Lots to blog about

Ok...these pictures are so out of order, not sure what happened there! So much has happened since I last updated. UpLift was good. Lots different since we weren't in charge. Brylee did great and the boys had a blast with nana and poppa. Also, I got to spend some time with one of my roommates from college. Sara, you have a beautiful family!

From HU Julie and I plus the 4 kids headed to Pocahontas for a Wilson family reunion. It was well attended. Mom and Dad you guys did a great job planning this event. Brylee and Jarett got to experience swimming for the first time. The water was COLD. Jarett loved it, Brylee did not!

We had been away from home for 9 days and I was longing for my own bed. We got home on Sunday afternoon and were greeting by Kent, Bryan, Emily, Amelia, and Andrew. We had a great visit with the Michigan Jobes. I wish y'all lived closer to us!

Kent and I also bit the bullet and bought a new van! YES!!!!!!!! I am so excited and would be out just driving for no reason if gas wasn't so expensive. It's a beige '07 Grand Caravan w/ 9800 miles and we got a great deal. I've never had a vehicle with a warranty and under 10K before. God is good!

Yesterday and today were spent celebrating Derek's 8th birthday. He invited 4 boys to sleepover. Pictures from that in the next post.

Amelia's not too sure what to think about her crazy cousins.

The 5 Jobe grand kids.
Just the girls
This is from the Wilson reunion. Derek, Hailey, Jody, and Austin singing karaoke.
Sweet smiles

UpLift babies....Mia Baker, Jarett, and Brylee
What a model!
My grandma (Mom Wilson). I love this because they have matching clips in their hair!
The Jobes (Austin..oh Austin!)

Oh, and we've also entered into a wager with the Michigan Jobes. Biggest Loser Couples! 20 weeks of healthy eating and working out. The couple with the biggest % lost wins $200. I'll keep you posted!

Yesterday

Ya know those days that are just awful.....that was yesterday for me. The boys were at each other all day, Brylee had her shots so she didn't feel well and would not nap, and my "to do" list was long and did not get nearly completed. Finally after everyone was in bed I just sat at the table and cried. Kent knows me well enough now to not freak out when this happens. He just kissed me and went to bed himself. My pity party only lasted a few minutes. Brylee slept until 6:30 this morning in her bed. Thank you God! Your mercies are new every morning!

We leave for UpLift at Harding tomorrow. This will be our last time to go with the youth, at least for a while. Kent was still on the board and teaching a class. He said that this is the last youth ministry item on his calendar, so it's definitely a milestone. I love UpLift. I get to see many "old" friends, hang out on campus, watch my husband play racquetball, listen to some great classes and lessons, and the awesome singing. My parents take the boys to the lake for the week, which helps so much. Having Brylee with me this year will be different. Julie will have Jarett and Heather (Julie's sis-in-law) will have Mia, who is 4 weeks older than Brylee. So all of us moms and babies will be hanging out together.

After UpLift, Julie and I are heading to Pocahontas for a family reunion. It may be awhile until my next post. Enjoy the 4th.

Alarm

For those of you who were worried about Derek's sleepwalking, rest easy. Kent installed door alarms tonight. What's going to be funny is when Kent goes to work in the morning (usually around 5 a.m.) and forgets they are there. He'll pee his pants then! ha

Yay El Dorado!

El Dorado was in the news again last night. If you haven't heard about the El Dorado Promise, this news story will let you in on what's going on in our little town. A few months ago we get a letter from Derek's school telling us a news crew was coming to Northwest Elementary. It turned out to be CBS evening news. We weren't sure when the piece would air. I am so glad Julie happened to be watching CBS last night or we would have missed it. The news crew spent most of their time in Derek's class and his sweet face is seen a couple times. I tried to download the video, but I couldn't figure out exactly how to do it. So you'll have to copy and paste this address. There will be a commercial first and then the video.

http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=4185537n

So, it's 1:15 in the morning and our doorbell rings...

three times really fast. Of course I'm the only one awakened by the noise. My heart is beating fast as I start punching Kent and waking him up. He is dazed and confused! I explain that the doorbell rang and it's 1:15 a.m.. We walk down the hall (me behind him), he looks out the window of the front door while I shield myself in the hallway. He says there's no one there. I assure him the doorbell rang several times. My heart is still beating fast. In my head I'm thinking some escaped convict has made his way to our house wanting in, but that doesn't make sense because would they really ring the doorbell? So I'm trying to be rational. Kent makes his way to the kitchen/garage door, I'm still hiding in the hall. I hear him talking to someone. I can't quite make out what he's saying, and since he's calm, I get closer. Kent comes back into the kitchen from the garage and tells me that my dear oldest son was peeing on the freezer! WHAT! .... WHAT! I then go to the doorway as Derek is making his way in. He is carrying a sponge and a wet vac attachment. I asked, what do you have there? He said, my clothes. Bless his heart...he has no clue where he is or what he is doing. He's sleepwalking! We've caught him 2 times before. Once he walked in our room one night while Kent and I were still awake. He proceeds to walk to my vanity stool, turn it on it's side and get in the pee pose. NOOOOOOO, I scream and he "wakes up" and goes to the real toilet. The next time he walks in our room and goes in the closet. I follow him knowing he's about to use the bathroom on my shoes. I stop him of course before that happened. Why all these events have to do with urinating...I have no idea!

This time was different than the rest. He went to the garage and rang the doorbell, peed on the freezer and picked up "his clothes". What's scary is, will he go outside next? He had no recollection of last night's events when he woke up this morning. CRAZY!

Oh, Austin!

Two funny stories to share about my interesting middle child:

1. The other weekend mom and dad were here and we were all going over to see Jason and Julie's new house. Three vehicles were in the caravan. Austin is a huge racing fan, so to him (but not to the other vehicles) this is a competition to beat the other 2 cars. He was riding with Jason, Julie, and Jarett and they were in the lead. Apparently he was screaming and hollering the whole way as Uncle Jason was driving. As they pull into the driveway as victors, Austin is yelling and clapping and proceeds to scream..."We won, that's the Holy Spirit if I've ever seen it!"


2. Tonight I was eavesdropping on the boy's conversation. Apparently, Derek called Austin sewage. Austin proceeds to say, "I'm not a fish that hasn't been cooked!". Derek looks completely puzzled and then tells him that sewage is poop. Austin then says, "NO, my teacher at school said sewage is fish that hasn't been cooked". I'm sitting at the computer trying to think this out. Fish that's not cooked.........SUSHI! Sushi not sewage, honey! Oh, Derek and I laughed and laughed. Austin did not find it as humorous as we did.

Quick post

Kent's out at camp for two weeks. It's only a 20 minute drive, so we'll go out there alot. It stinks that gas is $3.89 here though. Julie is a Bible class teacher, so I get to keep Jarett during the mornings. I'll take some pictures of the cousins to post soon.

Kid's update:
Derek - He hit a grand slam at his last game! It was awesome.
Austin - His story telling is hilarious. He goes into so much detail and with hand motions (like his daddy)
Brylee - She rolled over last night in her crib. Yay, Brylee!