I have another funny to tell you about Micah...

Last week I was drying Emerie's hair while Micah was in the tub. He asked, "Mom, when I get done with my bath can I have two more carrots so I can hear in the dark?" Me: "Yes, you can have two more carrots - did you mean so you can see in the dark?" Micah: "No, I already had two carrots so I can see in the dark and two carrots so I can smell in the dark, but I need two more carrots so I can hear in the dark." Funny - I can hear and smell in the dark just fine. You just don't know what he's going to say next.

Found a GREAT American Idol site! Go to WatchIdol.com at http://www.watchidol.com/ & view/listen/download video & audio clips of performances from throughout the season! I've already grabbed Constantine's "Bohemian Rhapsody" & Bo's "Whipping Post" among others.

Okay - any other American Idol fans out there as completely shocked as we were with Constantine being voted out at last night's show?! I told Andrea - "Who the heck is voting for Scott Savol?" We cheered for the everyday-man-turned-American-Idol-wannabe for the first few weeks. But, come on - better than Constantine? You've got to be kidding!

Looks like we weren't the only ones expecting Scott to be the one that went home this week. USA Today had (still has at the time of this posting) a big "Oops!" in its posting of the current standings of contestants. They show Scott going home this week! Click the pic for a larger version, or go to the USA Today site for yourself & check it out (if it stays up). Here's where to find it:

• Go to www.usatoday.com
• Go to the "Life" section
• Click "Pics" under the graphic of the American Idol contestants
• Click on "8" to get to Scott's ouster page

Too funny!

EDIT: Looks like there is some grassroots anti-American Idol things going on - check out www.votefortheworst.com (PG Warning: There is some language in a couple of sections on the site)

About two weeks ago I caught Emerie climbing up onto the piano bench & playing/singing. I grabbed the video camera & for once she actually performed for me! Usually you grab the video camera only to have them refuse to do whatever it is you were hoping to catch on tape again! Emerie proceeded, with camera rolling, to perform "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" all by herself - it was so cute! She even introduced it: after I asked her what she was going to sing, she replied "Winkle, winkle, lil star - OK?"

When she was done, her big brother, Josiah (who knows how to play the song) sat down next to her & they both played/sang it together. Here's both high & low bandwidth versions of each performance for you to enjoy...

Emerie Performs "Twinkle, Twinkle" - Broadband Version (2.77mb WMV)
Emerie Performs "Twinkle, Twinkle" - Dial-Up Version (602kb WMV)

Emerie & Josiah "Twinkle, Twinkle" Duet - Broadband Version (2.00mb WMV)
Emerie Performs "Twinkle, Twinkle" - Dial-Up Version (443kb WMV)

Well, since I promised Andrea before we moved from Oklahoma that I would have the photo gallery up and going again by the end of January (I'm not that late) - I worked to get it up & going over the weekend. We only have a couple of recent photo galleries. It will take some time to get the old photos back up, but at least the hardest part is done. So head on over & check out our new pics - just click on the picture of Emerie on the right of the home page! Enjoy!

Here is a run down of our week last week that I recently shared with a friend...

Si had a bike wreck on Tuesday (I think). He got scraped up pretty good, but is healing nicely now. Emerie has some kind of a cold / flu (doc's diagnosis) and has a lot of congestion. Her medicine makes her tired. Both boys got haircuts Friday (Chris then had to trim up Si's as it was a little crooked in the front - thanks, walmart). Mercy has gotten loose twice this week but has either been waiting for us when we got home or brought home by the neighbors. Did I mention that Chris shimmey-ed (sp?) up a tree about 12 feet to get something that was stuck up there? It was truly a Wild at Heart adventure for me to watch him and was fun. I told him he was a stud (forgetting momentarily the 5 year old ears standing next to me) and Micah said 'what's a stud?' "A big man doing manly things,' I answered.

Last week we had to have a new piece of tailpipe welded on the Mazda, get a new battery for the Mazda (we didn't have to pay for it though as it was still under warranty - woohoo!), purchase and repair a valve in one of the toilets, and use a crowbar (sp?) to un-jam the front glass door after Si accidentally fell into it. We backed into the weedeater and cracked the cover (it still works though). We had to use the mazda to jump the riding mower and then the van to jump the mazda and - you get the idea. It was the week of things getting cracked, worn down, broken, stuck or even attacked! For example, Emerie colored my needlepointed footstool (the one that my Grandma Smith made) with a turquoise magic marker. That Magic Eraser takes out anything! By the way - all the things I just listed happened within a 24 hour period. We didn't get upset though, we just laughed and wondered what could possibly happen next! I'm happy to report that the house did not burn, we still have all of our children (3, right?) and we continue to be happily married.

That pretty much sums it up. Hope you have an adventure-filled week as well (although in different, less destructive ways)!

Below are a few stories I related in a recent email that I thought many of you might enjoy...

Josiah had a pretty big bike wreck last week. I was gone, but Chris handled it all great. Si scraped up his forearms pretty bad and has a tough looking bruise on one elbow. He also banged up his bottom lip and has small scrapes on the bottom of his nose and a small scrape on his forehead. As you might have guessed, he landed on concrete in the driveway. He was an absolute trooper, however, and had no problem participating in PE at school the next day, bandages and all. Si made me laugh (before all this happened), however. I had made him a short list of some things to do right after school. After completing them he brought it back to me. He had checked everything off and written 'have computer time when done, Mom' at the bottom. We had a good laugh together and, yes, he got his computer time.

Micah continues to crack us up as usual. After knocking the door to the game closet off its tracks Micah went to Chris and said, "Dad, I'm really sorry and I need to show you something and I forgive you, Dad." He and I delivered some homemade cinnamon rolls to his teacher today for 'teacher appreciation' and she was so sweet. I'm so thankful God provided a spot for Micah at this particular preschool and with this particular teacher as Mrs. Davis has truly eased the transition, in my opinion. She is precious. Micah loved giving them to her to show her his 'pprecia-lation' for her (his word for appreciation). Of course he also calls the refrigerator the 'frigalator'. He also called Wheat Thins 'Wet Fins' the first few times, but I think he's got that one straightened out now. He has also tells us he does not want 'fancy' hair (sticking up) like Dad's, or 'curved' (curled) hair like Mom's... he wants 'downed' hair.

Emerie is still singing up a storm. She and I sing while I dry her hair and that seems to satisfy her very much. Last week in Kohl's she was singing as we walked around. In the dressing room she continued and got really loud, too. The lady next door to us started talking to her and Emerie started talking to her also and singing her songs. I never did see the lady's face, but it was funny. A few days ago Chris caught a classic on video. Emerie pulled herself up on the piano bench and started 'playing' Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. Then Si (who knows how to play the song) sits next to her and plays the actual song while singing it. Emerie continues to 'play' right along side him and sing along as well. It was too cute. The best part was when in her Emerie-language she looked at Chris and said, 'I sing Winka Winka Lil' Stahhh, okay?' all the while nodding her head expecting him to say 'okay'. Her announcing her 'next number' was the funniest part to me. She says new things every single day at least once. Tonight at dinner she said 'Mercy, got my chicken'. She was so put out and pout-y about the whole thing that we had to laugh - she was so sincerely concerned. I might also note here that Mercy got her chicken because she had dropped it on the floor!

Well, I'm sitting here a little weary eyed, just because it's been a long day - but a good one. Got up and had breakfast as a family and then just relaxed this morning. For some reason they delivered two newspapers to us today, so Andrea & I sat in bed and each read our own copy! After lunch we spent the next few hours outside working a little on the yard (mainly brainstorming/preparing for where Andrea's flower beds are going to go), and playing with the kids.

Josiah had his third soccer game at 4:00p. His team one for the first time (3-0). Of course none of the kids really are keeping track. In fact, a few of them came running off the field afterwards saying, "Who won?" I was talking with Josiah in the van after the game, telling him how well he played and how exciting it was to win their first game. He replied, "We didn't win the other ones?" Shows how much they pay attention to all of that. For him, he's just having a good time playing - which is the way it ought to be at his age.

After his game, the boys & I went to a Nashville Sounds baseball game near downtown. Our friends Craig & Barbara had gotten tickets for their family but had some Little League games rescheduled for tonight, so they offered three of the tickets to us. We had such a great time! Fun being in a ball field again. Hadn't been to a game since our family went last summer to an Oklahoma Redhawks game in OKC.

We hit Sonic on the way home & ordered three Sonic Reeses Blasts & started the ride home. The boys zonked out on the way back home. We just got them in bed & I'm about ready to crash as well! It was a good day.

Congratulations go out to Mark Davis of Healdton, OK - our March Madness Mania winner for 2005! All in all I think this was probably the best March Madness I have seen in a long time. In fact, I told Andrea that everything was really good except for Kansas losing (as I wipe my eyes one last time). Congrats, Mark! Thanks to everyone who joined in the pool - can't wait until next year!

Thought I would finish up this poasting blitzkrieg by admitting that I was wrong. I was wrong a year ago when I declared that Andrea & I had finished the worst we had ever finished in the NCAA March Madness challenge. While it was the worst at the time, I'm happy (wrong word) to declare that I have officially surpassed that feat! In our Family/Friends pool, I am not at the bottom as I was a year ago (sorry, Abby), but the story is totally different in the Work pool with people in my department. I have not only managed to finish dead last ("high roller" is an imaginary entry - picking all upsets), but I managed to also lose to a coin flip! "Sacagawea" was an entry they do each year where they flip a coin (named after the emblem on the gold dollar) and make their picks based on how the coin lands. I did the same thing with the "George Washington" entry in the Family/Friends pool. Well, I've just got to suck up my pride and wait until next year. I can't do any worse than this ... or can I?

A year ago (to the date) I sent myself an email using the site FutureMe.org. I set it up to be delivered in a year's time & I got it in my Inbox this morning. Here it is:

Dear FutureMe,

I'm sitting here on April Fools Day, of all days, wondering what the future holds. You sit here reading this a year in the future already having found out. I'd have to admit that I envy you. This has been one of the craziest years that I can remember to date. Things have been so up and down, in and out, that I feel like I'm riding a roller coaster that is exhilirating & yet nauseating at the same time.

I just applied for an editor's position at LifeWay Christian Resources in Nashville, TN. Nashville! Man, I never thought I would even consider a position that far away from our friends & family. Yet, there is something that is drawing me there in a way. I would LOVE the opportunity to do so much more in the writing/publishing world. I have enjoyed delving more into writing over the past two years.

What is going to happen? Oh, yeah, I guess you already know the answer to that question. Andrea says that we should pray for jobs like this by asking for our will (in the midst of uncertainty) and yet allowing got to 'disregard this request' if He has something better in mind. So that's the mindset we're coming from. I'll be excited to be in your position on the other side of things, so to speak (although I know that there will always be another side to look forward to).

Hang in there & continue to seek His face and His heart as your own. Enjoy the journey!

Your PastMe,

Chris

It's amazing what God has done in our lives in just a year's time! I feel so thankful & blessed for where He has brought us!

Wow! It's been a great, but equally exhausting past few weeks.
The last of our company - Andrea's brother & nephew - left early Tuesday morning. That night marked the first we had not had any guests with us (save 1 day) in about 2 1/2 weeks time. We were able to spend time, in that time, with Andrea's mother, dad, brother Jeff & family from New York, brother Greg & family from Kentucky, and our friends Rich & Cheryl Jenkins (& family) from Kansas. We had such a great time & it was good to see everyone once again.

I don't think we realized how worn out we really were until we were alone. We probably were living off adrenaline for several days because we were enjoying everyone so much. As soon as we were alone, though, we crashed. I didn't even have the energy to sit down at the computer & type anything out - hence the long hiatus from posts.

Andrea got a babysitter yesterday and met me downtown at LifeWay when I got off work. We went to the "Southern Womans Show" at the conference center downtown. It was fun - actually got to see Richard Simmons, of all people! Pretty funny! That was the third celebrity we had seen in a week's time! Got to see Craig Morgan finish up a set at the Hard Rock Cafe downtown last week with Rich & Cheryl, the Martins were at LifeWay while we were having lunch together one day last week & then Richard Simmons on the stage last night!

Josiah is supposed to have his second soccer game today, but it has been raining, so I think it will most likely be cancelled. Apart from that we are planning on just relaxing today and watching some basketball tonight.

We've found a new church home. Not sure if we have posted anything about it, yet. It's Gladeville Baptist Church and it is located in a small town just southeast of us. Reminds me a lot of the way Tyro is - big community church in a small rural town. The pastor is wonderful and the music is phenominal! We're planning on joining tomorrow morning and then beginning to look at how we might be involved in serving there. I've already met the youth pastor & middle school pastor and have looked at some possibilities of working with youth. We've also considered doing something with the music/worship ministry. They have a full praise band & praise team, as well as a choir. Their website leaves a lot to be desired as well (www.gladevillechurch.org) - so I might help in that arena. We'll see where God lands us!