McDonald's BAAAAAAAAAD!

Well, Mickey D's and I are aren't on the bestest of terms right now. We took the kids there on Saturday night and (like a fool) I got ranch sauce to dip my fries in. BIG MISTAKE!!!!

By that night, the bucket and I were becoming friends and Scott Tissue was hoping I'd buy stock - if you get my drift. Not a fun night/Sunday! It fact, it really stunk.

Sonja and Russ (Shane's aunt and uncle) had invited everyone up because their daughter Tiffanie - she lives in the D.C. area so we don't see her often - and to celebrate Sonja's 50th. Unfortunately, they live about an 1.5 hours from us and the thought of driving that far in Shane's wee little car made me even sicker. So the day was a big old bummer for me. After about four rounds with the bucket that afternoon - I started feeling better. Yuck, yuck, yuck, yuck, yuck!!!!

Suffice it to say, Cheryl's not having anymore ranch sauce at the Golden Arches.

HSM 2 - What team? WildCats!!!

What time is it? High School Musical 2 Premiere Party time!!!!!

We had an awesome time tonight with about 10 of the kids friends over to see the HSM sequel that premiered on the Disney channel tonight. The kids have been waiting like crazy for this night and have been planning for weeks. It is 12:45am and they are FINALLY asleep. I think the sugar + adrenaline rush has finally worn off - thank goodness!

Corbin Bleu was at the fair this week and Kelvey sooooo wanted to go see him. I don't think I'm ready for the whole "Oh, he's so cute!" thing. My little tween is so definitely becoming tweeny - not to be mistaken with being tweedy - which she is definitely not! :)

Here are a few pics of the par-TAY!

Today we watched some home videos from 2003/4 when the kids were 6 1/2, 5, and 3. Oh man, that took me back. It was sooo darn cute. I just kept cracking up. In one part all the kids were riding their bikes and Lily was riding this little Bigwheely type thing where the seat had a lid that lifted so you could put stuff in it. On the video you hear me ask her, "What's in your seat?" She turned around and grabbed a snake out of the seat. She held it up all proud and was giving it kisses. I had totally forgotten about that. She used to put garter snakes everywhere - even in her pockets. We have her on video on the swingset and she is swinging away and then she stops and takes this snake out of the front pocket of her overalls. Too funny!!!! Lily is and was fearless!

I think the funniest part was where Lily asks me to put in her Spanish game on the computer. I asked her if she could say some words in Spanish and instead she said her numbers in Spanish. I asked her if she could say them in English and she looks in the camera and says, "I don't know English!" I busted up on that one.

There were so many awesome reminders on there - like Mo "breakdancing" and Kelvey (at just turned seven) telling me about her favorite books - Little Women and Moby Dick. Then there was wrestling with Dad and watching their homeschool choir performance. Man, it just reminded me again of the precious blessings my children are from the Lord. It is truly my honor and pleasure to be their mother.

Left to Tell

Hey, just read an awesome book! Left to Tell by Immaculée Ilibagiza is amazing. Those of you who know me know that God has put justice ministries on my heart and Rwanda is desperately in need of them. I would love someday to travel there and be a part of the healing from the genocide going on.

Anyway, this book is written by a Rwandan woman who hid with seven women in a bathroom - yes, in a bathroom, for three months while the Hutu majority set out to wipe the minority Tutsi population from the face of Rwanda. They were more than happy to kill moderate Hutus as well as anyone else who thought didn't adhere to their extremist views; although some Hutus did shelter Tutsi citizens from being slaughtered.

I warn you that this book is heartbreaking but it is as real as it gets. The really wonderful thing is the way she discovered God in so many different ways throughout her horrendous experience and drew closer to Him. This is well worth a read!

Oh joy, I got to take Lily for her Lupron shot again today. This is the third month having them and the third hysterical fear-induced drama I've had to suffer through. She talks about being so brave and how she won't have trouble this time and then she sees the needle and literally flips out. "No mommy, I'm not ready, no mommy - please don't!" It is the saddest thing because she really is just terrified - it's not that she is trying to be obstinate. For the third time - the nurses and I have had to literally hold her down while she begs me not to let them give the shot to her. Then she feels terrible afterwards because she was so afraid. Ok - the needle is about 5 inches long and it does have to go into her thigh muscle - so it does hurt but Kelvey never had this trouble. Kelvey is fine now, but once-upon-a-time she was my little three year old (yes, all of three) that screamed at the lady taking her blood that she was going to call the police and have her thrown in jail. Now that WAS embarrassing! Kids, you gotta love 'em! :)

At last....

Well, here I am again - although all you 9 people who actually read my blog may have thought I had fallen off the edge of the planet. No, just getting used to a new schedule because I'm working part-time at Pleasant Hill Public Library three nights a week. I really do love it there - the staff is awesome and I've always been a library person. The only problem is - now, I have a list a mile long of books I want to read and many of them are in my bedroom. Piles and stacks - ya gotta love it! :)

Right now, I'm reading about four different authors - Harlan Coben, Dave Baldacchi, a kid's series by Frank Peretti that I'm checking out, and this book that Dr. Laura Schlessinger (ok - I don't have any great love for her - just thought the title was intriguing) that's called - Parenting by Proxy: Don't Have Them If You Don't Want to Raise Them. Holy smokes - this book and I are on the same wavelength entirely. Besides arguing against letting your kids be raised by daycares she also makes an excellent/logical/cohesive argument against this whole new trend of women purposefully having kids without fathers. I think kids should get sent home from the hospital with this book. Ok - obviously I could go on and on about this but anyway - that's what I'm reading - of course, along with every new Christian fiction book I can get my hands on. :)

The kids have all gone to camp now and so things are winding down with summer activities. Now we are just kicking back and enjoying. Morgan went to Wilderness camp this year and it is essentially what it sounds like. Around 20 boys out in a tent in the woods - they took their first showers right before Moms and Dads came to pick them up. :) I can't go two days without a shower but Mo was in 7th heaven - definitely a boy thing. Lily went to "big girl" camp this year and it was her first year in the cabins. She was totally psyched about that and had a fantastic time. Kelvey went to English horse camp and learned all about riding a horse while speaking with an accent - ok, not really, but she did learn some cool things like posting. She had an amazing time and loved that the week's speaker was Josh Denhart, our children's pastor. She really likes him and I think he does a really good job of communicating about Christ.

Oh, I forgot my big news - I AM OFFICIALLY A GRADUATE!!!!! Yes!!!! I walked in the Drake spring commencement and even have the pictures to prove it. I had an awesome time and it felt sooooo good!!!! What a blessing!

Later,

Cheryl :)

Goodbye Sanjaya (and Good Riddance)!!!!!!!

YES!!!!!!! Finally - America got it right and sent Sanjaya packing on AI. I loved Simon's grin as he sensed what was coming. It was way overdue and as Simon said - it was definitely time for the joke to come to an end. Bye, Bye Sanjaya - we won't miss you!!!

Mohawk Time!!!!

Mo had a fun time last week - we let him go for the mohawk look he wanted for crazy hair night at AWANA. It helps having a sister-in-law who is a beautician!

She did the hard work and he got the easy job of looking cute! Thanks Steph - it was fun!

Duke lacrosse players learn important lessons

Well, the Duke lacrosse team debacle has come to some resolution - for the moment at least. They are completely innocent of all wrong doing the attorney general has said emphatically. Do I feel bad for them that they had to go through the insanity of the past year being trashed in the media and their lives examined in minute detail while under the threat of criminal action - sure - who doesn't? But my sympathy only goes so far - sinful behavior always carries negative consequences, some worse than others. Up until the rape charges these boys were enjoying their party lifestyle and had no problem - obviously - with engaging strippers - they were reveling in their immorality. Then, to their shock and surprise, sinful behaviors led to negative consequences. If they had never hired a stripper - none of this would have ever happened. So no, I don't feel entirely sorry for them - they are simply reaping what they sowed. All of us do and it's only the saving grace of Jesus that offers us any hope of redemption. These players would be blessed to learn that lesson!

Good Golly Chris Daughtry!!!

Saw Chris Daughtry (last season American Idol) last night at the House of Bricks. It was way cool. He rocked the house! I love his song Home. It was well worth the hearing loss. :)

Mo just can't catch a break

My poor little bubba, he just can't catch a break this winter. Mo is a wrestler and he absolutely loves it but he also has asthma that flares only when he has a respitory infection. Unfortunately, he was out about three weeks with that stuff this season and missed a lot of meets. Then he was getting better and all psyched for the SE Polk meet and about two days before the meet, started coughing again and wasn't able to breath well enough to compete. Again, couldn't go to the meet. OK - so now he is healthy again and was so exicted and looking forward to a meet tonight at Dallas Center/Grimes - and wouldn't you know it but we get hit by a huge blizzard and the meet is cancelled. I took him to the window last night and was preparing him for the fact that the meet might get cancelled and he just looked soooo sad. He put his little head against the window and said "I hate winter!". I felt sooooo bad for him.

Anyway, since I'm his momma and I think he looks adorable in his singlet (or bike-tard slingy thingy - as his sister calls it) I'm posting his pics in his new SE Polk singlet. Hope it fits him next year. :(

Go home already Sanjaya and Antonella

Would someone P-LEASE!!!!! take away the 11 yr. old girls cell phones so Sanjaya will go away. He never should have made it past the first week and would be gone if not for the little girls at home swooning over his cute little face. American Mistake not American Idol for sure!

Ok - you know when Paula is upset that the wrong people went home - in her words - let's remember that it is a singing competition and Antonella makes me want to gag. She was a snotty little brat in Hollywood week and needs the public to tell her that the judges are right on. I saw an article that said the boys are keeping her on hoping more risque photos surface - I'm tempted to believe that. She should go home to New Jersey and work on her tan with her snotty little friend because she isn't fit to stand on the same stage as LaKisha or Melinda.

American Idol - my secret addiction!!!

Ok - yes, I admit, I am an addict. Last year, after Fox practically did everything but cut off other contestant's call lines to get Katherine and Taylor the Hick into the final :(, and Chris Daughtrey got voted off - I vowed I would never watch again. Yet, here I am again, enjoying every little Idol morsel. I'm weak, I know, but I loooove it.

Anyway - now that we covered the "I'm a wack job" part - let's get to the good stuff like who should get their bags packed and ready to go. I'm making my prediction early this year just like with Fantasia because I think that there are some major standouts. I predict a girl is gonna win but I have to hear them one more time to decide between Melinda and LaKisha but I'm leaning towards LaKisha. She rocked the house!!!!

Anyway, here are my top guy picks.

I love Chris the Curley as Kelvey calls him but I have to edge him out of the top spot just a little in favor of the beat-boxer boy.
1. Blake Lewis
2. Chris the Curley
3. Chris R.
4. Phil Stacey

GO HOME RIGHT AWAY -
SANJAYA, RUDY AND A.J.

Ok - the girls blew the doors off the place - much better than the guys but standouts aplenty.

1. LaKisha
2. Melinda
3. Jordin
4. Sabrina

GO HOME RIGHT AWAY -
ANTONELLA - wasn't she horrible - it was good to see her get what she needed all along - someone to tell her she's not all that - what was with her dad smiling at what Simon was saying - he looked happy she was awful
AMY and NICOLE

Can't wait to see how right I am - just call me Simon Jr. :)

Eleanor of Aquitaine who????

Ok - so today Kelvey had an assignment to decide on ten historical figures she would like to interview and list one question she would ask each person if she could. This kid blows me away. Her list, just to give you a sample, contains: Eleanor of Aquitaine, Mary Queen of Scots, Jesus, Noah, Gladys Aylward, and Isabel of Castilla. Now, I don't know about you but when my 10yr. old had to explain to me who the heck Eleanor of Aquitaine was I felt pretty dumb. I also felt pretty awesome. My kid loves to learn and among a lot of other reasons, that is why we homeschool. I love that she has the time and means to explore her passions. Yippee! Go Kelvey!

Crazy as always

This is a ship my friend Diane gave Morgan. He has been working on putting it together for a while and just finished. It looks great and he had a lot of fun.

Shane making the kids laugh - carpet skating! Go Shane!
Mo took this picture - he is getting to be such a great little photographer. :) Lily is a beautiful subject too!

Hi there,

Ok - so Shane has been after me forever (ok, not really) to do this - we'll see how it goes. Mostly it will be everyday stuff and pictures of my three fab-u-lous kids! Before I forget, we just finished watching an awesome movie that just came out on DVD, Facing the Giants! It is amazing and you can watch it wih your kids which is highly unusual these days! :) I promise - you'll love it; it was a real blessing to my day.

Ok - so down to business. The kids are still sick. Mo saw the Dr. today and has he has bronchitis. No surprise there. He doesn't ever have an asthma issue unless he has a respitory infection. He gets to be on three medicines and continue breathing treatments - yeah rah! - NOT! He is frustrated because he wants to get back to wrestling but right now he can't breathe well enough. We are praying for his healing. Lily-belle still sounds ickky. She can't hear right either. She is going Thursday to have a hearing test. I want to know exactly what she is hearing when her ears fill up with fluid. I could tell she was having trouble the other night when we were at a play. She was watching so intently trying to pick up on what they were saying but I could tell she wasn't getting everything. I keep saying things and she says, "What?". Ahhhh, frustration abounds!!!! Kelvey is doing better but you can tell she still isn't 100%. The dog however, seems to be doing awesome! :) Go dog!

Well, I promised the kids tomorrow we would have a competition to see who could name the most Presidents in order. I think Kelvey is going to win because she can pretty much say them all - makes me feel like a dweeb though! Mo can say the 1st half pretty well and even my 7 yr. old kicks my butt at this. They are really good memorizers and I'm a terrible rememberer. I always tell people I don't have plants because I kill them quickly - I just forget to take care of them; my kids are lucky they have made it this far. :) Yes, I am an insane woman!

Blessings!!!