Merry Christmas Mom and Dad

(To the tune of We Three Kings)

We seven kids,

of your loins are,

sharing Christmas trees,

as you traverse so far.

 

Oh Parents of wonder,

you shine so bright.

Still so wondrous

 as you lose your sight.

 

Tis south you're heading,

with hairlines receding,

yet still you guide us with

 your loving light.

 

Below:
We present to you,

seven Christmas trees & gifts

from your seven vacation homes!

 

First up, your fourth:

# 2 

your second,

 

your 'Boose,

 

your first,

 

your sixth,

 

your fifth,

 

 

 

And 1/5 of your third!

(because, "there was no way I's bringing the big dogs inside.")

 

 

Merry Christmas and Happy Retirement
Mom and Dad.
We love you guys so very much!



Oh How She Glows . . .

In December we had the honor of celebrating our newest Hot Mama to Be.

Stefanie!
 

And for those of you not in the know . . .

that's Miss Delilah Frankie in her tummy.
 

I know I'm not alone when I say I adore Stefanie.

She's beautiful, fun, sparkly and oh so fabulous.



She and Bear are going to make wonderful parents.
 

I know this for a fact, because one of the most important things about being a parent is to love each other.

Have you ever been in a room with these two?

I rest my case.

 

We love you so much Stef.

We look forward to meeting Delilah Frankie . . .

 and all who may follow.
Congratulations Bear and Stef!

October is Fire Prevention Month . . .

And you know how I love fire men . . .

Err, prevention.

I meant Fire Prevention!
 

Now here's a fun thing I love to do with, or rather do to my kids.

It scares the crap out of them.

 

And that makes me laugh.

(Yes, I'm a sick mom, but we'll save that for another post.)

 

At least it scares them the first time, the rest of the time it just annoys them. Which, if you're anything like me, is just as fun.

 

Picture this if you will:

It's a peaceful evening at home.

Dinner dishes are done.

Kids are watching t.v., reading their favorite book, lost in daydreams.

 

When all of a sudden

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!

FIRE! FIRE! FIRE!

(our smoke alarm talks to us)

 

When the smoke alarm goes off

does chaos ensue?

 

Or do your kids just roll their eyes?

 

Does your family even know the sound of your smoke alarm?

(source)

(when you're not cooking dinner?)

 

Do they know what doors or windows to exit from?
There should be two exits from every room.

 

Does your family have a designated meeting space away from the home?

 Firemen truly appreciate not having to dodge kids and animals while driving the big fire engines.

 

Sparky.org is a fabulous website with tons of activities for fire prevention.

 You could also visit your local fire department, get to know those fabulous men and women.

 

Hopefully that will be the only time you see them.

Ooooh, this would be a good time to make sure you're 72 hour kit is packed and handy.

Practice grabbing that on your way out too!
Love you guys!
 

Emergency 72 Hour Kits

Dad recently sent out a heartbreaking e-mail regarding the floods that hit Santa Clara. Family members were affected, one of our extended family lost everything. When emergency workers told her to evacuate, she didn't even have time to pack a bag, she was told to leave, "NOW!"

As I read that, I wondered how many of us would be prepared to leave everything behind. How prepared are you? If you had time to grab a bag, not pack a bag, but grab and go, do you have one ready?

Which brings me to the subject of this post:

Emergency 72 Hour Kits. 

 

This has become a huge topic on many blogs and on the Internet. There are so many lists out there, so many fun activities to involve your kids. It doesn't have to be a daunting task. Doesn't have to have gloom and doom written all over it.

Make it fun.

Make it a family thing.

Just make it happen.

Here are some great links to help:

 

Six Sisters' Stuff

 

How Does She:

Sister Stuff

Food Storage Made Easy has a scavenger hunt! How fun!

http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/getting-started/disasters-kit/

 

I'm A Cub Master . . . Now What?

Endless Crafting

 

Homestead Revival 

She has three days worth of meal to prepare if you're off the grid.

Awesome!

 

So I double dog dare you all to get prepared.

Be prepared.

Send me your pictures, ideas and suggestions.

I'll be happy to post them.

Because I love you man!

And women.

And chillin's.

 

 

 

 

 

Meet Dusty and Ginger

Doug and Monica recently added to their family.

Meet Dusty and Ginger.

Duke has embraced the role of big brother.

He's great at sharing.

He watches out for them . . .

And does his best to keep them in line.

Rumor has it big sister, Miss Beverly, is not pleased to share the spotlight or her daddy.



A Doggie Dilemma by Our Very Own Bear!

Bear recently wrote an excellent essay about the increase of lethal force used by law enforcement on family pets. Since most of us have pets, I thought this would be a great place to share his words.

Below is the summary, and the link to the article.

Thanks Bear! Great job!

Summary:
•This is not an anti-law enforcement rant. However, it does emphasize the increasing erosion of trust between the average citizen and law enforcement due to the dramatic growth of lethal force used in pet related incidents.
•For community policing to be successful, and crime reduction efforts to be effective, citizens must have unfailing trust in the police.
•It is not fair to criticize all law enforcement based on the actions of a few. It is equally unfair to condemn all dogs based on the actions of a few.
•In numerous incidents the outcome is always the same. The officer felt threatened. The dog was allegedly acting aggressively towards the officer or others. The officer used lethal force as the first option.
•Many citizens feel officers that use excessive/lethal force as their first, perhaps preferred, option in dealing with domesticated pets and are unjustified in doing so.
•Policies that require only that an officer "feel" threatened sets a very low threshold for justifying the killing of dogs.
•Good people operating in a bad or naive system will do bad things.
•The ASPCA has released a position statement calling into question current policies and reporting a disturbing trend.
•A handbook released by the Department of Justice: The Problem of Dog-Related Incidents and Encounters, law enforcement has the basic training available that could have theoretically diffused countless situations in a more reasonable manner.
•Social media outlets allow citizens to spread their messages easily, which reveals this disturbing nationwide issue is on the rise. 

http://voices.yahoo.com/a-doggie-dilemma-11347270.html?cat=9

Sugar . . .

From the arms of one of my girls to the arms of the other.

Rest in peace, sweet Sugar.

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge.

There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together.

There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by.

The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....

Author unknown...

Most Beautiful Nouns in Texas

Definition of a Noun:

The part of speech that is used to name a person, place, thing, quality, or action and can function as the subject or object of a verb, the object of a preposition, or an appositive.

(Yep. I know how to Google.)

So I say nouns because people aren't things,

 and Texas Bluebonnets aren't people.

I'm not familiar with these flowers,

obviously they aren't people either . . .

I do know they grow in Texas.

Because Chelle's FB page said they do.

And they are so beautiful!

Update! These are Indian Blankets . . . Thanks Chelle.

Neither are fish people, but perhaps they are things. 

And by adding an ing to fish, it becomes fishing,

therefore transforms into a verb.

An action verb to be exact.

Not that the fish is particularly beautiful either,

 although it is very impressive!

And our Siera is quite beautiful.

And our very own beautiful Chelle Siera!

Good heavens everyone should have posture like that.

I love this picture for a few reasons.

1. Of course her perfect posture.

2. She looks so content. Relaxed. At peace. One with nature.

3. I never, in a million years, thought I'd see her holding a fishing pole.

4. All the above come together to form one very beautiful picture.

We love you girls so much!

Update: I stand corrected. That is Siera in the picture above. Not Chelle. My mistake. I still stand by the above statements, with the exception of #3. Siera is very much a Nature Girl. A beautiful one at that!

Happy Belated Pi Day

In honor of Pi Day, Cali and I made some mini blueberry pies.

We like to celebrate Pi Day because we're homeschooling nerds.

And because we get to eat pie.

We made mini ones because we're the only humans in our house that will eat pie.

And if we made big pies, we'd eat them all in the middle of the night when no one was watching and because in the middle of the night, calories don't count.

We will be the first to admit that we are gluttonous girls.

Especially when it comes to pie.

Happy Pi Day!

Some Things to Make You Smile . . .

Because I love you guys.

And because that last post was sad.

Here are some things to make you smile.

You make me smile!

That yellow lab looks exactly like our Molson.

Thankfully he's out of the poo eating stage.

Sorry to those of you who are lactose intolerant,

but I couldn't help but think of you when I saw this.

You know who you are!

Hi-YA!

Proper punctuation is important.

Just ask Grandpa.

Jaws is still out there.

I'm sure of it.

If you're a mom, you know it's the truth.

Have you met my pet unicorn?

The dogs have spoken.

A nice way to end this post.

Love you guys!

We Love You Aries!

Aries went to heaven today.

Andrea was with her as she passed.

Sweet Baby James and Aries

Ava and Aries

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge.

There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together.

There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by.

The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....

Author unknown...

Please send me any pictures of Aries you'd like posted.

Multiple Choice . . . and a Promise

First the multiple choice.

No need to start the day off with a warning, oh wait, it was a promise right?

Because it certainly was not a threat.

Threats don't have a place in nice, loving families like ours, now do they?

Now let's meet the victim target.

I present to you today

the youngest sibling of the Stearman Family and his beautiful wife.

Bo and Mo.

Pretty catchy nicknames, huh?

 I think I get that particular talent from Dad.

Great picture too.

Now for the multiple choice part.

In the picture below, is our handsome sibling:

A. Asleep on his feet.

B. Blissfully happy and trying to hide his feelings.

C. Praying that this picture taking session be over soon.

D. Holding back the tears as a result of blissful happiness.

E. Sending me a telepathic message to,

"Please use this picture of my beautiful family

as an example of a blogging sister go wild

because no one else posts."

Wow! Should we talk about run on sentences Bo?

You're right. Now's not the time.

I choose E.

Thanks Bo! Got the message loud and clear!

Now the threat warning promise.

I know where you live.

I am friended by you on FB.

I know your Walgreens login info.

Please, send me pictures to post on this here wonderful Family blog.

Or I will pick a picture from my glorious stash,

and write the first thing that comes to mind.

(See the example above.)

But only because,

 I love you!