My Baby Boy...

turned 7 years old today. I don't know how that's possible. I know I say that every time one of my kids turns a year older, but really... SEVEN? That can't be right!

I can't even handle writing a mushy "birthday letter" to dear Damon tonight. I've been enough of a basketcase lately with all of the changes around here as it is... that might push me right over the edge, lol.

Plus, I'm pretty sure he (and everyone else, for that matter) already knows how wonderful I think he is and that every day I feel positively blessed to be his mom (even on his worst days!).

So, without further ado... Happy Birthday, Damon Taylor! I love you more than words, Little Man.

Mixed Emotions

Nick is flying home tomorrow, and the kids and I are sooo excited to see him. He's been gone now for 2.5 weeks, and it feels like forever (even though I know we've gone longer stretches than this in the past). I think it's because he's pretty much "permanently" gone now... he's working on his new dedicated account and even on his days off, he can't come home to us.

In fact, his "visit" tomorrow was a last-minute thing and he's really only coming home because he needs to take his pick-up truck back with him. On his days off now, he doesn't have a vehicle to drive around (because the big rig has to stay at the terminal), so househunting has been difficult up until now.

So, I'm super excited that he'll be home tomorrow afternoon... but I'm also super bummed that I'll have to say goodbye to him, yet again, less than 24 hours after he arrives. Gone for 2.5 weeks, home for 20 hours. Yeah, that just doesn't seem fair somehow...

Hopefully I'll be planning a trip over to help Nick with the househunting in the next week or so (Damon's pesky birthday is really interfering, darn it! lol). I know that we'll all feel 100 times better once we have a house lined up to move into! It's kinda depressing to pack boxes when we don't know WHERE we're going to take them in the long run.

The Rescue

We got a dusting of snow one day last week... and suddenly Comet was at the sliding glass door freaking out, wanting OUT. I've never seen him act so crazed about going outside, so I figured he REALLY had to go!!

I opened the door and out he ran... to rescue his Tigger, who he had left outside in the grass earlier in the day. Comet is so dumb, and that just made his "rescue" even more adorable. He really LOVES this silly Tigger doll that he claimed from the toy pile as HIS several months ago.

Here's Comet, braving the elements to get Tigger back to safety!

Yep, she's a diva alright...

And EVERY 4-year-old girl needs some pretty press-on nails, Lord knows!

Overwhelmed

So, I mentioned in a previous post that Nick might start driving for a dedicated account soon... and we might be moving as a result.

I keep waiting for the "official" word... and I'm still pretty much waiting on that. But we're about 99.9% sure that it's going to happen. So, this week I've been collecting boxes... and Mom and I have been cleaning out closets, cabinets, drawers--preparing to pack.

For a little family of four, we have A LOT of stuff, ugh.

There is ONE good thing about renting a home...

and my husband has never seemed to grasp this concept.

In my opinion, the ONE good thing about renting is calling your landlord when something breaks and saying, "Fix it!" But Nick, being the stubborn redneck that he is, refuses to call our landlord, ever, for anything. Nick prefers to do the manual labor (which usually includes cussing and screaming) himself, not wanting to "trouble" our friendly landlord. And I think: "Trouble him?? We pay him an insane amount of money each month... trust me, he can BE troubled!" And then I roll my eyes a lot while Nick cusses and fixes whatever it is himself.

So, it thrills me to no end that earlier this week something broke in our house that Nick didn't know how to fix. Seriously... THRILLED me.

Our washing machine decided to start leaking water last week... lots and lots o' water. We had a similar problem a couple of years ago, and of course Nick discovered that one of the fittings was loose, and... you guessed it... he fixed it himself.

But this time it wasn't loose fittings, and Mr. Fix-It-Himself couldn't figure out what was wrong (although he guessed that the motor was bad).

So, my dear husband actually picked up the phone and CALLED the landlord. Hallelujah!!

Two days later, two friendly repair men came out to our house and replaced the bad motor (Mr. Fix-It-Himself was right about that!) in a matter of minutes. And Voila! I now have a working washing machine that is not spewing water all over the place. No one cussed or screamed while fixing it, and the best part: our friendly landlord will get the bill.

THIS is the one good thing about renting a home. We've rented this particular home for 3 years now, and we have called the landlord ONCE for a repair. He's going to be really sad to see us go...

Still Alive!

We ARE still alive and well around here... I've just been a really bad blogger lately.

Nick arrived home late last Friday night and joined me for the last few hours of karaoke at our neighborhood bar, where karaoke is THE major excitement of the week. So that was fun. The rest of his time at home consisted mostly of early-morning duck hunts with his "crew" (he was thrilled when all of those early mornings paid off yesterday... he landed his first "big duck," pictured somewhere below... yee haw!).

He left out again last night, and we have no clue when he'll be home again (which is slightly depressing). His next scheduled home time is next weekend, but I doubt it's going to happen. Right now, Nick is working on transferring to a dedicated account... so things are kinda up in the air. But if he gets on this new account, I'll have some exciting news to report... because we'll be packing up and moving! So, stay tuned... right now, we're all kinda on stand-by to see what's going to happen.

Because I've been such a bad blogger, I'm including some random photos with this post... one of the kids looking adorable and, surprisingly, like they adore each other (excuse Avery's devil eyes... I'm far too lazy to fix them); a few of Avery in her latest Princess dress, courtesy of her very talented Grandma; Avery telling me to hold on "one sec" because she was busy chewing a pickle; and, of course, Nick's duck (he took the picture, and prepared the backdrop, which I told him was goofy... why would you try to take a pic of a duck on camo? I think he's missing the POINT of camo, but hey, what do I know? lol).

Dedicated to my favorite truck driver

When You Hear Talk About Truckers, by Ron Terry

It’s about custom paint, lots of chrome and guts,
Never about dangerous roads and construction, or ugly ruts!

It’s about big engines, flaming stacks and lots of speed,
Never hear about unsafe equipment or what the drivers need.

Always talk about super highways and major truck stops,
Never about rush hour traffic, road rage or multiple drops.

Always hear about the great food and someone’s monster steaks,
Never about canned food, hot coffee and the many fast food breaks.

Always about how everyone envies their independence and no clocks,
Never about deadlines, narrow city streets or about those unsafe docks.

Everyone talks about the miles and the ability to constantly roam,
Nobody thinks about the loneliness, or the weeks away from home.

All the talk of the great scenery and forever-endless sights,
Never mentioning forbidden roadways and endless nights.

Always take for granted the items in our markets and stores,
Never realizing the hours of sacrifice to bring freight to our doors.

Thinking of all the miles and the great rate of pay,
Not knowing that inside city miles count against that pay.

Our cowboys were never heroes, until they were nearly all gone,
Now truckers share the same fate, as daily they go on.

More paperwork, less cooperation from the customer on down,
Yet they keep hauling freight from town to town to town.

They run solo, as teams, even as husbands and wives,
Both women and men trying every day, to live ordinary lives.

So the next time you see a big rig, covered with mud or snow,
Just know that inside you’ll find a driver trying to make it go.

And when you pass a truck stop, with hundreds of idling trucks,
Think about those truckers, sleeping and living in all those trucks.

And when you see a big rig, shiny and covered with lots of chrome,
Just remember that often that rig cost more than most homes.

And when you’re behind a big rig and the traffic is driving you mad,
Just remember the person driving that rig, is someone’s mom or dad.

So whatever the route that is taken, or whatever the time of day,
GOD bless all the truckers, and keep them safe on their way.

(From Pilot Challenge Magazine, January 2008 issue)

Vote for Damon!!!

No, he's not running for President...

But, my friend Melissa, who took the gorgeous photos of Damon a while back, is holding a contest on her photo blog... and Damon's cutie pie little face is one of the contestants!

So, if you're a fan, GO VOTE HERE!

And tell your friends ;)

My little Guitar Hero

So, Guitar Hero was supposedly Damon's big Christmas gift this year... but I've played it more than he has (in fact, I've beat one level and am well on my way through the next one, lol). Damon keeps asking why Santa brought it for HIM if it was really for me... oops!

And Avery just loves to pose as a rock star... being the diva that she is!

The next "fun game" on our list is Karaoke Revolution. And I'm not even going to pretend that it's for Damon... because it's mine, all mine!