My roots need doing...

I was trying to find this program I had used once before to do a Celebrity Morph kind of thing. Where you upload a picture and they match you up with what celebrities match your facial features. (Heather Graham is mine, by the way...her or Goldie Hawn...) The site I had used for this was My Heritage. I logged on and I realized that I had a whole bunch of information missing and that I could now add photos! Well, it started nagging at me and I just had to finish it. I'm not done at all but I've started and that's something! So I got to looking at the old photos that I had saved on my computer already. I love looking at old photos...I don't even care if I know the people in them...I'll still look. So I thought I'd share my favorites! :)

This is my Maternal Grandfather, Gerald Willard...which is a drawn out way of saying my Mom's Dad (Grandpa Jerry). :) Wasn't he a handsome man? He coulda been in pictures! This isn't actually my most favorite of him, but it's still pretty good! :) Of all the thing I miss, I miss his laugh the most. I noticed that he will be gone 18 years this April. That made me very sad for all the things I missed out on. I was almost 9 when he passed...

This is my Mom's Mom, Elaine Alice. My Grammy Elaine! I loves her sooo very much, it makes my heart hurt! She's not a conventional Grams in that she doesn't let me eat junk and stay up as late as I want. "Five fruits and vegetables every day!" But I like when she fusses and clucks over me and makes me eat even though I'm not hungry. "Oh, just a sandwich! I'll just make you a quick sandwich! You must be hungry, that's a long drive! Are you resting? You look tired! Maybe you should take a little nap after you eat!" I secretly love it! :) This is her Senior picture, I think. I'm going to guess that she was Class of 1953...Maybe... She was a stunning beauty and she still is! "Pure in heart and good of deed." :)

Those two pretty people pictured above, made this pretty baby! This is my Momma, Tami! She was born second to Jerry and Elaine. My Aunt Ladette was first, then Mom, then Cam, then Tad. Look at my chubby widdle Momma!! She is my fortress and my source of strength. She taught me the values of a Christian life and the importance of a personal relationship with God. My Grandma taught us that when you have a job to do, just do it. My mom carries that on and now so do her daughters. I hope it's something I pass on to Zoey. "We don't know how we do it, but Randolph women just do their job. No complaining." Thanks Mom. I don't think I say that often enough.

And then that beautiful woman got together with Yoda (my Dad) and made me! Look how cute! You doubt that my father was Yoda? Check out my ears....yeeeeaaah...Tell me about it. I then went on to marry a handsome man and we have made three absolutely horrible children together! :) Just kidding! I love The Swarm! They are beautiful and I'm excited for what their lives will turn out to be! You know what I find funny about this picture? Besides the fact that for some reason my parents had an inexplicably large straw hat? My little overalls say "Engineer" on them and I grew up to marry an Engineer! Ha! Cool.

I'm going to have to keep plugging away at my family tree! Maybe next weekend on our way to Lincoln we can take a detour to Litchfield. I have some graves there that need flowers. I haven't been there for a long time! It would be neat to see my Great-Grandparents house again! See ya next time! :)

Got rid of my baggage...literally...

I got rid of a TON of baggage today! And I don't mean the years-of-therapy-and-still-have-issues baggage. I mean I got rid of a ton of crap that was just hanging around my house!

Change is good!

It's official! My Mom, Sister and Niece are moved to Lincoln. :( Well, Sad Face for me, anyway! I'm really excited for them and the new start they're getting! I called my Mom yesterday and they were looking for day cares for Marley. That made me sad! But they sounded excited and they were getting used to their "neck of the woods". We're planning a visit this weekend or next to take the kids to the Lincoln Children's Museum...and also, I miss my Mommy already! Apparently, my Grammy must be ecstatic about them being so close! She already went over there to watch the Golden Globes! Hahaha!! It may sound silly but I'm jealous of the time they're going to get to spend with her! Hopefully we can get out East soon, too! Not just for a visit but permanently! :) And f.y.i.: My Grams makes an insanely awesome beef stew! Oh. My. Goodness. I think part of what made it awesome was that I missed my Grammy fussing and clucking over me. It made me feel like a little kid again, and I loved it! :)

Other than that, there isn't much going on! I'm up to Isaiah in my Bible reading. I can't believe how quickly it's going! This whole month is flying by!

Tyson is having good reports from school every day! That's so exciting! His new favorite phrase is: "Why not!?" and if he's told no more than once, we get a crossing of the arms and a "Fine! Whatever!"

Dane is very, very sick! He came down with a fever on Sunday night and we took him in to the doctor on Monday. He has a double ear infection! The left ear is worse than the right one! I'm pretty sure it's because that's the side he sleeps on. He seems to be doing better since he started the antibiotics! He's at least off the couch today and in his room watching movies with Big Brother! :)

Zoey is blowing kisses...but she doesn't really do the whole hand thing! She just looks at you and randomly goes "Mwah"! She's pushing her sippy cup around in her baby stroller right now. Except she got the stroller on it's back and is pushing it that way....whatever works!

I'm getting really hungry, so I better get going! That and I'm slacking on my crocheting because I'm super addicted to Inuyasha right now! I'm watching it on hulu. It's in Japanese with English subtitles. I thought that would irritate me because I'm used to the English voices, but I actually prefer it this way! Although, I do think the English voice for Inuyasha fits him better! :) Well, the kitchen is calling my name and it's starting to sound impatient!

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"We Could Be Heroes!"

I've discovered an odd pattern I've been following in my life. Everything I said I wanted to be when I grew up was some kind of hero. Hm. Weird. Well, maybe it's not that weird, but when most kids wanted to be doctors and firefighters, I wanted to be Jean Grey of the X-Men. THAT is a little weird. I had convinced myself that I could someday be a Superhero Mutant with Telepathic powers. I wanted to be her:

And then my parents introduced me to the awe-smacking awesomeness that is Indiana Jones! I really wanted to be an Archeologist just like him! Then one day my dad went and burst my poor little 5th-grader dream bubble and said that real Archeologists don't really do all those things. What?! Eventually I got over it and wanted to become an Anthropologist with an endorsement in Egyptian history. A dream I still hold onto. It may not be any more realistic than being Jean Grey, but I can still hold on to it! And who knows. Someday I might finish it and see the Valley of the Kings for myself!

And then I grew up and became something entirely different! I became a Mom. I can change a diaper faster than a speeding bullet! I can lift three children with the strength of 5 grown men! I can cure boo-boo's with just a kiss! I can chase away monsters and save the world just by my very presence! I never realized it, but I did become that Superhuman Mutant with Telepathic powers. You know what I mean, that "Mom sense". The feeling that something's amiss. The feeling that either something naughty, dangerous or otherwise deserving of your attention is going on!

Last night, as my boys were preparing to go to sleep, my oldest sons says: "Momma? You sing ABC's?" I sang him the ABC's. "Momma? You sing Twinkle Star?" I sang Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. "Momma? You sing Black Sheep?" I sang Baa, Baa Black Sheep. "That was a great job, Momma!" "Thank you, Tysie!" "You're welcome, Momma." I started to leave the room when I hear: "Momma? I love you." "I love you too. Thank you!" "You're welcome." And then Dane, who only speaks when he has something important to say says "I luh you toooooo! Aaaaw!" (He says it that way b/c the first time he said "I love you" everyone said "Aw!" So now he thinks that's just part of it!)

I don't care how cheesy, cliche or magoo it may seem. I love my kids. Our little conversations may not mean much to anyone else, but they mean the world to me. Because of Tyson's Autism, I waited 4 1/2 years to hear him call me "Momma". I was told it was possible he would never speak. Now look at him! Progress every day and conversations all the time! I could not be more proud! Our faith in "The Lord of Heaven's Armies" was rewarded. (That's a new term I picked up from my Bible reading! Cool, huh?)

I have to take off because I was slacking and I missed a touchdown by the Ravens and now I can't tell my husband how they scored. Oops... And besides, I am STARVING! So I'll have to figure out something to make! I can't wait! I love cookbooks! But that could be a whole blog of it's own!

For all those who are Mothers, I salute you! "What we do in life, echoes in Eternity!"

...These are a few of my favorite things...

Since I've started reading my Bible, I've been reminded of a lot of things! One that I was happy to remember was my favorite artist: Michelangelo. It probably seems cliche, and maybe a lot of people like him because he's so well known...or maybe because he's one of the artists one of the Ninja Turtles was named after...hm... Anyway, of all the art I've looked at in my life, his is my favorite. Mostly his sculptures. I think he had a way of bringing warmth to a chunk of marble. His statues almost look real. But there's another reason why I like him. He combined two of my favorite things: Art and Bible stories. The picture above is of his statue "Moses". I've just finished reading about Moses and am starting in on Joshua's turn as leader. It seems strange to some people, I suppose, but I'm really enjoying reading my Bible! My favorite books aren't up for a while yet (Psalms & Proverbs) but I'm finding a lot of interesting things along the way! I never really realized how bloody the book of Joshua is! Yikes! Unfortunately, I still have a hard time getting through Leviticus and Numbers. So much detail. I know it was important and it was necessary to repeat yourself back then because they didn't have paper as readily available as we do, or palm pilots or Blackberry's...But it is a struggle for me! The reading for the 8th will bring me through Joshua, Judges, Ruth and a little bit of I Samuel! So we're getting into the really good stories now!

Today I'm thankful for getting a reminder of why I love my husband! (Yeah, I know, gag.) We usually watch the same programs every day, but the last couple of days I've decided to put a movie on in the afternoon. Yesterday was "The Quick and the Dead". Today was "Jaws". I thought my husband wasn't paying attention since he was over at the desk playing on the computer. But once Jaws' theme music started, my husband all of a sudden says: "You're gonna need a bigger boat." HA! I was getting lunch for the kids and instead of turning off the movie and putting on sports like he usually does, he sat down and we finished watching it together! Strange how after you have kids, the things that make you happy change! Maybe even seem trivial to other people. But simply being able to sit down together and watch a movie, well...that's the good life! :) And as an added bonus, every time Tyson came out to the living room he'd look at the TV and say *gasp* "Oh no! The shark's teeth!" (He said this no matter what was on the screen!) haha!

I'll leave you with another of my favorite sculptures of Michelangelo's. The Pieta. It's one thing to read about Jesus' death. It's another to have to look at it through the eyes of Mary. And now, being a mom....well...there's no way to describe it to anyone. But I think Michelangelo did a good job of getting the sorrow of a Mother right on this one...Also, there's a good story that goes with it. Apparently someone had said it was the work of another artist, so in his anger, he carved "Michelangelo Buonarroti, Florentine, made it" onto Mary's sash! He later regretted doing that and swore never to sign another work of his. One of my art teachers had been able to see this statue in person. He said you used to be able to go right up to the statue and touch it. But when he was there, they had it roped off. Someone had taken a hammer to either Mary's foot or Jesus', I can't remember which one...They suppose it was for a keepsake and not for malice, but who knows?!

"I coulda been a Pink Lady"

"I coulda been a pink lady" I say to my husband in my best Marlon Brando voice...my best impression is actually a really bad one, but it's the thought that counts...We were watching Grease and I kept thinking how life seemed so simple back then! How great it would be when the worst guys out there were "greasers". The worst trouble kids got into was drag racing...I know there were worse things out there even at that time, but still! My husband soon broke into my reverie about poodle skirts and cigarette's rolled up into white t-shirts with: "Why am I watching this? There's football on?!" Oh well. There are worse things, right Rizzo?

So we get in the Tahoe today to go pick up Tyson, and Jay casually looks over at me and asks: "Did you hear me at all when I was on the phone with Matt?" Hm. He thinks he's so sneaky. I know he's either trying to hide some "surprise" from me or he has something he's bursting to tell me and he's trying for suspense. "No." I say. "What did you talk about?" He casually mentions that he got the transfer to Wyoming. Now...that's something you should probably tell me right away...He says that he is 32nd out of 40 for the Rawlins transfer and 38th out of 40 for the Green River transfer. So now we play the waiting game. My favorite. Apparently they're calling them in groups of 10, training them for 2 months and then calling the next 10. So we'll be waiting for a while, but it's better than nothing!

I am on my second day of my Bible-reading and I am so excited! I'm 80 chapters through the Bible now and I find myself excited to read the next 40! I'm reading things I'd never heard of and that's better than finding $5 in an old purse! (January 3rd's reading was Genesis 1-40, the 4th's reading was Genesis 41-Exodus 30. January 5th's reading will be Exodus 31-Numbers 3)

One short story before I go! Tyson went back to school today and he is back in his "Kung Fu Panda" phase. They told Jay that he was doing his Crane and Mantis moves. He was also meditating like Shi Fu does. At one point he was running around the classroom and one of his teachers told him to try meditating again. Without missing a beat, he says "That's not the point!" and continued about his business! I find this hysterical! Just thought I'd share!! :)
See you next time!!

(Oh, Miranda, in case you're reading this, my Mom moves in about 2 weeks. Sad day!)

"And here...we....go..."

So here I am, sitting at work watching "Are You Being Served?"...and that's pretty much it! I suppose on a normal basis I have more going on, but as of this moment I just can't think of anything! I still have quite a few projects to get done for the ladies in my Dad's office. I'll post pictures of the finished work as soon as I can! Lucky for me, my Mom's a professional photographer! Unluckily for me, she'll be moving away soon! But we do not speak of that in my house, as it always gets me a little flustered and upset! I mean, for pity's sake, I'm 26 years old and I'm having panic attacks about my Mommy moving 3 hours away! *sigh* I'm ridiculous. As I was saying, I do have some crochet projects that need tending to, but I really am procrastinating. I just can't find the right...what's the word...I'll think of it later...
I started re-reading the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich on Thursday. I just love that series! I'm on Three to Get Deadly already! Sheesh. If you haven't discovered these little treasures for yourself, you should! They're slightly guilt-free and completely fat free! Does it get better? No.
Starting tomorrow, I'll be starting my Read-the-Bible-in-a-month plan! I'm very excited about this and I really want to stick to it. Most people read it in a year, and I think nothing would feel better than to accomplish this in a month! Of course, I'll be starting with Genesis 1-40. I'll let you know how that goes! :)
The Swarm (that's what I lovingly refer to my kids as...) have been remarkably good since they have so many new things to play with! Christmas was good to them this year! Tyson has become that little boy from the Toy Story movies (Andy, right?) since he has the "Movie-Size" Buzz Lightyear and Woody! He carries them EVERYWHERE! Dane is very Dane. He brings a new toy out, plays with it for a while, goes back to his room and brings out yet another toy. This goes on all day as if he says to himself "What is this new delightful thing!? I must show everyone! But I must also hide it so no one else can play with it!" I'm sure soon I will wonder where all their new toys have gone and while I clean, I'm sure I'll find them hidden in some little stash of his! Zoey...What can I say about the Princess? She's in love with her dolly stroller...and pretty much all of her toys! She was carrying around her 3 new Barbies all at once the other day. She laid them out in a line on the couch, looked at me and said "Ooo!", scooped them up, and waddled back to her room...This promptly made me giggle.
That's all from me for today. I can't think of much else, and I've decided that I really should get started on those crochet projects after all! MOTIVATION!! That's the word I was looking for! Told you I'd think of it. Until next time!