Abby has arrived!

Abigail got to my mom's safe and sound around 4p.m. on Sat. Mom's neighbor felt bad that she missed both plans for a party so she made her a cake and gave her presents. I felt like such a bad mother because when people asked me if I was holding up ok I was fine. I mean when I was asked she had not even been gone a day. Even Daniel tried to call and ask me. I suppose her excitement was contagious because I was so excited for her to be able to go. Someone also asked me if she would get homesick and I had to say I doubted it. She has gone with my mom for so many years that it is nothing new. She is not very shy so she looks forward to meeting people. She cried and cried once because Karen's uncle said he was gonna take her home with him and didn't! I told her she didn't even know him and she said she did, "his name is Steve." That was all she knew since we still lived in Mi and she was only 2! She has always like Karen's relatives. Probably because they were softies when she was "fund raising." Plus, she thought they thought she was cute. pssst.....she was!

April 28th Birthday!

I can't believe I now have 2 drivers in the family! When Jacob came into our world I expected more of what we had gotten before. A towhead! Nope, he was different in every way. A full head of black hair and we adored every 10 lb. 3 oz's of him! He looked so little in the incubater with the oxygen on him and the feeding tube in his nose. This was due to a partial lung collapse but our heavenly father was good and things went well. I say he had us guessing from the get go but the days are never boring when he is around. I think God for the special person he gave us in Jake and my prayer for him is that he will always take spiritual things as seriously as he does now! I heard from my cousin, Penny that He has done a great job when he has taught the class.
Happy Birthday Jacob! We love you!

HAPPY 16th BIRTHDAY JACOB!

It's good to be FAT!

According to Janiece's post not everyone feels that way but.....being fat keeps me from having to go under the house to get the dead cat that is stinking up my home. I feel like my house is so trashed right now! While I was gone to Wal-mart 2 people stopped by the house to give Abby her B-day presents. I had clothes and baskets out where we had sorted her stuff and the dishes were on the table and the house smells like something the cat drug in or something like that! Anyway, like I said at this moment~~~it is good to be fat!

WHEW!

What a difference a day makes! Our plan started out to have a double B-day party for Jacob and Abigail on 05-05. Then Abigail's ride North needed to leave this Tues. due to illness so I was going to have hers on Sat. Well, my phone rang last night and they wanted to go today because the gentleman was feeling worse. Abigail was thrilled even though it meant no party. That did mean a quick trip to Wal-mart and some fast laundry washing as well as quick packing. As of right now she is on her way to her Grandma Taylor's! On a super great note, a lady at my moms church has a flute that she might give Abigail! Thank you Jesus for that blessing! I also went to a thrift store and got Abigail a like new (it might of actually been new) jumper that came from the Disney store for only $4! I got my friend a brand new Taste of Home annual cookbook for $1! Let me tell you if I had not of had it she would not have it now! Also, I have to go home and fumigate! A cat apparently died under our house! EEEWWWW!!! Well, that about sums up my last 24 hours!

The baby's name is....

TIPPY! I thought she should name it Tipsy but the boys figured people might think it was drunk???? HUH? We do not drink things to make us tipsy and neither do our animals! Anyway, here it is!

officially old....

As of yesterday all my kids are teenagers! Kind of a good feeling but also a sad one. I feel good about my kids and the way they are but I know that all too soon they will be grown clear up! Sometimes I wonder if that is subconsciously the reason I hold Abigail back on the cooking thing at times! Sara, commented on the fact that I did this new look all by myself~~~It was a total accident! I was really surprized when it came up because I didn't have to copy and paste and all that! Still not sure how I did it!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR GIRL! April 20th, 1995

Since "slideshow" is disabled I had to do the pictures in the post below separately!

We were so surprised to get a baby girl~~~contrary to popular belief we were not going to try until we had one! What a joy she was though as she came into this world "only" weighing 8 lbs and 2oz! Abigail has been the most interesting child in so many ways. She has always been determined and loves just about everyone! If she decides she wants something and we can't get it she just works and buys it herself! She says her Grandma Taylor is her best friend and anyone that sees them together knows that is true. I hope that she will always be the way she is now with her love for life and the people around her. I know that some thought she would be terribly spoiled and honestly I do not think she is in a bad way. Her daddy and I have never tried to spoil her and if we have then at least she isn't selfishly spoiled! We love you dearly Abigail Celeste Gates! Some of the pics below are cuter when enlarged!

OLDIES!

Yikes! Time flies. I took Jacob to get his pemit today! Can you tell my hubby loves his kids?

April 16th birthday!

This is not the best picture of my mom but it is the best one I have with me now! A very Happy Birthday to my mom! This was 3 years ago! Thank you so much for always being the best mom I ever had! Yes, even thank you for keeping me out of trouble! If you were here I would make bread and let you have all the end pieces since you don't like sweets too much! We all love you!

April 15th birthdays....

Tomorrow would of been my dads 58th birthday. There is not alot I can say. My heart still breaks over the time I let go by. Reminds me of the whole life is as a vapor thing. I thought time healed all wounds but I guess when they are of your own making then they are never healed. I still have his ashes in my room and I know I should just do something with them but I guess I am looking for something that matters. I was not there for him in life so I am at loose ends now.

My grandpa Schnell would of celebrated 91 years tomorrow! That is hard to believe that nearly 20

years have passed!

I scream You scream....

sharing with a stray and superman ice cream

oopsie

I tried to type the wording in under the pics on the post below but obviously did something wrong. Just think of it as your brain teaser for the day! This has been the weirdest week. Started off: I went to the store on Wed. totally forgetting that I had been there earlier in the week and had spent money so I am tossing stuff in the cart and all of a sudden it dawned on me I was not carrying very much cash. I had enough -barely. When I was counting it up the cashier tried to give me a dollar. No, thanks! GIGGLE! GIGGLE! I always giggle and get red in the face when I am greatly embarrassed! Then today I woke up hyper and called my friend with the giggles and she started it too. I went to Wal-mart and got hit up by a panhandler but didn't have any money on me yet. After that I put the lovely pics on a CD which took forever and I was running way late. They overcharged me and I ran back and forth til I finally said I would have to go. THEN.....I find myself going 75 in a 55! Time to chill. I am just glad I found me and not the cops! As I headed home I was like, Lord I really need to calm down and that is when I heard that still, small voice say, "just lay it all alongside eternity." Needless to say the knot in my stomach just disappeared when I did that.

random

more cuties at camp! Sara's nieces with Jonathon

Sara and her hubby and father and some girl!

Sara with Jonathon and no, that is not me in with the gray outfit!

A more flattering picture of Bro. Hight than the one Michelle posted!

UGLY 2

Well, this template is ugly too so I think I will go to my friends and get her help, either that or call Sara. Now she will NEVER answer her phone! I want one called dream 286 I think off of finalsense but can't get it to work. Oh, I almost forgot. Abigail asked if I was going to tell all of my friends that she fixed supper last night. Ok, she fixed fresh, baked salmon, scalloped potatoes and fresh, cooked carrots. It was very good...even her brothers thought so!

I don't get it!

I was here at the library the other day and there was a guy trying to explain voodoo and how it works to a little boy somewhere around 4 years old. This kid was an adorable black boy and his eyes were HUGE! I think the little guy was petrified! If I had been talking about God the man probably would of been offended. He was telling the kid that he would hear things about some man in the sky and such but it wasn't true that voodoo was where it was at! I was shocked! There was a letter in the paper the other day about the big evolution versus Christianity deal that is going on down here and the guy said that if people aren't careful then the next thing you know there would be prayer back in school! HHHHMMMMM.....lets not be careful. I guess one of my BIG questions is why do we have to accomodate every religion but Christianity? I think these things stir me more now than they ever did because my kids are becoming young adults and they all face so much more than we ever did as teens. We just need to pray for out kids that God will give them what they need to stand!

if it looks like a cow.....

and walks like a cow and sounds like a cow...you get the idea. When I was on my way here I saw 3 cows sauntering out towards the road. I took a second look because cows are much more attractive on a platter! I never saw some of the things in the North that I have seen here. One of the stores sells: beef kidney, tripe(stomach) chicken feet, oxtails, ox neck and some other random grossness! I have not ventured out enough to try these things I love to cook but there are some things that will not go down my throat!

GROSS!

I know this is ugly but I am in a hurry and will be back soon to fix it! I really need help figuring out how to put a pretty page on here! See you all later!

Name that baby!

Abigail has a new guinea pig and is looking for a name for hers. She wants a name that starts with a "T" for a girl. She has "Twix" already and her last girls name was: "Taffy."

Who are we?