For my friends Shane and Jen

This is a picture that I posted on Facebook, but I felt that it was 'blog-worthy', especially since I don't know some of you through Facebook to begin with. You see, apparently not everyone in the world is able to get high-speed internet. Charter and AT&T might suck (while I can't speak for AT&T, Charter is on my 'I hate you because you never work' list), but at least we have the ability to get high-speed internet in our 'neck of the big city'. 'Neck of the woods' didn't seem quite appropriate given where we live, though it does fit my friends Shane and Jen. They live out in the middle of nowhere, almost quite literally! And they have the unfortunate, dreaded, out-dated DIAL UP! Can you believe that? People really do still have dial up. So my husband, knowing that I love signs and knowing how much we like to tease Shane and his SLOW internet connection, pointed out this sign to me. It was so important that I actually got out of the car at this intersection (thankfully there was no one behind me) so that I could get a picture of it. So if you are still a dial up sufferer (or annoyed with Charter or AT&T), give Kevin a call.

No Parking? But I didn't know...

So we're driving into Gordonsville, VA, nearing the resort. And off to the right, I see a No Parking sign on the side of the road. And then another. And then another. And then another, and then still another. I believe in the small stretch of road there were at least 10-15 No Parking signs all just about a car length away from each other! We were driving so I wasn't able to get the best pictures; so I held the camera out the window and just started snapping pictures as we drove by them. It doesn't do justice at all, but after the dead deer on the side of the road I wrote about previously (after a sign warned no animals were allowed on the interstate and we realized they mean business!) there was NO WAY Kris and I were going to park there just to take a picture! If they kill deer for daring to enter the highway, what will they do to humans who park where they are not supposed to?

I missed the first couple of No Parking signs and I know this really doesn't show you quite how ridiculous it was, but it will have to do.

Here are a few more (though I don't know how or why the text has turned blue here):

And some more:

A couple more:

And I know it is hard to see, but just a little farther down the road, yes that is one more No Parking sign.

I think perhaps the oddest thing about all of this is that there are no houses here. There are no restaurants or businesses, no scenic overlook nearby. So why would you need to park there and why is this absurd amount of No Parking signs there???? Wouldn't it have been sufficient to just put up ONE sign that said "No parking on the shoulder"? If I were a tax payer in Virginia, I think I'd be a little annoyed that my money was going to pay for such useless, unnecessary No Parking signs.

Signs

What would my vacation blog look like without pictures of signs? I have no idea! Here are a few I saw at a restaurant last night. Unlike the others I usually post, I really liked these!

We went to a place called The Hornet's Nest for dinner last night. I'm not impressed with any of these little 'dives' here in and around Gordonsville. The food has been sub-par to say the least. However, I really liked the atmosphere at them. The first one with its saws and other tools (weapons) hanging from the ceiling threatening to kill you, and then this second one with it's sarcastic signs that really just suit my personality!!

I'd love the have this sign posted in every room of my house:

This one is just something I'd like to wear around every day!

And this one I had to get because when I was growing up, my mom had this plaque on the wall in our bathroom that said "Our aim is to keep this bathroom clean. Your aim will help!" However, this one takes that sign to a whole new level and it just really made me laugh!

Pictures of me...this is a rare occasion

Here are a few pictures of Kris and I (and a kid randomly thrown in from time to time) on vacation, either together or separate. I usually hate being in the pictures but I am trying more and more to overcome that. Some of these the kids took and didn't do too bad!

Above taken by Kaleb; below by Olivia

Another taken by Kaleb:

I think Kris told me to 'smile with your mouth closed' here...this is how it turned out.

Dinner in the 'torture chamber' I wrote about previously, which I also forgot to mention that I would have probably preferred the torture to the food. It was so NOT good!

Taken during our day without the kids getaway.

You know, I usually hate ALL pictures taken with me in them, but I am actually starting to like this one (above). It helps that there have been a lot of Facebook comments about it--maybe I am starting to see myself a little differently...maybe. It's been a long road and I know it isn't over yet with regards to my own self-loathing issues but step by step I am learning to maybe start to see myself a little bit how other people see me. I know that the distorted image I have in my head is NOT what everyone else sees...now if I could just consistently believe that myself!

My handsome husband, who looks a little angry here, though he would contend that he is indeed smiling.

Enjoying some kid-free time in the cabin. Not *that* kind of kid-free time...get your minds out of the gutter! I am trying to get more and more pictures of us together because as I look back, there aren't that many, primarily because I used to hate being in them!

This one I had to include. We were at my parents' house, on our 2nd day of vacation and this is a picture of Kris asking me for my receipts. He likes to enter in those receipts...and it always makes me laugh--because I know that when he is in a mood to check the finances, he will be right there to make sure he has all of my receipts to enter in!

Restaurant OR Torture Chamber? You decide.

Having the entire day to ourselves, Kris and I decided to try out a new restaurant. We were originally going to The Melting Pot, but those plans changed when we realized we'd have to drive farther than we wanted to, just to get there. *Plus we have a couple in St. Louis if we really felt the need (and had the money) to go!

So we wound up at a little restaurant called "Silk Mill Grille".

You can't go wrong with a restaurant that serves steak, right? WRONG! The atmosphere, while somewhat horrific, was very interesting, with items from the 50's/60's/70's on the walls and hanging down from the ceiling. What I found most interesting, as well as frightening is that the majority of these older'original' pieces of 'art' or decoration were weapons. Kris and I felt, in a small way, that we were in some sort of torture chamber! Axes in the wall, saws hanging down, etc...it was weird!

Mixed Signals

We have gone into 'town' (Gordonsville) two different times now. We keep passing this house that has a ton of what some people would call "Jesus" signs. Not those green and white one that you can spot on 50% of the lawns in St. Louis. Just signs that say 'We must be born again' or 'Real men love Jesus'. There are also several different sizes of crosses through the yard. It's like a lawn over-decorated with gnomes and flamingos, only this one is crosses and signs encouraging people to follow God. See below:

What I really found interesting about this is how 'inviting' it seems, as far as proclaiming that we all need God. And yet, as you approach the entrance to the driveway for this home, this is what you will see:

That's right...take a closer look:

I'm just saying...I don't know whether to feel like they want to keep people out, or they want to encourage people to accept Jesus. I just thought with the amount of "Jesus" stuff, their driveway wouldn't seem so uninviting!

Here I Am Again

I haven't been extremely busy the last two days; I just didn't want to bore you with things that weren't...well...interesting! Not that that has ever stopped me before...

Today Kris and I spent the day together, just the two of us. Cindy and Dean took the kids to Monticello today and they had an excellent time. They were so excited to go and learn about Thomas Jefferson. Abbey came back and said "Thomas Jefferson didn't have a middle name!" I said "He didn't?" And she said "Yeah it says so on this paper!" and then she held the paper up in my face. It was so cute-it was a little fact sheet about Thomas Jefferson. Apparently there was a lot to do and see there because Cindy left with the kids just before 10am and they all stayed there until it closed at 5pm! They soak in that history in ways that I do not remember doing and I am so thankful for that.

Kris and I on the other hand took a nap in the morning and then we went to Walmart. It's a tradition for Kris and I, as corny as that might sound. It started on our wedding night and anytime we go out of town, we tend to migrate towards Walmart. For whatever crazy reason, this is fun for us. We bought little gift bags for the kids with cheap (BUT FUN) toys for the kids to occupy them on the drive tomorrow.

Tomorrow we are going to Belle Isle. I had stumbled across it when I was looking for something semi-close by for us to do as a family. Then when I was going to 'map' it to see how far away it was, I found out that it was actually almost 3 hours from here!! But we had heard it had a suspension bridge that you cross to get to the island and that it has portions of ruined buildings, one of them being prison that held Union soldiers. Thankfully I decided to look it up again tonight, only to find out that I had actually been looking up the address to Belle Isle STATE PARK. These two places are NOT the same!! At all. Belle Isle State Park (which I had been looking up tonight and thinking it sounded boring) IS almost 3 hours but the actual Belle Isle I wanted to see was only 1 1/2 hours from here! What a pleasant surprise!!! It's actually located in the heart of downtown Richmond. You walk across a suspension bridge (though it looks more solid than what most of you are probably thinking and I am thankful for this!). The bridge is actually directly beneath the Lee Bridge. This led me to look at what else was around the area and there is The Museum of the Confederacy there in Richmond. Some of you know that we went to Gettysburg last year with the kids over spring break, so I think that this will be a great place to go with the kids. They really do love history and I am excited about taking this trip with them. Can't wait to get out there and get some pictures and just have a fun day with our kids.

Katherine the Composer

I have had a few posts in the past about Katherine and her artistic side. This is another post dedicated to the artistic styling of the one and only Katherine Grace Bishop. My heart is swelling tonight with love for her. Last night she had a very hard time falling asleep. She had taken quite a long nap in the van before we got to the resort, not waking up until 6pm. Naturally, she could not fall asleep at 9pm, or 10pm or even 11pm. We finally let her get up and finish watching Temple Grandin with us. Well apparently even after we went to bed she still could not fall asleep. I didn't find out about this until this morning.

Katherine came up to me (I was of course sitting in a chair with my laptop in front of me, as it is a part of my body!) and asked if she could sing a song that she wrote. I was in the middle of something so I had her wait a few minutes, so that I could give her my full attention.

She explained to me that she wrote it herself because she couldn't sleep last night and it helped her. So she sang it to me (FROM MEMORY I MIGHT ADD) and I was just so proud and I asked her if she thought she could sing it in front of the camera. I also asked her to write the lyrics down so that I could of course post them on here. She titled the song and everything! So cute...and if you listen to the lyrics, you can see that Katherine has a deep love for God and a very real understanding of why Jesus came to earth.

The video is sort of dark because it was night and the lighting isn't great in here. The lyrics are posted below the video.

We Will Praise Him
*written and performed by Katherine Grace Bishop, age 9, on March 14, 2010.

Verse 1

Jesus died on the Cross to save us from our sins,
All those nails felt worse than needles or pins.

Chorus:
And that's why we give Him glory, glory, glory
'Cause He's so holy, holy, holy
And we will praise Him, praise Him, praise Him
For all of our days

Verse 2

They killed Him even though He was an innocent man,
No one can do miracles but Jesus can.

Chorus

Verse 3

They wrapped Him up and in a tomb He lay,
He rose from the dead after three days.

Chorus

Verse 4

Now that you know the story of the Cross,
You know that Jesus is the ultimate boss!

Chorus (2x)

Temple Grandin

Claire Danes as Temple Grandin



The 'real' Temple Grandin



A few weeks ago Kris and I were watching The Colbert Report and Claire Danes was one of his guests. She was promoting a new movie she was in, called Temple Grandin. When we heard what it was about, we were both left longing to see this movie. It's about an autistic woman (based on the life of Temple Grandin)who overcame many obstacles and a cruel society and has led an amazing life. It was riveting...I couldn't take my eyes off of the screen the entire time, for fear I'd miss something. I wasn't sure how I felt about Claire Danes in this role when I first saw previews for it. But let me assure you, 10 minutes in you forgot you were watching Claire Danes and she really became Temple Grandin. It was an amazing performance and an extremely well-written script.

If you know anyone with Autism, or just want to understand Autism better, watch this movie. When Temple Grandin was 4 and diagnosed with Autism in 1951, they suggested she be institutionalized for the rest of her life and her mother was told she had a form of infantile Schizophrenia. How limiting our society and medical professionals were in the 50's. There wasn't much understanding of Autism at the time, and so the 'professionals' assumed that parents of autistic children just weren't nurturing their children and that is why they behaved the way that they did. Unbelievable. Can you imagine being told that it was YOUR fault that your child couldn't talk or interact 'normally' in social settings, when you'd done whatever you could to help them succeed? I'm thankful there is so much knowledge out there now about Autism. This movie is just another step in the right direction towards showing the world how intelligent and FUNCTIONAL people with Autism can be. Unlike Rain Man and I Am Sam, which are both good movies for becoming more aware of people who are not 'like us', Temple Grandin is based on the life a real woman who accomplished incredible things in her life! Obviously there are different sides of the spectrum and some people will be higher-functioning than others. I was fascinated by this film and recommend that you see it.

Times

It's been a long time since I posted a song on here. Unfortunately, I can't find it on YouTube. The video that is there is blank and doesn't play. BUT, you can listen to it here:

Times - Tenth Avenue North

The catch is that you have to create an account to listen to it (I just realized that(sorry!) and can only listen to the whole song one time without purchasing it (though it is totally worth purchasing!). I don't know if you can find it online anywhere else. I have the lyrics listed below. Amazing song. The first part is from the perspective of us...sinners...who feel lost and alone. The second half is what God says to us in those times, how HE responds and loves us in ways that we will never fully understand. It is a very powerful song. If you have a chance, listen to it while you read the lyrics. I hope that you are blessed by it, as Kris and I were today.

The song is called "Times" by Tenth Avenue North, who will actually be touring with Casting Crowns next month; they will be in St. Louis on April 2 and I am hoping that Kris and I can get tickets to the concert. I like Casting Crowns, but it's Tenth Avenue North that has some of the most profound lyrics that I am looking forward to (hopefully) seeing/hearing!

I know I need You
I need to love You
I love to see You, and its been so long
I long to feel You
I feel this need for You
And I need to hear You
Is that so wrong?

Now You pulled me near You
When we're close I fear You
Still I'm afraid to tell You
All that I've done
Are You done forgiving?
Or can You look past my pretending?
Lord I'm so tired of defending
What I've become
What have I become?

I hear You say "My love is over, it's underneath, it's inside, it's in between the times you doubt me

When you can't feel the times that you've questioned 'is this for real?'
The times you've broken, the times that you mend
The times you hate me and the times that you bend
Well my love is over, it's underneath, it's inside, it's in between, these times you're healing
and when your heart breaks
The times that you feel like you've fallen from grace
The times you're hurting
The times that you heal
The times you go hungry and are tempted to steal
In times of confusion and chaos and pain
I'm there in your sorrow, under the weight of your shame
I'm there through your heartache
I'm there in the storm
My love I will keep you by my power alone
I dont care where you've fallen, where you have been
I'll never forsake you
My love never ends, it never ends

WOW...

The Cabin-Shenandoah Crossing

First things first:

We have internet. It isn't ideal...we *have* to connect through our phones, but since we are in the mountains, we were worried that our phones wouldn't get strong enough signals to connect to the internet-I'm glad our worries were unfounded.

I need main level laundry.

I need more than one bathroom in my house.

OK, now that we have that out of the way...we are HERE! We all made it safe and sound. The cabin is nice--very rustic, just like you would expect a cabin to be! The 'resort' has more of a camping-type feel to it and the kitchen/dining room remind me of an old farmhouse. There are quite a few pictures on this post, primarily because the kids crack me up with how they organized everything. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of Kaleb's room, as he is staying in Grandma's cabin. I'll try to go over there tomorrow to see if there is anything of interest worth photographing.

One thing to note: in Abbey and Livvy's room, Abbey has a picture frame she got that she just loves. Katherine helped her find a picture to put in it, and when you see the picture, I just think knowing a little background information would be helpful. I don't know if I have written it here or not, but Abbey is very particular about who she loves. She loves God and Uncle Brandon the most. Then she loves herself, and then she loves everyone else. So the picture in her picture frame should come as no surprise to anyone. Oh and she also has a mirror right by her bed, probably so she can see herself and make sure she still looks beautiful!

Lunchtime laughter

Kris and I are travelling with Abbey and Katherine today. They've been pretty quiet. There is a HUGE difference NOT having Olivia in here with us! That girl talks NON-STOP. Kat and Abbey are pretty quiet and occupy themselves well. We stopped at Applebees for lunch. I'm a little disappointed in myself that I didn't see this sign first-I'll blame it on being tired. But I am thrilled that Kris saw it and pointed it out. You guys know how much I like to find 'odd' signs and write about them. I'm not going to tell you what store we saw this sign on--you can guess and we'll see if anyone gets it right!

My first thought upon reading this was "Um, no thanks. I have enough of my own." Well of course Kris and I were laughing about this sign and talking about it with the kids. My second thought (as we were far away at the time we saw the sign) was "I wonder what the fine print says." So of course I had Kris drive us over so I could get a better picture of it. So, tell me why they put SEE STORE FOR DETAILS in ALL CAPS and then directly underneath it they repeat it, yet without the emphasis of ALL CAPS? Seriously...frazzled mothers out there...if you need a place that will give away your children for you, I know where you can go!

During the course of our lunchtime conversation centered around this 'interesting' sign, Abbey somehow found her way to the following statement: "Mrs. Smith told us that when we have kids they are going to be just like us." I told her that was exactly right! So she asked me how she was like me. I told her that when I was a little girl all I wanted to do was get married and have babies and that is how she was like me. Then she started being silly and proclaimed "I'm going to sell my babies!" Kris informed her that was illegal. We then proceeded to have a conversation about selling babies and Abbey told us that she was going to have a garage sale to sell her babies and she would sell them for $1. It's good to laugh and besides being absolutely adorable, Abbey is the best when it comes to bringing laughter and absolute joy to our lives. Don't get me wrong...the others bring much joy too...but there is just something about the way that Abbey talks and thinks and just *is* that just light up any room she is in. She is truly living up to her name: Father's Joy.

When we got back on the interstate after lunch, Kris saw a sign that said "Pedestrians, animals, and bicycles prohibited." So we were joking around about what they do about the animals, seeing as how animals can't read and we're in the mountains, where animals will be abundant. I kid you not...within less than a minute we saw a dead deer on the side of the road. I guess they are pretty serious about enforcing those rules! Seeing that, I definitely will NOT be walking or cycling on Interstate 64!!!

Kris is perplexed right now. He's musing that he keeps seeing signs that tell him Virginia (which we have just now entered) is monitoring his speed with all types of different devices (radars, aircraft, etc...), but he has yet to see an actual speed limit sign! Seriously...what is the speed limit here? We're 7 miles into VA and can't tell if it is 65 or 70.

On a side note, Abbey just randomly asked "When we come back from spring break, can I go to the dentist?" Yeah...I love that girl!

Rain rain rain

Well the day started out good. We had a great visit with my parents and two of my nieces. My dad suggested we take a different route than the one we had planned-a scenic route. I was fine with this as long as it didn't take us hours out of our way. When we looked at Google Maps it was only a difference of about 20 minutes, so I said 'Sure, why not!' And then it proceeded to rain for the next two hours. Once we made it in to Cincinnati, that's where the REAL fun began.

Let me just pause for a moment to point out that I HATE Cincinnati. It's up there with Sprint and Charter. It all started on my honeymoon. It's a long, boring story that ends with me lost in a bad part of downtown Cincinnati, and Kris waking up to me frantic and in tears. Kris learned really fast that either he drives or he stays awake! He chooses to drive. That being said...

Google Maps told us to do one thing, but when we got to the place where we were supposed to turn, it wasn't there. So we went about 15 minutes out of our way, turned the GPS on and decided to listen to the directions on that-we were starting to lose faith in Google Maps. We got back on track and found that if we listened to the GPS, we would actually make it to the hotel about 40 minutes sooner than Google Maps was estimating. But it was really frustrating all the same...now we're on some back road in Kentucky, in the middle of nowhere and Kris is just trusting the GPS. I hope it's right. And I still hate Cincinnati.

Here are some pictures the scenic route allowed us. Oh yeah! Dad, this is for you! I can see how the drive would have really been beautiful. We were next to the Ohio River most of the time and it really did have the potential to be a great drive. However, THIS is what our drive looked like...the ENTIRE way.

Maybe someday we'll get to enjoy the drive when the weather is nice and we can get out and walk around at one of the parks along the way!

Brandon, my favorite brother-in-law

I've written short bits about my brother-in-law before. He is 27 years old and the sweetest guy I have ever met! I am not sure what the 'official' diagnosis is...whether it is severely autistic or mentally retarded. But the bottom line is that he doesn't talk and his capacity to function as a 'normal' adult is limited. He can fend for himself fairly well, when it comes to making a sandwich, watching a movie, playing video games. And he is just such a nice guy. To everyone he meets. Every now and then he will get mad about something and you can tell he is mad because he turns lights off and on, or falling down on the floor, or slamming his foot in the door! But the majority of the time, he is just super happy and makes you smile.

Today I took a couple of pictures of him. Something to know about Brandon is that sometimes he gets on these 'kicks'. He's been on a Wiggles kick for quite a few years now. He only wears shirts that are the Wiggles colors-or shirts that have those colors in them! He's a creature of habit. Well, for whatever reason, he has started carrying about a box of Mandarin oranges. I thought maybe he was just using the box to hold stuff in it. Then Cindy told me there are actually 3 cans of Mandarin oranges in there still!! In addition to that, he has put a few things of his own in there and I believe he slept with the box last night. Today he took an orange from my parents' (with permission!) and stuck that in his box too. He makes me laugh. When I asked him why he had the box, he lifted his arm up and rested it on the box. I asked him if he was using the box as an arm rest. He shook his hand 'yes' emphatically. It made me laugh, so I had to take a couple pictures of him with his new box.

Obsessive Compulsive? Uh...yeah...

My son is very, very organized!! He loves to have his room cleaned and everything has its own place. I LOVE that I don't really have to tell him to clean his room. When he was two, we had taken him to a neurologist for some behaviors that I won't go into now (though if you've followed the blog, you know some of the background with him). Anyway, we stopped at a gas station about 20 minutes ago and told Kaleb and Livvy they could pick out one snack (Kat & Abbey are riding with Grandma today). Livvy wanted Bubble Tape. Then she decided she would get a ring pop instead. I checked some chips and candy and it all had soy bean oil in it so those were out. So she has her ring pop and Kaleb had picked out some Bubble Tape as well. I decided last minute (primarily due to Livvy whining about wanting something else and her being spoiled) that they could go ahead and pick out one more thing. Livvy chose to get the Bubble Tape with her ring pop. Kaleb...he made a different, interesting choice. It's not nearly as amusing if you don't know Kaleb, but let's just say that he has some OCD tendencies. My funny boy picked out (and was very excited about) HAND SANITIZER!! It looks like a pen and sprays on. He promptly opened it up and used some, and put some on Livvy too. Just a few minutes ago I could smell it and he was back there saying he was glad he got it and that it smells good. And just now, while I have no idea what he is doing back there, I heard him say 'My face is clean!' ***When we got to the hotel for the night (as I wrote the above earlier), his hand sanitizer was completely gone. So I did panic just a little, afraid he would die from whatever it is in hand sanitizer that can kill people. He read me the ingredients though and it didn't sound 'too' bad.

At this same gas station, which was located somewhere in a small town in Ohio, we stopped to fill up the van and have the kids 'try'. You know...to go potty...so we wouldn't have to stop again before we got to the hotel. The gas station was really small and there wasn't really anything else around. I asked Kris if he thought they had a bathroom, but he pointed and showed me where they were--they were on the outside of the building. I asked if he thought we'd have to get a key, and he sent Kaleb over to check and see if he could open the door. He could not. So we had to go inside and get the key, which happened to be attached to the lid of a 32-oz plastic cup! But before we went in to get the key, Kris said 'Those are old school.' Now that comment alone isn't all that remarkable...maybe a little odd coming from him...however, what was funny was just a couple of minutes later Livvy and I are walking towards the bathroom and she said 'These bathrooms are old school.' like it was the most natural comment in the world! It was funny!! Oh and as I am looking over this, I should point out that Kris isn't getting ready to go into the women's bathroom. Livvy was in there and he was holding the door open with his foot until I could get over there. He's not a creep...nor did he have any intention of using the women's bathroom!

Let the vacation begin!

We are now in Terre Haute. Just like our trip to Florida this summer, I am writing from the road. Kris is driving. We've got the music playing. The laptop is hooked up and my trusty Samsung Instinct is providing the internet that my laptop NEEDS. :-) Of course, by the time I actually post this we'll probably be at my parents' house, or on our way to West Virginia tomorrow because I am not quite sure how long my signal will stay strong between here and our exit--there are a lot of trees and it tends to interfere, so much so that I had to switch from Facebook to this! ;-)

I took a few pictures of some of the kids before we left today (Abbey was off in the other room doing something-though I have no clue what that something was). The house looked like a tornado had come through it! Granted, the small folded piles of clothes everywhere would lead one to believe it was a fairly 'tidy' tornado...but a tornado nonetheless! I didn't get everything done I wanted to, primarily because as always, I waited until the last minute to do EVERYTHING. Packing for 6 people is a lot harder and more time consuming than just packing for one or two! Not that this came as a surprise to me. This is our fourth spring break vacation in a row with four kids so it's not a new discovery. It just takes me a little aback me every time. Ok, maybe it does surprise me. And when it is all said and done, and we've got the van packed up and we actually leave, I am a tense, annoyed mess! I'm better now though. Thanks for asking. :-) It doesn't help that the kids were off school all day (and quite...um...not good), and Kris was at work, the house was a mess and I was left to do all the laundry and pack for everyone. The only thing I made Kris get together was his razor and contacts, though unless I press him he won't use either one of those! Yeah...he lasted a few months after our Florida/ocean/glasses fiasco wearing his contacts but it's back to glasses now. Every now and then he will put the contacts in. For about 2 hours. And the shaving...well...that's like it always is. If he has a meeting or a hot date, he'll shave. And unless I tell him to read this, he won't find out that I've said this for quite some time! And then I might get a look...but that's OK...he knows how I feel about shaving and contacts.

You know, I get made fun of on a fairly regular basis by certain people (you know who you are) because Kris and I listen to books. It isn't that we don't like to sit and read an actual 'real' book. It's that we don't have the time and we have a long commute to work. We both love to read and sometimes listening is the only chance we have to 'read' a good story. I know I've written about this before, so I won't dwell on it. I just wanted to share that I am extremely proud to have passed on this love to my children. Before we left, I loaded a couple of books on Kat and Kaleb's MP3 players. Geronimo Stilton for Kaleb and Ella Enchanted for Katherine. The library (at least St. Louis County) has a program called 'Overdrive'. You can check out digital books. It's the same as checking out a library book, in that you can only have it for a certain period of time. Instead of two weeks, we get the audio version of the book for three weeks. After three weeks, the book expires and you can't listen to it anymore--no it's not an honor system. The book just stops working on your device. It's a pretty cool way to go about it if you can finish a book in three weeks. Kaleb had finished the first of 3 Geronimo Stilton books before we even left the house! Kat is back there listening to hers, if the Dramamine hasn't knocked her out yet. We let Abbey 'use' my old Treo sometimes, and I have a book about a goose for her (that may sound random but it was one of the only ones I could find that would be more age-appropriate for her) that I need to put on there...she too will sit and listen to the books. 3 kids down, 1 to go!! I say we let her use it because it's quite a pricey device so we just aren't ready to entrust it to a 7 year old! Kris had given her his old Treo but the screen is cracked and doesn't really work as a touchscreen, which makes it hard for Abbey to navigate, and it makes me feel sorry for her so I'm nice and am letting her use mine. OK, enough about audio books. I just had to get that off of my chest. I've said it before and I will say it again...there's nothing wrong with listening to a book!! And Shane if you're reading this, yes it IS the same! Sort of! Same end result anyway.

Now, with that being said, here is a quick breakdown of our vacation plans, because I know you are all just dying with anticipation for a play-by-play of our trip. And if you didn't know that you were getting yourself into a play-by-play of the Bishop family vacation and you don't want to come along for the ride, I suggest you find another blog to read; for the next 8 days if you return here, you will be joining us on our trip!

Tonight we are driving to my parents house in IN. We won't be staying long. The visit here was a bit impromptu...we didn't add it to our trip until two days ago. We were originally going to get up and leave very early tomorrow morning to head to our hotel in West Virginia for the night. While we have added about two extra hours to our trip, it's split up. 4 hours tonight. Then 6.5 or so tomorrow, instead of the original 8.5/9 hours we were going to drive. I'm looking forward to seeing my side of the family.

So...here's the plan. We'll get to my parents' house in about an hour, though with the time change we'll be pushing 10:30pm. We'll get some sleep and then spend a few hours in the morning visiting with them. I think two of my nieces will be there too so the kids will get to see their cousins who (or is it whom?) they haven't seen since Thanksgiving. After leaving my parents house, we'll head to West Viriginia. The Dramamine will be given out generously at this point. Our oldest and youngest suffer from car sickness. Katherine was discovered a few years ago; Livvy we didn't learn about until it happened somewhere in West Virigina last year on our way to (or maybe from) Pennsylvania. We got into those mountains and the poor girl was a mess (quite literally)! Fortunately, Kaleb and Abbey have showed/shown (I hate when I don't know the proper word) no signs of this ailment, though we have extra Dramamine on hand and depending on my mood they may or may not be having some as well! Or perhaps I should say depending on THEIR mood. Because let's face it--if they NEED to sleep, is a little Dramamine going to hurt them? Not more than my frantic craziness and extreme anxiety if one of them starts throwing up! I went into full panic mode last year and do not want to repeat that. And I am sure that Kris definitely does not want a repeat episode of THAT!

Moving on...we'll stay the night in West Virginia and on Sunday we will be driving to Gordonsville, VA. I've never heard of Gordonsville before. There is a resort nestled there though called Shenandoah Crossing (http://www.shenandoah-crossing.com/). Now for those of you thinking we're just rolling in the money, we're really not! My mother-in-law has a plan with Blue-Green and so they allow us to use their points and Kris and I end up staying with the kids for free. By the way, my mother-in-law, her husband Dean, and my brother-in-law Brandon are also part of this trip so in the pictures that will later appear, that is who the 'extra' people are! We're staying in a 3 bedroom cabin at the resort, while my extended family will stay in another 3 bedroom cabin. These resorts are really nice. Kris and I have talked about it. If we had thousands of dollars to spend every year on vacation, that'd be nice. But we don't...and so we graciously accept the generosity of our family! The resort looks to be one of the better ones we've stayed at-I can't wait to get there and actually see it for myself.

We'll spend 5 nights there, leaving on Friday. We'll drive to Louisville for the night on the way home. This gives us about 8-9 hours driving the first day, and then 4-5 the last day. So we won't have to drive all day, get home really late, unpack and head right back to work. We'll actually be home on Saturday so we will have a day to recoup a little before we have to get back to the real world.

Now that all of the 'details' are out of the way, sit back and enjoy the trip with us. If this long, boring post has left you wondering why on earth you clicked the link to get here, well it can't be that bad because you're still reading!! ;-) Anyway, I promise to write about more interesting things as they develop. And they will develop. I hope!

One proud mother

I love my kids!

I always love them...but there are times when I am walking through the house, and I see one of them or hear them say something and my heart just swells.

Tuesday we had Kaleb's parent-teacher conference. It went well. His teacher likes him; he's a smart, fairly well-behaved kid. He tends to get in trouble whenever there are 'transitions'-like being in the hallway after lunch or for restroom breaks, or going to Art/Music, in P.E. He struggles to remain self-controlled and tends to get himself and other kids in trouble for talking or playing. Beyond that, there isn't much to complain about. He is a great student and respects his teacher and I am pleased enough with that.

Tonight we had parent-teacher conferences for the girls. Abbey's teacher never has anything but delightful things to say about her. She is a hard worker and most of the students can understand what Abbey is saying these days-so speech therapy is definitely proving to be worthwhile (not that I ever thought it wasn't!). Abbey really does light up any room she is in and it is such an amazing thing to watch, and it brings a LOT of joy to my heart! Knowing that we named her Abigail before we knew it meant Father's Joy is just kinda cool too. Oh and I know I've posted before some of Abbey's pictures and stories...I have a new one to post. She's so cute. She went to the Y with Kris tonight (all the kids did because I had the conferences). When she got home she had this huge smile on her face and then she handed me a card. So, instead of playing the entire time, THIS is what Abbey did. Now I should point out that for the most part I am feeling just fine, so I am not sure if she is referring to my healing knee or what! But still...she's such a sweet little girl. Look at her latest creation:

Katherine's teacher said nothing surprising...Katherine is doing well and is a great student! She excels in anything academic! She even got upset today because I thought they had a half day and so I had told them that I was going to pick them up at 1pm. Well apparently she went to the office to make sure we knew they had a full day today-I believe she was afraid that I would pick them up and they would miss some of the school day and not have a chance to say goodbye to her friends...you know since they'll be gone for a week!

Olivia as well had a good review. Who can resist that adorable little four year old? She is SO excited about our upcoming vacation. She keeps calling it 'A-cation'. It's really cute! She asked me today when she could pack her toys for A-cation.

Warning! Get ready for the blogging to go into overdrive. Remember when Kris and I went to FL over the summer? Yes, it will be like that again. I still have the cool phone that gives me the capabilities to connect my laptop to the internet anywhere I have a phone signal! So there will be pictures and hopefully some funny, random encounters to document! Though I am not sure what will top the King Conference Room from the Drury Inn last year! Nothing like a king size bed that overlooks a HUGE 12-seater conference table. Those were some good times!

It's RANDOM THOUGHT night!

Aren't you glad you're reading this?

You're in for a real treat tonight (insert sarcasm here). I have a bunch of different thoughts rolling around in my head, and tonight I am attempting to get some of them out.

I walked into the bathroom tonight and saw about 15 little bath toys on the floor outside, yes outside, the bathtub. And it reminded me of a funny encounter I had with Livvy the other night when I was giving her a bath. For those of you not familiar with the Little Bishops, Olivia is 4. And she has quite the personality! She's very adorable and funny, quite similar to her older sister Abbey, who is 7. Between the two of them, there is always something quite funny said or done.

The kids have become extremely self-sufficient, which has been such a blessing to Kris and I. Because of their self-sufficiency, the older 3 always shower on their own instead of taking baths. Most days we are fortunate enough that one of the older kids will get Livvy in the shower with them. The other night though, I decided to let her take an actual bath. So she's in there playing and I am going back and forth between cooking and checking in on her. She's just playing away for quite a while. Then she called me back there and told me she was ready to get out. She is of course spoiled, so she dictated which towel I HAD to use, and I proceeded to obey my spirited four-year-old! After I put the towel around her, I noticed that ALL of the bath toys were dripping wet, laying on the floor, outside the bathtub. And I asked her "Livvy why are all the bath toys on the floor?" Her reply? "I needed room for 'laxin'" It took me a minute to realize she was telling me she needed room to RELAX. I was telling Kris the story and Abbey chimes in, as if it's the most natural thing in the world, "Were you trying to lay down flat in the bathtub?" This must be something the two of them do when they are in the bathtub together! So Livvy likes to 'lax in the bathtub.

Kris and I have been working...and working...and working...but we've been trying hard not to come home and spend the evening working. It's been quite relaxing to go home and know I'm not going to log in and work some more. But we are definitely staying busy at work. I like commuting with him, though this will be my first full week in our downtown office. And I have Friday off because the kids are out of school. Well, technically I don't have the day off. I have to log in and dispatch any claims that come during the day, while I try to clean up my house and cook for Bunco, which I am hosting at my house Friday night.

I actually have a fairly full weekend ahead. Friday night, Bunco. Saturday night, Tastefully Simple party with some old friends-the companionship is what I am really looking forward to. And then there's Sunday. I am going to be a 'vendor' at a Relay for Life fundraiser. I was blessed to be a part of this event last year, and they asked me back! Granted, it could just be that they don't know any other PC consultants in the area...but I'll tell myself they liked me. :)

Kris and I discovered a funny little webisode on Hulu called CTRL. Check it out if you want a short little comedy to close out a stressful day. http://www.hulu.com/ctrl

I have an addiction. It's food. It's always been food. At least for the last 12 years. And it's been getting the best of me lately. A lot of you know I have been attempting to live yeast-free (you can follow that journey here: http://myyeastfreejourney.blogspot.com/). It started out so great! Lately though, I've just really been giving in to cravings. You know, it's that time of year again. You know what time of year I'm talking about...Girl Scout Cookie Time! And I think "I don't want to work so hard to eat right when we go to Virginia over spring break in a week and a half" and so part of me wants to just say "Ok, I'll get back to yeast-free as soon as we get back." It's not good. But that's what the other blog is for, so I won't keep going on about that here!

Kris and I are doing a good job so far sticking to our new budget. We have been doing a lot more cooking at home, and then taking our leftovers to work. We have $30 total per pay period set aside for eating out. That's it. And if we use it and run out, too bad. I don't know if that seems like a little or a lot-it amounts to $10/person/month. For a family of 6, if you go anywhere that isn't fast food, you'll be lucky to get out for less than that though! And for this family of 6 who was used to eating out more times a week than I'd like to admit. So while it's been a lot more work on my part, ultimately it's been great! And if I can ever get myself back on track COMPLETELY, it will be a LOT easier to eat yeast-free.

I've been writing this off and on for about an hour and a half and am getting tired so before this turns into a jumbled mess of incoherent thoughts (more so than it already is!), I'm signing off for the night.