Missy Dog

When we moved here 6 1/2 years ago we were presented with a 1 yr old puppy. A beautiful border collie. The kids named her Missy. She quickly became part of the family. She also became heavy, noisey, and hyper ( but we won't go there right now). During the summer drilling season Missy would jump into the back of the pick-up and head out with Alan & the boys to drill.

When we returned from our various trips she would greet us with barking, whining (where Have you been?), and licking everyone. We have had Missy longer than we have had Amy!!

Last Monday Alan was building fence in the field and Missy got under the pick-up and was ran over. She died about 20 minutes later. It was pretty sad for all of us. How do say good bye to a pet. She was more like a member of our family.

I will be soo0 happy when this year is over. I am tired of death. Tired of losing the people I love when they are much too young to die. Missing little Josiah today terribly. And my Mom, and my Uncle Ben, and Aunt Betha, and Josh, and, and, and. I will be happy to ring in 2009.

An unexpected gift

I have been blessed with many friends throughout my life. Some are around for a short time and then I don't see them anymore, and there are those that have been around for most of my life and will always be. But no matter cause with most of my friends we are able to pick up right where we left off weather it has been 2 days or 20 years, the friendship never dies.

Before we left for Oklahoma I was reading Mrs. Mom Wests' blog and there was a picture of a friend of mine from Oklahoma that I had not seen for 16 (thats right SIXTEEN) years. This friend was in a terrible car accident about a year ago and in that accident her back was broken. I had been pretty distressed about it at the time, but had heard that she had recovered for the most part. Anyway, I saw this picture of her and thought how wonderful it would be to get to see her again.

The Saturday before Thanksgiving we were in Parkland at a little pizza party at Lora Jacksons (one of those life long friends), and there were many, many people there. We hadn't been there long at all when this friend (Charlotte) walked in the door. We must have hugged each other for five minutes straight!! I was so happy to see her again. She had brought her childern up from Purcell for the evening, kind of a spur of the moment thing. I really feel that the Lord just put it in her mind to be there, as a special gift to me. We had such a wonderful enjoyable evening. I have pictures but left my camera at the church the other day. I'll try to post them later. Sometimes the very best gifts are those that are unplanned and completely unexpected.

In addition to that we were able to spend the first part of Thanksgiving week with Evan & Sarah as they were in Oklahoma the same week we were. What a great time we had. Also a very unexpected gift. The lady at a convinence store thought Alan was Evans dad. I don't know if he will ever live that one down. Sarah took to calling us Nanny & Poppa McCracken. Just cracked me up!!

We had a super great time at my sisters house for Thanksgiving. Tons of yummy food, and my sis had invited a family over that had no relatives in the area. They are from Kentucky and could not drive back for Thanksgiving. They were a really nice family. Our family has an ornament exchange after dinner and it was quite fun this year, with all the ornament stealing and hiding. My sisters oldest son Alan Wayne is engaged to get married to his highschool sweetheart. She is a lovely lady and fits in quite well with our family.

Friday after TG my sister Cindy and I spent a lot of time shopping together. It was a bunch of fun. Saturday we started home and drove straight through. Went to church at home Sunday and had a great meeting. Bro. Richard & Sis. Krista were here. As were Gale & her family. We had such a great meeting. But I'll let Neena tell you all about that.

So our lives have been crazy busy lately. That time of year I suppose. Just found out this morning that my Uncle Russ & Aunt Priscilla will be here tomorrow. It will be nice to see them again. If I don't post again for a while its because of all this busyness.

15 Years - The years just keep flying by

Tomorrow is mine & Alan's 15 year anniversary. I fell in love with this guy the minute I saw him. Really I did. I know some people don't beleive in "love at first sight", but it sure did happen for us. It has been a crazy, scary, fun ride (kinda like the most horrific thrill ride at Six Flags), but boy has it been a blast.

My husband has stood by me through childbirth (5 times), loss of many friends and loved ones, loss of my momma, this journey to Colorado, starting and slaving away at our business, home remodels (twice), grey hair (mine), losing hair (his), you name it we've seen most of it. But through it all his love for me has held me up. I will be forever thankful for the guy God sent my way. I know I probably don't say it enough, but I Love You Baby. You are everything to me.

LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT

I am so happy with my new dishwasher, (can you tell). It washes perfectly and is very very quiet. Now my kitchen and the rest of the house are CLEAN. I am not the worlds best housekeeper, but I love having a clean house. The prospect of me acquiring a maid are slim and none, so my houseskeeping skills are improving. With the new dishwasher things are so much easier.

Saturday, Em & I went grocery shopping and bought a bunch of stuff to do our holiday baking. We are making cookies for the cookie exchange in Dec. We are also making cookies for the widow baskets. There are 23 widow/other baskets to do this year. I would like to get those done and put in the freezer before we leave for Oklahoma. We are visiting my sister Cindy & her family for Thanksgiving. I am so exicted. I miss them terribly. Kind of strange to miss them all so much, seeing that I was out there so much this year, but Cindy & I are close and I love spending time with her. Also I get to see Bethie (YAAAY!!). Life would be miserable without my daily calls with my little sis. Hopefully get to see Colin & Tereasa too.

Saturday night I got all my Sunday dinner stuff done so we could have company over after church. Randy & Cheri and Danny & Raya came. I made steak fajitas in the crockpot. They turned out really good. Cheri made Spanish rice to go with it and it was fabulous. Raya brought some delicious choc. brownies. My husband and kids all pitched in before church to get the house company ready so I wasn't so stressed out. So all in all it was a very good day.
I love you all please leave me a message. This includes you Aunt Deanna.

Dishwasher gone Kah Put

Old trusty finally bit the dust. It was really time for it to go. After all it had lived a good 6 1/2 years in this house, which is known for distroying appliances at lightening speed. We have been talking about replacing it for a couple of months now, but we were trying to get past the winter slump. Maybe next year, we said. Old trusty had different ideas. Noope she said. Time for me to take early retirement and head on down to south Florida to lie in the sun. (or wherever old appliances go to retire.) So it just up and decided on Monday to stop pumping the water out of the tub. Now there it sets, tub full of water, because someone (ME) hasn't had the time or desire to scoop out the water one cup at a time. It is presently being used as a dish drainer.

Seven people without a dishwasher is just one big mess waiting to happen. I've been washing by hand. It brings back horrible childhood memories. The house never really gets totally all at once clean. The family tends to dirty it faster than I can clean it. Thank goodness the washing machine is still working.

I am a type A personality. I reserch and plan everything before making a move. I read reviews. I read sale ads. I read specs. You name it I read it! After all this reading we went shopping. Sears was having a good sale so we checked them out. I found a Kenmore elite dishwasher with a stainless interior and a food grinder on sale!!! I begged the man, please...Please!! Let me take it home today. You don't understand. I have FIVE childern, none of which are inclined to wash dishes. Please let me take it home today! No, I'm sorry Ma'am. We can not send any of our floor models home. You must wait until Friday when it will be delivered to the store.

So here I set. Anxiously awaiting Friday.

They shot 'em a deer TWO actually

Mason shot his deer on Sunday. He was walking a little taller when he got home. Tyler shot his on Tuesday. He was also very happy with himself. So it looks like Alan & I will need to make good on the agreement to buy a good meat drier so the boys can make a bunch of jerky. It's all very exciting you know.

Working at our local polling place on Tueday was very exciting. There were about 30 people in line about 10 minutes before we opened. They all stepped inside and said the "Pledge of Alligience" with us right before 7:00, then the polls opened and WOW!! We were busy most of the day. The polls closed at 7 p.m. and after the county checked our records to make sure we hadn't messed anything up we were allowed to leave a little after 8 pm. That was nice cause after getting up at 5 am I was pretty tired!! I don't know if I will volunteer again to do it, but it was very enjoyable and I have a new respect for the people who make go so smoothly.

A Huntin They will GO!!!

The boys & their dad & grandpa are headed out this afternoon to the bug infested, cold, dark wilderness to go deer hunting. The best part of this little adventure is that I don't have to GO!
Yeah Me!! Don't get me wrong I enjoy camping out to some extent. Although for me that involves a motor home, lawn chair, lots of books, or plenty of friends to visit with. It would also be nice to go and not be resposible for cooking all the meals, cleaning up the camp, making sure everyone has plenty of warm clothes, etc. etc.

Alex is thrilled to be going this year. I hope they get something this year. It would make him so happy. I'm sure glad we have boys who enjoy this sort of thing.

As for the girls and I. I am renting some chick flicks and also attending a wedding on Saturday. I have tossed around the idea of renting a carpet shampooer and cleaning the family room carpet. We shall see.

Sarah Palin

Monday evening Alan & I and friends went to see Sarah Palin at GJT. There were about 16,000 people there. She is quite an amazing woman. She really brings home the conservative message of self-sufficiancy, lower taxes, and a strong national defense. We really enjoyed ourselves. In Colorado we have mail in voting and early voting. We voted mail in last week. I hope that people take advantage of their right to vote even if they don't agree with me. People have fought and died in wars to give us this opportunity.

My kids have got the flu. Except for Mason, but he is wishing he had the flu, as his dad has him outside cleaning the yard and mowing. Bummer. I'm supposed to take a crockpot full of chili to the school at 4. for the teachers appreication dinner. It isn't really a sit down dinner, more of an eat and run dinner they the get between conferences tonight. Poor teachers. At least we are feeding them. Alex & Emily's conferences are tonight. Should be an interesting night.

"Alex is easily distracted, and not very mature for his age."

"WHAT?? My son? Not very mature for 6?" Gee thanks for the heads-up.

Oh how I love teachers conferences.

The Final Push

Seems that most things in life come down to the final push. We are always looking forward to something happening, or not happening. This week is full of final pushes for us.

On Friday night Em is going to her first Girl Scout banquet where she becomes an official "Brownie". I bought her a cute pair of Kahki slacks and a white polo to wear as well as her sash. I must iron on her patches and make some BBQ Baked beans all by Friday afternoon.

Alan started a new well today. I'm pretty happy about that as our season is coming to an end and this is the time of year I start getting stressed about weather we will have enough money on hand to make to next season. This is the final push of the season, before the snow falls, or the election takes place and we find ourselves facing many, many, many months of no new wells to drill and the possibility of Alan needing to find a position somewhere. Oh the things I worry about.

Saturday night my two oldest boys are going to attend a Masquarade Ball at Orchard Mesa church. So as a good mommy I will make a trek to Murdochs for Black jeans and long sleave white button ups. This is what they are wearing with their mask. Very original huh?? They worked on their mask yesterday, did a pretty good job too. My little guys are growing up right before my eyes. Tyler is taller than Grandma Minnie. Weird huh. He has great big man feet. He doesn't walk he struts. Where did he get all this extreme confidence from. I know it wasn't from me, his neurotic mother. And I don't think from his dad either, he leans toward the quiet side. It must be some throwback gene he inherited from my mom. HMMMM.

Mason is growing about 6 inches a week, or so it seems. About 2 weeks after buying new jeans for him I start noticing he is wearing high waters. "Who's jeans are those Mason?" oh "There mine, mom" "Where did you get them?" "You bought them." Well Duh, like he is really going to spend any of HIS hard earned money on clothes! So okay now he is moving up yet another size, and it looks like we will need to drill an extra well a year just to keep the kid clothed.

My little Alex is learning to read. Slowly surely. He is not too fond of math though. Just another thing for me to worry about. I know from experience he will be reading and doing math with great ability by the time he is 12. Life sure is funny that way.

Amy has discovered PBSKIDS.ORG. She has to play at least one game a day on it or serious fits ensue. I fear I am raising a little terrorist.

My Civic Duty

In my never ending quest to be in first position on Trina's blog list, I have decided to to write more happenings in my life.

A couple of months ago I was a the court house with Alan, and because the boys & I are learning about elections, I asked Alan if it would be okay for me to volunteer as an election judge for the upcoming election. Kind of a hands on civic responsibility type thing. Sooooo....of course he said sure, (my husband is pretty easy going). I approached the elections division office and asked how I would go about volunteering to be an elections judge. She handed me a packet of papers to fill out which included a W-9 form. After questioning the lady about the need for the form she told me this a paid position, and for working the election and doing the training you will be paid $10 per hour!!! Yea for me. I haven't had an actual paying job since three days before my wedding. WOW. So I get to go to training Wednesday afternoon, also paid. And I get to help with the mailout ballots shortly after that and the election day. Should be very exciting and very educational at the same time. Now Alan is teasing me about being a working wife!! But he did OK it so he's doing alright. And it should give me some spending money for the After Thanksgiving sales that I plan to go to with my sissy's in Oklahoma.

In other news, we went to church yesterday, as usual. Its funny how something just kind of hits you when you didn't really realize it at all before. Yesterday it seemed that we had over 50 youngkids & 5 to 12 year olds. In our little church. Its a good thing we are building that new building. Ten years from now those kids are going to thank us!!!

Homeschool Tales

My sons have never been very good readers, there I said it, out there for the whole world to see. At least thats what I thought until recently. My oldest has struggled for years with tracking issues and with a general fear of reading. That stint in the special reading class at school did not help him at all! He had a teacher who called him bad names and told him he was just stupid. But I digress.

I myself, love to read. Anything, Everything, Everywhere. So it has been with some surprise that my, not to interested in reading, sons have miraculously started reading. Not just because as part of their homeschooling, I demand that they read, but because they actually seem to be enjoying their books! Who woulda thunk it??

Tyler is currently reading "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch", and Mason is heavily involved in the lastest Hardy Boys adventure. And I am one very happy momma. This summer I purchased several paperbacks through Amazon to have in case someone caught the reading bug, and it looks like it took. The library is nice, but I wanted the kids to read for the enjoyment of reading without deadlines or the worry of overdue fees. So this has been working pretty well. I must go now. Where did I put my book???

Poor Tammy!!

This morning my sis in Oklahoma called and said her SIL Tammy, who happens to live one mile from me, has contracted a very servere case of poison sumac!! EEEKKK! Well I have never had this affliction, but I am extremely allergic to poison oak so I can certainly feel her pain. Beth said she had been to Wal-Mart (tammy) to find some Tecnu to wash with and attempt to get the poison oil off her skin and try to stop the spread, but she was unable to find it. I called Wal-greens and found some there so I made an emergency run to town and got it for her. She was pretty happy to see me. The poor girl looks just terrible. She is litterly covered in poison sumac. Hopefully it doesn't hang on too long.

Happy Sunday

Today the church at Delta ordained Bro. Ray Bellew to be an Elder. It is such a blessing for us because we have doubled our Elder population. It has been 30 years since they last ordained here. Everything went very smoothly. We had a very good meeting. It was also church dinner day and many people stayed for dinner. Our new building is coming along nicely. It is trussed and sheeted, now for the windows and doors. The little kids have really been enjoying playing baseball in there with the tennis rackets. That will definately have to stop once the windows go in. Looks like by this time next year we will be in the new building, Lord willing.

The brethern have had so much unity lately. That feels so good. To know that the brethern truly love and care for one another. It was our intent to ordain two more elders, but neither of them felt that this was their time. But hopefully next time it will be easier. We are so blessed that things went so well this time. I will post pictures of the new building soon.

In other news....I curled Amy's red hair for church this morning. She looked a lot like Shirley Temple until she got her face dirty playing in the dirt pile. Oh well. Tom boys make the best girls I've always heard. Randy & Sheri N. & kids came by after church and we had a very good visit. We sure do enjoy them. That little Melanie is a doll.

Happenings in Colorado

Last night was church. Randy & Cheri sat in front of us. Their baby kept crawling over Drewsie to get to Shelby. First the baby kicks her in the head. Drew turns to us looking like she is about to cry. I couldn't help it I got the giggles. The a few minutes later the baby hits her in the face with a book! Poor girl was seriously getting beat up last night. She was no worse for the wear though. We sure have enjoyed them coming here for church. I hope the Lord allows for their house to sell soon.

Sunday morning we are going to ordain an elder. It is nice for the church to have named leadership. Pray for us that this can be accomplished. The brothern have had much unity lately and it really is home to me now. Bout time we've only lived here 6 years!

We are in the middle of building our new church building. It is huge! It will have a kitchen and eating area, and a very good size meeting area too. It has been really great to watch all the guys work together happily enjoying one anothers company. They will be sheeting the trusses on Saturday. It will probably take quite a while to finish, due to funding issues, but eventually it will get done.

Last Saturday I had tickets to see the Issacs in concert in Ridgeway. I bought for myself and my boys but Alex declined to go at the last minute so I took Rueban N. Tyler & Mason. It was in a small church so we were all up close & personal with them. Kind of like sitting in someones living room. We throughly enjoyed the concert. I met Lily Issacs, (the mom). She remembered Beth & Sandy from Branson last year when they couldn't get seats and Lily had them all come in anyway (7 friends in all) and they got to set up front on the instrument cases. I thought it was pretty cool that she would remember them. I bought 3 CD's for me and 1 DVD for Angela Mc who is a huge Issacs fan and couldn't go because no ticket, and it would have been hard to leave Kyle for that long. Plus she just had her 30th birthday so we called it a late birthday present. She told me last night that the DVD is great! My favorite CD is the one called "Songs we've worn out". It has 20 songs on it all greatest hits. Love, love, love it!

We don't get many Southern Gospel groups this side of Colorado. But I guess Ridgeway Christian Center is going to make Southern Gospel night a yearly event. So maybe I will get to see some of my favorites in the future.

Tyler & Mason went to outdoor school with our homeschooling group. Tyler said he was a little too old for it but he did have a good time. They got to do repelling, canoeing, horseback riding, rock climbing. Sounds like fun maybe I'll go next year with Emily.

I think I will homeschool Emily & Alex next year, but of course that is all subject to change.

Oh I almost forgot to mention on the 12th Angela & I took Tracey & Emily out to dinner & then to see Beauty & the Beast at the Magic Circle Theater. We let them wear their fancy dresses and fixed their hair up all pretty. The got many adoring comments from strangers, and we, the proud mama's, just stood by and grinned!

LEWIS FAMILY REUNION - NOTICE

This was the quickest way I could think of to get this info out.

The reunion will be held in Oregon at the campground in Turner. This is the same one that the church uses. The dates are June 19, 20, 21 with cleanup on June 22nd.

If you have any question contact me or Tina Mc.

PreSchool Dropout

Well we gave it a go anyway! Amy was soooo excited about going to school so we enrolled her in preschool in Olathe. She was thrilled with her new backpack, new school clothes, and her flashy new school shoes, so off she went. Now, as most of you know I am not a huge fan of public schools but I could see that as a very social person she would probably enjoy time to play with children her own age. What could possibly go wrong??

Tuesday of this week after I had her dressed, fed, and ready to leave for school she annouced quite calmly that she was finished with school and would not be going anymore! WHAT?? So we tried to figure out exactly what to do about this situation. Alan said to give her a day off and try again tomorrow. We did, she didn't change her mind, in fact she is even more resolute in her determination that she too will homeschool.

Now I have to go to headstart and unenroll her in preschool.

This morning she brought the map of the world placemat to me and felt she must know all the names of the countries and oceans, (just in case she gets the itch to travel), so her & I talked about the Earth and how it is round like a ball, and yes Norway is much farther away than it looks on the map, and wouldn't it be fun to live in Bolivia, and is that purple stuff surrounding Antartica ice?, (how did she know that Antartica is ice?), and is it called Greenland because it is green?, and where is Hawaii?. So my little preschooler is really a little thinker, and mom should just learn to go with the flow!!

The boys have been busy doing there math & reading, and various writing assignments I give them. They are also studying The Constitution, elections, electoral college, polls and 9/11,
Alex and Emily are still in PS. Although they are making presistant noises (kinda like an annoying little mosquito), that they want to homeschool too. We shall see.

Trip to Oregon/This & That

It seems that it has been quite a while since I last posted. To start with I am homeschooling Tyler & Mason this year and we are loving it. It is much less stressful when I am not the one teaching them how to read. So far we are doing math daily, Grammer, twice a week, history & science unit studies (self-designed), and daily journal writing. That has been working quite well thus far. I made the boys sign a contract with me that they would do their work & chores without arguing, fighting, or sassing! Their dad also threatened to send them back to public school if they gave me any guff. So far, so good.

They week that the little kids (Emily, Alex & Amy) started school, Bro. Josh W. passed away in Oregon. Alan & I took Tyler, Mason & our nephew Tim with us and went to Oregon for Josh's funeral. While it was very sad for all of us there was great joy & rejoicing in knowing where we will see him next. I know that life will be very challenging for Cynthia, but she is a strong person and is surrounded by a wonderful family.

While in Oregon we stayed with Rob n Dixie and their girls, (all very beautiful BTW). That was fun it just feels like we never have enough time. Got to spend one night with Steve n Shae & their boys (also quite beautiful). It was fun to watch the teenagers play their little games, funny that one of those kids is now mine!

On Sat, when we were in Oregon, we took Amber & the boys to the Pacific Ocean. It was a blast. We spent a lot of time getting soaked at Cape Perpetua. I do have pictures but they are on the other camera. That is the problem with having two cameras.

In other news. My dad came to see us last weekend. We went to Ouray and hiked at box canyon falls then dad took us all swimming at the Hot Springs pool. It is my kids favorite place to swim. Alex has pretty much taught himself how to swim this summer, Amy is well on her way. All in all it was a very nice day. Tyler turned 14 that day also. Can't hardly beleive that. He was just a baby a few days ago! Mason is 12 now and is getting pretty wound up about being a teenager next year. I know that soon my young men will be gone from our home and have homes of their own. I only hope I can give them all tools they need to take care of themselves when they go. They above are some pictures of our trip to Ouray.

Sunday-Sweet Corn-Singing

Well to begin with we went to church. Very good for us. Meeting was well attended and was reasonably well participated in. (There I go ending a sentence incorrectly.) Rusty & Childern were here and I don't know how long they are staying but the Bellew crew were present & accounted for.(There I go again.) After church we invited several over but everyone was going out to eat. We came home and grilled some steaks and fixed Olathe Sweet sweet corn. It was totally fab. You Oregonians don't know what you are missing. After dinner Randy & Cheri came by and we visited. I just love having them in Colorado. If they were to move I would bawl for a good long time. Jim & Angela Mc came by and picked greens with Scotty & Sara Esser and their kids. Then everyone came in and had ice cream. Nothing like chocolate ice cream to bring people together. Luke came with Jim & Ang and brought his instruments and we had an impromptu singing. It was well attended and well participated in by adults and children alike.

There was a mens meeting tonight and I told Alan he must go or I would refuse to listen to him gripe about anything for the next month. So There. So he went.

Oh I just remembered to day is a birthday for two of my very good friends from childhood and beyond. Happy Birthday Bro. Dennis & Bro. Dravin. Not that either of them ever read my blog but just in case. Dennis - you have only one year until you join the fogey crowd!

Well that is just about all I have to say at this point. Have a good week.

Finally a New Post

So here the deal. We have been extremely busy this summer. Alan finished the Norwood wells for the developer, we faxed him the invoices and he sent us a check. WOW! That was fast. So for the time being we are feeling pretty wealthy!!HEE HEE. Now after I pay the bills that will be a different story.

We have moved the drill to a new site and I hope we hit water for this guy. They are almost finished building their vacation house and it would just be a bummer to have to haul water all the way up there. If we had magic water finding eyes we would just know where to drill and how deep and everyone would be happy. Unfortunately, God did not so bless us with those.

We have been setting in an awful lot of meetings this past week. Bro. Alva & Sis. Sonya have been here from Vici and he has been holding meetings. Really good meetings, but long. So we just holed up here at home last night and didn't go visiting or anything. We are trying to get some bookwork done and I am trying to put the house back together. We did have some company ourselves. Bro. Danny & Sis. Coweta Godwin from Cushing came and stayed with us a couple of days. They are a bit older than Alan & I and have kids our age, but we sure enjoyed them being here and visiting with us. We had two babtized last week, one boy from Vici and Bro. Alva's Son in Law from Delta. It was so nice to see that finally happen.

On another note I purchased a new camera, because I have been unable to find mine. Well lo and behold it turned up a week after I bought the new one. But I personally feel you cannot own too many cameras. So I will just keep them both.

That is all I have to write now. Remember I Love You all and really would like you to post a comment just so I know I haven't been talking to myself!!

This That & The Other Thing

This has been a fairly busy week in the McCracken Camp. Alan has completed 2 of the six wells has contracted for one developer and several more jobs have lined up to be done hopefully before Christmas! I found out that I am really not a very good camper even with a fully equipped travel trailer. Big surprise there! It rained and was cold most of the time we were in Norwood so we spent a lot of time indoors reading & playing. Alan had to come back down in valley Wednesday night to gather supplies so the little ones and I came with him and got to stay home!!! Yah for me.

I have been spending the last few days catching up on housework and doing business books. Figured out we had enough money in the business to give ourselves a paycheck. That is always a nice thing to discover.

Stupid horses got out last night. Looks like one of them cut his leg badly and tore some ligaments so it will have to be put down this fall. It took myself and aproximately 10 neighbors and mom & dad McCracken about 45 minutes to get them pinned back up. Anybody want a horse?

Dravin & Krista Mc are supposed to be around sometime this weekend. I hope that works out. It will be nice to see them again. Their kids are so much fun and my boys have a blast with them.

Alans family on the McCracken/Pfister side are having a family reunion this weekend so I need to make some things to take to it. Probably brownies and sandwiches as that is the easiest. You all know what a gourmet chef I am.

Mom mc & Cendie are going to Wash next week for the Beach Party. Wish I could go too. But that is highly unlikely. Do I sound jealous? Perhaps this winter we will make it that direction.
I should probably get off of here and make some lunch as Alan & the boys are on their way home. Love you all please leave and comment and let me know you visited.

Learning to Speak Spanglish

This year as I have said, I will be homeschooling Tyler & Mason. One of the things we all want to accomplish is to learn how to speak Spanish. I purchased from Rosetta Stone Spanish (Latin America) levels 1 & 2. It arrived last night and I have been messing around with it since. This morning Alex says "Mama I want to learn to speak English too." So I guess that is my next job. To teach Alex how to speak English!

On a different note. We have been extremely busy with our well drilling business this summer. We are supposed to go to Norwood and drill 10 wells for a developer there. So we will be borrowing a camp trailer to live in for a couple of weeks and we will stay up there until the jobs are done. I am not very outdoorsy, but I will be a trouper and report back to everyone my survival tips. Some of you are old hands at this so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I got to meet Sis. Laurie & Family this last weekend. That was very nice. I guess I didn't meet the whole family as I beleive she has a bunch of boys, but did meet Raine and the dad.

Day Trip to Ouray, Colorado

Today I took the kids(except Tyler) up to the hot springs pool in Ouray. For those of you who do not live around here it is pronounced U-Ray. We had the best time. Alex & Amy wore water wings and floated everywhere. Of course Alex, being the brave little man, decided after about 5 minutes that he did not need those silly things and took them off! I guess having a pool here at the house has really helped in that area because he was swimming pretty well without them.

It amazes me how social my kids are sometimes. Alex and Emily both had no problem finding a little buddy to hang out with while we were there. Amy & Mason hung out with me. Mason had to do the lap test to go in the deep water (AGAIN)! He couldn't remember the name of the guy who gave him the test 2 years ago so they made him do it over. He can swim pretty well, but it is a hard test (I dont know if I could pass it!) Thankfully once you are over 13 Yrs you don't have to take it at all! He was pretty slow but he passed. I told the lifegaurd the reason he was so slow on the back stroke was because his arm is crokked (sp) from a break he had when he was 6, he passed anyway, I was pretty pleased with him for sticking with it.

My Dad showed up after we had been there 3 hours. He is in town (ouray) for a week at a small family reunion with some of his brothers. They have rented a lodge 10,000 square feet for a week! It is pretty neat inside. I stopped by and took a look at it on the way out of town. I think dad is going to stay with us a couple of weeks this summer. It should be fun. He does seem kind of lost without mom though. It feels weird that she is not here too. This was a trip she was very excited about taking, and when it came to the end, she told him he better go himself!! So he did.

Alan's business is really taking off this summer. (Thanks for all the prayers). In this line of work it is either feast or famine. So if I'm fat when you see me next you will know we had a good year! On the other hand, I do like being skinny!

Frollicking in The Pool

The above are pictures of my kids playing in our pool. This has turned out to be a very wise investment. I do have to put pool shock in it once a week because it gets so much use, but we are all really enjoying this new toy! Alan hates to get in it because the water is still very cold and he is so skinny that he freezes instantly, unlike his wife whose abundance of personal insulation keeps her toasty (more or less) for 1/2 an hour. The kids swim in it for hours on end. Maybe Alan & I are just getting old!

Yeah For ME!

I need lots of atta girls for this one.

This morning I devoted all of the morning to finishing Arlenes Wedding Veil and guess what???I actually got it DONE.

When Cindie & Arlene went to pick out her wedding dress they so graciously invited Emily & I along. She ended up picking the dress that I loved the absolute most. It honestly looks like it was made just for her. Anyway when she put it on the final time at the shop the gal put a veil on her and she just looked incredibly beautiful, I actually started getting teary eyed over the whole thing. So I asked her if I could make her veil and she (being the trusting soul that she is)said I could.

Fast Forward to the last few weeks. I have been slowly but surely sewing the lace on and had the longest part of it complete and was stumped about how to do the top but this morning it kind of came to me (in a flash of brilliance no less) and I got it all sewed together. It looks lovely on her and really hope that she likes it. And yes, I did get all weepy all over again. Arlene was a junior bridesmaid in mine and Alans wedding and it is so sweet that Emily gets to be a flower girl in hers.

I will probably be bawl baby at the wedding, but thats alright cause thats what over emotional aunts are for. I must get this all out of my system before any of my own dear children decide to leap from the nest!

The very bad, horrible, no good morning!

Well I certainly am not going to win any mother of the year awards now!! Lets see where to begin.

First of all I spent most of yesterday in Grand Junction picking up clothes for the kids and a blouse for Mom McCracken to where to Arlenes wedding, then I picked up Wade & McKenzie from Vel's house to take them back to Grandma McCrackens, then I stopped by Tonya Wilsons to pay for mom & dads 50th Anniversary cake. So on the way through Delta I stopped at this convience store that sells milk for $6 for 2 gallons, which would be a very good deal if the milk we not spoiled!!!

I love birds as much as anyone, but they start singing LOUDLY at my bedroom window at 4:45 every morning! So of course I get up and shut the windows and try to get back to sleep. Dosen't work!
I didn't discover until late last night that the milk was bad (both gallons), I got up at 6:00 and drove to Olathe and bought a new gallon of milk. Driving home, due to my own failure to really look, I was almost T-Boned on my side of the van by a huge truck!! If he had hit me I wouldn't be writing this because I most certainly would be dead now. After that narrow miss I decided to drive more carefully.

Upon arriving at the house I discover that my teenager did not in fact load the dishwasher last night, after assuring me he would. So I was very unhappy about the sink full of dirty dishes. I loaded it then took care of the laudry. The proceed to make pancakes for Alan & Tyler. Tyler didn't eat his and instead got himself a Coffee cup full of cereal and milk. "Why didn't you eat a pancake?" "Well, I didn't have time." Grrrrrr. So he gets made and DUMPS his cereal and milk into the sink (that I had just cleaned out), my you we don't have a garbage disposal, then he makes a beline for the door!! Needless to say I have not been a very happy mom this morning. Thanks for listening to my rant!

On a different note I have decided to list things that I am looking forward to.

1) Pictures that I am sure someone will post of Ashleas wedding. Since I am unable to attend.

2) Getting Arlenes veil completely finished. It is looking pretty good but I think I need to add some more lace to it.

3) Getting through Arlenes wedding week and just enjoying her day.

4) Getting through Alfred & Minnies 50th anniversary party. So I can stop worrying about it and maybe get some sleep!

5) Going to Nicole Herrmanns wedding, where I have to do is watch!

6) My 40th birthday. It means I am still alive and kickin

7) Getting my house organized and my homeschooling finalized for next fall.

8) Tyler coming home so I can apologize for being such a jerk this morning.

Cleaning, Cleaning, Cleaning

Perhaps its because I have had such a cruddy year, or because it feels like the walls are closing in on me, I don't know which, but....I have started my yearly decluttering. Several people, neighbors, friends, family....have given me bags & bags and bags of hand me downs recently. That in its self is very nice, and now I have plenty of clothes for both Emily & Amy for school next year....buuuuttt... After the fifth large bag of clothes I start getting very picky with things. So today after going through all the bags and cleaning out one drawer in my own dresser, I took three very overstuffed bags of well stuff to the Salvation Army. I don't know where the mountains of clothing ends up but they happily take everything I want to dispose of.

This weekend the swamp cooler overflowed and leaked into my utility room. AAAAAAhhhh! I was not a very happy camper. All the sheets, tools, ect. had to be rewashed and the room smells terrible now. I have just about got caught up on the laundry. So, my goal for the week is to go through each of the kids' dressers and get rid of about half of the unused, too small, clothing so that the house cleaning will not take as much time. Lets see if I can do it.

I have also been diligently planning our February Hawaii cruise. That is not really work but it is what I spend a lot of time on. Our plane tickets are bought & paid for. Money to pay for the cruise itself is in the bank, so now I just need to save for activities and such. Alans dear cousin Stephanie & her sweet husband Jeramy have so graciously agreed to stay with our kids the week we are gone. Steph married my third cousin Jeremy Easter from Purcell Oklahoma. Always room for another Easter in the McCracken Clan. I need to get chore list and such done for the kids for while we are away. Another thing to add to the growing list.

Alex had a terrible flu last week. Poor little guy. He just doesn't do sick very well. He is feeling better now and went back to Summer School today. He is really enjoying that. There are only 5 kids to each teacher, so he is learning a bunch.

The kids are loving the new swimming pool. It is very cold water though so I don't manage to stay in very long. I don't think Alan has been in it at all. Hopefully it will get warmer soon so we can enjoy it.

I must go now and get busy with more cleaning. You all have a nice week.

DANGEROUS WITH A CREDIT CARD PART II

Today I made an executive decision. Given the high price of gas and the many childern I have and the fact that the temp is near 90 during the afternoon, I went to walmart and bought a POOL. Yep, thats me. Give me a credit card and a reason and I'll just whip that puppy out! It took us all afternoon and evening to set it up and it is still filling. I don't imagine it will be full until the wee hours. It is 18 feet diameter & 4 ft high. That is going to be one huge water bill. HMMMM. Maybe I should have thought about that little detail.

Anyway the kids are so excited about it and so is their momma.

I was sick Thurs, Fri, & Sat of last week with a flu so intense and a fever so high that I thought my head was going to pop off my shoulders! But I am feeling much better now. Had my dear husband quite worried though. I will try to post pictures soon of the childern frolicking in the pool!! I just love that word! Frolicking, Frolicking, Frolicking!

In Loving Memory of My Mother Sister Deanie Easter

My mother passed away Tuesday May 15, 2008. Her family had gathered around her bedside and we were able to hold her hand through this time. She was such a wonderful beautiful lady. I will miss her terribly. I thank God that I had the time with her that I did. She had a lovely funeral service in Tulsa where many brethern and friends attended. Later in the day she had a graveside service at Parkland Cemetary. Bro. Bill Porter & Bro. Danny Godwin officiated the services. We were blessed during mothers last days to have the help of many of our family. Moms Aunt Virginia James from New Mexico came and cared for her, as well as Aunt Joy Easter, Uncle Carl & Aunt Wanda James and many others. My sisters and I bathed her a day or so before she died. It was an honor to care for her in her own home.

Many brethern came and brought food while we were there. Bro. Bill & Sis. Marcelle were such a big help to our family. As were Bro. Danny & Sis. Coweta Godwin. Many more brethern than I could possibly name visited and helped us so much. Beth & Robert pulled their 5th Wheel over for Alan & I to stay in. It made things so nice for us. Alan got up each morning after mom died and set and had coffee with my Dad. Dad was only sleeping about 4 hours a night and he really needed the company. Please pray for him. I know he is going to be so lonely without her.

The night before the funeral we stayed with Colin & Teresa. What a blessing it is to have friends like that. I feel like I have riches untold when I see all of the friends I have. We love you Colin & Teresa. We love everyone of you who have helped us through this trial.

Back Home Again

This is Monday. I have been working all morning trying to get the house back to livable conditions. Being gone for a week can sure take its toll on a place, especially when you leave a husband & four childern at home. So far I have done the kitchen, cleaned the living room done two loads of laundry, and have done quite a bit of decluttering as I worked, so things are starting to shape up. I sounded like a drill sargent this morning before the kids left for school. I made Tyler & Mason clean & vaccum their room. I can't stand it when things get so totally out of whack. Most of you know me personally & I have never been that picky of a housekeeper, but as I get older I seem to be leaning more in that direction. It's about time!!

The trip out to Oklahoma was very good. Amy behaved so well on the way out and it was great when we got to the hospital where mom was, Amy was the first person she saw when she woke up. It made my mom so happy! The doctors had planned on doing exploratory surgery on Mom on Monday morning (basically they were going to use her as a guinea pig), but my sister & I discussed it and we both didn't feel like mom would make it out of surgery alive. Sooooo after speaking with my dad about it the family decided to take her home and care for her there. I beleive that is why I felt so pressed to go to Oklahoma when I did. She & Daddy were both so happy when we got her home. It was such a beautiful thing. My moms aunt is staying with them indefinately.

It was good to get to visit with my mom. I had the opportunity to speak to her alone for a while and was able to get some things worked out that I had let set for many years. I know without a doubt that mom loves me. I think I often wondered about that. The night before I left I set next to her and held her and she kept kissing me and telling me how much she loved me & my kids. I don't care how old a person gets, sometimes we just need to hear that from our Mommy's.

The ride home with Sis. Carolyn was wonderful. We had such a nice visit. The trip from Sapulpa to my house only took us 13 1/2 hours. And we did not speed. We took a great short cut through the backroads of Texas.

I don't think that I will get to see my mom again before she passes. She is very very ill. But I know that she loves me and that is all that really matters to me right now. I am so thankful she is at home. Thank you all for your prayers

Going Back to Oklahoma

My mom is very ill and I will be leaving for OK in a couple of hours. Please keep me and Sis. Carolyn Cunningham in your prayers. I am taking Amy and the rest of the kids will be staying home. I don't know if I will make it there in time to speak to Mom again but if I do please remember to pray for me that I will speak whatever the Lord gives me to and to keep my mouth shut when I need to also. Love You All.

Paperback Swap

I stumbled across the neatest website last week. It is called paperbackswap.com. What you do is post ten books that you are willing to swap and they give you 2 credits immediately to use. Then as people request your books and you mail them to them you get another credit. 1 book = 1 credit. The great thing is there are over 2 million books posted and more added daily. You also have a wish list where you can request books. That way if someone post one you want you get an email asking if you want to order it. It doesn't cost anything except for postage to mail out your book to the next person. It has tons of great features. I have sent off 9 books since last Thursday and have seven coming to me. I have already received two books. Its such a great way to acquire books you want, and to get rid of those you don't need any longer. You girls should take a look at the site and tell me what you think.

A Decision Finally Made

This weekend after much discussion, thought & prayer, Alan & I decided to homeschool Tyler & Mason through Jr. High & Highschool. I don't really know what kind of homeschool. Knowing me I would say loosely structured. I could sure use any advice or encouragement you lovely homeschool moms might have. I'm a little nervous, but I am very happy with the choice. The boys have been lobbying for this for a couple of years. The little kids will continue on in public school through elementary. Or until I change my mind.

We live a very spontaneous life. It would be so nice to just up and run to Brewster or Eugene or Oklahoma for a week or two without having to notify the government. I know that Alan really needs Tylers help with the business this fall & winter, and Tyler needs to learn all he can from his dad. Mason is a sweet & gentle soul and school was destroying him. I think my biggest fear was losing my time to myself. But I will have plenty of that when they are grown!!

I was happy to hear that Rusty & Dennis went to pray for my mom this morning. She did not do well yesterday with the flying and her legs had began to swell. I am not out there so if any of you sisters see her and feel that there is something I should be told or whatever please, please send me an email, I check it frequently. Beth is going to try to keep me updated. At this point it is just so hard to know what to do. A sister from GJT called me this morning and said that yesterday in church the Lord put it in her mind to take me to see my mom. I really didn't know what to say to that as we had just been to Oklahoma and my mom is with Cindy & Connie now so I told her I thought mom was doing better, but we would pray about it and see how we felt later. Then I spoke with Beth & found out that mom wasn't as well as I had beleived. I trust this sister from GJT completely and I truly beleive that the Lord gave her that instruction, however, I don't know if it is for right now or for after mom gets back to OK. Please pray for me that I will know what to do. Thanks, JoAnn.

Notable Night!!

Last night upon returning from church we found that ALL of the cows were out!! Alan, (in his great wisdom)decided that they would not wander far and would be fine until the morning. I thinnk he was really just very tired and did not want to mess with it. Soooo Anyway. This morning they were all gone! He and the big boys had to go hunt them down and chase them back in. What a wonderful start to the day.

At 7:30 this morning Angela Mc had a baby boy!! Finally!! She was about 2 1/2 weeks overdue. His name is Kyle Douglas and he is 8 1/2 lbs. Very adorable. Alan & I made the pilgramage over to greet the new prince at 8:45 (hey, we were very excited). After seeing that he was wearing a purple baby cap, I made a trip to Target and picked up the cutest little boy things. They should fit him for 2 or 3 weeks. The kid needed clothes! Also on the shopping list were chocolates for Angela. She was quite happy with that. I do plan to not go back again at least until tomorrow, although the kids will be home a 4:00 and you just know they are going to want to see the baby. It is so awesome when a sister has a healthy, happy baby. Gives you so much confidence that the faith will continue.

The Lord has blessed us all with Trinas little Boaz, Dixies little Holly, Tereasas B.'s little Cassidy, Gracies little Mariah, and now little Kyle!! WOW!! All within the last month. Pretty amazing isn't it?

Weeeeee're Baaaaack!!

I am sure you all are very excited to here from me again!!LOL!! We just returned home from Oklahoma last Saturday night. It was a fun and very exhausting trip. We left home on Friday the 26th. After arriving at my Sister Beth's home that night, we got the grand tour of their new home and then we fell into a deep sleep (after they so graciously gave us their bedroom for the night). We left from their house Saturday morning and spent the day with my other sister Cindy & her family at a place called "Incredible Pizza". The place is a fun park type place with games, go-karts, bumper cars not to mention unlimited pizza, ice cream, soda, saled & pasta!! My kids thought they were in Heaven. Alan and I really enjoyed our day with the family, but if you ever go there bring lots of cash. It is an incredibly expensive pizza experience. But a ton of fun.

We went to church at Sapulpa, set in a very good meeting, then went to some bretherns home for dinner. Which was absolutely delicious! Afterwards we hustled back to the church for Bro James & Sis. Barbaras 50th Wedding Anniversary party. There were about 250 people there. It was a nice party all done up in Pink & Black like a 50's soda shop. Their kids did a lot of work to make it extra special for them. I got to see many of my friends from my teenage years there and that was wonderful. For some reason everyone is looking quite young, none of us looked like we have aged at all.

I got to see Julie and her family. Was going to try to make it over to their place but ran out of days. The picture above is of Emily and Taylor. They were in first grade together for a time and are very good friends and cousins.

I was able to spend a few days with my folks. Mom is still very sick and in need of prayers. The brethern have been so good to check on them. I am so thankful for everyones kindness.

On Tuesday night we went to Jeff & Sylvias for dinner. Our kids had a blast playing with their kids. We had a great visit with them and Bro. Wes & Sis. Angie. Sylvia is a dear friend without whom I am sure I would not have survived my growing up years. How's that for schmoozing?

Wednesday we meandered down route 66 to OKC to see Sam & Skye. Why you ask, did we not take the turnpike. Because my husband hates to pay to drive on the turnpike and was determined that we could go all the way on the backroads. He was very insistent so I let him have his way. We almost made it too!

We visited my Uncle & Aunt, and then on to Alans brothers house. Spent time with Sam & Skye and kids in City, went to the zoo. Will write more later as I am getting tired.

Been Sick

Well of all the weekends to get the flu bug. The Lewis Family in this area planned this big Easter Dinner at the church Sunday. All of Uncle Ray & Aunt Wanda's family was here except for Doug's. Plus Bill& Beckys Boys came down. And it was Zacks bday. But this mean old flu bug visited again. I was in no condition to go anywhere. Saturday I had bad chills and fever, Sunday headache and fever. Today I am much better, but still feel pretty week. But looking on the Pollyanna side of things, I did lose six pounds!! Nothing like forced fasting to jumpstart your diet!

DANGEROUS WITH A CREDIT CARD

You do not want to set me loose with a credit card! I just managed to spend almost 4,000 in 20 minutes. Thats about how long it took me to book airline tickets for Alan & I and My sis and her hubby for Hawaii for next Feb. We booked early to avoid possible airfare increases due to fuel cost. We are sooo excited about this trip. We will be cruising the Hawaiian Islands on NCL. It is to celebrate our 15th anniversary and their 20th. Now time to start that diet & exercise program. Weight Watchers here I come!!

So Much to do So Little Time

I have finally found my camera usb cord and managed to transfer some photos. The first is of my mom. Her color is not real good here and she need prayers. We are going to see her again soon.

The second is of Alex and his airplane that his dad made. What a cutie he is. I just love my little guy. He has such personality. I am in the middle of spring cleaning, but still have so much to accomplish.

Sis. Teresa B. called this morning to let me know she had a baby girl at 8:40 last night. So I ran over to see her. Baby is healthy and beautiful. Now I am waiting for word on Dixie, Angela, and of course Trina. Time to do some gift shopping. I just love little babies, don't really need another one myself. But I love spoiling everyone elses.

Alan & I took a quick trip to Las Vegas to pick up a diesel motor he had purchased on ebay. We only paid 431. for it and with the trip cost we have less than 1,000 dollars invested in it. Well today he was working on it and it started up perfect. We are so thankful for this because we need to replace the motor on the drill (deck portion) so that he can make some money and we thought we were going to have to spend like 5,000 or more to fix it.

So this is what is happening around our place. Hope to here from you all soon.

O Happy Day

We had a great meeting today at Delta. After church Bro. Randy & Sis. Cherie N. came over for dinner. Then we get a call that there will be a babtizing for Trey Byers (who had attended Montrose Church today) at 4p.m. so we hustle around for that. Montrose Brethern and Delta Brethern use the same babtizing hole, and are mostly all related to one another. So there was a great mix of the assemblies there. We got down there and it was freezing cold, and the wind was blowing. But it went very well and then April Easter from Delta gave her hand for Bro. Bobby Easter to babtize her. So we are all very happy. The ordinance supper will be at Montrose at 7:30 tonight for both of them. Sometimes the spirit works thing in such a way that we couldn't possibly fathom and makes everything so beautiful. It makes me so happy to see the two assemblies working in unity together for good. Love You All.

Emily

This little beauty is my daughter Emily. She was all dressed up for a wedding. Her teeth have grown in since, but basically she looks the same. This is the one I begged God for. Still she was a great surprise. I just figured I would have all boys. Em is very much a girly girl. She loves clothes, the more the better. Shopping, preferably with only mom. She is teaching herself the piano and is getting pretty good at it. But, she also likes to play outside in the dirt with the boys, jump on the trampoline, ride bikes and wrestle with her brothers. Em is now 8 1/2 years old. Her birthday is in Nov so she will just be starting third grade.

Some people say she looks like me. What do you all think? Poor Baby.

Alex's Airplane

Alex is 5, almost 6 years old. He has no interest in learning his alphabet, counting, reading, coloring etc..however he does love bugs, trains, airplanes & PE. I took him to the library recently and he asked for as many books on airplanes as they would let him take. He told the libraian that he and his dad were going to build an airplane, because his dad could build anything. So after pouring over his books this past week he convinced his dad to build one. Alan is a typical farmboy and can build anything with bailing wire and a two by four. So he proceeded to build an airplane for Alex. Alex is so proud of that plane. It is very large & heavy, because it is made from a two by four, but Alex doesn't seem to mind. He put a star sticker on his dad's hand and said "you are my best friend dad cause you made an airplane""now can you buy me a remote control one." Well Alan got all choked up over that. When he and I were in town yesterday we found a remote control one for 30 bucks and bought it for his birthday. Hopefully it will fly.

It continually amazes me how every one of my childern are different from the others. Not just a little bit. They don't act like they come from the same parents. It is always an adventure around here.

Many Hands Make Light Work(well sorta)

Today was meat cutting day at Alfred & Minnie McCracken's (Alans PA & MA). We woke up at the ridiculous hour of 7:00 am, to Alan trying to heard the cows back up to our house. It seems that someone left the electric fence down and they decided to tootle off to the feed yard 1/2 mile from our place. So after that exciting start to our day, we headed to mom & dads.

We grow our own beef and process it ourselves with Randy & Cheri, Roger & Cendie, Mom & Dad & assorted childern. We have been doing this for several years now and every year we dread it. But when its all finished we are so happy to have a freezer full of fresh beef. Plus with so many people working on it, we get things done pretty quickly.

This year we butchered Thomas. He was a little bull that we have raised since birth, Alex named him after Thomas the tank Engine. But he had gotten a little onry so it was his time to go (watch out kids). He was a fun little calf but will be a great tasting hamburger. We worked from 9 to about 2 with a break in there for lunch. We split the meat between the four families. Now we are home and exhausted and ready for a nap.

Mason

Number two son is Mason. He is eleven. Loves his music (really into bluegrass), sits next his grandma in church and sings. I just love that. Gives me warm fuzzies. He is right between little boy things & being a big kid. Such a tough place to be sometimes. Since Josiah died last January he never leaves the house without strangle hugging me and saying "Love You Mom". All of the kids are dealing with that situation in their own way. Josiah and Mason were very good friends. Mason always made time for him even though he was 3 years younger. So sad to lose a cousin.

Today after school he went back to work digging his hole. Don't know why he is doing it. It dosen't really go anywhere, but he seems to be having a great time. Mason is my academic and begs me to homeschool him again because so much of Public School is review. He says the only thing exciting is math. He excels at that. We all know how much patience I have with homeschooling, so lets just say that we won't be going there anytime soon. Tyler, however, is going to homeschool 7th grade through the summer so that he can go right into eight in the fall with his proper class. Pray for me.

Meet the Family

This is our oldest child. Tyler turned 13 in Sept. Our lives have not been the same since. He is a great kids, but has serious mood swings. I hope he outgrows that soon. One minute he is happy, laughing, having fun, the next ....."Bar the Door" He gets mad, weepy, sullen. All within the space of about 5 minutes. But he is growing up quickly. Not terribly interested in girls yet, but can't wait until he gets a car and license. I'm kind of glad about the girl thing, cause I would rather put that off a while.

The picture is a bit dated. It was taken Dec. 2006 at Disneyland. But he just looks so happy there. We had such a great time on that trip. Hope to take the kids to Disneyworld in a couple of years.

Just started this blogging Thing

Hey everyone. I hope that you will leave some comments here and help me figure out how to do this. I feel like I am just starting grade school & everyone else started many months before. So I will have to catch up. I have loved reading everyone elses blogs. It is such a nice way to keep in touch with all our family & friends scattered across the country. For those who don't know me I'm JoAnn McCracken. Married to Alan for 14 years. We have lived in Colorado for the past 5 1/2 years. We live on a small farm, where we raise our own beef. We have our water well drilling business that we started Feb. 2006. It is called McCracken Well Drilling, (catchy Huh?)

Our childern are Tyler (13), Mason (11), Emily (8), Alex (5), Amy(4). Hope to hear from you all soon.