I will not be bullied!

I am in the final stages of my blog book, preparing to send it to print. I keep telling my family that I am about to be published... doesn't that sound more prestigious? And around midnight I met an awful, mean-spirited dictator!!! That dictator goes by the name of Spell Check!
It didn't like any names, and it surely didn't like my Southern way of saying things. And though this grouchy spell check had no sense of humor, I found myself laughing out loud at the suggestions it made for my words it hated.
I noticed that I tend to make nonexistent compound words. Reality hit that technically I have been misspelling words for a very long time simply because I squeeze the two words together illegally!! Case in point... I always thought it was babysitter. But as the nasty spell check quickly pointed out... that technically is not in the dictionary. But I got so very tickled when it suggested I replace 'babysitter' with 'bobbysoxer'. Now that's just SILLY!!!

So the following words used daily in my vocabulary, therefore presenting themselves often in my journaling are:

farmgal, ick, thingey, eeeaahhhhh,
gonna, fellas, tahdah, eieiooooo, lovins, gotta,
yummies, cutie, patootie, yucka, preggers, pineycone,
itty, bitty, teensybit,
fixin, drat, yikes, hardyharhar, pjs,
yep, yahoooo, mam, looksy, wanna, toesies, oooops... and many many more!

But I trudged through that mean ole spell check, and I stood my ground and ignored it half the time. I was afraid I would wake up this morning feeling absolutely compelled to correct everything anyway... but nope! I'm just fine! And I hope to have my book officially sent off to publish by rainy days end!

*******

PS - on a much more important note.... my gorgeous daughter is attending her very first Youth Dance tonight! And her only thoughts on this exciting event... "I sure hope my Uncle Nate doesn't embarrass me too bad."
I don't think she is overly optimistic about it though!

Shiloh

A couple months ago we had a big visitor. He is a full size Beagle, I think purebread... assumed at the time that he was someone's hunting dog. But he has no collar or tag. He just hung around our property and kept a very safe distance and eventually disappeared.

Now he's back again. He is so incredibly gorgeous. He hangs out well with our other two dogs and other than stealing a shoe here and there, we love having him around. Not sure how long he will hang out this time but the kids decided he needed a name. We read a book together this school year called 'Shiloh', about a hunting beagle. So he has a name and we secretly hope he finds our family worth hanging out with for a long time. He sleeps just off our back porch and his bark is quite comforting at night with that low hound dog gruffle. I don't think anything would mess with him. None of us have actually got to pet Shiloh. He stands one arm length away always... but maybe eventually he will trust us.

And this is why we are probably so fond of Shiloh. This is OUR beagle, Bella. She is a much smaller version and we have had her for several years. She is technically Savannah's dog but we all are completely in love with her. Isn't she adorable?! She can be quite the diva but a keeper nonetheless.

Blurb.com

Sidenote to prior email... I am using Blurb.com to do my blog book. It was simple enough for me to grasp and attempt, which is saying A LOT! I hope to finish by the end of this month and send to print. I'm going to order extra copies and send to grandparents and greatgrandparents that don't get to keep up with us on the computer. I used to be such a great journaler and now this is making feel like I am doing that again, getting the blog in print. Hoooray!!

Choo choooooo

Where does a gal turn for a huge pep talk? Herself of course... I think I can, I think I can. Attempting to do a blog book. It is a bit of a creative process, which is 'code' for t.e.d.i.o.u.s.!!! I really, really want to do this. I have been lousy at scrapbooking and I want this 'journal' of each year for the kids to browse through. So off I go to trudge through the details, for this computer illiterate gal... this will be quite the accomplishment when I finish.

the sky is falling, THE SKY IS FALLING!!

Or maybe it JUST sounds like the sky is falling with all these loud ChickenLittles squawkin' in my garage, whew!!

Got the 7am call from the Post Office this morning to come get our peeps.
By the look on the postman's face at the loading dock... he was sure glad to pass along our 'noise makers'.

Good thing they are so cute. The kids were prepared to name all of them. I talked them into picking 1 favorite chick each and naming it.

By the end of summer we will have fresh eggs, yum!

Ty's Pen Pal

We are having the most incredible experience as a family, I just have to share a little tidbit.
Preface:
Shawn had the opportunity to go on 2 Humanitarian Missions while attending Dental School.
He had to pay the costs for these Missions on his own.
When he first came home and told me about this opportunity, I could tell he was so desperate to participate... but I just did not know how we would pay for the expenses. So we prayed! Hard!!
And both times, much effort and sacrifice as a family, allowed Shawn to go.
He went to Honduras both Missions.
Shawn fell in love with the people and country... hook, line, and sinker!!
It was a blessing to have Shawn participate for the group since he is fluent in Spanish.
The Mission group helped many people in extremely rustic conditions... using flashlights and lawnchairs as dental props.
But the humble people of Honduras would line up and wait all day to receive help.
Shawn formed personal bonds with a Honduran man there, he served as a security guard for the group.
Shawn was even able to take this man to church with him while he was there.
We kept contact with this dear man and his family after Shawn returned, but lost contact with him after a terrible earthquake hit the region years later.
We were saddened to never find out what happened to him and his family.
I had been looking for a way to serve the people of Honduras again, but this time as an entire family.
I researched for quite some time and found a wonderful organization that serves individual families, and specifically their children... to receive the food and medical care needed, a Christian education, and training, etc, to help the family as a whole.
We 'adopted' a little girl, her name is Heidy. It was a Christmas gift for our family.

Heidy is almost the same age as Ty, just a few months apart. And so we have been learning all about this new program. We hope to go MEET Heidy and her family in the future. We have the opportunity to aid Heidy clear through her college years, in fact, through this program, Heidy may even be able to come to the states for college if she chose.

So, something truly wonderful has happened with this. Ty is COMPLETELY attached to Heidy. They are each others pen pals. Heidy can not write well yet, since she is so new to the program, but she tells her mom what she wants to say and her mom writes the letters for her. Heidy's mom is adorable and she has 2 sisters that also participate in this whole process.

This is the latest drawing we received from Heidy. Ty wanted to know what her house and community looked like, so she drew him a picture of it. Not sure you can see well, but notice that the mountain has a smiley face, so cute.

And here is the last letter we got from Heidy... written by her mom. Shawn can of course translate the letters but this organization always sends a translation to each letter just in case. Heidy likes to share her newest favorite Bible verse with us and it has been such an incredible experience. We pray for her each day!
Ty asked me this morning if I could ask the Prophet to send him to Honduras for his LDS Mission. What a blessing!!

Its tough being 7

Ty had a wonderful Friday playing with the neighbors, in fact, I guess he had such a wonderful day... he was NONE too happy when his dad told him it was time to come home.

This is the amazing pout Ty gave Shawn on his arrival home. Ty wanted to eat dinner with the neighbors. Might I add that our kids eat at the neighbors ALOT. I'm starting to really get a complex about it, grin.
So Ty's well carried out pout succeeded, and Ty returned to the neighbors!
So... are you curious about the black smudges on his face?
Seems Ty and A decided to use ashes from an old fire to dress up like Indians.
Cute!!
********
Another tidbit from Ty...
He and J, from next door, were really sad and upset.
Shawn asked Ty why they were so frustrated.
They told Shawn that J's older brother wouldn't let them do something they wanted to do and they thought big old brother was a meanie.
Shawn jokingly asked Ty if he gave the big brother a 'knuckle sandwich'?
Ty immediately answered... "but I don't know how to COOK!!"
Ty was completely irritated that Shawn was showing total lack of concern for his dilemma and instead laughing at him!!!!
Luckily... in the daily cycle of a 7 year old, all usually ends well, all ills are forgotten, and life is GOOD!!

it HUFFED, and it PUFFED...

And the 70mph winds BLEW the huge cedar tree DOWN!!

Have I mentioned today how much I love this property?
I love the 'sound' of this land, the birds, the rustling leaves... but I must say... yesterday during 70 mph winds and rain, I did NOT like the sounds I heard outside.
But we were so VERY blessed!

Look how close this cedar came to crushing our well-loved silo!

Looks like Christian has a hefty job ahead of him with his ax, giggle!
I laugh because Christian LOVES, truly, a good project.
This should keep him busy for a while!

It came so very close to the silo... whew!!

I have this beautiful antique tennis bench, it didn't fair so well.
It will be some time before I can see what the real damage is, but again...
my sweet little silo is safe and sound, this time!

lucky 3

This is how it works..... The first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive a hand made gift from me during this year. When and what will be a surprise. BUT, in order for you to leave a comment on my blog, you have to post this on your blog first. (That means that sometime during this year you will send a gift to 3 people as well.) Get it? So, the first 3 people to comment on this post will be the lucky ones.

Silver Lining...

I don't have strep...
got tested because I had a awful sore throat, and with the way my health record has been going... I assumed that strep was the next logical step in my puny immune system protocol, grrrr!
But some good news finally!
I actually felt well enough to go get my poor family some groceries, we had a yummy dinner last night where all the dishes actually 'went' together, unlike the mismash combos I've been throwing together recently from whatever is in the freezer, giggle.
Today, I'm feeling noticeably better, YAY, and it is supposed to be 70 outside so I shall go outside to play!

Trying to picture 'IT'

So Ty woke up feeling great the other morning and was so relieved to be rid of the crud that has blanketed our household. He announced gladly, "I finally got rid of the Callahan cooties!" Then without missing a beat he turned to me and asked, "Do cooties have 1 eye or 2 eyes?"
I found it hilarious that while sick, he was picturing an ACTUAL cootie making him sick.
So I asked myself... what in this world must the cootie look like that has gripped me for almost 3 weeks now. I started with a nasty stomack yucka... then felt human again for 2 days... then got severe flu symptoms, thought I had survived the worst of that... and now I have a horrible sore throat that causes me to revert back to a 2 yr old and whimper everytime I swallow, if I knew how to spit, I WOULD, to not have to swallow... but I literally cannot spit, its a phenomenon I have never possessed!
I literally laid in my front yard yesterday hoping the sun would 'zap' my cooties out of me.
I even built veggie garden beds with Shawn and ignored how awful I felt thinking I could WILL myself better.
Nope, no such luck! So now I sit here in bed trying to picture my cootie. I think mine has 2 eyes, is green and orange, and has a mischieveous grin! I don't know how this cootie can hold up shop inside me with how hard I cough... so it must be a stubborn little fella too.
Whimper.

Seven...

This is a #7 photo tag.... 7th folder, 7th photo.
Shawn and Christian took a father/son trip last summer.
They went river rafting, swimming, fishing, and hiking.
Christian took this self photo on the road to his fun weekend with Dad.
Can you tell Christian is my jokester?!

I don't think I posted about this trip, so here are more photos from that trip, Enjoy!
ps - he isn't really asleep, giggle.

At this little swimming hole, there were rocks with holes all the way through them.

There are several photos like this one... now I wanna go!!

Does it get any better than this????

Ty says, "NOPE!"
Case in point...
He turned 7 years old on Sunday.
He was able to trade in a front tooth for some loot!
He got an Indiana Jones Lego Airplane, 625 piece set... cause I have learned that it is ALL about how many pieces it has as to the rate of 'coolness' a lego kit contains!!
AND, he spent last night at Chuck E Cheese with his cousins, 2 of which also had birthdays... Kena turned 1, and Gavin is turning 6!!
And Ty scored his biggest bundle of goods yet at Chuck E Cheese... and THIS my dear friends, is a very happy mom, another successful birthday DONE, hee-hee.

As way of information... the Callahan gang has ALL 5 of their birthdays within 2 weeks of each other. We call it our 'Whirlwind Weeks'! Savannah's bday is January 22, Ty and I's bday is February 1st, Shawn's bday is February 2nd... Groundhogs ROCK!!, and Christian's bday is February 5th. Whew! I'm exhausted just typing that all out. So one more big bday bash this Friday for Christian and we are all done for 2009. Whoohoooooooo.

oOOoohs and AaaaAahs

Just can't get enough of those some days, huh?! Thanks to all of you that came out and went shopping. So very fun to see you all again AND to actually meet face to face some that I have stalked via blogs but not formally met.
It was a huge success, the money is filed safely away and I hope to actually get some furniture for the TV room, which currently only has a TV and rug, grin.
And the tours of our new house went well, I felt NO judgement whatsoever for my barren walls, no window treatments, echoey rooms... you were so kind to see the homes potential!
Now I must stay vigilant and keep to one of my NewYears Resolution and keep inviting friends/family out so they can see the slow transformations, because they are sure to be r.e...a.l..... slow!
It was a fun day, thanks to you all!