He Returns!

Check it out..Check it out!!! Look at the flat-ness.....the smooth no-holes in my back yard, no dirt piles, smooth-ness of the back yard (and BLUE out there waiting his turn to be played in this summer)



Now....Now....Now Check out my FRONT YARD!




LOOOOOOOOOOOOOK!!! WHEEEEEEEEE!!! Now we just have to put more grass seed out to make it green again.



But...NO more holes...NO more piles of dirt...

Thank you "Brown" (as Olivia calls him) Doesn't Brown do a good job with his toys?

Still..........

Although it rained, Bryan did fix our driveway so we could once again drive and park on it. This means that the pile of rock is now gone.

Check-pile of rock gone




The holes are filled in, though the pile of dirt is still in my yard, it is smaller. The hole in the back yard has been filled in, but will require more dirt, as it is sinking.




Then came the rain.....



and the work stopped.....




So here it sits. I could cry if it would make it better. The mud is enough to make me crazy. There is not a place that we can walk with out tracking mud into the house or into the van.

The good news is that our swing set is going up on the one patch of grass left. Bryan will come and finish it, he has been gone all week for work...come back Bryan! PLEASE!!!

Septic tank covered-check
hole filled in, back yard-check (sort of)
bright blue water line buried-check
functioning septic system-check (PRAISE GOD)
Pile of dirt gone-not yet
smoldering pile of brush gone-check

it is better...I just want it done.....yes I know I am impatient.

Another day of digging

Another day begins with a problem. As Bryan, on the big yellow lawn ornament, began to dig the lateral lines that come out from the septic tank, he wasted no time in one again finding our water line.





This picture looks suspiciously like the last broken water line picture...one man stooped over the hole working and one or two others watching and offering their support. (and they call women strange for going to the restroom together) See Zarie in the back ground, she is supervising.



Look, the smoldering pile of brush that was the fire...




They decided that our old water line was too close to the surface anyway, and needed to be replaced. Mmm..hmmm.... of course this has nothing to do with the fact that he just shredded our old line does it?

Naaaaa.




umm...is that water supposed to be dripping from the line Bryan? Is there supposed to be a puddle under it?




He assures me that it is fine...umm...ok then.




Ah yes..this is much better..a bright blue water line ON TOP of the ground...




Ok..so lets review;

A large gaping hole in our front yard...with a new septic tank in it
A large gaping hole in our back yard...with sewage in it.
A track-ho
A Bull-dozer
A smoldering pile of brush
A pile of dirt
A pile of rock
and a bright blue water line
...............in my yard.................

Yes...I do think I could use some ice cream...thank you.

It's Here!

It is a bright and clear early Friday morning. What do I see pulling in the driveway? $747.00. Folks, if you want to know what $747.00 looks like...here it is backing up to the new gaping hole in my front yard.



Back it up..Back it up..Back it up...
(Cameron says this all the time, it is very cute)
There is Makayla watching the truck...she was better...(but not well enough to go to school mmm hmmmm)



Here is my dads new puppy..Chay (pronounced Shy). She is watching the happenings...I swear he loves that dog more than us.




The very nice man driving the septic tank truck...what a crappy job....hahahah! Yes I know that was a very bad pun.




Guiding the several hundred pound tank into the ground.



Here is my dad and the nice truck driver man lowering the tank into the ground.

Lil Miss Olivia watching. (you know there has to be some cute-ness in the midst of all the dirt)

Almost there!

Well..he was nice..now he wants our money so he can leave. Bye money..um...er...I mean..Bye nice septic tank truck driver man!

Makayla has found Chay...she could care less about the truck, the tank or the big toys in the front yard.

The rest of the day was spent fairly uneventfully, not much progress was made on the tank or septic system. Bryan spent some time leveling out the yard and then..and then...and then...

My dad decided to set the big pile of dead brush on fire NEXT to my house. Why would we want to move it away or you know...wait until the WIND is NOT blowing?? Naah...Lets just burn it.

Look a pile of rock in my drive way.

Sorry...what was I talking about?

Look my boy is playing on the big toy! I love this picture.

I love this picture too..it is really cool huh?

What was I talking about again?

Oh yes...the fire....Next to my house.

To be continued......

You need one of these

See this pretty new yellow lawn ornament? Everyone should have one. Really...it should be your new goal in life. You envy me don't you? Oh, yes and the lovely 5ft deep hole in the front yard...you need that too.




Oh look...he is making it bigger.........



Look at our hole...isn't it nice? This is where our new septic tank will be. Just beyond that, will be our new lateral field...along with several hundred dollars of our money.



Here is the dude that is digging the hole, Bryan. Bryan is a long time friend, I guess it is good that somebody we trust is digging in our yard, you wouldn't want someone that you don't trust putting in your new poop holding tank...that is a sensitive job. Look how happy he is in that big ol' toy. That is every mans dream I guess.



See..every mans dream...even little men. Look how cute he is in his little work boots and his house coat.



Speaking of feet...does something look strange here?



Speaking of lovely holes, remember me speaking of the noxious hole with the old tank? Yes..well here it is, see we have a matching pair.



nice.............



Look, it's my man :)



Uh Oh...He is off of the toy and on the phone.....there must be a problem



Yes...there is definitely a problem...

Ah..I was informed, they hit the water line...yet another thing...yay.





Well..this little face will brighten my day any day. Poor little Makayla didn't get to watch the fun digging today, she had a sick tummy and was stuck in bed.

WAIT!! Where are you going??? Don't leave!! Don't you see the BIG gaping HOLE in my yard??? Come back!!!

.................................oh...MA...are you sure? Ok...he informed me that he will be coming back tomorrow......

This story will definitely be continued.

Time for an update

It has been too long since I have given an update on the happenings in this nut house.

The results from MAs' job hunt is non-existent. He has applied so many places but there just isn't a job to be had. I know that there is a reason that God is allowing our family to deal with this, and I praise HIM, because I know that His plan is perfect. We have not once felt scared or uneasy. There is a peace that only faith in Him can provide. Please continue to pray for our family, and the many many other families in the same position we find ourselves in.

The kids are amazing, growing and ready for spring to come. They really want to play outside and, trust me...I can't wait for them to be able to.

Tax season is more than half over. It has been a great season, Praise God. Exhausting but as interesting as ever. It has been a blessing that MA has been home with the kids and has seen to their needs and all of the things that they need.

During the last big wind storm the kids swing set was broken. We had set back some money from tax season to purchase them a new swing set, however those plans have been derailed. Last weekend we found out that we have some major septic and lateral field issues. Our septic tank is in the process of being replaced. We have a hole in our back yard that you could drive a car in. Said hole is full of nasty water that is absolutely nauseating to be near. Nice huh? Yeah. So our plan to purchase the new swing set seemed to be lost until we found out that it should be covered under our home owners insurance policy. This made me very happy. I will turn this in tomorrow and hopefully we can still get the swing set. I really hope the replacement of our septic tank is finished soon and the hole filled back in and my yard put back together...it is really bad right now.

So anyway...this is our update...things are ok. We are doing fine. I have an exciting opportunity...I'm not ready to talk about it yet, just to say that if I get this contract it will pay the tuition for the kids next year. Please pray that this goes well for us. God is good and has never let us down yet...I do not expect Him to start today.

Report Card Day

It has been the tradition (can you call two years of doing something tradition?) that when a report card with straight A's (or the best representation of you giving 100% and doing your absolute best) that person gets to choose a special meal.

Today is report card day.

Makayla is the only person bringing home a report card right now, so this tradition only applies to her....see...tradition...or tradition beginning. Anyway, she brought home straight A's.

I asked her today what she wanted for her special meal...she answered "I want the Snowy Owl Webkinz"

What??? She is breaking with tradition and it is still in it's infancy.

*sigh*

Oh Well. We will go get the Owl for her and hopefully next report card day she will get back on tradition. Needless to say we are very proud of her and her accomplishment. She is a smart smart girl.

I am totally in control

As I was looking through some pictures on my computer, I came upon this shot of MA and I at his cousins wedding last fall.

As I replayed portions of that weekend through my mind, I remembered taking the kids to the Nashville Zoo, and really enjoying our day. Makayla was the flower girl in the wedding, so once we left the zoo, we came back to our hotel and dressed for the wedding. I rolled and fixed Makaylas hair complete with glitter. She wore this beautiful ivory dress and looked like a princess.

Here the kids are in the bamboo forest area at the zoo.

See princes...I told you.

As the night carried on, the family was celebrating at the reception, we ate and talked and had a very nice time. As the hour approached 8:30 or so, Cameron began to become tired.

Do you know what happens when Cameron becomes tired? Many children will get quiet and still as they begin to drift off to sleep, not Cameron...no Cameron escalates, he gets faster, louder and harder to handle.

By 9:00 pm, the bride and groom were opening their gifts and Cameron was in the floor spinning, on his belly. Then running around the house that was full of people, outside, inside and just all around getting more and more unruly.

At this time MA and I like to pretend that we have every thing under control. You see, we had Makayla, and when I told her to sit down, she sat down...see, I CAN parent. *points to child who is NOT acting like an escaped zoo monkey* Olivia....well she was an infant, so I had her under control...see...see..I told you I can parent. No, please pay no attention to the escalating 4 year old boy who is now helping the bride and groom unwrap their gifts.

It is at this point MA takes Cameron by the arm and in a valiant show of parenting power gets right in his face, nose to nose, and explains to him that we have told him 29383987 times that he can not climb on top of the counters and dance. No, you cant play in the fountain on the patio either. No you may not ask the bride and groom for the money they just received so you can go buy that stuffed alligator that you saw at the zoo today and mom and dad would not buy. Cameron you will sit down on this chair and not move until I tell you that you can.

Cameron....Cameron...I said sit down...*sigh*

Now I, being the parenting expert *snicker snicker* that I am makes the astute observation that we probably should make our exit. What caused me to reach this decision? When I looked down as we were saying our goodbyes and Cameron was sitting on my foot with his arms and legs wrapped around my leg. Did I mention I was in heels? No? Well I Was. So picture this exit...me with Olivia on my hip, purse on my shoulder, 4 year old kid wrapped around my leg.

Yep....totally in control.....

Tax Season Begins

The insanity is in full force.



And by insanity...I truly mean insanity.



If you could only hear the questions that I get asked on a daily basis.



If it weren't for the laws that guard privacy I would write a book. However the government frowns on that, so I will keep the craziness to myself.



Just know that we are working 50-70 hours a week and doing 30-80 tax returns a day. Come join the insanity.




Since I can't share the insanity of tax season with you in detail, I will share the insanity of the weather. The state of Kentucky has been declared a disaster area....here is why;

umm..Christmas??

Does anybody remember Christmas? It was a week or two (or 6 ) ago? Yeah... Since I promised I would show you the family Christmas pictures, I will do that now....then we will move on from Christmas...since...ya know...it's almost February.

Here we have Makayla inspecting Pepaw Dickens Christmas tree....she is inspecting really looking for something that may have her name on it.

Olivia snuggling with Memaw Dicken, Michaels' grandmother. She is 86.

All of my babies together :)

Look at that face...how can you turn away from those eyes?

Oh, here she is being bossy to her cousin at Memaw Phillips' house.

Cameron *patiently* waiting for gift opening time.

*SO* patient.

My man and My girl at Mamaw Mardis' Christmas meal.

How many singing animals does one house need? Just this many as far as Olivia is concerned.

Look at these three....what do you think they are plotting?