (If there is anyone who actually reads me??)

Well here is a picture that is so cute. It is of my brother and my mom's dog lily at Christmas.

That is all for today, but maybe there will be more for tomorrow.

1st Weekend in January

I know this is a little late, but I had to get back to the real world this week and it has kept me really busy. Last weekend Mom, Nic, Our pastors twins from my home church, and went to the Great Wolf Lodge in Travers City Michigan.

For those of you who do not know about the Great Wolf Lodge it is an indoor water park and hotel. We left on Friday about 1:30 and arrived in Travers City at about 4:00. With 4 woman we had a lot to unpack and trust me Nic let us know. Once settled we decide to take a walk around and see what this place had to offer. We found one of the two "kids casino" the arcade. When we were finished winning our big prizes we went out for supper (much cheaper). That night we just vegged out and watched a move on TV.

Saturday night we had bought stuff for breakfast so that we could get up and go right to the water park before it got to busy. Then about 10:30 AM we packed up all of our stuff. Once we had everything packed up the girls, Nic and I went and got air brushed tattoo's. Then we left for home.

What a great time!!!! Here are some pictures from the trip.

The gang at the Great Wolf Lodge with a bear??? Right to Left: Nic, Me, Katilyn, Nicole, and Cheri (AKA: Mom).

As the sign reads, when this bucket dumped kids and adults ran to have the water dump on them.

Just one the the slide that we enjoyed. Front to back: Katilyn, Nicole, and Nic.

Katilyn and I at the kids casino doing the Dance Dance Revolution.

The lazy river is where you could find mom hanging out. She is not much of a slide rider.

Post 1 of 1 Being a part of history!

Over the last few days GR has been the center of national and local news. As most of you know President Gerald R. Ford was laid to rest in his home town which is Grand Rapids, Michigan. Last night the Ford family invited the public to come down town to the Presidents Museum and pay our respects and view the casket. So Noelle, Erin and Barb a long with 5 of the kids planned on watch the eleven o'clock news and see what kind of wait there was to get into the Museum. We did and it was about 8 hours. With 5 kids ranging in age from 4 to 13 we figured there was no way we could do it then. Our second plan was to go to bed and wake up at 4 am. Noelle woke up at 4 am and checked out the news to see what the current wait was. It still was 4 hours, so she decided not to get us up. Needless to say we were unable to make it down to view the casket.

Then today was the burial and still wanting to be apart of history Noelle, Erin, Robert, and I went down to see the procession from the church to the museum. We were able to do so. We were also able to hear the 21 gun salute. After the 21 gun salute there was jets that flew over and performed the missing man formation. Here are a few pictures that I was able to take.

This is a picture of all the new media trucks reporting.

The car caring President Ford.

Grand Rapids Police saluting the President as he passed by.

One set of jets that flew over.

This is the start of the missing man formation.

Post 2 of 2 A Helper

This morning I had a helper for babysitting. It was Robert and what a sport he was. Leah asked him to dress up with her and considering that there are only two girls living in house this is what Robert had to choose from.
Leah in her Princes dress up clothes waiting for Robert.

Leah and Robert posing in there dress up clothes. Aren't they too cute.

Robert or should I say Roberta showing off his/her new dress and hair style.

A butty shot and look at the dip! Wow wee!!

It is kinda scary how good he looks as a girl.

Christmas with the Kids

What a crazy and wild weekend. It was a lot of fun though. Noelle and I had a Christmas party for some of the kids that are over to our house on a regular bases. I had bought each of the kids gifts and Noelle. We went to church and then came home and had lunch. After lunch the party began. We started with decorating cookies. Next the kids took a plate of cookies over the neighboors to thank them for letting them use the basketball hoop and wish them a Merry Christmas.

Once the cookies where delivered the kids all ran into the house, because it was time to open presents. Lamont, Tia, Terrance, and Tonajarae got Bible to cary to church, my mom donated them. Then each of them got one other gift. Once the Bible were opened each child had a few verses to read about the birth of Christ. I think all the kids really enjoyed their gifts.

I had also gotten Noelle a gift from the kids. Each of the kids thanked her for what she does for them. Then Key also drew a picture to put in the front of the bag. Needless to say Noelle was touched or I think that is what you call teary eyes.

We had a wonderful time. Here are a few pictures from the party.

The tree before the kids got gifts.Little Kerby decorating his cookies and don't any one touch them!!!The rest of the gang decorating and Ms. Noelle helping them to understand hand licking and extra sprinkles are not good.Lamont looking up his Bible verse.Key- He recieved watercolor paper and watercolor penciles. We told him we expected a picture for our house.

Tia with her handcrafted mirror and make-up that she got. She ran to the bathroom and started putting it on right away.
Tonajarae with her handcrafted pillow. Damonic is sitting next to her with his remote control car.
Noelle being touched with the words from the kids.
Noelle opening her gift along with the kids peaking in.

Check this out!

Noelle just gave me this website that she got from her brother. www.slickdeals.net It is awsome. I just got a 2GB flashdrive for $5.00. I am telling you, you need to go check it out. Happy Shopping!!!

Sorry :(

I realize that is has been a long time since I last posted. Life has been a little busy with not much to say about it. So here is a quick summary...

I went home for Thanksgiving. It really was not as hard as I thought it was going to be. We just kinda avoided the subject of Dad not being there. Mom and I talked about it afterwards and I said I just keep picturing last year when he was there. We also went shopping. Over all I enjoyed being home.

The Tuesday before Thanksgiving Cappi got altered or fixed. It was funny to watch him jump around the house and never put his bottom down. He is really very spoiled. Noelle and I both felt bad for him so we had both gotten him a few new toys to play with.

And that is all fokes. HAHA

Hopefully I will be able to post more this week. Have a wonderful week.

It's A Boy

It is offical, last night about 7:15ish we adopted Cappucino, Cappi for short. No we did not adopt a child it is a rabbit. He is 3months 4days to the day. He is a harlequin breed. Here are some pictures of him and I am sure there will be more to come.




He is black with a coffee with creamer color in different areas. Just in case you can't see him well.

Pets to complete the house

Well in the last post I told you all about our fish. They are doing very well. In the mean time we have been hot on the trail of a bunny for the house. We have been researching and have found one or two. We are going to go check them out tonight, so I will let you know if we get one tomorrow. That is all I have for now, but I will let you know what happens tonight.

Babies (not what you all are thinking)

Over the last couple of weeks Noelle and I (Noelle more then I) have been working on getting a fish tank. We finally got the tank and all the supplies last Thursday. On Friday we took little Kurby to the pet store to see what they had for fish and plants. After answering 101 questions about anything and everything we walked out of the store with 3 plastic plants for our tank. In the mean time Noelle and I have stared at the tank as if there were fish it. You would think we were crazy if you saw it.

Saturday night after Super Saturday we took Tia and Terrance to Meijer and picked out some fish. We got two Black Mollies and Two Gupies. The kids were so excite that they could hardly wait to see how to put the fish in the tank. Later that night we discovered (only an hour or so later) that we had Molly babies. Only two, but then Sunday Night we found 3 more. We only currently have 3. Yes that means that some of them didn't make it.

In watching the fish Sunday night we think that maybe one of the Gupies is also going to have babies. Then when I got home this afternoon I think I found one and you can see others in mom's tummy. So for only wanting to start out with a couple we are going to end up with a few more then planned (is this how surprise pregentcy goes??? hahaha).

Who knows we may have more to tell you later!?!?!?

Have You Ever

I saw this on someone else blog and thought I'd give it a try. The things I've done are in bold. Copy and paste it onto your blog. Leave me a comment if you do!

Have You Ever...

01. Seen the Grand Canyon
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper (more than I care to count!)
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon – But it’s a dream of mine!
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Eaten alligator
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Been to Austria
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Taken a midnight walk on the beach-not with the man of my dreams yet!
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sang karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Gotten flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Been in a marching band
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently – not fluently but almost!
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children- pretty much, but none of my own
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Passed out cold
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Driven on the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Ridden on a boat down the Danube River
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone – collar bone & should have broken ankle
114. Dyed your hair
115. Shaved your head
116. Caused a car accident
117. Been elected to public office
118. Skipped all your school reunions
119. Built your own PC from parts
120. Gone back to school
121. Read the Iliad and the Odyssey
122. Ridden a horse
123. Eaten Kangaroo meat
124. Had stitches
125. Toured castles in Europe
126. Had your picture in the newspaper
127. Eaten sushi
128. Sold your own artwork to someone you didn’t know
129. Published a book
130. Written poetry
131. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
132. Fired a rifle, shot gun or pistol
133. Had major surgery
134. Had a snake as a pet
135. Gone on an African safari
136. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
137. Visited more foreign countries than US states
138. Visited all 7 continents
139. Lived in a foreign country for more than a year
140. Been swimming in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
141. Been to Niagara Falls
142. Lived on both sides of the Mississippi river
143. Sang in a foreign language in front of an audience
144. Been to the Berlin Wall
145. Taught a child to read
146. Been a DJ

Technology Difficulties

So I had this great post. Last Friday I went with the kindegardners to the pumking patch. I took my camera so that I could come back and blog about it, but here is what happen. I was running late so I just grabed my camera and did not think about grabing extra batteries, so my camera died. I might have gotten about 2 pictures before it did. Then I have not been able to find what I did with my camera, but I found it this morning. So I brought it with me for when Leah went down for her nap I could blog. Before nap Leah and I went outside to take a picture of her with her pumkin, but the lens would not even open so I don't know what is up with that. Yes, I put new batteries in it. All in all I still have not been able to get the pictures of my camera so hopeful I can and then I will post them. For now I think I am going to do some camera shopping.

If any one has suggestions on the type of camera I should look for or how to fix my other one let me know Please!!

My weekend/week in a nutshell...

Friday Oct. 13th
Thursday night my mom's half brother, his wife, and his five children along with spouses flied in from Idaho. So Friday morning I meet mom at her half sisters house in Grandville to meet my first cousins for the first and proably the only time. Once they all got around we went shopping at the mall. Then about 5:30 everyone including aunts and uncles meet for dinner. The picture on you right is of all the Idaho family minus mom's half brother and his wife.

After dinner we all went back to half sisters where they told stories about growing up and about themselves and their families. Then we all had dessert and visited. About 10:30 mom, Nic and I went back to the hotel and stayed the night.

Saturday Oct. 14th
I woke up about 7:00 am and drove back to GR. I wanted to be home to go to Domanic's second to last game. I am video taping them so the I can put a video together for him for Christmas. It was freezing cold, there was even ice on the bleechers, but well worth it. Domanic had an excellent game. His team is 5-1 and most of the games have been shut-outs.

Then later that night I meet more and we went shopping for a new winter coat for me. I hated to give up my Columbia coat, but it was too small. Once we had finished our shopping we went our seperate ways.

Sunday Oct. 15th
Domanic, Lamont, and I got up and cooked breakfast for the other two. Then we got ready for church. On are way to church we had to pick up more kids. So all in all we had 6 kids for church and then for lunch we added a dog. After lunch the kids went home so that we could clean the house for Monday.

Monday Oct. 16th
Had to babysit in the morning. Made a trip to Meijer to get the cake and ice cream for my Mom's birthday party that night. Then about 6:00 I meet mom and a few ladies from our church back home along with brother Nic for dinner at O'Charlies. Dinner was great service was a little slow (not sure why). After dinner all the ladies and Nic came back to my house to see the place, have cake and ice cream, and open gifts. From all of us mom got the Gilmore Girls Season 1-6 and from Nic and I she got a shirt. It was a wonderful night and I was excited for them all to see our house. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!

The rest of the week Oct. 17-19th
Tuesday was another busy day. I skipped my first class due to the messes the dog left. So then I ended up playing mother and took kids to school. Then I went to my next class. Got home from their with just enough time to shove food in my mouth and leave again. I had to take the dog home and then go to a doctors appointment. Arrived home with an hour to try to get something done before I had to leave again for LJ driving. Finally got home for the night at about 9:00pm. I was exhausted.

Wednesday I had to babysit and then after the Noelle and I went to Coscos to become members and spend money. We did just that too.

Today is Thursday and so far I went to one class (the other one was cancelled). Picked up mom's DVDs from the post office (I never seemed to be home when they tried dropping them off, imagen that). I also went into the office for about 20 minutes and then came home. Tonight is the last football practice yahoo!

So there I have caught everyone up and this is why I have not posted before now.

Breaking News from GR

The weather has taken a major drop and there is white stuff covering the ground. Yes I said covering. Here in GR we have are first snow fall of the year and man is it cold.

The walk to class today seemed to take a lot longer then it usually does. Maybe the cold weather had something to do with it. I know for sure that the cold weather made me walk faster.

All I have to say is snow go away and fall come back.