Our weekend was full, as always. Friday night, Sam played in the pep band for the high school basketball game, Emily worked, Erin spent the night with a friend and Mark and I spent some time with Jacob and the little ones. Jacob loves Psych and Monk, the season finale's were Friday night; since we do not have cable, we loaded up the kids and went to my parents to watch tv. We spent an evening enjoying the shows with Jacob. It was after 11:00 before we walked in the door. The little ones were fast asleep, Mark and Jacob and Sam all headed to bed. Emily had wanted to watch the Pysch from last week (on internet). So, she and I stayed up and watched it together (some girl time). I finally headed to bed around 1:00, only to be woke up by Jacob at 1:30 with a terrible sore throat. I took care him, crawled back in bed around 2:00 or so, only to be woke up by Elizabeth around 4:00 or so. Got her back to sleep, only to be woke up by Ri.. who had to potty.. at 4:30. I crawled back into bed, only to be officially woke up by Elizabeth around 7:00 (a late sleep in).

Saturday, we spent the morning trying to clean some. Erin was suppose to have a soccer game in Coshocton. Mark left to pick her up from referring an upward game. When he grabbed her, they got the news that the game was cancelled. They headed home and Emily headed into Upward for coaching (she coaches cheerleading). Before she got back, I headed in to do a half-time devotion, Sam came with me. I had 2 devos to give. When they were done, we headed home only to discover that Emily, Erin, Ri and Elizabeth were heading to Mamaw's. I made a quick turn and met up with Emily so that Sam could go. When I got home, I had a very sick little boy. Jacob's temp was 102.7 and he was asleep in bed. I was downstairs with Mark when I heard him moving around. I decided I needed to go check on him. I hit the top of the stairs and Jacob met me with a very strange face. He felt as if he was going to get sick. I headed him in the right direction and realized that he was passing out. He went down on his knees VERY hard. I caught his upper body enough that he didn't smack his head on anything. He layed there with a very dazed look. I yelled for Mark and then started yelling at Jacob to try to pull him out of the blank stare. FOr a moment, I thought he might go into some form of convulsions. I grabbed a wash cloth and started cooling him down. He proceeded to get sick. He layed on the floor for several minutes. We finally got him into a bath to cool him down more, only for the water to run out. :( The rest of the night, I didn't leave his side! The next day, he was so miserable that I took him to urgent care. They confirmed what I suspected... strep throat. His tonsils are huge (nearly touching that thing that hangs down). He is still pretty miserable, but I am not concerned about him passing out anymore. Boy do I hate watching that happen!!

Sunday we were blessed by a dear friend who stopped by with his arms loaded down with pizza and pop. He wanted to bless our family. It was so sweet. He is going through some very rough times, yet despite those rough times, he insisted on doing something to bless us. Please pray for this family and that God would continue to provide for their needs.

Well, I need to get back to my wild little ones. Have a blessed day!

Christy - this one is for you. The kids tried on their shirts that Emily brought home and loved them. In fact, they have worn them everyday since! (don't worry- they have been washed!)
A few people have asked about the pond. THey said they hadn't seen any pictures of it since it was finished being dug. It is still not completely full, but it is filling up nicely.

I caught Erin and Elizabeth in the act of "present-knapping" before Jacob's birthday party.
Holding the presents at "gunpoint" (they had forgotten to bring the gun with them)


The boys felt like they were in National Treasure as they tried to figure out the clues. Ri desparately wanted to hang with the big boys. I love how he is peeking over top of them.

I think the hunt was quite a success. Erin did a great job and certainly made a wonderful memory for Jacob. He thanked her and thanked her.





It is very good to have Emily home again. She had an incredible time in California and will miss our friends. She jumped right into a full schedule with school and church Wednesday. Yesterday she went to school, then her first job until 5:00 and her second job from 5:30-8:30. She is very tired today.

It was nice enough a few days ago that Mark took the kids out to swing. They had a ball, especially when Daddy pretended to be hurt everytime they hit him. Their laughter was contagious.

With Elizabeth and Ri, there are moments that they are the best of friends and moments when he teases her relentlessly and she whines relentlessly and I pull my hair out. But... this morning, just a moment ago, something sweet was said and I wanted to share it.

They were playing with nerf dart guns and shooting the window with them. Ri's got stuck a little high. He asked Elizabeth if she would get it. She climbed up on the barstool and stretched her arm as far as it would go and said "sure, I love doing things for a brother". He replied "oh, thank you". It was just very, very sweet sounding to my ears!

Today, Emily comes home. I am so excited to hear all about her trip and see all the amazing pictures. I think both she and Jacob enjoyed thier special days. Erin is spending the night at our hometown University tonight. The soccer coach has invited her to spend the evening with the team watching the basketball game (funny twist). She gets to train with the team and then spend the night in the dorm with one of the teammates. She will have a chance to attend classes in the morning. It will be a great experience for her. I would love to see her attend school in our home town and play for this coach... but, it will have to be something God leads her to, not me.

Have you ever had a dream that almost seems like you can grab ahold of, but everytime you do, it's as if it moves just slightly out of your reach? It almost feels as if the your hand and the object repel each other. The force of your hand pushes it just a little further so you can't grab it? I've been wrestling with that dream for nearly 30 years. As I have gotten older, the dream becomes closer and closer, but everytime I think I might have a chance to fulfill it, it slips away. It is a strange type of battle for me. Sometimes I feel totally capable of having the ability to do it and sometimes I feel I have zero skill. It is strange. And now, with the economy heading where it is, that dream will probably be dusted under the rug for a little while longer.... and I think that is ok with me.

All the pictures were taken with Evan's camera phone. He posted them on Facebook so that I could share in their day. How sweet! So, I copied them and posted them here so you could see it as well.

Emily has one more full day enjoying her visit. She comes home tomorrow. They took her to Disney Saturday and spent the day at Santa Barbara yesterday. They went to the beach and took some Senior pictures. She has always wanted some Senior pictures on a beach. I am not sure if they have plans for today. I fell asleep before I could remember to ask her. I do know she and our friends are going to need a good week to catch up on their sleep and rest!! :)

Jacob's birthday party went well. He had 4 friends come over. Mark settled them down by 11:30 or so. He was an incredible help to me! Elizabeth was getting pretty sick by 9:30-10:00. We both felt I needed to be with her. She is developing a pretty severe cold and it is settling in her lungs. When I laid her down on her back to sleep, she kept coughing. Everytime she would cough, you could hear the stuff in her lungs and watch her struggle to get enough air to stay calmly asleep. Eventually, she coughed hard enough that she threw up. We did some steam showers and I had her sleep upright in a chair. But... I really was out of commission for Jacob's party.

Erin was a GREAT help! She planned an entire scavenger hunt. The boys felt it was like National Treasure. She started it out by making a phone call to Jacob (disgusing her voice of course). She had him look on the blog to see the video. The boys all cracked up and were very intrigued by it. One of her clues was a pouch hidden inside of a book. (she had cut out hte inside of the book so the book would close). Her clues were amazing and took quiet a bit of effort on the boys part. They seemed to really enjoy it. It made Jacob's night.

A message for Jacob

- Derby

P.S. - Do not contact the police. Do not bring anyone but your friends onto this mission. If you fail to do this you will never see them again. I have left a puzzle that must be completed. If it is not completed with every piece of the puzzle, you will never see your presents again.

Today, we switch from celebrating Emily's birthday to celebrating Jacobs. He turns 13 today. I can hardly believe it. He is a treasure to us. We were quite shocked to learn that we were expecting our 4th child (in 4 years!). .... but what an incredible blessing he is! We are in awe that God would allow us the privlidge of raising this young man. He is priceless. God has created him in a very unique way. From the time he was in my womb, I felt confident that God's hand was on his life and that He would use Jacob for a mighty purpose. As I watch my son grow and realize that God has wired him differently then many other kids, I am even more confident that God has a mighty plan for his life. I can't wait to see what it is :). Jacob is tender hearted, sensitive, thoughtful, concerned about others. He has a humor that is very dry... but oh so funny when he uses it! He can make you laugh with just his facial expressions.

Unfortunately, it's a little hard to have a birthday that falls the day after Emily's.... especially this year. Jacob is watching Emily celebrate hers in California and at Disneyland, while he is here at home with nothing spectacular. He has handled it great and completely understands. It is more Mama who is concerned. So I am trying my hardest to make it special for him.