Conviction...I have decided is good in the worst sort of ways!! I am glad my heart is soft enough to think of myself not everyone else who should be hearing it, but I am my own worst critic. I feel like I have so many flaws, I can't work on them all-so I just let them all run amuk until the C word comes along. I have decided to pray for God to reveal the one I need to work on most-no help from the audience please!! I shall take them one at a time and by the time the Lord returns I will have at least gotten to the big one...LOL. This all comes from my Thursday morning Bible Study. I really thought studying the Old Testament just would not be very relevant to my life and I could keep away from the big C. I think this may be the worst one since Breaking Free, I guess I didn't..again LOL.

On a lighter note, we had a really neat day, which ended up not being a school day. Oh well, that is one of the best features of homeschool, we can customize school to fit our lives sometimes. We enjoyed the company of some fine Bible Study companions for lunch plus a couple of Tommies and a Phillip. Lunch is always better with good company. Just you wait till you see the famous Jane White as a redhead...Lynn Nagel called her sexy and then was rebuked by my daughter Erika for saying a bad word. I suppose it is time to have the next talk...9 is so innocent...I don't want to lose that. We then took Erik some KFC for lunch and then did some exploring downtown which always includes The Chocolate Factory. I must add too that I went to Bernard Lewis for some adjustment things on my ring and Shirley was so patient and loving with my children!! She let them sit in the chairs like big people and pick out (AND HOLD!!) jewelry from the case!!! I was dying a little inside, but we are lifetime customers for sure. She never lost her cool a bit and made 3 little girls feel like the most important customers in the world!! Sidenote, if you go there to buy a ring, it has probably been kissed by Lilly. I don't know why, such a busy, creative little mind at work(overtime most days!)!!

Erik is at the Four Rivers Center tonite playing to an empty center, no doubt. It is a Hurricane Relief Benefit that was not publicized at all. If Erik was not playing there, I would not have known. Some things get so much airtime it makes you crazy and then others things just slip by and you never heard of them.

I must get back to it now, I have much to ponder as I sort through the paper clutter of our lives. Any helpful hints on how to tame the PAPER BEAST would be greatly appreciated!! I have, no exaggeration, 6 piles in there to sort through. We may have a bonfire this weekend, I will have plenty-o-kindlin'

I went and picked up my items from the consignment sale tonite. I refused to bring them into the house though until I know where they are going next. There is another sale coming up, but it is not until later in October and I am not sure I can hold out that long. I may start ebaying...so much trouble. I've thought about having another yard sale even though I had sworn off them forever. I should probably just pass what I can to someone else and take the rest to the Salvation Army and feel good about it!! I hate yard sales, if you factor in your hourly wage pricing and working, you make about $2 an hour and you still have stuff at the end of the day. I digress......always.

We had a much better school day today, I have insisted the girls and I must all enter the school room at the same time so there is some structure. Today we were prompt at 8:30 after everyone getting showered and dressed. That may be a record for us, factoring in showers and getting dressed. If we school in our pajamas, we can get going about 7:30. I feel like they need to be dressed and ready to take on the world though, so we don't do jammy school(except me sometimes!!). There are those days occasionally though. We start out saying the pledge every morning and then saying a prayer. The girls do most of their work independently but we do some fun extra stuff together. We researched famous women in History on the web yesterday...I had never heard of Sarah Winnemucca before...or Ida. B. Wells...or the Trung Sisters. I, I mean, the girls are learning alot!!

My bedroom closet looks like a closet now and there are some empty spots if we need them!!! WOW. I am really making progress, eating the elephant one bite at a time. I can't imagine how we have accumulated so much stuff since my last decluttering when we moved here. Maybe I will inspire Erik to clean out the garage LOL!!! I have an ulterior motive though, Erik said when the house is neat and organized we can get chickens which the girls and I really want!! He said that so smugly, thinking it would be impossible for me to do...it makes the progress that much sweeter. CLUCK CLUCK BAGOK! Here chicky chicky!! We start with chickens and then fence off the property for horses...neigh, neigh(at least that is what Erik says)! I mailed our horse groom letter of application today...I bet I will never hear a word from them. I should probably find out what a horse groom does!! I hope it is what a human groom does!! Holding down a couch and testing remotes would be a nice change of pace, LOL! LOL! I repent of that male bashing joke (notice I did not delete though)!

I must go now, still going to squeeze one more load of laundry in tonite...mount washmore is a small hill right now but I know the laundry multiplies while I sleep.

I feel like I should blog twice today!! Once to catch up from last time and once for our very busy day today!! Since my last post I have hauled about 100 lbs of stuff from my home!! Clothes, toys and "stuff" mostly. I was like a chicken with its head cut off (I have seen a chicken with its head cut off when I was about 7 or 8 years old and they really do run around crazy for a while so the desciption is very fitting. My sisters and I watched the whole chicken slaughter ordeal but no one was hungry for supper LOL!) I am absolutely making some progress. I am hoping to have our school room ready by the end of the week so we can have a cool place to do our work instead of a dining room or messy/cluttered school room. It is so true that you cannot organize clutter and make it neat-you just have to grit your teeth and pitch it!! Clothes are our biggest struggle because although I have all girls, they all have very distinct styles they like and the sizes are not falling just right. Therefore we have alot of clothing!! Oh and craft supplies!!!!!!! Once I get some other spaces cleaned out and pared down I will again visit the clothing and crafts scenario for a final mass exodus.

I am applying for a job as a family unit. It is for horse groom. I don't know what exactly that is but they could get five for the price of one if they are willing to train us. Maybe it will cure the horse fever burning in my girls right now. They want a horse sooo bad. Their riding lessons are going well. Mrs. Lynn complimented them both on how quickly they are learning. We fed the ponies sugar cubes after lessons and that was fun! We were all completely dripping with sweat and smelly, that was not so fun.

Last night (Friday) we had Ladies Night Out at church. It was not a huge turnout, I think there were nine of us, but I enjoyed it so much. We answered "getting to know you" questions and ate. We all laughed alot and really learned more about each other than we wanted to. I love laughing!! I love still being a kid at heart. We also discovered just how lucky our husbands are because we are a really cool group of ladies.

Today and tonite we did the BBQ festival!! It was not busy when we arrived about 2:15, but when we left at 8, it was WALL-TO-WALL!!!! Erik's sister Marla is in from Ohio. Alyssa came with her and brought a friend. Mitch drove up from Freed-Hardeman in Nashville for the first time. He is doing so great. It is really tough to become a grown-up. It is so easy to forget what that transition was like!! The whole family was able to hear Erik's bands today. Both bands played great and while it was very hot, there was a very nice breeze all day. We walked miles and miles. The girls fell asleep as soon as their little fresh-from-the-bath-wet heads hit the pillow!! I probably will too. I know Erik will as well! He has been hard at it since Thursday helping bands get in and out with their equipment, on and off stage and also playing twice today. He will be exhausted!! That is all for now, I will try not to be so late posting again!!

Another day in the life...I hate laundry. I was all caught up and then I savored being caught up for a few too many days and now it is back.... MOUNT WASHMORE!! I am going to donate all our clothes to the Salvation Army. We can each keep two outfits. That is still 10 outfits and will be tough to keep up with but we will all appreciate our clothing (and its launderer) more. Did I mention I hate laundry?

Randy Bridges asked our Sunday school class, "What is your passion?" I did not have an answer. I wanted to say Christ and telling people the good news, but I don't think I can claim that without some major life modification. I finally decided it is family, probably more specifically, my children. They influence almost every decision I make. I can imagine there will be a day when that is not true, but right now they are so dependent. I love it when they do things independent of me. I love the little glimpses I get of their little personalities. I hope they grow up to take full advantage of God's will and plan for their lives, not rebel off the charts like I did!!

On a lighter note, my second passion is a bargain!! It has to be something I need or will use. I see lots of things at yard sales that are cheap and very nice, so definitely a bargain, but I only buy things I need or someone I know is looking for. My children are developing the same passion. A few days ago I received a check for $20 from Walgreens. All I had to do was refill a prescription or take a new one there. All I had to offer them was my synthroid (very cheap!!) and due for a refill. I will transfer it back to Reidland Pharmacy somehow though-I love them(and we are kind of fanatical about doing business with local owned not chains)!! So last night before church we went to Walgreens and took advantage of the $20. The presription was $3.01. We got 3 bottles of shampoo, 1 insect repellent, 1 new lipstick for mom (quite a splurge, I have been scraping the bottom of my tube with a Q-tip for quite some time!) and then they had all these coupons for items that were 39 cents and you could get up to 3. We did not need anything besides the items I already listed. So I looked for things we would use. We got ziploc baggies, 3 cans mandarin oranges, 3 cans pineapple, 3 small legal pads, 3 rolls of tape, 3 vienna sausages(yuk!but my kids love em), 3 small mead notebooks, 1 AJAX cleaner. The cash register rang up $24.67 They had also sent me a $2 off your first purchase at Walgreens-so I used that first. 22.67....minus my $20 check........grand total......$2.67. 4 BAGS OF STUFF!! Even though I only needed shampoo, insect repellent and lipstick, (and the med)we will certainly be able to use everything else as well. My total expenditures at Walgreens were $2.67 + 3.01 for my prescription for a total of $5.68. You should have seen the little girls face that checked us out....she kept saying "You did good!" I still feel giddy. I won their marketing game. I can never go there again. I LOVE LOSS LEADERS!! This is probably my best bargain story ever, although there are plenty of stories!! Please comment with your best bargain story.

I realize some people can't get into the whole bargain thing...Erik does not enjoy it at all-he is MAN WANTING OUT OF STORE-buy what I came for and leave...but he is better than he used to be. I have told him look up and down not right in front of you and it WILL be cheaper. Although straight across for him is up HAHA(he is very tall). However, bargains are a great way to be good stewards of the money God has so graciously allowed us to enjoy. Have a great day!

I am running out of exciting colors!! The weekend was very eventful! They always are. Spent Sat morning yard saling and then the rest of the day in the town of Mayfield, birthday party, visiting a favorite friend, and grocery shopping. It was kind of neat to break up our normal routine. Erik was working and then went to the Metropolis Blues festival to hang out and then play. He was off his normal routine as well. We all need that from time to time. As a result I am alot more focused on cleaning up and cleaning out today and also being more regimented with school. We started late almost every day last week and today we were going by 8:30!! 8am is my goal since we are all pretty much early risers, will probably change that as the days get shorter and there is less to do outside. We worked on getting the pool cleaned up and ready to store and also made a garden harvest...not much more coming except OKRA!! We did not even plant okra and yet we have a bumper crop of it. It just dried out last year and planted itself. I had meant to plant pumpkins this summer so we could grow our own, mostly because it is fun and secondly because they cost so much!! Oh well, we will go to one of the farm places and take a hayride or something.

I am so ready for fall. Last night I was invisible at one point because there were so many mosquitoes on me!! We killed one that was the size of a turkey. Lilly has a leash on one she caught and is forcing it to have a tea party with her today. Can't wait for a cold snap and mosquito killing frost. I digress, I am excited about fall though. I love hayrides and sweatshirts. I also love bonfires and campfires.

I am trying to get ready for a big consignment sale and also bless the Salvation Army (and my family because we will have some open spaces in the house!!) So pray for me as I continue to declutter and get a little more organized!! Have a great Monday and throw/give away at least 15 things you don't need everyday!

WOW!!! I am so glad God was able to use the people of our church to bless the people of Mississippi!! We are taking down a covered trailerload plus a truckbed load of supplies for the hurricane victims. We boxed and labeled and loaded tonight, I feel so blessed to have been able to spend time there helping. We have 4 fellas from our church traveling to and from. Please pray for them and their safety.

Erika and Kayla started dance again for this season and Kayla very quickly decided she did not really want to do it this time. I allowed her to quit, but she had to go over and tell her teacher. I am really spoiled to both of them doing the same activities at the same time, but I guess it is not always going to work out that way. I don't have to like it though!! They do very much both like Horseback riding lessons though, so that is two birds with one stone at least. I think they will both be doing upward basketball as well, but different age brackets. I suppose I should allow Lilly some sort of activity at some point. She tags along for a lot but nothing is really her thing. I won't borrow trouble, though, when she asks, we will see about doing things differently. She is spending the night with my mom tonite and that is definitely her most favorite thing!!!

I guess I will get off of here. I only have about two loads of laundry piled up and I think I can knock them out tonite...If I can stay on top of it...Do I dare to dream the impossible....JUST FOR TODAY I CAN MANAGE MY LAUNDRY. Is there a support group for housework? Maybe there should be, I am really trying to quit. (maniacal laughter!!)

We did camp in our backyard Sunday night, we had alot of fun. We did not use an air matress though and Erik and I were really sorry the next day when we were sleep deprived and sore. We worked on our trail and made sure it was all clear again, a couple of trees had fallen so it was hard to keep mowed. The girls gathered firewood from the woods and really had a great time. We roasted hot dogs and smores for supper and breakfast(healthy!!!) and the next day, we went to Jerry and Martha's and spent the Labor day with them and grandma. The kids played so good together and were exceptionally well behaved all day. Lilly invented a game of throw the ball into Thunder's water bowl (we took him with us as well...he loves his grandparents, they give him bones!!). We were all taking shots to see if we could hit the water bowl with the ball. It was very fun. Then we played hot potato while she sang almost every song she knew. The best things in life are family.

Our church is doing a hurricane relief effort, collecting supplies and money to deliver to Starkville Chuch of Christ in Mississippi so they can minister to some of the smaller towns that are hurricane devastated/demolished. I am glad to finally be doing something. I wish I could go and help. It hurts me to see people so devastated and not be able to just pitch in and help. We don't have alot of money, but I can always work.

Well I suppose that closes me out today. I am cleaning house, cleaning out closets and going through clothes. Me thinks me will be blessing some people and the Salvation Army with alot of "stuff" this week and next!! Please leave comments!! I know you are out there.....

Happy Lord's Day! I don't know about you, but I feel very blessed after watching all that hurricane coverage. I truly feel sorry for the good nice people of New Orleans who had to be put on hold because of all the gang crap and violence!! Our friend just outside of New Orleans said that tons of people(flatboat owners) started off toward the big city to help and after the first few had their lives threatened, they decided to let the government handle it. Of course you won't hear any of that on the news because they can make Bush look bad...any opportunity to slant the news. I get so tired of it.

Anyway, it has been so pretty here I almost feel guilty. We have been really enjoying the perfect weather. We went boating Friday and had a great time. We are thinking about camping in our backyard tonight. I told Erik the girls would just love it and it will force us to do yardwork and make the most of labor day!! I better go finish my hair and get to church. Have a great labor day!