A lot...

This is quick...just to say hi....just to say that I am not dead...AND that a lot of stuff has been going on....I can't wait to tell you all about it. So in between now and then...here are some pics to tide you over!!

A drunk "cowboy" riding down

our street!!

Simon, Herman's brother,

who has now lived 3 days!!

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Cell Phone Pics by Ashley

So this is what it looks like on MOST days when we are hanging out with the kids. We all just chill on the front porch...yesterday, Ashley and I had about a half a bag of peanuts...you know the kind that are in the shells...we just sat there and cracked them and ate the nuts and threw the shells in the yard. Adrian came over this morning and told us that we made a huge mess....and we really did. Today I am going to have a watermelon day with them....I will be sure and take lots of pictures.

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What about a Band aid??

"......if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward."

What about a band aid? Miss Ashley has been coming over to my house every day more than once a day. On Tuesday she cut her toe right on the tip. Ashley runs around with out shoes most of the time and it kept getting hit. Yesterday I put band aids on it twice....My doorbell rang at 11:56PM. I was already asleep. We answer the door and Ashley is standing there in her pajamas crying her heart out. Did I mention she just turned 5 years old? Do you know what happened? Her toe got skinned again. Her mama wasn't at home and no one was taking care of her. She was freaked out....it was a HUGE deal to her...Where did she come? To my house...for "a cup of cold water"....a hug...to be held...to be soothed...to be given a band aid....and to be made to feel like she was safe...and all of those needs were met.

I recognize that its no small thing to be the one that they come to...I don't think that they would come to see just anybody...they are so smart and they watch every little thing that you do and they catch every inconsistency...I am thankful that I have the opportunity to be the one to love them....to give them drink from the water hose, a band aid, attention and praise....here are a few more little happenings....

Jesse is 10 and he told me yesterday that I was his best friend.

Adrian's mom came home and made him give her the rest of his money so that she could go by dish soap.

Adrian skateboarded on the roof of his house yesterday...with a broken arm.....He is 10 years old and has been in the behavior unit since Kindergarten....he doesn't even know why he is there.....

This morning at 7:45 AM my doorbell rang again. It was Ashely...she literally woke up and walked straight over to my house. She was holding her new kitten and she told me that it was crying. So we set out on my front porch while I held the cat and just talked.....

"And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me."

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How sweet it is to be loved by you....

Awww! We were moving stuff around today and we also had our niece Alexis. Alexis is totally in love with Carlos. She just followed him around every where. She wanted to help him do stuff and get lots of kisses from him.

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Are YOU my mother??

After Ashley came over 3 times, I wasn't sure what she could possibly need. After all, she had gotten a band aid, brought me her sprinkler, and something else when she rang the door bell yet again. I opened the door and she had a horrified look on her face. I was like, whats wrong??? She told me that the baby bird was dead. (WHAT baby bird is she talking about???) I told her that I was sooo sorry. Then I asked her what we should do. She didn't know, so I said I would give her a box. Then she told me it was still alive. (hmmm...) Ok, have a box anyway and bring it to me. Well, it wasn't dead, and she didn't want it, so, who best to take it? I, the I Don't Like Animals girl...(I fed their dogs yesterday). So I bring it in, Google how to take care of it, and have now fed it four times and its pooped. Yes. I am going to name him Herman. And I am giving him up for adoption if he survives the night. So here are some pics depicting life as Herman's mommy. I feed him a mixture of dog food, milk, water, cracker and boiled egg. It stinks. But he likes it and I guess in the end that is what counts. Oh yeah, and he makes the cutest little peeps when you are feeding him....gotta go, I think I hear him.

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Bring It ON!!

Oh my gosh! I went out to look at my beautiful garden and what did I find?? HUGE HUGE HUGE caterpillars EATING my plants. Not only that there is caterpillar poop everywhere. Disgusting. Eat now nasties cause I am not having this...you are gonna die.

That is the poop!!

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My grandma and skulls

My grandmother will be 81 years old this November. We actually share the same birthday. She lives here in San Angelo and is really an awesome woman of God. I love my grandmother and she has set a huge example and been a really strong influence on me as I was growing up. Now. Having said that I have to tell you this: she is a little closed minded and old fashioned. She has a right to be. The funniest/scariest thing happened. (and anyone in my family that reads this will TOTALLY understand) She has been on this kick about how the skull and cross bone symbol is satanic. She told me that this one little girl she knows wears a shirt with a skull and crossbones on it and that just sends a message out there to all the gangs that she is interested. She also told me that she just hated to see the little girl in the shirt and shook her head. I KNEW this. She tells me this story alot. BUT...I went shopping the other day and I found the CUTEST little pink tank with black lace all around it and tiny black skull and cross bones all over it. I just loved it. Well who comes to the office the day I wear it??? Yep. My grandmother. She invited me to go eat with her and I did. As we were sitting there she started to tell me the story AGAIN about the little girl who wore the skull shirt. Oh Lord I thought, please don't let her see whats on my shirt...all of a sudden she was looking at my shirt and I started to sweat and I was looking around for someone to save me and I blurted, "Is that parking lot empty over there???" And whew! That distracted her. I got out of there as quick as I could. Now I feel guilty every time I wear that shirt....dang it!!

Ezekiel 37
The Valley of Dry Bones

1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3 He asked me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" I said, "O Sovereign LORD, you alone know."
4 Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones and say to them, 'Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! 5 This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath [a] enter you, and you will come to life. 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.' "
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone.

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what is normal

nor-mal


1.
conforming to the standard or the common type; usual; not abnormal; regular; natural.
2.
serving to establish a standard.
3.
Psychology.
a.
approximately average in any psychological trait, as intelligence, personality, or emotional adjustment.
b.
free from any mental disorder; sane.
4.
Biology, Medicine/Medical.
a.
free from any infection or other form of disease or malformation, or from experimental therapy or manipulation.
b.
of natural occurrence.
nor·mal·i·ty, nor·mal·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.



So is normal a state of mind? Normal is based on what standard is set and followed consistantly by your peers...what is normal for you? Try saying "normal" 7 times fast...its a weird word. I don't believe in "normal". I really don't. Because it can change at any time...and because normal just isn't the same for everybody...but we judge other based on what we consider "normal". I just wanted to make it clear that I pass no judgements on the activities that go on in our neighborhood based on that word..."normal". Because there is more to every situation than our perception of "normal"...(I am not going to even get into "right" or "legal" or "safe" because those are boring words) I allow you a glimpse into our "normal" world so that you can smile at the creativity of some ghetto kids. And maybe we should all re-evaluate what "normal" is in our own lives and go outside and play kick the paper towel roll or sleep on our roof....and be normal.

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What?

So we are driving home and see the kids outside playing kick-ball...wait..what?? It's kick the paper towel roll!! Oh yeah! We have all played that right? I ran inside to get the camera to take pictures and while I am snapping different shots, (btw, these kids are so used to me taking pictures of them, they don't even stop what they are doing anymore) I asked Adrian...uhhhh, does your MOM know that you are doing this? And he said no, so I was like, well won't she be mad at you if she finds out? He confidently informs me that she won't find out...about that time the paper towl roll busts out of the plastic and rolls onto the street. So now I am thinking how is she not going to find out?? So I ask Adrian (this in only logical) how is she NOT going to find out...he isn't answering me because he is too busy wrapping himself up in the paper towels like a mummy...I am still thinking....uhhh, when she goes inside and there aren't any paper towels she will know, but I don't have time to voice this because Adrian is telling me that his snake (from the previous post) is loose in his house. I get distracted by this bit of info and I ask him if they found it...he grins and says no, its still there....back to the paper towels...Adrian, how is your mom not gonna know that you are playing with the paper towels? She just won't is the reply.....and then his mom drives up....he takes off and she is yelling at him....as far as I know he survived the night. Did I mention that they are outside playing in their BOXERS???

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The snake....

Before I left for a meeting this evening I sat outside and watched the kids across the street swim in the street. I couldn't get any good pics of that to show you so I got the next best thing....them playing with their pet snake. They would put the snake in the water along the street and chase it as it tried to swim away. It got kinda cold so they were sitting on my porch messing with this snake...this is the same snake that had its eye popped out and then "got popped back in, I don't know how". I don't know how either, and as much as I HATE snakes I was really hoping that this one would be able to......run away....

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Dj Promote

Dj Promote makes every event better. That should be his slogan. Everywhere he goes people stop and stare and he is so nice that they stay there and stare!! For real though, you could have grandmas knitting scarves and Carlos would make it like some huge must see event. Its TRUE talent there.

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Ugli Fruit

Well after a long hot day, Carlos and I decided to stop by the store and get what we needed to make some dinner. We were picking out different veggies when we came to the fruit. I found this one fruit called Ugli fruit. Now YOU might have heard of this before, but I never had. And it truly was an ugly piece of fruit. I couldn't decide which one to get based on looks or by the way it felt. It was kinda mushy. But I went for it. I got the ugliest one there....you know if its UGLI fruit, then thats how I should pick it...its ugliness. I put it in the fridge when I got home (after I took a pic) and later Carlos and I ate it. You will never believe this...it tasted just like an....orange!!! Well, I was kinda disapointed....then Carlos found this website.....http://www.ugli.com/ and then we found out that according to wikipedia, "Americans pronounce the name "ugly," but in Jamaica, where it is grown, its name is pronounced /ˈhu.ɡli/." So dang. I was all excited to get this fruit and that it was called UGLI! But its really not...you say HUUGLEY....and its a HYBRID.....and its been around since like before 1950... I thought it would have some exotic taste too....what a freakin waste of carbs!! I would have rather eaten a slice of pizza.

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Hard Work

I left Carlos, Adrian and Ashley this morning working on the roof. They had been up on this first day of summer since 8AM. Ashley woke up and walked straight outside, hair all crazy. Then she went and got Adrian and they were at our house, ready to go and do whatever it was that we were doing. Carlos called me at 10:30 and they were almost done with the roof. Adrian had helped drill, hammer nails, cut the holes and seal the vents. Ashley had picked up trash and Andrew even came over when he woke up to take stuff down off the roof. It was already getting hot and everyone was hungry. I was to go pick up Sonic for breakfast/lunch. Things are hard at their house....just Ramen noodles....and don't we all know how disgusting those get after a week or so? So it was good. When I got back to the house Adrian was covered in tar and ready to eat. They were really thankful and we just chilled with them for a bit before I went back to work and Carlos took a nap...poor sicko....So for today...we got to shine a little light.

"And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward." Mat 10:42

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It just gets better

This morning we planned on getting up early to beat the sun and get these things (I still don't know what they are called) put on the roof to suck the heat out of the attic so the house will stay cooler. I open the front door and look across the street and what do I see?? The kids asleep on THEIR roof. Yes. I took a picture but I don't know if you can see them. Right above the basketball goal on the flat part of their roof. His little head is sticking up cause a really loud truck is passing by. So yeah, I really can't imagine what will happen next, but I am constantly entertained....aren't you?

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A Beautiful Day In the NeighborHOOD

I think that Carlos is getting what I had...poor guy. BUT after yesterday's 100 degrees in our home we were determined to do something about the heat in this house. We went to Lowe's and bought some things to put on our roof...I forget what they are called, but anyway, by the time we got home, Carlos was really sick. He decided to push through it and climb into the attic. The only way that you can get into the attic was through the hole OUTSIDE...and what does a ladder say to the kids in our neighborhood?? Why, that it is time to come over and visit! Bring the dogs and the cats! So Carlos is in the attic, we sit on the front porch and talk. Adrian occasionally climbs the ladder to "check" on him. This is all calm and sweet, but earlier today....about 10 kids were filling up water balloons and chunking them at cars passing by....of course that started something so 3 other cars kept passing by throwing water balloons at them, jumping out with water guns and chasing these kids....and from there it escalated to BB guns and paint ball guns....sigh...it is a BEAUTIFUL day in the hood!!!

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Sick, sweating and watching Lord of The Rings

I feel absolutely awful. I think I had a relapse and am in bed sweating watching Lord of the Rings. There really is no better movie to watch when you are sick. You can't help but feel a little better because nothing you can possibly go through is even close to Frodo. I am on the 2nd dvd, Two Towers, and its getting really intense. I am also SWEATING because it was over 100 degrees in this house. Right now its at 90 now so its really getting cooler. That is great huh? Why am I sitting in a house that is this hot? Why isn't the air conditioner on? It IS on!! Yes. It has been on all day and this is why we need insulation. This is why our electricity bill is 400 plus every summer. My wonderful husband has been investigating options and I think that we are going to get this fixed. Insulated. BUT before you feel too sorry for my sweaty, sick self, my room has a window unit and its a cool 70 in here. :-) I took a picture with my cell phone of the thermostat to prove how hot it was. Do you see the black line that is past 90? Well it WAS on that, till I opened the windows. It was cooler outside the house than it was inside so I thought that opening the windows was a wonderful idea. It was. I could only open 2 since the rest were painted shut. Good idea though. So about me being sick. I have been and it sucks. My throat hurts, I cough, and last night I ran a fever. BUT I am getting better, thank God! Hopefully tomorrow I will be back to normal. Well they just threw Worm-Tongue out of King Theoden's Hall. Better get back to the movie!!

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Kicked Out of Bed

Poor Carlos. I coughed all night long. About 1Am Carlos rolled over and just said, "What do you want to do???" I had already taken Tussin but it wasn't helping so I said well, I guess you should go sleep in the other room. He didn't argue. Off he went with his pillow and cell phone. I didn't stop coughing so I guess it all worked out...for him.

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Cats and Neighbors....

So we just moved back to our old house. We brought Carlos' kitten that he found named Moses. Carlos' rescued Moses and we took him to the vet right away because he was very sick. $50 sick. It was totally his cat too cause it always slept on his records and knocked out when he was djing...The neighbors started to come over and visit us. Ashley and Adrian. They had dogs and liked Moses. Ashley soon gets a little cat of her own that she names Bella. And eventually I let Adrian "adopt" Moses with instructions on keeping him away from the dogs. I even sent him with a book on how to care for cats. He loved him and we were actually kinda relieved to not have Moses anymore (I feel guilty about this and you will understand why later). We were all happy...then last night we woke up and heard the dogs next door going crazy. I mean crazy. Then we heard Moses. Crying. Today I went outside and Ashley runs over and tells me the cat was lost. I knew right away where it was, so I decided to go and call for it. I went to the back yard and I saw him on the neighbors back porch. Whew! What relief!! I called him, and he moved quickly towards me...dragging his back leg! I was like oh my gosh! So Adrian jumps the fence, and I run inside to get a box. I dump out all the water bottles and take Adrian the box. We put Moses in the box and we all just stand around and look at the cat. He is just chomped on. I don't know how he is still alive. By this time there are about 5 different kids in our yard and we are all just looking at this kitten. We are all broke so going to the vet is not an option. I call my brother and he comes to pick up the kitten to put it out of its misery. We are all sad. Ashley, Adrian and I sit on the porch. Ashley is near tears and asks me if I want to cry. I say no and she doesn't want to cry either. I finally just want to go inside so I tell the kids by and tell Ashley DO NOT let your cat get near the dogs. An hour or so later I hear this screaming outside, so I open the door and look across the street and Ashley is standing in her driveway screaming "BELLLLAAAA!!!!" I yell, "Ashley, what is wrong?!" She tells me that Bella is gone, so I walk across the street and I am like what happened? She points to the tree and tells me that Bella is in the tree. So I walk back across the street, get a flashlight and we see Bella. Calmly sitting in the tree. (I think she liked it up there) Her brother Adrian comes out climbs the tree, then someone walking down the street comes up and asks us if we need help, and I say no cause I don't even KNOW this guy. Adrian drops me the cat, I give it to Ashley and leave saying, "Ashley, don't let the cat near the dogs!".....I have had enough of cats and neighbors...

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Sooo...I am a blogger....

This morning I got up and was reading all these different blogs on the net...you know how you do that and you get caught up in a really crazy "web" ? You go to one persons site and from there another and another till you don't really know how you ended up on the site that you are on....and in some ways wish you weren't cause its kinda weird?? So my husband gets up and I am showing him two sites that I went to and he tells me I should blog. I don't want to blog. I like to read other peoples blogs and besides everyone else has waaay cuter blogs than me. So in typical fashion he tells me that I am just as interesting as everyone else and I just have low self esteem...nooo I say, I don't have low self esteem! He has to design me a cute one and then I will blog cause I don't know how to do all the designing stuff. Then he tells me that its easy and just to start blogging on one of these sites....I don't want to start at the bottom and work my way up I tell him...he just looked at me and so here I am. "Blogging" I guess if you look further down you will see where I wrote some in the past but I never let anyone read them till now..so here goes...and I DON'T have low self esteem Carlos!!

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Explanation

First of all...I should explain what "like a virgin" is for anyone who might be...confused. For October 31st of 2005, Jami, Melissa, Sylvia, Victoria and myself were the 5 virgins from Matthew 25:1

The Parable of the Ten Virgins
1"At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
6"At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!'
7"Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.'
9" 'No,' they replied, 'there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.'
10"But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.
11"Later the others also came. 'Sir! Sir!' they said. 'Open the door for us!'
12"But he replied, 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you.'
13"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

So thats me...I am like one of the five virgins...I am keeping watch!

Also, I am not really good about blogging...in fact, I blog a little on myspace, but the only reason I have one on here is because I couldn't figure out how to post a comment on Amybeths blog without signing up for one....I know Carlos will roll his eyes when he reads this.

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